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DNS
05-23-2007, 02:39 PM
We have made many trips over the years to WDW and I'm finding that in the past few years, the merchandise seems to be going downhill to me. There is less and less variety of items offered, clothing quality seems to be declining and if you are not really into a couple of characters or pirates and princesses, you're out of luck. I've never understood why they have very few classic movie/character things, but it seems worse recently. Maybe it's just me, let me know what you all think. I know my bank account likes that I don't buy nearly as much anymore, but it's not as much fun.

goofiecrazy
05-23-2007, 03:34 PM
The last time we went i really didnt see anything that i had to have...Ususally i come home with a little of everything.

BrerSchultzy
05-23-2007, 03:36 PM
My parents just returned, and they said the exact same thing. My mom used to collect the Christmas bells, which they've pretty much stopped making. And it's getting harder and harder to find decent adult shirts.

Last time we were down, I commented that it is impossible to find anything with JUST Snow White on it. Dwarves? Only Grumpy and Dopey. Snow White with the other Princesses...sure. But we found ONE pin with just Snow White, and that was all.

My dad made the comment, though, that with all the repeat guests coming for DVC or DDP, that maybe they'll take a look at this...I can't imagine that they'd pass up the chance to sell new stuff to returning guests, who are currently just buying something on their first trip, then skipping the shops on later trips, since they've seen everything already.

gwfx1031
05-23-2007, 04:21 PM
Agreed. We went a few weeks ago and it was cool out and we could not find hardly any sweatshirts, let alone ones we liked. We usually stock up too and only found a few "got to have" things.

SgtTigger
05-23-2007, 08:09 PM
I too have found that every store has the same thing......
I remember when you could find things that were only in the Magic Kingdom but now it is the same where ever you go.......
Even the gift shops at the resort has pretty much the same things as the other stores. Resort merchandise is almost non existent....
DVC stuff is very limited.......


:cop: :tigger:

kakn7294
05-23-2007, 08:34 PM
I totally agree! My fav is Ariel who happens to be everywhere but only if you are under 4 ft tall and still in elementary school. I'm long past those days. Having skipped a few years between trips in the past, there was different merchandise everytime we went but for the past couple of years with annual trips, the same stuff is still hanging around from 2003.

comicguy
05-24-2007, 05:35 AM
I know what you mean. I like to find Snow White merchandice, but it is very hard to do that. They have a line of porceline princess dolls, they have 5 diff ones of princesses but no Snow White. Same thing with other merchadice, they have all the princesses rerpresnted but Snow White !! I even e-mailed disney about it. They said that "we are between merchahdice seasons" but that does not explain the lack of Snow White over the last 4 years.

I find that each time we go we buy less and less stuff.

offero
05-24-2007, 06:55 AM
Thanks guys! I was starting to fel as if I was just getting old. I remember going to WDW and thinking all the merchandise was cool. When I went there the past two times I was let down by the quality and selection of the items. Disney has the Ability to offer much more in regards to merchandise and they don't. Granted I am thirty and not ten, but hey if want a Goofy shirt or something from the Haunted Mansion, that is not 'blah" I should not have to get it from some knock off store in Orlando.

TIdoubleGR
05-24-2007, 12:16 PM
Agreed. Although, I am encouraged with some of the new Epcot merch. hat seems to be coming out....maybe we'll see more unique, worthwhile merchandice to come... :fingers:

And :welcome: offero!!

disney100%
05-24-2007, 01:09 PM
I have noticed this mostly with the quality of T-shirts. I used to buy one every trip. Well, my shirts from several trips ago are still in pretty good shape. My new ones have faded and the material is much thinner than what it used to be made of.

PAYROLL PRINCESS
05-24-2007, 07:01 PM
I was hoping to find stuff that I had to have when I go since I'm getting the free dining.

I guess I'll just have to get a charm for my Disney charm bracelet instead. I hope they still have the 3D castle I saw last time.

