News New Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse themed strollers coming to the Walt Disney World theme parks

[Vegas Disney Fan]

They’ve had these at Disneyland for a few months now, they are super cute.

Just goes to show that people really will complain about anything, these are a giant step up from the bland tan ones in my book.

 

[Trauma]

I’d rather look at these than an regular stroller. I don’t understand the problem. Of course I don’t have stroller age kids so I guess I don’t care at all.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I feel like you're just observing a natural trend that's come about as a result of changing "tastes" when it comes to the appearance of transportation due to wider availability of technology, tools, and materials necessary to quickly create and install large vinyl wraps. Public transport in major cities also used to be more classically decorated with smaller interchangeable billboards affixed to them. I too find the older style of transport classier, but wraps are the popular way of making things look custom now. That's all there is to it.

WDW is a special place and should strive to be different, though. Full-vehicle bus wrap advertisements are common in cities now. The Disney character bus wraps are essentially the same thing.

The Magical Express and Cruise Line buses had the right idea. Magical Express looking like a fancy vintage bus and the cruise line buses looking cruise ship-esque. They had subtle character silhouettes in the back, not giant faces taking up the entire side. Again, theming vs. branding.

Looking a little deeper, the look of the WDW monorails, without anything but a colored striped on them, is iconic. They still look sleek and modern to this day. Imagine if all along, they had had characters painted all over them. Would they still be iconic?

Side note - yes, the buses are a much bigger deal than the strollers, but they're worth discussing in here for comparisons.

I’d rather look at these than an regular stroller. I don’t understand the problem.

If it were just the strollers, yes, it wouldn't be anything to complain about. But it's also the buses. The skyliner cars. The monorails (thankfully only one at a time). The hotels. The hotel rooms. The full-service restaurants. The physical tickets. The names of the annual passes. Finding merchandise without tacky character branding is becoming rare. They're increasingly putting character and IP themed attractions anywhere they can regardless of whether or not they belong.

It's all so cheap, lazy, and cynical. I sincerely hope that, while they probably know and don't care, Chapek & Co. are at least aware of the fact that the characters are only a small fraction of what the appeal of WDW is. There's a very large portion of WDW visitors that do not give a flying f--- about the characters.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

WDW is a special place and should strive to be different, though. Full-vehicle bus wrap advertisements are common in cities now. The Disney character bus wraps are essentially the same thing.

The Magical Express and Cruise Line buses had the right idea. Magical Express looking like a fancy vintage bus and the cruise line buses looking cruise ship-esque. Again, theming vs. branding.

Looking a little deeper, the look of the WDW monorails, without anything but a colored striped on them, is iconic. They still look sleek and modern to this day. Imagine if all along, they had had characters painted all over them. Would they still be iconic?

Side note - yes, the buses are a much bigger deal than the strollers, but they're worth discussing in here for comparisons.



If it were just the strollers, yes, it wouldn't be anything to complain about. But it's also the buses. The skyliner cars. The monorails (thankfully only one at a time). The hotels. The hotel rooms. The full-service restaurants. The physical tickets. The names of the annual passes. Finding merchandise without tacky character branding is becoming rare. They're increasingly putting character and IP themed attractions anywhere they can regardless of whether or not they belong.

It's all so cheap, lazy, and cynical. I sincerely hope that, while they probably know and don't care, Chapek & Co. are at least aware of the fact that the characters are only a small fraction of what the appeal of WDW is. There's a very large portion of WDW visitors that do not give a flying f--- about the characters.

It's as if those making these decisions have blinders on and can't envision their choices actually in the real-world environment they "live" in.

ETA: The Minnie Vans vs. the Buses is a good comparison. Everyone knows that red with white polka dots means "Minnie", but the overall "advertising" feel isn't there. The symbol on the sides of the vehicles is subtle enough to not feel like advertising. Compared to the Minnie Vans, the buses are literally rolling billboards.

 

[James Alucobond]

I sincerely hope that, while they probably know and don't care, Chapek & Co. are at least aware of the fact that the characters are only a small fraction of what the appeal of WDW is. There's a very large portion of WDW visitors that do not give a flying f--- about the characters.

