The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! March 2015 Photo Report of the Disney Outlet Store

Though the March Hare is about to leave us on the last day of this very month, you need not worry because the April Fool has arrived a day early and is here with a brand spanking new Outlet Report. So take a break from hunting for Easter Eggs at Epcot, put aside your souvenir mugs from the soft opening of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, hold off on booking that breakfast reservation for Be Our Guest, and be sure to pick your jaw up off the ground because it’s still there from finding out the Magic Kingdom opened up Aunt Polly’s on Tom Sawyer Island earlier this week. 

Prepare yourself for a trip to not just one, but BOTH Disney Outlet Stores in Orlando (physical addresses for both are located at the end of every edition of MM&M.) That’s right Dear Reader, I did the impossible and braved the I-4 traffic and horrendous parking situations at both outlets, for YOU.

Enough jibber jabber! Who is ready to hit the Outlets? Remember that clicking on any picture will open a full size version of it (don’t say we didn’t warn you).

Our first stop is the Disney Outlet closer to Universal at the end of I-Drive and was surprised to see the first ever Tsum Tsums show up. I’ve seen them before at Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney, but never felt compelled to buy one at $6 a pop. That said, unlike Vinylmation, I can definitely see the cuteness factor and why people would want to collect them. The only Tsum Tsums available were the seven dwarfs and only the ones pictured below. Of course I bought them all.

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Next up though is something I don’t understand at all. Gigantic Tsum Tsums. The whole selling point of Tsum Tsums is that they are small, cute, and collectible. Making them giant is like when you stretch out a low quality cell phone picture. Originally $29.95 these were marked down to $19.99.

There are days as a Universal fan I feel frustrated that Universal Creative and the marketing team have to deal with JK Rowling and Matt Groening with their iron fist control on anything related to Harry Potter and the Simpsons. Every little detail has to micro-managed and approved. But as crazy as it is to have to remove a gigantic police car in Springfield USA just to slightly change the paint scheme, at least we don’t end up seeing stuff like Yoda Duffy. Originally $25, now $9.99.

Speaking of Duffy, this Minnie Mouse-with-Duffy was the only one available. Originally $16.95, now $8.99. Apparently this was a Valentine’s Day version, as I know they also had a Christmas version of the exact same pairing.

And speaking of Valentine’s Day, or possibly 4:20, this Mickey Mouse plush has made its way to the Outlets..

For those of you like me who have never heard of a pajama pillow, they have a place in the pack where you can slide pajamas into.

I actually ran into this hat first and had no idea who is was supposed to be. It wasn’t until I saw the pillow that I realized it was for Expedition Everest’s Yeti. Originally $29.95, now $9.99

I’m not sure how comfortable this pillow would actually be.

When I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge recently, one of the things I couldn’t believe was how great their gift shop was. Much better than any Disney resort I had ever been to. One of the things I was considering getting was this hat which had a bunch of cool Animal Kingdom pins on it. The hat was $39.95 in the store, but it was marked down to $14.99.

I didn’t buy it because I couldn’t understand how the large backs of Disney pins wouldn’t be pressing into your head. Maybe as a city slicker I just don’t know how to wear these types of hats. I should go down to that fancy hat store Chapel in Downtown Disney and get fitted. It would be like a theme park blogger version of the scene from Pretty Woman, except in my version I have come back the next day with a Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster hat from the Outlets and admit I couldn’t have afforded anything in Chapel.

This thing was so gigantic I was surprised to see it was a gift card holder. Do people outside of Golden Oaks actually present gift cards in this way? Mine usually come taped to a birthday card. Originally $8.95, now $3.99.

This Walt Disney-with-Mickey magnet was also originally $8.95, now $3.99.

Here’s a Mickey’s Kitchen clock magnet. Originally $12.94, now $4.99. I didn’t buy it, but it gave me hope that the kitchen timer that is themed to a Stand-By Entrance clock will one day make it here.

Mickey Waffle and Candy Apple air fresheners. Originally $5.95, now $1.99.

Orange bird and Valentine’s Day antenna toppers.

This Sally Head antenna topper looks like it would be on the car of that kid Sid from the first Toy Story when he grows up.

Olaf pens!

More Frozen related merchandise showing up each trip, including this Elsa shirt.

And these Anna dolls.

These Elsa mugs were pretty sharp, although I’m not too sure how many kids drink coffee. Probably the same ones wearing those “sexy” Tinker Bell shirts. All mugs are reduced to $5.99

Here’s a sharp looking Animal Kingdom mug for my boys at Radio Harambe.

