Sid's One of a Kind Shop to close?

[Master Yoda]

The type of merchandise they are offering there appears to be out of favor with people these days. The similar store at Downtown DIsney closed, and whenever I see these at the malls, they are always empty. Tough economic times mean that people are no longer willing to pay $300 for an 8x10 with some scrawl on it. Those that are willing to do that more than likely get them online. I really don't think Disney can be blamed for this one. Hopefully the store can be repurposed into something useful if indeed it does close as the memorabilia store.

I was thinking the same thing. I loved Starbillas and I like Sid's, but I have never purchased anything there. I just couldn't ever pull the trigger on paying $500 for a $20 poster that had a signature on it.

 

[elchippo]

I have GOT to weigh in here...THIS is one of the reasons I fell so hard for this park as a kid....I have memorabilia all over my house from here, and yes, they have drastically reduced their inventory through the years, but its still the same for the most part... I would weep like a fool if this went away....

I dont know if I've ever seen more than one person in there working-maybe two at some point, but thats it.
It has one of the best stories of all locations in the park. It wouldnt surprise me if its homogenized at some point, but so far so good....I would think with it being so close to Crossroads of the World it wouldnt become a pin place. The hypothetical presented here-losing the hat vs. losing Sid's-is literally the toughest decision I've ever had to consider in a Disney "would You Rather?" situation.

 

[lazyboy97o]

True...but its still one of my favorite stores to go into. I will admit I have never bought anything, but I love to walk through it.

There was a time when Disney understood this to be the case with some of their shops and accepted it as part of the show.

 

[elchippo]

It will probably become headquarters for "Sorcerers of the Hollywood Studios"

 

[MissMorrow]

Well this is just sad. I love that store, and the trivia questions out front are always fun. Like others, I've never bought anything there, but always enjoy looking around. It's more a mini-museum than a shop really. I will cry if they turn it into a world of Duffy crap store! I'd rather see it turned into a Starbucks. But if it means demolishing the BAH........... my desire to have the original view back trumps my love of the store.

 

[scpergj]

It will probably become headquarters for "Sorcerers of the Hollywood Studios"

Oh plesase no....!!!

 

[scpergj]

The type of merchandise they are offering there appears to be out of favor with people these days. The similar store at Downtown DIsney closed, and whenever I see these at the malls, they are always empty. Tough economic times mean that people are no longer willing to pay $300 for an 8x10 with some scrawl on it. Those that are willing to do that more than likely get them online. I really don't think Disney can be blamed for this one. Hopefully the store can be repurposed into something useful if indeed it does close as the memorabilia store.

Very good point, Steve. I have a model race car signed by Mario Andretti that I bought the year he retired, but if I had to buy it now I'd have to pass.

 

[Slowjack]

The type of merchandise they are offering there appears to be out of favor with people these days. The similar store at Downtown DIsney closed, and whenever I see these at the malls, they are always empty. Tough economic times mean that people are no longer willing to pay $300 for an 8x10 with some scrawl on it. Those that are willing to do that more than likely get them online. I really don't think Disney can be blamed for this one. Hopefully the store can be repurposed into something useful if indeed it does close as the memorabilia store.

Look, the store is a part of the show. It was never going to move mountains of merchandise. If "tough economic times" means people won't buy these kinds of things (plenty of selections there are far cheaper than $300, as you know), then why has Disney recently upped the prices of tickets again, along with the usual increases at the resorts and everything else? Disney thinks people can pay $600 to stay one night at the Poly but can't buy anything more than a T-shirt to take home?

I remember when our local Disney Store was the most popular store in the mall and we had fancy collectible cases, animation cels, etc. We sometimes sold these (one guy bought $5,000 worth) but for the most part they just made the store seem special. Then the dictate came -- space in the store was for the goods that sold. I remember the regional manager and our store manager trying to spin this, saying, "We don't need that extra 'magic.' We're not trying to be the parks!" More and more, sadly, it seems like the parks themselves are not trying to be the parks, either.

(Not long after T-shirts replaced the collectibles, the Great Disney Store Collapse occurred. Maybe they needed the magic after all?)