I think that, uh, this might not actually be true. While I agree that they're overdoing it in many ways, I also feel that Eisner's "Where's Mickey?" reaction to EPCOT might be more of the norm than enthusiasts care to believe.

 

[Trauma]

WDW is a special place and should strive to be different, though. Full-vehicle bus wrap advertisements are common in cities now. The Disney character bus wraps are essentially the same thing.

The Magical Express and Cruise Line buses had the right idea. Magical Express looking like a fancy vintage bus and the cruise line buses looking cruise ship-esque. They had subtle character silhouettes in the back, not giant faces taking up the entire side. Again, theming vs. branding.

Looking a little deeper, the look of the WDW monorails, without anything but a colored striped on them, is iconic. They still look sleek and modern to this day. Imagine if all along, they had had characters painted all over them. Would they still be iconic?

Side note - yes, the buses are a much bigger deal than the strollers, but they're worth discussing in here for comparisons.



If it were just the strollers, yes, it wouldn't be anything to complain about. But it's also the buses. The skyliner cars. The monorails (thankfully only one at a time). The hotels. The hotel rooms. The full-service restaurants. The physical tickets. The names of the annual passes. Finding merchandise without tacky character branding is becoming rare. They're increasingly putting character and IP themed attractions anywhere they can regardless of whether or not they belong.

It's all so cheap, lazy, and cynical. I sincerely hope that, while they probably know and don't care, Chapek & Co. are at least aware of the fact that the characters are only a small fraction of what the appeal of WDW is. There's a very large portion of WDW visitors that do not give a flying f--- about the characters.

I understand your point.

What if some where themed to rides?

I would love a ToT themed stroller!

Unfortunately with most rides based on IP now you probably would just end up with more characters.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I think that, uh, this might not actually be true. While I agree that they're overdoing it in many ways, I also feel that Eisner's "Where's Mickey?" reaction to EPCOT might be more of the norm than enthusiasts care to believe.

Right, but Eisner sprinkled Mickey into Epcot, he didn't turn Maelstrom into an unrelated synergy product or make the nighttime show a Disney songs singalong. Yes, he made a plethora of bad decisions in his late years, but for most of his career he seemed to have a grasp on the concept that the parks are their own unique thing and not just an extension of marketing.

I understand your point.

What if some where themed to rides?

I would love a ToT themed stroller!

Unfortunately with most rides based on IP now you probably would just end up with more characters.

This would be great!

 

[wdwmagic]

New Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse stroller rentals arrive at Walt Disney World​

New Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse stroller rentals arrive at Walt Disney World

The new strollers feature a new visual look but are the same basic design as the former models.

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[John park hopper]

I hate all the strollers in the park-- when my kids were little we used a compact umbrella stroller.

 

[mary2013]

You want themed strollers? Why not theme them by park? Magic Kingdom strollers could be themed like a royal stagecoach. Hollywood Studios could have, like, Hollywood theming? Or if it has to be branding, Toy Story or Star Wars themed? Animal Kingdom strollers could be little safari trucks. I get that these things have to be cheap, durable, and functional first and foremost and you're mainly limited to the fabric print and color of the plastic. But some more creative patterns would go a long way rather than just slapping characters on them.

Theming by park wouldn't really work. I've seen several times over the years where a park, usually MK, would run out of rentals later in the morning, and CMs would tell guests they are bringing more over from a different park. The CMs would get their number and let them know when they come in.

 

[peter11435]

Theming by park wouldn't really work. I've seen several times over the years where a park, usually MK, would run out of rentals later in the morning, and CMs would tell guests they are bringing more over from a different park. The CMs would get their number and let them know when they come in.

Up until today the strollers were already colored differently by park. Most noticeable at DAK. They don’t bring strollers over from other parks. They start a wait list and contact guests when others are returned and become available.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Another benefit I forget to mention in my previous comment is the bright red is much easier to see, making it a little easier to avoid collisions in the packed parks.

(Unfortunately it does nothing to prevent idiots from using them as battering rams to push their way through the crowds though.)

 

[celluloid]

Theming by park wouldn't really work.

Well the company does not seem to care about that in general anymore.