Updated 2023
One of my kids’ favorite souvenirs to buy at Disneyland and California Adventure are the Disneyland balloons. They are pricey (as of 2023, $15 for a standard balloon and $20 for a special one) but I find it to be worth it. Because we are magic key holders (annual passholders) and can go often, a balloon is the only souvenir I will buy for my kids that day (other times they choose cotton candy, a toy, a bubble wand, etc).
Disney balloons have upsides to them that make them worth their rather hefty price tag. To start with, they’re very cute. A lot of them are double-balloons and many of them have cute patterns on them. Some of them also light up via a switch (so it can be turned off and battery saved for another night). Also, if they deflate in the parks that same day you bought them, you can get a free replacement with your receipt (so save that receipt!). I have also heard that you can have them deflated for your flight home then re-inflated at home, but have not tried this myself.
Disney balloons are also useful! They are a great way to identify your stroller in a crowd, especially if you have a common stroller in the stroller parking lots. We like to get the balloons on our first day of our trip, so we can play with them multiple days.
Disney balloons come with a cute balloon weight tied onto the end of it, but still hold onto it and keep track of it, especially on windy days. On a particularly blustery day, we did not hold onto it and it flew away, weight and all. We were able to get a replacement thankfully, but now we tie it around our stroller handle.
If you need help planning your Disneyland trip, I can help! I have created a free spreadsheet in Google Sheets to help my email subscribers maximize their magical trip to Disneyland. Once you become an email subscriber (use the handy box on the right), you will receive an email with a link to my resource library with various Disneyland resources, including my PDF of tips, downloadable Google planning sheets, Disneyland scavenger hunts, and more! For a sneak peek and more info on my planning sheets, click here. You may also be interested in my posts on taking a toddler to Disneyland, packing a diaper bag for Disneyland, or my other Disneyland posts.
