What my kids bought on our most recent trip to Walt Disney World.
A trip to Disney World alone is exciting for most children. For my kids, at least, they would be thrilled just seeing the characters, riding rides, and having a few extra sweet treats. However, they are tempted by every store and merchandise cart they see. It’s really hard for a toddler to feel grateful for everything he’s getting to do when all he sees is the Buzz Lightyear bubble wand at every turn! Of course, I can say no, and I do… a lot. There are times, though, when my inner child shines through and I can’t help but whip out my debit card and make all of his dreams come true for that split second.
On our most recent trip, we had my husband’s parents join us. It was a blast, especially for the kids. Not only did they have some of their favorite people at their favorite place, but they also had another set of money-wielding adults who sometimes can’t help themselves either. Needless to say, they came home with a decent haul.
Before we review the haul, I think it’s very important to point out that you do NOT need to buy anything extra for your children on a Disney trip. The trip alone is enough. If it’s not within the budget, do not feel guilty. This trip, in particular, just happened to work out where we were able to do a little more. On the next trip, however, that may not be the case. We may just come home with our memories and sore feet, and that alone is more than enough.
The Toy Story Gang
Before we left for our trip, we let our three-year-old know that he could pick out one toy as his souvenir. We did this on our last trip, and he came home with Mack from Cars, hauling several other Cars characters, including Mater and, of course, Lightning McQueen. This was a purchase my husband and I agreed to, but we knew deep down his sweet grandparents would spoil him too.
Our toddler said for weeks that he wanted a Buzz Lightyear toy. We thought that was the perfect choice. He has the Buzz Lightyear Tonie that he listens to on repeat, so what better toy to play with while listening to stories from Toy Story?
Side note: The Toniebox is an excellent gift. My son LOVES his. He starts almost every morning listening to it and enjoys taking a few minutes to relax with a story. It’s great no-screen entertainment for those times he doesn’t want to run around and just needs a chill moment. He has plenty of books too, but he can’t read yet. It’s also helpful for birthdays and Christmases. He receives new Tonie figures at almost every gift-giving occasion.
The day finally came. We marched into World of Disney in Disney Springs to find the long-awaited Buzz Lightyear toy. However, right next to Buzz was his archenemy, Zurg. For some reason, Zurg won over my son’s attention. To me, Buzz is way cooler, but it was his choice, and I was willing to let him pick the enemy over the hero. My husband, on the other hand, let his inner child win in that moment. He suggested getting both, and I agreed.
We didn’t realize the weight of that decision until we were back in our hotel room that evening. Both toys were in the process of being unboxed, and a battle of the galactic universe was about to take place when we realized Buzz and Zurg are programmed to speak to one another.
That discovery made me wonder if the Woody and Jessie figures were similar. We passed by them in another store and confirmed that both Jessie and Woody have the same toy-detecting technology. It was tempting, but we knew adding two more would be a bit of overkill.
However, my husband’s parents surprised both of our kids with Woody for our son and Jessie for our one-year-old daughter. The duo was waiting in our kitchen when we returned home since the grandparents left before we did.
These toys have provided lots of fun in our house since our return. There are others in the collection, like Rex and Bullseye. I’m not ready to purchase those just yet, but I’m also not not thinking about it.
LEGOs
The LEGO Store in Disney Springs is always busy, in my opinion. I wasn’t big into LEGOs growing up, but now I understand the hype. For Christmas, my son received the Toy Story Celebration Train set (a 4+ set). He’s three and a half, and it was perfect for us to build together.
When he laid eyes on The LEGO Store, he was filled with excitement. Of course, we had to go in and take a look. Unfortunately, they were out of many of the Disney sets, especially in his age range. After multiple laps around the store, and lots of “no’s” from me and my mother-in-law (he kept picking extremely large sets meant for much older kids and even adults), we finally found a Jurassic World set.
He wanted to build it as soon as we got back to the hotel, but with all those tiny pieces, I had to establish a rule: we would not open the box until we got home. He carried the box around and stared at the picture. It was sweet to watch his excitement.
The set is now built. This one was labeled 6+, and it definitely proved more challenging. My husband built this one with him and had to do much more of the building than our son could manage this time. Still, he was perfectly content sitting there and watching. The two of them are already scheming their next set.
Princess Things
We’ve talked a lot about what our son brought home, but our daughter wasn’t forgotten. She’s only one and not quite as captivated by rows of toys just yet.
