Bo's Vacation Tutorial for Disney Noobz - Part 9 - Money? What's That? We're on a Disney Vacation!

 

Now for a brief public service announcement.

 

Some people love Disney, because they believe that it captures the magic of childhood for the enjoyment of the entire family.  Some people hate Disney because they believe it is the epitome of a money-sucking corporate vampire. 

 

The problem is, they are both right.

 

Look, if you do Disney right, it can be the most amazing vacation you ever take with your family in tow, but don't for one second think that Disney is not salivating after every dollar in your wallet.  Disney is able to produce the magical experiences it does because it drains the coffers of those who come to visit.  And don't think you can outsmart the Mouse, he's had over half a century of practice.

 

For example, let's talk about how Disney will encourage you to spend money by making the individual transactions seem less "real".  You've probably heard how casinos in Vegas use points cards to sucker poor old ladies into spending their pensions on the slots. Well, Disney employs similar tactics with its on-site guests. 

 

If you are staying at a Disney hotel, the first thing you and your entire party will receive when you check in are your "Key to the World" cards.  These look like credit cards (because they are) and will have your name and other information printed on them. They serve as the keys to your room.  They are also your park tickets (accordingly, they will be linked to your fingerprint and are not transferable between family members).  If you are on the dining plan, they are the means by which your use of dining credits will be tracked.   And, here's the kicker, they can be linked to your credit cards.  Basically, you can walk around the parks with only this in hand and, unless you want to purchase something alcoholic, have everything you need in one convenient card.*

 

Recently, Disney has changed the way that KTTW cards can be used for credit purchases.  Now, you no longer have to slide the cards and sign like you used to (and like you would with a regular card).  You just wave the KTTW at a Mickey head symbol located at every cash register, punch in the 4 digit PIN you set up when you checked in, and presto - you've been credited. 

 

Not content with completely disassociating your merchandise purchases with those things you normally associate with money.  Disney is in the process of beta testing its "Magic Bands", which are intended to do everything I just described AND serve as your fastpass distribution center, all in a rubber wrist band.  Now purchasing power comes in the form of cool accessories, which, in typical Disney fashion, will be completely customizable - for a price.

 

And this brings us to the second way that Disney will screw you out of your money.

 

Disney is in the entertainment business, and at some point they realized that what people (especially children) find entertaining are interactive experiences.  It didn't take a tremendous leap for Disney to come to the conclusion that normal shopping is just not "hands on" enough to keep kids interested for any great length of time.  So, they made shopping into a DIY Disney "attraction".  Now at Disney you have Make Your Own T-Shirts.

 

  

Make your own charm jewelry.

 

 

Make your own tasty Mickey rice krispie treats.

 

 

 Word to the wise, these are not your homemande rice krispie treats.  Handler 1 thinks they skip on the butter. Blech.

And make your own dinosaurs.

 

From the makers of Build-a-Bear. Apparently, this is the only Build-a-Dino in America.

 

This is all in addition to the places where you can build your own lightsaber, Star Wars droid miniature, RC car, Mr. Potato Head, pearls**, custominzed rings, animated artwork (on request) and probably some other things I've momentarily forgotten.  Heck, if you visist at the right time of the year you can get a miniature of yourself frozen in carbonite.

 

Admit it.  When you just read that your first thought was, "Damn, I want a miniature of myself encased in carbonite!"  That's an example of how Disney makes spending money 'fun'.  Resistance is futile.

 

And there are lots of places where Disney can put these tactics into action.  There's a joke the Jungle Cruise (fastpass recommended) drivers make about every Disney ride exiting into a gift shop.  That's not entirely true, but a large portion of them do.  In fact, the Handlers were loath to discover that Dinosaur! at Animal Kingdom emptied into a gift shop...which then exited into another gift shop...both of which contained cute dinosaur-themed merchandise.

 





 

Three Wolf Moon T-shirt, eat your heart out.

 

Disney has a lot of stores to choose from and, although some of the merchandise they contain will be available at other locations throughout property, some will be very ride/hotel/park/land/country/etc. specific.  Basically, there's a store to tempt every collector, hobbyist, or personal preference.  Enjoy scrapbooking?  There's a store in Downtown Disney with exclusive scrapbooking items you can't get anywhere else (the Handlers never go there, but Grandhandler Sandy likes it).  Like tea?  There's a store in England at Epcot that's all tea and teapots.  Collect Christmas ornaments?  There's no fewer than three Christmas stores on property.  Whatever you like, they will find a way to cater to it.  Handler 1 spent nearly the entire trip looking for the Haunted Mansion themed wine stopper she'd heard about (ghosts + wine, that's Handler 1 to a tee).

 

That Mickey the Gnome sure knows how to self-promote.

 

And of course, they have stores to tempt the kiddies, too.

 

Hey, does your kid like Legos?

 

Yeah, there's a store for that.

 

The Lego store in Downtown Disney has every Lego piece in every color imaginable.  They also have some awesome Lego sculptures, which you should totally go see. Oh, and remember that 'hands on' purchsing aspect?



 

It's everywhere...

Which brings us to our next caution.  Beware the Disney mega-stores.

 

Be afraid, be very afraid...and not just because Stitch spits water at you.

 

This is World of Disney.  It's located in Downtown Disney and it is big.  Like every Disney item you could ever imagine big. 

 

 It's a collections of large rooms full of merchandise, with each room having a different theme.  One for jewelry, one for infant/toddler items, you get the picture.  If you're foolish enough to step inside here, keep a hand on folks who might wander off (i.e., young children, Handler 2).  If you don't they might get lost forever and end up like these poor souls.

Or worse, they could spend more money.

Just a note, but while you're in Disney, you should take a close look at your restaurant receipts.  The Handlers received several that contained 20% off total purchase coupons at select Disney locations that include World of Disney and the Emporium (the main shop on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom).  Twenty percent off is no discount to sneeze at!

Finally, once you've purchased what you want, you're usually faced with having to lug it around the park for the rest of the day.  Parents often use this as a convenient excuse to kids about why they can't buy some large, bulky item.  Not so for Disney resort guests!  So long as you're not leaving the next morning, you can arrange to have oversized or fragile packages (or ones you just don't want to bother carrying) delivered to the store at your hotel for easy pickup. You can also arrange to have things shipped to your home.  Thank you Disney, for making shopping a little too easy.

So what can you do to limit spending?  Well, it's good to have rules in place.  No purchasing anything on the first day is a good one.  Only one item per park is another (although that one's never worked for the Handlers).  Giving your kids Disney gift cards and asserting that when the money runs out, it's gone, is also a good idea, but it doesn't help you when you see just the cutest, most awesome thing ever. (Handler 1 once broke all her rules for a stuffed version of the dog with keys from Pirates of the Caribbean).

So all I can really say to help you here is "Constant Vigilance!"  Put down that scale playset of the castle.  Step away from the guy holding 50 light up Mickey balloons.  Keep your eyes on the rides, man; eyes on the rides....

*Full disclosure, the Handlers were not carded once during this last trip.  They are old.

**Okay, you can't really make the pearls, but you can pick out the oyster they come from.