Ever heard of Disney World “ride dumps”? It’s when you go on a ride and then are forced to exit through a gift shop — there’s no way out except through the merch…or IS THERE?

Tatooine Traders

The concept of getting off a Disney ride only have to exit through the gift shop has become so ubiquitous that it’s often been parodied, including several times on the we-still-can’t-believe-Disney-owns-this-show classic sitcom The Simpsons. However in truth, this hasn’t always been the case. And in our mind, this isn’t always a good thing.

Don’t misunderstand, we LOVE Disney souvenirs, especially ride-specific ones. However, it can sometimes just be a bit too much to be “dumped” near-directly into a crowded shop after getting off of a ride, especially with kids in tow. It seems that the first Disney ride to exit DIRECTLY into a gift shop was Adventure Thru Inner Space, a ride in Disneyland‘s Tomorrowland that closed in 1985 to make way for Star Tours. Its exit was rerouted to Disneyland’s Character Shop during a 1970s remodel. The true expansion of exit gift shops as we know them today began in 1980s Michael Eisner era with traction like Star Tours and Splash Mountain opening with dedicated gift shops at their exits.

Disneyland Splash Mountain

This trend continued for years, with most new rides opening with their own themed shops, and many older popular attractions having new retail locations added near their exits.

In times like these, we’re thankful for the Disney rides that allow us to skip the shop if we can. For example, when leaving The Haunted Mansion, guests are funneled past Memento Mori at the Magic Kingdom. This Haunted Mansion shop – which opened in 2014 — is one of our favorite shops in the park. However, when we’re not feeling like popping in, we can simply walk past the shop as it’s a separate freestanding structure.

Memento Mori

Similarly, Mickey’s Philharmagic features a gift ship off to the side of its exit than can be sidestepped to walk directly out into Fantasyland.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic

Surprisingly given the ubiquity of Frozen merchandise available in the parks, the merchandise store at the exit of Frozen Ever After in EPCOT’s Norway pavilion can be sidestepped. If you look at the building’s entrance from the front, the doors visible to the left of the main ride entrance can be used to exit after the ride and before the gift shop, leaving guests directly in front of the queue.

Frozen Ever After

Two of Walt Disney World’s newest — and most in-demand — rides also allow riders to sidestep the gift shop if they chose. Guests exiting Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT can walk right past Treasures of Xandar their way off the coaster. Over in Animal Kingdom, riders who are done being wow’d by Avatar: Flight of Passage can choose to sidestep heading into Windtraders, the largest store in Pandora, which is located down the hill after the ride’s exit. All a rider needs to do is take the right at the bottom of the ramp, bypassing the entrance to the store and instead heading directly back into the land through a side cutoff. In fact, the way Pandora is laid out seems to have been a portent of things to come.

Windtraders

Thanks to the gargantuan success of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and in-turn Disney’s responses to it, the last decade plus of major theme development has been focused on large, immersive single IP lands like Pandora: The World of Avatar, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Avengers Campus, and Cars Land to name a few. One of the many theme park norms these lands have altered is the concept of the post-ride gift shop dump. As mentioned, Pandora’s Flight of Passage does not empty directly into Windtraders. 

Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities

Furthermore in Galaxy’s Edge, neither Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run nor Rise of the Resistance empty into large gift shops (though the latter does feature a cluster of themed merchandise “supply carts” at its exit). Rather, the shops in these mega lands are integrated into their immersive layouts, often modeled on actual locations within the fictional narratives.

Of course, there are still some Walt Disney World rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, and Tower of Terror do still feature the more traditional exits directly into their gift shops, and in those places the only way out is to beeline through the crowds of fellow riders exiting the attraction and heading straight out of the shop without stopping. Harder-said-than-done we know, especially if traveling with kids. 

Tower of Terror gift shop

While buying Disney souvenirs can be one of the best parts of a Disney Parks day, there are definitely times we’re not in the mood to be funneled through one at an attraction’s exit, and welcome the rides that let us sidestep if we so choose. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney merchandise updates. 

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What’s your favorite post-Disney ride gift shop? Let us know in the comments below.