One of the biggest expenses when travelling to theme parks like Disney is all those precious souveniers!  Disney has great shops, and its really easy to get caught up in the moment.  Before you know it you’ve bought “just this one thing”, oh, say 20 times and your credit card is begging for mercy!

So here are some of my favorite tips for enjoying Disney but keeping it frugal!

• Pin trading.  Tammy has a great post on pin trading on her blog, Saving with Tammy.  We started the pin trading tradition in our family, and have found it to be great fun both in and out of the park.  You collect these cute pins, and can trade with park employees or other guests.  Its a great activity while standing in long lines–and gives you some really unique souveniers to take home.  However, the pins start at $6.95 in the park–so not a very frugal start!   To save money, try buying pins on Ebay.  Many people get home and want to sell their pins, and will sell you large batches of them for $20-$50.  Remember, since you’re going to be trading for pins you do want, it doesn’t matter what pins you get in the beginning!  Just having a Disney pin is what counts.  Park employees are wearing park-owned pins, and are required to trade with you if they don’t have the one you offered.  By the way, the little backs are known to fall off easily, so check them often to make sure they’re secured.

• Buy light bracelets and light-up toys at the dollar store before you enter the park.  There’s nothing more enticing than glowing bracelets and spinning, light up toys at night at Disney, but they’re $15 price tag makes a frugalista wince.  Buy 6 of the glow bracelets for a dollar at many Dollar Trees, and pull them out at parade-time.  Not only will it help you find your kids in the dark, they won’t feel deprived of the over-priced goodies.    If you must buy a light up toy at the park, I recommend the Buzz Lightyear ‘gun/zapper’ from the Magic Kingdom.  It has the spinning lights and the annoying noise that boys love so much, but its also a pretty frugal price.  AND its small, so it packs into a backpack easily.  There’s also a flashing LED keychain for $8 that is pretty cool, and can be used at home too.  (We attached matching glow lights to their pin lanyards to make the kids easier to find in a crowd.)

• Buy suckers and quick snacks at home, and pack for the park.  Disney’s sweet shops are rivaled by none.  Those old fashioned sucker treats are a big deal for most kids.  Mickey shaped rice krispie treats a must!  However, the price tag is enough to make me do a double take.  My suggestion is to head to OrientalTrading.com and order a dozen of the swirl suckers for under $4.  Put them in your purse, and pull one out at snack time.  Heck, you can have the kids wait outside while you go get a treat.  Walk in the store, hang out for a sec, pull em out of the bag, and walk out.  Your kids won’t know they aren’t Disney and you’ll love the savings!  As for the rice krispie treats, I must admit a weakness for the Mickey ones.  But you can get Mickey cookie cutters and make them from home!  Put them on a long sucker stick, wrap them in plastic and the kids won’t be any the wiser!

• Disney has a discount store!  No, really, they have a discount store!  In Downtown Disney is a store where everything is under $10.  Visit there for inexpensive souveniers–placemats, games, toys, etc.

• Collect small items.  We collect magnets and ornaments–both of which are typically under $5 each.

• Disney Bucks is one of my favorite tricks.  For several months before we go, my kids work to earn money towards a Disney gift card.  Relatives give them money for it for their birthdays and other holidays.  Last year both my kids had $40 in Disney Bucks to use in the park.  By working for it, they were a lot more careful with what they spent it on.  My then seven year old decided before he went he wanted a Buzz Lightyear from WDW.  He refused to spend it on anything less than a Buzz Lightyear.  Whenever he asked for a souvenier, we’d ask him if he wanted to use his card on that, and he’d think long and hard.  Even my four year old got the idea, looking only for Cinderella merchandise she wanted.
• Dave Ramsey is right.  Use cash!  Set a daily limit and stick to it.  When you’re swiping the room card, the totals climb before you know it.  If you’re wanting to be frugal and Disney and avoid getting caught up in the moment–and who is better at sweeping you away in the moment than Disney?–then use cash and stick to it.  Say you’ve got a $20 a day budget.  Put $20 in your shoe (so its hard to get out and you know you REALLY want to spend it)

I hope this helps!  Do you have tips on saving on Souveniers at Disney?  Leave your tip below!