You know that I love to cook. You know that I love to eat. But my real talent lies in shopping. And naturally, my favorite place to shop is Walt Disney World.
I don’t know if I realized how much I love WDW shopping until I sat down and started to compile this list. Holy cow, was it hard to limit myself to a list of ten favorite shops. I could’ve done a “Top Ten Shops Where I love to Browse but Never Buy Anything” list, a “Top Ten Stores that Used to be great but Now Aren’t” list, or even a “Top Ten Stores That are Tied to an Attraction” list. Maybe I will someday. For now I am going to do my very best to stick to my favorite stores in Walt Disney World to make purchases.
10. BouTiki (Disney’s Polynesian Resort) -- Some of my earliest shopping memories are from the Polynesian Resort. We used to eat dinner one night each trip at the Papeete Bay Verandah (how I miss this restaurant!), and we’d always browse through the wonderful shops scattered throughout the Great Ceremonial House. I desperately wanted one of the little grass skirt outfits that they sold there, but my parents weren’t buying it (literally). So you’d better believe that the first time I took my daughter to WDW, we went straight to the Polynesian to buy her one, which I immediately let her change into to wear to the luau!
9. Disney’s Days of Christmas (Downtown Disney Marketplace) – I’m sure it’s no surprise that there is a significant Disney presence in the holiday decorations at my house. But I don’t like just any Disney decorations. The Victorian ones here fit the theme of my holiday décor and the parlor where I display them perfectly.
8. Art of Disney – There are in fact a few of these stores scattered across Disney property, and I love them all. I just wish I could afford most of what was in them.
7. Mombasa Marketplace/Ziwani Traders (Disney’s Animal Kingdom) I actually themed my family room to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and most of the décor is from this shop. People come into my home and think I have a weird elephant obsession…
6. Yong Feng Shangdian Department Store (China
5. Villains in Vogue (Disney’s Hollywood Studios) – This used to vie for a top spot on my list, but lately there seems to be way too much of a focus on Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland merchandise. Give me more classic Disney villains! I still love it, though. ;)
4. Uptown Jewelers (Magic Kingdom) Disney + Jewelry = “Hi, I’m Teri. Have we met?”
3. TrenD (Downtown Disney Marketplace) – This wins my “Best New Shop” award hands-down. You see, I have a personal rule that I enforce to keep myself from buying absolutely everything I see at WDW: If it’s not something I would normally buy, I’m not going to buy it just because it has a Disney character on it. I’m not a big t-shirt wearer, so this severely limits my Disney clothing options. Enter TrenD -- a stylish boutique with designer flair and eclectic offerings, perfect for fashion-conscious shoppers seeking trendy apparel and novel accessories. Now if only they’d start a Disney/Ann Taylor
2. Mousegear (Epcot) – This was a hard pick. I didn’t want to put both the Emporium at Magic Kingdom
And my number one favorite shop?
1. Mickey’s Pantry (Downtown Disney Marketplace) – Yes, I realize that I may be the only person on the planet that would put this shop at number one. Yes, I know that I left a lot of great Disney shops off this list. But the truth of the matter is, I do love to cook, and I often buy more merchandise here than anywhere else on property!
But enough about me; what about you? Where do you love to shop at WDW? Let me know at http://www.facebook.com/disneygene!
I need to put BouTiki as a shopping stop for the the next visit. I love Mickey's Pantry too, but Mousegear is a great shop and my number 1. Thanks the list, I just passed it on to someone else on their way down. I love this blog!
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