Disney’s Longest Line in Florida is at Character Warehouse!
For the last few weeks during the off-season at Walt Disney World, wait times for even the most popular rides have been peaking at around an hour. On several occasions, we’ve seen morning waits at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen Ever After at or under 30 minutes. Meanwhile, at Disney Character Warehouse, the line at the exact same time is regularly eclipsing an hour.
Unfamiliar with Disney Character Warehouse? It’s a Walt Disney World merchandise clearance center at the Orlando Premium Outlets. The stores are popular spots for deeply-discounted items, and we visit periodically to see what’s new. It has been a busy month, with new rules & polices, plus new arrivals, all of which we’ll share here. (Check out our How to Shop the Outlet Stores for Discount Walt Disney World Merchandise guide for more background info about these two stores.)
Because the Orlando Premium Outlets have an awful parking situation, we always arrive either right when they open or in the last two hours of operation. Throughout the summer, we had noticed Disney’s Character Warehouse had been getting busier and busier, but assumed this was just a seasonal thing since it’s a peak travel time to Florida for summer tourists.
One day, we arrived at opening to find a line of guests outside Disney’s Character Warehouse. It was totally bonkers inside, with people and eBayer pirates (also technically people) racing all over the place, doing who knows what. We ended up not getting anything because the line to check out snaked around the store. Lesson learned: always go at night…
However, we were recently in the area in the morning, and thought things wouldn’t be quite so bad since it was a September weekday. Everyone was back in school, summer vacation was over, and inbound travel to Florida had slowed pretty significantly. We should be safe. Big mistake.
Not only was the line worse than during peak summer season, but there was an actual queue outside filled with people. It was so busy that Disney’s Character Warehouse had closed to capacity and was not currently admitting new guests. There is literally nothing I want from the outlet long enough to wait in line for, so we bounced.
Estimating the wait time is tough because it depends on how slowly people shop, but given the store size, this could easily be an hour-long line. (In fact, some readers have commented on our Facebook post that they waited over an hour in line to enter the store plus another 30 minutes in line to check out!)
On this same off-season day, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train averaged a 45 minute wait. I guess we could start calling the outlet stores an “O-Ticket” attraction, since they’re more popular than that E-Ticket, along with several other rides at Walt Disney World.
Noted Disney Outlet Authority & Saturday Six Sage Derek Burgan has philosophized on the causes of this popularity proliferation and rule changes, attributing it all to Banshees, Dooney & Bourke handbags, and velociraptors.
While I am far more reluctant to blame anything negative on dinosaurs, Derek’s probably right, as unprecedented as that might be.
Needing to make a trip to the only Trader Joe’s in a 30-mile radius, we decided to return to Disney’s Character Warehouse in the evening.
Between the lack of sunlight and zero crowds, it was a much more pleasant experience. The store was definitely picked over, but at least we didn’t wait in line to get inside!
There’s also (potentially) a new unwritten rule prohibiting video recording and (possibly) photography.
However, during my time in the store, I was pretty casual with my photo taking (nothing covert!), several Cast Members saw me, and no one said anything aside from pleasantries.
Apparently, vlogging about what’s available at the outlet is a pretty popular pastime. My guess is this rule, if it exists at all, is only enforced on a case by case basis, and when the store is busy.
Anyway, here’s some of the new merchandise we saw during our September 2019 visit to Disney’s Character Warehouse:
There’s a bunch of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise that is popular…I guess?
Note the “2 per guest, per day, per SKU” sign.
These limitations are now being enforced on a bunch of popular items, including this stuff, Banshees, ears, and fancy purses.
(The handbags above are for illustrative purposes only; no such limit exists on them–they’ve been sitting there for months.)
I’m guessing all of those other things had sold out by the time we arrived, as there were some empty shelves, and I didn’t see any of the hot ticket items.
Fine by me. This might come as a surprise, but I have zero interest in Loungefly backpacks or Dooney & Bourke purses.
I do have an interest in this sweatshirt. It’s rare for us to pay full price for merchandise, but Sarah did exactly that with the kids Tomorrowland sweatshirt above (albeit the Disneyland version).
Never in a million years would I have expected to see this at the outlet. I was actually bummed that it didn’t come in adult sizes, as I would’ve bought one, too.
I also have an interest in the three-quarter sleeve baseball shirt above. I love the retro rainbow look and the blue sleeves.
However, I already own several raglan shirts–a style I don’t particularly like because I always stretch out the sleeves somehow–and probably don’t need more.
Some more shirts.
If you’ve ever cringed at Walt Disney World’s attempts to offer novelty shirts with “hip” sayings, take solace in the reality that the vast majority of these styles end up at the outlet. That could be because they overproduce them because demand is just so high, but I’d like to think otherwise.
I think this headband was the only thing Sarah bought during this trip to the outlet.
Getting bored and walking over to Nike before she was finished, I didn’t buy anything.
I did, however, come really close to buying this, as it resembles Yossarian the Cat.
My only hesitation is that Walter would destroy it, creating deep tensions. I don’t want psychological turmoil or any sort of emotional crisis between the cat and dog. Played things safe and left it on the shelf.
A few months ago, I commented on not understanding this hat in a regular park update. Several of you responded, explaining it…and I still didn’t “get” why this piece of merchandise exists.
Seeing it at the outlet made me feel vindicated. I’m not an out of touch curmudgeon who isn’t hip with the youth.
I try to restrain myself from bashing hideous Disney merchandise, as there’s always someone who will like something I hate or, worse yet, own and love it.
Accordingly, I will not be offering any commentary about the “Three Thumbs Up” hat above.
Haunted Mansion hats don’t do subtlety.
On the other hand, the design on that mug is awesome. Not wild about the “cross-over” text, but it’s still neat.
This product is not “Brown Pirate Hat.”
I’m actually surprised these ‘Redhead’ dolls are still available in such abundant qualities. This is the type of thing that I’d think a decade from now will sell for astronomical amounts on eBay given the history of the ride and this doll. Of course, no one pirating on eBay is probably interested in the long game.
Cute water bottle.
This is a kind of subtle cross-over that “works” for me, tying a movie to the theme parks in an unexpected but clever way.
A few spirit jerseys now make it to the outlet.
Obviously, it’s hard to tell at Walt Disney World due to the summer weather, but judging by Disneyland crowds, these are no longer the “it” park-wear.
More of the kids Junk Food shirts.
I’d be all over the button-down if it came in an adult size. I also like the other shirt, but not as much.
Finally, we’ll end with the holiday season since these items are once again starting to appear on regular store shelves. There’s a lot of stuff like this that just lingers at the outlet for ages–random ACE and other Pandora items, Animal Kingdom 20th Anniversary, and various coffee mugs are other examples.
Point being, if you are interested in deeply-discounted Walt Disney World merchandise but aren’t dead-set on a particular item like the Loungefly and/or Dooney & Bourke bags, the Disney Character Warehouse Outlet still has a lot to offer. The good news is that it’s still seldom busy late and night, and with a closing time of 11 pm, it’s actually open later than most of the Walt Disney World theme parks most nights of the week. Head over after the Magic Kingdom fireworks and enjoy your true happily ever after at the outlets!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you gone to the Disney Character Warehouse Outlets since the flurry of rule changes and line outside the store? What was your wait time for this O-Ticket attraction? Find anything good, or did you think it was a frustrating waste of time? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
The resellers ruined it for everyone. From what I’ve seen the staff turns a blind eye to them. Not fair at all for us on vacation looking for a bargain souvenir/ gift
We’ve gone to Character Warehouse each trip for years but it was never crowded when we were there. We stayed a short time because there was very little in the way of real bargains or stuff we wanted. What a difference! Ebay is not new and I sold pins many years ago but this is crazy. I suppose a whole new crop of ebayers has bloomed because of the stepping up of merchandise they feature in the store. It’s hard to fill suitcases with purchases when you fly so these might be the locals with a home business?
