Sometimes it feels good to be “bad”…
EPCOT
Well, not really bad. We obviously don’t condone breaking any Disney World rules, EVER. Let’s be 100% clear there. However, sometimes at Disney World, there are things that *feel* like they should be against the rules — to the point of being fun to “get away with” — but are actually perfectly fine to do. One of our favorites involves gift shops.
The concept of theme park rides letting out directly into a gift shop — sometimes colloquially referred to as a “ride dump” — has become so associated with Disney over the years (and often been parodied in pop culture; see an incalculable amount of Simpsons parodies) that many believe it’s been part of the parks since the beginning. However, that’s not the case.
The first Disney ride that led directly into a gift shop was the Tomorrowland classic Adventure Thru Inner Space, which began flowing directly into The Character Shop after a 1970s refurbishment. The first dedicated exit gift shops were built for Disneyland’s Star Tours (which ironically replaced Adventure Thru Inner Space) and Space Mountain in the 1980s. Since then, they’ve become relatively ubiquitous.
Adventure Thru Inner Space ©D23
So, what’s the trick that feels “illegal”? Heading into the shop from its exit without riding the ride at all!
Let’s take EPCOT for example. A vast majority of the park’s attractions and pavilions — Mission Space, Test Track (when it reopens), Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Frozen Ever After, and Journey Into Your Imagination to name a few — have gift shops at or near their exists. If you wanted to, you could visit all of these shops without stopping foot on the ride.
©Disney
How does this feel like “getting away with something”? Well, in general, you can visit the store and peruse the merchandise without taking the time to wait in a queue or ride the attraction. Even more specifically when it comes to “thrill ride” experiences, you’re looking at the souvenirs without having ridden the attraction all of which is totally fine, but feels just a wee bit illegal.
‘Frozen’ figurine
Sliding in the back door to check out a ride’s gift shop without actually riding said ride is totally within the rules of visiting Disney World, but it always kind of feels like it does. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney World “rules.”
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I don’t really understand this. Gift shops make huge amounts of money for Disney, so it makes complete business sense to let as many people in as possible, whether they ride or not. It also doesn’t make sense to offer merchandise exclusive to riders, as it would only create longer lines and there would be abundant re-sells of that merchandise for huge profits for those who wanted it but didn’t want to wait…or couldn’t ride (e.g. disabled who could not ride a roller coaster to get the merchandise).