Character Warehouse: I-Drive or Vineland?

[YawningDodo]

I'm going to have an opportunity to stop by one of the outlet malls during my upcoming January trip. I'm staying onsite at WDW and I'm not renting a car, so I wouldn't normally leave the bubble, but I've already got a day planned at Universal. UO doesn't have its January hours up yet, but I'm guessing that once the holiday season ends they'll probably be back to shutting down by 7:00 PM, which means even if I close the park out I'll probably have a good chunk of evening left over. I can't justify an Uber just to go to the outlet, but a stop on the way back from UO? Yep, I'll do that.

Question is, which outlet? I know that Vineland is bigger, but I've heard it's also more crowded and (maybe?) more likely to be picked over. I-Drive is closer to Universal, so if there's any chance at all of doing both I have to hit it first (though realistically I don't expect to have time and energy to hit both). It'll be a Monday night, if that shifts things one way or another--and it definitely will be late in the evening, since I'm not going to sacrifice park time for the outlets.

Thoughts? And do they really have mostly the same things available?

 

[Disneylvr1971]

Went to both in Sept and the one on Vineland twice had lines snaked outside of the store.

 

[Sara_H]

We went to both in June and found different things at each...not sure one was better than the other. I did notice that prices varied. We found a shirt for one of my kids at one of the outlets and then the same shirt at the other outlet and it was a few dollars more than the first one. Unfortunately, I can't remember which was which. We didn't experience any lines but we went in the evening both times.

 

[HadesFan]

We were there a couple of weeks ago, pretty much the same merchandise in each. However, the I-drive had some Minnie headbands that Vineland didn't have. I think the Vineland store gets picked over quicker because it's closer to WDW.

 

[tguz]

We went in July and maybe we hit a bad time because there was nothing that interested me that made me want to buy it now rather than check out the gift shops on property. I was really surprised because we have watched countless Youtube videos of the Character Outlet and almost every time there was something I wanted. We will try again in 2021, on our next trip.

 

[YawningDodo]

Went to both in Sept and the one on Vineland twice had lines snaked outside of the store.

I've been reading the outlet updates on the TP blog and it does sound like it can be pretty bad--but they make it sound like both outlets get slammed. But I kind of hope the evening will be less crowded since the people hoping to pick up a bunch of higher-end items to resell will probably go when the stores first open in the morning.

We went to both in June and found different things at each...not sure one was better than the other. I did notice that prices varied. We found a shirt for one of my kids at one of the outlets and then the same shirt at the other outlet and it was a few dollars more than the first one. Unfortunately, I can't remember which was which. We didn't experience any lines but we went in the evening both times.

Glad to hear about the lack of lines in the evening! Eesh on the different prices. Wonder if they just don't even coordinate it...?

We were there a couple of weeks ago, pretty much the same merchandise in each. However, the I-drive had some Minnie headbands that Vineland didn't have. I think the Vineland store gets picked over quicker because it's closer to WDW.

Good to know! I've heard that and I'm kind of leaning toward I-Drive; it just feels weird to aim for the smaller store.

We went in July and maybe we hit a bad time because there was nothing that interested me that made me want to buy it now rather than check out the gift shops on property. I was really surprised because we have watched countless Youtube videos of the Character Outlet and almost every time there was something I wanted. We will try again in 2021, on our next trip.

Yeeeah, this is why I wouldn't want to make a trip out just for the outlets. I might find tons of interesting stuff, or I might just find a bunch of junk I don't want. Figure it's worth rolling the dice when it's not that much time or money to make a stop on the way back from UO.

 

[tguz]

I've been reading the outlet updates on the TP blog and it does sound like it can be pretty bad--but they make it sound like both outlets get slammed. But I kind of hope the evening will be less crowded since the people hoping to pick up a bunch of higher-end items to resell will probably go when the stores first open in the morning.

Glad to hear about the lack of lines in the evening! Eesh on the different prices. Wonder if they just don't even coordinate it...?

Good to know! I've heard that and I'm kind of leaning toward I-Drive; it just feels weird to aim for the smaller store.

Yeeeah, this is why I wouldn't want to make a trip out just for the outlets. I might find tons of interesting stuff, or I might just find a bunch of junk I don't want. Figure it's worth rolling the dice when it's not that much time or money to make a stop on the way back from UO.

I agree with you on that! We got in on a Saturday afternoon and stayed offsite that night and our Disney vacation started Sunday. We just checked out the area on Saturday and did some shopping and swimming and then checked into our Disney resort Sunday morning.