Welcome to the latest edition of The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! the longest running monthly look at the Disney Outlet Stores in Orlando.

The Disney Outlets: the true final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Testa, beginning year four of our five-year mission: to explore strange old stores, to seek out weird merchandise and ugly vinylmation, to boldly buy what no MagicBand has bought before.

We actually have a big surprise this month at the end of this fine blog, but we do have to start off with a little theme park news. Universal soft opened an E-Ticket restaurant – the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen (imagine a T-Rex Cafe for adults except the food is actually good) – and was promptly sued by someone claiming the restaurant was their idea. Some are claiming this is the most frivolous lawsuit against Universal since 2013, when the landmark case of Burgan vs. Comcast unjustly ruled that just because I said, “they should build more Harry Potter” after visiting Hogsmeade Village, I wasn’t responsible for the creation of Diagon Alley. I blame my lawyer.

Now while all of you were tweeting your thoughts on Disney changing the “obscene hand gesture” in Rock n Roller Coaster (warning, NSFW!) Outlet Intern Julia Mascardo and I were hard at work to bring you the quality Outlet coverage you expect deserve!

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.)

Prices were SLASHED this month on Tsum Tsums, marking them down to an unheard of $0.99. This of course brought out the merch jerks in droves, filling up their baskets with Tsums to flip.

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I honestly thought we had seen every single piece of merchandise made for the Disneyland 60th Anniversary and yet more and more just keep coming to Outlets. Here is a Dapper Mickey photo clip Frame. Originally $14.95, now $7.99.

Disneyland 60th iPhone 6 case on left. Originally $39.95, now $14.99. On the right is a Minnie Mouse one where the character is stuck on the case. Has a lot of thickness. Originally $39.95, now just $7.99.

Some houses have “fine china” but we theme park fans know what our favorite dinnerware is. The smaller Disneyland 60th plate was originally $17.95, now $7.99. The larger one was originally $21.95, now $9.99.

Here is a pretty neat Disneyland 60th coin set. Price was $55.95, which was steep enough for even one of the merch jerks to put it back down. I think coin and stamp collecting have taken the biggest drop in overall interest since I was a kid. I remember growing up collecting stamps was a semi-big thing, and they would even advertise in comic books. Now I can’t even recall the last time I saw stamps promoted anywhere outside of inside an actual post office.

I’m not even sure what is up with the Disneyland 60th tiara on the left. I don’t think it is meant to wear because it’s way too small. Originally $24.95, now $7.99. The ornament on the right was originally $29.95, now $14.99.

Yes, this actually exists. A Rhinestone Antenna Topper. I’m not advocating that people “key” anyone’s car that has one of those on it, but to paraphrase Chris Rock, I’d understand. Originally $9.95, now $4.99

I tried but couldn’t quite understand what any of these things were. The left thing may be a scarf, or one of those ascots that Fred wears on Scooby Doo. Maybe the other two were pin holders? All were originally $29.95, now $14.99.

This was interesting. A photo frame that doubled as a “fake book” which you could store more photos in (or your weed.) I debated buying this one but ultimately passed. Originally $19.95, now $9.99.

Here is the inside of the “book.” If it was large enough to hold pieces of Burgan Fine Art I would have bought them out.

An interesting pin featuring Soarin’ that is part of a “Diamond Decades” pin set. I will definitely be buying the Luigi’s Flying Tires pin when that arrives. Originally $15.95, now $6.99.

Disneyland 60th shirt. Originally $24.95, now $14.99.

There’s a whole lot going on with this long sleeved hoodie. Not sure who the target audience was for it other than people who just have too much money on their hands. Originally $59.95, now $29.99.

Okay, let me get this straight. The Soarin’ pin above was part of the “Diamond Decades” but this shirt (and other stuff we’ve previously covered) is part of a separate “Decades” gimmick? Weird. The decade featured on this shirt has the debut of Disney’s California Adventure (including Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train and the Aladdin musical spectacular (RIP), along with Disneyland’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Originally $24.95, now $9.99.

Minnie shirt for women. Originally $32.95, now $14.99. Looks like something that would have been sold in Tren-D in Disney Springs.

Another women’s shirt, this one featuring the iconic Mickey head. Originally $29.95, now $14.99.

This is a rare bird at the Outlets, something featuring Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. I actually live relatively close to Vero Beach and stopped by one afternoon to check it out. Liked what I saw and am looking forward to spending some time there in the future (think Len Testa will get that hint?!) Also would like to note the logo for Vero Beach is based around sea turtles. In case you didn’t know,Turtles are a big part of the culture here on the east coast of Florida. I’ve actually gone to one of beaches at night and was able to see one turtle laying her eggs. It’s an amazing experience. First of all, you wouldn’t believe how fast these gigantic turtles are. Secondly, the female lays about 100 eggs in the nest, and these are good sized eggs. The turtle comes up from the ocean, digs this huge hole, lays 100 eggs, covers the hole and they scoots back in the water. Beautiful animals. Anyway, the shirt was originally $24.95, now $12.99.

