where does disney fall short on merchanise

[POLY1985]

I chose adult. There is such a lack of clothing for adults, particularly women. I do not wear regular tee shirts; I like a fitted shirt style but not a skimpy teen style shirt. If you do find a women's shirt, then there are few character choices. There are usually Tink shirts or Minnie but very few princess shirts. I have yet to see a Rapunzel shirt I would buy.

 

[WDW4us2006]

I wish there were more t-shirts AND sweatshirts that didn't have something splashed all over it in bold colors and crazy designs.....I just wanted a t-shirt that said "Walt Disney World", something simple in a basic color.....can't be found. I can't believe people are actually buying some of those ugly things!

I will have to say that I LOVE what I've seen so far of the Co-Op Marketplace stuff. I want that little castle figurine and those Adventureland glasses! That's the kind of thing I like. WDW specific, updated, merchandise.

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

You should have added resort specific merchandise,I'll buy a AKL or WL shirt before I buy a generic looking park shirt.They've reduced their resort merchandise to where it's rare to non existent.Another place I was amazed at the poor choices of merchandise are the waterparks,you can't compare the amount of items available at TL or BB to Sea World's waterpark Aquatica,Aquatica blew them out of the water.Now that I start thinking about it,another area they're lacking is pet merchandise,I looked at Mousegear at Epcot and World of Disney at DTD and I don't believe they carry anything for pets.

This. They need more resort specific merch and more stuff unique to the specific park/attraction instead of the same generic junk in every single store.

When we exited the Muppet's 3D attraction and went to the Muppet's store, I was so disappointed. There was exactly one wall of Muppet's T-shirts (poor quality I might add) and maybe a few other items. The rest was just generic crap you could find in any store on property.

More DVC items would be cool too.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I picked non-clothing, my first thought also was the pet merchandise Why they ever got rid of the Pet Tails shop is still beyond me I often think not only dogs and cats but come on you know how many people own horses ? It's common knowledge that kids love horses too

Remember the My Little Pony craze and how popular Breyer horse products are There are so many Disney character horses They could sell so many things with those characters on them Planners are definitely NOT thinking outside of the box See that hay bag in my signature line? The horse's name is Maxine I would buy one of those with a Disney horse on it ( probably Maximus ) in a heartbeat

There is so much more that can be improved quality yes but so sick of seeing the same things over and over again You get a better selection at the super Wal-Mart not far from WDW

The biggest thing missed:
Resort and park specific merchandise like the good old days

 

[CNYDisneyFan]

Even though it's not one of the poll choices, resort and park specific merchandise.

 

[Vivianne]

Now that Disney casual T-shirts have reached and exceeded the $30 mark, and are so thin you need to think about what color bra to wear with them, they are off my souvenir list. I used to splurge and get 2-4, a few for the kids, too. It was a special souvenir of our WDW vacation. Now, the shirts don't say something WDW related, maybe they say Disney Parks, or nothing at all. Why bother spending extra money for a cheap discount store shirt I can get at home? And, why is there no longer a Disney category of good clothing for people who don't want cheap stuff? Every trip I would get the china figurines for my DD. Now stuff is made out of I-don't-know-what and probably doesn't biodegrade, either. I won't buy. At the World of Disney store, one room had wall-to-wall Disney dolls, with clothing and accessories. I'm sorry to say, the dolls did not look anything at all like the Disney characters they claimed to be. It was embarrasing to have Disney's name on them. Definitely there's been a turning point where those who cared about the Disney brand have been replaced with MBAs and CPAs who could easily plan generic merchandise for Anywhere, Planet Earth. It's all about the bottom line to them, not the Disney traditions. And we, the guest, have had our Disney Magic greatly diminished.

My sentiments exactly. I wanted to buy a Rapunzel doll but didn't want to pay for a generic doll with her clothes. The only one who remotely resembled her was in Disney Infinity.

The adult tshirts are not worth the price.

 

[aprincessatlast]

I've had spring rolls wrapped in rice paper thicker than their t-shirts, so I vote quality.

So true! I could not believe some of the shirts that they had for sale. I remember when I was a kid stopping at those t-shirt places right outside of Disney where they sell like 5 t's for $10 or something crazy. (you know the places I am talking about) and laughing that I had pantyhose thicker than the t-shirts offered there. Like rolling on the floor with laughter at these places while browsing. When I saw these same type of t-shirts offered at the actual Disney this time priced at $30. Well lets just say I was on the floor but not laughing.

 

[englanddg]

Quality if always important.

Variety is a big one though. So little now.

Remember...
Snowglobes?
Resort merchandise?
Variety of statues & figures?
The tiny china figures?
Items for your Pets?
Merchandise from almost every disney movie, represented in some way?
WDW EVERYTHING instead of "Disney Parks"?
Unique stores, such as Villains in Vogue? (I know the store is still there, but it's not unique in its offerings like it once was)

It's almost all generic now.

This would be my vote entirely.

So much of the merch has been standardized, I don't even do much shopping at the parks anymore. I just go to World of Disney towards the end of the trip.

Most of the stores carry MOST of the very same things!

 

[aprincessatlast]

This would be my vote entirely.

