Once Again, Disneyland Retail Strikes Out...

[Tinkaboo]

you know those cute little ear plushies for Valentine's Day that is three weeks away and they haven't even started Sweetheart's Nights? ALL GONE.

Store CMs say the same thing they said at Christmas..." we had them two weeks ago and they are all gone and we wont be getting anymore".

My friend texted me photos last weekend, said " you want these?". " I'm going to be there in six days....I'll get them then...". Honestly...what is wrong with their retail?

So fed up with this...meanwhile the stores are filled with dated 2026 junk that no one appears to be buying.

I'm sad....but once again, my DH will be happy at the CC bill.

 

[hardcorestitch]

If I bet they run out of Easter stuff in early March… I’d be rich!

 

[LKing]

The ear plushies come and go. CM in the stores rarely know what is in the back and when it will be put on the floor.

There is currently a ton of Valentine's merchandise in the parks. I wouldn't be surprised if the plushies are restocked.

 

[longboard55]

To be fair, there is a long lead time on these orders, it was probably made when we were going tariff crazy

 

[Kit Jackson]

So fed up with this...meanwhile the stores are filled with dated 2026 junk that no one appears to be buying.

Unless it is specifically New Year's Eve themed merch, they could sell that all year long. I know when I got to the parks, I like to buy a pin with the year of the visit on it, and I am probably not the only one who does that.

I totally agree with you about merch going crazy in terms of how early themed holiday merch is displayed and sold out.

 

[LKing]

The year merchandise (ie. 2026) is sold all year. They transition to the next year sometime after Thanksgiving.

Are there non Disney retailers who don't run out of stock of seasonal items?

 

[AstroBlasters]

FWIW, I purchased some new attraction merch in the park a couple weeks ago.

Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, Autopia, and Mark Twain shirts at Merlin’s in Fantasyland.

A Soarin shirt in DCA.

Also, some nice resort specific merch in Grand Cal.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Are there non Disney retailers who don't run out of stock of seasonal items?

I think the issue isn't that seasonal items are out of stock. The issue is that Disney is running out of seasonal items well before the actual holiday.

 

[Tinkaboo]

The ear plushies come and go. CM in the stores rarely know what is in the back and when it will be put on the floor.

There is currently a ton of Valentine's merchandise in the parks. I wouldn't be surprised if the plushies are restocked.

Where did you see " a ton" of Valentine stuff? i must be missing that store so please advise! I've seen the zip up hoodie, which is not that cute and the LF bag which is not unique either. The kinda gold ears with M&M which are sorta Valentine's I guess but are the cheap looking vinyl ones. Some kids clothing. Thats it.

i did, however, buy the aqua Daisy Duck sweatshirt I had been eyeing since Christmas. The Daisy is chenille, kinda 3D, but it was the color that grabbed me. My fave and I hardly ever see it.

The cutest thing I have seen was a little girls shirt with Fillmore on it. WHY DONT THEY MAKE THEM FOR ADULTS? They'd sell a ton of them...especially to those who bought the Fillmore LF bag!

 

[LKing]

What appeals to some doesn't appeal to others.

The new Valentine's merchandise includes the pink hoodie with Mickey's hands making a heart, the pink sweatshirt with shimmery balloons, pink sweatshirt with M&M making a heart, the pink spirit jersey with pearls, a half dozen new tshirts, the new Dooney Bourke bag, new Stoney Clover bags, new pink backpacks, rose balloon Loungefly with matching ears, new jewelry, mugs, tumblers, autograph book, pen, hair bow (for adults), Chip&Dale plush, Mickey plush, Minnie plush, the new princess line of merchandise, and several new ears - one which was just put out yesterday. I'm sure there is more that I cant remember.

Sometimes merchandise is more popular than they expect (ex. Key to Disneyland, WED journals, 70th post-it notes, etc). They pulled more keys from storage and produced more of the other items. I hope you were able to find the 70th merchandise that you were looking for on your last trip.

 

[twodogs]

I am not a marketing or merchandising professional, but I can imagine that a retailer wants to thread the needle perfectly with seasonal items, having the available for sale right up to a holiday, but then selling it all before the end of the holiday so that they don’t have to take 50% of that merch the day after the holiday. Since that is really impossible, I think they might err on the side of making too little and running out before the holiday, but selling it all at full price, rather than be left with a bunch at the holiday and having to cut the price. Plus they want to move it out so that they have display room for the next holiday’s merch.

I do think you are totally justified to be frustrated with feeling like you are missing out on the things you want, based on Disney’s marketing decisions. We feel the same about Halloween merch/pins because we come in mid-October from Texas (school break), and we just get what is left at that point, which is definitely not everything on DD’s wish list by that time. I guess the only solution might be to plan you trip to occur well before said holiday, so that the merch is out but not sold out?

I wish you pixie dust and a restock of the things you are looking for on your trip!

 

[LKing]

It looks like there is no shortage of the Valentine's ear plushies in Florida. Maybe they will ship them to CA.

 

[Tinkaboo]

It looks like there is no shortage of the Valentine's ear plushies in Florida. Maybe they will ship them to CA.

Too bad I dont know anybody in FLA to send me some LOL

 

[DodgerGirl]

In my eyes when it comes to seasonal merchandise anywhere not just at Disneyland or Walt Disney World when the first batch of holiday merchandise is released people are known to go wild and try to get whatever they can before the stores run out and the people will be out of luck. When Halloween merchandise is released people will grab every single costume every single Halloween clothing and every single Halloween toy and at Christmas the same thing is repeated when Disneyland puts out merchandise like Christmas ornaments home decor Christmas stockings Mickey Santa hats and Christmas plushies and the cycle just keeps repeating itself when there is a holiday on the way. Why I think Disneyland is running low on Valentine's Day merchandise is because they simply didn't order enough merchandise for every shop and what I predict will happen is that once February arrives Disneyland will begin getting new shipments of Valentine's Day merchandise but once Valentine's Day is over Disneyland will most likely put it on clearance and it will be sold at low prices at Disney Store because Disney has to make room for the Easter merchandise debuting in March and once March debuts the same cycle will repeat yet again