Credit: DisneyNo matter how strictly you budget, no matter what you plan, no matter how much you scrimp and save, you’re going to do some unexpected spending at Disney World. As the saying goes, all magic comes at a price, but many Disney fans are warning upcoming Guests not to waste their money on souvenir junk.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a souvenir from Disney World. In fact, some of the most incredible pieces of Disneyana and collectibles can only be found at the Disney Parks. But in the spirit of “that’s how they get ya,” not all Park merch is created equal.
Shameless Cash-Grabs
A recent post on r/WaltDisneyWorld asked Disney Park Guests what they would never waste money or time on again, and it didn’t take much for fans to share a whole litany of experiences, special events, and items they wouldn’t dare touch now. Unsurprisingly, several items of Disney merchandise made the list.
Disney World Balloons
To be fair, there’s only one place you can get the original Mickey-shaped balloons, and that’s the Disney Parks. As unique and iconic as these souvenirs are, are they really worth what Guests are paying?
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u/KatastropheKraut shares,
“Balloons USED to be my favorite thing to bring home. It kept magic in the house for a month for me. But now the no Mickey head balloons. Trash.”
To which u/Extra_blueberries adds,
“So glad my kid is past the balloon phase. To be fair, they’ll typically stay inflated forever and as passholders we made a few of those balloons last several trips.”
Bubble Wands
Jiminy Cricket might have been on to something when he said “you’ll find that trouble’s a bubble of air.” Anyone who’s ever trudged through a Disney crowd and gotten a face full of suds will know exactly what we’re talking about. It seems like every half-dozen kids or so has a bubble wand and a desire to let it go on full blast in congested areas.
u/OkBid1535 aptly writes,
“Yup seeing bubbles is nice, until they’re hitting you smack in the face and a child is just relentlessly swinging the wand around. Gets annoying quite fast.”
To which u/arm4261021 replies,
“I hate having to deal with these things (and popcorn buckets) at the house after a trip, but my MIL ALWAYS buys this junk for the kids.”
Popcorn Buckets
Jumping off the previous quote, it’s honestly incredibly surprising just how much ire there is towards Disney’s collectable popcorn buckets. Some of them go for big money on places like eBay, and many fans consider them valuable collector’s items. However, many fans are calling them out for not being the great deal as advertized.
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u/ritualdelowhabitual shares their experience by writing,
“I used to think the popcorn buckets were such a great value until I brought it home and realized it’s only HALF of one bag of popcorn. I still buy it though because we like popcorn but I no longer think it’s a great value- it’s volume eating at a slightly less cost than other snacks.”
That being said, u/L_Cline adds one caveat to this way of thinking when they add,
“It must depend on the bucket! Our round bucket and skyliner both fit a bag of popcorn, but our Mickey doesn’t – we don’t even try with him. It’s a pain.”
Not all Disney souvenirs are built to last, but not all of them are cheap plastic either. A case of “buyer beware” here and there is only logical, but that shouldn’t make Guests blind to one of a kind items and experiences only found at Disney.
Do you regret buying something from Walt Disney World? Tell us at Inside the Magic in the comments below!