 

[wdwmagic]

Look, the store is a part of the show. It was never going to move mountains of merchandise. If "tough economic times" means people won't buy these kinds of things (plenty of selections there are far cheaper than $300, as you know), then why has Disney recently upped the prices of tickets again, along with the usual increases at the resorts and everything else? Disney thinks people can pay $600 to stay one night at the Poly but can't buy anything more than a T-shirt to take home?

I remember when our local Disney Store was the most popular store in the mall and we had fancy collectible cases, animation cels, etc. We sometimes sold these (one guy bought $5,000 worth) but for the most part they just made the store seem special. Then the dictate came -- space in the store was for the goods that sold. I remember the regional manager and our store manager trying to spin this, saying, "We don't need that extra 'magic.' We're not trying to be the parks!" More and more, sadly, it seems like the parks themselves are not trying to be the parks, either.

(Not long after T-shirts replaced the collectibles, the Great Disney Store Collapse occurred. Maybe they needed the magic after all?)

You don't need to tell me those things, I agree. However, these days there is no chance that Disney will have a store sitting there selling nothing. Part of the show or not.

However, I would say that in the past it had managed to keep itself above water, now though, I don't think that is the case.

 

[elchippo]

About half the merchandise and display tables are gone. More ominous, the photo of the man who played Sid until his death a few years back is gone. And when the shop has been open, there's usually just one CM manning it.

I've asked and the CMs there know nothing about Disney turning it into a vinyl and pin hut (they'll need to replace the BAH locale when that finally comes down) or a Duffy shop or even the park's Starbucks as a friend's young brother hypothesized.

But it would be tragic to lose one more piece of another WDW park's soul.

Anyone out there actually know the real story?

Talked to folks at Guest Relations, but they either really don't know or they're spinning the company line.

I panicked when this thread started like everyone else, but if you re-read the OP, it doesnt suggest anything beyond fan speculation...my paranoia has lessened, and I hope everyone else's does as well.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I panicked when this thread started like everyone else, but if you re-read the OP, it doesnt suggest anything beyond fan speculation...my paranoia has lessened, and I hope everyone else's does as well.

I was well aware that it was speculation, but I also think the one who did the speculating knows enough about how The Walt Disney Company operates Walt Disney World that his observations give reason to be concerned.

 

[PurpleRose]

Wasn't there a Villians shop that used to be cool, but now it's a candy store?

 

[WDWBryan]

Wow I had to google what this was and realized it's right at the front of the park. I had no idea that was a shop. Though it was just a facade. How sad.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I would at least hope that they keep a blend of what the store once was, and then add new offerings (even if it's generic) to keep the store around. I'd love to see one of a kind items that aren't necessarily autographs. Disney has a library of movie and television props, but it could also include theme park related props as well.

Forgive me for throwing this out there, but this could also be a DHS location for limited edition merchandise as well like pins, vinylmation, or Artwork.

 

[steve2wdw]

Although I used to love to browse at Sid's, I never spent a penny in the shop...I'm not a collector of Hollywood memorabilia. The sad fact is that I DO have some discretionary cash to spend while on vacation, but can't find anything that I want to purchase. Years ago my problem would be getting everything I purchased into my luggage for the flight home. Sadly, that problem hasn't occured in years (with the exception of souvenirs we purchased while visiting the WWoHP).

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Sid's is part of the show, part of the magic, part of the Hollywood placemaking. Browsing through the memorabilia is immersing oneself in Hollywood's history. A museum with price tags on the artefacts.

Oh well, I remember when one could shop for silver dinnerware and 18th and 19th century American antiques in Liberty Square. Why would I have any illusion about the direction WDW is moving in? It is no longer an elegant, surprisingly sophisticated resort for an audience that appreciates boutique shops.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

It's a vicious decline that eats itself, though. Once people catch on to the fact that each
store has the same merchandise, why bother to go in to more than one? "Oh, another
themed area with the same stuff".

Why do we get that, and the powers that be, don't?

Sadly, I think WDW's management understands retailing techniques all too well. Tuck Vinylmation in the back of one obscure shop, and nobody will be interested in it. Put it everywhere, market it to death, and the same customers will want to have it, will start collecting.