As mentioned earlier, the Jessie doll was for her. She enjoys it, mostly because she feels like part of the action when the entire Toy Story gang is out. It’s sweet.
Our girl loves stuffed animals. She lights up and squeezes them so tightly, so we decided a plush would be the perfect souvenir. There are hundreds to choose from. She took a particular liking to a giant stuffed Angel (Experiment 624), the pink alien from Lilo & Stitch. When I say giant, I mean at least three times her size. I was willing to go for it, but this time my husband was the voice of reason. One day, though, because it really is cute and soft.
As a lifelong Disney princess fan, I spotted some stuffed princess dolls that were perfect. I chose three from the giant wall to see which one she would gravitate toward: Cinderella (my favorite), Aurora (because her pink dress is so girly and sweet), and Elsa (because of a special connection I share with her and Frozen, but that’s a story for another day).
She, of course, wanted to hold them all. My husband ended up choosing Elsa for her because of that special connection. It’s very sweet watching her snuggle her stuffed Elsa.
Next, her grandparents wanted to pick something out for her as well. At World of Disney, they had animal friends from Disney classics like Jasmine’s Rajah, Pegasus from Hercules, and Max from The Little Mermaid. We ended up with Max. It’s adorable. It comes with a little grooming set so you can wash him and brush his hair. The packaging says 3+, and there are some small pieces I’ve tucked away until she’s older. It’s been a hit with both her and our son.
A pirates life for me
Before we left, our son had his heart set on one more toy. This desire was slightly encouraged by my husband, but it started with him asking for a costume before we even set foot in the park.
He was determined to have something to wear. On our first night at Disney Springs, we couldn’t find a costume for him — though the one he originally wanted, Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas, isn’t one I’ve ever seen in stores. He’s never even seen that movie, which made it even more confusing. He kept saying he wanted to be the “ghost dog.” When I showed him a picture of Zero, he confirmed that was exactly what he meant. I told him there was a good chance we wouldn’t find that costume, but we would look. We didn’t.
He eventually shifted his focus to becoming a pirate instead. Magic Kingdom was the last park we visited, and our day was packed with magic, so I never made it into Sir Mickey’s to check for costumes. However, when we exited Pirates of the Caribbean around 9:00 a.m., we walked straight into the gift shop filled with pirate treasures.
My husband immediately pointed out the swords. The two of them looked like kids in a candy store, completely mesmerized. It was quite the scene. Before they made it to the register, though, I reminded my husband that we still had a long day ahead — and a bubble wand (more on that in a minute) to manage. We didn’t want to carry a sword around all day, nor did I want to stay on constant alert for unsuspecting bystanders at risk of an enthusiastic toddler swing.
As our day came to a close, we made one final stop at the Pirates of the Caribbean exit gift shop, Plaza del Sol Caribe Bazaar. This time, we settled on a foam sword. He was beyond excited and searched for pirates on the ferry ride back to the Transportation & Ticket Center. Later that night, my husband took him for a stroll around our resort, Coronado Springs, crossing the bridges over the water while he proudly carried his new treasure.
The sword has since become a staple of playtime at home. He’s already asking for the rest of the pirate accessories. I’ll be on the lookout for the perfect costume to complete the look.
The Bubble Wand
Truth be told, the price of these makes me want to faint. They’re the kind of toy that’s truly enjoyed most in the parks. On a previous trip, my mother-in-law brought one home for my son. He enjoyed it for a while, but eventually set it aside. I kept it visible in case he asked for it and saved it for future trips.
On our last trip, I brought it along with two refills. It was great. He loved playing with it in the parks. I packed it again for our most recent trip with another set of refills. However, it wasn’t performing to his, or his Mimi’s, standards (it probably needs new batteries), so off to the nearest bubble wand cart they went.
We are now the proud owners of a super-cool Buzz Lightyear bubble wand. Are you sensing a theme with our toddler? He carried it around the entire trip. It now sits on the same shelf, ready to be played with whenever he asks.
If you know your child is going to go crazy over the bubble wands and the $35 price tag makes you cringe, you can purchase one much cheaper before your trip. Just tuck it into your park bag and pull it out at the first mention of the bubble wand cart.
Clearly, my kids came home with quite a bit of Disney magic. I want to stress again that the trip alone is more than enough. However, if you don’t have a trip planned anytime soon, maybe some of the toys we mentioned could help fill the gap in between.
