Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

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Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

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GiveMeTheMusic said:
All this time I thought we were so close.

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What can I say, the bear is cute.
 
CDavid

CDavid

Well-Known Member
Fractal514 said:
Merchandise: I get that we, the fanbase, want specialized and retro products, but does the general public? D23 was an attempt to try and make high-end specialized stuff available for us and as far as I can tell it really isn't scratching the itch. Partially, I suspect, because it is way over-priced, and partially because this isn't an in-store on-vacation purchase. Would Disney really homogonize the merchandise without numbers that proove this is smart business for them? I'm just wondering what the motivation would have been, and if the folks on this board aren't just a vocal minority but a true represenation, wouldn't Disney see the drop in sales and then revert?
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Specialty merchandise is never going to move as fast as more generic designs, that's true, but that doesn't mean there isn't a sizable market for it that WDW is missing out on (and the $$$ that go along with it). Further, while there would indeed be a rather limited market for a t-shirt of the grandfather in Carousel of Progress, many guests - and not just the vocal minority here and on other forums - are going to buy a design of Space Mountain and the like. But there is an even more basic problem than that, where most every shop shouldn't be selling much of the same merchandise anyway. If I'm going to find pretty much the same items in my resort gift shop as I do in most of the theme park shops, there's really no reason to even venture into any of the park shops. With more unique merchandise selections, if i go in browsing I stand a much better chance of buying something than if I just walk through in my way out of the attraction.
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
GLaDOS said:
I'd actually very much disagree with this. Tokyo's merchandise is pretty poor, and is similar to what you find at the rest of the resorts across the world.

Poor merch is a world wide Disney Parks problem.
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It depends on what you're looking for. Some of their stores have great merchandise, but much of it is very Japanese/kawaii (cute) stuff.

Their POTC store though, has amazing stuff.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Disney thinks Tokyo Disney Resort is what to follow in terms of merchandise because of the cultural obligation of gift giving combined with the "office ladies" who buy up kawaii (cute) merchandise at Disney by the boatloads. It fits a specific buyinculture, but all Disney sees is numbers and thinks it needs to be replicated everywhere else. This is also why the unique and more show-focused shops were done away with, because of the numbers and nothing more. In the process they killed the environment and sales have never met the unrealistic expectations of the same thing everywhere, where everyplace was supposed to suddenly do booming business. Instead its slumped because it just spread those sales around.


Soarin' Over Pgh said:
Wouldn't the best crowd control be NO FP and FP+? If you're in a line, guess what? You're physically standing IN THE LINE, freeing up room in the walkways for other guests.

I dunno, yall. There's just so much about FP and the whole FP+ nightmare that doesn't sit well with me. It just doesn't make sense. Common sense would say that if you have 100 people waiting in line for Dumbo, then that's 100 less people in the walkways, and there's room for 100 more people to walk about the park. Instead of FP, where you have a virtual place in line, and are free to roam for that time...

I guess common sense just isn't that common anymore. Either that or I've over analyzed things so much my brain took a smoke break.
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Absolutely true. There is no way a virtual line system can properly handle serious crowding because it warps capacity. There are reasons why Radiator Springs Racers was the first attraction in years at the Disneyland Resort to get FastPass and more have dropped FastPass.
 
yeti

yeti

Well-Known Member
raven24 said:
I actually like Duffy.

Still, they're products are more detailed and they look like someone actually took some time to design and come up with some decent artwork. Can't really say the same for the One Disney products.
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Well, they don't say "Disney Parks" on the packaging, which is refreshing I guess. I won't deny it, but I can't say I noticed any difference in the quality of craftsmanship.

Animaniac93-98 said:
I've heard similar complaints about Tokyo Disney and Paris is even worse than WDW from what I saw. I find merch across Disney parks to be weak with only a few exceptions.
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It most certainly is. Go to CarsLand, and you'd expect to find some novelty ala WWoHP. Nope. Just more junk, generally speaking.

ChrisFL said:
It depends on what you're looking for. Some of their stores have great merchandise, but much of it is very Japanese/kawaii (cute) stuff.

