Outlet Store vs. Park, or How to buy the cool stuff without spending a fortune

I love going to Disney World and strolling through the shops browsing for fun new items to add to my ever-growing Disney collection. However, unless you find a rare sale or clearance item, you can end up spending a small fortune. A few years ago, I heard about the three Disney outlet stores located near Disney World. One, Character Outlet, is fairly small and sells both Disney and Universal Studios merchandise at a decent discount. There are two that sell all Disney items and are licensed Disney stores. Disney's Character Premiere, has several items that are discounted 50% or more, but also a lot of items that are regular price. The last store, Character Warehouse, sells items removed from the parks to make way for new merchandise, at a steep discount. This is our favorite Disney store. We've purchased a lot of fun items there at a great price. They have had everything from toys to Pal Mickey costumes, to t-shirts from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival, all for 50-70% off. They usually have a wide selection and a wide variety of price ranges, with something to suit everyone. We've purchased pins there for $4 or less, picture frames from Tower of Terror ($1) and Star Tours ($5 and it even lights up!), scrapbooking items for 75% off the original price, and a ton more. This store also gives stickers to kids that come in, just like the stickers given out in the parks. It's a little farther from the parks than the others, but offers the best value.

One of the best ways to save money at Disney, is to buy your souvenirs from an outlet store at some time during your trip. Because we usually drive down, we drive right past our favorite store on the way to the parks. As a result, we like to stop BEFORE going into the parks and pick out a few new things. We always budget for souvenirs and allow Bean to pick out a new toy and accessories at Character Warehouse, then don't purchase much in the parks. She usually gets more this way for the same amount of money that we would have spent in the parks. Also, this means that she has something new and exciting before we even get to the parks and so she's less likely to fall in love with something in the parks. If you want to go to the parks first and are spending several days, you still may want to check out the selection at the outlets at some point during your trip. We have often found the same or similar items from the parks in the outlets at a much lower price. It's a fantastic way to save money and still make the kids very happy.

If you would like to visit the outlets, here are the addresses.
Disney's Character Warehouse
Pr1me Outlets International, Suite #95
Mon-Sat 10AM-11PM, Sun 10AM-9PM
4951 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819
(407)354-3255

Disney's Character Premiere - Suite #1252
Mon-Sat 10AM-10PM, Sun 10AM-9PM
8200 Vineland Avenue, Orlando, FL 32821
(407)477-0222

Character Outlet - Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores
Mon-Sat 10AM-9PM, Sun 10AM-7PM
15629 Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32821
(407)238-9301
charout@embarqmail.com