Merchandise Watch '11: Turning the Corner on Unique Souvenirs?

[Nemo14]

I've noticed a definite improvement since our September trip. We spotted these in DTD yesterday, and really loved the retro look.

 

[lacrosse nut]

park merchandise so so

Great thread!!! I am sure everyone can join or have an opinion on this one. this does not take into account people's own tastes so here goes. disney needs to just tone down th e generic merchandise a bit, not get rid of it. I go every year and back in 1999-2003 I was all for it, but since have not purchased much. last trip we hardly got anything, maybe two pins and a book. this is partly due to the lack of variety. When you are in tomorrowland you should get stuff that is geared to all those attractions and hard to get everywhere else if at all. that can make the trip special for years to come, and everythign does not have to have a mickey on it!!! Glad to see Disney has started to go back this way but they are miles from where they need to be. One reason people like th eretro stuff is becuaxe the new stuff is crap! The retro Epcot stuff was quite refreshing at Mouse Gears (as well as the monorail shirts) but gone are the days when you could pick up a small die cast metal toy that was an attraction vehicle (from that area of th e park) or a resort themed mug. i collected them and popcorn tins just so I could have themed parties for my kids (movie night!) in any case, i see tons of stuff i wish i bought years ago on E-bay but can't say the say for the merchandise today. The years should be on photo albums, picture frames, and select t-shirts but not everything. I guess the people before me covered this but it is kind of neat ot have a momento of an attraction that is not around anymore, especially if it is not tacky and of quality. now if they could put the catchy songs back into th e attractions,i would really be happy. also, it would be a nice thread/blogspot/survey...whatever...with a list of your favorite souvenirs, a picture, and like/dislike checkbox for everyone. members could add to it as they see fit, ...kind of a nice walk down memory lane (then submit it to disney,..ha ha) and no I am not volunteering! If we can dream it....you know how this goes.:ROFLOL:

 

[TinkerBell9988]

I've noticed a definite improvement since our September trip. We spotted these in DTD yesterday, and really loved the retro look.

This. grey. jacket. must. be. mine. :fork: :fork: :fork:

I love it!!! :sohappy:

 

[Nemo14]

Here's closer but slightly-out-of-focus look....

 

[waltsfavrob]

WOW great thread!

I agree lately the quality and selection of merchandise has been lacking. I really don't like or get the vinyl-mation stuff at all. For a few years I collected the mid size glass - laser etched blocks...but then found out from the store at DTD, “something brothers”, that they were doing away with them. SO now I grab the keychains and remove the metal chain part and keep the smaller glass ice cube ones for display. Yes cheaper...than what I had purchased in the past. But the larger ones I have are nice too.

In the past I always enjoyed buying the new polo shirt from the newest attraction when it opened at the World. Last good one I got was from Everest. I had them all - test track, mission space...etc. Then after Everest the quality went to crap and the nicer polos just disappeared from those stores. I like a nice polo shirt that has good embroidery and a nice logo that is not too loud. I guess those days are gone. Now if you do find one and wash it 3 times it gets all out of shape. I found a nice one at Castaway Cay last year that I liked and I got it. Now its way too big….it’s like a circus tent…all big and with no form. And last year I remember buying a pirate polo type shirt from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at a store on the Boardwalk. It was pretty nice with all sorts of dark maps and pirate type stuff on it on the entire shirt. It was close to $50 I think. I got it and put it in our room once we got back to it that day. Later in our trip I saw a guy with one on at MK that had been washed a few times. He was eating an ice cream cone…and the shirt looked like $%ll. Sine mine was never worn or un-tagged I took it back. Glad I saw it on him first! It was a full button down shirt from top to bottom – short sleeve - with a nice collar on it. I tried it on at the store and thought it was nice. But on him it HUNG poorly, mind you after a few uses/washes, and it did not sit on his shoulders at all and was all un-even at the bottom. Picky or not, for that price it’d better sit nice after a few washes – or more!

The wife and I struggle each year to get a set of matching T's that we like to commerate <sp> the trip. Not big on the year sensitive ones. At times we just can't find one that we like. Not that we don't agree but more that what is offered these days we just don't like be it design or the in store felt quality. We also get a new ball cap too. And over the past few years it’s been more difficult to find something that we like as well. We chose separate ones in caps since the ladies designs are different.

So seeing some improvement in the merch category is somewhat exciting. Personally we like the "Screen Door" shop at Boardwalk as well as the Emporium @ MK and Mouse Gears @ Epcot too. The shop at the Contempary is pretty good too. We've even found some great stuff at DTD too. I do hope this trend of new and better quality stuff continues.

BTW, I do like the “por-fa-vor” shirt. Unfortunately I saw it at Mouse Gears and didn’t get it…once I went back they didn’t have my size…XL. I forgot the Wife’s Rule – SEE IT - BUY IT! If you change your mind return it. That way you won’t miss out if you go back to get it and find out it’s gone. hehehehe

Again, thanks for the thread!

All the shirts are made by Hanes...that's why they don't keep their shape! They need to go back to Russell Athletic brand,they last years.

 

[ABigBrassBand]

Now, what did the back look like?