Now, I’m not a coffee drinker, but I don’t understand why you would put anything with ink inside a cup that would be containing hot liquid. A lot of Disney coffee mugs have characters or words on the insides of the mug. This is not normal in the coffee mug industry though, is it? I mean the ink has to come off because eventually it wears off the outside of our regular coffee mugs from just rewashing them. I don’t even know why I waste so much time in my life thinking about stuff like this.

This Mickey Mouse sippy cup terrified me. It actually reminded me of the scene at end of the Blair Witch Project. Originally $6.95, now $1.99.

Meanwhile this Pixar rocket cup was pretty cool. I bought a couple for the young boys in our family.

DREAMS DO COME TRUE. Before Christmas I was dying to get this retro Cookies and Milk For Santa set, but was scared off at the price of almost $25 for one mug and one plate. Now it has been reduced to $12.99. Bought it.

Did not buy these gigantic Mickey nutcrackers. Originally $99.95, now $39.99.

These rocking horse nutcrackers were originally $69.95 each, now $24.99. I’m not even sure how low the price would have to be for me to even consider buying one.

That said, this pillow I did buy. Originally $24.95, now $9.99

Sometimes I don’t even know what to say. Originally $24.95, now $8.99

Big fan of this Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights pin featuring Prep and Landing characters. Originally $14.95, now $6.99.

This women’s Christmas shirt was originally $32.95, now $9.99. I like it.

I actually would have bought out the entire stock of this shirt if Olaf was the snowman’s face on the sweater. Originally $24.95, now $7.99

How can you not love the retro style and the old logo on this shirt? Originally $24.95, now $7.99

A lot of Disney Cruise Line merchandise has appeared in the form of shirts. Including this Minnie one that was originally $24.95, now $11.99.

I also encourage each and every person who has considered a Disney Cruise to bite the bullet and try it out. We had a fantastic time, and here’s a couple articles on our experience: Six Reasons To  Go On A Disney Cruise – Disney Cruise Line Merchandise – Six Surprises of the Disney Cruise Line – The Castaway Cay 5K Photo Report

Lots of flip flops available.

These DCL Alaska Christmas ornaments were originally $9.95, now $0.99. Hard to beat that.

Remember what I said about that Yoda Duffy before?

This couldn’t be for the Yeti right? Disney has established his color is white. So who is it? Originally $39.95, now $19.99.

It’s super rare to see any Toy Story characters outside of the main ones, but Buttercup? Incredible. Originally $27.95, now $12.99

Always love seeing Pascal merch too. Same price as Buttercup.

I really liked a lot of the stuff they did for It’s A Small World merchandise, but it seems most of it has made it to the Outlets. These shirts were originally $19.95, now $9.99

The most awkward misting fan ever created was originally $17.95, now $4.99

A whole bunch of Disney beauty products arrived. Including lip gloss and nail polish.

I thought this Alice in Wonderland thing was a ponytail holder, but apparently its a “blending sponge.” This is why I’m not allowed to shop for our household needs. Originally $19.95, now $7.99

Haunted Mansion eye shadow. Yes, this exists.

This Walt Disney ’71 hat (although it looks an awful lot like ’77” was originally $21.95, now $7.99.

This Marie carrying case was the value of the day. Originally $34.95, it was reduced to $9.99 and had a ton of artistic stuff inside, like colored pencils, rulers, etc. There are five separate compartments of stuff.

Alice in Wonderland mini-snowglobe. Originally $8.95, now $3.99. Has any industry been hit harder by the TSA restrictions at the airport more than the snowglobe industry?

This giant Winnie the Pooh was originally $32.95, now $19.99.

This next level bananas Winnie the Pooh shirt was originally $29.95, now $12.99.

Maybe it’s a test for a live action Pooh reboot? Like the upcoming Bambi film starring The Rock.

At the time, my favorite score of all was seeing these Tower of Terror bells. Originally $7.95 each, these were reduced to $3.99. As a person who uses a bell in my theme park podcast Pardon the Pixie Dust, this made my day. You’ll have to listen to the podcasts to hear how well these bells worked….

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That’s it for the I-Drive location, let’s head down I-4 and up SR535 to the Vineland outlets. And don’t kid yourself. Frodo and Sam had an easier time getting to Mordor than I did trying to get to Orlando’s two Character Warehouse stores.

Behind the counters of both stores there is usually a piece of really cool marketing for the parks. I’ve shown pictures of the incredible Festival of Fantasy canvas they have had in the past, and I’m really digging this Flower and Garden set-up.

Minnie Mouse “Fierce” Plush. Whaaaaaaat?!

I couldn’t believe it! My favorite Disney Tagalongs made it to the Outlet. How great is this Angel Donald and Devil Donald?! Originally $12.95, now $8.99

When Tagalongs were first introduced, I had doubted the magnet technology could work. So I conducted a special Derek Burgan Investigation at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and proved once and for all if these Tagalongs do what they say they do….