Crow
05-24-2007, 10:52 PM
i agree
hope it doesnt get as bad as the Disney stores, even though Disney doesnt own them now, nothing that i see to buy in them.
the Art of Disney store at DD used to b better...now posters are depleted...the bookstore part is scrapbooking...
snowglobes arent around as much..
etc

JPL
05-25-2007, 01:22 AM
I definately agree. I have noticed that each trip I spend less and less on souvenirs. They have cutback on attraction specific merchandise. Pirates have taken over and before that it was Stitch. I find no reason to sell POTC playsets at the AK. It has all become cookie cutter generic merchandise basically you go in one big shop and you have seen at all with very few exceptions.

DNS
05-25-2007, 11:49 AM
Okay, now that I know it's not just me, I'm going to email them about this if I can figure which email address would be best. It's fine to promote current movies like Pirates, but that's just not all that seems to be going on and where is all the Cars merchandise? I've looked since the movie came out and cannot find anything except one t-shirt. I cannot even find Christmas ornaments for Cars except a set I got at a Hallmark store last year. I just don't get it. What few things I did get this last trip, I remember seeing our last couple of trips.

BritCody
05-25-2007, 01:15 PM
I agree. All the stores carry the same merchandise. How about some variety. There are 7 dwarfs not just 2. I want to be able to get a shirt with some of the less popular characters on it not just the same 8 or 9 characters. I want to see character merchandise from all of the movies past and present and this is not just limited to the shirts and clothing. I want to see more variety in the Christmas Ornaments, Scrap Book Material, Snow Globes, Glasses, etc, etc. About the only thing there is a more of a character variety in is in Pins, but even that is limited.

EmiB
05-25-2007, 06:03 PM
I get disappointed because recently they seem to be selling the same merchandise in the park that one would find in a Disney Store at your local mall.
Now, I don't know if it's just my Disney Store or what, but the merchandise there often looks like a Toys'R'Us--messy and plastic.
I don't like the decline of the more adult-targeted or park-specific merchandise.

P.S.
I am not enjoying the lack of Snow White love either. The ORIGINAL princess should not be an "optional" one to include.

DisnIse
05-27-2007, 08:44 AM
My mom is a total sale rack hunter. It's her calling in life. Anyway, there used to actually be sale racks in places on WDW property, and maybe this was before the outlets opened up. (She's a pro there, too)
She has lamented over the past year or two that she can't find a.) any sale merchandise outside of the Poly, GF, Contem gift shops (non-Disney); and b.) the merchandise that you find at one rack is at every other rack on the property.

Unless, of course, you are me. I tend to find something, tell myself that I'll get it at DTD or somewhere else, and NEVER SEE IT AGAIN.

That's totally just me. I agree 100% with the comments made on this post!

Mousehead35
05-27-2007, 08:57 AM
You can add my name to the list of disappointed customers. There has been a definate decline in the quality and in the selection over years. :(

DisneyGiant
05-27-2007, 10:42 AM
Wow. I thought it was just me.

I definitely came home with much less "stuff" last trip!

I find that I am buying T-shirts or things that are more attraction specific - as all the shirts in the parks seem to be the same.

ToDisney
05-27-2007, 05:06 PM
Although I have to agree that EVERYthing has started to look the same.
And I do REALLY miss the Resort Specific merchandise.
Am I the only one that has a "big" problem with the $50 tee shirt?
Now that was just one of the overpriced items that I found on my last two visits. But after seeing it there the 1st time I had a dim hope that it might have been reduced a little by the 2nd trip. Not likely.
The updated styles also have upgraded prices.
But a gross lack of imagination for our wonderful "Disney Imaginers" reputation.

