What is one of the 'less than perfect' items you've bought at disney?

[HM]

Some info we received this last trip on balloons. We had purchased the light up Tink in MK and it went flat within a day. DH spoke to a CM with the balloons and she told him that if you bring back ANY part of a balloon that you had purchased and not been happy with they would replace it. She replaced DD's balloon.

Yes, we have had them replaced. That's a nice perk, but I still think they aren't worth it.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Some info we received this last trip on balloons. We had purchased the light up Tink in MK and it went flat within a day. DH spoke to a CM with the balloons and she told him that if you bring back ANY part of a balloon that you had purchased and not been happy with they would replace it. She replaced DD's balloon..

That's true about the balloons. If they break/go down during your trip, take whatever you can to the park and they'll replace it for you

 

[cyros]

Balloons were one of the few things we bought on our trip to Disney. It was still alive and kicking 4 days later when it was time to fly back home. I wonder if it was because it was only in the sun for one day while it was tied to our stroller? We took it back to the rental house where there was great air conditioning and I was amazed how long it lasted.

I too bought one of those Polly Pocket type Tinkerbell sets. What a PITA. You really had to fight with it to put on the pieces, some wouldn't stay on and of course pieces were missing almost immediately. Won't do that again.

Our second trip is in less than two weeks. My only planned purchases are another pearl from Japan on a cell phone charm (we got one the first trip and attached the latch to a charm bracelet at home and it is still great 3 years later) and another antenna topper and if they still have rhinestone mickey hair clips outside Pirates, I'll grab some of those too since they were inexpensive and held up until one was lost a while back. Oh! And I heard you can get Mickey crazy straws somewhere in MK so if I come across those, I'll get some for souvenirs. I heard they are less than a dollar so if they don't last, it isn't a tragedy.

 

[ktlm]

The play Castle. Garbage.

The spinning light up Minnie's - they stopped working before we got to the car. The kids still always ask for a new one - ugh no they are junk.

Did you change the batteries out in the Minnies? We have one of those from about 3 years ago, and it still works great. Sounds like if it wasn't the batteries, you just got a bad one.

I agree the play castle is junk...expensive junk.

We got a charm bracelet with the princesses on it. Apparently, they had very thin necks because within a week we had a bracelet full of heads. That was probably the worst one we ever bought.

 

[aprincessatlast]

My feelings on this subject are long so I will do bullet points.

-I Phone case- Minnie Bling (Feb 2012)
-Broke in 2 weeks
-Lost reciept and found on day 31
-Took 30 min+ to get through
-was like calling a small company
-after initial answer and put on hold no music , no we will be right with you
-told was out of luck cause it was day 31
-I told them that was really bad for an overpriced phone case.
-superivsor stated $50 was in line for a phone case and they did not mark up
case cause it was Disney.
-Superivisor said they would make an exception for me this once.
-Stated would send a new one.
-Never got it!
-Called 5 times but after 15+ minutes on hold each time I gave up.
-Busy mom of 3 and did not ever have time to deal with it.
-Sad but gave up on it!

All in all Disney has changed! Just a few years ago if you had a problem they would stand out from the rest in customer service. Fact is they are just trying to keep up with Target. Well no, even Target has a better return policy! . You could justify the prices before knowing they would take care of you. No longer the case.

 

[Suellen]

Did you change the batteries out in the Minnies? We have one of those from about 3 years ago, and it still works great. Sounds like if it wasn't the batteries, you just got a bad one.

I agree the play castle is junk...expensive junk.

We got a charm bracelet with the princesses on it. Apparently, they had very thin necks because within a week we had a bracelet full of heads. That was probably the worst one we ever bought.

It wasn't the batteries... pieces of it worked... I think her skirt was supposed to light up while it spun and that didn't work even though the skirt spun... it was several years ago... i really only remember it even happening because the girls still ask for them. We had two and they both stopped working in the car at DTD.

I also bought a Mickey pillow pet which we realized had a hole in it when we got back to room. Next day grabbed it on the way out to exchange and I didn't grab the receipt. Holy poor service that day. The CM treated me like we had stolen it and now were trying to get something for free... even though she saw us walk in the door with it. I told her to forget it we would keep the ripped one. I wrote to Guest Services when I arrived home and they sent us a new one.

 

[peyjax]

You can thank China.

Seriously you really believe that? It is the company that sets the standards and tells the chinese how to make it.

DISNEY is responsible so I will thank them.

 

[KBoopaloo]

We still joke about the awful backscratcher we bought years ago. It was a weird thing to buy, I know, even still, it was useless as a backscratcher.

 

[atp]

A set of 4 adorable notepads that are supposed to be self-stick like post-it notes. Unfortunately they do not stick - so they fall off over everything unless you use tape. Sort of defeats the purpose of "self-stick" (and reminds me of the Seinfeld episode with George and the label maker )

I bought a set too, don't know if it's the same one, but it sticks just fine (the first time at least).

I don't buy many things at Disney because everything is so expensive so I choose only a few items that I REALLY want and that don't look like they are going to give me trouble.

I haven't had trouble with anything, but DBF on his very first trip, had trouble with one of the first things he bought (probably the first).

He bought a lanyard and a plastic pouch, the vertical one, the kind that comes with a bottle holder, a thing to attach to your phone and a a few other stuff. This was at the end of the day and he put his room key in it and that's it. The next day when he opened it ripped on one side. Over the next few days it ripped on the other side as well. He was pretty disappointed, he even wanted to go back to where he bought it to see if it was normal for that to happen but then just assumed there was nothing that could be done.

