The World of Disney Misconception

[jimmybop]

While I was working at the World of Disney at Downtown Disney this past fall, I ran into this one common misconception that lots of guests and Cast Members have about the store.

The Misconception is as follows:

"The World of Disney has every single product that you see in the parks."

This however is not true and leads to many sad and upset guests when they find this out. While the store is the Biggest Disney Branded merchandise location in the world, it is not that big.

Here is one general guideline that may help if your thinking about buying something in the park but are holding off until the last night of your trip to get it at the World of Disney.
WOD does not carry any product that has a park, ride or hotel logo on it. Of course there are always exceptions such as Pins and a bit of Pirates Merchandise.

I am posting this because I had seen this happen alot while working there for 5 months. This has lead to alot upset kids and adults who waited until their last night to get an item that they thought/were told was at the World of Disney. SO if your staying at a resort, buy what you see at the parks and use resort delivery so you dont have to carry it. If you change your mind about the item, return it to your hotel gift shop and return it. Dont leave your shopping to the last moment.

 

[tmt martins]

That is a great tip'

Also for the most part prices don't change from one place to another.You might see a pin at your resort for $6.85 then it might be $6.95 at the park .This is because the TAXES are different in the 2 counties that the parks and resorts are located.When you pay for the item in either place it should come out to the same price.

This way if you return it in the other place you will get the exact total .

DISNEY has the BEST return policy bar-non.If you see it buy it and don't open or use it .Then if you see something better get that and return the first.

If something is broke or stops working ( PENS )while on sight just take it back they will replace it.

 

[jimmybop]

yes, most of the resort has a 6.5% sales tax, while the All-Star Resorts and Disney's Wide World of Sports has 7% (as of last fall.. but it should still be the same).

 

[jann1033]

thanks as i thought the store carried it all. now i know better

 

[pjpoohbear]

That is a great tip'

Also prices don't change from one place to another.You might see a pin at your resort for $6.85 then it might be $6.95 at the park .This is because the TAXES are different in the 2 counties that the parks and resorts are located.When you pay for the item in either place it should come out to the same price.

This way if you return it in the other place you will get the exact total .

DISNEY has the BEST return policy bar-non.If you see it buy it and don't open or use it .Then if you see something better get that and return the first.

If something is broke or stops working ( PENS )while on sight just take it back they will replace it.

Not quite true, a sweatshirt I wanted at PopC was 44.95 and at the WofD is was 49.95. It seemed most items were more expensive at WofD then at other locations, this was before taxes. The same was true of a mickey head paper punch at the scrapbooking shop at DTD and it was higher at WofD, hmmm. These were just two items that I actually purchased, it really upset me that the "great" AP discount( 10% at WofD only) was not really a discount at all, just a way to equalize the cost to any other shop at WDW.

I no longer wait to buy at WofD because I know that the price without discount in a park or at a resort or at any other DTD shop is the same as I would get with discount at WofD. Don't believe me, check it out with same items at DTD, prices will be cheaper at any other shop for an exact same item.

Pj

 

[tmt martins]

Not quite true, a sweatshirt I wanted at PopC was 44.95 and at the WofD is was 49.95. It seemed most items were more expensive at WofD then at other locations, this was before taxes. The same was true of a mickey head paper punch at the scrapbooking shop at DTD and it was higher at WofD, hmmm. These were just two items that I actually purchased, it really upset me that the "great" AP discount( 10% at WofD only) was not really a discount at all, just a way to equalize the cost to any other shop at WDW.

I no longer wait to buy at WofD because I know that the price without discount in a park or at a resort or at any other DTD shop is the same as I would get with discount at WofD. Don't believe me, check it out with same items at DTD, prices will be cheaper at any other shop for an exact same item.

Pj

I will edit as you are correct yes some things are differently priced I was generalizing to get the point across to just buy it where you see it.

 

[akalittleeva]

SO if your staying at a resort, buy what you see at the parks and use resort delivery so you dont have to carry it. If you change your mind about the item, return it to your hotel gift shop and return it. Dont leave your shopping to the last moment.

