What To Do With Old Disney VHS Tapes

Whether you have been wondering how to get rid of your Disney VHS tapes, or you recently discovered your old VHS collection, this post is for you.

In this post I’m showing you five different ways you can handle these bulky tapes. Some things on the list may even surprise you.

Here is a fun fact before we get started: VHS tapes stopped being produced in 2008. Which means a lot of us millennials and Gen Z crowd likely have a lot of them laying around stored in basements and attics. Now let’s figure out what to do with these old VHS tapes.

What To Do With Old Disney VHS Tapes

Recycle Them

While your first instinct may be to throw these old tapes out, that isn’t what you want to do. Your favorite Disney classics could turn harmful if left in landfills. The metal from a magnetic tape can contaminate the ground. The good news is that these tapes can be recycled.

The catch is, you can’t just throw it in a recycle bin and call it a day. Since VHS tapes are considered e-waste they require a more involved recycling process

There are a few ways you can recycle your Disney VHS tapes. The first way is to call your local e-waste recycling company and they will take them for you. You can find out where the closest one is to you by using the Earth911 database. Or, ou may also be able to recycle the video tapes through Best Buy. You would need to call your local store to see if they can accept them, and they do have a limit to the number of movies you can turn in. According to their website you are only able to drop off three VHS movies per day. There are also a few other retailers that provide this service as well. The last option is to use an online e-waste recycling service, like GreenDisk.

As you can see there are many ways to recycle these old Disney tapes. Even though VHS tapes are old now, some people still may like them. In this situation you could always sell the tapes, some of them may even get you a great profit.

Sell Them

If you have a rather large collection of old Disney tapes, it may be worth it to sell your collection for a pretty penny, especially if you have valuable Disney movies.

Some of these Walt Disney classic films are worth a lot of money, like a black diamond tape for example.

Tech Times explains in further detail about these rare and valuable VHS tapes by stating that, “This collection features 18 animated features from 1988 to about 1993 that were first released for VHS. These editions come in a clamshell case and have a logo in the shape of a black diamond that says “The Classics” on its spine.” It’s worth reviewing your collection to see if you have any of the Disney Black Diamond Edition collection.

If you have one, or more, of the 18 VHS tapes in this collection, you could sell these tapes for at most, thousands of dollars like some of these listings. That makes them worth a small fortune. Check the active listings to see what highest price yours might fetch.

If you have an original copy of a Disney film like Peter Pan, Aladdin, Robin Hood, Lion King, and Jungle Book. Just make sure they are the black diamond version and from the black diamond collection.

If you have more common VHS tapes from Disney they may not sell at high prices. But, they could still be worth selling. A few places you could sell these are on the Facebook marketplace or in Facebook groups, on sites like ebay and Amazon, and flea markets. Potential buyers here tend to be more selective to make sure what they buy is in mint condition or at least good condition.

Another option may be to use pawn shops to sell your VHS cassettes. However, remember they are going to sell at higher prices in order to make profit. One good way to sell your old VHS tapes is to include them in your next yard sale. You have to be okay with selling at a lower price but it’s a good idea to save time and energy.

Give Them Away

Sometimes items that we list to sell online just don’t sell. If this is your current situation, and you just want these tapes gone, it may be time to donate them or give them away.

You can donate your classic Disney VHS tapes at a thrift store like Goodwill. Another great place to donate is any local options you may have. Since Disney video tapes ended up in the Disney vault at times, you might find a friend looking for particular Disney VHS movies.

Some other ideas are to list them on Freecycle or call your local library to see if they accept VHS tape donations.

Refurbish Them

If you are feeling creative, you’ll really love this part of the article. A great way to still get use out of your old Disney movies is to turn them into something else. You can even consider refurbishing your VHS player too.

After doing my own research for this article I have discovered some really cool and creative ways to refurbish the tapes from your VHS tapes collection. Here are some of my favorites. This video has even more awesome ideas that you are sure to love like shelves, bookmarks, and purses.

Bracelet: If you like the unique look of handmade jewelry, and know how to crochet, you’ll love this tutorial.
Coasters: This uses the sleeve of VHS tapes, but is a cool craft nonetheless. I could see these coasters being a huge hit at a movie themed party.
Pencil Case: This is such an inventive idea. I could see this being perfect for a film student as is, or you can take the idea even further by decorating the outside of the pencil case.
Pin Box: Part of the Disney experience when going to the theme parks are the pins you collect. A great way to store these pins are in old VHS cases. It’s even better if you store the character pins in the case of the movie they are in. For example, any princess Aurora pins you collect would be pinned in the Sleeping Beauty case.

If you are a Disney collector, creating shelves out of your classic Disney tapes would be a great way to store all of your collectables. What is your favorite VHS craft that I’ve shown you here? Let me know in the comments.

Seeing your old Disney VHS tapes can definitely make you nostalgic. What do you plan on doing with your VHS tapes? Let me know in the comments.