I don't know if it's just flimsy or if it's because of the style as it's the kind that works like a ziploc, you have to pull it open and press it closed. It's kind of hard to pull open if you close it well so it's hard to judge how much strenght to use to open it...maybe that has something to do with it.

I have one I bought in 2010 but it's a different model, like hefty bags with that white plastic thing you slide across it to open and close and I used it on our trip as well and it's still as good as new.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

Travel coffee/hot mug...its outside is a clear shell with the inner part decorated. Within in the first 2-3 times of using it, hot chocolate leaked between the 2 layers and there was no way to clean it. I called, CM told me that was pretty standard for those cups. Whatever, but she finally agreed to make it right...months later, nothing, and I, like a PP refuse to sit on hold forever to just get the runaround. $18.95 down the drain...drop in the bucket if you look at the overall cost of the trip. So far so good on the several hundreds of dollars spent on other things this most recent trip.

 

[kmb584]

Women's t-shirts and some of the hoodies - all washed on cold, all have never seen the inside of my dryer, all have shrunk. I also don't like the sizing of their women's clothing as it's definitely not women's but junior's. At 5'4" and 118 lbs, I shouldn't have to buy a size large, but I do (unless I want it fitting like a 2nd skin, which I don't)!

 

[Kellykins1218]

We still joke about the awful backscratcher we bought years ago. It was a weird thing to buy, I know, even still, it was useless as a backscratcher.

The one with all the characters and the white hand? Stupid thing has rounded fingertips so there's nothing to scratch with!

 

[W.E.D.]

Shirts, clothing in general.

Quality has really dropped over the past few years. I have shirts from the
80's and 90's that are still in perfect condition (I always try to find a shirt with the year I visited on it). My more recent purchases are already falling apart.

 

[HayGan]

My son had to have one of those kids pda things a few years ago. We didn't get it when we first saw it so of course we spent the rest of the trip looking for it. On our last day as we were getting on the road for the 16 hr drive home, we went to WoD at DTD to pick it up. Not 15 minutes onto I-4 that d@mn thing stopped working. We even stopped at a drugstore to get new batteries and that didn't solve the problem. That stupid thing was only $17 but everytime I see one now I still curse at it. Since then, I refuse buy anything even resembling an electronic from Disney!

That is the only thing that I have ever truly been disappointed with. I bought a great retro sweatshirt on Main Street this year and it is the best thing I ever bought. That thing has held up thru so many washings because I love wearing it all the time!!!

 

[18sprint]

At the World of Disney, I bought a Haunted Mansion figurine...The one with the front gates, lights on top, with the 3 hitchhiking ghosts. Required batteries for the lights, cool purple. Got it home, didn't work. Took apart looking for obvious broken wires, no luck. Still like it, but wish the little lights worked.

 

[HayGan]

At the World of Disney, I bought a Haunted Mansion figurine...The one with the front gates, lights on top, with the 3 hitchhiking ghosts. Required batteries for the lights, cool purple. Got it home, didn't work. Took apart looking for obvious broken wires, no luck. Still like it, but wish the little lights worked.

For what that cost, I would have called Disney Merchandising to get a replacement!

(I ordered one of those during a Disney Store sale and I love it! Honestly, I rarely turn the lights on.)

 

[sls404]

Women's t-shirts and some of the hoodies - all washed on cold, all have never seen the inside of my dryer, all have shrunk. I also don't like the sizing of their women's clothing as it's definitely not women's but junior's. At 5'4" and 118 lbs, I shouldn't have to buy a size large, but I do (unless I want it fitting like a 2nd skin, which I don't)!

THIS! They have such adorable women's v-neck shirts but they seem to get shorter and shorter each time I wash them (on cold and hang dry too). But for some reason I keep buying them....

 

[Goofy_Girl]

Agree with the post it notes that don't stick! Also agree with the charm bracelets that fall apart and shirts that shrink two sizes. I bought a pair of earrings that broke before I even put them on! My daughter saves her $$ and usually buys hair stuff or jewelry and most of it breaks before we even leave (the stores take it back, though). My son's monorail broke within a month. Geez....now that I see this written down, why do we spend our $$ on this garbage?? Oh yeah...because it brings a bit of magic home...even if it doesn't last longer than a day

Maybe that's part of the Limited time magic Lol XD

 

[RedfromNL]

In 2009 I bought a zip up hoodie sweatshirt. It was $50 and it shrunk so much the first time I washed it I could never wear it again. I am even one of the crazy people who wash everything in cold water and dry on low, then hang it up the rest of the way to dry. I bought another hoodie on the same trip and it was fine though- I still have it my rotation almost a full 4 years later. Guess its just hit or miss?

Same with t-shirts. There are shirts that went bad first time in laundry, there are shirts we bought at Disneyland Paris years ago (5 or 6) that are still good! Hit or miss...

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Photopass +

Couldn't agree more! LOVED Photopass on our first year. Photopass+ was a total letdown.

We didn't buy these in the parks...MIL bought them for my son as Christmas and birthday gifts this year: a Hollywood Studios playset and a Space Mountain playset. They're both cheap/junk/boring to actually play with. Now he just sits them in the middle of his monorail set and watches the monorail circle them. They just aren't really meant to be toys, IMO.