There are the standard, expected Disney souvenirs – t-shirts and sweatshirts and picture frames and magnets and all manner of things shaped like Mickey Mouse and emblazoned with the Disney logo. These things are awesome and I have lots. They cheer me up immeasurably when I am away from WDW and I love that.
But then, too, there are other things from WDW that are less expected. I use them all the time and they remind me in quieter, subtler ways of better days. Here I am thinking specifically of the subject of this particular still life:
I used to be (knock on wood) a chronic acne sufferer. Mind you, not in the really serious “before picture in Proactiv commercial” kind of way, but I was never blemish-free and often suffered through those big awful lumpy cystic zits. In the summer of 2009, I made two important discoveries: Seabreeze astringent and Basin’s oatmeal facial soap.
I bought the latter on a whim while browsing the Basin store in Downtown Disney. I know a lot of people are disenchanted with DTD, the hope of Disney Springs notwithstanding, but I always kinda liked it. It’s nice browsing while in the Disney bubble, you know? And the Basin store is awesome if you like bath product stores. Their soaps smell pretty and often look pretty too, and they have fun testers like sugar scrub.
The oatmeal soap was labeled as good for your skin and that was good enough for me; I bought a bar and never looked back. In truth, astringent is almost certainly the most important part of my clear skin arsenal, but I use my oatmeal soap almost every day in the shower and it makes me happy because it’s a little piece of WDW. To my knowledge, WDW has two out of three of the existing Basin storefronts. (Incidentally, if you hate DTD, there’s a smaller auxiliary Basin called Basin White in the Grand Floridian. I often pick up my replacement bars there if I’m not planning to hit DTD in a given trip.)
There are other quiet WDW reminders you can bring home with you. Example: a few years ago I bought a friend incense from Epcot’s Japan pavilion as a wedding gift. The next time I headed to the parks, he gave me $20 and asked me to buy him as much incense as it would get. Success!
I used to have a shark keychain from DAK’s Rainforest Cafe; it has since broken but I’ll replace it if they’re still there. An enormous amount of adorable Japan pavilion merchandise has found its way home with me. I also have a few non-logo clothing items from DTD, and I always look at those pretty silk dresses in the House of Good Fortune shop in the China Pavilion. I generally talk myself out of the purchase because they’re a bit pricey, but maybe someday…
Do you have any non-Disney-but-still-Disney souvenirs?
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I am a total WDW toiletries ho. I must have appropriated hundreds of those wonderful little mouse ear laden soaps and bottles over the years. Which then, of course, were shipped overseas to the troops, as it was only necessary to share the magic with those less fortunate. And stinky.
That's such a great idea!
And very much appreciated!!