Would You Support Unique Main Street USA Shops if Staffed by Third Party Vendors?

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
The experiences I've had with non-cast members in years past has left me thinking that if they were Disney employees, more would be expected of them. I'm probably being too hard here.
I would say make going to Traditions a condition of working in the parks, regardless of who signs your paychecks. If you want to work AT Disney, you have to understand what separates the job from others, regardless of whether or not you work FOR Disney.
 

hpyhnt 1000

Well-Known Member
No third parties. If I want Kay Jewelers or Hallmark or Barnes and Noble, I'll head to my local mall that's ten minutes away. How about Disney gets off its butt and stops penny pinching for a bit and brings back some unique stuff to the parks? :shrug:
 

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
What if they truly were those companies but called Pinocchio's Bakery and Jasmine's Jewlery?


Well, aside from the names not fitting, I get your gist.

Call them Main Street Jewelers and Olde Fashioned Baked Goodes and there you go

The behavior of the staffers does not concern me. As others have said, you can easily stipulate what the staffers must conform to. I am sure that any retailer would bend over backwards to have the foot traffic a store on MSUSA was have.

My concern is the type of mech. Yes, it should be unique in that it is not available all over WDW, but I would also like to see it unique to that store. In other words, I can go to a B&N anywhere and get the same stuff. I don't want the same B&N on MSUSA, even if it is called "Books & Notions" and is staffed with approiatly costumed people. I want to see a bookstore selling things I can only get at WDW. Some of course would have Mickey and Pals plastered all over them. But I would also like to see stuff along what the Arrabas Bros does. WDW themed items, but tasteful, one of a kind items. If the vendor can do that, then I am OK with it.

-dave
 

SMRT-1

Active Member
Interesting thread in the Disneyland forum:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?p=3769587

In essence, Mouseplanet reports the long standing Magic Shop was threatened with closure, but micechat reports the store will remain. The catch is that it will be staffed with third party employees and the Disney cast members who worked there will be reallocated to other positions.

So with all the complaints of Main Street USA shops disappearing and merchandise becoming homogenized, what would you think of unique shops returning to Main Street USA if it meant the people working there were employees of third party companies?

Would it bother you if the News and Tobacconist was staffed by employees of Barnes and Noble? What if the fine jewelry shop was staffed by employees of Kay's Jewelers? Maybe there would be a place with rare toys, staffed by employees of Toys R Us.

Thoughts?


I wouldn't mind it.....Universal Studios magic shop is third party I believe.
If any of the stores were run by said vendors they would mask any branding and people would assume it's Disney owned anyways.
 

DisneyRoxMySox

Well-Known Member
When I read the thread title I said no.

Then I read (a few posts) that mentioned that this is how DL used to be.


No. It should not take third parties to have a good MSUSA.

Then I agreed with this! Disney used to do it quite well.

I agree, it's a shame that it has come to this. Disney IS capable of providing unique shopping experiences. (They have done it before.) While I wouldn't mind too much, it might be what it takes to make history repeat itself again. i.e. They hire outside companies, then take them back over when they see what they are missing sales-wise.

I really hope history doesn't repeat itself. The way things are going in the parks now-a-days, I wouldn't be suprised if they started selling their own unique merchandise again.
 

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
I believe stroller and ecv rental (lockers too?) are outside vendors.
Sorta, kinda. It's more of a long-term rental thing. If I understand it correctly, the physical strollers and ECVs (not sure about wheelchairs) are owned by an outside company. However, the rental locations are operated and staffed by WDW Cast Members.

In general, I'm not a huge fan of Operating Participants (the official name of outside companies doing business on Disney property), though some are better than others. In theory, the employees of Operating Participants are held to the same standards as Disney Cast Members...but sometimes that doesn't end up happening.
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Isnt this already in place with the "Operating Participants" at WDW like Arribas Brothers?

If i recall, they have to go through traditions as well?
 

bgraham34

Well-Known Member
Yeah if it had unique items I would not have a problem supporting it at all. I liked when each store had different items.
 

Sassagoula

Member
When every store has the same thing, there's no point in looking in every one anymore. Shopping in the parks just isn't fun after the first shop now. But still, they need to diversify the stores without resorting to outside help, because I don't want to go to WDW to see the same boring stuff I see at home. Where's the excitement in that? It takes away all the mystique and originality of Disney World. Even if they were staffed by nice CMs, in an appropriately-decorated shop, wouldn't it feel wrong to go to Starbucks on Main Street, for instance?

(That said, Disney does need to find a better coffee solution than that syrupy stuff. Talk about lost dollars...)

:( I don't have many memories of the old Main Street shops, but I do remember how fun it was to shop in Adventureland. They had so many interesting tropical, adventurer-type things and now it's all brand names and the same shirts you saw in the Emporium. It makes me so envious to look at information about the shops in the foreign parks and see how interesting and different they are. Disney couldn't get away with some of the crazier stuff they did back in the day now, but hey, I WANT to get more souvenirs, and I'm not alone -- you'd think Disney would want to make the shops more enticing and original to get your money.
 

grunter

Member
I am fine with it as long as it does not take away from the magic. If I start to see Zales jewlery signs or Panera bakery signs than I will have a problem.

