Disney World 2017 Haul

One of the many fun parts about going to the Disney Parks it picking out a few new souvenirs to take home with you. While I didn’t get too much this time around since I had managed to get the items I was most interested in during my last visit, it was fun to have a friend along to browse the shops with, help her pick out items she was interested in, and enjoy looking at all the pins together. 

Check out my Disney World Vs. Disneyland 2017 Visit: Top Picks! 

After arriving at our Disney Resort in the early afternoon, my friend and I went straight to Disney Springs for a meal, followed by a few hours spent walking through the large World of Disney store, where we ended up picking up most of our goodies. Before getting to the store though,  we had to make it through a huge rainstorm (and hid inside a Zara store for about 25 minutes before our anxiousness of waiting around got to us), but we finally made it (albeit, very drenched). 

For me, if I have items distinctly in mind, I like to get them during my first day on the trip. Whenever I have taken a Disney trip, we never go to the parks that first afternoon, and instead like to spend the remainder of the day having a relaxed shopping day, which allows us to then wake up refreshed for a super full day at the Parks. I like to get any shopping purchases done right away so I don’t have to worry about finding it later, and I can completely focus on the attractions and other moments in the park. Once I’m in the Parks, I use the shops primarily for a brief break of air conditioning. Here are the items I picked up during my trip!

Art Postcards: (WonderGround Gallery in Disney Springs) $4.95 each

I’ve said before that the WonderGround Gallery is my favorite shopping stop at Disney World and I couldn’t pass up getting a couple new postcards. There wasn’t much of a changeover in products since my previous visit, which was a bit disappointing, but I decided to get two Pixar-themed images. The first image I chose (“Love Adventure”) features Carl and Ellie from Up, and was created by Nidhi Chanani. The second image (“World of Pixar”) was created by Jerrod Maruyama and shows tiny versions of a multitude of Pixar characters. As postcards, these are pretty expensive, but as little art prints they are an awesome and affordable way to bring some Disney decor to your home. I used these two particular postcards to help decorate a new pin board I put together for displaying my Disney pins. 

Splash Mountain T-Shirt: (Briar Patch shop outside Splash Mountain ride in Magic Kingdom) $24.99 or 2 for $40

My friend got us these shirts after our final Splash Mountain ride of the trip. We had actually hoped they would have crewneck sweatshirts in stock with the same graphic, which we had seen are sometimes available, but we had no luck during our stay (Disneyland did have them though, but I couldn’t really reason the cost after already having this shirt). I love the graphic because it features so many of the characters you see on the attraction, but also because the design feels so retro (and somewhat cheesy) really bringing out that classic Disney Parks feel.

Mickey Stack Wallet: (found all around the parks/resorts) $14.95

This was an item I hadn’t noticed at any other point during my trips, so it was exciting to find something different. I randomly found this black wallet hiding amongst a few rows of white-colored ones in the same style while browsing a shop in Hollywood Studios. I snatched it up very quickly thinking it was such a cool wallet because of the Mickey Mouse shape and the rainbow slots for cards. When I went to purchase it, the Cast Member working said that the black version of the wallet was incredibly popular and sells out often because whenever they get a box delivered to the shops, they always get both black and white. So, there tends to be a lot of white available over the black color. I really love the simplicity of the wallet in that it is quite flat, and contains enough slots for cards and a zippered area for money. I have been using it for about a month now and really love how it doesn’t take up much space, is easy to take out of your bag, and also seem quite secure. The cards can’t easily fall out because of how snug they fit in their slots, and the extra Mickey snap adds some more protection. The colorful design is really cheerful, but also subtly Disney. This might be my favorite purchase from the trip!

Small Animal Bowls: (Japan Pavilion in Epcot) $3.99-$4.99

The Mitsukoshi Store at the Japan Pavilion is my favorite shopping area in Epcot. I could spend many hours there looking at all the items. Last time I picked up a tiny plate with a rabbit on it that I put jewelry on. I couldn’t pass up these two bowls this time around because the dog on the pink bowl reminded me of my dog, Cooper. The cute and simple animal drawings are so cheerful and instantly made me smile. I have added them to a drawer that I keep jewelry and lip balm in, as an additional way to store tiny items. 

Japanese Hard Candy: (Japan Pavilion in Epcot) $2.99-$3.99

During my previous visits I have spent many minutes looking at all the candy, but have never taken the plunge to actually purchase any. I wanted to avoid anything that might melt, so decided to try some basic fruit hard candies and lollipops. The musk melon stood out to me, because from the images it looked like a honeydew, which is one of my favorite fruits, as well as something you never see in a candy flavor. Both candies were yummy, and a good item to pack along when going out for the day. The cola-flavored lollipop turned out to be my favorite!

