We just got back yesterday, and I wanted to share this slightly disturbing story.
We'd seen those light up string things (I'm not sure what else to call it) for sale in MK before Spectromagic and at MGM before Fantasmic. The vendor at Fantasmic told me they were $16. We didn't buy one then, but DH thought they were really cool.
However, a couple of days later, DH was with 2 of the kids and I was with another at Epcot--so we weren't together. DH saw a vendor selling them from one of those small carts just on the Future World side (after crossing from World Showcase). He asked the CM working the cart how much, and she said $20. He bought it by giving her a $20 bill.
When I got back to the room that night, he told me the price was higher at Epcot than at MGM. And I, being the shopping guru in the family, said that was just not possible, that all Disney merchandise is the same price no matter which park it's in. He then turned the box over to see a Disney price tag of $15.02--which with tax would come out to the $16.00 I'd seen them for at Fantasmic. So the vendor CM had pocketed $4.00 over the price of the item! Now because this was one of those street vendor type of people, we had no receipt for the cash purchase.
I do have to give the Epcot people credit, however. I went to my resort (the Polynesian), talked to someone in the shop (after a front desk concierge person was very weird and somewhat rude in her response to me and didn't seem to believe that vendors on carts at the parks do not give receipts or allow you to charge your purchase to the room). The Boutiki CM was super helpful, spent several minutes on the phone with several people from Epcot she said, and gave me the difference in cash. She told me they were "looking into" what happened.
Obviously, there's either an untrained CM working a vending cart somewhere at Epcot, or there is or was a dishonest one who's pocking some extra cash here and there. My purpose for posting this is because you should always check the prices on the items you buy from those vendors who work out of an apron and take only cash payment.
We'd seen those light up string things (I'm not sure what else to call it) for sale in MK before Spectromagic and at MGM before Fantasmic. The vendor at Fantasmic told me they were $16. We didn't buy one then, but DH thought they were really cool.
However, a couple of days later, DH was with 2 of the kids and I was with another at Epcot--so we weren't together. DH saw a vendor selling them from one of those small carts just on the Future World side (after crossing from World Showcase). He asked the CM working the cart how much, and she said $20. He bought it by giving her a $20 bill.
When I got back to the room that night, he told me the price was higher at Epcot than at MGM. And I, being the shopping guru in the family, said that was just not possible, that all Disney merchandise is the same price no matter which park it's in. He then turned the box over to see a Disney price tag of $15.02--which with tax would come out to the $16.00 I'd seen them for at Fantasmic. So the vendor CM had pocketed $4.00 over the price of the item! Now because this was one of those street vendor type of people, we had no receipt for the cash purchase.
I do have to give the Epcot people credit, however. I went to my resort (the Polynesian), talked to someone in the shop (after a front desk concierge person was very weird and somewhat rude in her response to me and didn't seem to believe that vendors on carts at the parks do not give receipts or allow you to charge your purchase to the room). The Boutiki CM was super helpful, spent several minutes on the phone with several people from Epcot she said, and gave me the difference in cash. She told me they were "looking into" what happened.
Obviously, there's either an untrained CM working a vending cart somewhere at Epcot, or there is or was a dishonest one who's pocking some extra cash here and there. My purpose for posting this is because you should always check the prices on the items you buy from those vendors who work out of an apron and take only cash payment.
to hear that, thanks for the info.
