If there’s anything we can all agree on, it’s that Disney World souvenirs can cost a pretty penny! While some may consider certain merchandise worth the splurge, other items leave us scratching our heads as we wonder how long it’s going to take us to fill up our piggy banks to be able to afford it!

We polled our readers the other day asking if they’ve ever splurged on a balloon at Disney World (‘cuz they ain’t cheap!), and we were surprised in the best way possible to hear your responses!

Out of the total number of responses we received, 30% of those polled said that they have definitely splurged in the past on a balloon in Disney World!

When you think about how much a Mickey balloon costs (a whopping $14!), it can sometimes be difficult to justify dropping that much money on something that isn’t intended to last very long. 

As much as we would like these balloons to last forever, over the course of your Disney World vacation, you may find that the balloon loses air every day, leaving nothing but an empty shell barely hovering above the ground in your hotel room at the end of your vacation (what a sad, sad image to have in your head!). Or you have a hard time figuring out how to take it home.

One reader agrees with the average lifespan of a Disney balloon by responding, “It’s a tradition of mine! Every trip I get a balloon, enjoy it in the room through the trip, and at the end of the trip, deflate it with a straw, fold it up, and save it for reasons unknown to me.”

There’s plenty of other souvenirs you can purchase for $14, including keychains, magnets, and other items that will DEFINITELY outlive a balloon. But some of you are super CREATIVE when it comes to repurposing your balloons.

One reader responded to our poll by saying that “Since we live in Illinois and couldn’t take it home with us, we cut the end carefully to deflate it and when we got home stretched it across a canvas and hung it in our daughters’ room! Since she loved it so much!”

Still, there’s something special about those Disney balloons! They were one of the things we were the most EXCITED to see on Disney Springs’ grand reopening day back in May. Our hearts also skipped a beat when we saw the Halloween Mickey balloons for the first time this year!

One reader told us an incredibly sweet story reiterating just how much these balloons mean to folks: “My daughter got one for her 6th birthday. We took lots of pictures. She kept it the whole trip, then on our last day, she gave it to another little girl walking down Main St since she knew it couldn’t come on the plane.”

Another response seemed to tell the other side of the same story! “We got lucky last trip and a little girl who was leaving the day we arrived gave my daughter her balloon. It made her day. Then the day we checked out we asked a cast member to pass it on to the next kid checking in! So fun to pay it forward for others to enjoy!”

Whether you’re an avid collector of Disney World balloons or you like to simply admire them on Main Street U.S.A., there’s no denying that they are a quintessential souvenir throughout the parks (except for Animal Kingdom…you won’t find any balloons there!).

Click here to take a look at some of the FREE souvenirs Disney World has given out in the past!

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Do YOU think it’s worth the splurge to purchase a Disney World balloon? Share your reasoning with us in the comments!

The post This Short-Lived Disney Souvenir Has Made Some of the Longest-Lasting Memories first appeared on the disney food blog.