If you buy something in the parks and want to return it, you can do so at your resort gift shop? That would be great!

 

[tmt martins]

If you buy something in the parks and want to return it, you can do so at your resort gift shop? That would be great!

Yes if you have a reciept it makes it a lot easier but you can return any item purchased at WDW at most locations at WDW .Some carts might have a problem but other then that you should be fine.

 

[Evil Queen]

We've never done this, waiting to buy, but I was thinking about it this year. Now I'll stay with what worked for us last trip.

Usually, if DS10 finds something, we make a note of where we saw it. By the end of the day we make time to go back to the store/shop where he saw the item and purchase it. I'll take the wee bit of walking back to the shop, and not have to haul it around all day. This also give him a chance to see the many items they have to offer, before he spends his money and finds something different later in the day.

I've never tried having packages delivered to the resort, but have had the package delivered to the front of the park to be picked up on the way out. That was great for the year DS bought the Epcot sphere, but this was before I would make him wait until the end of the day in the parks to pick.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Thank you, thank you for that tip. I must say I am guilty of thinking you can get anything at DTD. You did a great service to many people today.

 

[Luv'sTink]

My DH have had many a "discussion" over this and I knew "I" was right!! LOL

 

[renessa]

I had a disappointing experience when we went into the Christmas store at DTD. They had lots of personalized souvies available...we got a picture frame with our names and dates, mickey ears with names for friends, and then I saw the mickey ear ornaments. There was a lady personalizing in the store so I was heart broken to find out that there was a 3 day wait for our names. Shipping would have cost almost as much as the ornament and I wanted it now...so we settled for the year and some pixie dust around it. So lesson learned...go to DTD early in the trip and find personalized souvies.

 

[photobob]

The last time I went in WOD I vowed not ot return. The have cool stuff but it is so crowded you can't walk in there. My wife and kids stayed in the store for awhile but I went outside and waited for them. I don't find that true at the other stores in DTD and I do enjoy going to DTD, but WOD drives me crazy.

 

[PanamaMike]

It always amazes me that people think WOD carries all the WDW merchandise.

How many different shops are there throughout the entire property?

How much square footage do all those shops take up?

Even with some generic items available in different stores, there are tens of thousands of different products available.

If WOD were to stock every item, it would probably need to be the size of ALL of DTD.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

I hunted all over DTD for one pin that I could not find. Fortunately I did find it at Pop's gift shop. I was able to get the Philharmagic Mickey at the Under $10 store in DTD. The only other place I saw him was at the store next to Philharmagic in Fantasyland.

 

[jimmybop]

Yes, I forgot about the front of park delivery as we do not do that at Downtown Disney. But that is a wonderful service too.

Any item bought at the parks, dtd, waterparks, resorts can be returned to any other Disney merchandise shop on property (well, when I say all, there are always exceptions like outdoor carts and glowcarts) . Just keep track of the original receipt as it makes things go alot faster (if you do not, the price of the item has to be looked up and if they do not carry it in that shop it takes a few mins of phonecalls/computer work to find it), if you loose the receipt try to atleast have the tag for the item with the barcode/sku. Without a receipt you will get back merchandise credit that will work at any Disney Merchandise/Food and Beverage Location that will accept giftcards.

Also, Shipping home is a great service too. The most Disney charges for shipping is around $15-$20, and thats for purchases up to $1000 (dont quote me on that.. its been 5 months since I worked there and my mind is stressed with finals this past week). SO if you are buying lots of things at once, ship it straight home. All Disney merchandise locations (with the same excepts as above) can do this. And what is even better is that if you ship out of the state of Florida, you do not have to pay sales tax. If you are a really big spender, you could actually save money by doing this. From what I was told (again.. dont quote me on this) any thing mailed home is fully insured, so if it breaks or something is missing, you can call the mail order number and they will try to help you out (again, I am not guaranteeing anything, but it is Disney and we do aim to please).

