Quality of available merchandise significantly reduced?

[UNCgolf]

Whenever I go to the regional parks, it always surprises me at how much attraction-specific merch there is. And yet, the two largest resorts in the world (WDW & UOR) with far more fans and attendance are afraid to touch that level of specificity.

There's a world where both Universal and Disney can balance IP and more attraction specific stuff. Problem is they tend to make the attraction/park specific stuff sloppy with an unnecessary PASSHOLDER logo off to the side.

Go to Etsy, and you'll find so many different designs that will make a killing if WDW sold it officially.

Disney used to sell far more attraction, park, and even resort specific merchandise.

I assume they did a detailed analysis and decided they would make more money selling a smaller variety of items that they could order in huge quantities instead of having to buy smaller (relatively speaking) amounts of unique merch.

It certainly eliminates much reason to explore the shops, though. There are some exceptions here and there, but for the most part guests can just go to World of Disney and maybe a couple of the main park gift shops and find just about everything that's available. That also ends up increasing crowding.

 

[Andrew25]

Disney used to sell far more attraction, park, and even resort specific merchandise.

I assume they did a detailed analysis and decided they would make more money selling a smaller variety of items that they could order in huge quantities instead of having to buy smaller (relatively speaking) amounts of unique merch.

It certainly eliminates much reason to explore the shops, though. There are some exceptions here and there, but for the most part guests can just go to World of Disney and maybe a couple of the main park gift shops and find just about everything that's available. That also ends up increasing crowding.

I agree, and I'm not against them prioritizing more generic merch at the more popular/obvious shops. However, I am surprised we don't have park/attraction specific designated merch shops with rotating selections somewhere. I can easily see that being a big hit with locals and passholders.

 

[Jrb1979]

I agree, and I'm not against them prioritizing more generic merch at the more popular/obvious shops. However, I am surprised we don't have park/attraction specific designated merch shops with rotating selections somewhere. I can easily see that being a big hit with locals and passholders.

Agreed. Attraction specific merch should be in every gift shop that's attached to each attraction.

 

[The Colonel]

Uniqlo has better Disney Tees than Disney does...and cheaper

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I assume they did a detailed analysis and decided they would make more money selling a smaller variety of items that they could order in huge quantities instead of having to buy smaller (relatively speaking) amounts of unique merch.

It certainly eliminates much reason to explore the shops, though. There are some exceptions here and there, but for the most part guests can just go to World of Disney and maybe a couple of the main park gift shops and find just about everything that's available. That also ends up increasing crowding.

This has also been my assumption. Certainly, manufacturing costs go down when volume goes up.

But I always wonder that perhaps the opposite isn't possible, because the more generic merchandise is less interesting. The Figment popcorn bucket craze comes to mind. It was NEW!

I'm sure it is probably some mix of the two. Many people would be unhappy if they went to WDW and could not buy a Mickey plush or hoodie, while others are looking for something unique or uncommon each visit. Still another group of people wants to buy something like a new Christmas ornament each visit.

 

[Comped]

Disney used to sell far more attraction, park, and even resort specific merchandise.

I assume they did a detailed analysis and decided they would make more money selling a smaller variety of items that they could order in huge quantities instead of having to buy smaller (relatively speaking) amounts of unique merch.

It certainly eliminates much reason to explore the shops, though. There are some exceptions here and there, but for the most part guests can just go to World of Disney and maybe a couple of the main park gift shops and find just about everything that's available. That also ends up increasing crowding.

Even the resort or attraction specific pins that have been designed in the past 5-ish years aren't that great either.

 

[Ztonyg]

I am shocked at the reduction in T-shirts at World of Disney between my trip last July to this evening.

My wife requested a specific Muppet's shirt that she saw last time that I couldn't find anywhere now.

World of Disney is a bit of a disappointment both at WDW and at Disneyland nowadays.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Honestly, I’d argue merchandise has been making a turn around lately compared to a good few years ago. For awhile, for instance. You couldn’t find ‘any’ Winnie the Pooh shirts for men in the Hundred Acre Goods shop at Disneyland, but lately they’ve been out some fantastic retro style merchandise like sweaters and tees that are unisex and they’re great quality. Pricy, sure, but I believe they’re selling well and hopefully telling the merch makers, hey, we want more quality merch that’s equal to the quality offered in the past.

Also things like Figment head caps are back in the gift shops at EPCOT, which is a BIG win in my book.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Granted, there is def room for some improvement, if we could get ‘more’ Parks specific/exclusive merch that’s done to the quality of the way things were in the 90s for instance, for all the favorite attractions around the park (including stuff like Carousel of Progress, Sonny Eclipse and Country Bear Jamboree). It’d be ‘really’ nice.