The vloggers and resellers are out of control! There is one group of women who literally have a storage shed FULL of merch they are reselling. I am all about free enterprise, but it has gotten out of hand lately. Groups on facebook making orders. People not even having a day job and relying on reselling disney merch.
That is just sad. Shame on people! Disney is right to impose purchase limitations especially since the certain people arent getting items for gifts or remembrance of a special time and trip. Naughty naughty!
Lisa, shame on Disney is right. They do nothing to control ebay and FB pirates any more than they do to control scrapper pins. The fun has been sucked out of so much Disney.
You are right, Conrad. There are so many of them on FB it is ridiculous. They are making a living reselling Disney merch with their 20% AP discount and then a 20% mark-up.
I regularly go to both Outlets on Disneyworld trips, around twice a year. The last time that I went was in early June and, while the stores were crowded at opening, there was no waiting to get in. I think that the Fire Marshall told Disney to limit customers to a legal maximum. I have also used personal shoppers to buy and ship merchandise to me. Occasionally, I’ll go on Ebay and it’s not difficult to determine which merchandise is being sold from the Outlets, as the sellers always have local addresses. Just to waste their time, if setting your bid price is allowed, I’ll give them the price that it is/was selling at the Outlets and force them to reject my offer, usually multiple times. I’ll be there in October and plan on being their before opening and I’ll be ready with sharp elbows.
not due to vlogs, but we’ve heard about the outlets for a long time but never have a car when we visit. well, this time we had a car our last day and were planning to go to the outlet and circumstances prevented us from going. i guess we’re not missing much if things are this nutty there. i hate the ebay pirates- i collect bobbleheads given out at sporting events and it’s the same thing, people who manage to snatch up dozens to flip on ebay. not only ruins the experience for people but makes the place crazy. i would just want to browse to see if i could get any cool deals, especially with how expensive everything on property is (seriously, we were going to try and bring back something for my kid’s kindergarten class, but $8 for 5 freaking pencils?? nope. guess what, they all got the stickers handed out at the DVC kiosks).
We go because we love the hunt and finding a bargain. We went late evening during our December trip to Disney and there was very little to find. We went mid day during our trip for the August AP preview for GE, and found tons of stuff.
My husband found a wonderful warm zip up sweatshirt for $10. It was at AK the next day for $59.99!
We found several other items, an ornament and HM deck of cards there that we saw at the parks over the next few days. Felt great!
But, my favorite was the Dooney & Bourke DVC purse I have coveted for ages (but was to cheap to buy) at full price, for half off. The were only selling one to a person which is fine as I buy on Ebay but am not a seller. It was also being sold in the parks (at half off).
If you are like us, you just view it as a treasure hunt!
Thanks for the shots that include prices. I do a LOT of eBay for Disney costumes for my kids, and a see a lot of NWT listings that I suspect are “eBay pirates” from this store. I pass on them because they want ShopDisney prices with none of the return policies or other insurances, but I wondered how much of a mark-up they were doing compared to the warehouse’s prices. (I’m really in the market to find sellers who are like me, with costumes that were worn a few times by kids who have now outgrown them, not sterling NWT costumes at no real discount.) I hope they enforce more limits on how many you can purchase, because I regularly see one seller with 10+ of the same item. Let people who actually intend to use the item buy it!
There are multiple locations. The others are better. I got an orange bird dress a bit ago. And we got a Haunted Mansion onesie for the baby. I love the outlet but don’t get the ebay pirates. Ohhh outdated Disney merch at a mark up??? Wow. You too can be 6 months out of date without the convenience of living in Florida.
I got my banshee at the Cast Member store with my CM friend. I’ve had it like 6 months now.
I will defend the “three thumbs up” hat to the end. We bought it for my 11 year old son during our trip in August and he loved it. It was a great conversation piece as many vacationers and cast members commented on it as we roamed through the parks. He’s at that weird age where he’s not a little kid but also not a teenager and often his younger brother gets all the attention in Disney world, so it was fun for him to get noticed. We have so many ears and goofy hats. It was fun to buy something a little different and campy. My only regret is that I paid full price instead of getting it at the outlet. Actually….after reading about those long lines I take it back, I’d rather spend a few bucks more than deal with the chaos of the outlet experience.
