Eric Graham
Well-Known Member
Not many things are made in America anymore...maybe Igloo coolers etc...
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Quality of available merchandise significantly reduced?
- Thread starter networkpro
- Start date
DW Aficionado
Well-Known Member
it's the price of some of this junk....for instance, a 49.00 tiki glass at the Polynesian isn't just for 12.99
KikoKea
Well-Known Member
Yep. There used to be a Villains shop in DHS on Sunset, before the eating places. I picked up several Villain cups from there until one visit we went in....and it was just the same stuff as elsewhere. That was probably 15 years ago. We rarely buy any trinkets now, other than 1 or 2 things for grandkids if we have them with us, and a good portion of that is from the Shades of Green hotel Exchange (limited merch there, but much cheaper) or bought earlier at Walmart.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
It really varies depending on the kind of product. Their mug game is pretty strong, and the mugs I have bought in recent years are higher in quality than those I got in the ’90s. Their Christmas ornaments are also often very well designed and made. Unpopular opinion, I know, but they still sell some great merch.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
I've been noticing this getting bad for a while. Hardly any attraction-specific merchandise, and it's hard to find any merchandise at all that doesn't have f*****g characters slapped all over it.
hismattjesty
Well-Known Member
DisneyHead123
Well-Known Member
A lot of the stuff is fine but overpriced, but for specific products, yeah, I’ve noticed issues. We got this monorail for my son like two years ago, and it worked for about an hour before never working again. Ok, I mean, that happens but - they are still selling the same frigging broken design over two years later!! Like they have to know they’re selling people a hundred dollar defective product at this point, right? 90% of the reviews speak to this. There’s no way they’re unaware that this thing basically just doesn’t run after a few weeks at most, and yet it still hasn’t been pulled from their inventory.
I will say, for some things I think the quality has gotten a bit better. I got my niece a doll and was surprised at how nice (albeit expensive) it was. Die cast and remote control vehicles purchased in the parks have held up well. Things like mugs and tumblers - eh, they’re all basically the same no matter where you buy them. Clothing quality has probably declined a bit but I remember the 80s when fabric was really expensive, before globalization, and it’s still a net gain since then.
I will say, for some things I think the quality has gotten a bit better. I got my niece a doll and was surprised at how nice (albeit expensive) it was. Die cast and remote control vehicles purchased in the parks have held up well. Things like mugs and tumblers - eh, they’re all basically the same no matter where you buy them. Clothing quality has probably declined a bit but I remember the 80s when fabric was really expensive, before globalization, and it’s still a net gain since then.
stuart
Well-Known Member
Not really adding anything that hasn't been already said, but the variety of merchandise isn't amazing now compared with what it used to be. Very generic across all their outlets, and no variety in different shops either.
I stumbled on pictures of World of Disney from 90s/00s and there was such a variety of home and office items then. We have a mickey head calculator we bought on one of our early trips in the 90s, you don't see that any more.
There are other things, like packs of pens, which seem to never have come back after covid. There used to be a selection of nice individual pens as well, but not now.
I also noticed with covid, they started to introduce parks product on the ShopDisney UK site, including WDW and Disneyland product which had never happened before. This still happens, but not as much as there was for the 50th / 100th. It's also worth UK guests checking the site before they buy in the states.
On a similar note, a lot of product appears to launch on the same day, or very close to it, on the UK and US sites.
The range of t-shirts they do now is actually pretty good with all the various park designs, and more so than they did before.
I just wish they would have a line of polo shirts with current and former park, ride, show or resort logos. A service like the place at Downtown Disney where you could have a logo embroidered or printed would surely be a winner. Same would apply for mugs as well.
A polo like that could be worn out more than the garish t-shirts and hoodies. Not every garment of clothing has to be covered in text or graphics. I actually made some up in my old work.
I stumbled on pictures of World of Disney from 90s/00s and there was such a variety of home and office items then. We have a mickey head calculator we bought on one of our early trips in the 90s, you don't see that any more.
There are other things, like packs of pens, which seem to never have come back after covid. There used to be a selection of nice individual pens as well, but not now.
