Resort Merchandise diminishing?

[juniorthomas]

I don't understand. Are you saying Mickey Mouse is appropriate for Universal? :veryconfu

Not at all. Now, the people who design those Mickey Mouse shirts? Yeah. They're probably above standard for Universal.

 

[juniorthomas]

The merch that disney produces deserves in a second rate park, not wdw.



You would think so...



I think that us fans could create better designs.

We really could. All DCP (does apparel fall under the watchful eye of DCP, or are they just toys, etc) needs to do is tell their design people to just ease up a bit. They're trying too hard.

 

[flavious27]

I don't see Universal as a second rate park. Atleast it has merchandise themed to just about everyone one of their attractions. It's nice walking in a store and not seeing the same stuff over and over again.

Well before wwhp was added to ioa, uni wasn't doing anything to win over fans.

Yes the shirts sell for the same price, but when they are having them printed, its cheaper to produce 100,000 of 1 design than 10,000 of 10 designs. How much cheaper? Probably not much. But they have to pay designers, graphic artists, etc as well so those costs add up.

Should it be an excuse? Of course not. But it probably means resort specific merchandise doesn't sell that well, because if it did, they would make more of it, not less.

Well that is the thing, if the shirts cost the same to the customer, disney doesn't have a proper argument to cheapen the design and production process.

A solution to this would be to let guests design whatever resort shirts they want, in the long run disney will sell more shirts because guests can buy what they want. Disney will still have the designers produce logos and graphics, along with templates for guests. As dork as it would be to have a FW chip and dale shirt personalized for a whole family, there will be families buying 4+ shirts because they now have a way to be even dorkier.

 

[joeg70]

New wilderness lodge shirts

Hello
Just checking out of the wilderness lodge villas this morning and picked up a clearance lodge t-shirt for $15. New lodge specific shirts/ sweatshirts are out today. Minimal character design on the new so far, just wilderness resort stylized logo.( which is fine for me as I was looking for a more adult shirt) New logo shirts are $26.

 

[steve2wdw]

Hello
Just checking out of the wilderness lodge villas this morning and picked up a clearance lodge t-shirt for $15. New lodge specific shirts/ sweatshirts are out today. Minimal character design on the new so far, just wilderness resort stylized logo.( which is fine for me as I was looking for a more adult shirt) New logo shirts are $26.

I'm a DVC member and our home is Wilderness Lodge....let's keep buying anything that is WL specific, and hopefully they'll keep the line going. Although it's dwindled from it's heyday (WL dishes and homewares), at least we've still got shirts and sweatshirts as well as some other items. More than we can say for some of the other resorts.

 

[PlaneJane]

logo shirts are right up my alley, I have on for the rockin roller coaster with a small Disney MGM Studios on the front with Rockin Roller Coaster beneath it. It has a aerosmith logo with a guitar on the back of it sorta like this

 

[juniorthomas]

Well before wwhp was added to ioa, uni wasn't doing anything to win over fans.



Well that is the thing, if the shirts cost the same to the customer, disney doesn't have a proper argument to cheapen the design and production process.

A solution to this would be to let guests design whatever resort shirts they want, in the long run disney will sell more shirts because guests can buy what they want. Disney will still have the designers produce logos and graphics, along with templates for guests. As dork as it would be to have a FW chip and dale shirt personalized for a whole family, there will be families buying 4+ shirts because they now have a way to be even dorkier.

If it looks like it belongs at Universal or a Six Flags, it's out of place at WDW. A lot of the clothing is simply massive numbers (for whatever year it is) with a Disney character draped around it - or, as I like to call it, grandma-wear. Put some style into it, DCP!

I'm incredibly picky, if you haven't guessed.

 

[Kamikaze]

If it looks like it belongs at Universal or a Six Flags, it's out of place at WDW. A lot of the clothing is simply massive numbers (for whatever year it is) with a Disney character draped around it - or, as I like to call it, grandma-wear. Put some style into it, DCP!

I'm incredibly picky, if you haven't guessed.

You aren't being picky. The vast majority of stuff is unwearable. Exceptions are the 'vintage' and 'retro' merch.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

I can't wait to get there so I can buy all the generic stuff people are complaining about. If I see the same shirts I saw 20 years ago then it's going to hit the fan!

 

[slappy magoo]

LOL this exactly sums it up. Disney are not stupid - if the thing sells they will sell it, if it doesn't sell, it will be removed. The lack of resort specific merchandise tells us one thing, it wasn't selling. To many times people seem to think Disney have some master-plan to just annoy guests by removing something just to spite them. In almost all cases it is because whatever is removed is not successful.

I personally really like the resort merchandise, but it seems that we are in the minority who actually purchased it.

Eh, sometimes, even profit-minded giant corporations get stupid, make bad assumptions and it costs them money in the end. New Coke. Leno at 10. A vibrating Harry Potter broom that can double as a "let's explore our bodies, girls" aid. Circuit City pumping nearly a billion dollars into an alternate DVD player that could play "rent-able" discs that would freeze up after the rental period, so you'd rent them again and again and again without having to return the discs anywhere. Chevrolet wondering why nobody was buying the Nova in Mexico, until someone had to point out that "no va" in Spanish translates to "it doesn't go." Nike thinking naming a sneaker after a demon that molests sleeping women would be a winner. Don't assume costly mistakes can't be made by large grops of greedy people. Sometimes, they're the costliest.*

As far as Disney resort-specific merch goes, I'd bet a shiny red apple that a lot of the disappearing merchandise WAS selling, and selling well, but the odious group think turned towards "hey, people are coming to Disney World, they're bound to buy souvenirs no matter what? So if we cut back on the amount of options, we'll be able to buy souvenirs in greater bulk and save money!" A real "lose a dollar to save a dime" mentality. Whether or not it bites them on the keister remains to be seen. With the economy being what it is, IF merch sales are down, I don't know if they'll determine it's because of the after-effects of the recession or because people weren't as enchanted with the selection of merch.

