Resort Logo Merchandise

[scanne]

I am a self-described resort snob...I LOVE my resort merchandise - my shirts from the Polynesian, WL, BC and GF are favorites! I collect magnets from the resorts we stay at. We're staying at the Polynesian next June and I was hoping for a new Polynesian shirt or sweatshirt.

As others have said, I don't buy the items with the year on it - but perhaps that's because I'm a regular?? Maybe it's those folk that do the "once in a lifetime" trip to WDW who buy the shirts with the year to commemorate their vacation...

I hope the deluxes and DVC's keep their themed merchandise. I tend to spend my $$$ in the hotel rather than at the parks.

 

[goalie5hole]

If this is true, it will be good for me. I'll come home with more money in my pocket than I usually do. I don't buy anything generic.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Outside a few higher end things, we stopped buying stuff from the Disney Parks after our second year there. Everything is so generic, you can buy it any of the Disney World Resorts/Parks for the most part.

I don't want generic, I want more unique, not blanded down items, of high quality. I'm willing to pay more for these items, but Disney as of late hasn't had much in the way to support this.

General consumerism is partially to blame as it is a cost control process for Disney. Walmart is the new shopping destination for millions of consumers in the United States who often are willing to sacrafice long term quality for a lower price.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When I was just at WDW I was able to purchase a Bay Lake Tower t-shirt, two Polynesian t-shirts and a Grand Floridian sweatshirt. However I did not see any Boardwalk merchandice when I went to visit there.

 

[tednvon]

Interesting rumor...my spouse works at Coronado Springs in Panchito's gift shop and she says she would agree that most guests buy the generic Disney and the resort logo clothing items sit a lot longer on the shelves.
Still a shame.

Ted

 

[ToddS]

Really sad. Is it really possible that no one at Disney can figure out how to make money on this stuff? Seems like a gold mine to me if its handled correctly.

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

only the unique OKW DVC items. If they were priced more reasonably, we'd tend to buy more but thankfully we are able to pick up great items on ebay.

When I was younger in the 70's and 80's I bought the generic and still have some tucked away but what I treasure are the items specific to a resort like the Tiki God drink glasses or a golf putting cup. I will never buy anything at the World that I can get at a Wallymart screwyou Center.

 

[FigmentJason]

This is sad. Disney merchandising for me started to go down hill when the magic shop on main street closed. I loved that as a kid because it was unique. Then I was saddened when all of the stores in epcot that sold unique future related items changed. And now this... yay

 

[anthony2k7]

Surely they just need to manage their volumes better?

If resort specific items sell less, then buy less. No need to stop buying it all together though!

Ok so most guests only buy a few generic items, but a percentage (no matter how small) do also want to buy some generic items and some resort specific items - thats lost sales no matter how you look at it.

 

[emlutz23]

We became DVC members in 2006 and the DVC resort mechandise has definately gone down! So my guess is all resorts will have less. On my next trip I may hunt down stuff from every DVC resort since I do plan on staying at each one at some point. Then when all the resort merch is gone, I'll still have what I want!

 

[crocko]

Economically, it's a basic case of supply-demand that will eventually find an equilibrium.

We consumers WANT more options. But, more options means higher costs for the supplier. If our purchasing is not high enough, then variety of options will decrease. When the squeeze on options gets so tight as to have a negative impact on purchasing, then some give will be needed by the supplier.

As much as we WANT more options, we can only expect to keep them as long as our purchasing justifies the cost. And the squeeze on options will only stop as soon as we stop purchasing to the point that sales are noticeably effected.

The more I go to each store and see the same products the less I will end up spending in total. I like to have options...as long as I have enough decent options, I'll do some spending. If it ever gets to the point that there are so few options that actually appeal to me then I'll just hold on to my dollars and save them for the next trip to somewhere else.

In summary, the change hurts...but if the change is drastic enough to make us change our purchasing decisions, then eventually it will have an impact that will make Disney stop and listen.

 

[paulh]

you could say this was on the cards from when they started generic mugs for all the resorts.we used to collect from our visits.Now we hardly ever buy mugs.Again we used to love visiting resorts to shop now they tend to stock same stuff in most of there shops,Seemed the only thing which was different was the discounted gift with a minimum spend
Paul

 

[wdw4us2]

More short term profit decisions by Disney.

Yes, they'll save money in the short term by outlaying less money and realizing a larger profit on what they are selling. However, at the same time they are losing money from repeat visitors who look for unique and resort/park specific merchandise.

Among my many Disney collections are license plates. I am fortunate to have at least one from each resort before Disney stopped offering them. Now, there is a year plate and an occasional character plate but very few resort specific plates and most are made of cheap PVC instead of aluminum as they once were.

Due to their thinking, I now return home with more $$ than I once did. I can honestly say that on a weekend trip, my family of four used to spend around $350 dollars per trip on various merchandise. Now I'm amazed if we spend $50.

Smart move, Disney.

 

[tjkraz]

Yes, they'll save money in the short term by outlaying less money and realizing a larger profit on what they are selling. However, at the same time they are losing money from repeat visitors who look for unique and resort/park specific merchandise.

(snip)

Due to their thinking, I now return home with more $$ than I once did. I can honestly say that on a weekend trip, my family of four used to spend around $350 dollars per trip on various merchandise. Now I'm amazed if we spend $50.

Smart move, Disney.

All of that could be true, but those (possible) facts alone are not sufficient reason to judge this to be a foolish decision. Disney is the one who has to invest in production costs. They have to commission the item, pay to have it produced and then dedicate shelf space.

If items are not selling well, I can certainly see how it may not justify producing them in the first place.

As a DVC members, one of the things I hear frequently from members is that there isn't enough "unique" or "different" resort merchandise. The problem is that everyone's idea of an appealing unique or different item varies.

100 people want to buy a t-shirt that says Disney's BoardWalk Villas

Some want a mens shirt
Some want a womens shirt
Some want white
Some want gray
Some want navy
Some want pink
Some want it embroidered
Some want it silk screened
Some want long sleeves
Some want short sleeves
Some want it to have just the resort name
Some want it to have the resort name and "Disney Vacation Club"
Some want a more form-fitting style
Some want a loose fitting style

That doesn't even address the appeal of the basic design used for the shirt (logo, imagery) which will vary from one buyer to another. And whatever you come up with has to be stocked in Small, Medium, Large, XL and XXL.

By the time you're done with all the permutations, it's easy to see why Disney has favored more generic designs. They aren't going to dedicate shelf space to women's form-fitting, short-sleeved, pink, DVC/BWV shirts if the demand for such a product is infinitesimal. If 99% of shoppers wrinkle their noses and walk by, where's the justification for creating the product in the first place?

Sadly perhaps we've reached a tipping point where it no longer makes sense to even produce the generic stuff for some resorts. It takes more than a small number of Disney fanatics buying an item to justify its creation. Perhaps this is a situation where demand will naturally rise if the product line lies dormant for a few years.

 

[KYMickey]

By the time you're done with all the permutations, it's easy to see why Disney has favored more generic designs.

At least let them make a generic shirt for each resort. Pick a color that goes with the theme of the resort and make men's womens and children's shirts in that style. At least that way each resort would have its own merchandise.

 

[donaldduck1967]

Didn't read thru the whole thread but that's exactly what I was told my multiple Cast members working on shops,they are phasing out logo specific merchandise.

 

[agnes!]

Gack. More year-dated generic park merchandise...lovely. Along this same theme, the recent addition of Park merchandise to Disney Store offerings made me kind of sad. Yeah, I know, cost-points and all that, but *still*...I kind of like actually *being* someplace and maybe getting a souvenir at that place.

So I guess that makes me an oddball that Merchandising doesn't care about. Oh well. I guess I'll just save up my pennies and pay for visits rather than Disney junk....heyyyyyy... wait a minute. More visits and LESS chotchkes? I LIKE the sound of that !

But pretty soon we won't even have actual characters...all the Disney shops will only sell
one-size-fits-no-one T-shirts
and mugs
and key-chains
and pins
with only the following words on all of the items (and, of course, NO artwork):

GENERIC DISNEY CHARACTER​

agnes!

 

[Golf4food]

We just came back and I did notice a lack of Resort specific merchandise in the non-deluxe gift shops (had meals at the GF and Poly and saw items in their gift shops, but not the others we visited).

 

[*Robin*]

But pretty soon we won't even have actual characters...all the Disney shops will only sell
one-size-fits-no-one T-shirts
and mugs
and key-chains
and pins
with only the following words on all of the items (and, of course, NO artwork):

Does this include pins and keychains, etc? I'm not a big clothing buyer, but I come out with multiple resort specific smaller items each time we go...this makes me really sad.

Disney is the last place I thought would go generic, but I think you may be right, at least in the short term. (I can see this being a recession decision, and hopefully when things pick up, some items may return?)

 

[Snowgod]

This last trip was a real money saver for DW and I. We had planned on getting quite a few things and when we went to the resort shops, none of the items we had planned to purchase was available. Actually ended up buying things over at Universal City walk. Sorry Disney but you didn't make enough money off the items I like to buy with the resort logo. Maybe the MBAs are earning their money at the cost of too small a profit on the resort items. Now we don't have to plan money for all of the resort items we have been collecting for years and can instead use that money for off site expenses. DW says she is fed up with Disney selling the same thing in every shop and refuses to eve go in. She also wants us to finally stay offsite and enjoy some of the other things in the area. Cya, mean it!