Well, its getting closer, the holiday that is. Here at Oh Orlando towers we are “well excited” as they say. Whom ever they are… after talking to some friends who are visiting Orlando the same time as us we got on to the subject of what are we going to buy…. and the list is a long one. And that’s not even counting the Star Wars stuff we haven’t seen yet….
So what’s new with the Merch? Well how long ya got! (Mr Oh has gotta be at work by 1430 so the blog can’t be that long..) There are ears galore, new spirit jerseys, t-shirts – a veritable shopping fest! And lets be honest, when you are holiday you have to treat yourself don’t you???
One of Mr Oh’s faves is the Under Armour shop, he spends so much time in there it’s actually past a joke! Then when he goes to the outlets and sees that the shirts and shorts are 3 for 2…well…better leave behind some stuff at the goodwill shop. And lets not even get started about him and sunglasses.
Now to Mrs Oh’s fave thing – the “Minnie Ears” she is always running upstairs to grab hers and put them on while she is watching a Florida vlog on the tv. Makes her feel like she is there. There are always new versions of these released, we actually dread to think about just how many pairs there actually are!? While we’ve been watching different vlogs Mrs Oh has been commenting on the ones she would like to purchase while we are there. We are up to roughly 17 sets…. the ears cost about $29 each, and they sometimes release a limited set such as the Heidi Klum set, these are $600. Yep. $600. They have got over 150 Swarovski crystals in them. We wouldn’t wear those on the Tower of Terror that much we do know!!
Now Mr Oh loves a T-shirt. Or two…much to the annoyance of Mrs Oh! This is a problem, no matter where you go in Orlando you WILL see some pretty cool park shirts. The Aerosmith coaster always has some great ‘band tour T-shirt’s’ at the end of the ride so does Expedition Everest, we’ve purchased a couple from there over the years. We’ll be honest and say if you purchased something from every ride you go on or every place you visit you would need another case. Each!!
This leads us nicely to the “in-ride pics” that you can get while riding, and normally access them via your ‘My Disney Experience App’. These are a great idea. You’ve already got the ‘Memory Maker’ with the tickets so why not use it?? Simply tap the magic band to the ‘mouse’ logo and it saves that rides pics. There are some absolutely stunning and funny ones, it’s merchandise in a fashion, and you you can either print them off right away or download them to your smart device.
Now, this is where the arguments are going to start in July for the Oh Orlando’s, STAR WARS LAND…or to give its correct name Black Spire Outpost. So far the merchandise we’ve seen here is absolutely “off the hook”. You want a suit of First Order armour? No worries that’s $6,000. Bosh. Or do you want a fully working Astromech droid? (R2-D2) – also not a problem, its a mere $25,000. (Shipping NOT included- yikes). There is so much stuff here for the Star Wars fan it is going to be a tough choice what NOT to buy…we’ve seen on some vlogs that you can buy a Resistance X-Wing pilot suit, and the battle helmet to top off the look. Also there are Jedi robes and cloaks if you want the Ben Kenobi look or a First Order officers suit. For the shorter people out there you can also buy a Yoda outfit. And complete it with his knarled walking stick. Looks like Halloween is gonna be great this year back home!!!
The park merchandise comes in a varied manner from tiki mugs to wristbands and it’s absolutely dealers choice to what you want to spend your money on. There seems to be a trend in expensive bags now with companies such as Loungefly and Dooney and Bourke. These are starting at around $55 to $65, and they are quite cute. In Universal Studios you can get Spongebob and Patrick bags at $82. Again, not cheap but certain you won’t be able to get these in the U.K. for some time if at all. There was also an Avengers one or a Thanos one. The WDW versions are similarly priced, but the bags have ‘ears’ on them. Obviously! You can get seasonal versions of the bags in WDW at the moment, each month they are changing the theme of the merchandise so its gonna be VERY expensive for the Disney die hard fan that’s for sure. (This month’s theme is Space Mountain).
We are always on the look out for the more unusual items an Mr Oh has got his eye on a Hawaiian shirt…(Mrs Oh is thrilled at this as you can all imagine…NOT) its the one worn by none other than the famous Chipmunk Dale of Chip and Dale The Rescue Rangers fame. And we are not sure but it looks like the one Tom Sellick wore in Magnum. Gonna look sweet. (Mrs Oh shakes head furiously).
A little tip we love to pass on is to visit the outlets. The Disney Character Warehouse stores have merch that’s been vastly reduced. You have to hunt trough the racks but its worth it. These are situated by Universal Studios and just off the I-4, trust us you will not be disappointed. We’ve been in there and see current merchandise heavily discounted, and there is random and unusual stuff from other parks from across the globe in the case of the WDW shop’s.
We’ve been asked about what price we would pay for merchandise, to be honest its sometimes not what the value of the item is, its the memories that you garner from it. We don’t mind paying for things on holiday, we both have a saying ‘we’ve worked 2 hard years for this, so don’t look at the price tag’. Don’t always think the parks have some of the best merchandise either. There is a store in Disney Springs called Uniqlo, and its jam packed with dedicated merch for WDW. And its cheap!! Seriously cheap. The quality is brilliant and the stuff they sell is unusual and well priced. Do yourself a favour and visit. Two of our favourite shops for unusual gifts and merchandise Is either Target and Walmart. You have to visit both of them during your adventure as they are a right of passage. Especially Walmart…(we’ve covered that before) – they sell loads of unusual items for great prices and its stuff you will not see anywhere else.
So, do yourself a favour and take some old T-shirt’s and shorts with you, stuff you don’t mind throwing away or leaving in the villa or hotel room, because we absolutely guarantee your cases will be brimming with stuff, but don’t forget just how expensive the extra baggage is back at Orlando Airport….. see you all soon.
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