*EDIT: I should have added: Oil companies that don't believe in safety shut off valves on their derricks.

 

[juniorthomas]

You aren't being picky. The vast majority of stuff is unwearable. Exceptions are the 'vintage' and 'retro' merch.

I psyched myself out there for a moment. You're right about the vintage stuff - they need a lot more of it too.

 

[flavious27]

If it looks like it belongs at Universal or a Six Flags, it's out of place at WDW. A lot of the clothing is simply massive numbers (for whatever year it is) with a Disney character draped around it - or, as I like to call it, grandma-wear. Put some style into it, DCP!

I'm incredibly picky, if you haven't guessed.

Yeah. It was interesting to see how they could incorporate the year with the characters in the beginning, but now it is just beating a dead horse. Disney needs to make a new suite of product every year, but they can do a better job and break the trend that has been in place for over 15 years.

LOL this exactly sums it up. Disney are not stupid - if the thing sells they will sell it, if it doesn't sell, it will be removed. The lack of resort specific merchandise tells us one thing, it wasn't selling. To many times people seem to think Disney have some master-plan to just annoy guests by removing something just to spite them. In almost all cases it is because whatever is removed is not successful.

I personally really like the resort merchandise, but it seems that we are in the minority who actually purchased it.

I think that the bean counters wanted to squeeze more money out of every square footage, while keeping costs down. It also is that they need to design merch that would sell, stuff they had in the all stars was not worth buying. I would even say the same thing with the stuff I saw the last time at poly, there was way too much stitch and faux Hawaiian shirts.

I psyched myself out there for a moment. You're right about the vintage stuff - they need a lot more of it too.

I wonder when they are going to put out the retro disney stuff from the 80's and 90's.

 

[juniorthomas]

Yeah. It was interesting to see how they could incorporate the year with the characters in the beginning, but now it is just beating a dead horse. Disney needs to make a new suite of product every year, but they can do a better job and break the trend that has been in place for over 15 years.



I think that the bean counters wanted to squeeze more money out of every square footage, while keeping costs down. It also is that they need to design merch that would sell, stuff they had in the all stars was not worth buying. I would even say the same thing with the stuff I saw the last time at poly, there was way too much stitch and faux Hawaiian shirts.



I wonder when they are going to put out the retro disney stuff from the 80's and 90's.

Seriously, the vintage stuff sells really well. I'd bet that the inventory lists would confirm that too. I'm always shocked when I walk in to Downtown Disney and take a look at some of the apparel that's on sale in there.

And I had that Mickey shirt, only mine was blue and it said California. I miss it.

 

[puntagordabob]

I can't wait to get there so I can buy all the generic stuff people are complaining about. If I see the same shirts I saw 20 years ago then it's going to hit the fan!

You probably wont see 20 year old shirts...but if the trend continues you will still see some very similar shirts in the next 20 years....

 

[EvilQueen-T]

sad. it's to bad they don't keep at least one tshirt design for each of the resorts but from a business point of view it makes sense to have more volume and less choices...cheaper for them.

 

[frank2271]

I was at Fort Wilderness a couple of weeks ago and they told me that Disney is releasing new Fort Wilderness clothing and other branded items. The girl told me that so many people complained that Disney realized there was a market for resort specific items. She told me that it should be sometime around the new year. I can't wait, we camp every January and we were very disappointed last Jan when we couldn't buy Fort Wilderness gear.

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Frank

 

[flavious27]

You probably wont see 20 year old shirts...but if the trend continues you will still see some very similar shirts in the next 20 years....

Well it matters what the shirt looks like and if it looks tied to a specific theme and or style.

Seriously, the vintage stuff sells really well. I'd bet that the inventory lists would confirm that too. I'm always shocked when I walk in to Downtown Disney and take a look at some of the apparel that's on sale in there.

And I had that Mickey shirt, only mine was blue and it said California. I miss it.

I think it sells well, I am sure that guests have a higher satisfaction with the vintage shirts then the generics.

 

[ayefour corp.]

I was at Fort Wilderness a couple of weeks ago and they told me that Disney is releasing new Fort Wilderness clothing and other branded items. The girl told me that so many people complained that Disney realized there was a market for resort specific items. She told me that it should be sometime around the new year. I can't wait, we camp every January and we were very disappointed last Jan when we couldn't buy Fort Wilderness gear.

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Frank

There is truth to this, somewhat. This whole issue was fought over quite a bit, and trust me in saying, the compromise is much much better than what was originally planned

( ayefour who still treasures his dixie landings merch from project launch )

 

[llrain]

these are the exact words uttered by the beach club marketplace manager except that she said late this year.
Its coming back people!!!!

I was at Fort Wilderness a couple of weeks ago and they told me that Disney is releasing new Fort Wilderness clothing and other branded items. The girl told me that so many people complained that Disney realized there was a market for resort specific items. She told me that it should be sometime around the new year. I can't wait, we camp every January and we were very disappointed last Jan when we couldn't buy Fort Wilderness gear.

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Frank

 

[juniorthomas]

Well it matters what the shirt looks like and if it looks tied to a specific theme and or style.



I think it sells well, I am sure that guests have a higher satisfaction with the vintage shirts then the generics.

It's just strange that nobody from TWDCo would notice. Surely there is evidence to prove that most of the clothing is in a sad state. Judging by the fact that there is so much of it, are we really to believe that not only do people buy it, but that A LOT of people do?