Tell me about Mouse Surplus

[disneysteve]

What's the deal with Mouse Surplus in Haines City? Do they have a retail store that is open to the public? I know they sell stuff online but their website also gives directions to their showroom. Can I just walk in off the street? Is it worth taking a ride? Sounds like it isn't all that far away.

 

[utahkennedys]

YES! We went this past fall and it was a total riot! We loved it, but having said that, the place is so, so weird. Do not expect some fancy showroom or anything. When we pulled up at first I felt like we were trespassing! There is cool stuff though and the people are nice. It's further than you think, and it's in the sticks!!! But, if you have some time and want to do something different, go for it! DH especially loved it and it was fun to see some of the cooler, huge pieces of sets, rides, etc. They also shipped for us so we didn't have to take stuff on the plane.

 

[mousey]

We absolutely hated this place. It is filthy dirty, the employees were very rude and merchandise is all over the place with the majority missing price tags. They basically charge whatever they feel like charging. Old hotel linens and bedspreads were stored on dirty floors. Some of the furniture was broken and missing pieces.
Personally, I wouldn't waste my time driving to this junkhouse.

 

[swilshire]

We stop in every time we're in the area. Sometimes we buy a lot. Sometimes just an item or two. Our best find was the Sony 27" television for $25. I was afraid it wouldn't work, but thought I'd take a chance for that price. It works great. Next time we wanted to buy another but they were down to 25" models still for $25. I have one of those in my kitchen.

We've found most of the employees to be very nice. We ran into one fellow who was a bit of a grouch, but DH had him warmed up by the time we left. If you don't like asking for the prices, they usually have a printed sheet available listing them all.

It's definitely a treasure hunt, but if you like that sort of thing, you don't want to miss it.

Sheila

 

[disneysteve]

We went to Mouse Surplus today. What a great place! We had a ball visiting and seeing all the terrific old Disney stuff. It brought back a lot of memories. Some of the stuff is pretty recent but quite a few items date back many, many years. I got to tell my daughter some old Disney stories based on some of the items. They've got a little bit of everything here. And the guy running the shop was very nice. We spent a fair amount of time talking to him, asking how they get all the merchandise and such. My daughter bought a copy of a Ralph Kent sketch of Chip and Dale for a friend of hers and I bought several old pin-back buttons (I collect them). There were some really neat items there and I remembered most of them from when they were in use in the parks and resorts.

This should definitely be on your To Do list the next time you are in the area, particularly if you are a collector of Disney items.