Rumors. Musings. Casual.

[aladdin2007]

Sort of related, but I tried to buy something that had sold out during my last visit by phone after getting home and was told they no longer provide that service.

yep they did away with that and then they had that really nice shopping app where you could order just about anything from the parks,,,they did away with that...then they did away with the package pickup. now they have done away with so much merch and the amount of locations you would think they were going out of business. And if one more castmember asks if I want a bag........no I just want to drag the items behind me on a rope...its really killing Disney to provide anything.
I wont even start about shopdisney.com. for some reason they aren't filling orders and they ignore returns, you have to manually hurdle around with them to get a refund after showing proof it was delivered to them. Its all so bad.

 

[Musical Mermaid]

Whoever has been in charge of designing merchandise for the past 7-8 years should be fired and sued for gross negligence. They've sucked the life right out of the room.

Sometimes the artists and designers want to do more unique merchandise, but whoever is in charge tells them no. Have to play it safe and sell more princess/Mickey/Stitch/Pooh.

 

[ChrisFL]

Maybe it has changed since I've been, but Tokyo Disney had the worst merchandise out of the six for North American sensibilities. Mostly repetitive fab five cookie tins and trinkets. The Duffy line of course, if that's your thing. Almost none of it attraction specific.

Yes it changed...a decade ago there was a lot more attraction specific merch in Tokyo but Duffy took over a LOT of DisneySea and seems like Baymax took over the other parts.

I remember POTC's gift shop having a lot of high quality, unique merchandise back then, but don't remember seeing a lot of that the last time I visited.

 

[Absimilliard]

Yes it changed...a decade ago there was a lot more attraction specific merch in Tokyo but Duffy took over a LOT of DisneySea and seems like Baymax took over the other parts.

I remember POTC's gift shop having a lot of high quality, unique merchandise back then, but don't remember seeing a lot of that the last time I visited.

My first Tokyo Disney visit was in 2007 and the last of the original attraction merchandise was being sold. Tower of Terror had amazing souvenirs and I have collected two t-shirts and a cap before they discontinued it all. When I went for Soaring Fantastic Flight opening, I made sure to raid the nearby store for the amazing merch as I knew it would not last very long.

I found at Nakano Broadway a 2001 Journey to the Center of the Earth camera bag that is absolutely amazing. I also found online an actual Crystal Skull (the Tokyo version) snowglobe.

 

[BrianLo]

Yes it changed...a decade ago there was a lot more attraction specific merch in Tokyo but Duffy took over a LOT of DisneySea and seems like Baymax took over the other parts.

I remember POTC's gift shop having a lot of high quality, unique merchandise back then, but don't remember seeing a lot of that the last time I visited.

My comment was regarding visits more than a decade ago - (2011/13). Even then I didn’t think it was very desirable. Only real attraction specific stuff I recall was Tower of Terror, since it was newer.

So you are saying it’s now worse? I’m confused with the mixed arguments here. I assume the people who think Tokyo has better merch, just haven’t actually been.

 

[GravityFalls]

Went to Tokyo last year, it's all Baymax and Duffy. Hardly anything specific to the lands/ attractions. I was disappointed that the shop in the Volcano area was all Baymax. The one exception was the tiger from the Sinbad ride.

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

I also wish attraction specific and WDW/individual park specific merchandise was back in all stores. It was a lot of the same thing over and over again. Actually the best piece of merchandise I bought last year was a reproduction of the original MK map from one of the shops at the Contemporary. I hadn't seen it anyplace else on that trip and it was under $10. I'd love to have a complete set of all the WDW parks, if they made them.

 

[hopemax]

Japan still can have some interesting stuff. We went December 2018, and while we were disappointed things weren't how we we were led to believe, we didn't come home empty handed. My Dad bought the entire set of plush keychain badges which were the Country Bear Jamboree bears dressed in their Christmas outfits. They also had a similar set in their Vacation show outfits. And more recently, in Oct 2021 they debuted a whole kitchen themed Country Bear Jamboree line. Dishes, cutlery and even a serving tray reminiscent of the fabulously themed trays they have in the counter service restaurants. The trick is to hit it when the good stuff is available, which for US visitors isn't easy. During our 2018 visit they debuted a very nice line of Winnie the Pooh goods, but we don't collect Winnie the Pooh. Some of the other things we brought home were several of the Tomica ride vehicles, and a set of Baymax kitchen clips for chips and stuff.

In my Feedly, I subscribe to MezzoMiki.jp and then use Google translate to keep up on stuff to droll a bit over. Maybe not everything is your thing, but here are a few recent posts

https://mezzomiki.jp/post-280148/

細部まで再現した豪華版！東京ディズニーシー「タワー・オブ・テラー」 ナノブロック -

東京ディズニーランド、東京ディズニーシーで人気のコレクターズアイテム「ナノブロック」ダイヤブロックなどで知られるカワダの極小ミニブロックシリーズで、4mmという小さなブロックでキャラクターの特徴がしっ

mezzomiki.jp

4つの大型フロートがミニチュアフィギュアに！東京ディズニーランド『ディズニー・ハーモニー・イン・カラー』グッズ -

東京ディズニーリゾート40周年”ドリームゴーラウンド”開催中の東京ディズニーランド、東京ディズニーシー。東京ディズニーランドで40周年にあわせてスタートしたデイタイムパレード『ディズニー・ハーモニー・

mezzomiki.jp

アトラクションを楽しむミッキー＆フレンズ！東京ディズニーランド 2WAYワッペン・お土産 -

東京ディズニーランド、東京ディズニーシーではハンドメイドグッズを販売中！今回はパークのアトラクションを楽しんでいるミッキー＆フレンズがデザインされたワッペンが登場したので紹介します。 東京デ

