I don't believe he was referring to a brick-and-mortar Disney Store... rather
www.DisneyStore.com
I was just at the Parks in Orlando last week, and a lot of the merchandise that I saw was stuff I knew could be found at DisneyStore.com, online, so I passed on many of the bigger items.
I recommend doing what I did. Find someone who lives in Orlando or Anaheim, or both, and be very very nice to them.
Also don't forget that, when it comes to Orlando for instance, you don't actually have to enter the Parks to get the merchandise. We saw a lot of the same stuff over at the World of Disney store in "Downtown Disney".
The only Disney item that I paid scalper prices for was a convention exclusive: Hologram Stitch Emperor. The rest of the stuff I've gotten at cost, plus shipping. If you find someone with an Annual Pass to a Park, they don't even have to factor in the admission or parking fees that you would if you went yourself.
Dearth