1. Take a bus, not a taxi;
2. Before you go, stop off at any of the hotels and pick up the visitor's guide/magazine (this month, the cover is yellow and there it's the size of 8.5" x 11" paper). Inside, there is a 15% off coupon good for the Character Warehouse (there are sometimes 10% off coupons/hard cardboard fliers too).
3. Merchandise is a definite hit and miss. Sometimes, we find nice stuff; othertimes, blah merchandise (which is why you want to take a bus, not a taxi).