Shop Disney Parks App is Ridiculous!

[Hikergirl]

I love the app! I was able to do some souvenir shopping before my trip. No worries about finding it at the parks, trying to find room to pack it all and the bonus I saved 25% that I wouldn't have at the parks!

 

[PrncessA]

Sorry you had trouble with it. I will give you an alternative. My wife had a Star Wars shirt and hers got ruined. She looked all over Disney and couldn't find it. Faced with a wife who was near suicidal, I went to the app. It said there was one right down the street. My wife said she looked in that store and they didn't have it. I left DW sitting there in her misery and followed the app into the store. it pointed me to a wall I went to said wall. There were star wars shirts there, but not the one I wanted. So I asked a CM. I pointed them to the app and a picture of the alleged shirt that showed it at that wall. The CM said that the app is usually not wrong and they should have it. She ducked in back and emerged 1 minute later with said shirt in said size. She explained that the wall has limited space so they sometimes switch the shirt out that is showing to move merchandise, but the wall the app pointed to was right on the ball.

So in my case it led me to the shirt I wanted like a bloodhound on a scent.

DW's face was priceless when I returned with her beloved long lost shirt.

I am glad it worked out for you like that. In EVERY store that I went to, where it said it was in stock, I ask and after double checking that I wasn't blind and overlooking in on the shelf, some said they didn't have a store room (which may or may not be true) and others like Mouse Gears looked backstage and didn't find any.

I love the app! I was able to do some souvenir shopping before my trip. No worries about finding it at the parks, trying to find room to pack it all and the bonus I saved 25% that I wouldn't have at the parks!

I'm guessing you were using it to shop and have things sent to you, which I have not used it to do. They advertise it as a way to find what you are looking for in the parks if the store you are in doesn't have in stock, in addition to being able to buy and ship on the app as well.

I could have easily bought the plush on the app and had it shipped home, but that would not have worked as our children were eagerly awaiting their surprise souvenir that we were bringing home.


If Disney is going to advertise an app to make spending your money at Disney easier, it should work! It shouldn't have been that hard to hand Disney my money, they make it so easy everywhere else.

 

[Hikergirl]

I am glad it worked out for you like that. In EVERY store that I went to, where it said it was in stock, I ask and after double checking that I wasn't blind and overlooking in on the shelf, some said they didn't have a store room (which may or may not be true) and others like Mouse Gears looked backstage and didn't find any.



I'm guessing you were using it to shop and have things sent to you, which I have not used it to do. They advertise it as a way to find what you are looking for in the parks if the store you are in doesn't have in stock, in addition to being able to buy and ship on the app as well.

I could have easily bought the plush on the app and had it shipped home, but that would not have worked as our children were eagerly awaiting their surprise souvenir that we were bringing home.


If Disney is going to advertise a app to make spending your money at Disney easier, it should work! It shouldn't have been that hard to hand Disney my money, they make it so easy everywhere else.

Oh I totally get your frustration, but when it comes to Disney IT I don't expect too much anyway so I'm not surprised they don't have it set up where they have real time inventory checking.
The APP is great for pre-buying. I knew what I was getting for my kids already so I just checked the app and everything was available. My kids are older though, they aren't that excited about souvenirs anymore LOL

 

[PrncessA]

Oh I totally get your frustration, but when it comes to Disney IT I don't expect too much anyway so I'm not surprised they don't have it set up where they have real time inventory checking.
The APP is great for pre-buying. I knew what I was getting for my kids already so I just checked the app and everything was available. My kids are older though, they aren't that excited about souvenirs anymore LOL

I miss the days when they were so little that I could pre-buy their gifts and surprise them with "Tinkerbell brought it while you were sleeping!" Those were the days!

Disney IT is an oxymoron. LOL Normally I can deal with the lack of reliability, but this really frustrated me.

 

[wilkeliza]

I was just thinking the in stock technology is never 100% accurate or worth wild no matter what company uses it. It is mostly because it depends on the accuracy of the people scanning items and the accuracy of inventory audits and how often those are done. I use to work on the team that did that at Wal-Mart and we were never 100% accurate.

It also is the fact that it should be there maybe 1 left but say a little kid walked out with it and no one caught it. That 1 will show as being available until the inventory is done. I imagine Disney probably does inventory once a year. Doesn't explain why it was showing available at several stores but I never trust the available at this location stuff no matter who is in charge. It just makes me super frustrated. If it is something I really want I usually call myself.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

To be fair Disney Parks App isn't the only app that can have inventory problems.

In fact Walmart's app is woefully out of date on inventory at least for me. In my case I think there is a disconnect with the store locations and their inventory list. I have no idea how often they are updated but I've been in a specific location that says they have something, like my cat's dry food in a 16lb bag in stock in that store...but when I'm there they don't have that flavor like there isn't even a price tag for that flavor even though the app said they had several in stock.

