Don’t Shop at Walt Disney World Without Reading This!

It’s nearly impossible to go to Walt Disney World and not pass through a gift shop… or two… or twenty! And when you pass through some of those gift shops, odds are you might just want to buy one of the items there. Or you might be going to Disney with a list of souvenirs you’ve got to buy, like the latest pair of Minnie ears.

If you’re planning to do any shopping in Disney World there are some BIG things you should know about!

These tips could save you time and money or help you snag some hard-to-find goodies — and we’re sharing them all with you!

1. Mobile Checkout

Our first big tip is to check if Mobile Checkout is available in the store you’re visiting. Mobile Checkout is a way to easily purchase that merchandise you’ve got your eye on at some Disney World gift shops while SKIPPING those big checkout lines!

What you’ll do is either use your phone to scan the QR code in the store, or open your My Disney Experience app and select “Shop in Store.” You’ll pick up a special mobile checkout bag in the store, and then go around and search for the items you want to buy. Before putting them in your special bag, you’ll scan the items you want to purchase with your phone, and make sure they’re added to your electronic cart.

When you’re done shopping, you’ll pay through your phone, and then head to a special area for a Cast Member to verify your purchase. Then you’re OFF! It’s a simple and easy way to get the items you want without having to wait in long checkout lines. Right now, it’s only available at a limited number of stores in Disney World, but it can still be a great tool for you to use to help save some time!

Click here to see all about the mobile checkout system!

2. Always Ask About Discounts

A Disney World trip can get EXPENSIVE. You’re already paying for tickets, food, hotels, and more, so it’s important to take advantage of discounts whenever you can.

If you’ve got an Annual Pass or are a Disney Vacation Club member, you can get discounts on merchandise at lots of places in Disney World. You can check the Annual Pass or DVC benefits websites to get exact details about how much the discount is at specific spots. Sometimes Disney even increases the discount these members get at Disney-owned merchandise locations in the parks and resorts, so that’s also a big thing to look out for!

Disney Visa Cardmembers can also get discounts at certain locations in Disney World. For example, the Disney Visa website right now says that Cardmembers can get 10% off select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations throughout Disney World if they use their Disney Visa card. They can also get discounts at places like Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co., Levi’s in Disney Springs, and more.

You can check the Disney Visa cardmember benefits page for more details. The key here is to check and see what discounts are available to you. We’d generally recommend asking at every location if they have any discounts available — worst case scenario, they say “no”; best case scenario, you can nab a discount you weren’t expecting!

Click here to see how to save BIG on your next Disney World vacation!

3. Budget & Wait a Bit…Sometimes

Another money-saving tip is to set limits and NOT necessarily fall for every cool merchandise item you see in Disney World. There are a LOT of items there to buy. If you buy every single thing you see, you’ll rack up quite the hefty bill. It’s typically a good idea to set a budget for merchandise purchases so you can make sure you don’t go overboard on the spending.

Another thing you might want to do is look at the items you want throughout the day, but wait until the end of the day to actually decide which ones you REALLY want and get those. This gives you the chance to look at everything and decide what’s really important for you to bring home, rather than making a big purchase early in the day only to later find something you want more.

But there are exceptions to this. If you see an item that is a limited-edition item, an item that is already flying off the shelves, or an item that’s likely to fly off the shelves (like designer Minnie ears, new Loungefly bags, some Dooney & Bourke collections, and things like that), you’ll probably want to grab that quickly! If you wait too long, it might sell out and you may not be able to find it for the rest of your trip.

If you’ve just GOT to have that latest limited release item, you’ll probably want to snatch that up quickly. But if you’re just deciding between a few items that are well stocked in different spots around Disney World, consider waiting a bit to decide what you really want to spend your money on.

Keep in mind, though, that some things are exclusive to certain spots. For example, the Macaron Minnie ears were ONLY available in the France pavilion. If you don’t grab that item right away, you might have to do a bit of trekking back to grab it at the end of the day.

Click here to ALL the ways to save money on your next trip to Disney World!

4. Don’t Forget About Hotel Gift Shops

Another big tip for shopping at Disney World is to NOT forget about those hotel gift shops! While some hotel gift shops mainly just sell those “standard” Disney items you can find anywhere, some of them sell hotel-specific items you might want to buy. And some of them even sell REALLY unique items you won’t find anywhere else on property.

For example, over at BouTiki in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort you can often find special items themed to Trader Sam’s or bags, plush, and more themed to Duffy and friends. Over at Zawadi Marketplace in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, you’ll find more unique items like African art and African-themed clothing.

Also note that some of these hotel gift shops sometimes carry the same things you see in the parks, but since not as many guests stop by these shops (generally), that pair of ears or spirit jersey that was sold out in the parks might be fully stocked at the Resorts. If you can’t find something in the parks that you’ve been searching for, consider looking at a hotel gift shop to see if it’s available there.

5. Smaller Gift Shops Are Great, Too!

Another thing to remember is that there are lots of smaller gift shops all around Disney World, too. These smaller spots often get overlooked by guests, but they might just have some of those items that are sold out elsewhere.

