Declining Value of Art of Disney Stores?

Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
During my last trip I made a visit to DHS to specifically look at their animation store, as I have always enjoyed looking at it in the past and I had money set aside for souvenirs. However when I browsed through the merchandise I was quite disapointed. Vinylmation I've never cared for, Big Figures that look cheap when viewed up close, books I could get for far less of Amazon or just elsewhere and way too much of what I'm going to call "bad fan art".

I'm referrring to the endless, overdone muppets/disney/star wars cross overs (that are no where near as funny or clever as ones found online), the "tribute" merch that looks more tacky than tasteful and stuff that just looks amateurish compared to something similar I could find on tumblr or Deviant Art. Do people really buy this stuff?

In the adjacent gallery room there were several goregous background paintings and layout drawings from Disney productions that I would love to have seen for sale in the store. IMO, the nicest stuff were the Mary Blair canvas prints, which acknoledge Disney, but could easily be appreciated for the true "art" that they were. Can't say the same for some painting of Mickey as Yoda or vice versa.

I also wish they'd sell at least some posters in the carboard tubes like they used to, but I can see the argument for only printing what they need to keep costs down.

I thought MK's Cinema had a little better selection, but what about the rest of you? Do you feel even the "Art of Disney" stores have lost some of their value?
 
KeithVH

KeithVH

Well-Known Member
Like everything else on property, the AoD stores have been genercized/consumerised to a large extent. I've seen a few good pieces but those are a small minority and become less and less over the last few years. In a sense, almost no difference from what has happened with dining and the advent of so much free dining. Lowest common denominator type of thing. from a marketing and sales perspective, I see their goal - just not very happy with it.

What I have found is that WonderGround Gallery in DTD Anaheim still has that special spark. A bit more eclectic, especially depending on which artists are being sampled, but some truly unique stuff. You will find J. Scott Campbell (mercy!) and Jackie Huang (we really like her multi-layered paper cuttings).
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
I don't know about Florida, but there are some art merchandise events coming up next month in California and I'm really intrigued by several of the art pieces.

The Blue Fairy part looks a little creepy, but I still like this piece:

con1THUMB.jpg


Love this one:

con2THUMB.jpg


My absolute favorite and definitely something I'd buy:

malSMALL.jpg


Are the art events and pieces different on each coast, or something?

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/02/march-merchandise-events-at-the-disneyland-resort/
 
John

John

Well-Known Member
I agree.....more of the "dumbing down" effect. I used to spend no less then an hour in the DTD location. I have even purchased a few items. Now I spend no more then five minutes or so. Breeze thru and out the door. Nothing special....nothing that says...."take me home" Same with the jewlery section of WOD....There was a time when you could really get some nice stuff there. There is still one or two things but the quality is severly lacking. Same with unique merch. Its all about cutting cost. Sadly its been happening slowly for well over a decade. Some people would like to over look things like this. But these fine details were part of the magic. These cuts are the what some of us call..."death by a thousand cuts".........this is what we are talking about. It has happened all over the resort. The Christams store. I was there this past holiday season and expected to find some really great stuff....boy was I disapointed. I did purchase my GF a Dooney & Burke purse. But I only had a few to choose from. The few they had were the same models they had a year ago. I know there are people who like the Vynilmation figures......but I hate them with a passion. I am an avid antique collector.....we have a saying.....If it is made and sold to be a collectible.....its not collectible.Just go ask all those people who collected Teeny babies ( or whatever you call those little stuffed fury things).
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I never really understood the need for five stores that always seems to carry a lot of the same merchandise, much less make a lot of sense at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center or Disney's Animal Kingdom.
 
W

wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
I never really understood the need for five stores that always seems to carry a lot of the same merchandise, much less make a lot of sense at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center or Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Click to expand...
That wasn't true when I was down there. When I was at WDW from late August to Early September, Epcot's Art of Disney had Donald's Fire Station, but rest of the Art of Disney Stores didn't. I got the last Donald's Fire Station at the time I bought it in early September of 2012. Donald's Fire Station was a Christmas item that you plug in. Epcot's Art of Disney had other Christmas stuff that you could plug in and rest of the Art of Disney Stores at WDW didn't have that either.
 
CP_alum08

CP_alum08

Well-Known Member
I agree with you. Most of the stores carry the same stuff they have for the past few years. I'd love to see some originals, or even some limited prints, for reasonable prices. I understand its art and art prices are unreasonable to begin with but I at least want to feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

There are a few exceptions I've found though. The F&G festival and the Festival of the Masters at DTD both have great pieces. Typically done by lesser-known artists (or bigger artists but smaller pieces or bigger editions) but there are usually some good things to find at both festivals. Plus most of the time it seems like (who knows if its actually true) you are buying from the artist or without so many middlemen like there would be at the AoD stores.
 
HatboxGhost

HatboxGhost

Well-Known Member
Animaniac93-98 said:
During my last trip I made a visit to DHS to specifically look at their animation store, as I have always enjoyed looking at it in the past and I had money set aside for souvenirs. However when I browsed through the merchandise I was quite disapointed. Vinylmation I've never cared for, Big Figures that look cheap when viewed up close, books I could get for far less of Amazon or just elsewhere and way too much of what I'm going to call "bad fan art".

I'm referrring to the endless, overdone muppets/disney/star wars cross overs (that are no where near as funny or clever as ones found online), the "tribute" merch that looks more tacky than tasteful and stuff that just looks amateurish compared to something similar I could find on tumblr or Deviant Art. Do people really buy this stuff?

In the adjacent gallery room there were several goregous background paintings and layout drawings from Disney productions that I would love to have seen for sale in the store. IMO, the nicest stuff were the Mary Blair canvas prints, which acknoledge Disney, but could easily be appreciated for the true "art" that they were. Can't say the same for some painting of Mickey as Yoda or vice versa.

I also wish they'd sell at least some posters in the carboard tubes like they used to, but I can see the argument for only printing what they need to keep costs down.

I thought MK's Cinema had a little better selection, but what about the rest of you? Do you feel even the "Art of Disney" stores have lost some of their value?
Click to expand...
Out of the four that I visit....MK...DTD...Epcot....and HS, I find that the DTD one is by far the best. That is just my opinion based on the things I am looking for which are basically HM items. I found that the DTD shop had the most HM things that I was looking to get.....and alot that I just could not afford but was still great to look at. I dont mind ordering on their computer as I did last time I was there and I was able to get some really cool HM prints including the stretching portraits, both gunslingers, the changing hallway portraits, and some Marc Davis pre-production art. That will be one of my first shop stops when I get there.
 
HatboxGhost

HatboxGhost

Well-Known Member
RoyWalley said:
Alot is now done on touch screens, which I personally love.
Click to expand...
I felt like a kid in a candy store when looking for the HM prints that I wanted to get. It was so cool and easy ordering them. I also like the fact that I didnt have to bring them back with me when I went home. They arrived 2-3 weeks later at my house. Very cool.
 

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