 

[hsisthebest]

I was at boardwalk in Nov. '10 and found very little resort-specific merchandise. I have been collecting resort ornaments for 10 years and now they plain don't have them anymore. I might as well stay at value resorts- the difference is becoming less and less noticable.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I was at boardwalk in Nov. '10 and found very little resort-specific merchandise. I have been collecting resort ornaments for 10 years and now they plain don't have them anymore. I might as well stay at value resorts- the difference is becoming less and less noticable.

I hear ya! We collected resort ornaments for each resort we stayed in. We have them all except Animal Kingdom Lodge. I did, however, find an AKL luggage tag on eBay that could be a crappy substitute. :lol:

 

[MysticOrient]

The "Herringbone Mickeys" are cute! Disturbing, but cute!!

 

[Little Mermaid]

I have been a postcard collector for a long time and love to flip through my cards from Disney to see how things have changed since I started visiting back in the 80's. For the past several years, the postcards have been depressingly the same...probably a result of the age of text messaging and email. Last year, I was able to find a few new postcards, and I'm hoping that there are even more new cards this spring when I go...maybe some attraction/land specific ones?? (crosses fingers)

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think I'll be buying the dark blue jacket on the next trip.

 

[StageFrenzy]

Now i know a lot of you don't like vinylmations but here is my current collection. The one in the center directly under the TV is a pocket watch and vinyl combo and is currently my holy grail.

 

[GMRO]

WOW that's a lot of vinyl!!! Nice collection for sure.

Thanks for the info on the shirt type(s). Well in that case...HAINES STINKS!

I do have a nice Baseball Mickey shirt I got a while ago with a football shirt with Sorcerer Mickey on it...2 for 1 pricing... Those are very nice and they hold their shape well.

We also got some very very nice hoodies during our visit in Dec09' with the WDW logo stitched on them. BUT found those at the outlets. Very nice quality and unreal pricing - very affordable.

Let's hope we'll continue to see more kewl stuff coming these days from Disney!

 

[WorldKey]

The unholy trinity of crap merchandise would include pins, Vinylmation and Duffy the bear. All three of these, separately and together, simply separate you from your hard earned money and offer nothing of joy and true Disney sentiment in return.

I agree, and while on the subject of pins, it's impossible to do a search/browse on ebay for unique souvenirs because 90% of the WDW items for sale are the $#$@ pins! Unless someone knows a way to filter out only pins and still see everything else WDW - I'd love to know. :brick:

 

[mightynine]

I think that blue track jacket will be mine in a few weeks. (I'm guessing the grey is for the ladies.)

Also, please tell me there's nothing on the back of that D40 polo. I could handle a small WDW retro logo up near the neck or on the sleeve. Please, please, PLEASE be nothing on the back.

 

[Phonedave]

I just finished reading through this thread. I have only been to the World twice, but I have been able to find mercandise that appeals to me.

To Phonedave from post #22. I purchased the automatic watch in Sept. 2009 and I love it. I wear it almost all the time and have recieved numerous compliments on it. Definately worth the $175. It dose have some weight to it. It also has a crystal on the back so that you can see all the mechanical works from both the front and back, cinda cool.

I said it is worth $175, the thing is most automatics start at more - quite a bit more

It is a nice looking watch, and it is a skeleton back and front, which I liked a lot. It does have *some* weight to it, but not as much as other automatics (or for that matter, manual wind) I have seen.

I do like the way that watch looks, it just feels very flimsy to me. If it is your daily wearer though, and you have had it for over a year now, it may be decent. How is it holding up. How accurate is it? Have you had it serviced ? Thanks

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Well in that case...HAINES STINKS!!

Well, to be accurate.

The Hanes shirts Disney buy's, stink.

Hanes, like most other companies, make a variety of levels of product.

Their HeavyWeight T's are not bad at all. Their cheapest product, you can get at craft stores for $3 a shirt.

-dave

 

[Figment82]

I agree, and while on the subject of pins, it's impossible to do a search/browse on ebay for unique souvenirs because 90% of the WDW items for sale are the $#$@ pins! Unless someone knows a way to filter out only pins and still see everything else WDW - I'd love to know. :brick:

Put "-pin, -pins" in your search - that will eliminate anything with those words from your search. I'm a pin collector, but I also collect everything Figment. When I search on eBay, I don't like wading through hundreds of listings for the same pins over and over again.

 

[Korfar]

Stagefrenzy - That is a nice Vinyl collection you have there. I am also a vintl collector. The vinyl haters can say what they want but there is a reason they are all over the parks now. They sell and make Diney a lot of money. So they will just have to deal with it. I don't see how anyone can be so upset with what merchandise is there anyway. If you like it buy it. if not, move on. Not the end of the world people.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I agree, and while on the subject of pins, it's impossible to do a search/browse on ebay for unique souvenirs because 90% of the WDW items for sale are the $#$@ pins! Unless someone knows a way to filter out only pins and still see everything else WDW - I'd love to know. :brick:

After you do the search with your key words look in the column to the left. You should see different categories & how many matches are in each. Click the one for Collectibles-->Disneyana-->Contemporary--> then click whichever categories other than pins you'd like to see. For stuff like clothes or hats or house stuff, etc. I follow the categories on the left by looking into the Disneyana area but also in other categories that may pertain such as clothing, inside the home, etc. Hope that helps ya out. I get sick of sifting thru a bazillion pin listings, too. :wave: