By Amanda, Disney’s Cheapskate Princess.
My family spends a lot of time in Disney gift shops. I’m as much at home on the back bench in the Tiki Room as I am in Bay View Gifts at the Contemporary Resort. And through the years I have realized that my time spent shopping for and purchasing Disney items wasn’t nearly the waste of time that returning purchases was.
Disney is great about allowing you to return merchandise with no questions asked, provided the item was not altered or ruined in any way and you have a receipt. I love how I can buy something anywhere on Disney property and return it anywhere on Disney property, rather than running back to the exact store where I made the purchase. Yet I sometimes find myself back in line for a return, and didn’t I already spent time in line for the purchase? Time is money at Disney, and standing in a return line is not my best use of my vacation time.
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My children have been “window shopping” at Disney before they knew what the term actually meant. I advise, “Sweetie, let’s just look around right now. You need to make doubly sure this is what you want before we purchase it.” The problem with kids is that they always seem to think they need to make their purchases right then, right at the beginning of your vacation, possibly in the very first gift shop you step in.
Your Cheapskate Princess.com tip for today? Have your kids wait as long as possible to purchase their souvenirs.
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I’m going to assume you haven’t given your child an unlimited amount of money to spend on souvenirs. I will therefore assume your child knows how much money they have to spend, or that you are keeping them informed of how much money they have left until they hit “flat broke” status. It’s a gamble for young children to make purchases early in the vacation. Something else may look so much better after visiting a lot of gift shops.
What looks like the greatest toy ever now may not look so great after three to five days of Disney merchandise overload if they know they only have limited funds left to spend. Those mental wheels start turning for kids who understand simple math, that if Buzz Lightyear action figure goes back, then they will now have enough money for that Star Wars light saber, which they hadn’t seen four days ago in the same shop with Buzz and Woody. I think the younger they are, the more likely kids may be to ask to return something, because little minds change their minds often.
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Now I am a huge proponent of spending time in gift shops shopping. Disney merchandise is fantastic, and they have some of the greatest Disney-character-inspired decorations anywhere on property, especially during the holidays. I claim that the “Disney Effect” in gift shops entices me to buy things I don’t need, like coffee mugs and t-shirts. There is no better shopping experience anywhere, and going to Disney isn’t just about riding roller coasters. Shopping is a big part of your overall vacation experience. Imagine being five-years-old, fighting the “Disney effect” in shop after shop, decision after decision. Let’s face it- Disney shopping is tough for all of us, regardless of age, because no one has an unlimited budget. Now if your child does, that’s another discussion for another day…
But returning something when someone has changed their mind? Remember what I said about Disney time is money? Standing in a return line is not going to make you feel like this is the best use of your vacation time, and thus your money. This Disney vacation is going to cost you a lot of money, so take some Cheapskate Princess advice; talk your kids into making their purchases toward the end of your trip, unless it’s a specific item at a theme park you know you won’t be returning to again. If the toy is in your resort gift shop, then you probably have lots of time to make that purchase.
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And good luck, because those Disney Gift shops cast a Wicked Queen spell as soon as you walk through the door, almost if your money is burning a hole through your pocket. I’ve been under that same spell for the last 35 years, and I don’t see a cure in sight.
Thanks for stopping by Couponing to Disney for a quick Disney tip. Keep clipping those coupons and dreaming Disney!
Amanda
Disney’s Cheapskate Princess
Come see us at Disney’s Cheapskate Princess on Facebook and Cheapskate Princess on Pinterest.
We just returned from a week at Disney World with a 4 year old and a 20 month old. Our 4 year old had been saving his money and also had a $30 Disney card he received for his b-day. We also allotted $50 for the little one. Of course they wanted to spend their money right away but we said that they had to think about it and we would purchase items on the last day. After that they did great and we bought 2 items at MK on our last day and then spent our final day at Downtown Disney and they bought a couple more things. The 4 year old wanted the Mickey Hands on the first day and by the last day he said he really didn’t want them (so I’m really glad we didn’t by them!) The only mistake we made was letting him by a toy gun at DD on the last day and we had to pay $20 to check a bag at the airport to send it home b/c it wouldn’t have made it through security.
I like the idea of taking pictures of items. I think it will be harder as they get older but hopefully they will be wiser with their money!
I just took advantage of the Target deal. Spent $50 on a disney card and got a $10 Target card. I will use the $10 card for future grocery shopping. I was able to purchase 3 of these for Christmas. Since we have a trip in March planned, this will be perfect. The deal ends today. I would be thrilled to receive a $50 Disney card in my stocking!
We have been to disney twice and both times I found that shopping before hand at the disney stores and outlets and even the thrift stores in our area have given us all the disney t shirts and stuffed animals we needed for the trip and we found that following the build a bear offers and buying the skins for your animals ahead of time with coupons and taking them to the downtown disney build a bear to stuff and dress…with more coupons or gift cards bought at costco for a discount really helps with the costs and still gives the exceitment and we had wonderful trips and all enjoyed everything….I also found that on ebay sometimes people will sell lots of the souviners from disney….for quite inexpensive…from special rides or events and my boys loved in the evening when mom and dad would surprise them with the surprises….which we paid pennys on the dollar for compared to the actual cost at the park….for us we found that letting them look for the first couple of days in the gift shops then on the last day we asked each of them if they would like to buy something….we bought the special disney potato head peices and they each picked out something for around $20 but they already had the shirts, hats, and such….it was easy and great!!
the 2 times we went to disney..me and the hubby went to the disney store outlet and got some stuff to bring with us On sale…we also shoped online at disneystore.com and used coupons and shopped the disney store in the mall…then we got to fl we took a stop to see what they had in the cvs right near our condo..and picked up little things that we knew that they would want…at Disney..we gave the kids 25 each to get what they wanted…in the end we did not have to stand in any lines and the kids got what they wanted and more!!! and getting the little things we did shop for at hope and putting them in the room like they were from mickey made the them think more of what they had!!!
I am curious about what is a good amount to bring for a child to spend? I have (will be when we go ) 7, 5 and 2 year olds.
We gave Each of our kids a $50 Disney gift card. They are 9, 5 and 2. They also had some spending $ themselves that they saved up. The gift cards were awesome. Once they ran out, the 5 and 9 year olds knew that was it. I actually had to spend most of the 2 year olds $ for her. All she picked out was a bracelet and little princess figures. :)
On our last trip we took photos of the items the kids said they really wanted, with our digital camera. Later that night we had them go through the pictures and decide which item they really wanted to buy.