inexpensive souvenirs from disneyland

beckymomof2

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
We are taking our foreign exchange student to Disneyland for 5 days. She wanted to buy souvenirs to take back to family and friends being that this trip is right before she returns home to Brazil. From experience I know the gifts aren't cheap at the shops. What ideas do you have of what we could look for? I'm kind of drawing a blank besides keychains which I'm sure probably start at 8 dollars and up.
 
There are free buttons you can get at City Hall and most shops.

My favorite FREE souvenir is a drawing from Animation Academy. It’s the most underrated thing at the resort. It’s interactive, it’s personal, it’s free. Although it’s more of a personal souvenir than a gift. (Unless you’re a really good artist!)

Pressed pennies are cheap (51 cents!) and there are all kinds featuring all sorts of different characters all over the parks.

Some pins are comparably inexpensive.

If you poke around the shops there are plenty of baubles, like bracelets, keychains, etc, that are cheaper than, say, a T-shirt (which are $22 each when you buy 2).
 
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I was going to suggest pressed pennies. Inexpensive, fun designs, and on our pennies which is foreign currency to those she will be giving it to which makes it even more fun.
 
The cheaper items are often located on or near the tills / paying areas. They usually have things like pens, pencils, candy, jewellery and small plastic figures. In the shop at Pirates of The Caribbean, they have the pirate coins.

You could make a game out of it, set a limit of $10 per person / gift and see how creative you get.
 


The Target closest to DLR has tons of souvenirs. She technically could buy them there and I'm pretty sure her friends and family wouldn't know the difference.
 
I was going to suggest pressed pennies. Inexpensive, fun designs, and on our pennies which is foreign currency to those she will be giving it to which makes it even more fun.

I was thinking this too. American pennies with Disneyland stamps. Also, they sell a bundle of 6 or 7 Mickey shaped suckers for a reasonavle price. She could make pennies and give out suckers too.
 
Not to sound cheeseball, but I often take home a few paper soda cups for my own general use. Might (might) be suitable as souvenirs.
 


Pins, pens, the pressed pennies, candies - these will all run under $10/item. We typically get pins or keychains as small token gifts for friends who give us a ride to the airport or the like.
 
I remember a store, i think in frontierland, that sold Disney Beads ( so you can make your own bracelet). If I remember correctly the beads were around $1 each? So she could get her friends each a Mickey Mouse bead and the letter of their first name bead? Then she could make them each a friendship bracelet with them.
 
Maps from both parks, pressed pennies, pressed dimes, pressed quarters, magnets, antenna toppers (I use them for my pens too), candy from Candy Palace, Trolley Treats or Marcelines, You are here coffee cup from FF&P, Mickey's Kitchen Sink, Popcorn bucket
 
I would go for postcards. Something that indicates the student was there and thinking about her family, letting them know she is having a good time.

A souvenir is to keep the memory alive of visiting a certain place / experience. In this case the receiver wasn't there.
 
We always bring back plenty of maps from both parks. Not only are they fun souvenirs -- it's amazing how many people and kids just love them! -- but they also make great wrapping paper.

I was going to say the same thing! We love looking through past trip maps. It is amazing what you can do with the park maps. One of my favorite things to do with the maps is to turn them into drink coasters. They are so easy and cheap to make and look wonderful on our tables.
 
I used to get packages of pens and I would open them and pass the pens out individually. Not sure what the current style or prices are, but I'm sure they still have pen packs of some sort.

Most of the individual magnets and pins are usually at least $8.00. Playing cards are $10 I think.
 
When we go my wife always buys several sets of pens with various themes, characters, etc. We also make sure that we get ones decorated with colors that are favorites of various friends. That way the recipient knows we were really thinking of them when we got these. We do the same thing when we go to Hawaii. If you have as many friends as we do you can't really afford to do tee shirts for everyone.

There have been special times when we wanted to do something extra special for a friend or a child and in those cases we will look for something that really fits the person - a nice necklace for a girl or a special Goofy in a golf outfit puzzle for a golfer friend.

Giving a gift after you get home really adds to the joy and lets you share the experience.
 
They're selling pretty cool reusable bags for $1.50 which might make nice useful gifts. As the cashier told us, "It's the most reasonably-priced item Disneyland sells."
 
I usually buy a pack of something and then dole it out (i.e. they have sticky notes, pens, lollipops, keychains, etc. sold in a pack of 4 or 5). It's pretty cost efficient and people appreciate useful gifts.
 

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