That would be a big NO on the question posed - for precisely the reason brought up in this quote.

It's bad enough that literally every shopping district in the U.S. is a homogenized mess. Go to any mall in the country and you get the same 20-25 big name chain stores. And let's not even discuss the lack of restaurant choices.

Do we really need a Lane Bryant, a Bed, Bath & Beyond, a Hot Topic, an Orange Julius stand and a Panda Express hogging space in the MAGIC Kingdom? (And just to make it a more "mall"-like experience, be sure to remove literally all men's clothing stores, unless their signature items are sneakers and sports jerseys - because, y'know, men don't actually wear clothes unless they have a sporting logo slapped on it somewhere). Drive just miles outside the Disney complex to one of those mega-Orlando malls and you'll get that horrible homogenized shopping experience. We don't need it again, after we've paid admission fees to get inside the gates.

JUST SAY NO!
 

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
...and you'll get that horrible homogenized shopping experience. We don't need it again, after we've paid admission fees to get inside the gates.

We already have a pretty homogenized shopping experience. Maybe 2 or 3 styles of shirts, etc, etc. Your comment about mens clothing? Well, pick 1 polo, and 2 button ups, and 3 generic Mickey ties, and you basically have the current WDW mens clothing selection.

Is 3rd party "outsourcing" the way to go? If passed off to the highest bidder, as it most likely would be, probably not as you would end up with your Gaps, Starbucks and the like on Main Street. If passed off to unique stores that could do a good job with it, then hells yeah. There are plenty of small stores that could do a good job of stocking fronts with unique items that would definitely hold up the a higher Disney standard. They just won't be able to pay Disney as much for the right, and will possibly not get selected.

I do agree that Disney doesn't need to do it, but as many PP's have pointed out, there is precedence, both in the original Main Street at DL, and the current 3rd party vendors. (Remember that next time you buy a balloon folks.) Disney simply needs to bring back variety of their own stock and they will be fine.
 

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Isnt this already in place with the "Operating Participants" at WDW like Arribas Brothers?

If i recall, they have to go through traditions as well?

Isn't Photopass staffed by outside vendors? I seem to remember some problems there, at least early on.

Has Photopass gotten better over the past three or four years? Are their photographers still outside employees?
 

DisneyMusician2

Well-Known Member
No problems here, but I would love to see what the union response would be to this....I can't imagine they would want to set a precedent of letting 3rd party vendors come in whenever Disney didn't feel like paying real CM's anymore.
 

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
Isn't Photopass staffed by outside vendors? I seem to remember some problems there, at least early on.

Has Photopass gotten better over the past three or four years? Are their photographers still outside employees?
As far as I know, Photopass has always been Disney owned and operated. I believe it was originally treated as a seperate division of the Company--they even had seperate ID's from "regular" WDW CM's, much like DVC and DCL--but that's now changed. Interestingly enough, Photopass is now treated as a part of the Entertainment department.
 

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
In case anyone is wondering, the concept of Operating Participants is nothing new. It's gotten more prevalent in recent years, but OP's have pretty much always been around in one form or another. As far as I know, they do have to go through a modified version of Traditions. Some of the Operating Participants currently on property:
  • Balloon Sellers
  • Hair Wrap
  • Face Painting (I think)
  • Jeoffrey's Coffee (Stands in DAK, Epcot and TTC)
  • Spas
  • Arribas Brothers (Including the location on Main Street)
  • About 40% of World Showcase restaurants and shops
  • Almost all of Downtown Disney West Side, including HoyPoloi, House of Blues, the Cirque Du Soleil gift shop, Planet Hollywood, etc.
  • Rainforest Cafe
  • Tutto Italia, Yak and Yeti, Portabella
  • The Pepper Market at Coronado Springs
  • Kennels
 
In case anyone is wondering, the concept of Operating Participants is nothing new. It's gotten more prevalent in recent years, but OP's have pretty much always been around in one form or another. As far as I know, they do have to go through a modified version of Traditions. Some of the Operating Participants currently on property:
  • Balloon Sellers
  • Hair Wrap
  • Face Painting (I think)
  • Jeoffrey's Coffee (Stands in DAK, Epcot and TTC)
  • Spas
  • Arribas Brothers (Including the location on Main Street)
  • About 40% of World Showcase restaurants and shops
  • Almost all of Downtown Disney West Side, including HoyPoloi, House of Blues, the Cirque Du Soleil gift shop, Planet Hollywood, etc.
  • Rainforest Cafe
  • Tutto Italia, Yak and Yeti, Portabella
  • The Pepper Market at Coronado Springs
  • Kennels

I agree with the Captain, it is all over the place now. The majority of people have very "disney-esque" customer service skills. In fact most people don't realize that they don't work for Disney.

I wouldn't have a problem with the original idea posted here as long as no one would lose a job over it. Plus a better variety on MS would make me more willing to wonder all the shops. These days if you go in and out of of one, you've seen them all.
 

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