Island Supply in the Magic Kingdom's Adventureland to close next week

[Sora_Keyblade]

Disappointing...I hoped that with Memento Mori, we'd be seeing more specialized merchandise and stores in the MK. Wondering how long this will stick around.

 

[aladdin2007]

pathetic

 

[wdwgreek]

Before people shoot me, disclaimer I have a positive comment. But I'll lead with the negative and pepper in my positive. It just looks empty, sad and empty, theyb have so much floor space wasted. Thart said, even if its just sunglasses I kind of like not having another generic Disney gift store plopped on the side of the road, although seeing as it is Sunglasses hut, the most floor space it deserved would be a large hut. I'm looking at you Bauwna Bob!

 

[wsmith1978]

We can only hope it won't do well and will be replaced shortly by something better. I just can't imagine a big demand for expensive sunglasses, in the park?? This belongs in Downtown Disney.

 

[note2001]

We can only hope it won't do well and will be replaced shortly by something better. I just can't imagine a big demand for expensive sunglasses, in the park?? This belongs in Downtown Disney.

It makes sense to have a small selection in the resorts themselves as well as at the waterparks. In the theme parks, however, I can't picturing anyone going out of their way to buy a pair unless they had just lost their Ray Bans on the descent from Spaceship Earth or they flew off on a tangent during the teacup ride.

 

[wogwog]

I would like to know what time of day you took these pictures for context. Was it right at park opening? Were you allowed in for a preview given your celebrity status? That would explain the lack of people maybe. But according to the fact that the park has extended operating hours the last three days and added a night parade tomorrow the park is jammed at 40 to 50 K attendance I am sure. What is next, Aloha Isle to be replaced by a Seven Eleven serving you a Slurpee?

 

[wdwmagic]

We can only hope it won't do well and will be replaced shortly by something better. I just can't imagine a big demand for expensive sunglasses, in the park?? This belongs in Downtown Disney.

There is one already on the West Side. I actually think they will do well in the MK. Remember, sunglasses like these are considerably cheaper in the USA than they are internationally, so for tourists from the UK and South America, they are a bargain. I think they can survive on that demographic alone.

 

[ptaylor]

I was in there today. Store looks nice, probably the best Sunglass Hut I have seen. Pricing is also the same as you find outside Disney.

If you are looking for sunglasses in the Orlando and happen to be in the parks, I would say its the best buying experience.

 

[note2001]

There is one already on the West Side. I actually think they will do well in the MK. Remember, sunglasses like these are considerably cheaper in the USA than they are internationally, so for tourists from the UK and South America, they are a bargain. I think they can survive on that demographic alone.

Didn't think about that. Hmmm.

Cheapest place to get replacement sunglasses: the Lost and Found, providing they happen to have the same brand and style as what one lost, it's free. From what I've heard, they have many turned in nightly from the water parks alone.

 

[wsmith1978]

There is one already on the West Side. I actually think they will do well in the MK. Remember, sunglasses like these are considerably cheaper in the USA than they are internationally, so for tourists from the UK and South America, they are a bargain. I think they can survive on that demographic alone.

Good point, never thought of that. Well, then hopefully they'll spruce it up a bit!

 

[wdwmagic]

Another plus point for this location is that all the sunglasses are available to try on without having to venture into a locked case and the resulting sales campaign.

 

[incorrigible]

It's very interesting to me that such high priced sunglasses aren't locked up. Seems like it would be quite easy to go in and "exchange" an older, similar looking pair of one of these brands for a new pair just in the process of trying them on.

 

[ptaylor]

It's very interesting to me that such high priced sunglasses aren't locked up. Seems like it would be quite easy to go in and "exchange" an older, similar looking pair of one of these brands for a new pair just in the process of trying them on.

Yep, and the highest I saw today was $850. Just sitting there on a rack.

Some shrinkage is obviously part of the business model. The markup on everything in that store is absolutely ridiculous.

If you have some time, have a read about Luxotica. They basically run the sunglass word, and every brand within it. Sunglass Hut is the public face.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxottica

 

[HairyLegPirate]

I generally am pretty open to most things Disney does. For the most part, I really don't bash things on the forum. In fact the only thing I've full on hated on on the forum before was closing Maelstrom for Frozen. But this... this is a new low. It's like they're not even trying with this. This is just so horrifically out of place... How the hell did they go from Memento Mori to this? I rarely get inflamed about anything from Disney this badly, but this is really just the picture of awful corporate whoring at it's worst. The Starbucks on Main Street at least tried to stay thematically appropriate and offer something different, but just... Wow.

