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Lots of Shopping Options!
When I'm not enjoying the attractions and shows, I love to explore the various shops around the resort, looking for the perfect souvenirs and gifts to bring back home. And there is quite a variety to choose from! You name it, and you can probably find it. Anywhere you go, you're sure to find something special or novel for sale.
What To Buy
Not sure what you can buy? DisneyAnne has a Walt Disney World Shopping lens that describes some of the souvenirs that are available at the resort.Also, the Disney World & Orlando Unofficial Online Guide has a list of suggestions for special souvenirs that can only be found at Walt Disney World.
In the Parks
Shop while you play!
Each of the parks offers a variety of shopping experiences, often tailored to the theme of the land or area that you are in.
The Disney World & Orlando Unofficial Online Guide maintains a Disney World Shopping page that lists the various stores in each Park (as well as a wealth of other information on shopping at The World).
The Disney World & Orlando Unofficial Online Guide maintains a Disney World Shopping page that lists the various stores in each Park (as well as a wealth of other information on shopping at The World).
Resort Shops
Need a break from the parks? You can still have a shopping adventure back at your resort. Each resort hotel has one or more stores that sell souvenirs, vacation sundries, and resort-themed merchandise to suit most needs and tastes.Check out the Disney World & Orlando Unofficial Online Guide's "Shopping at the Resorts" page for a list of stores at each of the resort hotels.
Downtown Disney
Head to Downtown Disney for the ultimate Disney shopping experience. Mixed in with the restaurants and entertainment venues are specialty stores with something for everyone, as well as the world's largest World of Disney store.The Disney Information Station has a great page detailing the shops you can explore at the Downtown Disney Marketplace. There are also some shops at Downtown Disney's West Side.
If you're interested in a little history of the Marketplace, explore bigBrian's postcard tour of the original Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village.
Journey Into World of Disney
Adam Rucker's brief tour gives you an idea of what it is like to shop in the World of Disney store.
Journey Into World of Disney and Downtown Disney
This is a RuckitUp tour of the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Lots of hats and lots of crazy people. PS: There's also a special surprise location! A favorite hangout spot of mine.
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curated content from YouTube
Saving Money on WDW Shopping
An Orlando vacation sure can be expensive! That's why I am always looking for ways to save a little money on the things I buy during my trip. Here are a few ways that you can save money on your WDW-related purchases:
- Outlet Stores: If you have a rental car, be sure to check out one of the Disney World outlet stores in the Orlando area. These stores carry overstock and discontinued items (and sometimes current merchandise, too!) at discount prices. MouseSavers.com has information on the locations here, including addresses for each, and what you can expect to find there.
- Annual Passholder Discount: One of the benefits of being an annual passholder is the many discounts that are available on a variety of items. This includes discounts on merchandise purchased at some of the shops at Downtown Disney, including the World of Disney Store. The discount is generally about 10%, with no minimum purchase required. Check out AllEarsNet's AP Benefits page for more details.
- Disney Rewards Visa Card: Chase offers a Visa card that allows you to earn 1% in "Disney Dream Rewards Dollars" on your purchases. These Rewards Dollars can be used for Most Things Disney, including merchandise purchases made around the resort. You can learn more about the card and apply for one here.
- Disney Character Warehouse Outlet Stores: Folks out West are lucky to have a number of these outlet stores available to them, where they can buy discontinued and overstock park merchandise discounted up to 80%. The outlet store list includes many temporary locations up and down the coast, as well as a few permanent stores. Sure, the merchandise is from the Disneyland Resort, but some of the recent park items bear both resort names, so you might be able to find suitable WDW souvenirs as well.
Other Walt Disney World Shopping Tips
A Walt Disney World shopping guide would not be complete without mentioning these shopping tips and opportunities:
- Resort Package Delivery: Did some shopping in the parks or at Downtown Disney and don't feel like carrying your shopping bags around all day? If you are a WDW Resort hotel guest, take advantage of the package delivery service. Anita Answer has more details.
- Even non-WDW resort guests can lighten their loads: If you are not a WDW resort guest, the resort can still help you out with your purchases. You can have your packages sent to a location near the front of the park, for later pickup as you leave the park. You can also have them ship your packages to your home. (This is especially useful when trying to get those new snowglobes home, what with the TSA restrictions on liquids in your carry-ons!)
- Last Chance Vacation Shopping: If you're looking for a last-minute souvenir or gift on the way to your flight, the Orlando International Airport has two Disney World stores: Walt Disney EarPort, located in the terminal's East Hall, and Magic of Disney, in the West Hall. The airport web site has a handy shop and restaurant map here that you can use to determine their locations - simply hover your mouse pointer over the green dots in each Hall.
- It's never too late to shop: Did you return home from your trip and find that you have regrets about not purchasing a special item you saw at one of the shops? Never fear, the Walt Disney World Merchandise Mail Order Department can help you out! AllEarsNet.com has information here on the services this department has to offer, and how to contact them.
- Shop for souvenirs online: If you're looking for a little trinket from The World but you're not sure of what you want, try the LaughingPlace Store's Walt Disney World category. This site sells pens, keychains, toys, books, music CDs, fan-produced DVDs, and much more!
- Shop for photos online: Disney's Photopass is a great way to capture memories of your trip. You can have your picture taken by Photopass photographers in front of Park icons and with the characters. Then, after your trip is over, you can review your photos in the comfort of your own home, and order prints, PhotoBooks, and more! Intercot.com's PhotoPass web page has a description of how this all works, including a link to the PhotoPass site.
