Okay, you've saved for the trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World in Orlando but no one fully prepared you for the constant barrage of Disney souvenirs and keepsakes your kids would ask for. Around every corner there is a new kiosk with stuffed Mickeys and Minnies, colorful printed t-shirts, blinking Buzz Lightyear toys, sparkling princess tiaras and hundreds of
Disney trading pins. It is tough to continually say no but you do have a budget.
I remember feeling overwhelmed by requests from my little ones during our first visit.
We made two purchases right away. An autograph book and a Penny Collection folder. The autograph book was to keep track of all the characters we met over the 10 days we spent at the world. But the penny collection folder was a wonderful, dare I say, cheap find! For a few bucks our boys had a place to store their collection of squished pennies.
Not familiar with a squished penny? They are machines that for 51 cents turn your penny into a souvenir. Disneyworld is loaded with the machines and even if you completely fill 36 penny slots, your investment is less than if you purchased 3-4 pins, a shirt or a stuffed animal. There are 6 large slots for holding squished quarters too...these are a bit bigger investment as it takes 5 quarters to get one squished keepsake. But usually the dies for the quarters are limited to one year of use so they are more collectible too.
My kids found that searching for the penny flattening machines was part of the fun and adventure. Pressed penny machines are located all over in the parks and resorts throughout Disneyworld. Similar to the trading pins, there are fun characters like Buzz, Dopey and Mickey as well as designs that commemorate a visit to a park, like Epcot or Magic Kingdom, a resort, like All Star Sports or Animal Kingdom Lodge, or an attraction like the Rockin' Roller Coaster or Test Track. And at 51 cents mom and dad can say yes over and over without breaking the bank!
Just one additional piece of advice...
start saving the shiny new pennies for a few weeks before the trip as the new shiny cents make the best imprints!
Copyright 2011 Magical Mouse Tales
Can you see it? The Hidden Mickey is a set of mouse ears incorporated into the 3 in the mural just as you enter Spaceship Earth in Epcot! Finding Hidden Mickeys is an adventure and fun visual sport. Capturing a photo while the line moves forward can be quite an adventure in itself!
ird to be making dining plans 6 months ahead of time but that is what is necessary to get into some of the most popular restaurants in the world like Teppan Edo at the Japan pavilion. Be ready when you call too because you will get a confirmation number for every ADR you make. This number can save you if your reservation gets lost in the system. But keeping track of those ADRs can be confusing. If you make your reservations online, the system does keep a list of your ADRs but if you make them over the phone, they do not tie in with the ones online until after you check in. Your only record is what you write down so listen carefully and jot down those confirmation numbers.
Okay, you've saved for the trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World in Orlando but no one fully prepared you for the constant barrage of Disney souvenirs and keepsakes your kids would ask for. Around every corner there is a new kiosk with stuffed Mickeys and Minnies, colorful printed t-shirts, blinking Buzz Lightyear toys, sparkling princess tiaras and hundreds of Disney trading pins. It is tough to continually say no but you do have a budget.
I remember feeling overwhelmed by requests from my little ones during our first visit. We made two purchases right away. An autograph book and a Penny Collection folder. The autograph book was to keep track of all the characters we met over the 10 days we spent at the world. But the penny collection folder was a wonderful, dare I say, cheap find! For a few bucks our boys had a place to store their collection of squished pennies.
Not familiar with a squished penny? They are machines that for 51 cents turn your penny into a souvenir. Disneyworld is loaded with the machines and even if you completely fill 36 penny slots, your investment is less than if you purchased 3-4 pins, a shirt or a stuffed animal. There are 6 large slots for holding squished quarters too...these are a bit bigger investment as it takes 5 quarters to get one squished keepsake. But usually the dies for the quarters are limited to one year of use so they are more collectible too.
