Disney World's secret lost and found ‘sales' have diehard fans lining up for hours to snap up luxury sunglasses, designer strollers

New York Post

a day ago

Spoiler alert — Disney fans lose tons of sunglasses, and some devotees are willing to make the trek to buy them up in bulk for a bargain.
The US parks, California's Disneyland and Orlando's iconic Walt Disney World, welcome thousands of guests a day, but without fail, portable chargers, miniature plushes, and themed souvenir cups make their way into the parks' bustling lost-and-found centers.
While the parks strive to return all items to their original owners — they even ship identifiable items back to their proper places, free of charge — the volume of missing things is often too much to truly handle. For many park-goers, the headache of submitting a report also isn't worth the return of their items.
@magicalsoulfoodie
Disneyland Lost and Found sale at Goodwill. All items are unclaimed after a long time and donated to good will. This is one day annual event. All unsold items goes to your local stores. Tag me if you find! This event was so unique and mind blowing. I didn't expect to buy anything at all as I am allergic to used items that are wearables. If I found some amazing Tokyo disney ears I would have kept them. I am looking for beat up light sabers so I can spar with friends. ( this way you can keep the light sabers you spend a lot of money buying in mint conditon) Look at how many I found in the end of video. All of the ones I bought was $2. The last item is a huge sign stand holder for Conventions. I have always wanted this. They gave it to me for $10. I saw a few sippers, and did not see any popcorn Buckets. There was two boxes of lanyards and pins. There was only light saber boxes not the collectible light sabers. The items like electronics and chargers are prices as marked. There were some suitcases as well. For more details check my story. There was a lot of coffee makers, blow dryers, humidifiers and curling irons. I am very sad that everybody keep losing their sunglasses. If Goodwill sells all these sunglasses they can raise a lot of money 💰 The line was brutal. If you want to come, don't bring kids and bring a lot of patience. Like and save this post, send to someone who needs! Follow for more Disneyland News and Magical Finds. #disneyparks #magicalsoulfoodie #disneyland #disneylandnews #disney #disneylandmagickey #disneyparks #magickey #wdw #waltdisneyworld #disneylandmerch #disneymerch #disneyfashion #disneystyle #disneyhome #disneyfinds #goodwill #disneylandlostandfound #vintagedisney #abc7eyewitness ♬ dumb dumb – sped up – mazie
After three months, the parks donate the bulk of the lost-and-found stock to local charities and second-hand shops.
Disneyland, in partnership with the Goodwill of Orange County Marketplace, also hosts an annual sale near the park, and lucky SoCal residents are privy to massive discounts.
Most Disney devotees, like @magicalsoulfoodie on TikTok, scour the Internet for dates and times, line up hours in advance, and rifle through thousands of unclaimed items with one goal in mind: big-ticket items like wagons, strollers and other expensive items.
Spending between $3 to $5 per item is the norm at this sale, which typically happens in August, but premium items like wagons can fetch up to $20.
Many fans also brave the lines — and the packed parking lots — for the sunglass sales. Bargains on branded shades are abound at the event, and a pair of coveted Rayban or Prada glasses only sets shoppers back $1.
While the annual Orange County sale is certainly high-profile — especially on social media pages dedicated to discount Disney goods — California isn't the only state to benefit from Disneyphiles' disregard.
Every three months or so, Disney World makes a bulk donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida, containing everything from brand-new items forgotten on park benches to personal heirlooms.
Much like the Santa Ana marketplace, for many Disney-goers, the second-hand prices are too good to beat, so when the store updates its Facebook page with news of a fresh shipment, devotees rush to the store to investigate. They have no problem spending an entire day driving, waiting, searching and then checking out.
Though many fans depart these Florida and California sales with a haul of discount Disney swag, others leave with a mission.
In the comments of @magicalsoulfoodie's TikTok, one Disneyphile revealed their own wild journey that resulted from one of these sales.
The user attended the 2023 Santa Ana sale and came back with a custom backpack. After they bought it that summer, a friend posted a photo to Instagram featuring them and the backpack, and was quickly contacted by a random woman.
The woman asked to buy it off the user, and 'paid pretty well' for it. After the commenter parted with the backpack, they found out that it had belonged to the woman's recently deceased daughter.
Another penny-pinching park-goer visited the sale in 2024 and vlogged the experience on her TikTok, @jxselin_.
Scattered among the piles and piles of Mickey ears were several stranger items — lone champagne glasses, paper towel holders and adult-sized sneakers.
Though she was looking for a wagon, she told commenters that she didn't end up staying long or buying too much, as she felt 'too overwhelmed.'
However, she showed off a small haul in a follow-up video, and a black handbag seemed to have caught the eyes of a few viewers.
Three different women commented, claiming the purse was theirs, but these ladies weren't as lucky in the bag department — finder's keepers, and all that.