Looking for tips on How To Keep Entertained When Traveling To Disney World? Check your local Dollar General for Disney themed reusable bags. You could fill them with Disney themed goodies to use when you travel to Walt Disney World or your next Disney vacation destination.
Here are some ideas for filling the bags from one of my readers who is making some for her next trip:
Disney themed DS game
Disney coloring books
Disney crayons or markers
Color Wonder fun packs featuring Disney characters
Tinker Bell or other Disney character word search books
Disney stickers
Disney DVDs
Disney toys found at the Dollar Tree
Disney fruit snacks
Disney candies
Clearance finds from DisneyStore.com
Free items earned from Disney Movie Rewards
Disney printables such as coloring pages, activity pages, etc (search Google; there are 1,000s)
Items picked up at yard sales
Stores to check for Disney items:
Dollar Tree
Dollar General
Target Dollar Spot
Michael’s Dollar Spot
JoAnn’s Dollar Spot
Be sure to let us know if you have any other ideas on things to pack.
You can also check this article about ways to entertain your kids on long car rides.
Learn more about traveling to Walt Disney World and the perks of using a Disney Travel Agent.
Don’t forget to check the seasonal clearance aisles…I filled 4 of those dollar general bags with great deals I got after Christmas and Valentine’s Day, and none of it looked seasonal, it was just included in the clearance.
Our Party City has bunches of cheap Disney items….tiny Disney themed “Rubix cubes” in the Easter section (but they’re not Easter-y), Disney lanyards, Disney sticker earrings and other jewelry, coloring stuff…..
I also got a Mickey Mouse cookie cuter and made MM shaped rice krispie treats and sugar cookies which I put in Disney sanwich bags. I also put in a pair of Disney themed ear buds he could use with his iPod that I put Disney movies on. And don’t forget a Disney plush!
Jo Ann Fabrics has a dollar section with tons of Disney stuff in it. I’ve been stocking up for our road trip to Disneyland in July!
at bath and body works, they always give you a nloine survey code at the bottom of the receipt and if you take the survey (it takes 5 minutes tops), you can get $10 off a $30+ purchase AND it never expires!!! i have 2 in my purse that im waiting to use!
I will have to remember that next time I go there! :)
We did this! Great idea! We made separate ones for each day of the trip too, bought souvenirs at home and packed em up. So excited!
I was just at Walmart last night. They had lots of Disney/Mavel stuff in the Easter section. Hope you enjoy your trip! We are flying to Disneyland next week.
My family is having a reunion there in 2013. My children have been before but my nephews and niece have never been. I am making them goody bags just like the ones above with coloring books, stickers, t shirts, and other random Disney items. The problem is the older boys (both will be 12). What would you put in their goody bags. They are too old for the coloring books and such but would still really love the treat.
Jenni,
I have a 12 year old boy. I would buy a couple cheap video games. Watch for sales. A good book to read. Art stuff. Get a small sketchbook (hobby lobby has them on sales 40% about once every 6 weeks), colored markers and pencils, etc… Dvd’s are great for long drives. If you want to go with the Dinsey theme. Check out Disney XD shows. They have a few “boy” shows. All kids I know love Phineas and Ferb. Marvel is now owned by Disney. Mavel comic books or anything Marvel is a hit with my 12 year old. Good luck! I would love to hear what you find for the bags. I am always looking for new ideas.
I have a 12 year old too and I normally make sure he has a new book or a couple new comic books, a new movie and his well stocked PSP. For our Disney trip I plan for both he and his 2 year old brother to have a Disney coloring book and crayons for the trip and I picked up some of the Pack & Play kits that Walmart had on clearance. I got a Phineus & Ferb one for my 12 year old and Toy Story or Cars for the youngest. I am just grabbing things as I see them and stashing them away for the furture. I also picked up the Toy Story Hawaiian set for $4.99 at the Disney Store’s online sale that Kristin posted. I plan to give these to the boys and they can play with them together in the car. I’ll probably split them in two in baggies or something to hadn them out. On road trips I often pull one thing out at a time. Since we have a 10-11 hour drive every two hours or so we’ll pull out a new thing. With bags like the Dollar General ones, I’d wrap everything and have them choose one thing at intervals along the way. We did this on a cross country trip and it worked great with our oldest when he was both 8 and 10.
Michaels has some AWESOME deals in the Fun Finds area! I saw a awesome stationary set with Disney princess and disney fairies for $3
How about the valentine section in target? I noticed a few Disney plush toys there and if you wait for the after valentie’s day clearance, you’ll get some nice deals.
Stickers help keep little hands busy on long trips – my son spent 1 1/2 hours on a plane carefully placing an entire book of stickers on paper – he was about 2at the time. I also hit yard sales and thrift shops for little treats.
I found triangle crayons from Melissa and Doug, no roll on the car trays. My kids also have magnetic(wood) paper dolls, and dollar store dry erase board and matching marker for doodling, dollar store Disney workbooks to brush up on their skills, a book of mazes (find at educational toy stores etc), and Crayola model magic, which isn’t as messy as play dough at all and is good for the car :)
You can find candy and coloring books crayons and water colors and posters books ! Etc in the 99 cent store and there really good ! My son wants to go there for he’s birthday in march but with no money im just making him a goody bag with all Disney things i find in the 99 cent store and he’s gonna love it ! ( hopefully) = ) good luck with everything !
Dollar Tree consistently has disney themed merchandise–everything from chalk to frisbees, crayons, coloring books, other books, Disney snacks, etc. Lots of good stuff! :)
We also did Ebay and Facebook “yard sales” to get each kid a hat or two for those unique pictures!!!
Here is a link to a really cute character printable on disneyjunior.com.
http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/crafts/printables/mickey-mouse-clubhouse-playset-1823438
These can be printed onto cardstock and then glued onto popsicle sticks to make little puppets to play with in the car or we always bring a small rectangular cookie sheet in the car for each of the kids and they use various magnets on it to keep them occupied. You could laminate them and attach magnets to them and make a little Disney magnetic playset for the car. You could probably even find printable scenery from WDW like cinderella’s castle, other characters, etc.
Don’t forget to cash in your Disney Movie Rewards! – We haven’t made it to Disney yet, but I collect them all year until Christmas time & cash in for gifts. There’s a few cute small things for low point quantitis (also check out their FREE rewards that has all kinds of crafts & recipes you could do beforehand to get the kids excited about the trip)
eBay is a great resource like Elaine said. We’re stocked up on our pins for pin-trading because of eBay, even tho our trip is 2 years away. Etsy has some really fun, more unique items but due to the personalized, handmade nature – some of it can be as pricy as Disney itself.
we are going in nine months also our kids first time we are soooo excited my hubby and i went on our honeymoon 10 years ago but first to with the kiddos i love your site and tips =) thank you so much
Disney.com has had some AWESOME markdowns and BOGO deals that I have been gathering for our drive. The most recent was the CARS 2 stuffed cars. Try ebay too…got some really cute notebooks from there for the kids to write down memories from rides and the days events and such. EBAY would be a great option for the DVDs too…you can find some great deals on used ones!