Disney has a secret that will save you so many pounds, it’s unbelievable. We have done the maths friends, and it is not just a catchy article headline or gimmick, it’s real and we want to share this secret with you.
What is this money-saving secret you ask?
It’s a popcorn bucket. Yes, that little plastic tub with a lid, full of some of the best smelling popcorn you will ever come across in the world, sold in all Disney Parks. Often overlooked or thought of as an expensive gimmick in the park when you are visiting, they are actually a snack investment that pays off fairly fast if you know how to use them. Your initial outlay for a popcorn bucket is $13.00 (about £10.30). Refills of the bucket are only $2.25 (which is about £1.80) and you can refill them as many times as you like, not just on the day you buy it but on any day you want popcorn during your visit, with no additional activation fee or other cost beyond the refill of popcorn.
If you fancy popcorn as a snack and buy a bag of popcorn during your visit, without buying the bucket, it will cost you $5.50 (about £4.40). That means if you were at Disney for 4 days, and bought one serving of popcorn a day for yourself or your family, you would spend $22 if you bought the popcorn separately at $5.50 each time and you would spend exactly the same, $22, if you bought the popcorn in a souvenir bucket and used the refill scheme. You are saving money by only your 5th serving.
The main downside of using the bucket is that you have to carry it with you and some may quite rightly ask how you know if you are going to want popcorn and would question if it was really worth carrying around a cumbersome plastic tub measuring H W D every day. I think that depends on what you are looking for as a traveller, the type of park bag you have and whether you are watching your pennies.
It’s a park snack for less than £2 for the rest of my holiday and my next holiday too?
Yes, that’s right. It will costs you less than $2.25 to fill your bucket every time you want a popcorn snack. Perfect for nibbling during night-time fireworks displays such as Happily Ever After and Luminous, or for munching on in the theatre while you watch Fantasmic, they are a great money-saving snack option for anyone on holiday in Disney World. This is however the souvenir snack bucket that keeps giving, as if you are planning another holiday to Walt Disney World within the next few years you can take the bucket back and continue to enjoy refills at the refill price from day one of your next holiday with the same bucket.
The bucket does not have a chip or a date on it and the last tie we bought a bucket in Tomorrowland the serving cast member told us about this perk as we were purchasing. Now, if you would like to work out the maths for this, save your time because we have done it for you.
| Popcorn purchases | Popcorn by the bag | Rolling Total | Popcorn bucket then buying bucket refills | Rolling Total |
| 1 | $5.50 | $5.50 | $13.00 | $13.00 |
| 2 | $5.50 | $11 | $2.25 | $15.25 |
| 3 | $5.50 | $16.50 | $2.25 | $17.50 |
| 4 | $5.50 | $22 | $2.25 | $19.75 |
| 5 | $5.50 | $27.50 | $2.25 | $22 |
| 6 | $5.50 | $33 | $2.25 | $24.25 |
| 7 | $5.50 | $38.50 | $2.25 | $26.50 |
| 8 | $5.50 | $44 | $2.25 | $28.75 |
| 9 | $5.50 | $49.50 | $2.25 | $31 |
| 10 | $5.50 | $55 | $2.25 | $33.25 |
| 11 | $5.50 | $60.50 | $2.25 | $35.50 |
| 12 | $5.50 | $66 | $2.25 | $37.75 |
| 13 | $5.50 | $71.50 | $2.25 | $40 |
| 14 | $5.50 | $77 | $2.25 | $42.25 |
| Total: | $77 | $42.25 |
We have assumed 14 popcorn servings, which would be one a day if you had a two week ticket. As you can see, the table shows that if you have more than three popcorn servings during a holiday it is better value to get a pop corn bucket. Assuming 14 park days and 14 servings of popcorn, you are on holiday after all, you would save $34.75 buying a popcorn bucket.
If you then visited again for 14 days two years later and brought your popcorn bucket back, at current prices, you would save $45.50 buying popcorn with your bucket! That’s a total of $80.25 in two trips!
Ok, I might want one. What exactly is a Disney popcorn bucket?
They come in all shapes and sizes and Disney offer souvenir buckets that are shaped like characters which cost around $20-30 dollars and can be refilled just like the circular buckets we are talking about. The cylindrical popcorn bucket is the cheapest of the refillable popcorn options and is the one we recommend and have based our savings on. They can be purchased at popcorn stands throughout all of the parks and stands can have different patterns for sale in different parks at any one time.
Designed to be park friendly they can clip onto bags and push chairs and they have a lid. The lid is the one issue in our opinion as it is a bit flimsy and tricky to get on at times, but still worth it. If you lost the lid, you could always take the bucket to get filled and decant into zip-lock bags to keep the popcorn fresh.
Still on the fence, keep reading to find out why you should buy a souvenir popcorn bucket to save money on your Disney trip.
The 10 reasons why you should buy a souvenir popcorn bucket…
1: No matter how many times you visit – you can take it back
Whilst walking around the park take a look at how many people are carrying popcorn buckets. As you do, you will notice that there are so many different designs and that is because people bring them back with them time after time. When we were visiting in December we saw a guest with a bucket celebrating the 25th anniversary. The savings build up if you are a regular guest, but if you aren’t there is another way to think of your popcorn bucket…
2: It’s a souvenir
You can keep it and use it home as a popcorn bucket to eat your popcorn from the next time you have a family movie night watching your favourite Disney film.
