If you’re going to vacation at Disney World, it’s inevitable that you’re going to want to bring some fancy new souvenirs back with you. However, while most guests opt for the $30 t-shirts that can be found on Main Street or the $20 stuffed plushes that can be found at Once About a Toy, there are some less expensive options that you may not have initially considered…
1. Pressed pennies
Image: Disney
There are currently 130 penny press machines dispersed throughout Walt Disney World. And at a grand total of 51 cents apiece, you can take home a few favorites for just a few bucks. They also have pennies for your favorite parks and attractions as well. If you want to spend extra you can purchase a special penny press book to hold your collection for safekeeping.
2. Treasure maps
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Located next to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, A Pirate’s Adventures: Treasures of the Seven Seas is a hidden game waiting for discovery by only the most daring pirates and buccaneers. By collecting pirate maps, you are sent on an adventure across Adventureland to find the clues hidden around the area. If you decipher the maps you are treated to firing off cannons, man eating cannibals and spitting snakes. The best part is once you finish the adventure you can take home your treasure maps and put them in frames or use them to create unique book covers.
3. Park maps
Image: Disney
Everyone knows about Disney’s famous park maps, but have you thought of repurposing them? Just like the Pirate’s Adventure treasure maps, you can use these to cover books, or display them in a frame or scrapbook to remember your trip to the magical world of Disney. These maps are conveniently located near each parks’ entrance and are even available in different languages. If you grab them as you are leaving at the end of the day, you can also keep them from getting spoiled by folding or rain.
4. Celebration buttons
Located near the park entrance is a guest relations cast member who carts around a kiosk filled with free buttons that help you showcase what you are celebrating. If they happen to run out at the mobile kiosk, you an also pick them up in the guest relations building. There are buttons for celebrating birthdays, happily ever after, family reunions, or even a first visit to Disney. These are easy to pick up and very fun to wear around the park because you get different reactions for wearing different pins. And, when you return home, they can easily be displayed on a corkboard or attached to magnets to be hung on your refrigerator.
5. Disney parks merchandise bags
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One of the great things about Disney shopping is not just the merchandise, but the bag they give you to carry it all in. Most will take these bags home and throw them straight in the trashcan, but that’s not altogether necessary. Disney bags can be great souvenirs that are both reusable and useful.
6. Cast Member stickers
Image: Loren Javier, Flickr (license)
Did you know that cast members are carrying a secret? That’s right. Every cast member in Disney World parks and resorts carry around secret stickers. You have to know about them and kindly ask a cast member for one in order to collect them. The stickers cost you no more than a smile. Put them anywhere you like and grab them often, because these stickers change all the time. They make for some really great scrapbook decorations.
7. Drink cubes
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If you have the pleasure of dining at a table service restaurant on Disney grounds, order a specialty drink and you can receive a free souvenir. Many locations serve these beverages with glowing ice cubes that you can take home and enjoy in the comfort of your home. Visit Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, La Cava De Tequila, Trader Sam’s, Kona Café (to name a few) to snag one of these fun and festive souvenirs.
8. Transportation trading cards
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Transportation cards are a fun little collectable that can be procured from transportation cast members. There are 26 cards in all and they reflect the three forms of transportation on Disney property: buses, boats, and the monorail. These aren’t as easy to come by as the cast member stickers, which makes them that much more special.
9. Duffy cutouts
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If you have little ones, you don’t need to buy merchandise from the shops to bring home a souvenir. Located in the World Showcase at Epcot are the Kidcot Fun Stops. You can find these areas tucked away next to each world pavilion. There, children will be given to opportunity to decorate a cardboard cutout of Duffy, the Disney bear, in a theme that compliments each country. Stop by them all and you have 11 little international Duffys to bring back home – completely free of charge.
10. Wilderness Explorer badges
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At Animal Kingdom park lies another hidden gem called the Wilderness Explorers. Based on the movie Up, the Wilderness Explorers give guests the chance to discover nature and earn badges. All you have to do is go up to a Wilderness Explorer kiosk and tell them you want to join. You will then receive your first of 30 challenges. When you complete a challenge, you earn a “badge” (aka sticker). These badges are fun not only for a day at the park but make great keepsakes for the entire family.
11. Food and Wine and Flower and Garden passports
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Every fall, Epcot holds it’s Food and Wine Festival that spans from September to about mid November. The passports you get while attending are little booklets that you can stamp when traveling around the World Showcase sampling the foods and wines from the different countries. Once you fill up your booklet it makes a nice addition to your souvenirs from Disney and you can use it as a reference guide if you plan on returning for the festival the following year.
In the spring, the flowers bloom and the hedges of Disney are manicured to perfection. Disney gardeners import rare flowers from around the world and arrange them in stunning displays across Disney’s Epcot park. Similar to the Food and Wine Festival, the Flower and Garden Festival gives out free passport books that can be stamped at each location you visit.
12. Digital postcards
If you’ve been on Spaceship Earth, you may remember the part where you can choose what your future will look like and even see it as a video. What many don’t know is that you can actually keep this video for free. It’s called a “digital postcard” and at the ride’s exit, your postcard is available to be sent via email to anyone you choose – even yourself. When you get home, you can keep this video and replay it for friends and family or even save it as a keepsake.
