What would you do if someone gave you $250 and told you spend it in four hours or less?

Sounds like a fashionista’s dream come true and pretty easy to do. You could easily walk into one store and spend it all in a heartbeat.

But for a savvy fashionista, like myself, I consider the real challenge to be making the most out of the $250.

While most people don’t think of spending the afternoon shopping while on vacation, let alone on a Disney vacation, that’s exactly what I did recently, armed with a $250 gift card in my hands to be used at Disney’s newly reimagined shopping and dining district, Disney Springs.

I’ve traveled to Disney Springs, eaten and shopped at Disney Springs, and even stayed at one of the Disney-affiliated hotels within walking distance of Disney Springs. But I didn’t realize how much it had changed and how much it had to offer to a savvy fashionista until I set out to spend that $250 gift card.

Knowing Where to Shop at Disney Springs

Disney Springs is broekn up into four main sections:

West Side – Located appropriately enough at the west end of Disney Springs , it’s home to attractions like Cirque du Soleil, Splitsville Bowling, and the AMC Theatre, along with assorted restaurants and a few fun shops like the Super Hero Headquarters offering tons of Marvel merchandise.

Town Center – A new section devoted exclusively to the fashionista with high end stores like Free People, Anthropologie, Vince Camuto, and Kate Spade New York.

The Landing – Situated closest to the water,  you’ll find attractions like the hot air balloon, aquacars, waterside restaurants, and more beachy-themed stores like Havaianas, Chapel Hats, and Apex by Sunglass Hut.

Marketplace – If you’re at Disney and shopping for Disney merchandise, it makes sense that you would find it at Disney Springs! In fact, you’ll find some of the best Disney merchandise at places like The Art of Disney, Tren-D, and the Marketplace Co-op (one of my favorites)

So where would you head if you were looking to make the most of your money? How about ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Scoring big at Town Center

After meandering through West Side, I stumbled across the newest section of Disney Springs called Town Center. Holy upscale mall!

I was suddenly surrounded by stores I knew and loved as well as stores that I wanted to know and love! The only problem was price. These were not inexpensive stores. But I put my savvy fashionista hat on to see what I could find.

While I didn’t purchase anything at Sugarboo, the store across the way caught my eye, mainly because the sign out front announced 60% off all clearance items! I was sure that Lucky Brand had something waiting for me inside.

After trying on several shirts and skirts, I settled on a red shirt and played around with the clearance jewelry until I found the piece I could live without. (Read on to find out what I chose!)

Although I planned to stick to clothing, I happened to see one of my favorite cosmetics stores, Origins, and I happened to see that they were offering 20% off everything in the store!

It just so happens that Origins carries the only eye shadow I’ll wear and with 20% off I splurged on a new shade (it’s the little cream jars in the back – I highly recommend them if you have problems with eyeshadow that creases!)

Then I headed into unfamiliar territory. After passing by these younger-than-me stores in places like Washington, DC and NY, I headed into Superdry and Uniqlo. Caution: the women’s clothing are generally sized for little Japanese girls so you may have to size up.

At this point, I was well on my way to spending the $250 but I had a few stores in mind in The Landing that I knew would complete me. I mean, complete my shopping.

Fashion favorites in The Landing

Even though it was the middle of February, it was warm enough to wear some of my summer gear and as I was walking around in my favorite pair of black Sanuks, I was reminded that there’s a Sanuk store in The Landing.

A quick browse and I walked out a with a new pair that I knew would fit and would be stylishly comfortable.

And lest you think that I travel to Disney without any regard for Disney fashion, I found exactly what I was looking for at Alex and Ani.

I don’t have a massive collection of Alex and Ani bracelets but I am particular about which bracelets I like. I chose Raphaelian Silver (the only metal I wear) with a BB8 charm. I only like charms but they have plenty of medallion bracelets as well. And BB8 is from Star Wars so technically I was showing my Disney side.

 

Clothes, shoes, accessories – there couldn’t possibly be anything more, right? I was almost done. But I hadn’t hit Marketplace yet.

Finishing out the day at Marketplace

At this point, I was starving. When you’re really in the zone, you don’t realize how hungry you are.  Although I chose a lovely salad, I could have just as easily enjoyed a Sprinkles cupcake overlooking the water at Disney Springs.

Once I had recharged, it was off to visit World of Disney and the Marketplace Co-op, two of my favorite places for Disney-themed merchandise. Even if you’re out of money, it’s a great place to look around. Look at what I spotted!

And believe it or not, I found one of my new favorite pairs of pants at World of Disney. There’s a subtle Mickey Mouse embroidered near the pocket but otherwise, I’d look good enough for any non-theme park function.

So how did I do?

It took me almost four hours to complete my task. I’m a savvy shopper but I guess not a quick one.

So the next time you arrive at Disney but your luggage doesn’t? Use it as an excuse to spend the day shopping at Disney Springs!

Here’s everything this savvy fashionista scored at Disney Springs:

• Red Lace Front Peasant top from Lucky Brand, $22.00
• Pebble Double Drop earrings from Lucky Brand, $12.00
• Khaki Capris from World of Disney, $37.56
• Yoga Slings from Sanuk, $38.00
• Indigo Script shirt from Superdry, $14.50
• Full Zip hoodie from Uniqlo, $29.90
• Leggings from Uniqlo, $9.90
• BB8 Rafaelian Silver bracelet from Alex and Ani, $31.96
• GinZing Brightening Eye Shadow from Origins, $16.00
• Make A Difference Hand Cream from Origins, $18.40

GRAND TOTAL: $245.19 (including sales tax)

This shopping trip was part of a social media challenge for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Disney provided me with a $250 gift card to spend at Disney Springs.