3: It feeds everyone
This is a sharing snack, if you want it to be. Easily shared amongst all guests in your party, and refillable as many times as you like, it is a reasonably priced snack for snack time, particularly if you are a larger group. If you chose to buy two Classic Mickey Cereal Treats in Main Street Confectionary, for example, that would set you back $13.98 at one snack time. If you did that every day, you would be spending $195.72 to do that 14 times. I
This way, everyone has a tasty snack and your wallet doesn’t run away from you screaming.
4: It’s not just for one park
The bucket can be bought at any park, but then refilled at any of the four Disney parks at any point during your holiday at: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. It can also be refilled at Disney Springs so you can have a snack while shopping. This also means that if you visit Disney Springs on a day where you don’t have a valid park ticket, you can still get a reasonably priced snack.
5: It’s less damaging to the planet
Even though this bucket is plastic you are reusing it, so there is less waste from your snacks on the days you reuse it. If you take it home and then either return with in next trip, gift it or repurpose it you are extending the life of the product and preventing waste. It’s a small way to help the planet, but it all adds up.
6: It’s a gift with a difference
You can choose to gift your bucket. Now I know some of you will think ew, we used it on holiday, but hear me out. Wash it out and pop some of the sealed store bought popcorn from Main Street Confectionary in it. Not only is it a great way for friends and family back home to try the deliciousness that is Disney popcorn, it is also a gift that you can give the whole family, saving a few many pennies rather than buying individual gifts. It is even more special if that family is planning a trip to Florida too as they can take it with them and save a few pennies too if they wish.
You could also choose to fill it with other Disney treats such as crispie pops, candyfloss and other Disney parks sweets, or you can use the bucket as a bag and pop a soft toy in it with a few little souvenirs as a gift style hamper.
7: It’s a packing cylinder
With the new trend in packing cubes, why not think of your popcorn bucket as a packing cylinder? Admittedly it does not have the flexibility of a conventional fabric packing cube, but this can be a real advantage if you are bringing home any small delicate or breakable souvenirs from Disney such as Christmas ornaments or mugs. If you empty out your popcorn, if you have any left, either by eating or decanting into a zip-lock bag, you can rinse it out, dry it and pop your souvenir inside with the bucket providing an added layer of protection and helping things to stay in place in your case while you travel. It is also great for carrying home any sweets you may have bought from places like Walmart. Alternatively, it can be used for socks, t-shirts, anything you can fold up and pop inside.
Your popcorn bucket can be used for every Disney trip you make. On the way out, you can pop all of your clean underwear in it rather than springing for an ever trendy portable underwear storage bags. You can pop your socks in the bottom, then bras, then pants on the top, or the other way around. Obviously, the amount you get in depends on the length of your trip, but you get the idea. Sun cream storage is also another great use for this bucket when packing. You can stand you sun cream up, and if you pack it in a zip lock bag first, then pop it in the bucket with the lid on, your risk of lotion leakage and clothing contamination is greatly reduced.
If you have more than one of the conventional cylindrical buckets you can either use them in more than one case in the ways detailed above, or you can stack them. They are not heavy, mine weighs … grams empty.
8: It’s something to use at home
When you get home, you could choose to just leave your popcorn bucket in your case, quite happy with it’s multi-purpose function as packing cylinder and popcorn bucket, particularly if you are planning another visit soon. If you aren’t planning on heading back to Disney any time soon, or just feel it should be used, why not pop it in the cupboard and next family movie night, pop some popcorn in the microwave and decant it into your popcorn bucket to pass around. It’s a lovely way to keep the Disney magic alive at home on a regular basis.
If you are a bit popcorned out, why not consider decanting crisps into your bucket instead for an alternative movie treat, or even a fruit salad?
9: As snacks go, popcorn is fairly healthy
Popcorn is the lesser of the snack evils at Disney. I know, when you’re on holiday, especially at Disney, you want to try everything and worrying about the sugary snack intake may not be high on the radar. But for those of you who are trying to be a little mindful of what you snack on, popcorn at Disney is one of the healthier options.
10: It can be repurposed in so many ways, we might just have another article all about it…
Repurposing your popcorn bucket is kind to the wallet, the planet and is a way for you to bring the magic home and be reminded of the Disney magic. From using it as a snack tub for movies, picnics in the garden and more, to using it as Lego storage for the kids, a hair bobble holder, kitchen utensil holder, bucket to take to the seaside or with a quick adaptation a plant pot.
The uses of this product or endless in our opinion and if you would like to find out more genius ways to turn your popcorn bucket take a look at 30 ways to repurpose your Disney popcorn bucket is a great read if you have found this article interesting. Why not give it a read and see if there is a way you would like to repurpose your Disney popcorn bucket at home.
Our honest review: Buy it!
I just love being able to buy things that are not one use wonders and that I feel offer real value for money. Items that can enhance your holiday in more than one way and be repurposed without too much effort are just some of my favourite things. Packing is stressful and watching your hard earned cash dissolve on one-use plastic tat that is never going to be used again after a holiday ends is something I just hate. The Disney Souvenir Popcorn Bucket is a great money-saving snack solution suitable for everyone who likes popcorn. It’s also got so many additional uses when you get it home that it’s no wonder it is one of Disney World’s money saving secrets.