Friday, July 29, 2011

Shopping at WDW: Why You Need to Bring a Carabiner

I've decided to have a few ongoing series on my blog, and today I'm introducing you to a new series about shopping at Walt Disney World. It will show up in between regular (random) WDW posts.

It's no secret that I'm a shopaholic! On my last trip I *loved* the row of hooks on the wall in our resort room because it gave me the perfect spot to hang all my shopping bags every evening! Goodness knows I had a TON of bags when the trip was over! That being said I've got some fun tips to share with you about getting the most for your money, free souvenirs, budget souvenir shopping, and making the best use of your shopping time.

Today's tip is an easy one that will make carrying your purchases much more comfortable.  Many visitors to the parks know that you can shop and then send your purchases back to the resort to pick up in the office later.  I, however, don't typically use that option (just not my cup of tea). Instead I leave my shopping until the end of each day after I've spotted everything I'd like to purchase and then make one large but quick shopping excursion.

When you're traveling with a stroller, shopping is AWESOME! You can hang your bags off the stroller handles or put them in the carrier under the stroller.  Why do you think I have gone so much trips with my sister and her family? Free bag carrying! *wink wink* My June 2011 trip was adults only, and barring looking really weird pushing a stroller around sans child just for my shopping addiction, I realized I needed to find something else to help me carry items.

Enter the carabiner clip!

My brother-in-law had a couple of these clips on a bag he used at Walt Disney World in November 2010, so I borrowed them before my June trip thinking that maybe they'd be helpful with something, but I wasn't sure what.

Despite trying to just shop at the end of each day, sometimes there were items I saw that I "needed" to purchase right then. Alabaster Mickey magnets in the Italy Pavilion of Epcot are a prime example! These spur of the moment purchases are usually small but often not items that will easily fit in a purse or that you want to smush in your bag.

This is where the carabiner clips came in handy!  Can you see them here on my purse?
Yes, I had TWO on there. The loop was perfect for them to hang on!

I quickly learned that I could attach a small WDW bag to the outside of my purse by clipping the carabiner through the handles of the bag to easily carry my purchases hands-free. In fact, I LOVED this so much that I would do whatever it took to fit a morning or afternoon purchase into a small bag! Once I bought a few Vinylmations and took them out of their boxes (& tossed the boxes), so they'd all fit in one small bag to hang on my carabiners!  The medium size WDW bags also fit nicely but work best if you shorten them by tying a large knot in the bag.  Who knew one little loop of metal could free up my hands so much? Besides, when it's hot outside, the last thing you want to do is hang onto a plastic bag!

So there you have it!  Walt Disney World Shopping Tip #1: Clip a carabiner (or two) onto your park bag for hands-free shopping bag carrying.

No comments:

Post a Comment