You’re running around the Plaza, eyes glued to the ground, praying for a stray hockey trophy or a random trophy cup to spawn. It’s frustrating. Disney Dreamlight Valley events are usually pretty straightforward, but the Memory Mania Dreamlight Valley limited-time event—celebrating the release of Inside Out 2—has a way of making players feel like they’re losing their minds. Honestly, the spawn rates can feel genuinely cursed sometimes.
If you’ve been struggling to find those pesky memory orbs, you aren't alone. This event isn't just about mindless clicking; it’s a specific scavenger hunt tied to very particular locations in your Valley and the Dreamlight Castle. Most players get stuck because they expect the items to just appear everywhere. They don't.
What Memory Mania Dreamlight Valley Actually Is
Basically, Gameloft decided to tie the Inside Out 2 celebration to a collection mechanic that forces you to revisit areas you might have ignored for months. We're talking about the Dreamlight Castle and the various realms. The goal is simple: find items representing Riley’s new emotions, collect enough to trigger memory shards, and unlock new "Core Memory" companions.
The event items are specific. You’re looking for Hockey Trophies, School Bus Toys, and Birthday Cakes.
Here is the thing—each item only spawns in specific spots. If you're looking for the Birthday Cake in the Ratatouille Realm, you're going to be waiting forever. It’s never going to happen. The Trophies are usually tucked away in the corners of the main Castle, while the other items hide inside the Moana, Wall-E, and Ratatouille realms. It's a grind. A real, genuine grind that requires you to zone in and out of buildings repeatedly.
The Items You’re Hunting
Let's talk about the spawns. The Hockey Trophies are the most common source of frustration. They look like little gold statues and they love to hide behind the large pillars in the main Castle lobby. Then you’ve got the School Bus Toys. These are bright yellow and usually show up in the Dreamlight Castle too, often on the higher floors near the realm doors.
The Birthday Cakes are the odd ones out. You’ll find these primarily inside the Realms. If you haven't visited Wall-E’s garden or Moana’s beach in a while, get ready to spend some quality time there.
The Spawn Rate Nightmare
Why does it feel like nothing is appearing?
The game has a hard cap on how many event items can exist at once. If you have five Hockey Trophies sitting in the Castle and you don't pick them up, no new ones will spawn. Ever. You have to clear the board. Even if you don't need that specific memory type anymore, pick it up anyway. It's the only way to force the RNG (random number generator) to roll for a new spawn.
Wait times are a factor too. Some players report new items appearing every 30 to 60 minutes, but it’s inconsistent. Sometimes you’ll find three in a row; sometimes the Valley feels like a ghost town for two hours.
Gameloft hasn't officially published the exact "tick" rate for these spawns, but community testing from Discord groups like the Dreamlight Valley Official server suggests that "re-zoning"—leaving the Castle and coming back in—doesn't actually force a spawn. It just refreshes the visual model. You just have to wait. It's annoying. I know.
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Don't Ignore the "Memory Shards"
When you interact with these items, they explode into Memory Shards. These look like the standard yellow orbs you get from gardening or mining. But here is the catch: they don't always give you a piece of the Inside Out 2 memories. Often, they just give you a "memory duplicate," which converts into a handful of coins.
It feels like a slap in the face when you finally find a rare Birthday Cake and it just turns into 200 Star Coins.
To complete the full event collection, you need to finish three specific memories. Each memory is composed of several fragments. Since the fragments are randomized, the math is often against you. You might get five pieces of the "Anxiety" memory but zero of the "Ennui" one. This is why some players finished the event in two days while others took two weeks.
How to Get the Rare Companions
The real reason anyone cares about Memory Mania Dreamlight Valley is the rewards. We're talking about the four unique "Core Memory" animals:
- Anxiety Squirrel
- Ennui Raven
- Envy Rabbit
- Embarrassment Turtle
These aren't just skins; they are separate companions you can equip from your wardrobe. To get them, you have to complete the "Memory Collector" tasks in your Dreamlight "Village" tab. Specifically, the "Feeling Expansive" achievement is what most people are aiming for.
The Hidden Difficulty of the Raven
The Ennui Raven is notoriously difficult to unlock because it requires the most "rare" memory drops. Many players find themselves stuck at 90% completion because one specific shard refuses to drop from the School Bus items.
If you're stuck, try this: empty your inventory of everything except the event items. There's no statistical proof it helps, but the community swears it prevents "inventory lag" which some believe messes with the drop table. Is it a myth? Probably. But when you're desperate for that last shard, you'll try anything.
Common Misconceptions About the Event
One big mistake: people think they can find these items in the Eternity Isle expansion.
You can't.
