Before any rooster cocka doodle doo’d and after waking up thinking that I was sweating out a fever (I went to bed with wet hair), Disney fans made their way over to World of Disney to stake their place in line for major deals. I feared angry mobs of mothers pushing and shoving their way to grab the last Mickey Mouse whatever and lots of attitude in the parking lot while seeking out limited spaces. Luckily, I was wrong about everything.
The event itself, The Benefit Sale, is a fundraiser for the United Way and its local community agencies. By purchasing a voucher and wristband for $5.00, you were given access to all sales and specials going on at Downtown Disney’s Marketplace and West Side on Saturday, November 6th from 5:30am until 9:30am.
One of several check-in locations available at 4:00am.
Arriving at 4:40am, I found absolutely no traffic en route, and a fabulous parking spot. So far, so good. It was freezing cold to me so I stayed in my car for a few more minutes before braving the temps and crowds. As I approached the entry way and was heading for one of the green check-in tents, volunteers offered to help me get settled. A few women from the United Way had a system; one took my voucher, one put on my wristband and the other gave me a map and list of what bargains were to be had and where. Geez, this was much easier than I thought it would be.
Since it was still a good 40 minutes before anything could be rung up, I sought out shelter in the ladies restroom. Like so many others, I do my best thinking in the bathroom. With my newly acquired map and list, I determined what locations were most important to me and began planning my strategy.
Tren-D had a decent crowd waiting to jump on Dooney & Bourke handbags at 40% off.
My main targets were the tent full of various doorbusters in West Side, Once Upon a Toy, Disney’s Pin Traders, and of course, World of Disney. As I made my way through the Maketplace, I saw people already lined up at Tren-D and World of Disney. Surprisingly, no one was waiting at Pin Traders and only 2 shoppers patiently waited outside Disney’s Days of Christmas. There weren’t any retailers participating in Pleasure Island so it was a vast wasteland with a beverage stand operating and pop/rock music blaring. As I came down the ramp into West Side I could see people bundled up outside of D-Street and the tent I was searching for off to the left, near the AMC theatres.
Trying to keep warm, a Disney discount diver patiently waits for World of Disney to open.
Holy cow! Everyone else had the same idea and there they stood, in the dark, along the side and back of the movie theater. I took my position around 5:20am under a lit covered portion of the building. At 5:30am or perhaps even a few minutes prior, the tent was officially open for business.
The guys in front of me reading over the list of doorbusters. They were so sleepy that they were actually standing in the wrong line.
They did an excellent job setting everything up and it was a very practical design having us zig zag past merchandise and ultimately winding up at one of four registers. The only thing missing was lighting outside the tent where most of the goods were laid out. Thankfully I had a small flashlight with me and could brighten up what was inside boxes and bins. It took one and half hours for me to get through the line and complete my purchase.
Meet Bob, the barker. From a good 50 feet away I heard but didn’t see him shouting, “Programs! Get your programs here! Peanuts! Popcorn!”. I don’t know how he was so completely awake that early in the morning. He had us laughing though.
Would you like to know what I bought? I can’t tell you. My friends might be reading this and then they’ll know what presents they’re getting so instead here are some highlights from this particular location: Princess Aurora doll with horse $8.00, Disney Cruise Line wheeled carry-on bag and tote $5.00, Hanes printed T-shirts $5.00, Belle, Snow White, and Alice figurines $3-5.00, The Princess and the Frog sticker/coloring books $1.00, and kids’ Cars baseball hats $3.00.
Meanwhile, my friend Carol Cruise arrived about 5:25am and parking lot 1 was full so she drove over to lot 2 and found a spot. She says, “I couldn’t decide where to go first, D-Street or Disney’s Pin Traders. I decided on Pin Traders but when I got there it wasn’t open yet so I kept on walking and ended up at the Art of Disney store. I wanted everything!! I had my arms full then started to gain my sanity and put a few things back, I ended up buying two Jim Shore figurines. From there I went back to the Pin Traders, bought several $1 pins and a $5 Disney Cruise Line suitcase. The suitcase came in handy; I put all my purchases in it and was able to pull it around. I decided to go back to the car and drop some stuff off before doing more shopping. Me and another fellow wandered the parking lot looking for our cars, it was still dark and I couldn’t find it. Eventually I did find it, unloaded my bags and went back to a few other stores. I tired out about 8:30am, bought a breakfast sandwich from Earl of Sandwich and went back to Fort Wilderness. I had a blast!”
With my purchases stuffed into my backpack, I ducked into D-Street to find only a few folks inside. They had T-shirts on sale and solid yellow and pink Vinylmations at 70% off. Nothing interested me so I left, zipped thru Pleasure Island (raised my fist and frowned at the closed Adventurer’s Club) and headed into World of Disney. It was busy but not any worse than your average weekend.
A good selection of pins along with carrying cases and packaged sets of pages were marked down by 25%. I bought 3 packs of insert pages for myself for Hanukkah. Oy! I just ruined my surprise. I also picked up a Mickey Mouse Red Sox pin and a Captain EO pin. Hee. Hee. Whoo! Other deals in the store included $5 beach towels, $5 canvas backpacks, 50% off select princess dolls, and 75% off merchandise dated 2010. No, snacks with 2010 expiration dates didn’t count, I looked.
Without too much time left to shop because I had to catch a flight home, I darted into Disney’s Pin Traders (Muppet Star Wars pins*), Lefty’s (nuthin’), The Art of Disney (nada), Pooh Corner (baby clothing), Goofy’s Candy Co. (red licorice for $1.00), and finally Once Upon a Toy (game).
Character hands at Once Upon a Toy. Guess they don’t sell very well.
Boxes of various plush found in a few shops.
While I was waiting to be rung up at my last stop, Once Upon a Toy, I kept telling myself, go take photos of Mickey and Minnie before they go on break. Did I listen to myself? Nooooo. They left to have some cheese and wouldn’t be back for 10 minutes. Those were 10 extra minutes I didn’t have to spare so I left, found my rental car, tossed in the bags and went back to my room to pack my purchases before flying home.
I’d venture to guess the average shopper left with 3 bags full of goodies. Hey! The sun came out. When did that happen?
I’ll tell ya, if Disney and the United Way do this again and my vacation overlaps, I’ll go back. I saved a great deal of money on presents for my friends and also bought a few nice things to donate. Everyone’s a winner!
*I got Miss Piggy and Kermit. I’m looking for Fozzie Bear and Gonzo. Does anyone want to trade?
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Thanks for sharing, sounds like you got some great shopping done too! I was wondering what this event would be like 🙂
I am so jealous of you. I really wanted to be there. I hoped my family would have surprised me with an overnight trip. Well, maybe next time. Glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for the update. I was dying to know about the event.