Panda Postcards and Bookmark: (China Pavilion in Epcot) $1.95 each

I have a soft spot for pandas, and thought the images on these were too cute to pass up. I will probably use the postcards as page markers as well. They are so colorful and happy!

Princess Diamond Top Pens: (found all around the parks/resorts) $14.95

I bought a pack of princess pens very similar to these about seven years ago from the Disney Store. What really drew them to me was the variety of princesses the set had and that adorable gem on top (something I have always had a liking of). I gave a couple of the pens to a friend, one to my mom, and used the remaining few for myself until they were all out of ink. I was sad to say goodbye to my final pen (which had Cinderella on it) this year, but was excited when I saw these were available. My original set also had a few different princesses (like Mulan and Tiana), but I was pleased with the style and look of the pens. When I went on the hunt for these though at the time of our visit to Disney World, they were a little tricky to find and only available at one random store in Disney Springs. When I last looked they were now all around the park again, but I was very determined to get them on this trip, so was so glad I managed to snag a pack. They are nice quality, and actually seem more sturdy than my previous pen set. I have started to use a few here and there and they also work well!

Mickey Socks: (found all around the parks/resorts) $16.95

This purchase sort of came about because of an emergency foot issue, where I developed two blisters on the bottom of each foot right underneath my toes (which seemed like a very odd spot to me), and I only had very thin socks packed. I thought some added cushion would help my feet feel a bit better, so I purchased these. I’m personally not into socks with lots of colors and patterns, so this two-pack seemed perfect. I went with the youth size (although they are the same price as the adult version) so they weren’t to oversized on my feet. These are very nice and plushy, and the tiny embroidered Mickey on the sides add a bit of fun.

“Pieces of Magic” Tokens: (found all around the parks/resorts) $1.95 each or 6 for $10

I thought these were cute little items to keep Disney joy around, so my friend and I each chose three of them. I went with the more traditional Disney icons of the Mickey Ears, Cinderella Castle, and Sorcerer’s Hat. The backs of each token also have a little message, and I thought these three fit perfectly and look very magical.

Woody and Mike Magnets: (found all around the parks/resorts) $6.99 each

I didn’t really have too many magnets these days, and thought these two would be perfect cheerful additions to the kitchen area. They really look like the characters come to life on the fridge because of how 3D they are. I was a tad bit worried these might be a bit creepy at first, but they really grew on me and I am very fond of them. Mike Wazowski and Woody are two of my top favorite Pixar Characters (my mom sometimes calls me “Woody” because of how we have similar attitudes), and I liked being able to have something useful with them on it.

Pin Packs: (found all around the parks/resorts) $5.95-$27.99

I have had my eye on these different mystery 5-pack pin packs for a while now, but really struggled with the cost. Along with the fact that you could end up with characters you don’t really want depending on the set also made the high price a bit hard to rationalize. Since I went with my friend this time around, who was especially excited and interested in the pins, we decided we could warrant the cost for these packs more if we split them. This left us with a better variety of pins, as well as the ability for us to each choose which ones we individually liked in each package. It worked out well that we each had our own top picks, making it easy to split them up. It was incredibly fun to open up all the packs together, full of anticipation, as we revealed each pin on our hand. During our first evening in our resort, we had a huge pin opening ceremony as we snacked on a bag of Mickey pretzels. We did go with bags and boxes that felt pretty safe to us in terms of what options were available in the set, and we each lucked out in getting some of our top favorites. There were only two or so that we really weren’t interested in. By the end of our trip we were left with a pretty large pile of pins, and having a large selection helped us get into trying pin trading. We did have one bag that was an exact duplicate to a bag we had already opened, but overall our success was pretty high considering these can be a big risk if you are hoping for certain pins. The packs we ended up going with were Disney Couples (5 pack), Best Friends (5 pack), Nesting Dolls (5 pack), Seven Dwarfs (2 pack), Hidden Mickey (2 pack), and Magical Mystery (1 pack). My favorites have to be the nesting dolls. They are just such a unique concept for a Disney character!

Individual Pins: (found all around the parks/resorts) $5.95-$9.99 each

In addition to the pin packs, I also picked up a few individual pins. I’ve been looking at this Kronk pin for a few years, and finally decided to get him. My favorite city is London, so I gravitate towards 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, and Peter Pan themed items because of their London settings. The Pongo and Perdita pin is one of my newest favorites!

Pressed Quarters: (found all around the parks/resorts) $1.25 each

These were new to me in the Parks, as I have only ever seen pressed pennies when I have previously been. I’ve been collecting pressed coins since I was a little girl, and out of all the places I have been only have one dime thought these were really fun and I . My favorite is the coin I got from our Pop Century resort, with a stylin’ 90’s looking Mickey on it.