Some kids get piano lessons. We got taught how to tie a proper double knot on a shopping bag before we were tall enough to see over the counter.
Our dad, Mr. Khan, came over from the UK. He was sick of the gray weather and even more sick of the taxes, so he traded it all for Florida sunshine and built Shalimar from the ground up into the oldest gift shop in Kissimmee. From day one, he wasn't just running a shop. He was training future shopkeepers. Dad raised four kids, and three of us ended up behind that same counter he started at. Long before we understood the business, we understood the bag lesson: hand the customer their Disney souvenirs, their beach towels and swim goggles, tie the handles in a proper double knot so nothing spills on the walk back to the car, and send them off with a smile. Do that a few thousand times as a kid and it becomes part of you. By the time we were teenagers, Dad had basically been grooming us for this our whole lives. We just didn't get a say in the matter, and honestly, we're glad we didn't.
Dad's retired now, finally getting to relax after decades of turning three of his kids into a small business dynasty. The three of us run things today, stocked floor to ceiling with everything a Florida vacation calls for: Disney merchandise, beach gear, souvenirs, the works. We take seriously what he built. It isn't something you find twice. Over the years, we've had an incredible cross section of the world walk through our doors: tourists from every corner of the globe, folks speaking every language you can think of. We've even had the Amish stop in, which might be the single best proof that a great gift shop pulls people from every walk of life imaginable. There's simply no other shop in this town with that kind of heritage. We checked.
But Dad didn't raise us to just maintain something. He raised us to grow it. That's the whole idea behind WishShipped.com: the same family, the same eye for the perfect gift, now reaching people who can't make it to West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in person.
Find us at any of our three Kissimmee locations: 4629, 5001, or 7495 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. Or shop us online anytime. Proudly American owned, proudly family run, and proudly raised for exactly this: double knots and all.
Shalimar to WishShipped.com. Three brothers, one legacy, no days off.