By Lisa Green
Who Goes to Walt Disney World to Shop? I DO!
There are many stores and shops at Disney World that I love.
Many I just browse, but seldom buy make a purchase in – I just think
the stuff is great, with no real need to have any of it for my own.
This would include the giftshops at many of the ride’s exits – like
Expedition Everest and Tower of Terror – those giftshops are really neat
and offer cute and clever attraction-related merchandise. The one on
the way out of Pirates of the Caribbean is a particular favorite as
well. I also love to browse the shops in Disney’s Hollywood Studios – I
just seldom find anything there I can’t live without.
Now, let’s talk about where my money goes. There
are four places I go to shop (as in like-an-Olympic-sport shopping) –
The Fam is used to this and they know they can either help or get out of
the way – I’m good with either of those opptions as long as I have some
completely uninterrupted time to carefully select what will be going
home with me.
Mouse Gear in Epcot
I love Mouse Gear because of its size, but also the way the store is
merchandised. The place is always bright, clean, well organized and
neat as a pin. Part of what’s so great about it is how open it is – one
huge room all on display for my shopping pleasure. Most recently,
Megan and I added to our Shoe Ornament collection with the purchase
of three new shoes from Mouse Gear. If you saw my post on another Epcot
store (Mitsukoshi in the Japan Pavilion), it deserves a shout-out here, but unlike Mouse Gear, I don’t always buy something from there.
Disney’s Days of Christmas (Downtown Disney)
Disney Christmas ornaments are a must-buy souvenir for me. The nice
folks at Disney’s Days of Christmas will carefully pack my ornament
purchases and ship them straight to my house where they will arrive
safely unbroken. Yes, I pay about $25 extra for that, but it’s totally
worth it to me not to have to fret over what may happen if I tried to
carry all the ornaments with me on the plane home. As long as there’s
room on my 9-foot Disney Christmas tree, I’ll be buying ornaments at
this happy holiday shop.
World of Disney (Downtown Disney)
This store is, with regard to presentation, the exact opposite of Mouse Gear. It’s a little darker
and messier inside and divided into many rooms and sections – you could
look around in World of Disney for a couple of days, I think, and still
not see it all. Clothing, watches, and souvenirs are the kinds of
things I buy here. It can be really crowded, though, so if
you’re serious about shopping here, a little patience and crowd
tollerance helps. Most recently, I bought a tee shirt (for our dog,
Junior) from the boys’ section, some Haunted Mansion ornaments (the
singing busts) that were not at the Christmas Store, and some small
souvenirs for friends back home. I also bought my new, one-and-only,
perfect-for-me Earhat! (See me wearing it on our Facebook Page – oh, and if you press “Like” while your there, I’d be ever so appreciative since I’m only 20 shy of 1000!)
The Main Street Emporium (Magic Kingdom)
All the stores on Main Street’s left side are connected. So, you can
enter the Emporium and shop your way (in cool comfort) down to Casey’s
Corner! It’s the atmosphere of The Main Street Emporium that draws me
in. It’s got great Victorian details and I can find camera batteries,
gift cards, and one of my favorite things to buy there, Disney Pins (for
collecting and trading). Yeah, I know they sell pins literally
everywhere, but it has become tradition for me to at least attempt to
find a pin or two from the Emporium to take with me.
Now it’s your turn – which of Walt Disney World’s stores are
your favorite? What are your favorite souvenirs to buy on every visit?
This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at@life_of_green
Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at
Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!
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