Here's a repeat of a thread I did a while ago. (WIth search down I couldn't find it bt luckily had the word document) We were onsite for just two days and then a week at a condo offsite.
Making Magic: A basic course
SHOPPING HINTS: As soon as I started planning this trip, I began visiting stores like WalMart, Kmart, Big Lots, Value City, Dollar Tree, Toys R Us, Target, Party City, The
Disney Store, Toy Liquidators and any other store that might have Disney themed items cheap/on sale. I would search the clearance/sale aisles for Disney related items and pick up a few items each week. (Over 18 months this REALLY added up). My goal was to spend no more than $2-$3 per item. Howeveron my niece I do spend a bit more (but not too many items cost a lot of money.) Most of the items I collected came from the Dollar Store. But I looked EVERYWHERE I went for anything with a Disney theme or character. You will be surprised how much STUFF is out thereand you can just wait for a while and it WILL hit the clearance aisle. My best find was that Slinky Dog from Toy Story. Regularly priced at Kmart for $14.99. I purchased it for $2.00 on clearance. (At that price I bought each of the little ones a Slinky Dogand they loved them).
1. If you read Day one of my trip report, you read how I have been collecting 101 & 102 Dalmatian themed gifts for the past year. I then requested a room in the Dalmatian building (to keep with the theme). I found 101 Dalmatian window decals at the Dollar Store and used them to decorate the window, mirror over the sink and the mirror on the bathroom door. I found ballons at a party store and blew them up and filled the tub with them. I also found Dalmatian party items (such as plates, napkins and paper cups). I replaced the standard hotel plastic glasses with the Dalmatian ones and kept the napkins and plates handy in the room for snacks. Among the other items I found were: keychains, backpacks, book covers, all of the Tiny Kingdom 101 figures, Oddball beanie, Christmas stocking, Christmas Ornament, coloring books, stickers, sticker album shaped like the Dalmatian, sticker books, puzzles, Pez dispenser, 101 Dalmatian Barbie, cups, bath gel, magic towels and more.
2. Sunday Morning Breakfast at the Castle and Pixie Dust at our door: I made a small ziploc bag of pixie dust out of clear & sparkling clear confetti, mixed in a few bags of little pink hearts confetti and then added a bag of Happy Birthday confetti. Shook it up and mixed it well. I then found a birthday card at WalMart with Cinderella on the front. I signed the card Cinderella and sprinkled a little of the pixie dust mixture in the envelope with the card. I was up bright and early 60 days out and made breakfast reservations at the Castle. When we arrived at the hotel I had guest services print out all of our PS. I took the one for the Castle breakfast and added it to the birthday card. The morning of the breakfast the boys came over to our room, sprinkled the pixie dust aroundeven throwing some on the doorand it stuck!!! and taped the card to the door. If you dont have another group with you I am sure you can wait until they are in the shower or excuse yourself to go get coffee or something and perform your magic. I purchased the confetti at Party City (a party supply store). If it isnt someones birthday you can still use the card ideasimply cut the card so that you are left with the picture of Cindy and write a message on the back. (We left housekeeping a bigger tip on SundayIm sure they had to clean up the pixie dust)
3. Daily surprises: As I said I have been collecting stuff for over a year. Each morning I would get up before my niece and set her gifts for the day at her place at the table. (Kinda like a not so Secret Santa). Items included: Sleeping Beauty Barbie ( I got her when I got the Dalmatian BarbieTRU online had a Buy a Barbie get a Barbie free deal); pvc figures of just about EVERYONE($1.00 each at Toys R Us), Hair barrettes ($1.00), Lots of Princess related stuff including Snow White paper plates and napkins to use for breakfast, Princess Mug from TDS (on sale for $2.99), princess jewelry (on sale at TDS for $1.99), coloring books, sticker books, stickers and more Esmerelda bath towel (on sale at WalMart for $3.00), Esmerelda placement ($1.00), Hunchback pencils, (.25 cents each at TRU), stickers, earrings and necklace set, Pocahantas placemat, stuffed raccon from the movie ($2.00 at Toy Liquidators), lunchboxes (Dalmation & Meg lunchboxes with Thermos found at TRU for $1.00), tons of pvc figures, books and lots more.
