Best outlet's and mall's to visit ?

[sigur]

Hi folks,

Im off to Orlando for the first time on the 18th Oct for 8 days (first time to Orlando and first time to a theme park).

Would like to pick up some clothes etc whilst over there, so can anyone recommend which places to visit ?

 

[wicket2005]

Premium Outlets and the Florida Mall.

 

[Jules224]

My favourite's are Lake Buena Vista Factory outlet and Orlando Premium outlets.

 

[Goofyish]

For general shopping and choice of stores, including large department stores then you can't go wrong with the Florida Mall

 

[CustardTart]

Premium Outlets and the Florida Mall.

My faves too...

 

[Jules224]

I've not been to the florida mall, maybe i'll pay it a visit in january.

 

[Mrs Night-Train]

Another thumbs up for Florida Mall

 

[Goofyish]

Here's some links to the main malls to help you chose:

Florida Mall:
http://www.simon.com/mall/directory.aspx?ID=139

Premium Outlets Mall:
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/store_listing.asp?id=17

Mall of the MilleniaL
http://www.mallatmillenia.com/html/

Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlets:
http://www.lbvfs.com/

Prime Outlets Mall (was Belz):
http://www.primeoutlets.com/

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Overall I agree the Florida Mall is the best, offering a good selection of stores to suit everyone.

Premium Outlets is best for bargains, although you sometimes need a little luck as with most discount malls , a lot of the stock is end of line or out of season.

Mall At Millenia is the newest and smartest - although well worth a visit a lot of the stores are more upmarket so in many ways it's a window shoppers paradise.

Generally sportswear, perfumes, jewellery in many cases can offer the best value if you are looking for bargains.

In addition the Florida Mall and M&M have excellent food courts too.

 

[lin85prest]

Florida Mall is a must. Mall at Millennia is worth a visit, we love the cheesecake factory there.

 

[martinrmn]

These all sound good. We will be there in early December so will want some bargains in clothes, possibly electrics and DVD's.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

These all sound good. We will be there in early December so will want some bargains in clothes, possibly electrics and DVD's.

Must admit I struggle to find bargains on DVDs, generally always have a browse at Virgin Megastore but to be honest found them to be no cheaper than in the UK.
Plus you would need a multi-region DVD player.

 

[sigur]

Must admit I struggle to find bargains on DVDs, generally always have a browse at Virgin Megastore but to be honest found them to be no cheaper than in the UK.
Plus you would need a multi-region DVD player.

What sort of items do you feel save you money on when compared to UK prices ?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

What sort of items do you feel save you money on when compared to UK prices ?

You will find sportswear/perfumes/jewellery/Denim generally good value for money.
I guess though US labels will naturally be cheaper, Polo Ralph Lauren and Oakley for example fall into this category.
You wouldn't go shopping for European designer wear as it would be more expensive in the US than in Europe - so it works the other way round too.

There is a Lacoste store at the Mall At Millenia and it's a fair bit more expensive than the one at the Trafford Centre in the UK, a french label so you can see why.
Nike works the other way round, I bought a pair of trainers that were approx. $80 - the same pair being over £100 in the UK, so sports footwear can work out much cheaper depending on the brand.
Oakley sunglasses are much cheaper in the US too for eg some styles I have seen were $130 as opposed to £130 in the UK.

CDs and DVDs I haven't found much difference in price.

Premium Outlets is potentially full of bargains, however as I said earlier sometimes you can come away empty handed from there as most of the stock is out of season, or did not sell originally at the bigger stores.

 

[Goofyish]

What sort of items do you feel save you money on when compared to UK prices ?

Generally clothes are cheaper. If you normally buy designer labels in the UK, then these are cheaper at the outlet stores. If you aren't bothered about paying for a name on your clolthes then general clothing from places like Old Navy and the department stores in the Florida Mall are very good value.

Jeans are generally cheaper.

Trainers are cheaper.

Some electrical items are cheaper, but you need to ensure things like working valtages and charger voltages go up to 230VAC and also check for international warrantees.

Generally items cost the same in $$$ as they do in £££ (cost £10 in the UK and $10 in the US), so the saving you get depends on the exchange rate.

Remember you can only bring back £145 of goods

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Remember you can only bring back £145 of goods

oh yes and we all stick to that

It's funny how the price tags & labels dissapear as if by magic on any clothes we buy!

 

[paulfoel]

oh yes and we all stick to that

It's funny how the price tags & labels dissapear as if by magic on any clothes we buy!

Exactly. Surely if clothes in your suitcase dont have labels on, how are customs ever going to accuse you of buying them over there ?

Unless of course, you go overboard and fill your suitcase with 30 pairs of jeans or something...

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Exactly. Surely if clothes in your suitcase dont have labels on, how are customs ever going to accuse you of buying them over there ?

Unless of course, you go overboard and fill your suitcase with 30 pairs of jeans or something...

These days to be honest we do not go mad shopping wise, although we still buy a fair bit.

Some of the clothes we take on holiday, summer style wear, are clothes we have bought in the US over the years anyway.
Unless they want me to keep and take all the receipts with us - you are right , how could they know.

We may need to be careful that we move this thread off topic though as I am sure there have been debates about this in the past.

 

[Soprano]

As silly as it may sound, try to get to a WALMART.

I picked up a fair few pair of Levis and Wrangler jeans at amazing prices. £8-£15.

Don't be put off thinking you are going to ASDA! They really do stock a bit of everything, and are very, very cheap. We went there a few times and got a lot.

 

[dc1964]

If you go into MACYS in any of the Malls, although the one at Mall of Millenia is particularly good, go to guest services with your passport or photo ID and they will give you a discount card which is worth 11% off all goods in the store apart from electricals and perfumes.This is only for international customers. So if you bargain hunt and only buy the items on the discounted rails where prices are often 50 to 75% discounted already you get terrific bargains when the extra 11% is taken off.