7 Theme Park Souvenirs to Buy

1.) Batteries, Sunscreen, and Water Bottles - The best bets at theme parks are things that you need. If you're on vacation and you need something, it's worth buying with the slight mark-up verses having to live without it. For example, batteries, sunscreen, or a water bottle. Not springing for batteries for your digital camera could rob you of precious family pictures, not springing for sunscreen you forgot could cost your health, and not having a water bottle at a theme park is like asking for dehydration or nausea. So don't be afraid to pop for these if you don't have them, even if they are more expensive than what you're used to.

2.) Park Specific Merchandise (that you can't get in a store) - We have a well-loved "Pirates of the Caribbean" blanket from Disneyland that we can always use that gives us the warm fuzzies, literally and figuratively. It was only available at Disneyland gift shops, and though it was more than what we wanted to pay for it, we did it anyway. Now we have a souvenir that's useful to us and unique.

You may want to limit your family to one of these per trip, but it's okay to buy at least one. Especially something that the whole family can enjoy, such as a blanket or sturdy picture frame. Just beware merchandise that you can get anywhere that simply has a logo stamped on it. You want something that's unique from that park.

3.) Ride Pictures. You know the kind I'm talking about. Hilarious photos of you and your family making terrified or funny faces on thrill-rides. I don't regret a single one of these that I've purchased. But I often regret not purchasing them. (Hey, we even spring for wallet-sizes. They provide happy little mental pick-me-ups during your daily grind.)

4.) Seasonal Items - See any Christmas or holiday decorations that you like? Go ahead and grab them. Decorations are typically cheaper than other souvenirs and again, they're typically very hard to get a hold of outside of the parks. (These particularly make great gifts for the Christmas nuts in your family.)

5.) Discounted Items - Discounted items are a real steal. Find a clearance sale at a theme park, and go ahead and let yourself browse. (We once hit the jackpot at an "Indiana Jones" themed gift shop that was selling Christmas ornaments in August at Disney's Hollywood Studios.) What this typically means is that you can get one-of-a-kind merchandise for the price of regular non-park items. But the same rule applies here that applies to buying clothing. Only get something if you love it or if it's a gift item.

6.) Caricatures - Again, this is a memory-making souvenir. One you can look at with your family for years and laugh about. Are they cheesy? Sure they are. But that's okay. A day at a theme park is all about having fun.

7.) Hair Accessories and Bandanas - These are often very cheap because they don't cost much for the park to make. By the time they're marked up for a profit, they're still cheap. But you can usually get items that are park-specific and unique enough that you couldn't find them at home. Here's a good tip, even if you're an adult, browse the kids' items. Because they're accessories, "one size fits all". This same rule goes for t-shirts.