SnowWhite79
05-27-2007, 07:44 PM
I totally agree with the two previous posters about the lack of Snow White merchandise. I have been collecting anything and everything Snow White for I guess about 18 years now. Lately they have not come out with as much Snow White merchandise as they should, in my opinion. I don't understand how they decide which princesses they are going to make for a paticular line of merchandise. If they're going to make one, they need do make them all. Hopefully they will come out with more Snow White merchandise this year. December 21st is the 70th anniversary of the release of the movie after all. I'll get off my soapbox now. lol

SnowWhite79

dtootsie42
05-27-2007, 09:09 PM
I agree totally. Finding decent adult clothing is pretty tough. I have a couple of classic polos from a few years back and thank goodness they are still in good shape.

Guya103
05-28-2007, 03:33 PM
We completely agree 100% and then some! We used to collect Disney figurines (porcelain or ceramic) and they were only available in the parks. They made them from all of the old movies and you could buy them anywhere-in the parks or in the resorts. They have not made them in several years and we wondered why. I also notice that their apparel is awfully redundant as far as characters and designs. For as many stores as their are on property, there should be much more to choose from. We are all willing to buy it, we just don't want to buy the same, identical thing every year!:mickey:

laward32
05-28-2007, 05:49 PM
I agree the variety has gone downhill. We went in April 04 and I found a huge variety of Mickey Mouse jewelry. Bracelets, earrings, rings and necklaces. I was looking for special earrings (two toned, gold & silver) and I found them, but not even a week after we got home the back broke. So when we went in Dec 06 I went back to where I had bought them in 04 (the big store in Toon town) thinking I would get another pair. Nope!!! I couldn't even find any adult earrings. They were all for kids. I looked everywhere on WDW property and nada. I was extremely disappointed. Couldn't find the bracelets from my 04 trip either. I just had to rant and agree with you.:mickey:

auntfrannie
05-29-2007, 05:40 AM
This is so disappointing to see!!! My favorite thing to do at Disney is to shop. What always made it so enjoyable was being able to go to different parks and even different stores in the same park and find unique merchandise.

Spaceship Tigger
05-29-2007, 06:58 AM
Maybe we're not looking for as many of the same items that are no longer there like other people here are, but we never seem to have any trouble finding what we want at WDW. In fact, we always spend way too much money there. We're always in the market for scrapbook items, snowglobes, Christmas ornaments, picture frames, pins, glasses, etc. etc. and we always find plenty of it. Our only real disappointment last trip was that the AKL shop didn't have a lot of AKL specific merchandise. We went to WL on the same trip and they had a lot more.

glenpreece
05-29-2007, 09:12 PM
I sent an e-mail to WDW about the lack of unique merchandise and my disapproval of the decline in Villains merchandise.

WelshieLover
05-31-2007, 11:04 AM
I agree, over and over no matter what park you go to it is mostly the same stuff with very little variety. If I did not like it at the MK why would I buy it over in AK. I find that the clothes in the Poly's shop tend to be nice, some of it is not Disney stuff, but overall the quality seems to be better than that found in the parks.

Sharon1026
05-31-2007, 03:36 PM
Yes, yes, yes.

It seems like it is the same stuff in every store and rather generic.

Not enough Donald Duck stuff.

Seems like they want to only push the latest movie - robertsons or pirate stuff.

Good luck finding a tshirt with Doc or Sneezy on it!!

glenpreece
05-31-2007, 05:59 PM
I urge everyone to send an e-mail via the WDW website to voice your dislike of the merchandise. The more people who do it the odds are better that they will listen.

DizneyRox
05-31-2007, 07:22 PM
I've been screaming this from the rafters for years now. I don't even bother with any of the stores now. DTD isn't even on the scope as a place to visit.

