We didnt do to bad in the souviners department, they knew going in they each would get to pick a couple things and we would put on a list on the last day they decided what they wanted Both got Star Wars light sabers, and as a family we chose a chirstmas ornament refrigertor magnet and a scrapbook,well the scrapbook was me on the morning we left I made dh turn around and go back 1/2 way out of the parking lot t-shirts I picked up online at the Disney Store on a good sale

Food wise we did Disney Dining which was awesome not having to look at prices on a menu and it included snacks, drinks.....

I never thought I would want to do this trip more than once but gosh we had so much fun I know we will, maybe not to the extent of the first but we will go back

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We went to Disney last July and right about this time last year I called up the closest Disney Store Outlet (we no longer have a Disney store) and asked the cast member if they ever take phone orders. She said they did, but it would be about $12 shipping. Fortunately, they had most of their tshirts on sale for $2.99 each. I told the employee that I would like to buy about 6 sets of matching shirts for my 2 boys and she jotted down which characters I was looking for. For example, I wanted two Toy Story shirts for MGM, 2 Mickey Mouse shirts for our special dinner at Chef Mickey's, two Stitch shirts for breakfast at the Polynesian, etc.

She was totally game for it and we were both giggling over the phone like schoolkids before the whole transaction was finished. She said the store was really slow and had a blast. I even bought a couple of ballcaps for $3 each. Then she totalled the entire purchase and made sure I was okay with the total before I gave her my CC number. I think I spent about $60, and loved every shirt she picked out!

We packed a soft sided cooler and brought that with us to the parks. Unfotunately we could only pack one meal for 5 people so we usually ended up buying food anyway.

we brought a water bottle cooler with us. we filled at hotel with bottled water and ice. we also brought wyler's drink mixes singles. they are prepacked for a reg size bottle water. the kids kept wanting somethng else besides water until we started to use these. dh didn't beleive me we needed them so for the first 2 days we spent too much money on pop.

I had a friend who was in disney before us and got groceries for us. I have read that u can order online or order from other stores that will deliver to your hotel. we will do that next time.

bring more snacks than u think u need, we always ran out. and then the kids were still looking for something to eat at bedtime.
we packed some snacks in a separate luggage. that was good but we ended up bringing more food home than we thought we would.
dh was very resistant to bringing food. In fact he didn't like the idea of bringing food with on the airplane. it wasn't until we paid $50 and everybody was still hungry that he sae the light. I didn't think the portions were as big as most people say. maybe my kids were starved b/c they aren't big eaters. We still saved money over doing disney dining.

we got the kids disney clothes here at home.
the cheapest disney souvineer was the pressed penny. we ended up with about 5 but wished we had done more.

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allgirls, mom to 3 girls

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

I had a friend who was in disney before us and got groceries for us. I have read that u can order online or order from other stores that will deliver to your hotel. we will do that next time.

That is a terriffic idea! I will keep that in mind. It would be easier than toting food for a week.. My husband is ALL ABOUT bringing along food.

We went to the Wal-mart which isn't too far away from Disney and bought several Disney t-shirts for the kids and also some Disney coffee mugs all very reasonably priced. We also took meal replacement bars to eat in the park when we got hungry, and water bottles and refilled them at the water fountains. Next time I will have to buy the misting spray bottles before we go, the kids really wanted one but they were soooo crazy expensive.

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We did buy the mist bottles at the Walmart your talking about, we brought cereal and milk for breakfast at the hotel in our room. Also our own coffee pot which is not provided at least in the Value resorts. Since we drove we were all set with a cooler and all that jazz...

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We've been to Disney 4 times and are going again in August. We are DVC members now so our hotel room is paid for. We stay in a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and my favorite - the washer and dryer. We have groceries delivered on the day of our arrival. We cook breakfast in our room every morning. We freeze water bottles and take them into the park so we have cold drinks for the first part of the day. I take in individual powdered drink mixes like Kool-Aid and Lemonade. We also take in a few snacks but since we are on vacation we do splurge a little too.

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I think alot depends on your kids ages and where you are staying. We stayed at a mod resort and we could have skipped some of the food like jelly and peanut butter. they were provided as condiments. we had a coffe pot in the room with a refridgerator. we also had access to a microwave and toaster.

-we did not have a car and never planned to leave Disney property so that will influence your decision on where to buy/eat food and other items.
forgot to add that the price of a loaf of bread in Hotel store was $3.++ I don't remember the exact amount I just saw the $3 and nearly died. also the loaf was a tad smaller than normal.
-you definately must get kids disney clothing b4 you go. I surprised them while we were at disney.
-I got glow sticks at the dollar store and packed them. Kept the kids from asking for the light up toys.
- depending on the time you go I would bring a throw blanket.
-I would also bring rain ponchos if u don't want to carry regular rain coats. Don't leave the park if it rains, so many people left that we were able to go on rides willy nilly after it stopped raining.
-we rented a double stroller for the entire trip. You get a discount for multiple days. For 4 days it cost us $68. that may seem like alot but the stroller also held all our stuff. We had a cooler for food and 2 backpacks for the cameras/pens/autograph books/hat/sunglasses/dry snacks/disney planner/whatever we purchased that day/rain ponchos/sweatshirts. they got heavy after awhile. I was able to have 2 kids and all the stuff in the stroller. (ages,4,79)
-Don't forget to pack extra snacks for the plane ride home. I kept those separate from the rest of the food.
-We purposely didn't pack shampoo and lotion and planned on using what was provided by the hotel.
-we brought toilet seat covers with us but never needed them. they were provided and the bathroom were always clean.
-We also brought plates and silverware depending on what you buy for food. we did cold food for morning so we could get going faster. I would pack a sheathed knife in your checked luggage. we forgot ours and really needed it for apples(loose teeth).
-our bathing suit were barely dry from one day to the next and we didn't want to pay to have them dried. We found our answer that probably won't work during more humid times. But we hung the swim suits in the bathroom at first. then we moved them to the closet rod. (Ours wasn't enclosed). the suits dried almost completetly being in a more open area.
-the kids rarely played with any of the toys we brought with on the plane. Mostly because we didn't have time.
-we would have done some things different if we stayed even 1 more day. we were usually gone from morning til just before bedtime.dh brought a disney planner that was GREAT. I'll post the title's later. He also got another book that helped us preplan.
-we also got the information sheets at the front of each park. we immediately crossed off what we never planned on doing or whatever we couldn't do. we first went to the rides we wanted a fast pass for and then went on the other rides while we waited. the trick to fast pass is to wait unitl your time is up and then immediately go get another fastpass. then go on your first fastpass ride. I forgot the exact time limit. I think it is 30 minutes before the first fast pass is about to begin. example: fast pass time 10-11am. that means at 10:30 you can get another fast pass. I'll ask dh when he gets home he was in charge of fastpasses.

If anyone can think of question I try and answer while it is still somewhat fresh in my mind.

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Disneyshopping currently has a pin sale, up to 70% off. Some of the sets are very good deals. I bought these inexpensive sets and then my son traded with cast members at the park for the Disney World exclusive cast member pins.
I stayed away from ebay, though. You have to be careful, there's a big market for the counterfeit pins!

Extra 15% off code: 3199

Free shipping on pins Mondays only

http://www.mommysavers.com/deals/disney_store.htm

Sorry, forgot Mommysavers link! Here ya go.