Blog #15: Souvenirs

Photo by Sherry White

Welcome one and all to another edition of the Disney World Nation. This is a special edition of the blog as it is our Blog #15.  For this blog all 11 of the bloggers will answer the same question. Here is the question for the week.

Question this week is simple; there are tons of souvenirs in Walt Disney World. Everything from pins, to stuffed animals, to vinyls, and more. So your question is "What is the coolest souvenir you can find at Walt Disney World"

Michelle M: With ALL of the shops to peruse in Walt Disney World, it is often hard to decide on that ONE special souvenir.  You want something to take home that captures the magic that you feel right here right now.  The choices are limitless.  Some people start collecting and add to their collection every trip.  I started my souvenir collection this way.  I started an impressive collection of snow globes in 2004 and am quite proud of the ones I have.  But in 2008, my souvenir collecting took a different turn.  I had a "pixie dust epiphany".  While beautiful, and reminiscent, there was no particular memory tied to each globe, so I shifted gears. Since 2008, all of my souvenirs are a remembrance of a special "Disney moment".  For example, I have a Kali River Rapids sign that holds the memory of when my husband figured out weight dynamics as we waited in line and sat us in our raft in order for me to get drenched and he stayed dry as a bone TWICE.  It is nice to have a show piece that when asked you can say "Oh that is a souvenir from our 2011 trip to Walt Disney World".  But it is even greater when you can say "Oh that is a piece of Disney magic that happened in 2011, let me tell you what happened."  And what Disney fan is not ALL ABOUT sharing that magic?

Sherry: Every trip to Disney means I get to purchase MY favorite souvenir, the Goofy Candy Company Minnie Mouse Peppermints.  It may not sound like much to most people, but I always buy several, hide them, and enjoy them privately, never inviting anyone to share.  Those quiet moments alone, savoring the cool mint, while looking at that little metal box, transports me back to my Happy Place!

Bill W: I don’t know if this technically counts as an official souvenir, since you order it after you leave the World, but our favorite thing to bring home from Walt Disney World is a PhotoPass CD.  There are heated debates out there on whether or not it is a good idea to spend $99 or $149 on a PhotoPass CD, but we find them to be priceless. We make sure we have as many photos taken as possible and usually have over 200 pictures on the CD by the end of our trip. We treasure the pictures taken by the PhotoPass photographers long after we get bored of a pin set or wear out a t-shirt.

Rachel: The coolest souvenir we can find are pin sets.  We love pin trading.  We scour the parks, hitting every CM with a lanyard looking for sets of pins.  We especially love the hidden mickey ones. You can also purchase pins cheaper on eBay.  We don’t do that.  I have a lot of friends that do.  There’s something about getting them straight from WDW, and getting that special rare pin or the final pin to complete your set that is “magical!” Now my son wants to collect vinyls…oye I think I’m going to need another job!

James: I've been working in Merchandise now since 2008 you would think I have a favorite place to shop/product, while actually I don't. I usually go for a shirt to let people know where I've been. Or a nice book on Walt Disney Imagineering. I'd probably suggest looking in stores such as Island Mercantile at Disney's Animal Kingdom, or The Main Street Confectionery if you are looking for something for your sweet tooth. And if you just want to put on a silly hat and have a shoot-out I'd suggest going to Pirate's Bazaar outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Always look out for a sales tag or ask a Cast Member if they have any special promotions (they usually always do and will probably have told you before you even get to the registers. There are many things you can get as a souvenir from Walt Disney World, but the best things are those that hold special memories or are personalized to you."

Katherine: Walt Disney World is always an exciting vacation but what makes it even better is the ability to find almost any form of souvenir. You can get anything from the classic Mickey ear hat to a bag of mickey shaped pasta. I have had trouble coming up with a favorite souvenir I love many items that I have picked up over the years. I tend to always buy a beach towel, one from each resort I've stayed at or if I find any that are too good to pass up. Yes, I do have about ten too many. I also find that pictures are the best souvenirs. I might be biased because I am a photographer, but it's true being able to dig up an old photo and remember what you had forgotten is priceless.

Michelle W: Ok so I have 2 favorite types of souvenirs. First would be anything that has to do with the Haunted Mansion! I’m TOTALLY obsessed with it & my living room can prove it! So if there’s any chance that I can find something new, from as small as a pin to as big as a statue, I’m all in! Then my other favorite souvenir to find down there would be the Silhouettes. It’s amazing to just watch the artists create the silhouettes from a plain piece of paper & a small scissor. My very first one was done with My Mom & Dad when I was just 4 years old. To look at all of them & see my own transformation from child to Mom is just priceless!

Beth:  The coolest souvenir I suppose depends on who youre getting it for. My children all like different things, as do most children, young and old. My older ones now prefer candies and snack things from Japan (Epcot). The twins are happy with anything- though now they like pins and vinlymations. My husband and I like to take pictures to remember the trips. We often try to take those pictures that we know we can never duplicate. I think my absolute favorite souvenir is the memory of each trip, and the special times we had. As the children have grown, and family members being added, the trips have changed. they were once so hard to make, and now as all the children have reached the "terrible teens" , it's not so difficult anymore . So, our memories are our best keepsake from each rip, knowing they are all special, and something to hold dear.

Ted: I blame my brother for my addiction, but I am hooked on vinylmations.  I first tried the pin collecting, but something about opening the foil pack and the surprise of which one you get is exciting.  My fiancee and I have been collecting for about 9 months.  Each time we go, we get one each.  We have over 60 now and we just picked up the bride and groom one to add to our collection.  But that is definitely my most favorite souvenir to get at Disney.

Lauren: Now that we’ve started making trips to the Walt Disney World Resort at least once every six months, my days of lugging souvenirs home for everyone have stopped. I love my family, but how many plush toys or overpriced t-shirts can one person have? In order to still make everyone left at home still feel loved and to lessen the pressure on my pocketbook, we try to bring one gift home we know everyone loves. Back when I was a little girl my mother, sister, and I would make frequent stops at the Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom for those delicious monstrous sized rice krispie treats. They now make Mickey Mouse shaped treats, wrapped in cellophane, which will feed an entire family. When my mom and sister aren’t on vacation with us, we bring a bit of the magic home with us for them. One gift, not expensive and it lets everyone still feel loved!

Bill S: Vinylmation are the souvenir of choice for me. Every time I go down I have someone who is with me, pick a random box from the shelf and that is the one I choose. I never choose a box, as I want it to jinx it. What’s great about vinyl’s is when you don’t like the one you have chosen (or get doubles), you can go to either D-Street or your hotel’s gift shop, and make a trade. My favorite is the Cast member’s Exclusive Mickey.

That's all from the Disney World Nation Blog, hope you enjoyed, we will be back in 2 weeks, with more questions and answers about our favorite place. Till next time, See You Real Soon  Bill Sauerbier