Resort Merchandising Rant...EXACTLY!

[tigger813]

I HATE the sound of "Disney Parks"! I was at Disney World! UGH!!!!

I noticed a lot of SVC stuff at the SSR store when we were there last month. Really pushing that. At least they still had the pins for the resorts! I forgot to get one 3 years ago so I made sure I got one this time!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I think it's pretty unlikely that we're going to see resort specific merchandise anytime soon. Disney is putting SO much money into their runDisney program, and yet, you can't even get training shirts for their marathons/half marathons until you're already at the Expo.

 

[lugnut33]

I think it's pretty unlikely that we're going to see resort specific merchandise anytime soon. Disney is putting SO much money into their runDisney program, and yet, you can't even get training shirts for their marathons/half marathons until you're already at the Expo.

They are for sale on the Disney parks merchandise site.

 

[mdsd8700]

I am all about resort specific merchandise!! I rarely buy anything that is very general in nature and actually dislike anything with a year on it, except Christmas ornaments. The whole Disney Parks thing drives me crazy as does the combo WDW/DLR. Although I think that those posting here are probably not the norm but I would love to send an e-mail as well asking that Disney reconsider their decision to move away from resort specific items.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

They are for sale on the Disney parks merchandise site.

Those are only for the January weekend/Disneyland. If you are running the Princess, Everest, or Wine & Dine you are out of luck.

 

[mtopaz]

Totally agree! We have been going to Disney for 25 years. They used to have resort stuff all the time. We had a great Mug collection started. I think last one we got was when Boardwalk opened. Now NOTHING> I know they have lost a LOT of my money past 10-12 years.

 

[luna99]

Did anyone try emailing yet? If so did your email go through? I keep getting a message saying my email is undeliverable.

I just tried and got the same thing... so for note.. the email Thomas.Staggs@Disney.com is not working.

I tried googling for it but couldn't find his email anywhere. Anyone had any luck with this?

 

[WaltD4Me]

I just tried and got the same thing... so for note.. the email Thomas.Staggs@Disney.com is not working.

I tried googling for it but couldn't find his email anywhere. Anyone had any luck with this?

I sent an email yesterday about 2pm and it seems like it went through. I didn't get it back or an error message or anything, but who knows if it got there.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

Sorry, I just picture Pete in a Hoarders episode, with stacks of resort t-shirts and mugs lying everywhere.

There were a few t-shirts etc. at Animal Kingdom lodge when we were there. Since we've only been twice to WDW, I haven't noticed the lack of resort merchandise.

I loved the framed drawings I saw of Jambo house. Are there others available?

 

[dunbarfamily]

What is even worse is when I go to DLR and pick up something that says Disneyland on one side and Walt Disney World on the other! Or something that has a ride on it but you can tell it is the WDW version, not the DLR one. Maybe that doesn't happen at WDW but I see it at DLR. Not as often as I used to, but really, at least make it specific to the resort I visited and not one from across the country! One time I bought a pack of small miniatures and got a TOT, a Woody, and a giant tree! DLR doesn't have a giant tree! DLR should stick to selling DLR, not WDW.

I can only assume you don't see DLR merchandise at WDW?

A few trips back there was a lot of Disney doll things that had Disneyland theming on it; some even said, "Disneyland". I am at Disney WORLD, and want to buy things that say, Disney World". Same would be true as if I was at Disneyland.

I understand they can cut costs by making generic "Disney Parks" items, but I really want something specific to the park I am at. Same is true for resort-specific items.

I'm not a regular here on the Unplugged, so I'm curious as to what is the email everyone is talking about?

 

[AprilAuroraLily]

I just tried to send an email and got an undeliverable message, too. Maybe they got such a flood of responses that they got rid of that particular address?
I hope so! Maybe they'll finally get the message!

If anyone finds a working address and posts it, I have my message saved...

 

[Matt@WDWR]

I miss the old days of Resort refillable mugs and resort specific merchandise. Ahh the good old days. Now it's pretty much just pins you can find!

You would think that Disney could do a pilot program at a few resorts (Let's say Fort Wilderness, The Contemporary, DAK, and Pop) and see how the resort stuff sells. If a resort doesn't move stuff, then don't restock it.

I personally NEVER buy any clothes with the year on it.

 

[Sweettears]

Hopping on the bandwagon.

 

[DisMullins]

Ugh...I listened to the podcast on my lunch, heard the rant and was immediately on board!! HOWEVER, I just sent my email and was immediately sent an "undeliverable" message. Darn them, I think they're on to us. So Pete...what's next?! Do you have a physical addy or PO number that we can snail mail it to Mr. Skaggs? I really want to be a part of this and let them know how displeased I (and fellow Disney-goers) are!