I was there the week of Sept 8th- 11th and the store was indeed bonkers! I took a friend of mine there to try to purchase a souvenir for her granddaughter, needless to say, we aborted our mission because it wasn’t that serious. We went to DS World of Disney and she found exactly what she wanted.
Comment on the red head doll. Notice she is wearing he pirate’s hat which is the new character, not the original red head that was being auctioned off. She now has a name, “pirate” somebody. These dolls are the new character and I love that no one buys them. Bring back history as it truly was. Not some version that doesn’t offend people (who never lived during those times and have no idea what it was like).
My mother and I were there Wednesday morning. My mother had never been so I took her. This was the first time ever I had seen this line outside the doors. There was actually 3 separate lines so you didn’t block exits. Once I got to the 2nd wait area I asked a Cast Member what was going on, thinking she would say oh we got a new shipment in of pins, or Galaxy Edge stuff… something to justify all of this. Her reply was simple, “It’s Wednesday!” She also said that since people have started to Vlog about the place and show the different prices and what’s available the incline in people has been consistent. It’s merely a situation of word-of-mouth. While it’s great for sales it’s now inconvenient for the customer. As long as people are searching for theme park insight the more secret places will be outed. So enjoy the lines!
I’ve literally never watched a vlog about the outlets, so I can’t speak to that with a high degree of confidence, but I’d be surprised if that’s the main explanation for the lines. The lines are disproportionately long from around 10 am until noon, dropping off later in the day and becoming non-existent after locals get off work and the parks close.
If the outlet were just busier in general due to new “awareness”, I suspect they’d be consistently busy (or actually peak later in the day). To me, this seems more a matter of people arriving to scoop up new arrivals. (Plus maybe some people seeing a long line and assuming it must be for something good…leading to more people in said line?) And the people most willing to wait in a really long line are the ones financially motivated to do so.
I could be wrong, but my guess would be that these lines are primarily driven by eBayers.
The first few times I went, I found tons of great stuff. Last few times there was so little left and nothing really cool. While we didn’t have to wait in a line, it looked very, very picked over. Nothing in my size- women’s small- and nothing unusual or high end. I think the Ebay pirates get all of the good stuff early. I wish they would limit everything.
Where is the outlet located?
Oops found the link
Oop, found the link
They did not ban videos or pictures. It happened 1 day for a couple hours, MAX.
I’m sure current stock is responsible for some of that traffic, but vlogging and subsequent personal shopping side hustles must logically add to volume in lines and stores. One, because people see things they want in a vlog and make a trip, but also if people can make money shopping for someone else, you now have all sorts of additional shoppers who would otherwise not be able to shop due to living out of state/country. I went in August and it was ugly. I tried arriving 20 mins before the store opened and i was 60th in line. I tried mid afternoon mid week. Also a zoo. I went in the evening ans while there were no crowds, the shelves were wiped clean. It’s certainly not the experience it once was.
I had a similar experience in August at Character Warehouse. There was a huge line and I couldn’t see a reason why. I tapped on the door to ask the cast member and they acted like I was trying to invade a castle! I said is this just a normal day or is something special happening? He said there was some new Pandora merch. I walked away!! Between the crazy crowd, extreme heat and not needing anything that badly, I went back to the car. I went to the location at Sawgrass Mills and it was lovely and no line ups at all.
I was there. 8 banshee’s purple only. I got two just because I waited for over an hour.
I’m glad they’ve banned vlogging. It only made the madness worse. Last time I was there, a lady was vlogging with her yappy dog in a stroller. We decided to try the other Character Warehouse to kill some time and apparently she followed us! It was incredibly annoying.
I was at the one in the outlet mall close to universal back in July. I had not been there in years and found they had reduced the size of the store and it was lacking of anything interesting. We used to find more that came from the parks. Felt like to me it had stuff that I would find in any Disney store in a regular mall.
We’ve been to the Disney Outlet a few times but have never seen lines like that one. Yikes! And we usually don’t see anything that we really want to buy either.