Whenever you go to a Disneystore for a first time you expect to find LOTS of stuff about the movies and a whole lot of merchandise. And in reality they always have so few to offer.
I've been to the NY, Seville and Puerto Rico ones and they're all the same.
Yes. I know they have to sell what sells (princesses and the movie that's on theaters or just released on DVD/Blu Ray) but they still can sell more.
In PR they have at the moment stuff for Tinkerbell, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Disney Villains (female ones)...but it's basically the same stuff. The same mugs and the same glasses.
You go look for plush toys... and the same old characters.
I, personally, want to find things of movies and characters I can't find elsewhere.
...you just have to turn the corner to find a store that sells Disney princesses, Brave and even some villains' stuff.
At the very least put some thought and variety into it.
If they're selling stuff for Tinkerbell, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and the Villains let me find shirts in one line, plush toys in other, collectibles in another one... Don't just sell the same mugs and glasses changing the characters and colors.
What about watches, clocks, unusual things...
PS
I know Disney would obviously want to benefit from the Marvel license...but it really hurts to see it on sell at the same place. Taking space they could be using for truly Disney/Pixar stuff.
...besides, it's not like they have the rights to every single character like Warner does on DC.
...to me this stuff should be selling online or at the parks. They don't even offer something for adults.
Why Disney Stores don't live to expectations? (merchandise)
Why Disney Stores don't live to expectations? (merchandise)
Last edited by DC Fan on Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
A couple of ideas came to mind:
1. Instead of the Marvel space I would devote that for an X film merchandise for a period of time.
Let's say every 4 months they'd be selling Hercules' stuff.
...4 months later, The Great Mouse Detective.
...plus, updating the merchandise.
2. Why don't they sell ALL their movies. Yeah, even the Limited Edition ones always?
How?
Not making them Specials.
That is, the only way to get Diamond movies would be by buying them when released. If someone decides to buy them from the Disneystore they'd be buying the movie itself (without the extras or different ones).
1. Instead of the Marvel space I would devote that for an X film merchandise for a period of time.
Let's say every 4 months they'd be selling Hercules' stuff.
...4 months later, The Great Mouse Detective.
...plus, updating the merchandise.
2. Why don't they sell ALL their movies. Yeah, even the Limited Edition ones always?
How?
Not making them Specials.
That is, the only way to get Diamond movies would be by buying them when released. If someone decides to buy them from the Disneystore they'd be buying the movie itself (without the extras or different ones).
As a merchandise cast member in the parks, I definitely understand your qualms. In fact, each time we hold a "suggestions" meeting, I bring up the lack of variety in what we offer. I work in several different "themed" stores - the villains store, the princess store, the studio store, an animation gallery, among others... all seemingly specific stores, yet you can find everything we sell at many other stores around the parks, with a couple exceptions.
On the one hand, I understand why - like you said, we have to stock what sells. Everyone that comes to Disney World wants a Mickey plush. Everyone wants a 2012 dated souvenir... Etc.
On the other hand, though... It's Disney World, for Christs sake! It ought to be the one place in the world where you can actually find Disney merch that you can't find anywhere else. And there certainly is some... But not nearly enough, in my opinion.
That said, regular Disney Stores are actually a bright spot for me, usually. A lot d cast members go to the mall to do their Disney shopping, because they, can you believe it, get a bigger variety than we do at the parks. Disney Store is able to change things up more often than we can at the parks. Their rotation of merchandise is much quicker, so finding new things (albeit of most of the same old characters) is usually a fun time. Last time I went in I was happy to see a new line of Classics mugs using old imagery of all of Walt's movies. Also, new plushes of Captain Hook and Tic Toc (for Jake and the Neverland Pirates, but still).
Anyways, I totally get what you mean. I think were seeing upswing of Disney merch though. In the past year the ideas seem better and the execution seems better. Hopefully they continue that trend and are able to add more variety to things.
On the one hand, I understand why - like you said, we have to stock what sells. Everyone that comes to Disney World wants a Mickey plush. Everyone wants a 2012 dated souvenir... Etc.
On the other hand, though... It's Disney World, for Christs sake! It ought to be the one place in the world where you can actually find Disney merch that you can't find anywhere else. And there certainly is some... But not nearly enough, in my opinion.
That said, regular Disney Stores are actually a bright spot for me, usually. A lot d cast members go to the mall to do their Disney shopping, because they, can you believe it, get a bigger variety than we do at the parks. Disney Store is able to change things up more often than we can at the parks. Their rotation of merchandise is much quicker, so finding new things (albeit of most of the same old characters) is usually a fun time. Last time I went in I was happy to see a new line of Classics mugs using old imagery of all of Walt's movies. Also, new plushes of Captain Hook and Tic Toc (for Jake and the Neverland Pirates, but still).
