I once had a friend who said she had never been inside a dollar store. I’m not even sure how we stayed friends.
OK, some of the dollar stores are a little dirty. A little trashy.
But have you been to The Dollar Tree? It’s like the Neiman Marcus of the dollar stores. They’re usually clean, organized and they have lots of great stuff to pick up before your Disney World trip.
I recently visited and here’s what I found…
One of their newest items is these Disney sandwich bags.
Super cute to put some snacks into or maybe some crayons to throw into a backpack for the plane. There’s a space to write on the bag (“personalize your bag” the box says) and they come in 3 different varieties.
This is what the bags look like…
Then we have glow stick palooza over here.
I buy a LOT of these and give some out along the Magic Kingdom parade route in the evening. They don’t cost much but kids love them. Buying glow toys at Disney World costs about a bajillion times as much (rough estimate).
When you’re looking for some things to put into the kids’ backpacks to keep them busy, here are some fun ideas for things you might include…
Disney-themed yo-yos, tops, paddle balls, stamps…
I bet you can’t guess what these are…
2 headed crayons…
Chalkboards and paddle balls. People on the plane would LOVE it if you were paddle balling in your seat I bet…
Even more glow sticks. Is this where people shop before going to a rave?
Are raves still a thing?
Pop up hampers. They fold flat in your suitcase but then they, uhhh, pop up. Great way to collect dirty clothes in your room and stay organized.
When I created the gigantic packing list, I had some people suggest that these should be on it for hanging up wet things to dry….
And, of course, rain ponchos for the daily rains and riding Kali River Rapids…
Brightly colored bandanas to tie onto your rental stroller to make it stand out in the sea of strollers…
Liquid soap for your hotel room since only bar soap is provided.
Many people asked why I put this on the packing list. Bar soap doesn’t work well when you wear contacts, plus you can use liquid soap for washing dishes, swimsuits in the sink, etc.
A Disney-themed nightlight for little ones (and me) who like having a light on….
Movie theater-sized boxes of candy. Fun to put in a backpack to enjoy on the trip to Disney World…
And then there’s the magic towels which expand into small washcloth-ish towels. Available in lots of characters…
And pick up some classy ocean-themed home decor while you’re at it.
Or not.
Dollar Tree also sells even more Disney stuff online. You can have it shipped for cheap plus you can have stuff sent to the store closest to you for free.
What other stores have you found that have lots of stuff for Disney trips? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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{ 12 comments (add yours) }
Our Dollar Tree had the little Disney Characters- McDonalds toy size!
At our DT I saw Disney note books (for autographs) they
were smaller (maybe 4×6 size)
Now normally I despise the dollar store…But these ideas
are FABOOSH…and we are leaving for disney in 2 days so guess
where I am going today !!! Thanks for the great
tips…Cheers
I found a Phineas and Ferb picture frame at my Dollar Tree.
Party City is my only other go-to store before a Disney trip, I always find Disney themed stuff I can’t pass up!
For the record…Yes, i totally used to go dollar store shopping with my friends before and after raves/parties!
Ha! Good to know.
What a great article! I wouldnt even think of half these things! Thank you! I LOVE dollar tree! One is opening around the corner from me! I cant wait!
Are raves even a thing any more? You are hilarious!!
Have to say, I have seen most of this stuff before. Since
right now I only go with adults, most of this stuff we don’t use
(at least, we won’t admit to it!) Although, we do take snacks into
the park, so those adorable ziploc baggies could be awesome.
Recently, I have also seen a lot of Disney stuff in the Dollar
Section at our local Target. Before that, they had some neat Star
Wars things. Target rotates this section pretty often, but they
currently have pencils, bags, notepads, activity books, and some
other similar things.
When our whole family went to Disney a few years ago (my sisters, parents, grandparents, and my son and nephew– ages 9 months and 2 1/2 years) we picked up random Disney souveniers before our trip. We bought $5 mickey tshirts and sippy cups for the boys at walmart rather than spending an arm and a leg at the park.
For the ponchos, my kids took coloured sharpies and drew all sorts of stuff on them (although we kept names off). Besides not being “Disney Opaque”, it was a bit easier to spot manga mouse ears in a crowd.
Sharpies – always have a couple – before and during the trip. Very useful for so many things. Labeling, autographs, temporary tattoos…we have some real artists in the family, so they were pretty cool.
Grab extra bandanas…for more than just marking the stroller. Impromptu napkins, tourniquets, signalling devices, disguises (okay, maybe not disguises).
Glow ‘things’ – been doing this one for years. Great for kids nervous of the dark without disrupting other guests. Super-amazing-awesome for night events. We’ve made all sorts of stuff with them, and if it breaks, gets lost, etc…you can make a new one with very few tears. The only tears we’ve ever had was when another child saw the classic ‘hidden’ Mickeys we put on an umbrella…that poor child HAD TO HAVE a Mickey Glow Umbrella too.