 

[jprieur]

I Just can't see this as a good use of retail space from a business prospective (not even brushing on how out of place it is in the Magic Kingdom). Correct me if I am wrong, but Sunglass hut sells brand name sunglasses that on the average retail probably in the mid 100's and up? I am talking about REVO, Ray Ban, Maui Jim, Designer Brands etc... I know this because every few years I am there buying replacement Maui Jims when my current pair wear out and break from use. In other words, this is not your cheap $20 pair that you buy as disposable sunglasses on an impulse or urgent need.

I can't see the average consumer 1) Being in the sales cycles (every few years) of needing to purchase sunglasses when at the Magic Kingdom and 2) Willing the separate from $150+ after having spent the monies required for a disney vacation. Of course you will always have the consumer who lost or broke their sunglasses on vacation, but that is not a marketing statistic that would drive the demand for a store of this footprint and location.

Not only that, there is already a sunglass hut in DTD/Disney Springs is there not? Now that location makes sense as that is a more retail oriented location for a non-theme park item like sunglasses with a larger draw to a crowd looking to shop for such items with similar stores nearby - I mean lets face it, its a mall and that is where a store like this belongs.

I think they would have seen a higher ROI on using that space to replace what is now and underserving/undersized location for Dole Whips. How many times does Disney lose sales of Dole Whips to customers who walk by Aloha Isle, see a line of 20+ people, and decide not to get in line. I know I would get a Dole Whip once a day when I am there, but often times do not because of the size and slow movement of the line, not to mention the only place to sit and enjoy nearby is in the lovely smelling smoke pit for Magic Kingdom.

Just my 2 cents.

Lets pay attention and see if they start installing hidden pneumatic air cannons on thunder mountain and other outdoor attractions in an attempt to separate people from their sunglasses to create more demand.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Wow. That poor store was stripped of all texture and color.
Bad choice Disney. I don't care how much S-hut is paying you in rent and sales. Bad choice.

On the positive side, at least there are no lumberjacks and chainsaws involved this time around.

Just watch out for those pesky spitting camels.

 

[mp2bill]

You are correct, who in their right mind is going to spend $300.00 on a pair of sunglasses when they already have a pair in their car or on their counter at home. It is a bad idea for SH to go in there because the sales will not be sufficient, in my opinion, to keep it going. It is great for Disney though because until they close up, and they will, Disney will continue to collect sales space rental from SH. Which is probably a lot more then they were able to produce in profit from the sale of all that themed merchandise. It's not really difficult to understand why this is happening.

I'd like to see the Magic Carpets removed and to have that store, and the resulting vacated space, turned into an open-air bazaar. I think they had the right idea with the naming of the Agrabah Bazaar, but the execution was lacking as it was small, enclosed, and could easily be overlooked. The plus side...well, there are multiple plus sides...is that each corner could have its own attraction-specific merch (since there's no current store for The Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse or the Tiki Room), there would be no expense for ride maintenance, there would be better traffic flow, and there would be extra revenue generation.

 

[Pumbaa1222]

Or a bright sunshiny day at WDW and a forgotten pair of sunglasses and who wants to go to DtD to pick up a pair at that point. It's actually a handy thing to have available at Adventureland if you need it at the time. But, heck we wouldn't want to make the guests visit handy when we can display spears and not sell them.

I agree, and I must say as some one that comes from part of the country that doesn't see much sun in the winter months, my last trip to Florida in December (first to Clearwater/Tampa area, then to WDW) I actually STRUGGLED to find a decent pair of sunglasses that I didn't have to bring with me from home. I ended up being resigned to buy a less than thrilling pair from the resort gift shop just to get by.

The trip before this, I lost my sunglasses whille on board Dinosaur, and went the rest of the vacation squinting and with a headache. I can easily see why a Sunglass Hut would not only be an appealing place to shop, but also be as necessary as themed toliets.

We complain about Starbucks and now Sunglass Hut "taking over" but at least in these 2 examples, my experience tells me these were not areas Disney was excelling in.

 

[71jason]

Was a faux tropical setting with the contents of a PacSun store strewn across it. Now a faux tropical setting with pricey sunglasses strewn across it. Of course we all would have preferred a dedicated Jungle Cruise/tiki shop, but all in all, I call this a wash. Compared to, say, fairies in the Verandah, this is nothing.

 

[Jon81uk]

There is one already on the West Side. I actually think they will do well in the MK. Remember, sunglasses like these are considerably cheaper in the USA than they are internationally, so for tourists from the UK and South America, they are a bargain. I think they can survive on that demographic alone.

Yep last time we were in California my partner bought some Oakleys, $120 and the would have been £140 in UK.