Their POTC store though, has amazing stuff.
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Yes. That.

Overall Adventureland had the best stuff.
 
sshindel

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
I'm trying to remember, do they have "make your own T-Shirt" in any of the parks/DTD? Something similar to the art kiosks, where you can have artwork printed on demand (which I own quite a bit of and LOVE using). I'd think that would be a solid solution at least for Tshirts, and could employ a small army of graphic designers under Disney employ. This would give them the ability to sell unique merchandise without requiring them to order these things in massive quantities (thus being able match supply/demand on the fly).
 
Soarin' Over Pgh

Soarin' Over Pgh

Well-Known Member
sshindel said:
I'm trying to remember, do they have "make your own T-Shirt" in any of the parks/DTD? Something similar to the art kiosks, where you can have artwork printed on demand (which I own quite a bit of and LOVE using). I'd think that would be a solid solution at least for Tshirts, and could employ a small army of graphic designers under Disney employ. This would give them the ability to sell unique merchandise without requiring them to order these things in massive quantities (thus being able match supply/demand on the fly).
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I didn't see anything like that, but then again I didn't check every corner of every park.

Btw, bought that shirt. And another one. It's all your fault.
 
WDWFigment

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
With the exception of media (CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray), I would say that Tokyo's merchandise is worse than the US Parks.

The most diversity in merchandising there is for Duffy and his posse (can't fault them there given how well it sells), and there are a few standout items elsewhere, but of the rest of the merchandise is pretty much the same everywhere. There are lots of gift-wrapped food items and lots of cutesy stuff (cultural things). Also, tons of novelty hats.

Go there and try to find a decent TDR/TDL/TDS men's shirt. It's downright impossible.
 
AngryEyes

AngryEyes

Well-Known Member
Didn't I just read (last month or so) that Disney is going to have more resort- and attraction- specific merchandise in the near future? So, they may be listening. Maybe someone just realized that in the chase for lower expenses they just went too far in the generic direction and this move signals a shift back to a better mix of offerings.

Just like the whole "declining by degrees" thing, improvement can happen the same way and it seems like there are lots of small changes for the better lately.
 
the.dreamfinder

the.dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
WDWFigment said:
With the exception of media (CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray), I would say that Tokyo's merchandise is worse than the US Parks.

The most diversity in merchandising there is for Duffy and his posse (can't fault them there given how well it sells), and there are a few standout items elsewhere, but of the rest of the merchandise is pretty much the same everywhere. There are lots of gift-wrapped food items and lots of cutesy stuff (cultural things). Also, tons of novelty hats.

Go there and try to find a decent TDR/TDL/TDS men's shirt. It's downright impossible.
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They do sell Ludwig Von Drake plush at their Disney Store.
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From Joe's MiceChat trip report
 
Clever Name

Clever Name

Well-Known Member
You can blame me for the generic merchandise in the parks and other Disney stores. I haven't bought anything in a Disney related store for well over 20 years. I browse the stores to see what they've got, but I always buy stuff via the Internet. I can get the same stuff for a cheaper price with no sales tax and free shipping. Why would I pay more at a Disney store? I'm sorry but low price is my mantra.

Even so called "exclusive" Disney items regularly show up on EBay for less than retail. Patience is a virtue.
 
WDWFigment

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
the.dreamfinder said:
They do sell Ludwig Von Drake plush at their Disney Store.
[photo]
From Joe's MiceChat trip report
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Plush is also pretty popular there, although if I recall correctly, Ludwig Von Drake was available in plush form at the Disney Store in the US a couple summers ago.

I really wanted a t-shirt or something from Sindbad's Storybook Voyage with Chandu (this badass tiger cub) on it, but all they had was plush of him. So perhaps I'm bitter.

There were other bright spots (30th special edition stuff, Star Tours 2 Grand Opening stuff, etc.), but overall, I was underwhelmed. In the end, it was for the best, because I spent way too much money on CDs and Blu-ray.
 
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