I also noticed with covid, they started to introduce parks product on the ShopDisney UK site, including WDW and Disneyland product which had never happened before. This still happens, but not as much as there was for the 50th / 100th. It's also worth UK guests checking the site before they buy in the states.
On a similar note, a lot of product appears to launch on the same day, or very close to it, on the UK and US sites.
The range of t-shirts they do now is actually pretty good with all the various park designs, and more so than they did before.
I just wish they would have a line of polo shirts with current and former park, ride, show or resort logos. A service like the place at Downtown Disney where you could have a logo embroidered or printed would surely be a winner. Same would apply for mugs as well.
A polo like that could be worn out more than the garish t-shirts and hoodies. Not every garment of clothing has to be covered in text or graphics. I actually made some up in my old work.
- In the Parks
- Yes
Let's raise this specter from the dead for another round of fun and games. We're back this week for our first visit of the year and are leaving Animal Kingdom early thanks to low attendance and a limited current offering. Frankly we were appalled at what merchandise was available. Inexpensive, garish, and high margin would be the key trait for anything not a stuffed animal.
Thankfully we were at the Poly and stocked up with the new Tommy Bahama Disney line so it's not a total bust so far.
Thankfully we were at the Poly and stocked up with the new Tommy Bahama Disney line so it's not a total bust so far.
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
I agree w your sentiment here, but why are you leaving due to low attendance?
- In the Parks
- Yes
We've already done everything as we were here for early entry. Now it's Tambu Lounge time for LapuLapus with John
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
Ah gotcha. I thought from reading this you were leaving WDW early due to low attendance. Enjoy the Lapu Lapu(s)!
Eric Graham
Well-Known Member
For Tommy Bahama, wonderful thing tidbit, if you join the club then they send you a gift card for your birthday and Christmas. Every little penny counts nowadays! We were just at Disney in March and ate at Ohana for the first time and had a great time and the food was really good. We usually stay at Wilderness or Beach Club, but we enjoy visiting a lot of the other hotels by Uber, Skyliner, or Bus. Wonder when they're going to have new Lilo and Stitch merchandise out for the upcoming movie. I love the son Hawaiian Roller Coaster. Haven't looked at the Disney Store in a little bit.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Quality can be good or bad from anyplace. I have spent a lot of money from time to time to buy T's onsite in The World of Disney Store in the Springs. I haven't in a while, but sometimes the quality was good other times it was bad and the shirt lasted less than a year before all the imagery had faded away or it started to just randomly have holes show up. Those were $30.+ The place where I had my best look will come as a surprise I'll bet. The souvenir stores along 192 that sold Disney T's for $5.00 to $10.00 lasted and lasted and lasted, some for over 10 years. Price does not guarantee quality when it comes to souvenir shops. Those other shops had some losers as well, but no where near as many.
I just purchased a Anxiety T-shirt, from the Inside Out franchise. Lot's of colors and nice detail. I bought it via the Disney Stores online. I'll let you know how that one fares.
I just purchased a Anxiety T-shirt, from the Inside Out franchise. Lot's of colors and nice detail. I bought it via the Disney Stores online. I'll let you know how that one fares.
Smiley/OCD
Well-Known Member
FWIW, I’ve never had a complaint about the quality of the clothing…I have T-shirts that are almost 30 years old (my Home Improvement Binford Tools shirt) no fading or cracking of the silk screening…the pins are good, the plush are good…the toys are the problem…the clamshell packaging is better quality than the items contained inside…that’s shameful (especially for the price)
- In the Parks
- Yes
Just did a whirl though Grand Floridaian , MK, Beach and Yacht clubs, and Epcot photographing eggs. We did look at merch and it was disenchanting.
IMHO, merchandise quality, selection, and design fell off a cliff after 2014.
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
Whenever I go to the regional parks, it always surprises me at how much attraction-specific merch there is. And yet, the two largest resorts in the world (WDW & UOR) with far more fans and attendance are afraid to touch that level of specificity.
There's a world where both Universal and Disney can balance IP and more attraction specific stuff. Problem is they tend to make the attraction/park specific stuff sloppy with an unnecessary PASSHOLDER logo off to the side.
Go to Etsy, and you'll find so many different designs that will make a killing if WDW sold it officially.