Shopping

Shopping in Orlando – what can we say except IT’S GOT EVERYTHING!! And then some……

Mall at Millenia 

Let’s start at the top and work down to the bargains.  Mall at Millenia is one of our favourites.  It’s a super pretty shiny Mall – some regular American stores and department stores and also some high end posh shops.  Its on Conroy Road not far past Universal Studios and you’ll probably have passed it on your way from the airport.  It’s also home to The Cheesecake Factory so we need no better excuse to go here.A grande factory Chicken Burrito which we had to autopsy rather than eat it was that giant, dinners made up of starters because the dinner sized portions are so large and a mouthwatering selection of regular and special limited edition and holiday cheesecakes to choose for pudding – what’s not to like.  Anyway – back to the shopping.   Some of our favourite (well Mrs Oh! Orlando’s favourites) stores are here – Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle, Forever 21, Abercrombie and Fitch and Bath and Bodyworks.  There’s also a good couple of department stores Macy’s and Bloomingdales, excellent for more luxury branded make up which is always cheaper than the uk, and a couple of sports shops including Mr Oh! Orlando’s favourite Under Armour. The staff were a delight in this store. Lots of banter as we were from the UK, but more importantly they told me when the stock instore was going to be moved to the outlets! Also a good Apple Store here which we have used a lot for various purchases over the years.  Mr Oh! Orlando bought a new IPod last time we were there, it cost $166 which was £118 at that time when the bank did the conversion to Sterling. The IPod was £199 in the UK at the time. This is not an outlet shopping Mall, just regular stores, but that said there are some bargains to be had and the clothes are usually cheaper than the uk if the store is available in the U.K.  Tiffany’s is also there should the need take you to buy someone you love a lovely piece of sparkly jewellery – wives like diamonds! One of our favourite stores was the Sunglasses Hut. Lots of laughs with the staff, Mr Oh! Orlando could not make up his mind as there were so many frames to choose from!! He even ended up working behind the till at one point.

There’s a food court here too and the roads that lead into the Mall itself are also surrounded with restaurants such as Olive Garden, TGI’S, BRIO Tuscan Grill etc. Lovely way to spend a few hours if you’re in Orlando during stormy season when those clouds roll in but as it’s open late it’s also a nice way to spend an early evening – bit of shopping followed by a nice dinner somewhere.  Well worth a visit in our opinion.

 

Florida Mall

Florida Mall is on the Orange Blossom Trail – very easy to get too and not far from Orlando’s tourist areas and attractions.  Again this Mall is open late and had places to eat as well as shopping.   Now the Florida Mall is huge – way too many stores to mention and it’s where the locals shop.  Usual American stores and department stores, lots of make up and beauty stores, sports shops and loads of stores selling trainers and caps etc.  Some more of our favourites for basics and gym wear – Old Navy, Aeropostale and H & M.  Florida Mall is also home to M & M world which is good fun to have a look around, never seen so much sweetie based products! Good couple of spas and nail salons here so a good place to recharge and get any manis and pedis redone (they are pretty reasonable in Orlando and I have always had excellent service and quality treatments) while the boys are looking at tech stores and drinking coffee, qand you can meet up later in Shake Shack and eat the  best burgers ever!  Loads of eateries in this Mall too so you so you won’t go hungry.  We love it here – if you’re looking for something particular, like a sports team top or the newest release of a trainer or something this is the place to look.

Premium outlets 

There are two locations for the premium outlets – one at International Drive (the former Beltz mall for anyone who went to Orlando many years ago) and one at Vineland in Buena Vista.  The International one is the larger of the two and also has lots of other stores and retail parks on the drive up to it.  You can park on the normal car parks for free and there are a lot of parking spaces available, or there is a multi-storey one available at the International location which is $10 to park and of course your car is out of the sun so maybe, just maybe, it might stay a little cooler.

