Frustrated- all the stores are the same!!

kma71677

kma71677

Active Member
Original Poster
Last week was my monthly visit to the big DW. My newest quest (after riding the 7DMC of course) is to find the 7 dwarfs coffee mugs. I went to EPCOT and MK only to find the exact same mug EVERYWHERE! You can get a Grumpy mug- that's it. Not even a Sleepy one! Why is there no expanding of merchandise to go along with the unveiling of the roller coaster?

So now I got to stewing over this. Go to Splash Mountain and try to find any Brer animals. Nothing. We got off the ride and went thru the store only to find a CM with a THUMPER stuffed animal waving at us. These stores just peddle the same junk. Unless the ride dumps you into the store, you aren't going to find any unique products.

I'm just amazed that there are so many different stores with the same things in them.
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Could not agree more. Over the years the selection of items has dwindled to the same items in most stores. Individual attraction and resort items are almost non-resistant. A reasonable gift for a person over the age of 12 is also difficult to find. My guess is all the buying offices are somewhere in California far away from the actual guests and simply looking to keep costs and inventory expenses down knowing first time or only time guests will buy whatever is in the shelves.
 
216bruce

216bruce

Well-Known Member
Lately, the Disney Store online has been issuing some t-shirts for specific rides, each for a limited time- Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress, Space Mountain, Country Bears and a couple others. Apart from Haunted Mansion though, that's about it. It's sad because there used to be tons of stuff for Splash, Mickey's Philharmagic and now pretty much nada. I'm sure the company has done research and determined that the demand from the general public (and we ain't them) doesn't support this array of merch and just stopped stocking it. Sad. My wallet likes it, but I don't. Check Disney Park's official Blog as they do a pretty good job of updating new merch, especially the ride specific stuff.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/
 
LAM378

LAM378

Well-Known Member
It's so sad and true. The stores used to be unique. I still have a number of awesome things from my childhood that actually have meaning. Keepsakes--not plastic things. I had to search far and wide last month to find anything even slightly meaningful, something worth keeping forever or displaying. So much mass-produced junk, the same wall of toys everywhere, the Magicband decor...ugh. I miss the little glass figurines of all the characters that you could find back in the day. They seemed so commonplace in the 80s/90s but how nice it would be to see one of them now!

FWIW, I noticed some "different" things in Bayview Gifts at CR. Nothing spectacular, but nothing I'd seen elsewhere in WDW (and I was souvenir shopping for 12 people, so I had my eyes wide open all the time).

@unkadug , I actually will write a letter. This really bugged me.
 
L

LondonGopher

Well-Known Member
MinnieM123 said:
The only good thing about the lack of unique merchandise these days, is that I don't spend hardly any money at all. (I used to spend way too much money in the shops, years ago!)
Click to expand...

This is SO TRUE! When we visited in 2012, our total souvenir haul from WDW consisted of: an imagineering DVD, a Darth Vader squeezy toy and a bag of salt-water taffy. When I compare that with some of the hauls from previous trips...

I always do my shopping on the last day, and I felt a bit sad walking out to the monorail for the last time with such a wee little Disney bag.

I can get (made in China) Mickey t-shirts at ASDA. Why would I pay five times as much to buy the same ones at WDW?

More ride-, land-, park- and resort-specific merchandise that is made in America - that's what would get me to open up my wallet.
 
NiarrNDisney

NiarrNDisney

Well-Known Member
MinnieM123 said:
The only good thing about the lack of unique merchandise these days, is that I don't spend hardly any money at all. (I used to spend way too much money in the shops, years ago!)
Click to expand...

I was the same way! Now I save time by shopping in one day for souvenirs in DTD and the near by outlet mall. The only other shopping I do is in Epcot or DAK and that's only because there are so many stores and options available.
 
Longers

Longers

Well-Known Member
I couldn't agree more. On my first trip to WDW in 1996 I got so much nice stuff and limited edition bits I brought 2 suitcases home. Now I only need 1 and don't spend much at all.
I think they need to look at park merchandise again and give us some nice themed bits.

I am available for suggestions if Disney want to give me a job and relocate me!
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
I'll agree that it seems to be pretty much the same stuff everywhere. Don't worry though, all the "cool" stuff that is different, you pay for it. I want one of the toy monorail play sets, but I can't come to grips with the $85 price tag that it brings with it. Also, if you've been paying attention, the DisneyLAND monorail set has gone from about $80 up to the price of the WDW one.

If the higher ups see that merchandise isn't selling, they're gonna cut back on it. Maybe, just maybe though, if someone with some common sense said "Hey, maybe it's just a little too expensive" and they rolled back the prices of some things, they'd see people would be more willing to buy.
 
wdwmom2+1

wdwmom2+1

Active Member
I agree with this.. we used to spend so much time looking in the stores and browsing/buying. now there is no point.. everything is the same.. and I agree we need more gift options for adults!
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
For years I'd been buying men's dress shirts with a Mickey icon on the shirt pocket instead of that overused polo pony. I spoke with someone at the Men's store in the Grand Floridian and he said since the buying offices were moved to California the decision was made to discontinue the shirts and replace them with, guess what?, polo pony shirts. He went on to say that the shirts were a good selling item and that there are several requests a week for them. He also commented on the lack of new tie designs.

Additionally, there was not one Contemporary Resort branded item in the resort gift shop. Again, the staff apologized, but said they were told there would be no more CR specific resort items, not even a coffee mug.

Even choices at the Main Street Bakery pale in comparison to the choices available just two years ago, which paled in comparison to choices available the year before that.

Like other, the new strategy leaves money in my pocket that would have been spent at the World.
 
mousehockey37

mousehockey37

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
For years I'd been buying men's dress shirts with a Mickey icon on the shirt pocket instead of that overused polo pony. I spoke with someone at the Men's store in the Grand Floridian and he said since the buying offices were moved to California the decision was made to discontinue the shirts and replace them with, guess what?, polo pony shirts. He went on to say that the shirts were a good selling item and that there are several requests a week for them. He also commented on the lack of new tie designs.

Additionally, there was not one Contemporary Resort branded item in the resort gift shop. Again, the staff apologized, but said they were told there would be no more CR specific resort items, not even a coffee mug.

Even choices at the Main Street Bakery pale in comparison to the choices available just two years ago, which paled in comparison to choices available the year before that.

Like other, the new strategy leaves money in my pocket that would have been spent at the World.
Click to expand...


It's like.. .hey, I'll just wait til the DisneyStore.com site has its sale and I'll just get my stuff then. It's all the same stuff that's in the park anyway, so why not get it on sale!!!
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
mousehockey37 said:
It's like.. .hey, I'll just wait til the DisneyStore.com site has its sale and I'll just get my stuff then. It's all the same stuff that's in the park anyway, so why not get it on sale!!!
Click to expand...

The thing is, I don't want the stuff most of the stuff that's in the parks to start with, so for me , disneystore.com holds no interest either. I guess the upside is I probably save several hundred dollars s year not buying Disney merchandise.
 

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