How to Return (or Exchange) Merchandise You Bought at a Disney Park

UPDATE Sept 2015: I’ve been notified that Disney has since changed their return policies and the information in this blog post is no longer accurate. From what I understand there is currently a $9.95 exchange fee.

During my last trip to WDW for Marathon Weekend I bought my husband a couple of t-shirts. Apparently I think he’s a lot smaller than he is cuz when I got home he looked at them and said, “Umm, thanks…but these are WAY too small!”

Seriously, they looked HUGE in the store (maybe it’s some of kind of Disney trick) but he was right, not gonna work. I always seem to forget that he’s six feet tall…

OK so these are Disney t-shirts and not like the throw away t-shirts you buy at Target…they were some pricey items. What am I supposed to do with these gifts that don’t fit? Ugh! It’s not like I live right next to Disney World and could exchange them (wouldn’t that be nice).

I started doing a little research. Maybe I could return them to a local Disney store? Nope, it says it right on their website: Returns and exchanges will not be accepted for items purchased at: Walt Disney World® Resort, Disneyland® Resort, World of Disney® locations, Disney Cruise Line® Ships, Disney’s Soda Fountain Shop in Hollywood, California, and Disney Baby locations.

So much for that idea! I also looked at the back of the receipt but the only information it provided was for returning or exchanging the item to the same store. (BTW, all the original tags much still be attached to the item if you want to return or exchange it.)

After some Googling I found this website which offered a glimmer of hope. The information was a couple years old but it was the best I found so far.

At the very bottom of the article it states:

What option is available if there are no immediate plans to return to a Disney-owned-and-operated store location at a Walt Disney Park or Resort?

Guests are welcome to contact the Merchandise Guest Services team for assistance. For items purchased at Disneyland Resort, guests should call 1-800-362-4533 or send an email to dlr.merchandise.guest.services@disney.com. For items purchased at Walt Disney World Resort, guests should call 1-877-560-6477 or send an email to wdw.mail.order@disneyworld.com

Sounds good to me! I sent a message to the WDW email address and got an automated response that said I would receive more information within 10 days.

The next day this email appeared in my inbox:

Dear Amanda,

Thank you for contacting Merchandise Guest Services. We are pleased to assist you with an exchange or refund. Return merchandise to the correct Theme Park where they were purchased at:

Merchandise Guest Services
Disneyland Resort, California
PO Box 3232
Anaheim, CA 92803
Attn: DL 635B

OR

Merchandise Guest Services
Walt Disney World, Florida
3300 N. Dopey Dr.
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Attn: Return/Exchange

Please include the following information:
1. a note requesting a return or exchange
2. name, address and telephone number on the note
3. copy of sales receipt

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at 877-560-6477 should you have any further questions.

Thank you,

Valerie
Merchandise Guest Services
(877) 560-6477 | Merchandise.Guest.Services@DisneyParks.com

Nice! As I was copying my receipt to send off with the shirts I noticed the same email address and phone number was printed on top of the receipt. That probably would have saved me some time!

So anyway, if you have something you need to return or exchange that your purchased at either WDW or DL you can use the addresses and the instructions posted above. I sent the shirts back in a USPS Priority Mail flat rate envelope (the flimsy kind) and I think the postage was like $5 or something. I requested a size larger for each shirt so hopefully that won’t be a problem.

I’ll update this post when/if I get the new shirts back!

UPDATE: Today is 2/7/14 and the new shirts arrived in the mail today! I received both in a size LARGE just like I requested. So a two-week turnaround is pretty much what you can expect…I don’t think that’s totally unreasonable and I didn’t have to pay anything to have the items shipped back to me. Thanks Disney!

Has anyone else had to do this or is it just me??