Bringing home memories of Walt Disney World is one of the things I always look forward to on my Disney vacation. There are so many great products at the parks, and bringing some home with you is a great way to continue the magic of your vacation long after it's over. I know from experience how easy it is to end up with so many memories that you fill your suitcase to the point of being useless. Didn't you bring an empty suitcase for this? No problem! Because you can ship stuff home from Disney World! And it's easier than you think!
You can have Disney World stuff delivered to your home, directly from the gift shop where you bought it, or from your Disney resort for a small handling fee. You can also plan ahead and bring a pre-paid USPS flat rate box to ship the items home at the end of your trip.
Sending Disney items to your home could save your life. Not just if you bought more items than the space in your suitcase allows. But also if you don't want to be stuck at the airport with your souvenirs or be held responsible if an item breaks in transit. Read on for all your Walt Disney World shipping options and an alternative that might even save you all the hassle of shipping.
These are all shipping options currently available at Walt Disney World and Disney Resort hotels:
1. Ship items directly from the gift shop or store them at checkout
Did you know that items you buy at ANY Disney Gift Shop can be delivered to your home by Disney? They pack the items for you and handle all the shipping. This is a particularly good option when shopping for fragile items (like Christmas ornaments). Because Disney guarantees items when they ship. So if something breaks during transit, it will be replaced free of charge.
Here's how to send items home directly from the gift shop at checkout:
- Do your shopping normally.
- When checking out, let the cashier know you want these items shipped to your home.
- The cashier will ask you to fill in all the shipping information and make payment to send the items home.
- The cashier will give you a copy of the shipping receipt so you can track the package.
In my experience, Disney usually ships via UPS from gift shops, but of course this can vary. This shipping option is available to anyone purchasing at a Disney Gift Store. You don't have to stay in place to benefit from it.
2. Send stuff home from your Disney resort
There are two methods of shipping things home from your Disney resort, depending on which resort you're staying at. If your resort has a business center, you can easily send things home from there (or the front desk). Otherwise, if your resort doesn't have a business center, you can still send things home, but you'll have to do it at the resort's gift shop. Let me explain...
Shipping from Disney Resorts with Business Centers:
These six Disney resorts have a business center:
- Iate Resorts e Beach Clubs
- Pousada do Calçadão
- contemporary resort
- Kurort Coronado Springs
- Tolles Florida-Resort
- Swan and Dolphin Hotel
From these six resorts, you can send your packages home from the resort's business center or front desk. Based on my research, in most cases you will need to pack the items yourself. The resort should be able to find an empty box for you at these business center locations. Which you can fill up and bring back to the ship. However, I recommend calling your resort front desk prior to shipping as I know they have packed items for guests in the past. Therefore, call reception well in advance to find out the best option.
If you send packages home from a resort through the business center, you will be required to pay a package handling fee. The handling fee depends on the weight and type of package.Click here for the linkon the Disney website for the most up-to-date information on processing fees. Package handling fee does not include postage, which is paid separately.
Shipments from Disney Resorts without a Business Center:
If you're staying at a Disney resort that doesn't have a business center like most, there's another option for you. You can send items home from the resort's gift shop, even if you didn't purchase the items there. As long as all items shipped were purchased from Disney and are Disney items (not third-party purchased items), the resort's gift shop can ship them to your door.
Here's what you need to do to use shipping via this method:
- Please retain all receipts for any Disney merchandise purchases made during your trip.
- When you're ready to ship, bring the items you want to ship AND your receipts to the resort's gift shop.
- Explain to the cashier that you want all of these items sent home. Be prepared to wait a while because they basically have to return every item. And then resell them in a single transaction where they can set up shipping.
- You provide shipping details, pay shipping cost and receive shipping receipt with tracking information.
When you ship things home from the resort's gift shop this way, you don't have to pay a package handling fee either. An added bonus!
3. Bring your own USPS flat rate box from home and ship it on your trip
Here's a tip I learned from devoted Disney fans.Disboards Online-Forum…bring your own prepaid USPS flat rate box on vacation to ship things home! When you send things homeWith this method, you don't have to pay the Disney package handling fee.because everything has already been paid for by you in advance.
Here's what you need to do to ship items from Disney to your home via USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail:
- Purchase a flat rate USPS Priority Mail box at your local USPS place of residence before heading to Disney. Prepay postage at checkout with USPS before leaving.
- Pack the flat rate box in your suitcase and place it on the floor. Also take duct tape. Most resorts don't have packing tape readily available, and if they do, it's usually not the best quality.
- Buy all the Disney merchandise you want!
- Pack the box at the end of your journey or as soon as you have enough items to fill it. Close the box with the tape you brought. Then take it to the resort reception. They will then post it for you.
One tip I suggest is to use linen as packing pads if you need to protect loose items in the box. This saves space in your suitcase for more fragile items or even more merchandise!!
Also, this method can really work in any hotel. So if you are off site, this is also an option for you.
4. Closest Outside Locations to Ship Home from Disney Items
Of course, the final option for shipping things home from Disney World is to ship them from a post office or an offsite shipping location. This option is certainly less convenient unless you have a rental car or went to Disney on your own. Of course, you can also send things home via the other three methods listed above if you prefer.
These are the closest outside shipping locations to the Walt Disney World Resort:
- FedEx Office Print and Ship Center em 8701 World Center Dr, Orlando, FL 32821
- Located at the Orlando World Center Marriott, approximately 10 minutes' drive from EPCOT
- The UPS Store is located at 7862 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL
- The hotel is approximately a 10-minute drive from Hollywood Studios.
- USPS de 601 Market St, Kissimmee, FL 34747
- The hotel is approximately a 10-minute drive from Hollywood Studios.
Don't want to go through the hassle of shipping things home from Disney? Try the Shop Disney app
If you don't want to go through the hassle of shipping things home, check out the Shop Disney app! The Shop Disney app, which is separate from the My Disney Experience app, allows you to buy many of the same items at the park online and have them delivered to your door. So if your bag space is limited or you don't want to lug your stuff around the park all day, check out this app.
When I'm at Disney, I like to open the app and run a cart with all the things I want. I will be adding new stuff every day as I find them in the parks. At the end of my trip, I buy the whole car at once. Everything is then delivered to my home with essentially no work on my part. Best of all, once you spend $75.00 on the Shop Disney app, shipping is free!
However, there is a caveat with this method. This means you won't be able to find 100% of the park's items in the Shop Disney app. Although you will find the most popular items and more and more are added every day, occasionally there will be something you can't find on the app. If so, you can use the information earlier in this article to ship it home or pack it in your suitcase. If you're using the Shop Disney app for the rest of your shopping, you should now have extra space in your bag for items you can't find in the app.