Wondering why an ecoblogger has written this post about plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenirs? If you know me or my website, you know that I am a big Disney fan. While this may seem incongruous with an eco-friendly lifestyle at first glance, I assure you it is not! In fact, I was inspired to start Eco Friendly Mama by the Disney film WALL-E. You can read all about that in my mission statement.

I’ve also blogged and posted to social media about the efforts Disney is making to become more eco-conscious, such as their use of paper straws at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, and sustainability efforts at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii.

While my family prioritizes experiences over material goods and typically does not buy many souvenirs from our trips, we do allow our kids to select a few items. I also sometimes pick up gifts for friends and family back home. So on our most recent Walt Disney World Resort vacation, I was curious to see what kinds of eco-friendly souvenirs were being offered. And though there was the usual assortment of plastic theme park merchandise, there were many sustainable alternatives as well!

 

Here are my top 10 plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenirs for kids (in no particular order):

 

#1 – Pressed Coins

Perhaps one of the most affordable items you can buy at the most magical place on earth is also one of its most eco-friendly souvenir options. Scattered throughout the parks are these un-assuming coin press machines. For just 51 cents, your child can select which design they’d like to have on their pressed penny. (The designs vary based on the machines and there are literally dozens if not hundreds of options since they can be found in all four parks, resorts, and other locations throughout the Walt Disney World Resort!). Then they crank the wheel and watch the penny go through the press before it pops out at the bottom.

My son is always on the lookout for spare change while we’re walking through the parks that he can use in these penny press machines. At 51 cents, you can splurge and let your kiddos make a bunch. They’ll feel like kings and have an awesome plastic-free souvenir!

 

#2 – Personalized Leather Accessories

These are another oft-overlooked plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenirs option! I believe there’s at least one personalized leather accessories stand in each of the four Orlando theme parks. The one pictured above is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and features Indiana Jones and Star Wars designs. You can pick from a wide variety of designs for bracelets, luggage tags, and key chains.

My son has a personalized luggage tag like this from Carsland at Disney’s California Adventure park. Not only is his McQueen-themed luggage tag a unique plastic-free Disney souvenir, but it’s also very sturdy and has survived several years of cross-country travel on his suitcase!

 

#3 – EPCOT-Inspired Coloring Books

Did you know that you can buy EPCOT-inspired educational printables for kids? The awesome Disney-loving mama at Mouse Travel Matters created a whole series of printable booklets, one for each country in EPCOT’s World Showcase, filled with kid-friendly facts about that particular country. Disney offers children dining at their table service restaurants free crayons and a coloring sheet (which doubles as a menu). It’s a fun page jam-packed with entertainment. However, the activities are the same no matter which location you’re dining in. So by the time we hit day four of our trip, my son was pretty bored with Disney’s coloring sheet.

When Christine offered us the chance to test out one of her booklets for free, I was thrilled. This adorable Japan booklet really came in handy while we waited for our meal to begin at Teppan-Edo! And after your child has finished coloring, then they become souvenir books from your trip, which your kids can read to learn more about the country they visited at EPCOT. You can buy the booklets separately depending on which countries you’re most interested in, or in a bundle which includes individual booklets for all 11 countries included in the World Showcase. My son loved coloring this unique eco-friendly souvenir, and enjoyed learning about Karate, Mt. Fuji, and other interesting facts on Japan!

Buy these and other printable activity sheets from Mouse Travel Matters by clicking here.

You’ll get an email PDF which you can print at home if you’re organized. Or, if you’re like me, you can print them in your hotel’s business center! And by the way, even if you’re not visiting the Walt Disney World Resort any time soon, these also make a great educational supplement if you’re homeschooling or just want lightweight coloring books for the car or wherever.

 

#4 – AVATAR Items From Pandora

If you’ve seen the movie AVATAR, you know that a central focus of the story line is the importance of preserving natural environments and sustainability. So it makes sense that you can find several eco-friendly souvenir options available in the gift shop of Pandora, the AVATAR-themed land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.

Pictured above are air plants, which are neat little perennials while require very little water or care to survive. While you may be able to find them at a local garden shop, these are “planted” (if you can call it that) in a natural shell top, giving the appearance of being an other-worldly sea creature.

There were also these adorably small venus fly trap plants and other carnivorous plants, potted in glass beakers. These would be difficult to bring back on a plane, but if you live locally or are driving home in a car, they’d make a cool souvenir for a science-loving or green-thumbed kiddo!

Other plastic-free souvenirs we spotted were these wooden ornaments shaped like wood sprites from the movie. In the film’s mythology, these sprites represent Eywa, a kind of Mother Earth goddess, who is responsible for – and made up of – all living things on the planet Pandora.

One more Pandora souvenir and then I’ll move on I promise! My son spent a good amount of time looking at these out-of-this-world, brightly-colored rocks and gemstones. We saw a similar stone display at the gift shop in the Canada pavilion at EPCOT which included perfectly smooth, egg-shaped rocks of all colors.

I also want to give a shout out to Pandora’s gift shop for its creative and plastic-free display stands! In the photos above you’ll notice that items are hanging from tree branches, sitting on wood sections, and in wicker baskets. The display theming here is spot on in its eco-friendly design.

