It has happened to nearly every on of us. You see an item for sale in one of the shops in a theme park that you like but you decide to wait before you purchase it. One thing leads to another and before you know it, you are back home without having bought that item. Oh if there were only a way to still get it.

There is. Disney's merchandising division operates the very efficient Walt Disney World Mail Order department for just such contingencies.

I have found in my dealings with them that the CM's who staff the Mail Order department are very diligent and thorough in trying to find that special something that you are looking for. If you are in a hurry for your item, you may want to call as emails often take several days to be answered.

Hours: Monday through Friday 9 am to 8 pm. All times Eastern time zone.

Tell them as much detail about the item as you can remember. Important things are where you saw it (what park or even better which shop), as detailed a description as possible including the price if you remember it, and the size and/or color of what you are looking for. They will search their database of thousands of merchandise items to try to locate what you seek.

Most times they can come up with a match. They will tell you the SKU number of the item (this is the unique computer coded number assigned to every item that Disney sells) and the cost of the item. Merchandise purchased through the Mail Order department sells at exactly the same retail price as it does in the parks. You will however be charged a shipping cost to have the item sent to you.

Good hint for WDW Shoppers: if you see something while at WDW that you may want to purchase at a later time, it is always good to write the SKU number on price tag. It helps them locate the items faster. They have thousands of items there and they are always changing.

Shipping time frames indicated by Disney are
Ground: 10-20 business days
Express Air: 3-5 business days
Economy Air: 4-7 business days
Alaska and Hawaii may take additional days.

Domestic shipping charges to addresses in the continental U.S. as of June 2007 are:

Shipping outside the continental United States is via International service and would be according to the following schedule:

Please allow (approx) 20 business days for deliveries. Any duties or taxes are the responsibility of the recipient.

Delivery dates assume merchandise is in stock at the time of order.

There are no discounts available on mail order merchandise.

If you would like to place an order you may do so by calling 407-363-6200, by fax at 407-828-2000 or by e-mail with the following information: Item list, name, phone number, billing address, shipping address and credit card information with expiration date.

Hopefully all will go well as you locate that special "must have" item you forgot to buy for Uncle Bob's birthday or Billy and Sue's wedding.