Disney has recently converted one of its merchandise carts into a much more permanent location on one end of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom. Is this an example of Disney doing something right and ditching the tacky temporary cart or have they gone too far in the pursuit of sucking that last penny from your wallet?
Hats, mouseears, autograph books, suntan oil, and cameras. The sort of things that is a quick pick up at the end of Main Street before you make your way into the heart of the park. However, all this stuff is available in the Emporium at the start of Main Street at in stores in each land. Is this location really necessary?
As you can see above this merchandise location looms large at the end of Main Street. Which is my biggest problem with the location. I think it’s too tall and interferes with the view of the castle. It’s the first thing I saw when I passed the end of main street.
What do you think? Have they gone too far?
Wow. Not sure how I feel about that. First impression: it looks much classier than the carts.
Yes, they’ve gone too far. I don’t understand a move like this. It’s as if they feel they don’t have enough merchandising locations in the parks. I will check it out when I’m there next week, but I think this will also be a crowding issue.
Yeah, that does feel like a bit much to me….
Yes. That is far too much.
Personally I must agree. The location of this merchandise kiosk is not very good. And it really shouldn’t be needed as all the merchandise was already available at shops around the Magic Kingdom. However, it does provide easy access for first time visitors to the parks and keeps them from going crazy attempting to find these commonly purchased items. So I can understand where Disney was coming from when they decided to make this permanant location.
Too much? No one has ever complained about a stores along entire streets in just about every park! The more places to buy, the merrier.
I agree with you. It’s too big. And considering that you have several hundred feet of storefront leading up to it, it’s seems just a bit much.
Yep, I think it messes up the view a bit. And I’m sure anyone who wants souvenirs knows exactly where to get them. I don’t think they should have outdoor sales stands for that stuff. It takes away from the story.
To be fair, it actually does a good job clearing up what was a traffic flow problem. But I was just hoping they’d ditch the cart instead of replacing it with something permanent.
If it was only 3 modules – fine – but it’s just too long. Lose the hats and we’re good, otherwise no thanks. I’d rather keep the carts than this.
New merchandise location has appeared at Disney's Magic Kingdom – http://bit.ly/5ipSQ
– have they gone too far this time?
We were just there last week and I don’t remember seeing this at all, although we always seemed to be walking down the other side of the street.
I do think that it’s too much. We don’t need any more outdoor stands. If I remember right, they had them at Epcot before this, and I have to say that I’ve never shopped at any of them, although I’ve bought plenty at the indoor shops.
I noticed this last week and had to think for a moment whether it had been there before. I recall that the previous cart was “trolley” themed. It was actually more of a disruption to the flow of traffic than this. Furthermore, it’s design follows the Main Street Gazette “tip board” on the other side of the street, creating considerable balance. I never found the other to be a distraction, I don’t see that in this. I do agree about the merchandise, but I’ve always had a problem with the “sameness” in merchandise.
I don’t think that it’s so bad. Those carts at the end were just about a permanent feature of the park anyway… this just dresses them up a bit.
I think it’s too much, and unnecessary. As pointed out, everything here is already available in almost every store in every land. It makes me think of the prompt you get on your computer when you have to confirm an action, “Are you sure”. In this case, it’s “Are you sure you don’t need any of this stuff?”.
I’ve heard from various sources that merchandise sales have declined over the last couple of years, and this just looks like an attempt to try get people to buy more. However, I think they’re missing what the real problem is. In my opinion, the declining sales were caused by generic “Disney Parks” merchandise that they tried to push during the Year of a Million dreams promotion. Thankfully, most of the generic merchandise is gone now, and they’re bringing in a variety of stuff that’s unique and specific to the parks and attractions.
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DISNEY IS GETTING TOOOO GREEDY. Cutting corners. Food quality, service quality, the overall experience is deteriorating faster than my 401k plan. Compared to a very few years ago. I vision a day within less than 5 years, Disney is all character greetings, and merchandising. It’s 80% there already. Won’t see me going there anymore!!
Then you’ll love the Fantasyland Expansion
The kiosk looks nice and having it in the open allows guests to see it. You clearly know what stores to find this stuff in, but as an occasional visitor, if I have to go search for this stuff, I’ll end up skipping it. It’s helpful to the guests and their bottom line, I’m sure.
Hmm not sure – look similar to the ones they have at Epcot. Its hard to tell from the photos but I’ll be sure to take a closer look myself next month!
meh, as long as it doesn’t make traffic flow worse, and doesn’t interfere with Wishes viewing, seems fine to me. Most regular guests will stand in the middle of the street if they want a picture of the castle anyway. From the pictures it seems to match the end of Main street theming, and I hated the carts.
At least it fits with the tipboard, solves traffic issues and doesn’t look as bad as the cart. You could argue that it’s a bit much but most people don’t realize that there’s a really high percentage of guests who completely ignore the shops on main street and then start looking for items like sunscreen later in the day and don’t want to search the Emporium. The argument could be made that if you’re in the Hub for the parades or Wishes you really do have to go out of your way to get certain items you may need. Plus the cart made too much money for them to take it out. Not saying I prefer it, just that this is the way management thinks.
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