Tips about Rain and Souvenirs

I didn't buy our goodies to take home with us until the last day. I know it is tempting to buy everything right away, but if you wait, then when you do buy them, you don't spend more than the budget. - Heather

For someone who wants to visit the parks often and have a souvenir each time without spending a ton of money, postcards are the key! Postcards are like miniature art. Upon your return, they can be framed, made into a collage, or even turned into a border around the room. On the back, you can also write the date or even a message about unique details from that trip. - Crissy Stout

Last time I went to Walt Disney World I bought a fleece shirt that had a "security tag" on it. Unfortunately, I did not realize until I got home that the cast member who checked me out never removed it. How frustrating! Do yourself a favor and double-check your clothes for those tags before leaving for home. - mkmouse

We reuse our popcorn containers we get from Disney. They come in handy for many things. Our main use for them is to cut up fruit, like watermelon or pineapple, and store the fruit in those containers. Then the kids can grab their fruit whenever they want some and it's already cut up. We also use them for markers and crayons, great storage containers. - Nicole Miller

I just placed a merchandise mail order online and the cast member was able to offer me an annual pass discount as long as I emailed or faxed her a copy of my pass. - Michael Landman

We always like bringing pieces of WDW home with us. One of our favorite restaurants, Liberty Tree Tavern, sells the glass mugs that are used in the restaurant for only $5 each. We brought a few home with us and love using them. They make a fun, inexpensive souvenir that we actually can use every day. - Lori Craig

For all of us bigger guys, Disney looks to have made XXL tees actually a XXL size again. In the past two years XXL tees were cut much smaller than a true XXL, so we can now get a shirt that fits again. - John Sloboda

Most floral departments at grocery stores carry a plastic clip resembling a small clothes pin. We use these with the park balloons. You can attach the balloon strings (with the Mickey weights) to the clip and then clip to the stoller or the child. That way you are not fussing with tied on balloons at the bus stops! - Natalie

Before our trip, we purchased a sports towel at the local sports store. It is about 12" x 16" and folds up into a sandwich-size zip-top bag. What a lifesaver! We used it after the daily August rainstorms to dry off outdoor tables, ride seating, benches, and even ourselves when we got soaked in the rain! These types of towels are made by Speedo, TYR and other companies that make competitive swim equipment. When they get soaked, just wring out and they're dry again. For the $11 we spent it was worth it not to have to sit on wet seats or have wet behinds all day. We got ours at a sporting goods store, but they are also available on Amazon.com. - Becky Hecker

Before our trip, we purchased a sports towel at the local sports store. It is about 12" x 16" and folds up into a sandwich-size zip-top bag. What a lifesaver! We used it after the daily August rainstorms to dry off outdoor tables, ride seating, benches, and even ourselves when we got soaked in the rain! These types of towels are made by Speedo, TYR and other companies that make competitive swim equipment. When they get soaked, just wring out and they're dry again. For the $11 we spent it was worth it not to have to sit on wet seats or have wet behinds all day. We got ours at a sporting goods store, but they are also available on Amazon.com. - Becky Hecker

Don't go immediately to the t-shirts for your kids. Look at oversized sleep shirts instead. They'll still fit years later, while a regular t-shirt may not fit in a few months. In fact, my dad bought me one back when I was 12. I'm 21 now and still sleep in it! (Mickey glows in the dark. It's very cool.) - Lauren

We have been Disney Vacation Club members since 2004 and have been staying in villas since, often times for 7-14 nights. Finally, during this last trip it dawned on me that it would be really nice to have magnets to put on the fridge to hold park hour schedules, ADR schedule, etc. So we did manage to find some magnets that we loved and used them for the remainder of our time. It made it so much easier for all to be able to see the ADR schedule along with park hours! Now I have added those magnets to future packing lists! - Lisa Fredsbo

If you are planning a summer trip to Walt Disney World, it is pretty safe to assume that you will experience both very hot temperatures and rain. My tip is to buy inexpensive water shoes for the whole family at your local discount or dollar store prior to your trip. The pavement around the pools and in the water parks gets very hot. Areas with sand can become so hot that you can barely walk on them. I would recommend water shoes instead of flip-flops, because you will not be allowed to wear flip-flops on water slides. Water shoes can be purchased at WDW, but you will easily pay double for them. My second tip is to also purchase rain ponchos at the discount/dollar store. Ponchos take up much less space in luggage than rain coats. Buy one for each member of your party, and if you will be taking a stroller on your trip, buy an additional large poncho. Why? To cover your stroller while you are in an attraction. Nothing is worse than exiting an attraction only to find that a sudden rain shower has soaked your stroller, and everything in it. At WDW, strollers are almost never allowed inside of buildings or attractions. Instead, you will have to put your stroller in the "stroller parking" area. This area will be outdoors, and will rarely be under cover. Because the summer weather in Orlando can be unpredictable, I put our ponchos in a large zip top plastic bag, and keep them in the pocket of our stroller at all times. - Shannon Barrett

My husband and I did the 2015 four-day Disney Vacation Club Member's Cruise and then spent five days at the BoardWalk Villas. We realized that our shopping and all the DVC gifts we received during the cruise were not going to fit in our luggage and would add a lot of extra weight. I asked in the gift shop about mailing cruise items and was directed to the business center that is part of the Convention Center at the BoardWalk. We took all of our bags to the business center, including two pieces of art. They were carefully wrapped and put in a big box that we sent FedEx ground. The box arrived the same day we got home. It was so was nice to have our purchases right away. - Annette A.

We've found it helpful to bring address labels from home to use in the gift shops. Rather than writing out our address each time we send our purchase back to the room, we just peel and stick. It saves a lot of time. - Gavin Shannon