January 2001 – present
LOCATION
Downtown Disney – World of Disney anchors the eastern end of Downtown Disney. If you walk through Downtown Disney from the park gates, you’ll see the store on your left, just after La Brea Bakery. If you are coming from the hotel end of the district, keep to the right, and you’ll see the store behind Starbucks.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Merchandise – You can buy everything and anything Disney, with some Disney Parks souvenirs made specially for Disneyland & Walt Disney World gift shops
- Price Range – As wide a range as possible, from cheap pens to thousands dollar paintings
- Unique Features – Giant statues of Disney characters climbing the roof of the building, gorgeous dioramas along the exterior walls, and murals behind each cash register
World of Disney is exactly what it sounds like – a megastore for Disney merchandise. You can buy clothes, jewelry, collector’s edition art and souvenirs, toys, home goods, pins…any Disney item you can think of is probably there in some form.
SHOPPING TIPS
Crowds in this store depend on crowds in the parks. However, there are certain times of day that are better to shop than others. Avoid visiting World of Disney between 4 and 8 pm – people tend to shop while waiting for a dinner reservation. It’s also a good idea to avoid the store during the fireworks – not because the store will be crowded, but because people will gather outside to watch the show, and it’s hard to get in and out.
A tip for checkout: it’s easy to forget that there are cash registers all over the store. If the nearest register has a long line, try visiting the other side of the store or the back. People tend to congregate and form long lines when they don’t need to, so you’ll probably find a shorter line somewhere else.
TRIVIA
The World of Disney store is the largest shop at the Disneyland Resort, and the largest Disney store on the west coast. Its Florida counterpart is actually the largest Disney store in the world!