These smaller shops can also have really unique items that you might not be able to find anywhere else. This is especially true for places like Memento Mori in Magic Kingdom, which has all kinds of Haunted Mansion items. It’s also true for the smaller shops in the country pavilions in EPCOT.

If you’re looking for something unique, be sure to take a few seconds and stop by the smaller stores. You might just find some things you would have never found otherwise!

6. Limited Edition Merchandise

If you are looking for super limited edition merchandise or really new items, consider going somewhere other than Magic Kingdom. We’ve typically found that the Emporium at Magic Kingdom is one of the busiest spots to try and grab new merchandise. But other spots in the park can also quickly sell out of those new items.

If you’re going to Disney World specifically looking for some of those brand new or limited edition items, consider visiting a park other than Magic Kingdom. You might find that the other parks have a smaller display of the items, but they may be fully stocked or at least have a few more of those same items that were sold out in Magic Kingdom.

7. My Disney Experience

There are lots of things that you can do with the My Disney Experience app that people don’t even realize. One of those things is filtering the map. You can actually filter the park maps to just show you merchandise locations.

This can be really helpful if you’re trying to get to a specific shop and aren’t sure where it is.

Click here to see every major feature added to My Disney Experience in the last year!

8. Check Online

Some (but not all) of the products you can find in the Disney parks have started to become available on shopDisney or even sometimes on Amazon. If you see an item in the parks and are thinking of getting it, you might want to check those websites first before making your purchase. You may actually be able to find the item online AND score it for cheaper.

This is because shopDisney often runs sales or special promotions that are not available in the parks. Sometimes, Disney Vacation Club members and Annual Passholders can also get special discounts online. PLUS Disney Visa Cardmembers typically get 10% off select merchandise on shopDisney and potentially more if an additional discount is being offered.

Sometimes, there are also items that you can get for free or at a discount with your purchase online. But again, these deals don’t always translate over to Disney World. It’s a good idea to check if the item you’re looking at in the parks is available online and which buying method can actually help you get that item for less!

Keep in mind that there will be some park-exclusive items that you won’t find online.

9. Character Warehouse

If you’re REALLY looking to grab some Disney items at a discount, be sure to stop by Disney’s Character Warehouse. The character warehouse stores are essentially Disney outlet stores located at local Orlando outlet malls. There’s one in the Orlando International Premium Outlets and another at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets.

These stores carry a decent number of Disney items that are often placed at a BIG discount. If saving money is the name of your game, you might want to stop by these spots and see what amazing things you can score at a great price.

10. Ship to Your Home

If you’re thinking about buying a particularly large or bulky item in the parks, don’t forget that Disney can actually ship your purchase to your house via USPS or FedEx. That’ll save you from having to carry it around all day or bring it back with you on a plane.

There is an additional fee to have the items shipped, but it can be a good option for you depending on the type of item(s) you’re buying. Keep in mind that right now Souvenir Pick-Up service (where the items are delivered to the front of the park and held for you to get there) and Souvenir hotel delivery (where the items are sent directly to your hotel) are not available.

11. Disney Store

While shopping at Disney World is a blast, keep in mind that you might just find some special items at your local Disney Store, too. In fact, we first found the new Valentine’s Day Minnie Ears at a local Disney Store and then later found them in the parks.

Sometimes it’s worth it to stop by your local Disney Store to see if they have some items available that you were looking for in the parks. You might also find that they’re running special promotions there that could get you a bonus item or a discount.

12. Gift Cards

We’ve already mentioned budgeting for your merchandise purchases, but we did want to specifically mention that a great way to do that is by buying Disney Gift cards with your allotted merchandise budget money on them. For kids and adults alike, this can be an easy way to keep track of how much you’re spending and how much you have left for your must-get Disney items.

You may also want to look into buying Disney gift cards at Target if you’ve got a Target Redcard. The Redcard can typically get you 5% off purchases, including (generally) Disney gift cards. You could save a little bit that way and then use those gift cards during your vacation. Just be sure that this Redcard discount is available when you’re purchasing gift cards there.

13. Exclusive Items

Finally, some items are exclusive to the Disney parks, and some are even exclusive to a specific store. If there is something that you REALLY want, and you’ve checked online and it isn’t there, you’ll want to consider buying it when you see it. If you’re waiting until the end of the day to get something but it’s only at one specific store, keep in mind that you’ll have to walk all the way to that store again to get it.

For example, if you want an Animal Crossing plush from the Mitsukoshi Department Store in the Japan pavilion, that’s something you’ll ONLY be able to find there. You could grab it right away or potentially wait until the end of the day to get it. If you wait until the end of the day, and by that time you’re ALL the way in Future World, you’ll have to walk ALL the way back to Japan to buy it.

Taking that into account, it might just be worth it to get the item when you see it (assuming you know you really want to buy it) rather than have to walk all the way back to that pavilion at the end of the day when you’re super exhausted.

And those are some of our big tips for shopping at Disney World. We’ll keep looking for new ways for you to save at Disney World or make your vacation experience that much easier. Be sure to come back for all the latest updates.

What is your #1 Disney World shopping tip? Tell us in the comments!

 

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