Tsum Tsums were also avaiable at this location. As you can see in the photo, the large Tsum Tsums are to the left and you see the Alien pajama pillows in the background. A lot of stuff was similar at both stores.

This Tower of Terror magnet could barely hang on, and they were all like this. Not sure original price, but it’s reduced to $1.99. This would fall on the floor each and every time you opened your fridge.

Last month we saw the giant Cars Land eraser make its way to the Outlets and SURPRISE, SURPRISE, more of these ridiculous things have arrived including Tinker Bell and Ariel. Let the record show that when I first saw these at Downtown Disney I predicted they would be a flop. Originally $9.95, now $5.99, and I would do anything for someone from Disney Consumer Products to write and tell us who the market was for these erasers.

This picture does not get across how HUGE this cargo plane is. It stores 12 of the regular Disney Planes toys. It reminded me of the GI Joe Aircraft Carrier or the giant Star Wars AT-AT that my parents wouldn’t buy me back in the day. Originally $55.95, now $29.99.

Here is a play-set based on the Time Travel Mater short. This set of the three characters originally cost $44.95 and is reduced to $29.95, the same price as the giant plane above. I can tell you that any kid in country would choose that plane over this car set each and every single time.

I liked these princess magnets (originally $9.95, now $3.99) and the Little Mermaid erasers (originally $4.95, now $1.99)

Also loved these Pirates of the Caribbean Activity Sets. Bought a couple for the boys in my family.

This Lady and the Tramp statue is REDUCED TO $70.99. I have absolutely no idea what it could have been sold at originally. Maybe it was in the gift shop of the Four Seasons hotel.

Enjoyed this Donald Duck shirt for kids. Although anyone who follows me on Twitter knows how much I like ducks in general, so I may be biased on this one. Originally $19.95, now $9.99.

I’m gonna have to watch this Disney Fairies cartoons. How do they portray Tinker Bell in them because she seems like a very unlikeable character on most of her merchandise. This shirt was originally $32.95, now $14.99

Keep in mind these shirts are made for young girls.

A Nightmare Before Christmas shirt with a “hidden Mickey” Wreath. Season’s Screamings. Originally $24.95, now $9.99

I kinda like this Lightning McQueen shirt. Originally $24.99, now $7.95

This sweater was originally $54.95, reduced to $12.99.

Golfing Mickey hat and t-shirt combo was originally $39.95, now $19.99. Not a bad deal at all.

Disney Cruise Line Vinylmation. $3.99 each.

This Park Starz variant was originally $29.95, reduced to $6.99. A whole bunch of the various variants for Park Starz variants have made it to the Outlets. I’m not sure if Disney took a bath on them, or actually made money, because the original prices were so extremely high.

The Siamese cats from The Aristocats Lady & the Tramp (see comments below), now $5.99

I like this Mickey and Minnie tote bag. Reminds me of the older Archie comic books.

Looking for a Mickey Mouse bird feeder? Actually this may be a bird bath. Who knows.

Cute little princess bank with a nice touch of Rapunzel’s hair draping down.

Remember those $99.95 Mickey nutcrackers at the other store. Here is a $139.95 one AFTER BEING REDUCED. We can’t top that, so it’s time to go…

There are actually two Disney outlet stores in Orlando. Both are in Orlando Premium Outlet shopping complexes, and they are called Disney’s Character Warehouse, presumably because The Land Of Misfit Toys was already trademarked. There is one Character Warehouse located on International Drive close to Universal Studios (4951 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819), and the other is on Vineland Avenue, right across I-4 near the exits to Disney World (8200 Vineland Ave, Orlando, FL 32821). For this edition of MMM, we went to the location near Universal.

I get a lot of questions about this, so we’ll answer them here. You can order any item from the Disney Outlet Stores by calling the WDW Merchandise Guest Services (877-560-6477) There is a catch though, if the item is still available they will charge you full retail price for it, plus shipping. The Outlet Stores themselves do not ship merchandise.

Have a Happy Easter everyone. For me it’s already good because this week my beloved Wimpy’s was revealed to be open. That’s right, it rose from the dead. And now I have hope that the NASCAR Sports Grille just may come back after all.

Previous editions of Magic, Memories and Merch: July 2013, August 2013, September 2013, October 2013, November 2013, December 2013, January 2014, February 2014, March 2014, April 2014, May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, August 2014, and September 2014, October 2014, November 2014, December 2015, January 2015, and February 2015.

If you liked what you read here, you may enjoy THE SATURDAY SIX articles every week on the TouringPlans.com blog, the Pardon the Pixie Dust podcast, and you can follow your humble author on Twitter (@derekbugan).