Orlando Area Shopping Advice

When visiting Orlando for theme parks, everybody wants something to take back home with them. There are many shopping outlets, Disney stores and electronics shops where visitors can get great deals on while visiting Orlando. You can find some amazing deals and sales always going on at many of the outlet stores and shopping malls in the Central Florida area. 

If you’re looking for official Disney Souvenir stores then you won’t have any problems finding what you’re looking for anywhere on Disney Property. You’ll find most resorts and hotels have their own gift shops, but the best place to find all of your Disney gifts and items to buy is anywhere throughout Downtown Disney. From stores such as Once Upon a Toy located in the Disney Village at Lake Buena Vista to the world’s largest Disney Character Shop at the World of Disney store, there is something for everyone who is a fan of Disney. It’s also a known fact that just about every ride inside of the Disney Theme Parks have you exit through a gift shop.

Now for the real good stuff, there are many stores located off of Disney Property that sell Disney souvenirs, gifts and toys. If you have the chance to go down International Drive you will find quite a few discount souvenir shops. While these aren’t as extravagant or as large scaled as the ones you’ll find at Disney World, you’ll find quite a lot to purchase at really low prices. A personal favorite you’ll find on International Drive is “Everything is 1.99 or Less Stores”, where there are items from Disney mugs, pins, t-shirts and many other items. You can also find Nickelodeon characters and souvenirs at this and many other Discount Disney Stores. While many of these stores aren’t official, there’s nothing wrong with getting memorabilia of your trip for dirt cheap prices. There are also some official Disney discount stores that sell official Disney merchandise at significant discounts. These stores usually sell items that are either outdated or items that were overstocked but none-the-less you can find some super deals. At the time of this writing there are two stores in the Orlando / Kissimmee area know as “Disney Character Premiere” and “Disney Character Warehouse you may want to check out while down here”.

You also may want to check out some of the Flea Markets in Orlando and Kissimmee. There are 3 to choose from such as the 192 Flea market, MainGate Flea Market and Visitors Flea Market all located within miles of each other. You’ll find many booths and great deals here.  Both are located on world famous US 192  (Irlo Bronson Hwy) and are minutes from all your favorite attractions.

If you’re looking for great places to shop for clothes, jewelry and other items, Orlando has a wide selection of locations to choose from. The best place located close to Disney World for all your shopping needs is the Orlando Premium Outlets located in Lake Buena Vista. It’s a great place to shop set in a charming outdoor atmosphere with great savings on stores like Polo Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, Giorgio Armani. This place has become so successful, they bought out the former dinner Show Dixie Stampede just to expand all of its stores. You can find some amazing deals here.

Other great locations are the Brand New Prime 1 Outlets on International Drive, with over 125 stores this is a great place to go shopping for some higher end boutiques and clothing stores such as Hugo Boss, Ann Taylor and many others. Orlando has no shortage of malls either, You have the Mall at Millennia, and the Florida Mall, which are less then 20 minutes away from all of the Theme Parks of Orlando. Winter Garden Village, one of the newest additions to the shopping arena here in the Orlando area is only about 10 minutes away from Disney via the newly built 429 toll road.

If you are looking for places to get great deals on electronics, you have to be careful about where you go. All along the Disney area such as Highway 192 and International Drive, you’ll see many stores that advertise name brand electronics or sales that say 50% off. After doing some research and trying to see what you can save 50% off of, these are comparing prices to items you would buy if you lived overseas. Most of these places have great cameras, dvd players and other items to buy, but they usually are overpriced compared to what you may find at places like Best Buy and Wal-Mart. These stores (we use the term loosely) are often known for selling gray market merchandise which is any product that is meant to be sold outside the USA. The reason they do this is because these products are sold at a cheaper price however, the manufactures will not honor the warranty so you could be buying something that has little or no protection so as you have heard before, buyer beware! There are also many, many, many so called “camera stores” in this area but the same holds true at these stores as well. We recommend Colonial Photo and Hobby or Ritz Camera for your camera needs.

We here at Maple Leaf Tickets are here for you, feel free to stop by our store and ask about the area. We can save you time and money on not just tickets but also offer great advice on other area activities like SHOPPING!