Also, WDW is creating its own market segment. Some people attach value to the unique, others to the well-known and famous. People who appreciate the boutique experience are driven away from WDW, people who enjoy the safety and predictability of generic, 'name' brands, are drawn to WDW. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The shops create their own market.

 

[Polydweller]

You don't need to tell me those things, I agree. However, these days there is no chance that Disney will have a store sitting there selling nothing. Part of the show or not.

However, I would say that in the past it had managed to keep itself above water, now though, I don't think that is the case.

Things haven't really changed since Disneyland opened. Even back then the shops had to make money or they were gone. Part of the show sure, but they had to make a buck even in the 1950's. And I was there at that time and saw shops change or go. And most were neat places with no one in them. The current management really isn't different from the old on this one.

As this thread shows, Sid's was part of the show for lots of people, like me. But look at the number of people who gave said they didn't buy anything. That's what I'll make it close.

 

[WDW1974]

The truly generic and interchangeable nature of the merchandise at most WDW stores (other than, say, the ones in EPCOT's World Showcase pavilions) is made readily apparent if one has the chance to check out some of Disney's "lesser" competitors.

Not being able to fall back on the crutch of slapping the images of "world famous" characters on every item of merchandise, parks like SeaWorld and Busch Gardens have actually done pretty well in terms of stocking their stores with park/area/theme-appropriate items, some of it of very high quality. SWO has some really beautiful merchandise locations that sell high-end items and jewelry. At BGW (which is pretty much beautiful throughout), you can still find items like steins, nutcrackers, and carved wood items in locations that would be theme-appropriate for the merchandise in question. And the seasonal stuff -- like Howl-O-Scream themed items -- is largely sold at a few specific locations, not strewn haphazardly everywhere around the park.

It may not seem like much, but having some care and thought put into merchandise placement -- as opposed to stocking the same generic product in Adventureland as in Hollywood Boulevard or Future World -- is not only refreshing, but goes a long way toward reinforcing the themes and narratives that are ostensibly at the foundation of a "theme park."

(As an aside, I also think a tiny part of the reason for the decline of Sid's shop is the fact that no one could be relied on to know what Sid's last name was a reference to, or how to pronounce it correctly...)

Yes, I noticed the great area appropriate merchandse when I visited BGW this spring. You really only see that in spurts at WDW ... locales that Disney doesn't directly control like many shops in World Showcase as well as some of its own shops at DAK.

Beyond that, it's the same crap whether you are at Coronado Springs, Mousegear, Tomorrowland etc.

Merchandise was always considered to be part of the show. Now, it's Walmart. Look at what they did to the Emporium and that entire side of MSUSA ... just a giant WoD supercrapstore with meaningless facades outside.

It is something that WDW is getting fundaentally wrong these days and they have been for years. Now ... where's my 2012 WDW hoodie ... or my vinylmation ... or how about some Duffy plush?

 

[WDW1974]

I used to work in that area (up until May) and ever since I started working there in 2009 there has only been one CM at a time (unless another is just hanging around, but only one actually assigned). It was sometimes like punishment being there for 3 hours at a time with no one else, haha. So that isn't really an indication of anything. Also, the store opens about 11 am and closes an hour or so earlier than park close. Sometimes earlier. So that's not really anything unusual either. It's included in the same merchandise area as Mickey's of Hollywood, Keystone, and a few others. All of the props and autographs are from Michael Wehrmann.

I still work close by and haven't heard anything about it leaving, but I haven't actually set foot in there in a month or so. I walk past it around 3 every day and haven't noticed anything too alarming. I always make a point to peek in the doorway and see if I know anyone working That's interesting that the Sid picture is gone though! But I wouldn't read too much into it. Things get knocked off the wall there a lot.

I'd say if you still work close by to ask the managers who know what's going on because something is.

The place looks like a store going out of business. The patio no longer has merchandise. The tables of it inside have been removed. Much of the hanging art/autographs are gone as is Sid's photo. It doesn't take a genius to figure out something is up. Also, the shop never would be closed at 6 p.m. when the park was open until 10. That's another sign they're looking to kill it.