Anyways, I totally get what you mean. I think were seeing upswing of Disney merch though. In the past year the ideas seem better and the execution seems better. Hopefully they continue that trend and are able to add more variety to things.
Thank you so much for your insight information. 
Amazing how here I am complaining about the lack of variety and you tell me they do offer more than in the actual parks.
PS
I did find a Tic Toc, Captain Hook...and...*gasp* even a Rajah plush toy in the PR store!
As mentioned Disney (like every company) has to sell what's hot. But, as you said... it's Disney! You could basically sell ANYTHING as long as it has the Disney logo on it would sell.
PS2
I have a question and I'd like to know what you have to say about it.
I went to the PR Disneystore looking for a couple of PR Mickey Mouse plush toys.
By then I could only get one.
...they ran out of them.
Still they had one for display. I asked if they could sell me that one and was told no.
Why? If you don't have anymore to sell, why keep on displaying that one? You could have made a purchase of that last one at least.
...on the other hand the employee made me a 25% discount for not being able to get it. Very nice move but still doesn't compensate.
Amazing how here I am complaining about the lack of variety and you tell me they do offer more than in the actual parks.
PS
I did find a Tic Toc, Captain Hook...and...*gasp* even a Rajah plush toy in the PR store!
As mentioned Disney (like every company) has to sell what's hot. But, as you said... it's Disney! You could basically sell ANYTHING as long as it has the Disney logo on it would sell.
PS2
I have a question and I'd like to know what you have to say about it.
I went to the PR Disneystore looking for a couple of PR Mickey Mouse plush toys.
By then I could only get one.
...they ran out of them.
Still they had one for display. I asked if they could sell me that one and was told no.
Why? If you don't have anymore to sell, why keep on displaying that one? You could have made a purchase of that last one at least.
...on the other hand the employee made me a 25% discount for not being able to get it. Very nice move but still doesn't compensate.
Last edited by DC Fan on Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
Well, it isn't necessarily that they have more than the parks, but that they get to switch it up. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely some cool stuff here - but a lot of the stuff we sell is literally the same exact stuff we were selling three or four years ago (or longer). When you think about the fact that many people don't make it to Disney more than once or twice in their whole life, that isn't an issue. But for those of us that are there often, it gets a little dull, merchandise wise. That's why so many annual pass holders are pin and vinylmation collectors - because those come and go and new series come out all the time.
Disney Store has to keep their merchandise rotated much more often than every year or two, because their customers come in much more often than that.
Disney Store has to keep their merchandise rotated much more often than every year or two, because their customers come in much more often than that.
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carolinakid
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Our Disney Store (Atlantic County, NJ) closed last month but it had been YEARS since I shopped there after they stopped carrying adult clothing and collectibles (WDCC specifically).
I rarely buy anything in the parks these days. I used to like resort specific merchandise which has all but disappeared and I usually get a new DL or WDW sweat shirt every year but that's about it as far as souvenir buying goes.
I rarely buy anything in the parks these days. I used to like resort specific merchandise which has all but disappeared and I usually get a new DL or WDW sweat shirt every year but that's about it as far as souvenir buying goes.
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DisneyDude2010
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Re: Why Disney Stores don't live to expectations? (merchandi
Ummmm. You do know that Pixar was brought by Disney just as Disney's brought Marvel. Both Marvel and Pixar are part of the Disney Company, So they're are as you'd say both "truly Disney stuff". Sorry the post kinda contradicts itself. But I 100% agree with you on the lack of variety in the stores.DC Fan wrote: I know Disney would obviously want to benefit from the Marvel license...but it really hurts to see it on sell at the same place. Taking space they could be using for truly Disney/Pixar stuff.
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. - Walt Disney
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Wonderlicious
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I don't know what the US Disney Stores are like, but every time I walk into a Disney Store in the UK now, I just feel unhappy. I know that, as a 24 year-old male with no kids, I'm not exactly part of the company's main target demographic. I also realise that I'm probably basing a lot of my distaste on the fact that I want every Disney Store to look like the ones I went to as a child (aka early 90s clashing turquoise and magenta against black, extremely cheesy dioramas). Yet when all is said and done, I do think there is little that appeals to me in most of today's UK Disney Stores, and I think that most of the few adult Disney aficionados in this country would agree.
Now, I will give them their due and say that the quality of the merchandise in the Disney Store looks ten thousand times better than most of the licensed items. Yet as a generally stingy adult who is absolutely uninterested in collection most things (but above all toys), I end up passing on nearly everything. And it's not as though the Disney Store never tried to appeal to adult fans. I remember there used to be Disney art books on sale in the Disney Store when I was a child and teenager; nowadays such a thing would be unheard of. Of course, there's also always a stash of Disney Blu-Rays and DVDs, but I know I'd be able to get them cheaper elsewhere. All there really is now for adult collectors are pins and snow globes, neither of which I'm particularly interested in.
I will admit, though, that I like their mugs, though they have sadly kinda phased out my favourite type of mug. They were "Walt Disney Classics" mugs - simple, medium-sized coffee mugs that would feature a wrap round scene, packaged in a nice collectable box (here are some examples I found online, the former of which I own: 1 2). Though some of the E-Bay selling prices for old ones can be high, they were relatively inexpensive when all is said and done (about £5, equivalent to around $8 depending on the exchange rate). A new bunch would come out every year for a short time, and there'd be a whole range of films and characters depicted, ranging from Snow White and The Lion King to Cars and The Nightmare Before Christmas. In fact, I think most major Disney animated films, aside from the real box-office bombs or completely forgotten films, had a mug in this series. Unfortunately, Disney have now changed the shape of the Classics mugs and dropped the box, and they also now only theme them to princess films.
Now, I will give them their due and say that the quality of the merchandise in the Disney Store looks ten thousand times better than most of the licensed items. Yet as a generally stingy adult who is absolutely uninterested in collection most things (but above all toys), I end up passing on nearly everything. And it's not as though the Disney Store never tried to appeal to adult fans. I remember there used to be Disney art books on sale in the Disney Store when I was a child and teenager; nowadays such a thing would be unheard of. Of course, there's also always a stash of Disney Blu-Rays and DVDs, but I know I'd be able to get them cheaper elsewhere. All there really is now for adult collectors are pins and snow globes, neither of which I'm particularly interested in.
I will admit, though, that I like their mugs, though they have sadly kinda phased out my favourite type of mug. They were "Walt Disney Classics" mugs - simple, medium-sized coffee mugs that would feature a wrap round scene, packaged in a nice collectable box (here are some examples I found online, the former of which I own: 1 2). Though some of the E-Bay selling prices for old ones can be high, they were relatively inexpensive when all is said and done (about £5, equivalent to around $8 depending on the exchange rate). A new bunch would come out every year for a short time, and there'd be a whole range of films and characters depicted, ranging from Snow White and The Lion King to Cars and The Nightmare Before Christmas. In fact, I think most major Disney animated films, aside from the real box-office bombs or completely forgotten films, had a mug in this series. Unfortunately, Disney have now changed the shape of the Classics mugs and dropped the box, and they also now only theme them to princess films.
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Elladorine
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I was looking for this gorgeous tote bag maybe a year ago:
I used my phone to show the image to my local Disney Store and asked if they carried it, or if they knew where I might be able to find it (at the time it was available online through the Disney Store and other shops). The lady said, "We don't carry anything that nice here," and when she realized how that came off she quickly tried to correct herself by claiming they do carry "nice" things, but admitted most products were aimed at children.
I miss the Disney Store from the days when I was a teenager, when they carried jewelry, art books (and a lot of Disney books in general), wallets, cigarette cases (yes, I used to own a Mickey Mouse cigarette case bought from the Disney Store in Chicago), nice jewelry/music boxes, and the figurines. I do walk into the store every time I hit the mall but I usually don't see anything I'm interested in buying. I actually prefer the amount of variety that can be found at Downtown Disney but it's not like I can go very often.
I used my phone to show the image to my local Disney Store and asked if they carried it, or if they knew where I might be able to find it (at the time it was available online through the Disney Store and other shops). The lady said, "We don't carry anything that nice here," and when she realized how that came off she quickly tried to correct herself by claiming they do carry "nice" things, but admitted most products were aimed at children.
I miss the Disney Store from the days when I was a teenager, when they carried jewelry, art books (and a lot of Disney books in general), wallets, cigarette cases (yes, I used to own a Mickey Mouse cigarette case bought from the Disney Store in Chicago), nice jewelry/music boxes, and the figurines. I do walk into the store every time I hit the mall but I usually don't see anything I'm interested in buying. I actually prefer the amount of variety that can be found at Downtown Disney but it's not like I can go very often.
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DisneyAnimation88
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Agreed, the Disney Stores here in the UK are pretty crappy unless you're a fan of Marvel, Cars or the Disney Princess franchise. When I was on holiday at WDW last year, we went to the Florida Mall and came across some Oswald merchandise at the Disney Store there which was pretty cool. In my experience, as much as some feel the Disney Store's in the US have gone downhill, their still far better than those we have here.Wonderlicious wrote:I don't know what the US Disney Stores are like, but every time I walk into a Disney Store in the UK now, I just feel unhappy. I know that, as a 24 year-old male with no kids, I'm not exactly part of the company's main target demographic. I also realise that I'm probably basing a lot of my distaste on the fact that I want every Disney Store to look like the ones I went to as a child (aka early 90s clashing turquoise and magenta against black, extremely cheesy dioramas). Yet when all is said and done, I do think there is little that appeals to me in most of today's UK Disney Stores, and I think that most of the few adult Disney aficionados in this country would agree.
We're not going to Guam, are we?
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Super Aurora
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Even if you're a fan of Marvel, most people (meaning majority of comic fans being teenagers to young adults) usually go to quality comic book stores (like Jim Haley's Universe, Midtown Comics etc)and such to get their awesome Marvel stuff. Not at a shitty Disney store.
Like Enigmawing, I also miss the old Disney Store style too back in early 90's. Back then it had actually variety and good stuff. Now only place for all that is at the big Disney store in WDW's Downtown Disney
Like Enigmawing, I also miss the old Disney Store style too back in early 90's. Back then it had actually variety and good stuff. Now only place for all that is at the big Disney store in WDW's Downtown Disney
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So far, the only Marvel merchandise I've seen at Disney Stores or the parks, are various kinds of toys you can easily get anywhere else, like Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart etc. Oh, not to mention the DVDs of various films and cartoons that Disney has some involvement with, and maybe a comic collection or two if you're lucky.
Even Universal still has more exclusive Marvel stuff than any Disney-related area.
Even Universal still has more exclusive Marvel stuff than any Disney-related area.
That just confirms my opinion that this section should be replaced.Avaitor wrote:So far, the only Marvel merchandise I've seen at Disney Stores or the parks, are various kinds of toys you can easily get anywhere else, like Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart etc. Oh, not to mention the DVDs of various films and cartoons that Disney has some involvement with, and maybe a comic collection or two if you're lucky.
Even Universal still has more exclusive Marvel stuff than any Disney-related area.
They don't sell that many quality and/or diverse merchandise as to worse things taking off space that could benefit from true Disney/Pixar stuff.
As someone said earlier... when anyone (adult or kid) goes to a Disney Store is to buy Disney stuff. Not Marvel. If by any chance you happen to find something you like (kids: since last time I was there saw costumes and cheap plastic toys) that to me is just chance.
Still, the online store is the same. I tried making several searches and found very little and stuff that's already in their regular stores.
The Disney store in my area closed down about 5 years ago and all they pretty much carried at that time was princess/Tinkerbell/Pixar stuff. I agree when I was a kid back in the 90's they always had awesome stuff. I had really nice stautes of the Evil Queen, Maleficent, Cruella and Ursula that I got and a lot of awesome mugs and music boxes. I recently was just on the store website and nothing caught my eye. I did order the Evil Queen mug and the villain thermos. I am also ordering the water bottle with the vllains and they had these limited edition mouse ear ornaments and I might order a few of them. But overall nothing too exciting. I would love if they merchandised all their films. Do they not realize there are a lot of fans to their "forgotten" films.
The reason films like Pinocchio, Dumbo and Alice are considered classics is because Walt didn't let them fade into obscurity and contiuned releasing them and pushing them into the public eye. Disney could really profit if they merchandised all their films.
The reason films like Pinocchio, Dumbo and Alice are considered classics is because Walt didn't let them fade into obscurity and contiuned releasing them and pushing them into the public eye. Disney could really profit if they merchandised all their films.
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AlasmineLover:)
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What upsets me most about the Disney Store is how the children shirts go up to a size 10, only. I'd hate to have to tell a child that they can't get a shirt with their favorite princess on it because they're not thin enough. I think there should be more options for "bigger" children who are a few pounds heavier than average.
Aww that is sadAlasmineLover:) wrote:What upsets me most about the Disney Store is how the children shirts go up to a size 10, only. I'd hate to have to tell a child that they can't get a shirt with their favorite princess on it because they're not thin enough. I think there should be more options for "bigger" children who are a few pounds heavier than average.