I've had inventory of Command strips be completely out of wack...sure it's plausible that a person could have been in the store right before me and bought the 18 packages of command strips that the app said that particular store had in stock in which each package holds a bunch of them...but it's doubtful.

Where I think the OPs situation became a real issue is lack of calling to the other store locations to see if they had what they wanted in stock and if they could hold one for them instead of just saying "go to this place, no wait go to this place". Even if they didn't outright offer it I would still request it.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

Even to the front of the park they were saying it could take until later in the afternoon? Now that is ridiculous. They could just have someone walk it up front.

I've actually been told this at the register before when we wanted our purchases taken to the front of the park for us to pick up before we left the park later that evening. We were told it would take several hours before it would be there. We were in the Emporium! Husband said forget it as he didn't trust it to make it if it was going to take that long to make it to a location we could see from the doorway!

 

[wilkeliza]

To be fair Disney Parks App isn't the only app that can have inventory problems.

In fact Walmart's app is woefully out of date on inventory at least for me. In my case I think there is a disconnect with the store locations and their inventory list. I have no idea how often they are updated but I've been in a specific location that says they have something, like my cat's dry food in a 16lb bag in stock in that store...but when I'm there they don't have that flavor like there isn't even a price tag for that flavor even though the app said they had several in stock.

I've had inventory of Command strips be completely out of wack...sure it's plausible that a person could have been in the store right before me and bought the 18 packages of command strips that the app said that particular store had in stock in which each package holds a bunch of them...but it's doubtful.

Where I think the OPs situation became a real issue is lack of calling to the other store locations to see if they had what they wanted in stock and if they could hold one for them instead of just saying "go to this place, no wait go to this place". Even if they didn't outright offer it I would still request it.

Walmart inventory is redone as a store 1 time a year (the biggest system I've worked with) and department to department when ever they have the staff to do it. Usually it is the over night crews responsible for keeping it updated but it is hard when the person at the register may see 2 bags of science diet cat food and scan 1 twice even though one bag is chicken and one is salmon.

 

[Mel522]

While I completely understand your frustration, and I would also be frustrated, it was my understanding that this was not the purpose of the app. It was my understanding that the app was so that you could buy items that are only available in the parks, outside the parks and have it shipped to you. If my understanding is correct, I would think that the inventory status on the app is probably not updated constantly.

There are items in the app that are only available to purchase in store. You cannot have them shipped to you.

 

[bpadair32]

There are items in the app that are only available to purchase in store. You cannot have them shipped to you.

Thanks for the clarification I was not aware of that.

 

[mizzougrad91]

I was under the impression that one of the ways the app could be used was by scanning any item, using the bar code function in the app, from any Disney Park/Resort shop and then the item is added to your shopping cart. Once you have all the items you want you can check out using the app, and select ship to home. I asked a Disney CM on the phone about this and they said for example if you see a shirt you want in say the Emporium and they don't have your size, the app scans all the Disney inventory and if they have it, the app will add it to your cart. I have yet to use it in the parks so I am also curious to see how it works.

 

[siskaren]

Is there a web equivalent to the disney parks app? What happens if someone doesn't have an iDevice (like... my mom!)

Does she not have any kind of smart phone, or just not an iPhone? Because the app is available for Android phones.

 

[wilkeliza]

I was under the impression that one of the ways the app could be used was by scanning any item, using the bar code function in the app, from any Disney Park/Resort shop and then the item is added to your shopping cart. Once you have all the items you want you can check out using the app, and select ship to home. I asked a Disney CM on the phone about this and they said for example if you see a shirt you want in say the Emporium and they don't have your size, the app scans all the Disney inventory and if they have it, the app will add it to your cart. I have yet to use it in the parks so I am also curious to see how it works.

Not all items can be bought and shipped but most can. The thing I see the most are new magicbands. It will tell you where to find it but not allow it for shipping.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We just got back from our first ever adults only trip, which meant we had to of course find our kids the "perfect" souvenir to bring home. We decided that the "Baby" Ariel Plush would be perfect for our daughter, she had wanted it on our last trip but didn't buy it. They were sold out in the Emporium where we were shopping. (Please keep in mind we did not plan ahead well and were doing this on our last day before catching the bus back to the airport, which made this a dire situation, OUR FAULT not Disney's)

Here is where Disney completely failed. I love all of the technology advances that Disney has announced. I am a big fan of MagicBands, My Disney Experience and FP+. Even with the sometimes glitches, I use them all and love them. Of course I downloaded the Shop Disney Parks App...

When the item was sold out at the Emporium, I looked on the app and it was available at Castle Couture. We headed there, since we had a FP+ in Fantasyland anyway. Was it there? Nope. We ask a CM and the answer was, "Sorry, the app is wrong. Try Fantasy Faire.", which also had it in stock on the app. Was it there? Nope. They sent us to Sir Mickey's, nope. Did any CM do anything other than look in the exact same spots that we looked? Nope. No one offered to call any other stores..