The outlets is where it starts to get messy for us!  Buy one get on free, three for $30 and just generally low prices and discounted items means we tend to go a bit mad with multiple buys.  Actually back that up – going a bit mad is an understatement!  Lots of stores to choose from – Nike, Adidas, Converse, Under Armour, jewellery and watch stores, Banana Republic etc and there’s outlet versions of Forever 21, Yankee Candles and Victoria’s Secret.  You can sometimes get so lucky in Victoria’s Secret and come out with bags of undies for a fraction of what one set would cost in the UK or main stores – but it can be hit and miss on sizes – so obviously the only logical thing to do is go multiple times to double double check!! The Under Armour outlet has some real bargains, a year’s worth of gym stuff is generally what we take back – T-shirts in the UK are around £28-£30 each depending on where you look but in the outlet it’s around $30 for two. Multiple buys are the best way to save cash here. The Disney outlet, called Character Warehouse is also at these two locations. There are some real bargains to get here, the merchandise is maybe last season, or sometimes even current season, sometimes holiday specific merchandise or from a Disney location elsewhere in the world!

Plenty of places to grab a snack and a drink, also there are restaurants around the perimeter and on the roads leading up to both locations.  The International outlets, as the name suggests, are obviously just off I-Drive so you are well placed to enjoy all of the other attractions in that area to make a day or evening of it, a bit of shopping and maybe a drive up to see the Orlando Eye or Starflyer etc.  The Vineland ones are nearer the Disney end of things so perfect if you come out of a park and fancy a little wander round some shops before heading back to your accommodation.

Disney Springs

This whole area, previously called Disney Market place and/or Downtown Disney has been completely revamped.   It is a glorious way to spend some time, apart from the fabulous restaurants, check back in with our food blog for further information, it has now got a lovely selection of stores, some Disney themed such as the Disney Home store, and the worlds largest Disney shop, Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique (where your child gets a full Disney makeover including costume, make up, hair and a trumpet fanfare  along the red carpet as they leave the store – joy joy joy), the Candy Cauldron where you can watch the fantastic candy apples being made, and the Christmas shop, there’s also the Lego Store, a fabulous Sephora, Under Armour, Uniqlo, the Coco Cola Store, Zara, Kiehls, Kate Spade – you name it they’ve got it.  Then there’s all of the stores that belong to the restaurants so you can buy merchandise from The House of Blues, the Rainforest Cafe, Splitsville Bowling Alley to name but a few.  We’re looking forward to the new NBA Experience which is opening up soon too (the shop is already open with Disney themed NBA shirts and merchandise).  Disney Springs has completely reinvented itself as a cool venue to stay, eat, drink, relax, shop, bowl, watch a film and have fun.  It really is fantastic and looks so pretty. There is so much to see here we will probably need to do a whole blog on Disney Springs in the future so look out for that.

Universal City Walk

This area is more restaurants than shops but there are some stores, and also some of the restaurants have merchandise stores in them. Hard Rock Cafe, Huntington and Hart Tattoo store, The Universal Studios Store, Element, Fossil, and many others have some fantastic funky t-shirts and keepsakes etc. Dr Toothsomes Chocolate Emporium is the most delicious smelling store we have ever been in – the selection of handmade chocolates is mind blowing. There are kiosks and stalls selling Universal and Islands of Adventure merchandise too so if you want to pop there to get something rather than go back into the theme park it’s ideal. It’s also a really pretty looking place and, again, we’ll do a whole blog about this area too.

Walmart, Publix, Target, CVS and Walgreens

What to say about these places – basically if you can’t find what you want to buy in Walmart, Publix and Target then it probably doesn’t exist!  Supermarkets obviously so you can get all of your grocery, pharmacy, toiletries and the like at both of these places.   Giant two foot long loaves of bread, milk in cartons so big you can hardly pick them up and bags of crisps so huge the packets are like sleeping bags – we’ve never seen anything like it! Stock your fridge up with things you never knew you wanted for sure! They also sell pool supplies like Lilos and water wings for the kids, hot ready cooked food like pizzas and chicken etc, any medical supplies you might need and your regular toiletries and sun lotion etc.  In fact it’s so cheap for toiletries and sun cream here that we don’t take any of that stuff with us when we go now, we just drive straight to a supermarket and get all of the things we need at a fraction of the UK prices.   Ladies should check out the make up in both of these places especially Target.  The usual brands such as Maybelline and the like are so much cheaper than the UK prices as is nail varnish and hair products.  A stock of theses things is always carted back with us to the UK. Walmart and Target are also really cheap for buying Disney and Universal licensed merchandise at a fraction of the cost of the parks. They are not the same designs but they are fantastic quality and if you’re buying Disney gifts to take back to the UK they are great value.

