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View Full Version : What's happened to Disneyana?



MagicKingdomBoy
02-12-2007, 01:01 AM
What used to be the Neiman Marcus of stores at Disneyland is now tantamount to Target. I hate to say it, but it's true. The merchandise is way over-priced and the quality has so diminished...very sad. And the large carved wooden Mickey Mouse has been replaced with a very cheaply painted Mickey. I asked the girl what's happened with the store, and she agreed with me, saying that she prefers not to think about it. And as for the Mickey, they sold all of the good ones and this is what they replaced it with. TRAGIC!

But she said they sell a lot more now, and where they used to have one or two people open and close, now they need at least three due to the increased volume. That's one of the things I hate about big corporations. It's always about the money. But in actuality, I think by taking out the high-end Disneyana merchandise they are hurting the treasured image of the park. It's little gems like that store that make the place so special. What a shame.

RStar
02-12-2007, 06:05 AM
I've also noticed that stores around the park have all become plush and tee shirt stores. They have all lost their uniqueness.

Lost Boy
02-12-2007, 09:38 AM
Did Paul Pressler somehow return after getting booted out of The Gap? Maybe he snuck in and is now running Merchandise which is his claim to fame, NOT!!!

DisneylandForever
02-12-2007, 09:46 AM
I agree. Disneyana used to be my favorite store. But lately I have been walking in, looking around, and just heading back out. :(

Opus1guy
02-12-2007, 10:42 AM
It's been going downhill for years.

Just FYI...a Cast Member a few weeks ago, told me that Disneyland has shut down their Creative Collectible Division and let go some in-house and contracted people.

I haven't been able to confirm that, but if it's true, I would imagine it might not bode well for any improvements in collectible merchandise mix.

But then again...perhaps some other new program is in the works that might improve the collectibles?

biolabetty
02-12-2007, 10:52 AM
I agree! Every year I would go to this store at Christmastime and purchase Mickey Mouse Spode. I went there last Christmas and couldn't find any, and when I asked in the store, they didn't even know what Spode was, they thought it was some name of a designer. I finally went over to the Emporium and looked for someone who looked like they had been at DL for a while, and I found a CM who had worked for years in the Disneyana store. She was so disappointed with what she called the cheap plastic junk that they had now. No more Spode at DL either. I'll get mine on ebay now.:(

cstephens
02-12-2007, 11:08 AM
What used to be the Neiman Marcus of stores at Disneyland is now tantamount to Target. I hate to say it, but it's true.

Ummm, well, it may be your opinion, but that doesn't necessarily make it "true". As much as I love Target, I can't say that I've ever seen anything in there that I've also seen at Disneyana.

The appeal to me of things that they have in Disneyana fluctuates depending on the cycle of merchandise. There are some styles that I like and some I don't, and that changes all the time. I happen to really dislike Tom Wilson's stuff, so I don't go in the little rotunda much anymore since his stuff is plastered all over the walls. However, I do go into Disneyana to just look at the big figs and Lenox pieces and other things. The wooden collection in the front doesn't appeal to me at all, but other people seem to like them.

And the new Bandleader Mickey five-foot-figure isn't all that different from the regular Mickey that used to be there before except that it doesn't look nearly as run down. It's too bad he can't have his baton and feather on display, but they'd just get ruined.

MagicKingdomBoy
02-12-2007, 12:14 PM
Ummm, well, it may be your opinion, but that doesn't necessarily make it "true". As much as I love Target, I can't say that I've ever seen anything in there that I've also seen at Disneyana. No disrespect to you or Target, but I was making an qualitative comparison analogy, in observing what is most certainly an overall diminution in the quality of merchandise offered such that the store is no longer of the same cailber.

It is the equivalence in effect of a Target versus a Neiman Marcus.

Bytebear
02-12-2007, 01:33 PM
It's too bad he can't have his baton and feather on display, but they'd just get ruined.

Why can't they put a baton or something in his hand? It seems so silly that he is gripping air. It looks like someone ran off with his baton!

cstephens
02-12-2007, 01:41 PM
Why can't they put a baton or something in his hand? It seems so silly that he is gripping air. It looks like someone ran off with his baton!

Because if they actually did put the baton in his hand, someone would probably run off with it. Or take it out and start flailing it around. I suppose they could put the baton in his hand and glue it there, but I'd be rich if I got $1 for every person who'd still try to pry it out of his hands.

The old man
02-12-2007, 04:34 PM
No disrespect to you or Target, but I was making an qualitative comparison analogy, in observing what is most certainly an overall diminution in the quality of merchandise offered such that the store is no longer of the same cailber.

It is the equivalence in effect of a Target versus a Neiman Marcus.
I understood what you were saying and it seemed right on target (no pun intended) to me.

ladodgerjon
02-12-2007, 05:05 PM
GREAT thread!

I've had the same thought so many times over the past few years. The store is too generic, too off-the-shelf.

I remember the Disneyana of the late seventies was an incredibly special place (located, basically, where the watch sop -- across the street -- is now located). I remember seeing animation models of clay (I beleive they are called a "Maquette") for sale. What REALLY sticks in my mind were "Mary" and "Burt" models mounted on their carousel steeds... dressed in exact scale replicas of their film costumes. The resemblance to Dick VanDyke and Julie Andrews was uncanny!

I also remember BEGGING my mom to buy me cels from Lady & The Tramp, Sword In The Stone and Jungle Book! I think they were around $10 a pop.

Yep, Disneyana used to be a really unique place to purchase REAL Disneyana. I guess you could say the same for the Disney Gallery-- prettty hard to find signed lithographs by the Imagineers anymore.

Bytebear
02-12-2007, 05:13 PM
I saw a limited edition print just the other day with a run of 10,000! (FYI, any collectable print of worth will have a run of less than 300). Of course Thomas Kincaide made high volume runs a standard. They are still trying to get rid of his 50th castle prints.

cstephens
02-12-2007, 05:39 PM
I remember seeing animation models of clay (I beleive they are called a "Maquette") for sale.

I'm not even sure that maquettes are being offered for sale any more. Those seemed to be pretty short-lived. I have the maquette of the sprite from "Fantasia 2000", and it's one of my favorite pieces.

GrouchoMarx
02-12-2007, 09:18 PM
No disrespect to you or Target, but I was making an qualitative comparison analogy, in observing what is most certainly an overall diminution in the quality of merchandise offered such that the store is no longer of the same cailber.

It is the equivalence in effect of a Target versus a Neiman Marcus.

I'm only sorry you needed to explain your analogy (with which I agree, by the way, so that's another thing I'm sorry about). To those of us who 'get it' - well said.