One more added note about resort delivery for people who have not done so before. Items normally arrive the next afternoon at your resort's gift shop (with the exception of sometimes if you buy them later at night). You then go and pick up your bags at the gift shop. Also, I was told never to ship back food that could melt/break easily/go bad as the Florida sun is very strong and you never know where the bad will end up during their journey. Some cast members will send them but I however advise you not to.

As for Disney's Days of Christmas at Downtown Disney (where I had the pleasure of working for a few days before Christmas) Personalization services get way backed up during the holidays. If you plan on getting a personalized ordainment around this time of year, there may be a waiting list of up to 4-5 days, so go and get it early in your trip. The store does their best to do all the orders they can. Not only are there the two artists on the floor that you see, there are also several tables set up in the back where they work on them too.

As to Photobob.... at night the store can get pretty crazy, the best time to shop is in the early morning or afternoon.

Another Hint for anyone shopping at WOD... The best/fastest places to get through the checkout lines are the rooms with the most registers. As of this past fall before the remodel these locations are the Princess room and now the new boys/pirates room. I'm sure this is still the same even after the remodel. Also I will add that I always loved working on the registers in the now pirate room that was down on the far end (next to the windows). For some reason no one would really line up down there and we would always have to wave people over (sometimes there would be no line down there and about 5-10 people in line down at the other end).

 

[LindsayDunn228]

The last time I went in WOD I vowed not ot return. The have cool stuff but it is so crowded you can't walk in there. My wife and kids stayed in the store for awhile but I went outside and waited for them. I don't find that true at the other stores in DTD and I do enjoy going to DTD, but WOD drives me crazy.

No kidding. And don't even try to browse when it's raining.

 

[goodferry]

I can verify that you can save money by shipping stuff home. One year we knew we would be making several large purchases at the Lego store that we didnt' want to haul home, so we had it shipped. I think around $80 you break even (the shipping charges are equaled out by the money you save on sales tax) We also did this with the giant Cinderella castle. The hard part is getting the kids to agree to not getting to play with their new toys for a few days!

 

[Feralpeg]

I had a disappointing experience when we went into the Christmas store at DTD. They had lots of personalized souvies available...we got a picture frame with our names and dates, mickey ears with names for friends, and then I saw the mickey ear ornaments. There was a lady personalizing in the store so I was heart broken to find out that there was a 3 day wait for our names. Shipping would have cost almost as much as the ornament and I wanted it now...so we settled for the year and some pixie dust around it. So lesson learned...go to DTD early in the trip and find personalized souvies.

It is true that personalization cannot be done while you wait most of the time. However, if you ship an item out of state, you pay no sales tax. Normally, you end up equalizing or actually paying less by shipping. For instance, a guest purchase over $300 worth of ornaments yesterday at Days Of Christmas. She was going to take them with her. The CM explained the shipping policy. When all was said and done, she payed $5 less by shipping her purchases than she would have paid if she had not shipped and payed sales tax.

 

[Feralpeg]

Not quite true, a sweatshirt I wanted at PopC was 44.95 and at the WofD is was 49.95. It seemed most items were more expensive at WofD then at other locations, this was before taxes. The same was true of a mickey head paper punch at the scrapbooking shop at DTD and it was higher at WofD, hmmm. These were just two items that I actually purchased, it really upset me that the "great" AP discount( 10% at WofD only) was not really a discount at all, just a way to equalize the cost to any other shop at WDW.

I no longer wait to buy at WofD because I know that the price without discount in a park or at a resort or at any other DTD shop is the same as I would get with discount at WofD. Don't believe me, check it out with same items at DTD, prices will be cheaper at any other shop for an exact same item.

Pj

Normally, that is not the case. I shop almost daily at DTD. The price of an item is the same across stores. Occasionally, a price will change. World Of Disney is so big and busy, they don't always get new stickers on items as fast as the other stores. Since they scan barcodes on everything, they could get the wrong price. If you see an item with a cheaper price elsewhere, talk to the information desk in WOD. They will find out the correct price and give it to you for that amount.