At this point we decided that we would check in Epcot since it said it was in stock at Mouse Gears, as we were headed to Epcot anyway to pick something up before heading back to the resort. When we arrived and did not find the plush, we ask a CM (I saved her from looking on the shelf again) and after 3 CM's and a manager got involved, we were told to head over to Gateway Gifts near Spaceship Earth, which ironically was not showing on the Shop Parks app as in stock. I requested that they call over and confirm, since at this point I had picked out a backup gift to get if needed and I was not walking back to Mouse Gears if they were wrong. They did have it and our ordeal was over, but boy what a waste of our time.

The Shop Parks App is a great idea, but what awful execution. Has anyone else had this type of experience with it?

Wow this sounds like an awful experience! We had a similar experience but it was before the app was introduced. I had gotten my son a mickey sketch book and he LOVED it, but that night when we got back into the hotel there was issues with our magic bands opening our room door and we had to go through a lot of hoops to get into our room again. Anyways when we were finally able to get into our room we were so relieved that we left our souvenir bag in the scooter basket outside our room while the scooter was charging...not even remembering it until the next day. Anyways the only things we had in there was a minnie plush (which you can buy practically anywhere) and then the sketchbook. When we went out the next morning to get ready for the day we just saw the empty bag in the scooter and thats when I started to freak a little. I mean they are just things and things can be replaced. We were able to replace the minnie plush super easily but I forgot where we even got the mickey sketch book and guest services were of no use to us. You would think staying at the Grand Floridian they could tell you where you could buy the darn sketch book. Anyways, we were going to Epcot that day so we looked in Mousegears but they didn't have it, and when I talked to the CM about it they were really helpful and she felt really sorry for our situation and she got on her computer and tried to track 1 down for us. She found 1 and it turned out to be at the gift shop at the Grand Floridian...go figure! They weren't open yet by the time we were leaving so we couldn't check there...anyways she wanted to just double check that the computer was right so she called over to them and had them put 1 behind the counter for us to pick up when we got back to our resort that night. Lesson learned now...never put souvenirs in the scooter basket, lol...always keep them in your book bag or just have them sent back to your room...oh well, anyways this is a total bummer about the app though bc I also have the app and was planning on using it to locate certain things on our next trip in March...hoping it will work ok for us then!

 

[DavidNYC]

I was under the impression that one of the ways the app could be used was by scanning any item, using the bar code function in the app, from any Disney Park/Resort shop and then the item is added to your shopping cart. Once you have all the items you want you can check out using the app, and select ship to home. I asked a Disney CM on the phone about this and they said for example if you see a shirt you want in say the Emporium and they don't have your size, the app scans all the Disney inventory and if they have it, the app will add it to your cart. I have yet to use it in the parks so I am also curious to see how it works.

That's how we used it a lot. We always see 100 things we want to buy over the course of our trip but obviously we're not getting them all. The app is great since it let's us scan and save and towards the end of the trip review all the things we saw and pick which ones we actually want to get (and last time get shipped for free which was great for breakable stuff)

 

[mizzougrad91]

That's how we used it a lot. We always see 100 things we want to buy over the course of our trip but obviously we're not getting them all. The app is great since it let's us scan and save and towards the end of the trip review all the things we saw and pick which ones we actually want to get (and last time get shipped for free which was great for breakable stuff)

That is great to hear. I can't wait to use it. I like your method..great idea!

 

[SillySallySews]

I love the app! I mostly use it to shop from home and it's a million times better than the regular Disney Store app or website. Shipping is cheaper and my orders ship much faster. I've also had good luck using it to locate things in the parks. I just used it last month to find a wallet that a CM told me was sold out everywhere. I went to the first store the app the suggested and there were probably 50 of them sitting on a shelf. It makes me sad to hear people are frustrated with the app because it's truly one of my favorites!

 

[My GSD Rules]

This app is disappointing if you have your CC mailing address as a PO box. Living in a rural area I have all CC mailing sent to the PO box. The response to my complaint was, our app doesn't allow PO Box as a valid mailing. Seriously??!! There's no more shopping from home for me. So much for surprise presents.

 

[dekraut]

We used it last Jan during our trip and worked great for us. My daughter was looking for the baby Elsa in a blanket plush. I pulled it up in the app, and it told me several places near us had a "limited quantity" which I knew meant that they may or may not have them in stock. We tried the two closest with no luck. We saw that the gift shop at the Grand Floridian had plenty of them in stock so we took the boat from MK to GF and found our way to that BEAUTIFUL main building (we had never been in there before). We tracked down the gift shop and pick it up. We used it one more time to find the baby Lady plush at HS. I imagine it is hard to pinpoint exact quantities as quickly as they are purchased/replenished, but we've had good luck with it.

 

[erionm]

That's outrageous. If it's not meant to track things down in the parks, then it shouldn't have that level of info. Glad it all worked out in the end

Retail inventory tracking isn't perfect. There can be any number of reason why physical inventory differs from computer inventory. Every merchant in the world that has an inventory database is going to have differences between actual & computer inventory.