 

#5 – Personalized Wood & Glass Souvenirs

I’ve been visiting EPCOT since it first opened back in the early 1980s, but it was only on a recent trip I noticed that – tucked away in the Germany pavilion – is a shop where you can buy a wide variety of wooden and glass souvenirs and then have them personalized on the spot! There are drinking glasses, photo frames, desk organizers, pens, and much more. You can even choose the font and customize the wording. Pictured above are some of the pen holders available there, which would look great on a child’s desk!

The engraving can be done while you wait (assuming there’s no one ahead of you), or you can go ride some attractions and pick it up later. We got a giant boot-shaped beer stein, featuring a colorful image of Mickey Mouse wearing traditional German lederhosen, engraved with our family name and the year on it. While that particular glass stein isn’t exactly for kids, it certainly makes for a unique and plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenir!

 

#6 – Wooden Star Wars 3D Models

Full disclosure, this item technically does have a small amount of plastic (the clear window in the front of the package showing the wooden sheet inside). However, I decided to include it on this list of plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenirs because compared to other Star Wars products and figurines, which are typically molded plastic encased in more plastic packaging, that little window of plastic seemed like a much better option for someone who’s set on buying a Star Wars souvenir of some kind.

And this one is so cool! From a single laser-cut FSC-certified sheet of wood, you can assemble this detailed miniature using interlocking technology (no glue or tape!). Though it’s definitely a bit too advanced for my first grader and toddler, I could see an industrious middle schooler doing this despite the 14+ age minimum, or as a fun project with a puzzle-loving parent.

In addition to R2-D2, there were also designs for various Star Wars ships including the Millennium Falcon!

 

#7 – Hand-Carved Walking Sticks

We tend to speed walk our way through theme parks, intent on getting from one attraction to another. But when I slow down and take in the environment around me, I start to notice the most charming things that have been there all along waiting to be discovered. One of those is this wood-carving booth within the Outpost section of EPCOT’s World Showcase.

This talented Disney Cast Member is carving a walking stick freehand to be sold later at this very booth! (There’s a similar wood-carving kiosk like this in Disney’s Animal Kingdom as well.) On past trips I’ve seen them carving other items like a “Hakuna Matata” sign, though I doubt every item available for sale in the display above is hand-carved on property. They are all wooden though, so even if you don’t have room in your suitcase for a walking stick, you can still take home a memorable plastic-free souvenir from Africa or more likely Asia by way of Orlando, Florida.

#8 – Memory Maker Photographs at the Walt Disney World Resort

While photographs may seem like a bit of cop-out to include in a plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenirs list, truly some of the best money you can spend on a vacation is on your memories. And what better way to preserve your memories than by having them made by professional photographers? Of course you can always ask Disney PhotoPass photographers that are stationed all over the parks to take your picture with your own camera/phone. But something special about Memory Maker is that they offer Magic Shots, which is an option to add a different Disney character or cartoon detail into your photos depending on where they’re taken at the parks.

You can get a pic of your child holding Tinker Bell in their hands, or with Dumbo flying over their head. I also find that these photographers are able to take better pictures at night on their professional cameras than my camera phone ever can. Memory Maker is a bit of a splurge for a souvenir, but if you plan to print and frame pictures from your trip, is so worthwhile.

Also, they now offer special Disney-themed lenses in the My Disney Experience App when you purchase the Genie+ service. Another cool photo-related offering is that you can add your Disney PhotoPass photo to a mural on Cinderella Castle using augmented reality. That’s a pretty cool souvenir to make your friends back home jealous with!

 

#9 – Authentic Imports Of EPCOT’s World Showcase

There are so many imported and plastic-free souvenirs from the various countries in EPCOT, it is impossible to document them all. Part of the fun is wandering through their gift shops and discovering a charming item from Britain or Norway that you can’t find back home.

One such item that I discovered on our most recent trip are these handmade metal mirrors from Morocco. Not just sold in the Morocco pavilion. Actually from Morocco. At just $5.99 and less than the cost of a bucket of popcorn, I picked up one of these charming plastic-free souvenirs to hang as a mirror in my daughter’s dollhouse.

 

#10 – Disney X TOMs Shoes

After a few days walking miles every day in the theme parks, your shoes may be worn through. We walked an average of 5 miles per day on our trip, and that was us trying to take it easy! So why not pick up a new pair of shoes while you’re there to treat your feet back home?

I am kind of obsessed with the Disney x TOMS Cinderella Collection. As you can see above, they come in both adult and kids sizes. That’s me and my daughter showing off our matching footwear featuring Jacques and Gus while waiting to take flight on the Dumbo ride. Click here to see my unboxing video for this collection!

The Disney x TOMS princess collections were sold on property at Curl Surf. This is a shop at Disney Springs, the massive open air shopping complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, that is easily accessible by bus from any other local Disney resort or property. The collection has sold out since I purchased our shoes, but you may still be able to find them through a resale site or thrift store.

 

Every time I visit a Disney park, I see more and more sustainability touches. And that extends into its eco-friendly and plastic-free Walt Disney World Resort souvenirs now too! If you’ve been recently and saw another item you think should be on this list, please let me know below in the comments! 

 

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