Memory Mania is strictly a base-game Valley event. If you’re spending hours scouring the Ancient's Landing or the Glittering Dunes, you are wasting your time. The code for the event spawns is tied specifically to the Dreamlight Castle and the original three realms (Moana, Wall-E, Ratatouille).
Another thing? The vacuum.
If you have the Ancient Vacuum from the A Rift in Time DLC, it won't pick up the Hockey Trophies or the School Buses. It’s a manual labor job. You have to walk up and click them. It's a bit of a bummer for those of us who spent thousands of Mist to automate our lives, but it keeps the "scavenger hunt" vibe alive, I guess.
Why Your Memory Pieces Might Be Turning Into Coins
It's not a bug. It's a mechanic. If you already have a specific fragment of a memory, the game won't let you hold a "double." Instead of a piece of art, you get coins. If you’re seeing nothing but coins for three days straight, it means you’ve exhausted the "common" drops for that specific item type.
For example, if the Hockey Trophies only drop pieces for Memory A and B, and you’ve finished Memory A and B, every trophy you find from then on will likely be coins. You need to shift your focus to the School Buses or the Cakes to find the pieces for Memory C.
Nuance in the Grind: Expert Strategies
If you really want to be efficient, you need a circuit. Start at the Dreamlight Castle. Check all three floors. Don't just look at the rugs; look behind the statues and the bushes near the entrance.
Next, hit the Ratatouille Realm. It's small, so it's a quick check. Then Moana’s. Finally, Wall-E’s.
If you find nothing, go do something else for 40 minutes. Fish, mine, or decorate. Don't stand in the Castle waiting for the items to pop in front of your eyes. The game seems to prefer spawning items when you aren't actively in the "cell" or area.
Does Multiplayer Help?
Actually, no. In fact, it can make it worse. The Memory Mania items are instanced to your specific save file. Having a friend over to help "look" doesn't work because they can't see your spawns, and you can't see theirs. You also cannot trade these memory shards. Unlike pumpkins or iron ingots, these are "event-bound" items. You’re on your own for this one.
The Verdict on the Event Design
Honestly? Memory Mania is a bit polarizing. On one hand, the companions are some of the cutest in the game. The Anxiety Squirrel with its little twitchy eyes is a fan favorite. On the other hand, the reliance on RNG for the final shards feels a bit dated for a game that usually rewards persistence over luck.
The Inside Out 2 tie-in makes sense, though. Memories are the literal currency of Dreamlight Valley. It’s the core of the lore. Seeing the emotions integrated this way feels more "on brand" than the usual "find the cupcakes" events we get during the holidays.
What Happens if You Miss It?
Usually, Gameloft brings back popular companions in the Premium Shop for Moonstones later. But it’s not guaranteed. And it’ll probably cost you 2,000 to 3,000 Moonstones. If you have the time now, it’s much better to just grind it out and get them for free. Plus, the feeling of finally finishing that last memory is a genuine dopamine hit.
Practical Steps to Finish Your Collection
To wrap this up and get you back into the game, here is exactly what you should do right now to maximize your chances:
- Clean the Castle: Go into the Dreamlight Castle and pick up every single Hockey Trophy and School Bus, even if you think you don't need them. You need to clear the spawn slots.
- Check the Corners: Trophies love to hide in the "blind spots" of the camera near the Castle stairs. Rotate your camera 360 degrees in every room.
- The Realm Rotation: Set a timer for 45 minutes. Visit the Moana, Wall-E, and Ratatouille realms in a single loop. If you find a Birthday Cake, great. If not, don't linger.
- Ignore Eternity Isle: Stay in the main Valley. The event items do not spawn in the DLC areas.
- Track Your Progress: Open your "Collection" menu and look at the "Memories" tab. Find the Inside Out 2 section. This tells you exactly which shards you are missing so you can figure out which items (Trophies vs. Buses vs. Cakes) you need to prioritize.
Once you have all the shards, the "Memory Collector" quest will automatically update in your Dreamlight tasks. Claim your rewards there to get your new companions. If the task doesn't show as "complete," you might have a rogue shard sitting in your inventory that you forgot to "interact" with. Click it to add it to the mosaic.
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Good luck. You're going to need a bit of it, but mostly you just need patience. Those trophies are out there somewhere. Keep looking.
Next Steps for Your Valley:
Check your "Village" tab in the Dreamlight Duties menu. If "Feeling Expansive" isn't at 100%, look at your inventory for any un-popped memory orbs. Sometimes the game glitches and won't count a shard until you manually "use" it from your bag. Also, make sure your game is fully updated to the latest patch, as early versions of this event had a bug where items would spawn inside walls where they couldn't be reached. If you see a glow behind a wall, you'll need to restart the software to reset the item's position.