So much of the merch has been standardized, I don't even do much shopping at the parks anymore. I just go to World of Disney towards the end of the trip.

Most of the stores carry MOST of the very same things!

Yes!! Seeing how there is a gift shop outside of every ride. I forced my kids to run through the store as it was just wasting time browsing at the same things you can all find at the world of disney.

I am not sure what it will take to get them to realize that some silly band on my wrist is not going to make me spend more money but actually seeing something unique and worth buying is what will do it?!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

My friend the Mad Hatter will be amazed I agreed with him on something.... (ok joking with you here).....................but *Quality* hands down has gotten worse and worse over the years.

I would suggest they stop using so much slave labor from China.

I would add the lack of individual resort items.


AKK

 

[1 DISNEY FAN]

I was very disappointed with the merchandise. I wanted jungle book t shirt/ jumper anything for my son. Thought they would sell it in animal kingdom. No. Every shop in all the parks sold the same things. Once you had been in one shop there was no point going in another. Wanted a back pack for my son for school couldn't see any for ages apart from an adult looking one with disney world on. Finally found one in the little shop opposite tsmm. Was a lucky find. Would have spent a lot more money if there had been better/ more choice to buy.

 

[RogueKnits]

I voted "adult" but I mean "women". Would like to see more t-shirts specifically cut for women, but with some of the same designs as the men's (they call them "adult" but they're cut for men) shirts. I'm thinking soft v-necks that are longer length so they come down to your hips. They do have some shirts cut for women, but they tend to have Minnie/Tink and I want something a little more vintage feeling, like the design here: http://www.disneystore.com/walt-disney-world-postcard-tee-for-adults/mp/1351284/1000228/

Incidentally, my husband and I each bought a t-shirt at home to wear at Disney. He got his at the Disney store (a nice, vintage-looking ringer with Mickey). I got mine at Hot Topic (sort of a Warhol-esque design with the pre-2000s princesses) because they had the kind of shirt I would wear.

 

[Sparkly]

Better quality t-shirts. Even one I got in 2011 is thick, good quality and still fits well. I got one in 2012 that had holes in it after 10 months.

And pet stuff!

 

[Reddog1134]

I know a lot of people say the quality has gone down but I bought a t-shirt from Old Key West in 2010. The material is kind of thin and a little coarse.

Last year I bought a t-shirt from Beach Club. It's thicker and very soft.

 

[k5thbeatle]

No choice for "all of the above"?

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Where do I even begin????

Definitely more resort specific and park specific. For example, when I visit Disneyland, I want things to say Disneyland. When I visit Disney World, I want them to read Disney World.

Also, big fails with their Disney Channel summer movies. When Lemonade Mouth came out two summers ago, there was NOTHING available. Last summer, we were ready to spend big bucks on Teen Beach Movie merchandise, I think we saw one shirt somewhere. I mean, come on. There could have been so many tie-ins with that movie. They advertised that movie for almost six months in advance on the Disney Channel. We waited and waited for it and loved it when we saw it. Why advertise the heck out of something and then having NOTHING for people to buy? It doesn't make any sense to me.

An epic fail with the Frozen merchandise. Can't even imagine what they were thinking with that. Merchandise requires months and months of lead time to get it manufactured and shipped to the US, I get that. But you would think Disney would have that timeline down to a science by now. Wow.

DH and I traveled to DW for our 10th anniversary trip in Nov. 1999. We went shopping one day at DTD and I can't even tell you how many things we bought that we absolutely loved! One was a fold-up umbrella that came in a little sleeve -- we kept it in our car and used it for years. A little thing, but such a fun memory of our trip and shopping together. There was a huge selection at that store. I don't find that to be the case any longer.

 

[Mad Hattered]

My friend the Mad Hatter will be amazed I agreed with him on something....
AKK

 

[slickpoetry]

I've never shopped in the parks, our first trip is this October. I wanted to find matching shirts for me, my wife, our five year old son, and our two year old daughter for when we are in the park.

I went to the Disney Merchandise website. I was hoping they would just have a category like "matching outfits" or something like that but of course that wasn't there. So I looked at the adult mens shirts, the adult womens shirts, the kids shirts, and the toddler shirts.

I couldn't find a design that crossed all four categories. There was one that was close, but it was only available in red (i think) for adults and grey and pink for children and toddlers, respectively. So even though the picture on the front's the same, we wouldn't be matching at all which kind of defeats the purpose.

I just thought this would be easy. I mean Disney knows that people match shirts when they go to the parks--its more fun and it helps with safety (harder to get separated from each other when you're all in the same color). Why do they choose not to serve this market segment?

 

[karly05]

You should have added resort specific merchandise,I'll buy a AKL or WL shirt before I buy a generic looking park shirt.They've reduced their resort merchandise to where it's rare to non existent.

THIS!!! I would love to have a POFQ t-shirt.

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

I wish there were more t-shirts AND sweatshirts that didn't have something splashed all over it in bold colors and crazy designs.....I just wanted a t-shirt that said "Walt Disney World", something simple in a basic color.....can't be found. I can't believe people are actually buying some of those ugly things!

I totally agree. I don't own any Disney World clothes because of this reason. It's just an overload of colors and overload of design. Works for kids, I suppose, but not always for adults.