- A WDW shopping fix: Don't have a Disney vacation planned in the near future, and you happen to live in the New York City area? You can get a quick shopping fix by visiting the World of Disney Store at 5th Avenue and 55th Street. This sister store to the huge Downtown Disney Store has 3 floors of shopping pleasure, including an Art of Disney section, and a Meet n' Greet area. The characters vary from season to season - I've had my photo taken with Minnie dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and, at Christmastime, Santa Goofy.
- Own a piece of the World: Mouse Surplus and Surplus Kingdom sell some pretty amazing WDW stuff - Disneyana collectibles, memorabilia, park signage and props, attraction ride vehicles, resort and restaurant furnishings and decor, merchandise overruns. All sorts of artifacts are available on their respective eBay stores. In addition, mickeysurplus also specializes in WDW paraphernalia. This site is not as well-known as the others, so you might be able to find some better deals there.
- Flowers and Gift Baskets: Ever want to send a flower arrangement to a special someone vacationing in The World? Have a gift basket waiting in a resort room to help celebrate a special occasion? The Disney Florist can do all that and more! The Disney Florist offers a huge assortment of fresh flowers and plants that they can use to create the perfect arrangement for your special occasion, such as a wedding or anniversary. They also offer a huge variety of baskets, of just about every size and shape, from romantic to Disney theme, to fruit and gourmet, including adult beverages. Their experts can work with you to design the perfect gift. And they deliver to all the Disney resorts, as well as other local destinations. Take a look at their website for more information on what they have to offer.
My Favorite Stores
I thought it could be useful to note which WDW shops I tend to frequent, and why.
- One Stop Shopping: When I'm pressed for time, or if I just don't know what I want to buy, I'll find my way to one of the larger souvenir stores on property. The following three are my favorites, packing quite a variety of items into single shops:
- World of Disney: Located in Downtown Disney's Marketplace, this humongous store offers a large selection of items - clothing, jewelry, pins, stationery, housewares, collectibles, and so much more! And since this is one of the few stores on property that offer discounts (Annual Passholder, Disney Visa), saving my souvenir shopping for this store can save me a little money.
- The Emporium: This store takes up most of the west side of Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, and, among other things, offers park-branded souvenirs and clothing, as well as plush and collectibles. I like to wander through the Emporium on the way out of the Magic Kingdom. Besides being a pleasant shopping experience, the air conditioning provides a welcome break from The Florida heat.
- MouseGear: MouseGear is Epcot's largest store, and is located on the east side of Future World between the Fountain of Nations and Test Track. I like browsing through the Epcot-related merchandise sold here.
- Christmas in July (or whenever you're there): I love the sights, sounds, and smells of the Christmas season. I also love to collect animated character ornaments. The Christmas stores at WDW provide all of that, and more, all year round! The shops are chock-full of Disney-themed Christmas decorations of all shapes and sizes, displayed in a wonderful atmosphere of holiday music and cinnamon and pine aromas.
There are multiple retail locations in the resort that sell Christmas-related items. My two favorites are:
- Disney's Days of Christmas: Located in the Downtown Disney Marketplace, this store has a great selection of character and theme park ornaments, holiday lights and decorations, CDs of Chrisrmas music, candies, plush, even Santa hats with Mickey Mouse ears. A walk through this store during each visit to the Marketplace always puts a smile on my face.
- Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe: This store can be found at the entrance to Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom. It has the look and feel of colonial America, complete with store clerks in period costumes. Although they sell much of the same merchandise as Disney's Days of Christmas, the atmosphere alone makes this store worth seeing.
- More to come...
Mouse Surplus
The Happiest Place in e-Bay!
Mouse Surplus is one of two well-known e-Bay retailers that specialize in WDW artifacts. All sorts of amazing stuff can be found here - memorabilia, collectibles, signage, souvenirs, pins, jewelry, displays, and other one-of-a-kind items from the Resort and the Disney Cruise Line.
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Surplus Kingdom
Surplus Kingdom is the other of two well-known e-Bay retailers that specialize in WDW artifacts. Surplus Kingdom works with Walt Disney World and other parks to obtain items that collectors dream of owning, from attraction ride cars and props to resort and restaurant furnishings and decor.
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mickeysurplus is a lesser-known eBay seller of WDW artifacts. Since it is not as well-known, you are not competing with as many bidders, and might be able to get better deals.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byOther Walt Disney World Information Resources
- Focus on Disney World
Barrie does a wonderful job keeping up on all of the important facts and information about the Resort. Be sure to check out her informative lens on Disney World Resort Hotels For Less, which details how to save money by renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points.
- Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide
Deb Wills and her team provide a very comprehensive up-to-date Internet guide to the Walt Disney World resort. AllEarsNet.com is one of the first places I go when I have a question about the resort.
- MouseSavers.com
Mary Waring's constantly updated site is an invaluable resource for saving money on your Disney Park trips and Disney shopping. I regularly point people to MouseSavers whenever I am asked about room or ticket discounts.
Reader Feedback
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- Oct 30, 2007 @ 11:58 pm
- nice lens you have here, keep up the hard work. Cheap Disney Cruises
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- ebizsalez ebizsalez Oct 14, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
- very cool and useful. Thanks for the info.
from fellow lens: bigsaveontravel
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- MCdricas MCdricas Sep 9, 2007 @ 10:33 pm
- Nice site. If you forget souvenirs... please visit here: Disney Collectible
See you soon!
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- sunshinestyles sunshinestyles Aug 26, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
- Great tips, I love how the shopping at the parks is always changing and getting better!
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- Karendelac Karendelac Jul 25, 2007 @ 10:55 pm
- I gave you 5 stars for your great lens Tom. This is a great collection of tips on how i can save money when buying DL items. All the Best, Karen at Karen's Kinkade Art Store
- Load More
by tompokny
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