 

[mainegal]

I can't see why people aren't happy about the non-resort specific merchandise.

Can't you be happy that you get to keep /save more of your own money instead of leaving so much money at Disney World?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I can't se why people aren't happy about the non-resosrt specific merchandise.

Can't you be happy that you get to keep /save more of your own money instead of leaving so much money at Disney World?

....or just upgrade to CL or something?

 

[mainegal]

....or just upgrade to CL or something?

Or spend the money on good food or La Nouba or a Segway tour or a behind the scenes tour - something you will not have to display, dust, store, or hoard.

 

[ShaggyB]

I can say the only good thing to come from this move was that when my wife and i went on our honeymoon to the animal kingdom lodge, they had all the lodge stuff on sale and in close out pricing. We got a bunch of animal kingdom cups for $2 a piece.

I hate that I cant go back and get more next time we go.

 

[jpeka65844]

Here's what I wrote, in case anyone is curious but I also got an "undeliverable" message:

My family have been avid Disney vacationers since 2005, attending a Disney property at the minimum of once a year. We enjoy the outstanding service, the magical surroundings, and variety of activities for everyone in our family.

We enjoyed it so much, we made the decision to purchase DVC. Our resort experiences have been so incredible that it feels wonderful to "own" the magic. For our family, our resort is a HUGE part of our trip. The atmosphere, the amenities, the location, of our home resorts (Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk, and Grand Californian) and the other resorts we've stayed at, all contribute greatly to our enjoyment of our trip.

However, over the years, we've noticed a steep decline in the resort-specific merchandise that we're able to purchase in order to commemorate our stay at these outstanding hotels. The hotel gift shops are becoming more and more generic, selling the same merchandise that you can get in any other gift shop on property. There is nothing to set shops apart from each other and make them distinctive in the eyes of a Disney shopper. As a result, our spending on souvenirs in the parks has sharply declined. My children have enough plush and plastic toys and I'm not going to purchase a generic dated Disneyworld shirt that I can get anywhere on property. I WOULD however, purchase more resort-specific merchandise that is distinctive and unique.

Here is an example: I am a pin collector and one thing I like to do is acquire pins from all the resorts I've stayed at. Our first trip was spent at Port Orleans French Quarter and I did not buy a pin that trip (I came up with the pin collecting idea on a later trip). However, on a subsequent trip, I made an effort to seek out a POFQ pin. There are no more POFQ specific pins. They are now generic PO pins without the New Orleans theming that made POFQ so special to us. Therefore, I went on Ebay and found one there, giving another party my hard-earned pin money instead of Disney.

Here is another example: On previous trips, my family enjoyed participating in the "bottomless" mug soda product at our resorts. We accumulated mugs that were resort specific and enjoyed using them at home to remind ourselves of our trips. Those mugs eventually wear out. The labels come off, a few got lost and we now are down to one. Once again, the recent homogenization of this particular item has discouraged me from ever buying it again. I don't want a mug with generic balloons and Mickey Mouse on it. I want a mug that's going to remind me of a specific trip at a specific time and place for my family.

My family wears their Disney gear proudly but our favorite attire is NOT Mickey shirts, or Goofy hats but our Boardwalk pullovers and Wilderness Lodge hoodies, all purchased some years ago when resorts still had merchandise of this kind.

We also frequent both Disneyworld and Disneyland. I am also saddened by the lack of specific merchandise to these parks. Everything seems to be slapped with the label "Disney Parks" and I tend to seek out items that are specific to each place. Merchandise has also been produced with conflicting words or graphics. For example, on a previous trip, I had seen a shirt with the "Please stand clear of the doors" monorail speech in Spanish. I loved this shirt and snatched it up, only to realize that while the logo said "Walt Disney WORLD" the picture of the castle and the monorail are those from DisneyLAND. This shows a sloppy inattention to detail, something that Disney is NOT known for!!

So please, bring back the merchandise that must appeal to so many as it appeals to me. To our family, it represents the most personal side of our trips to Disneyworld and Disneyland.

 

[Elmo888]

I know that I am JCL (Johnny-come-lately) since I just listened to the 1/5 podcast today, but I sent an email to Thomas Skaggs and it came back. So, I tried Tom.skaggs@disney.com, and it didn't come back (yet!). Maybe that will work for someone else, too.

The handle to my Wilderness Lodge mug from our 1997 honeymoon just broke in my hand about two weeks ago, so Pete's rant really hit home for me. (I just grinned when Pete said that he had a rant for his Pete-only podcast. I was wondering what Pete was going to discuss when he said that he was alone and the podcast was over an hour, but then I heard him say "rant"! Woo hoo! I love his passion!)

So, keep trying to email about the homogenization of the merchandise! Please!