We spend hours in an evening in these supermarkets as it’s like a trip out in itself.  So much to see – and if you’re lucky enough that a holiday season is coming up then Halloween costumes,  Christmas decorations and all sorts of fun and pretty and interesting stuff is around to buy.

CVS and Walgreens are pharmacies actually but also so much more. Think Boots as the UK equivalent. So they sell medicine and toiletries but also have some amazing special offers on drinks and snacks and lots of other things. If you can’t face four hours in Walmart looking for a regular sized loaf of bread and a small carton of milk then popping to a CVS or Walgreens will get the job done in a fraction of the time.

Theme Park shops

In every theme park, Disney, Universal and the water parks you will also find absolutely loads of shops selling all the merchandise for the rides, characters, tv shows and films. There are millions of items to choose from, and some really fun stuff to buy. A good wander round them is also a fab way to cool off or stay dry during the storms. All the parks also have cafes and restaurants serving themed cakes, treats, ice creams and snacks and they are always really good fun too.

Posner Commons Shopping Centre

This is just on the junction of the I27 and I4. It has a huge Best Buy store, and a JC Penney department store, a massive Target, Dicks Sporting Goods and also some little shops, such as Dollar Tree and a book shop. The Best Buy is always good for a look at the electrical, and cameras and the like – buyer beware though – a lot of the electricals were the same price in the UK as they were here so you may not save much on those products.

International Drive

Along I-Drive in various places along with the restaurants, hotels and attractions you will find lots of stores, including Foot Locker, Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx,

American Golf Outlet, a giant Nike Store, Adidas outlet, Old Navy and also Top Golf sells golfing apparel and merchandise. Sports shops definitely worth a look, trainers are still way cheaper here than the UK generally, especially if they are not the latest styles, i.e. you are just looking for a good pair of gym trainers or running shoes. We are generally driving along and suddenly see a store we fancy looking around, so take a drive up and see what’s about. You’re bound to see something you want to look in.

Gift Shops

There are lots of these shops dotted around the 192 and I-Drive and various other locations. The famous ones are the Wizard which has a giant Wizard head over the doorway and the Mermaid, which obviously has a giant mermaid. They are both on the 192 which is one of the main roads in and out of Disney. They sell a lot of Florida and Orlando souvenirs – a lot of which are complete rubbish, but they can be good for a look around and again, if you’re looking for gifts to take home such as bottle openers, tea towels, etc then these are the places to get these things cheap. They also sell a lot of cheap pool wear and flip flops etc and sweets. You’ll find Disney themed stuff in these shops too but it won’t be licensed. Good fun for a look around as you never know what you’ll find.

Celebration and Winter Park

We mentioned Celebration in the blog about places to go that don’t include a theme park, and it has a lovely little Main Street here which has beautiful little boutique type shops with some really pretty and unusual gifts, trinkets and clothing. Likewise Winter Park has similar little interesting quirky shops and a farmers market, antique market and lots of other interesting things to see.

General

You will also find drive through pharmacies, bank ATM’s and ice cream shops in and around the tourist areas in Orlando. They’re fun as there’s nothing really like it in the UK – you don’t have to get out of your car, just drive right up to the ATM and stay in your car while you pop your card in the machine and get your cash out.

Again, customer service is fantastic generally, if you can’t see what you are looking for you can ask someone and they will almost certainly bend over backwards to help you find what you need.

Hope you’ll enjoy shopping in Orlando, or maybe it’s inspired you to go and have a look for yourself. All we know is that we need to save a lot of spending money because there’s just so many funky, fun, cheap and interesting things to buy.

The next blog is probably going to be about weddings! We got married in Orlando last year and struggled to find the up to date information we needed. If you’re thinking about getting married whilst you’re on holiday we can highly recommend it. See you next week, confetti and champagne at the ready folks!