Walt Disney World Vacation: 2019 (Keychain Souvenirs Haul)

I posted back in March of last year that my family was planning to take a trip to Walt Disney World near the end of 2019. Back then I had this crazy idea that I could save some cash in the long run by shopping for used Disney parks keychains online beforehand. The plan was to buy only secondhand keychains that were priced more reasonably than regular retail, in the hopes that I wouldn't be as tempted to purchase more souvenirs once I actually got to the park. I was also hoping that, if I was tempted at all, seeing the full retail price would send me into sticker shock and I'd put things back without actually buying them.

That was the plan anyway. In reality I not only went a bit overboard with my online 'shopping spree', but I also ended up buying several keychains at the park anyway, though not as many as I was tempted to buy. However, my admittedly limited willpower wasn't entirely due to sticker shock. I was very disappointed by how cheaply made some of the keychains sold at the park were, especially considering how much Disney was charging for them.

Three keychains in particular stand out in my mind. One was a Buzz Lightyear keychain with a battery operated, light-up 'laser'. The proportions of this keychain strongly reminded me of the 'mini Buzz' fast food toy character from the Pixar short Small Fry. However, when I took a closer look I noticed that most of the keychains were already broken, with one arm snapped off and dangling by the wire used to power the light-up 'laser'. There was one keychain that did seem to have an intact arm, but it also had a chipped helmet. Even if I had managed to find one that wasn't damaged, by then I didn't see the point of buying a keychain that was all but guaranteed to break.

The second keychain that disappointed me was based on the ride vehicles from the Alice In Wonderland themed Mad Tea Party attraction. The keychain looked nice, but the plastic used to make it was so thin that I was worried it would crack. The most disappointing moment for me, however, came when I saw the Disney autograph book keychains in person for the first time. I'd seen these keychains before online, and I'd had my eye on them for a while. But when I was looking them over at the park I noticed that the shiny 'plating' on the keyring was already flaking off, on all of them. These keychains weren't cheaply priced either. You'd think that if Disney was going to attach their name to something, and charge so much for it, that they could at least sell a quality product. If nothing else, you'd think they'd want to maintain a good reputation for the company.

As I stated earlier in this post, I did pick up several keychains on my trip. The prices ranged from $3.99 to $9.99, not including sales tax. Half of the keychains I bought were actually from the World Showcase pavilions in EPCOT, and weren't technically Disney themed.

For example, I bought this keychain from the Canada pavilion. Priced at $9.99 before tax, this little black bear with his plaid printed hoodie was one of the most expensive keychains I got on the trip. However, he and his 'brothers' at the store were just so cute that I couldn't leave without getting one.

This keychain came from Epcot's China pavilion. As you can see, it has my name in both English and in Chinese characters. I'm always happy when I find a keychain with my name on it, because this particular spelling seems to be less common. From what I've seen, most keychain manufacturers spell my name without the letter H.

To fully appreciate this next keychain from Epcot's Japan pavilion, here's a little background information. One of the most prominent attractions at the Japan pavilion when I was there was a large store called Mitsukoshi. This store was made up of a series of interconnected rooms, and it took up a good sized chunk of real estate. Because the store was so big, there were multiple register locations strategically placed at different points throughout the building. And at each checkout counter there was a basket of 'lucky cat' figurines for sale. From what I understand, these cat figures with their one raised paw are supposed to bring good fortune. When I found the keychain pictured above of Godzilla in the 'lucky cat' pose, it amused me so much that I bought it. I'm often drawn to things that are quirky, and I'm a bit of a pop culture junkie as well.

Here is yet another keychain from Epcot. This one is based on the Figment character from the Journey Into Imagination attraction. Figment has become a Disney icon of sorts with, I believe, a rather large fan following. I would've preferred a keychain that showed Figment's full body, but this was the only Figment keychain the park seemed to carry.

