Taking home some memorable Disney souvenirs is a fun part of any vacation at Disneyland. Disneyland souvenirs, however, are often quite expensive and can threaten to wreck the family vacation budget if you aren't careful.
One of my favorite tricks (especially with younger kids) is to buy Disney souvenirs in advance. By hitting the dollar section at Target.com, your local Disney Store, and many other retailers, you can often find Disney gear for less and dole it out to your little ones during the trip.
But most families want to take something home from the parks too. Whenever I visit Disneyland, I'm always on the lookout for cheap and free souvenirs that still are full of Disney magic. Here are my picks for some unique cheap or free souvenirs at Disneyland sure to make you and your kids happy when remembering your Disneyland vacation.
Trips With Tykes uses affiliate links. We may receive compensation when you click on links featured in this post. See our full disclosure policy here.
Cheap & Free Disneyland Souvenirs
1) Pressed pennies
One of the best and easiest-to-find souvenirs is a Disneyland pressed penny. For $0.51 (two quarters plus the penny to be pressed), you can visit one of many machines scattered throughout the park and take home a Disneyland scene. ParkPennies.com has a complete list of the Disneyland machine locations if you want to collect them all with your kids (and they even have an app!).
2) Buttons
If you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or first trip to Disneyland, be sure to tell a cast member at Town Hall or at the ticket booths. Buttons to commemorate these milestones are available for free. There are other less common buttons if you find yourself in the right place at the right time. My favorite? A celebration button available at Tiki Juice Bar in Adventureland. Be sure to tell the cast member helping you when you are getting your child his or her first Dole Whip.
3) Mardi Gras beads in New Orleans Square
The Jambalaya Jazz Band and the Royal Street Bachelors who perform in New Orleans Square often have beads in their pockets at the ready for kids who are enthusiastic about the music. A cute little freebie!
4) Shrunken Ned Cards
Hidden inside the South Sea Traders store in Adventureland is a wacky machine featuring the disembodied head of witch doctor Shrunken Ned. Shrunken Ned will talk to you and give you a "diagnosis" card for just $0.50. The machine dispenses a variety of collectible cards.
5) Pirate Red Cards
Similar to Shrunken Ned is the Pirate Red machine located in New Orleans Square next to the Pieces of Eight shop. Your little pirate loving kiddos can add $0.50 to hear a song and receive a souvenir fortune card.
6) Jungle Cruise Map
A little known Disneyland fact is that your Jungle Cruise skippers have a map to give away at the end of your voyage - just ask as you get off the boat at the dock! (Hat tip to Growing Up Goofy for this suggestion.)
7) Jedi diploma
If you race to sign your kid up to fight Darth Vader at the Jedi Training Academy (advance signups are now available as opposed to random picking from the crowd), your child will be presented with a diploma at the end of the galactic battle. Definitely worthy of inclusion in the Disney scrapbook.
8) Autopia drivers license
For just $5, your child can have a photo made at the photo booth at the exit of Autopia and turned into a "drivers license." This a great personalized souvenir for the Cars-obsessed kids in your family.
9) Glow drink cube
Many of the kid-friendly drinks available at restaurants all over the park are available in a glowing version that includes a glowing or flashing plastic "ice" cube. Drinks with this cube included are a few dollars more than the standard kids drink, but totally worth the marginal cost difference. Our daughter still regularly plays with her collection of cubes from our last two trips.
10) Pirate booty bag of jewels at Pieces of Eight
Over in New Orleans Square, your child can fill his or her own bag of pirate jewels and gems at the Pieces of Eight store for about $7.
11) Fastpasses
When I first wrote this post in February 2015, I predicted that "with Disney World now having transitioned completely to My Magic + wristbands, the days of Fastpasses on printed paper at Disneyland are definitely numbered." Sadly, I was right. Paper Fastpasses are a thing of Disneyland past, but the machines still dispense paper "reminders" that look similar. Get them while they last. They are colorful and the perfect size for scrapbooking. Here's a layout I did with Fastpasses using Project Life scrapbooking products.
12) Silhouette
Last but not least is my favorite souvenir and one we get nearly every trip! On Main Street USA, there is a little studio about half way down where you can have an artist create a hand-cut silhouette of your child. The artists work fast enough that even our squirmy 15 month old stayed still long enough for his image to be captured. At just $9.95 for two mirror image silhouettes (frame is extra but still reasonably priced), these silhouettes are a great value. Many Disney-loving families get one done on each trip.
Disneyland Vacation Deals!
Disneyland bound on the cheap? You can save even more money (way more than what you can save by scrimping on souvenirs) by booking your tickets or vacation packages through Trips With Tykes partner, Get Away Today. Use promo code TYKES10 for an extra $10 off all package stays of 2 nights or more. Get Away Today is the top seller of Disneyland vacations and offer tons of extra little perks to clients.
Need more Disney magic? Be sure to follow my Disneyland board on Pinterest:
eseebald says
I had no idea that most of these existed!! Excited to check them out 🙂
Jessica says
Love your ideas. Especially keeping those leftover fast passes.... knowing that we soon might never see them again makes them pretty special.
Tara says
oh that's true, I knew they were going away, but didn't think it would be cool to keep some as a memento. Don't most of the rides collect them though when returning for the ride?
tripswithtykes says
Tara, if you use them, they will indeed be collected. But my family is so good at working the Fastpass system that we inevitably have Fastpasses we don't use (either because we took a break with the kids for a nap or closed the park down before we could get to them all!). Not a bad problem to have.
Jennifer aka Hint Mama says
Love the idea of buying them in advance - smart!
Stacy says
We buy tshirts in advance and we buy a ton of the glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets at the Dollar Store for each night 🙂 our kids are older now, but even hiding a Disney teddy bear to bring osu the first night is fun, and less expensive than buying at Disney.
Sue says
Silvie, the lovely lady cutting the silhouette was an "over 50 years" cast member. I haven't seen her in quite a while, but when I did I always stopped in the shop to say hello. She was incredibly talented!