mezzomiki.jp

宿泊者気分が味わえる！東京ディズニーシー「タワー・オブ・テラー」グッズ -

東京ディズニーシー／アメリカンウォーターフロントにある人気アトラクション「タワー・オブ・テラー」のグッズが登場！恐怖のホテル「タワー・オブ・テラー」と呼ばれるようになった、ホテルハイタワーのロゴがデザ

mezzomiki.jp

And Chandu, because I bought almost all of what they had available in 2018

東京ディズニーシー2024「チャンドゥ」グッズ・お土産まとめ -

東京ディズニーシー/アラビアンコーストにあるアトラクション｢シンドバッド・ストーリーブック・ヴォヤッジ｣に登場するオリジナルキャラクター”チャンドゥ” 主人公の船乗り”シンドバッ

mezzomiki.jp

 

[FettFan]

gonna plant my flag here and hope i’m wrong: UO will open more new major attractions between 2026-2035 in its two existing parks than WDW will among its 4.

There’s already the rumor of Uni going all on with Nintendo, with Pokémon replacing the Simpsons area at USO and Legend of Zelda going to the former Lost Continent at IOA.

 

[Fox&Hound]

yep they did away with that and then they had that really nice shopping app where you could order just about anything from the parks,,,they did away with that...then they did away with the package pickup. now they have done away with so much merch and the amount of locations you would think they were going out of business. And if one more castmember asks if I want a bag........no I just want to drag the items behind me on a rope...its really killing Disney to provide anything.
I wont even start about shopdisney.com. for some reason they aren't filling orders and they ignore returns, you have to manually hurdle around with them to get a refund after showing proof it was delivered to them. Its all so bad.

Your “no I just want to drag the items behind me on a rope...” killed me. Thanks the laugh. Genuinely funny!

 

[FettFan]

Cleanliness has taken a nosedive as well. I don’t think I’ve EVER seen the trams so filthy.

 

[Absimilliard]

My comment was regarding visits more than a decade ago - (2011/13). Even then I didn’t think it was very desirable. Only real attraction specific stuff I recall was Tower of Terror, since it was newer.

So you are saying it’s now worse? I’m confused with the mixed arguments here. I assume the people who think Tokyo has better merch, just haven’t actually been.

When I went to Shanghai Disneyland a year after the grand opening, Adventure Isle store was full of land and Roaring Rapids merchandise. Flash forward to 2019: only TRON had some merchandise left.

Same thing in Hong Kong Disneyland: when the park opened or a new ride opens, there will be an influx of ride specific merchandise and once that's sold out, no more. I have both a cap and t-shirt from Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Carts.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I usually fly Southwest, so I fly down with a suitcase full of water bottles and would gladly fill my empty suitcase on my return trip with merch to bring home if it's 1. stuff I actually want, and 2. convenient to purchase.

Just one airline of many

 

[cjkeating]

When I went to Shanghai Disneyland a year after the grand opening, Adventure Isle store was full of land and Roaring Rapids merchandise. Flash forward to 2019: only TRON had some merchandise left.

Same thing in Hong Kong Disneyland: when the park opened or a new ride opens, there will be an influx of ride specific merchandise and once that's sold out, no more. I have both a cap and t-shirt from Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Carts.

Come to Disneyland Paris we've just gone really hard on ride attraction merch... even obscure attractions like the Alice maze and the dragon under the castle!

 

[cjkeating]

Is Disney100 a bust?

Wife and I went to Disney Springs before heading to Port Canaveral for the honeymoon, and we noticed that a LOT of the Disney 100 merchandise is 50% off. I was thinking this was supposed to be a yearlong thing...alas.

Didn't Disney 100 end last year? It was all a build up to the 100th anniversary date not the start?

Not defending the merch or the [lack of] celebration just saying Disney 100 is now a historical event.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Come to Disneyland Paris we've just gone really hard on ride attraction merch... even obscure attractions like the Alice maze and the dragon under the castle!

In the past 2 years I've bought Kevin Kidney and Jody Daly's "La Taniere du Dragon" and Phantom Manor figurines and they're among the favorite things in my collection. I wish WDW would follow proper suit:

 

[granfiesta]

Whoever has been in charge of designing merchandise for the past 7-8 years should be fired and sued for gross negligence. They've sucked the life right out of the room.

I couldn't agree more. Our family has been going at least once a year for almost 17 years now. For the first 10 years or so, I would usually get at least one t-shirt a year and my wife would have to choose from many fantastic Christmas ornaments as that was our family tradition, even once our kids came along. Now, it's a struggle to find anything that I want to spend money on, as it seems that there's no uniqueness or originality to any of the designs. It all just seems to be poorly designed junk.

 

[bmr1591]

I overheard some young 20s girls in EPCOT walk up to shirts and comment on how Disney sucks at merch. I knew I felt that way, but this was prime target audience and they felt that way too.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Didn't Disney 100 end last year? It was all a build up to the 100th anniversary date not the start?

Not defending the merch or the [lack of] celebration just saying Disney 100 is now a historical event.

There was a one-day event but I thought the 100th anniversary would be celebrated, at least with merchandise, well into 2024. Disney+ still opens with a “Disney 100” logo. It’s all rather confusing.

 

[LittleBuford]

I’m genuinely surprised to hear people say they can’t find anything to like among Disney’s Christmas ornaments. Those, at least, continue to include some genuinely distinctive and well-made items, such as the examples below celebrating Robin Hood (a rather obscure IP by modern Disney standards) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.