Mugs are one of the most common kinds of souvenirs you can get from anywhere. Some people will say they are a waste of your money and that you should spend your souvenir money on something you can’t get anywhere else. I tend to disagree.
I was trying to come up with something fun to do for the kids with the pictures from our Disney trip and ended up on Shutterfly.com. I was getting prints of pictures and cards to send out, but wanted to do something different with the pictures. I noticed they were having a deal on photo books, so I decided to make a book for each of the kids, but then I had an idea of how to make it more fun.
There were lots of fun things that my family did while we were on vacation in Disney World. Of course, the best part was that my family was together for 12 days. These days it’s hard to get that much family time. So that was definitely the best part!
Have you seen the new merchandise that will be available for the Halloween season? There are some really fun things you will be able to find in the parks.
New Disney Stores have been opening around the country and the stores look beautiful. They are definitely better than the last batch of Disney Stores, but to be fair those stores weren’t owned by Disney at that point (I know, weird, right?).
It’s nice when a Disney Store opens close to you, because you don’t have to worry about paying shipping for Disney items. There is the problem of the store being so close that you are there all the time and spending money, but I’m okay with that problem 😉
I took some pictures of a new store that opened. My family and I visited and had a lot of fun. We let the kids each pick out one toy. Our son picked out the talking Woody doll (he loves Toy Story) and our daughter picked out a Sophia the First tea set. You will see the tea set in one of the pictures below.
The outside of the store has a Mickey figure and Disney written in the traditional font. Above the glass you will find Tinker Bell with a trail of pixie dust behind her.
When you enter the store look down and you will notice that the walk-way that winds itself around the store has sparkles in it (it’s hard to see the sparkles in the picture, but they’re there). This almost reminds me of the sparkles in the walk-way at night in Future World in Epcot. It’s fun and adds to the magic. Now look to your right and you will see the fun little castle that kids can walk through. My daughter loved this! It’s very cute and it is, of course, surrounded by princess dresses and accessories.
The store has lots of fun plush all over and each section is a different theme. So you have the princess section (with lots of Frozen stuff, of course), Mickey and friends, Disney Junior, Star Wars, Marvel, etc. And they do have some of the very popular Tsum Tsums. People love those things! It’s fun to walk around the store and just look at all the different sections.
The part of the store that my daughter really liked was the interactive section with the little table and the tea set by the movie screen. When you are looking at the screen, to the right are two little touch screens that let you pick something to play on the movie screen. The bottom screen is where you scroll through and choose what to watch and the upper screen is the queue. A countdown will appear next to your choice to let you know when your selection is going to play. I thought this was a pretty cool addition to the store.
https://youtu.be/NwQAXweN_z0
https://youtu.be/bJT-eXHc0Gw
The cast members in the store are fantastic. The cast member we spoke with most during our time in the store was Joshua. He was very nice, helpful, and definitely wanted to help make your experience in the store magical. Plus, when he talked to my daughter he knelt down so he was on her level. That’s Disney training right there! Thanks for a great experience Joshua!
Make sure to check out the cast member’s name tag. Below their name is their favorite Disney character. You know how cast members in the parks have the state they are from on their name tags? It’s like that. I noticed Joshua’s favorite character is Aladdin, in case you were wondering. Another cool addition by Disney. Mine would say Daisy Duck, again, in case you were wondering.
Check out the other pictures below. We had such a fun time and can’t wait to go back. The placing of this particular Disney Store is great, because it’s right across from the Lego Store. Another store where it’s easy to spend lots of money!
The official Grand Opening for this store is on June 20 and Mickey and Minnie will be in attendance for this event.
I am so glad to have the magic back in our mall! The store is beautiful, the cast members are wonderful (definitely “Disney” people), and it’s so nice to get the Disney guest service that they are famous for right in our own mall.
See ya real soon, Disney Store!
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
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New Disney themed hand sanitizers will be hitting the parks soon. They are themed for both Disney World and Disneyland. I love the Mickey pumpkin and the one with the monorail. They are all very cute!
According to Steven Miller from Disney Parks Blog, you can expect to see 20 new hand sanitizers in the parks in late June and early-to-mid July. Designs with R2-D2 and Darth Vader will be arriving in August.
Each one will be attached to a key chain with a lobster claw, so you can attach it to your bag or belt loop. Refills will not be available, but you can refill each bottle with hand sanitizer when it’s empty.
These will retail for $8.95 a piece and will be available at select locations. They will not be available on Disney Store online.
Can’t wait to pick up mine on our next trip!
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
Source: Disney Parks Blog
I am so excited about this! I love my ALEX AND ANI bangles and adding Disney ones to my collection makes it even more special. Over the next few months many new designs will be offered and they are a little different from ones that are available for purchase already.
The ‘Words are Powerful’ collection will have popular sayings from various Disney movies. On April 13th you will be able to buy the Whistle While You Work bangle (it has little birds on it, so cute!), When You Wish Upon a Star will be available on April 27 (Jiminy Cricket is on this one), and Believing is Just the Beginning will come out on May 4. All three will be available in both the gold and the silver finish.
The next collection celebrates the 60th anniversary of Disneyland. A Disneyland bangle with two accent charms and a Disneyland Forever bangle, also with two accent charms, will be available in late May. Both will be available in the silver finish and will only be available in the parks, not online.
ALEX AND ANI will also be releasing some wraps with words that represent Disney. In late May the Wishes wrap, in green, and a Believe wrap, in teal, will be released. Then in late June the Magic wrap, in red, will be released.
All, except for the Disneyland bangles, will be available in limited quantities online around the same time they are released in the parks.
Here is where you can find the new ALEX AND ANI jewelry:
Walt Disney World:
Disneyland:
Source: Disney Parks Blog
Have you seen the Mickey ears that light up? They can be worn during Fantasmic! and actually flash in unison with the music to the show! They can also be found in Disneyland and work with the World of Color show. The other items Included in Disney’s Made With Magic collection are a light up bow headband, wand, and (coming soon) Mickey gloves.
Steven Miller, Merchandise Communications Manager, posted a video showing how some of the Made With Magic items work together. It’s pretty cool and we’re excited to try it out on our next Disney trip!
Check out video below to see how they work.
Source: Disney Parks Blog
The last couple of times we traveled to Disney World we drove. So it was easy to bring souvenirs back with us. We didn’t have to worry about leaving space in a suitcase or whether we were going to have to pay extra for the added weight to our luggage. That all changes when you make the decision to fly to Disney World.
There are so many items that are good to bring with you and that you should not compromise for space by leaving it at home. There are other things that you could leave out, or pack in a different way, to leave some space in the suitcase. Some Disney souvenirs can be big, like the Ariel pillow my daughter brought home last time, so suitcase space is important.
So this week’s tip is all about packing and how to pack to your advantage. It will help to save space and to avoid some stress that can come along with packing for any trip.
Hope these tips will help when you are planning your trip! It’s always nice to have the space in your luggage for those fun Disney souvenirs!
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
When these popcorn buckets first were made available they were very popular. In fact, I remember people complaining that they could not find the Cinderella Coach bucket in the parks, only on Ebay for a ridiculous price.