The Magic, The Memories, and Junk! April 1st Photo Report of a Non-Disney Owned Outlet Store

Wait a minute… didn’t we just do this yesterday? No, Dear Reader, you are not having a case of Deja Vu. We are back for a brand new Outlet Report, except today we are going to travel outside of the two Orlando Premium Outlets that contain the official Disney Character Warehouse stores, and venture into one of the many Disney stores located off property. We’ve all seen them, because they are everywhere. International Drive… State Road 535… 192… if it’s a main road in the theme park corridor of Orlando, there are going to be these knock off shops. Almost all promise cheap t-shirts and Florida souvenirs, and its surprising just how much of the exact same merchandise is in many of the various stores. While I would strenuously recommend you stay away from any place offering you “free” or cheap theme park tickets, heading into these souvenir stores can be fun because you can find items you’d never see on Disney property.

We narrowed down the list of options and chose to spotlight Theme Park Outlet, mostly because we love the name. It is located in the Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores off State Road 535 (the exact location will be at the end of the article).

 

I have been spoiled by covering the Disney Outlet Stores for the last year and a half, because before entering the store my head was filled that I would be finding discount Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and possibly SeaWorld park merchandise. SPOILER ALERT: This was not the case.

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I knew I was in for a treat right away when one of the first items I saw was this Mickey Mouse plush and it took me about five minutes to figure out exactly what it was. At first I thought it was some sort of next level bananas slipper, because it had strange opening on top, but I think it’s actually the most elaborate Kleenex tissue holder ever made. The price tag had $13.99, with an orange sticker on top of that with a price of $11.99.

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Mickey and Minnie “shiny” Beanie Baby-like plush. $12.99 each. These just had an orange sticker, with no original price. Much of the inventory in the store was like this.

This German-clothed Mickey Mouse plush was a tease. It was the only doll like it. No Mexico-clothed Mickey, or Canada-clothed. Just this one. $12.99.

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When covering the official Disney Outlet Stores, I am often amazed by the amount of plush there which is Disney characters as babies. This giant baby Mickey felt “cheap” to hold. Say what you will about Disney merchandise (and I’ve said more than most), almost all of it is pretty good quality. This Baby Mickey wasn’t. And then it dawned on me. Most of the plush in this store was the type you would win at carnival games. These are the giant stuffed animals hanging by the games that tempt you in to play. Baby Mickey was $29.99

They also had a Baby Daisy Duck. How random is that? $29.99.

Various types of Olaf plush.

Lady from Lady & the Tramp.

Smurfs?

Marvin the Martian and the Road Runner?!

Even seeing those I was not prepared for this KING KONG! Ol’ banana breath had a price of $4.99, and copyright date on the price tag of 2004, so he’s been sitting in somebody’s basement for a long time.

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I bought one of this Mickey Mouse Play Pack Grab & Go activity sets. I think these are great to have on hand for being in the car for long trips (or while sitting in congestion,) or bringing to restaurants.

Ready for a whole bunch of magnets? If you’ve come to Florida before you’ve probably seen similar, or the exact same ones, at your hotel gift shop or any of the souvenir shops across Orlando.

Same with key tags…

And postcards….

In fact I bought the Mickey Mouse “Orlando” magnet in the picture below while staying in the Rosen Centre across from Pointe Orlando just last month.

I kind of liked this Mickey Mouse shirt for kids. Reminds me of a comic book. This was originally $20.00, marked down to $9.99

This three piece toddler outfit was only $17.99. Seems like a good deal.

This was a shirt/pants combo for young kids. $9.99. I think it looks pretty sharp.

Minnie Mouse shirt. $13.99

This Minnie Mouse long sleeve was originally $20.00 but marked down to $8.99

Always a fan of Wreck-It-Ralph merchandise.

Also really liked these Woody and Buzz shirts.

However this Mickey Mouse shirt looks like something you’d see on a background extra in an episode of Miami Vice in 1986.

Hard to screw up classic Mickey Mouse on a t-shirt. $9.99

This children’s t-shirt has the Fab 5 minus Minnie. $7.99

And has the characters on the back side of the shirt as well. Done much more effectively than the adult versions I covered in the Disney Outlet Store photo report which were horrendous.

Yes, there was a 25% discount on these shirts, but they were also more expensive than almost all the other shirts at $11.99. About 25% more expensive…

I don’t understand why the lettering for all three words is different on this one.

This was a cute Olaf and Anna shirt. $8.99

Even the kids are wearing the Keep Calm shirts?! If Interstellar ever becomes a real situation and they are looking for someone to leave the Earth, I just may volunteer. Although I may not have too as many TouringPlans readers will also be more than happy to volunteer me.

I’d say I don’t understand why there is a Betty Boop shirt here, but there is an entire Betty Boop STORE at Islands of Adventure. Betty Boop’s heyday was what, the late 1920s into ’30s? How is this possible?!

Let’s get back to Frozen stuff including this children’s plate.

And stickers.

Funco Pop Mickey and Minnie Mouse figures. I like this Mickey on a t-shirt, but he looks kinda creepy here.

This I actually really liked. A Color Your Own Pin Collection with four pins for $9.99 I don’t know how well it works in practice, but in theory this is a 5 star idea. And they even have a “cute” Tinker Bell pin, not a “sexy” one.

I always loved shopping for backpacks when I was a kid. These were $16.99 each.

Pins.

I was pretty tempted to get this Spider-Man body wash. $1.99

These Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse themed cups were $1.99 each.

While this Tervis Tumbler-style cups were $3.49.

It’s not just me right? Cinderella looks to have a lazy eye in this bath mat? It creeps me out.

Lenticular key tags for the kids.

Some 2014 branded merchandise.

These 2014 photo albums were only $0.99 each.

Lots of hats for the kids.

This tote bag was $2.49.

I like the idea of this see-through storage bag for picking up toys/stuff around the house, so I bought some at $0.99 a pop.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This store was definitely geared towards younger kids. The wide variety of items was a nice touch, and there were a decent amount of shirts that I think would fit in well in a regular Disney store. While you’re not getting any huge deals, this may be a good option for people looking to pick up souvenirs for friends and family back home.

The Theme Park Outlet Store is located in the Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores – 15569 State Road 535, Orlando, FL 32821.

If you like reading about theme park merchandise, you’re in luck. We cover it a lot over here at TouringPlans and here are some links for a sampling of the coverage.

Disney Merchandise Report – Orlando International Airport

Disney Cruise Line Merchandise Photo Report

Castaway Cay Merchandise Photo Report

Disney Merchandise Reports on TouringPlans’ YouTube channel

Previous editions of Magic, Memories and Merch, covering the Disney Outlet Stores: 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 also 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).