So glad that next level bananas Rock ‘n Roller Coaster shirts are back in my life. This month’s entry was originally $34.95, now $14.99.

Here is a Flower and Garden shirt which I’m pretty sure features the exact same design that the Jungle Book: Alive With Magic shows had for their merchandise. Originally $24.95, now $5.99.

This May the 4th Be With You shirt was originally $27.99 and marked down to 99 cents. Well of course I’m going to buy that. There is actually a bunch of merchandise made for May the 4th Be With You day, and this summer I was at Disney Springs in Once Upon a Toy and a saw an exclusive R5-M4 droid figure. I debated waiting to see if this $12.95 droid would end up at the Outlets, but ended up buying it. I’ve said it before, but that is my number one rule when it comes to buying theme park merchandise, whether at the Outlets, in the parks, or at the resorts. If you see something you really like, get it. Unless you like collecting generic Disney Parks shirts, there’s a good chance you may not see that item in the stores again.

These Cars/Star Wars mashups are so bananas. Have you ever walked through the Hot Wheels section of a Target/Walt Mart/Toys R Us though? It’s NUTS. They make these bonkers mashups look sane. They even have a Hot Wheels vehicle for the jeep in Zoolander. This Lightning McQueen as Luke Skywalker was originally $14.95, now $9.99.

Sarge as Emperor Palpatine. You literally could not makes tuff like this up. Comes with a “cone droid.” WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! Originally $9.95, now $6.99.

R2-D2 bank for kiddos. Originally $24.95, now $9.99. It was sad news that we lost Kenny Baker this past month, the actor inside the R2-D2 suit. In reading one of the many tributes, an author wrote that he was the heart and soul of R2-D2 but I’d go a step farther. He was the heart and soul of Star Wars. Everyone loved R2.

Bank was originally $24.95, now $9.99.

This was a GIGANTIC Millennium Falcon that came with three figures. The original price was $139.95 and I didn’t see a discount. Wasn’t going to lug this one up to the counter for a price check. Young Derek always wanted a Millenium Falcon but his parent’s never got him one (I did get an AT-AT years later though, and that partly made up for the pain.)

Can you believe this? Not only is it a Vinylmation set of the “ghost Jedi” ending scene of Return of the Jedi, but they are using the young Anakin from the prequels. Hopefully on they next set they use My Idea. Originally $26.95, now $19.99.

Now here is a mashup I can get behind. Take the iconic Haunted Mansion stretch portraits and use Disney characters in them. Not sure of original price, but each are now $5.99. I bought the one featuring Capt. Hook and Tick Tock the crock.

Great Haunted Mansion magnet featuring the old timey attraction poster design. Love this. Reduced to $1.99.

Here are a pair of Mickey Head/World Showcase flag mashup pins. Not a big fan. Left is Morocco and right is China. Both reduced to $3.99.

I’m almost positive this set was World Showcase countries, but here on the right is the Brazil flag so now I have no idea. Also reduced to $3.99.

We had the Flower and Garden shirt above, and now we have a set Garden Lantern Lights. I know people put lights outside around their house on Christmas, but do people do it the rest of the year too? That I have never seen. Or are you supposed to save these for the Christmas season? Originally $34.95, now $14.99.

Interesting hummingbird feeder featuring the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. I was this close to buying this one. Originally $32.95, now $12.99.

This Cheshire Cat lawn “gnome” just looks off to me and it’s hard to describe why. It’s the face. Maybe the cat got into some cat nip? Originally $36.95, now $19.99.

Winnie the Pooh (with Tigger) salt and pepper shaker. Originally $16.95, now $8.99. Earlier this month I also stopped by Disney’s Pop Century and their gift shop had a bunch of neat salt and pepper shakers, several of which I think I will buy if they hit the Outlets.

Here’s some more of those character development coffee cups that we saw last month. This month featured some different characters, including this one for Buzz Lightyear. All cups were originally $12.95, now $5.99.

And here is Sully from Monsters Inc.

The little guy in my family lost his sunglasses so I ended up grabbing these at the Outlet. Not sure of original price but reduced to $7.99.

These kid’s shoes are something alright. Originally $37.95, now $12.99.

I spent a long time trying to figure out just what these Tigger and Marie things were. I’m guessing hats with extremely long mittens attached? These ere originally $29.95, now $7.99.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs coin bank. Originally $17.95, now $12.99.

Minnie “heart” Mickey purse that was originally $105.95, now $49.99. It’s a pretty good size purse, big enough to fit your copy of the new Drinking at Disney book (hint hint).

Pink version of the purse same price.

Believe it or not, those were actually the cheap bags. These ones were orginally $198.00, now $99.99. I was in sort of shock at the price of these so I did a little searching. Turns out they are from some sort of HARVEYS collection, and THEY ARE ALSO PART OF THE DISNEYLAND 60TH MERCHANDISE. Anyone out in California needs to hang their head in shame. Sure, we get a lot of junk over here in Florida, a lot of it that makes no sense, but we buy it.  We support our Disney overlords through thick and thin (and it’s mostly thin, have you been to EPCOT lately?) Step it up Disneylanders, or we’re gonna start sending you our Jungle Book: Alive With Magic merch.

Disney Villains photo frame. Originally $24.95, now $12.95.

Not sure what this photo frame was for but for me it feels “DVC.” Originally $59.95, now just $12.99.

Frozen stamp set. Originally $19.95, now $7.99.

Not sure if I told this story before but I bought one of these “animated glow” type things once and it stopped working the next day. These was a couple years ago, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy one again. This one featuring Monster Inc’s Mike Wazowski was reduced twice, eventually landing on $4.99.

There’s always pieces of art available at the Outlets. This month’s selection included This Disneyland 60th (OF COURSE) Christmas piece. Originally $29.95, now $14.99.

This Dumbo print was pretty sweet. Originally $39.95, now $14.99.

This Seven Dwarfs one felt like an animated cell from a cartoon. I like it. Originally $39.95, now $14.99.

The Playmation implosion continues with this Ultron Prowler Bot. Originally $39.95, now $14.99.

I have absolutely no idea if “Max Schnell” is a real race car driver, a car in the Cars universe, or maybe some artist who designed this car. Originally $9.95, $6.99

This month over at the Vineland Outlets they actually had tables and racks outside the store. All the fun and excitement of shopping at the Outlets without air conditioning. Sign me up!

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We promised a surprise and here it is. Hopefully all of you know we have a weekly sister article on the TouringPlans blog with the SATURDAY SIX. We occasionally like to take a break from the 100% Ultra Serious World of Theme Park Blogging and do the SATURDAY SIX NEWS DESK where we can discuss subjects such as the technical problems in Frozen Ever After, Universal bringing in King Kong, and sometimes we may even cover SeaWorld news.

BLAH BLAH BLAH DEREK, GET TO THE POINT!

Here’s the point. The SATURDAY SIX is booked solid for the next couple weeks, but there has been so much news this month that we’re gonna cover it here with a special

SATURDAY SIX NEWS DESK: QUICK HITS

ITEM 1: In a bit of a shocker, Disney announced The Man Street Electrical Parade would be leaving the Magic Kingdom and return home to Disneyland. In non-shocking news, no replacement was named. The awesome Paint the Night show that is getting bumped out in Disneyland? Not coming to the east coast. Brand new, super exciting parade to debut at Magic Kingdom? Sorry. Some Christmas lights duct taped to Festival of Fantasy floats? Odds currently: off the board.

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ITEM 2: After 17 years, Disney finally changed the ‘crude’ hand gesture in Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Why now? Who knows.

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ITEM 3 – Despite Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT scheduled to make its debut in the summer of 2017, Tower of Terror – the attraction it is replacing – is having a Going Away Party that ends on January 2nd. That means that more time will be spent converting Pizza Planet into PizzeRizzo than the first Disney Marvel attraction in North America. Get your popcorn ready kids, because this is going to be one to watch develop.

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ITEM 4 – Are you ready for the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival?! It’s coming in TWO WEEKS. Everybody Wang Chung tonight!

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ITEM 5 – After a critically acclaimed trial last year, Universal is bringing virtual reality back to Halloween Horror Nights this fall with an experience called The Repository. For $49.99 guests can experience a truly interactive area that involves highty themed environments, live scareactors, and virtual reality (VR). We could be looking at the future of theme parks here. Six Flags has been offering VR experiences on some of its coasters (I would argue to disastrous results) and it appears – at least from this layman’s view – that the parks are gong to try and force VR on us whether we want it not. Universal at least seems to be going the only route I think can work: ultra limited, premium priced attractions that can give the guest an unforgettable experience.

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ITEM 6 – In possibly only the second time in history that the major Orlando theme parks worked together (the first being when metal detectors and extra security showed up overnight earlier this year), Disney, Universal, SeaWorld coordinated to give away mosquito repellant in the parks and resorts. Even scarier than the Zika virus is the fact that Gizmodo used Your Humble Author as a source on an article. Here you thought the Hulk Hogan sex tape was the worst thing to happen to Gawker. What may be most interesting of all is that throughout all the signage and literature detailing the aggressive plan of attack against mosquitos, you never see the word “Zika” anywhere.

 

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). 

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, September 2014, October 2014, November 2014, December 2015, January 2015, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, May 2015. June 2015, July 2015, August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, November 2015. December 2015, January 2016, February 2016, March 2016, April 2016, May 2016, June 2016 and July 2016.

We also did an edition of Magic, Memories, and Junk for a non-Disney owned Outlet Store, and for you merch addicts like myself, you may also enjoy a look at the official Disney merchandise available on the Disney Cruise Line, Castaway Cay, and at the Orlando International Airport.

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