 

[FigmentsBrightIdeas]

Ultimately the biggest issue here is heightened costs of park attendance, moreso than anything. Despite them knowing that Parks are their most profitable sector within the company at this point. If they could get that lowered while also properly controlling park capacity, I think things could greatly improve sales wise on their spreadsheets. More people able to go the park means more merchandise sales and thus higher profit at the end of the day. And the wider variety of unique park attraction merch available means further sales and drive to return and tell others it’s worth going. Otherwise, the trouble is, so many of the merchandise isn’t available online that folks would love to purchase otherwise. But again, since more & more folks can’t afford to go, it puts a damper on those merch sales which is bad news for everyone. It also encourages more scalpers online that buy a bunch of inventory to upsell and ultimately that’s a lose-lose scenario for both guests and Disney themselves

The other core issue is lack of investing in attraction maintenance lately. The more down-time on attractions and lack of good/intended show quality, the less people feeling satisfied, willing to share good word of mouth and come back as they feel they didn’t get their values worth. It’d simply help to have all their existing attractions up to spec via good maintenance and good/passionate maintenance workers on staff. But in that, they really should be giving their staff better working conditions, budgets to work with, pay & perks. Once all that happens I feel the results will pay off.

 

[Brer Panther]

Is there still a strange lack of books in the gift shops? I recall on my most recent trip in 2022, I didn't see any books in ANY of the shops (aside from some blank notebooks). Very peculiar.

 

[Eric Graham]

Is there still a strange lack of books in the gift shops? I recall on my most recent trip in 2022, I didn't see any books in ANY of the shops (aside from some blank notebooks). Very peculiar.

If you enjoy Disney books, I know that Amazon is having a sale on their printed books through the 28th. Have a great evening!

 

[aladdin2007]

Is there still a strange lack of books in the gift shops? I recall on my most recent trip in 2022, I didn't see any books in ANY of the shops (aside from some blank notebooks). Very peculiar.

They are all pretty much gone now except notebooks like you said unfortunately. They don't even carry the published disney parks cookbooks. I miss the hardcover souvenir table books of disney world, those were the best and its been years since they had one. Art of Disney at disney springs did away with most of the books too.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Is there still a strange lack of books in the gift shops? I recall on my most recent trip in 2022, I didn't see any books in ANY of the shops (aside from some blank notebooks). Very peculiar.

They pop up occasionally. I know two years ago I purchased a book about Mickey for a Christmas gift. And I know for a fact I've seen that Disney cookbook aladdin2007 mentioned relatively recently, I just can't remember where.

And I guess it's a thing now to have children's books for stuff in the parks; Emporium had three yesterday and there's a Figment one.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The merch in Disneyland is particularly awful right now

 

[ConVMagic]

The first time I visited after the pandemic, my mom and I pointed out how much the merchandise variety has gone down. My mom is a big shopper, and she used to go into every store she saw to check it out. But by the end of our trip, we just skipped most of the gift shops because we knew that they would just have the same thing the last one had. Less time in the gift shops also means less money spent on souvenirs, which is good for us, but bad for WDW, lol. I'm a big pin collector and love getting pins for certain rides/lands after I visit them for the first time. My mom and I went to all the kiosks around MMRR and couldn't even find a pin for the attraction! I really wish they would bring more unique/special stuff back!

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I figured it out...They lack.....Creativity...What makes me think of the Magic Kingdom without something like the castle Or Mickey.....Just the phrase of the park on a shirt Mr. Smee wears?.?

I rather get a shirt where the characters are riding the ride I just rode showing their own fate..These were my favorite kind of shirts..

 

[DisneyHead123]

I wonder how much social media has changed merchandise? It seems like festival and holiday merch - things that are going to turn over rapidly several times a year and feature more on vlogs and social media - are bigger now.

 

[networkpro]

I wonder how much social media has changed merchandise? It seems like festival and holiday merch - things that are going to turn over rapidly several times a year and feature more on vlogs and social media - are bigger now.

That's if they even did market research.. they made a SWAG on orangebird merch for F&G and its on sale now for 50% off in the park. The obvious item for sale (shorts) sold out for every size except 3xl the first month

 

[TTA94]

Merchandise was so much better in the 90s especially the look of the characters on the merchandise and plush. Not sure why they changed it in the first place but I wish they would go back to that.

Not sure who all remembers but I believe it was at Merchant of Venus in the 90s they used to sell airbrushed shirts. Memory is a bit foggy but I believe you selected which design you wanted and they put the t shirt in a machine and it airbrushed the design. The one I had and wish I still had was Pluto and space mountain I believe it was.