I used to go from spending $2K on Disney stuff, to about $150 last trip, and a lot of that was the cost to ship the items home.

snifflesmcg
06-01-2007, 02:53 AM
I thought the same thing. First, the local Disney Stores are horrid. I was looking for some items to take with me before I went last year but no luck. They basically had children's clothing and that was it. I was so disappointed. Also, the shops throughout WDW are "you see one, you see them all". They are so focused on the "new" movies (ie: Pirates, Pixar) that they TOTALLY ignore every other character that are Disney classics. I wanna see more Alice (and crew), Jungle Book, Bambi, Dumbo, ALL the princesses, Mickey and Friends, Chip and Dale, Pinocchio, Pocahontas, Lady and the Tramp and Roger Rabbit. They really lose sight of those characters. :(

Deesdisney
06-01-2007, 08:59 AM
I agree. The last time we went I could not find my little ceramic statues of characters. I started collecting them 6 years ago and have been wanting to get all the characters and movie themes. (Not the expensive ones). But the last time I could not find one. So the only thing I bought was Mickey with the year on it (also my collection). I just wish they would come back with the small figurines. Disneyland had them why not WDW.

EmiB
06-01-2007, 10:43 AM
I thought the same thing. First, the local Disney Stores are horrid. I was looking for some items to take with me before I went last year but no luck. They basically had children's clothing and that was it. I was so disappointed.

It's because The Disney Store is now run by the same company that owns The Children's Place. :shake: What a shame.

Dyanna
06-01-2007, 01:16 PM
The last time we went to DW we purchased a boat load of t-shirts with pockets on the left side. Each pocket had an embroidered patch of all sorts of Disney characters. I still have the shirts but it would have been nice to get some updated ones to buy when we go in Oct. Sounds like we won't be buying much this time around. Bummer!:mad:

TheRustyScupper
06-02-2007, 09:24 AM
1) We enjoy going to WDW.
2) I like to buy unique "stuff", like the wife's English Tea Service.
3) Average or run-of-the-mill souvenirs don't interest me.
4) Unique things are getting harder and harder to find.
5) The last 4-5 trips we rode rides and ate CS, but no purchases.
6) We are different, as Pirates and Plushes aren't our "thing".

iceicebritney
06-05-2007, 10:06 PM
i completly agree with DNS. it seems as if the disney parks have all depreciated the quality of their merchandise just as the disney store did so years ago.

every store is the same, every sovenier is the same. its harder and harder to find unique items in the parks or at the resorts - and dont even get me started on the clothing quality. my number one problem is the children's costumes... when i was a kid my minnie mouse and other character dresses were so well made.. and today their made of incredibly cheap fabric that looks so tacky. whats wrong with disney's merchandising department?!?

Marker
06-06-2007, 01:49 PM
whats wrong with disney's merchandising department?!?

They've outsourced it. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but Disney Merchandising is no longer run by Disney.

I agree that much of the merchandise is the same from one shop to another. I also agree that apparel is over priced (heck, it's all over priced).

glenpreece
06-06-2007, 09:37 PM
Wow if you think WDW is bad I was just at Canada's Wonderland and it was so much worse. We all know that they're alot of duplicates in the stores yes but this place was worse. Every store and I mean everyone had the same 3 things Dora, Spongebob and Scooby Doo. Toss in some Canada's Wonderland apparal here and there and that's it!!!! And if you WDW clothes are exspensive then you haven't seen exspensive!!! $60 for a hoodie!!!!!

Mickey91
06-07-2007, 10:09 AM
I agree! We still spend alot on things that we always buy like pins,scrapbooks and ornaments etc. But, the unique things that make you skip dinner to have the cash, are no longer there! Now even the resort mugs, one of our favorite souvenirs, is generic.

DNS
06-07-2007, 11:09 AM
I urge everyone to send an e-mail via the WDW website to voice your dislike of the merchandise. The more people who do it the odds are better that they will listen.

I agree. I sent an email last week and received a response 2 days later basically saying they try different things at different times and they would pass on my email. I'm hoping if enough people email them, they'll realize a lot of us are pretty annoyed.

Mousefever
06-07-2007, 11:59 AM
The only places I've found very unique items are in the Epcot country gift shops and at the Zawadi Marketplace in AKL. I have a very nice jacket from AKL and my husband got a couple of t-shirts there. (At the beginning of our week he couldn't find the right size, but they restocked by the time we left.) I've also had success at the Christmas shop. The rest of the shops contain all the same things.

And they need more Dory items!!!


:dory: