Park Explorer's Kit

[Tltorrez]

In October we spent two days at MK. It was my son’s first trip and we got him a Jedi Mickey gift basket as a birthday present. We’re planning a longer trip at the end of January. This time I decided to make my own gift bag – not so much to save money, but more to give me something fun to do after all my park plans were done. Well, one bag turned into one bag *for each park*. Then I started adding things for other family members. It’s all turned into quite a fun production. Anyway, I have dubbed this series of goody bags the “Park Explorer’s Kit” and I thought I’d share it all here.

One thing I’m trying to balance is the Disney magic vs the anticipation time. I want all of these to be “delivered” by Mickey and friends. But I want him to have some time to absorb the content of each bag before we hit the parks. So the first bag will “arrive” in a package from Mickey a couple days before we leave. The second one will be in the room “on arrival” and the other ones will arrive on our off days. (DS is only 8 so I can manage the sleight of hand required to make these appear at the appropriate time.)

I want to put in a special thank you to all the wonderful DISigners. I was able to find and customize everything I needed to put this together. I tried to keep track of everything that I used but if I missed something or misattributed an item, please let me know. A special thank you to Dolly for her post with all the creative resources and the instructions for personalizing all the letters and tags.

 

[Tltorrez]

The first goody bag is MK and it will arrive before we leave. As you can see, I went a little overboard.

The box is from the Disney Store (leftover from Christmas) and I put a WDW mailing label on it from RustManFan. (I covered up our address in the picture for privacy reasons.)


MK Pre-Arrival Package by tltorrez, on Flickr

Since we just did two very full days at MK, we’re only doing a half day reprise on our day of arrival. So for this bag I focused less on the park and more on general things he’ll need – pajamas, sunglasses, water bottle, Hidden Mickey book and snacks.


MK Pre-Arrival Package Contents by tltorrez, on Flickr

I put one medium-sized toy in each bag. This one has a Toy Story View Master. It’s a fairly inexepensive toy (Amazon) and honestly I just couldn’t resist. The Buzz PJs were on sale at Disney Store. I found the sunglasses at Target. I also found a bunch of $1 stocking stuffers (pencils, notepads, etc.) at Michaels with the Toy Story theme so I included some of that. The snacks are Toy Story fruit snacks from the grocery store. I hadn't intended this entire box to be Toy Story themed but it worked out that way.

Here’s the personalized message from Mickey (Dolly):


MK/Pre-Arrival Message by tltorrez, on Flickr

I had initially planned to put a single-use camera in here. But instead, we decided to get DS a real camera. So we bought a Kodak EasyShare and we gave it to him as a Christmas present. That way he’ll have time to learn how to use it. But I still think single-use cameras can be a good idea.

 

[Tltorrez]

The second bag is Epcot. He'l get this one at the resort on the day we arrive. Epcot is Day 2 and 4 of our trip.


Epcot Bag by tltorrez, on Flickr

Here’s the message from Figment (RustManFan):


Epcot Message by tltorrez, on Flickr

The bag includes an Imagineer book, a “coupon” for the Passport Kit and some more stocking stuffers that I found at Michaels (binoculars, glider and coloring pages). I wanted to buy the Passport Kit in advance but I couldn’t find it anywhere for a reasonable price, so I settled for the coupon (design by BabaBear). I also included a glow toy. DS always asks for these things when we’re at nighttime parades and fireworks, so I figured I’d buy a nice one in advance.


Epcot Bag Contents by tltorrez, on Flickr

The toy in this one is a Kim Possible game for the Nintendo DS. I attached a message from KP (Victoria).


Epcot Gift by tltorrez, on Flickr

Have I totally gone off the deep end yet?

 

[rlovew]

Very cool idea! Your son is quite lucky!

Rebecca

 

[morgansmom2000]

These are great! I will put on my thinking cap for our 2012 cruise!

 

[Tltorrez]

The third goody bag is a basket from AK. This is probably my favorite. He’ll get this on Day 3, our off day. We’re going to AK on Day 5 and 6. I got the basket for a few bucks from Michaels. It'll be a hassle to pack but the theme fit better than any of the gift bags I had.


AK Basket by tltorrez, on Flickr

Here’s the personalized message (by Natalie). I don't know how it got ripped; i'll have to reprint it before we go.


AK Message by tltorrez, on Flickr

The basket includes the Imagineer book, a field guide to the AK animals, a hat, an animal puzzle and coupons for the passport and safari journal (BabaBear). The field guide is one given to Cast Members; I got it off eBay for a reasonable price. The hat I picked up for $3 and added AK pins (eBay). The toy is Safari Mickey, of course.


AK Bag Contents by tltorrez, on Flickr

This is the hat. I could’ve bought a safari hat but I really wanted a floppy hat that could be folded up into a pocket. I didn’t want anything bulky that we had to carry around.


AK Bag - Hat (front) by tltorrez, on Flickr


AK Hat (back) by tltorrez, on Flickr

 

[Tltorrez]

The fourth bag is for DHS. He’ll get this on Day 6 (partial AK day) and we’ll go to DHS on Day 7.


DHS Bag by tltorrez, on Flickr

Here's the message from Buzz & Woody (Shadowryter):


DHS Message by tltorrez, on Flickr

I had a hard time figuring out the theme of this one until a friend suggested the “animation” theme. So this one has the Imagineer book, a book about animating movies and a How-to-Draw Disney characters book.


DHS Bag - Books by tltorrez, on Flickr

Plus more inexpensive Toy Story stuff from Michaels. The toy is a Club Penguin Nintendo DS game.


DHS Bag - Toys by tltorrez, on Flickr

I have a few more items to share but I have to wait until after the trip to post. Some family members might be peeking.

Of course, in addition to the goody bags I also printed mousekeeping envelopes, CM appreciation cards, character dining invitations, etc. Thanks again to all the wonderful DISigners. This has been so much fun.

I'm glad these are done. But now I have to figure out what to do with myself for the next 28 days!

 

[bearbear]

This is a cool idea. We are going on October. may have to use some ideas

 

[LindaBabe]

Terri, THAT IS FAB! Love it!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I LOVE this!!!! I may try to modify some of this and do something similar in April!

 

[Tltorrez]

Thanks everyone! At least it gave me something to do these last couple months.

I'm going to make Lime Green Mickey Heads today. I'm thinking about breaking out the new Silhouette die cutter for this one.

 

[Lisa]

What a terrific way to create magic for your son's trip. I know you will both enjoy the goody bags!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Amazing! You should consider making these for people going on trips! They are wonderful!!!Not only are the ideas fantastic, they are professionally executed!

 

[Tltorrez]

Amazing! You should consider making these for people going on trips! They are wonderful!!!Not only are the ideas fantastic, they are professionally executed!

Now there's an idea.

But really you shouldn't encourage me. You have no idea how much stuff is not getting done because I've been totally Disney obsessed.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Oh, trust me. I know! I found this thread through jumping in on your post in order to help someone else plan her vacation. (I almost offered to create her touring plan. I am sick!)

Unfortunately for me, I don't have the great stuff to show for all the time. hehe.

Really, you could sell those "kits."

 

[MazdaUK]

Those are fantastic! And I bet people coming from the UK would really appreciate being able to order something like that from you and find them in their rooms on arrival I tried to buy a few bits and pieces in advance when we went to WDW but I couldn't keep much a secret with "helpers" packing

 

[Tltorrez]

You get help packing?

Seriously, I could pack a platypus in the suitcase and no one would notice.

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

I want a platypus.


I love what you have done. I think it is really awesome. And I can hear the joy you got from doing it.


Could you tell me where you found the Kimicommunicator?

 

[Tltorrez]

I found the Kimmunicator game on Amazon. I have Amazon Prime (pay a yearly free and get free two-day shipping) so I buy practically everything on Amazon. I rarely shop in brick and mortar stores anymore.

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

I'm sorry. I meant the note you made. Scrapbooker here needs one badly.