Get Ready WDW CMs

[WEDFan]

But personally, I think that's likely due to the quality and selection of the merchandise, not necessarily the price or how often you visit. I know it is for me. I'd happily buy more t-shirts, for example, if they still had cool and unique ones like the ones you describe. Once you have one crappy generic character shirt, do you really need another? I wish they had more hotel- and ride-specific stuff again, and more country-specific stuff in WS. I understand why they've gone with a "same stuff in every store" approach, but it really sucks the will to shop out of frequent visitors...

Exactly!

[Shorty82]

But personally, I think that's likely due to the quality and selection of the merchandise, not necessarily the price or how often you visit. I know it is for me. I'd happily buy more t-shirts, for example, if they still had cool and unique ones like the ones you describe. Once you have one crappy generic character shirt, do you really need another? I wish they had more hotel- and ride-specific stuff again, and more country-specific stuff in WS. I understand why they've gone with a "same stuff in every store" approach, but it really sucks the will to shop out of frequent visitors...

You got that right! I hate the lack of unique merchandise anymore. It used to be that every store had something that was unique about what it carried but over time I've watched the unique stuff get discontinued and more and more of the generalized stuff come in. To make matters worse they didn't just go with generalized Walt Disney World stuff they went with Disney Parks instead so Disneyland can carry the same things. When I buy something from Walt Disney World I want it to say Walt Disney World on it, not Disney Parks and I'm not alone in that sentiment. People want unique souvenirs and that's what keeps the regulars buying things. If every shop carries the same things there's no reason for the regulars to buy new things from Disney. As my time at Disney went on I saw less and less things I'd want to buy.

[drcorey]

You got that right! I hate the lack of unique merchandise anymore. It used to be that every store had something that was unique about what it carried but over time I've watched the unique stuff get discontinued and more and more of the generalized stuff come in. To make matters worse they didn't just go with generalized Walt Disney World stuff they went with Disney Parks instead so Disneyland can carry the same things. When I buy something from Walt Disney World I want it to say Walt Disney World on it, not Disney Parks and I'm not alone in that sentiment. People want unique souvenirs and that's what keeps the regulars buying things. If every shop carries the same things there's no reason for the regulars to buy new things from Disney. As my time at Disney went on I saw less and less things I'd want to buy.

me too. I used to like the special themed merchadise.
if I wanted a austrailian walk about hat I went to adventureland. now it's mostly the same crap in every store. nothing really special anymore. I will only buy stuff made for the parks now. why look thru all the stores when it's mostly the same in each store.

[5th Dimension]

I think Disney makes their toys and products so cheaply that they could put just about any discount on that merchandise and make a profit. Some of those picture frames break very easily, just taking them out of the box could damage them.

[Shorty82]

I think Disney makes their toys and products so cheaply that they could put just about any discount on that merchandise and make a profit. Some of those picture frames break very easily, just taking them out of the box could damage them.

That is so true. The other year in an effort to combat low sales they upped the cast holiday discount from 40 to 50% and they kept extending it long past the time the discounts normally end. Anybody with sense knew that they had to still be making a profit even at half off or they wouldn't have done it. I personally do not want to know how much Disney pays per item though I know it is some ridiculously low amount compared to the price.

I know the markups on items are very high, at least a few hundred percent in most cases I bet. Just look at how much something that you can buy in the real world costs and how much Disney sells it for. Take batteries, for instance. According to Wal*Mart's website a 4 pack of Rayovac AA batteries is $2.97. At Disney the same pack costs nearly twice that. Of course neither Wal*Mart nor Disney pays anywhere near that much for the batteries. I'm also sure the markups on batteries aren't a high as the markup on other items are.

I can't tell you how many broken items I've cleaned up that broke because they were cheaply made nor how many items that were pulled or never even put out due to manufacturing defects caused by how cheaply the item was made. For a while t-shirts just kept getting more and more cheaply made (with the price either staying the same or even rising). Disney finally wised up about those after Lord only knows how many guest complaints and started using better materials though they still aren't as good as the price implies they should be (sorry, but I shouldn't find the remnants where a tag was cut out of the collar of a shirt nor worry that if I mistakenly wash the shirt in hot water it'll shrink way to small to be worn).

[Goofyernmost]

Wellll....

I'm not sure your whole case was proven. We stay in Disney resorts and do not bring our own food. We also have never demanded anything extra. In fact, we go on their tours, attend hard-ticketed events, and have even engaged Disney catering.

We just don't buy much merchandise anymore.

Shhhhh! I only have to convince the jury that I'm right. Facts, like in political campaigns, are not relevant.

[hobie16]

According to Wal*Mart's website a 4 pack of Rayovac AA batteries is $2.97. At Disney the same pack costs nearly twice that.

If you think that's high you should research the margins on french fries. Fast food companies buy fries for about 30 cents a pound and sell them for about $6 a pound.

[drcorey]

If you think that's high you should research the margins on french fries. Fast food companies buy fries for about 30 cents a pound and sell them for about $6 a pound.

it's like fountain soda.
costs around 25 cents a gallon.

[Darksin]

I personally haven't had an AP for years since we moved from Florida but I fully admit if/when we move back we'll both snap up the regular AP. We both enjoy the parks and did spend a lot of time there while still living in the state, that was before they got the discount though. We did buy but not often, normally just lunch or dinner. When we did shop it was when items we wanted where back in stock (Example, You used to only be able to get items from Nightmare from Disney and only around Halloween) or during the Holidays for gifts. Back in the days one used to join the Magic Kingdom Club to get a 10% discount but in order to do that you had to know someone or even know about it to begin with!

Merchandise has been my main complaint for several years now.
It seems each store has the same exact thing as the last, there is nothing new or unique these days. One example is I really wanted a new Stitch Sweatshirt to replace my ancient one from 2002. I hunted all threw the park and couldn't find even a T-shirt that featured Stitch, not even in the store that Great Escape dumps you in. Nothing! Now the other parks aren't nearly as bad as Magic Kingdom is with this problem. At least in Epcot, DHS and AK I can find attraction specific shirts or gifts but even those choices are slowly disappearing.
Now I have nothing against Mickey or Minnie or even the Fab Five but it's not something I'm going to buy pretty much ever for myself. At this point when we go to Florida the first shopping trip is honestly hitting up the Discount Disney stores for previous Merch in the outlet malls before I even hit the parks. Mostly because I have much better luck finding the things I want there verses the parks, which is really pretty sad in the end. Frankly at this point most of our money is blown in World Showcase anymore when it comes to Disney. :(

[YANXWIN]

We've got AP for DL and it is nice to have the 10% discount. I was going to buy a Prius for me and have the regular for the rest of the family. If they discontinue the 20% for the premium, I won't be upgrading. They have been worth it for us even though we live so far. I ok with generic Disney stuff, but more ride specific stuff is always nice. The discounts saved us quite a bit for Christmas. It looked like a Disney store threw up in our living room on Christmas morning.