Best souvenirs you ever purchased?

[dreiwhit]

I've been thinking about this and the best souvenirs I have are the pictures and videos we took, and the good memories of time spent together as a family.

The day before we left I formally accepted a new job, escaping a horrible job situation. Taking the trip to Disney World was icing on the cake of good memories!

 

[Accident]

I love dated things and get them everywhere and not just disney. disney it's usually a holiday orniment and that years coffee mug. I use the mugs all the time and the date really sparks some memories more about what was going on aroudn that trip when you see it...

I'm starting to really enjoy my daughters popcorn container collection but it's displayed in the kitchen above all the cabinets so it's a nice smile to look up, see the buckets, remember getting them and of course now that I live near it, remember there might be one she doesn't have yet so we better "go look".

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I still have the Polynesian sweatshirt that I bought on our first trip in 2000. It don't wear it anymore but I still keep it.

We have several Larry Dotson prints on our walls. One from each park (and a DLR one) and one from each resort we have stayed at. And several small ones of WS pavilions. We check to see if he will be signing prints in the art stores on property and make sure we stop in. He has signed all of my prints. I love them.

My pictures from many trips while my girls have grown up. You can't replace those.

 

[Hikergirl]

I love my Larry Dotson prints too!

 

[Sagginit]

My family has collected Christmas Ornaments since I was a kid. As an adult I started my own collection and have several from the parks. Mugs are also useful.

I got a Minnie Hoodie on my last WDW trip as we got cold one morning. It is the one with her ears and the polka dots inside the hood. I wear it every now and then and brought it to DL with me. They still sell them but they are slightly different. I had a few people stop and ask me where I got "my" version of it lol. I try to find nice high quality t-shirts there as I find they are typically nicer and different than what you get at the Disney store.

I also do autographs but instead of a book I use a scrapbook paper pad. I cut them out and they go on a page with the photo of me & the character. They go in my WDW scrapbooks that I picked up from each year. Although I have so much to go in them that I only finished 1.5 from my last 3 trips. I like to say I collect scrapbook supplies rather than I scrapbook as I have found that I can't quite find the time to do it that I used to.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

We went to DLR for our honeymoon and one thing I'm so happy we bought is a Christmas ornament to commemorate our trip. Not too expensive, small to pack, and something we will always have! They have a lot of nice bride and groom ones too!

 

[fabulousfive]

Ornaments from the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in MK are my favorites!!! I also love our autograph books.

 

[addiemon]

This will be my husband's and my first trip together that's not to a family member's location or a work event. Our plan is to buy a (small) puzzle everywhere we go- fictional or otherwise? -and complete it together, then frame it.

 

[AinW]

My personal favourite was actually a gift for someone else - I bought a large Disney fairy tale story book for my 1 year old niece on my last trip, and I then had characters sign their story (Peter Pan, Wendy and Tink on Peter Pan, Cinderella and Prince Charming on Cinderella, etc). Any characters that didn't have their stories in the book got to sign on the inside front and back covers. Now that she's almost 3, my sister says it is her absolute favourite book and they have a hard time keeping her hands off of it.

I did one of these for my DD on her first trip & gave it to her for her 3rd Christmas-we still have it.

Now she's 16 & we've picked up 3 Disney storybooks at Costco over the summer. We'll get them autographed on our next trip & donate them to the next auction for her school or a local children's hospital.

 

[IZHAYMAMA]

My husband and I honeymooned at Disney 19 years ago. We bought a waterglobe of Minnie and Mickey in bride and groom attire. It plays "a dream is a wish your heart makes" and is very special to me. It's also the trip where we purchased our first Disney Christmas ornament. On our last trip we were there over the Christmas holidays and put up a 4 foot Christmas tree in our room at CSR with nothing but our collection of WDW Christmas ornaments.

 

[jenniy122]

Honestly I've bought way too much Disney things over the years. The best, the ones I actually look at and and get all the warm fuzzies over are my autograph books (not just for the kids! I have one from when I was 8, and one that I filled every single page of over the past year-ish ages 26-28), and my Merida Jim Shore and Rapunzel couture figure.

I get the most "use" of the sweatshirts, I guess, but they just don't mean as much to me.

 

[Amanda Hall]

Disney rolling pin ! Love it.

 

[E-ticket Princess]

Cookie tins from Tokyo Disneyland. There was an entire shop of just cookie, tea and candy tins. They are durable, pretty and useful. And if you eat the cookies before you leave they are light weight to pack!

 

[a_petz]

Some GREAT ideas I hadn't heard before here!
We do the silhouette of the kids every year, and they print in duplicate, so I always have the extra framed to my parents for Christmas. . I just love that the first year just had my dd at 10 months, and now I have 3 kiddos all in the silhouette. Just love them!

My next favorite souvenir is free, we do the animation academy each visit at Hollywood studios. It is SO fun, and love to see how the kids have progressed with art skills over the years. My favorite was when my middle son was about 4, and it was Mickey Mouse. Just precious. <3

Then, we always buy a dated Christmas ornament. But we try to do that wherever we travel to. Just fun at Christmas to pull them all out and relive the memories of each trip.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Some GREAT ideas I hadn't heard before here!
We do the silhouette of the kids every year, and they print in duplicate, so I always have the extra framed to my parents for Christmas. . I just love that the first year just had my dd at 10 months, and now I have 3 kiddos all in the silhouette. Just love them!

My next favorite souvenir is free, we do the animation academy each visit at Hollywood studios. It is SO fun, and love to see how the kids have progressed with art skills over the years. My favorite was when my middle son was about 4, and it was Mickey Mouse. Just precious. <3

Then, we always buy a dated Christmas ornament. But we try to do that wherever we travel to. Just fun at Christmas to pull them all out and relive the memories of each trip.

Animation Academy is gone, gone, gone!
But they still (as of now) offer it at AofA.

 

[a_petz]

Animation Academy is gone, gone, gone!
But they still (as of now) offer it at AofA.

What??! Oh no That makes me so sad. We tried Disneyland last year instead of WDW, so hadn't done it at HS since Sept. 2014. We are only visiting for 4 days this September, so not sure if we will make it over to AofA on limited time. Boo.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

What??! Oh no That makes me so sad. We tried Disneyland last year instead of WDW, so hadn't done it at HS since Sept. 2014. We are only visiting for 4 days this September, so not sure if we will make it over to AofA on limited time. Boo.

So sorry to be bearer of bad news...

 

[a_petz]

So sorry to be bearer of bad news...

Not your fault of course! And glad you said something...I'd be more disappointed if we got there and didn't know it! Now I can warn the kids in advance It was never that crowded, so I can't say they made a bad decision from that perspective. But it just felt like this hidden quiet gem in the midst of a crazy day at Disney. Always sad to see a favorite go.

 

[Disfan5]

Coffee mugs DH wanted to get on our first trip. I thought it was a silly thing to buy at the time but I absolutely love them! Makes me happy every time I have morning coffee in my red Mickey mug!

 

[Dabigoh]

Animation Academy is gone, gone, gone!
But they still (as of now) offer it at AofA.

I don't want to get this thread off track, but the Animation Academy was my family's favorite place to go during every WDW trip (except my son, he hates drawing). My oldest daughter was devastated when they announced that the Academy was closing. The fact that it was making room for Star Wars stuff made it a little better, but not much.

We are returning to WDW in November and are staying at the AofA. So, assuming that they are still offering drawing classes at the hotel, do you have any idea where and when those sessions are?

In reference to the thread's main topic, the drawings we've collected over the years from the Animation Academy are definitely our favorite souvenirs.