Shops in International Drive?

[nickymitch]

I'm off to Walt Disney world in July, but I'm only going to be shopping in International drive - does anyone know what kind of shops are there, will I get the american shopping experience there.

[chazza]

All kinds of touristy shops, loads of restaurants etc. There is a nice shopping centre called the Mercado, and at the end of I Drive there is Belz factory outlet mall, which is spread over several buildings and contains a shop for every brand you could think of at knockdown prices!

Loads of junky souvenir shops as well!

[nickymitch]

sounds good - thanks I can stop worrying now.

[khana]

Try getting to Old Town as well, mostly tourist shops but a little bit more up market then the majority of the gify shops lining Intl Drive. Shame your not going to make it to Florida Mall, its not to far away and worth a taxi trip.

[nickymitch]

What's in Florida Mall then Khana - You've made me curious!!

[khana]

Well, its a big shopping mall and you can't get more American then that.

Seriously though, it's going to have the "high street" shops you wont find on International Drive like Sears, Gap, Abercrombie etc.

[Bearworld1]

yupp, the Florida Mall is a must visit, it's where most of the naitives shop and you will avoid most of the touristy trash of International Drive

[kazza12345]

why would you just limit yourself to international drive? - you need to go to the mall (as others have suggested) to get the "american shopping experience" i wouldn't have thought many floridians shop on I drive

[nickymitch]

Thanks guys, I will definitly be adding it to my list of places to visit.

I didn't plan to go there Kazza because I didn't know it existed until Khana mentioned it. After looking in some of the travel guides I got the impression everybody went to International drive.

[dannydingbat]

Just been there for the 15th time. Belz has now been renamed so don't get confused - it's called something like Prime now. Apart from the two main buildings, there are lots of outlying stores which are worth seeking out, ie. DK/Liz Claiborne/Timberland/Hilfiger/Ross Dress for Less. This last shop often has end of ranges which are dirt cheap from top designers. Prime generally is OK but sometimes not the best place for good gear. I-Drive is all t shirts and cheap food, except Charley's Steak House which is superb (but a bit pricey). The far (bottom) end of I Drive is Premium Outlet Malls which has some better class stuff. I bought and Armani Suit for �150 there and Clarks shoes for �11.. Most of the top designers are there and some stuff is really cheap. The Mercado is really quite crap and not worth the visit - it's best years have gone. Pointe Orlando a bit further down the road is better but being rebuilt although Houlihans Restaurant opposite has good steaks and good cheap puds. I can also recommend the Caeser Salad in the Pizza Hut next door. Huge. The best way of getting around I Drive is by the I-Ride Trolley which runs all the way round the area and is very cheap. All these things I've mentioned have their own websites so you can check before you go and get a feel for it. The Florida Mall is good so long as you don't go at weekends. It gets really busy with local teenagers posing.

[dannydingbat]

Part 2

If you want a real experience go to the Mall at Millenia. It's not far from Prime (Belz) down Oak Ridge Road and turn left. Get a taxi if you have no car, it will be worth it. It has a good food court and all the top designer shops ie. Bang and Olufsen, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton so you can gawp at the stuff you can't afford. They are all upstairs. Downstairs you get the cheaper stuff. At Sears store, you can go to Customers Services (through Gift Wrapping) and get a discount card for 11% off your purchases.

If you are going to Orlando for the first time, I can let you have a guide I have written, all about things you need to know if you haven't visited before.

Hope this helps

[nickymitch]

Thanks for that dannydingbat, you sound like your a old hat to all this!! It is the first time for us so the guide would be greatly appreciated. I can't believe you've been 15 times you lucky devil!!

[dannydingbat]

OK Nickymitch.. I'll find a way to get you the guide which I will have to update a bit first.

Are you taking kids?

Whereabouts in orlando are you staying? Hotel? House? Self Catering?

Are you planning to hire a car?

Which airport you landing at?

Which theme parks are you interested in?

Knowing the above, I can give you more direct info.,

[nickymitch]

Thanks once again for getting back to me - we are taking 2 kids (aged 11 and 6) and 2 grandparents (aged 63 and 56!!).

We are staying at the all star movie resort within wdw and have not planned to hire a car as none of us are brave enough to drive.

We will be landing at the Orlando-Stanford airport.

And so far we haven't made any firm plans to visit any theme parks, but we would like to see Seaworld, Kennedy space station and Gatorland.

[dannydingbat]

Sorry for delay - had a lot to do this weekend. Not sure how I can correspond with you with the details you need to improve your first visit. Any suggestions?

[nickymitch]

What about if I give you my Yahoo e-mail address and we correspond through there - It is not my main account, so it doesn't matter if I get a load of spam and I don't mind posting it on here. Other than that I wouldn't know of any other way.

[dannydingbat]

I have a Yahoo account as well which I don't mind posting. Drop me an email to [email protected] and I can sort things from there.