Disneyworld outlet shopping

[Derek Smith]

Hi everyone. We are embarking on our first trip to Disney world in September this year and so many people we know have said that it is a must for you to go to the outlet shopping malls. Any tips of which one and the best way to get there. We are staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort so transport from here would be ideal.

 

[kdisser]

I'm interested in knowing this as well....

I did some research and Swan&dolphin has a shuttle that picks up from the hotel and goes to the outlet mall that has Character warehouse...I have not received feedback on how it works though....
I looked up the mall and found that information.

 

[Derek Smith]

Thats interesting. Maybe a shuttle bus to the Swan & Dolphin hotel and a trip to the mall. The mall you are on about is the Premium outlet one on international drive. We were keen to look at this one. Not sure but I k there is a Lynx bus there from Disney springs. Do you know anything about this one?

 

[kdisser]

Are you planning on staying on Disney property? If so all you have to do is take the Swan&Dolphin resort bus from a theme park to hotel to possibly use the shuttle for the Premium outlet. I will do some more digging....

 

[kdisser]

Ok they have updated the website to no longer include service from Swan&Dolphin...

But they do pick up at Disney Springs(50) to go back to LYNX transportation center then go from there to go to Premium outlets vineyard(8)

first link shows points of interest where they pick up and click on specfic points to find hours of operation:
http://www.golynx.com/plan-trip/popular-destinations.stml

second link of a map from the site that shows the 50 line heading back to the main transport then from there take 8 to the mall...then reverse to go back..
http://www.golynx.com/resources/pdf/System-Map-012416.pdf

(need to zoom in and hunt a bit but if you find the LYNX transport center first follow the lines out from there)

 

[Derek Smith]

Thanks for the info. will take a look

 

[richmo]

The Premium Outlets are on Vineland Rd (not International Dr).

The Disney Character Warehouse outlet is still there. I was there a couple weeks ago and I can tell you its better stocked than it was a year previous, but probably not as good as a few years back. If you haven't been, don't expect anything on the scale of World of Disney. Its a relatively small outlet and is definitely hit or miss on finding things.

Honestly, the bus connections sound like a lot of trouble. It would be best if you had a car, and if not, I think you'd be best off with a taxi or Uber. The distance from the Disney Springs area to the Premium outlets isn't that far (no, not easily walkable), but time can be an issue, especially leaving the outlets to return to Disney (Vineland Rd can get quite backed up)

 

[minnie mum]

so many people we know have said that it is a must for you to go to the outlet shopping malls.

Unless you live in an area that doesn't have an outlet mall, I'm not sure that I would call it a "must do". But if your main target is the Disney outlet store, then the Premium mall on Vineland will be the closest. But as a PP noted, don't go expecting a huge store with a huge selection of items. And don't expect much current park merch at all..

Taking Lynx there and back would be pretty time consuming, and a PITA IMO. Using Uber or a taxi makes more sense to me. Use taxifarefinder.com for taxi $ estimates.

 

[Barbydoll8]

You could Uber it as well. I see people post all the time about using Uber all around Disney.

There is another character warehouse in the other outlets at the end of International Drive - Prime Outlets. Larger "outlet" mall but lots of the same stores that are on Vineland Road. Both are do'able in one day. As others have said though, the character warehouse is not huge and you never know what you are going to get. Personally, the Super Walmart on 535 has one of the best selections of Disney stuff at great prices. It's not far from Disney Springs. Bus line goes right to it and it's very Uber-able (I think I just made up a word!). T-shirts there are about $12-$15 bucks and aren't poor quality IMO. They have lots of Disney "stuff" too.

There is also The Mall at Millenia. http://www.mallatmillenia.com/
Just east of the International Drive outlets off of John Young Parkway. Upscale mall but has some stores that are not readily available in lots of markets.

 

[FoodieFriend]

We used Uber to get to International Drive Premium Outlets & it was easy. Loved it. BUT unfortunately, the Disney Character Warehouse was closed for renovation or something. We didn't know, so it was a bummer. The stores were ok, not any huge bargains as we expected. We considered going to the Vineland outlet (for their Disney Char Warehouse), but decided against it.

 

[gatorlisa]

As others have said, both of the big outlets, one on Vineland Ave and the other at the end of I-Drive, have Character Warehouse, which is the Disney parks outlet stores. For the most part, they carry merch from previous years, old Disney Cruise Line stuff, and other random stuff that is being closed out/discontinued. It is extremely hit or miss as to whether you find anything you like. Some years I have walked out with a large bag of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other goodies, other years, nothing. If you are into pin trading, they can be a good source of cheap official Disney pins that can be traded with CMs. Most often these pins are dated from previous years or for special events in the past (Christmas, Halloween, Flower & Garden, etc.)...might not be good for collecting, but fine for trading. I definitely don't consider these outlets a must. The Disney stores might be worth a visit, if you have time. Most of the other stores are no great bargain. For the most part, you can do better by shopping sales at home...assuming you live in the US...the outlets might have good deals for those visiting from other countries where prices for a lot of these brands is higher than here.

 

[mickey1968]

I agree with the others that if you have great malls or outlet malls where you are from, then they are not a big deal. For the last couple of trips I have had a rental car and did go over to the one on Vineland a couple of evenings but I only went to the Disney Character Warehouse and to the Vera Bradley Outlet store.I have also gone to the one down by Universal a couple of times, again only visited those two places. LOL. The selection for the Disney stores is pretty good, but not wow. We now have a VB outlet at home so I am not as concerned to get there but the outlet prices are 50% off original everyday and usually stack another 20% off on holiday weekends. As to the Character Warehouses, the touringplans blog does a monthly report on what kind of merch to expect.
http://blog.touringplans.com/2016/03/31/mmm_032106/

 

[dreiwhit]

We tried to go to the one at the end of I-Drive and traffic was an absolute nightmare. It was so bad that we left without finding the Disney outlet. The one on Vineland was close to our condo, and traffic and parking was much better. They had a good selection of stuffed animals, etc, but not much on mouse ears. Prices were about 50% off what the same item was in the parks. They did have some of the same merchandise sold in the parks, so there must have been overruns?