4. Goodie bags on the Illuminations Cruise: Used Disney themed Goody Bags (Bugs Life and Dalmations) Winnie the Pooh Fruit snacks & Princess fruit rolls (buy one get one free at our local Publix), Mickey lollipops (Party City), Mickey & Gang Candy Canes (party City), erasers, pencils, keychains (Dollar store), magnets (Dollar Store), notebooks (Dollar Store), pen & paper sets (Dollar Store), stickers and more.
5. Gifts on the Illuminations Cruise for each family. Gave both husband & wife a gift: One gift had drinking glasses with Mickey on one side and Minnie on the other (Dollar Store) enough for the whole family, the other gift had either Mickey or Pooh Christmas towels and potholders (bought at day after Christmas sales last yearcost around $1.00 each) Used Disney gift wrap.
6. Goodie bags at our condo: First night at our condo gave everyone another goody bag with more pvc figures and more fruit snacks. Disney themed goodie bags of course.
7. Disney surprise boxes: Since I would only be with my niece, DS and nephew every day and I had been purchasing surprises for everyone, I put everything for my cousins group into two copy paper boxes, wrapped the boxes with Disney wrap and took their boxes over to them on Monday night. They had books, coloring books, stickers, autograph book, pens, toys, more toys, more toys (they had the 2 & 3 year olds), snacks, lollipops, lunchboxes, pvc figures, more keychains, and just tons of stuff.
8. Thanksgiving Dinner: I had purchased the mini stockings with Disney characters on them at after Christmas sales. (about 50 cents each). I had also purchased a lot of small Disney ornaments that fit into the stocking ($1.00 - $1.50) and a few (about 4 ) larger boxed ornaments ($2.00 on clearance). I wrapped all of the ornaments and put numbers on them (1 - 15). I then started with the youngest (not the 2 or 3 yo) and everyone got to pick a number and they got the wrapped gift assigned to that number. I had discovered while wrapping that I was 2 ornaments short so I picked up a Pooh & Bear ornament at TDS and gave them to the toddlers.
9. I also had discovered that over the year I had collected a lot of puzzles and coloring books. I wrapped them and planned to pass them out at Thanksgiving dinner also. HOWEVER, I ended up passing them out while we were waiting to be seated for dinner. These were a blessing for the kids. Even the 18 & 22 year old played with the puzzles they had received. (I gave everyone a gift knowing the older kids would probably just pass them on to the babies).
10. Throughout the year before our trip I sent ONLY Disney themed cards for birthdays, halloween, Valentine, etc. (If they made a card for itI sent it). I usually enclosed a few Disney Dollars in the card. Likewise, I gave Disney themed gifts for Birthdays and Christmas. Every once in a while I would send a D-card from the Disney.go.com website to everyone just to say Hi and remind them the trip was coming up.
11. Memorize the tips you get from these boards and others. By being in the know people think you are just amazing when you know where to stand to be first out of a holding room (Haunted Mnation & TOT) or on the part of the ride that has little bit more interaction, how fastpass works, etc. One of the best tips I got here: ILLUMINATIONS CRUISE. My family was duly impressed with my ability to get everything we wantedthe cruise, all meal PS and by using fastpass being able to see and do almost everything.
12. When making magic remember: The Magic in your heart is what truely makes the magic on this vacation. If making goodie bags, planning ahead and having all PSs in order, shopping beforehand and other stuff is just not something you get into it doesnt matter. As long as you have Magic in your heart, the others in your group will catch it too. Its catchy that way at Disney World.
). We try to leave a generous tip every day. Only, we let the bears do our tipping. They have played poker with the chips being quarters left as tip with a nice note saying thank you so the staff knows the money is theirs for the taking. It's hard to make them hold the cards though! They have played scrabble before. On Valentine's Day 2 years ago -- we left the bears out playing some game or reading a Disney book together. When we got back, our housekeeper had them under the covers of the newly made bed together! With a nice note wishing us a happy Valentine's Day. It made the trip!