Speaking of classic Disney attractions, this keychain is based on Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. The figure's mouths can actually open and close somewhat. This Tiki Room keychain was also my other most expensive keychain purchase of the trip, since it was the same price as the black bear keychain I bought at the Canada pavilion.

This last keychain was in fact the first one I bought on the trip. It came from The Lego Store in the Disney Springs shopping district. It was also the least expensive keychain I purchased, priced at $3.99 before tax. Some of you may remember that I already have a different Lego Star Wars Princess Leia keychain, which I showed off in my February Shopping Spree post. This version of Leia has her white Senate robes and her 'iconic' side buns hairstyle.

Well, I guess that wraps it up. All in all, I think I got a good haul on this trip.

Signed, Treesa

Been There, Done That, Bought The Keychain (Souvenir Keychains)

Keychains have been a popular vacation souvenir for decades. Unfortunately, if the lack of keychains stocked by the gift shops I've visited on my most recent vacations is anything to go by, then that popularity seems to be waning. It used to be that no matter where you went, any gift shop worth the name would typically feature a rack of keychains. The display would most often be located either on the counter by the register (a prime location for impulse buys) or on the opposite side of the rotating rack where the postcards were displayed.

One of my very first keychains was a souvenir from the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.

My mom still likes to tell the story about the nice people at the leather shop who gave each of us kids a free keychain, and gave my then baby brother a scrap of leather to chew on.

My all-time favorite 'vacation destination' has got to be the Disney parks. I've been lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World three times in my life and Disneyland once. As someone who had multiple siblings and could only get to Florida or California by airplane, I can say with certainty that these trips were huge undertakings for my parents, both logistically and financially. It took my mother and father years to put aside enough money for each of these vacations, but they did it because they wanted their children to have the chance to go. I happen to think that the memories we made on those trips were worth the cost, even if I still have nightmares about that Snow White dark ride.

Here are just some of the Disney parks keychains I've collected.

There are keychains here from Walt Disney World resort, Disney's Animal Kingdom park, Epcot, Typhoon Lagoon water park, and even Hong Kong Disneyland. Most of them were purchased secondhand. I can't seem to resist Disney parks keychains when I find them at flea markets or yard sales, especially knowing how much they must've originally cost at the parks. There was one time when my parents and I went to a pop-up Disney outlet store that had leftover merchandise from the parks, deeply discounted. I must've bought half a dozen keychains.

One great thing about buying keychains on vacation as souvenirs is that their small size makes them easy to pack for the trip home. Keychains are also, for the most part, fairly sturdy. Try packing a souvenir snow globe or sand sculpture in your luggage and you'll see what I mean.

It saddens me that souvenir keychains appear to be going the way of the dinosaurs. But then, unless they end up in someone's permanent collection, souvenir keychains tend to have a rather limited shelf life. Sure, they're fun to buy while on vacation. But when it comes time to do the spring housecleaning, chances are the souvenir tee shirts and the souvenir keychains will be the first to go. I've been shopping at thrift stores long enough to know that vacation souvenirs are some of the more heavily donated items.

However, in the back of my mind is a nagging worry that fewer souvenir keychains in gift shops will mean fewer souvenir keychains ending up on the secondary market. There may come a point in the future when the supply of souvenir keychains available to collectors dries up, which could cause the prices of the remaining keychains to rise. Granted, this isn't really likely to happen, since I can't imagine that collector demand will ever be high enough to exceed the available supply, even if the supply of souvenir keychains dwindles in the future.  However, it may already be happening.

I was at an antique show recently, and one of the dealers had a basket of souvenir keychains. Due to their appearance and the materials used to make them, it was obvious that these keychains were not 'antiques'. However, the dealer was charging three dollars each for them. In the past, these same keychains would likely have been priced at a dollar each or less at a flea market or yard sale. Of course, the pricing may have had more to do with the venue than with the keychains themselves. As I wrote in a previous post, adding the word 'antique' to anything always seems to up the price.

Signed, Treesa