Credit: Yuichi Sakuraba, FlickrDemand for Christmas merchandise is so hot at one Disney resort right now that some guests will need to wait until May to receive their items.
The holidays are a busy time at all theme parks, but especially Disney. From Anaheim to Tokyo, all of Disney’s resorts worldwide go all out for the season, offering everything from festive ride overlays and OTT decor to special shows, food, drinks, and merchandise.
As time has proven, merchandise has the ability to lowkey send Disney fans into a frenzy. In the past, we’ve seen some guests wait in line for eight hours (yes, really) to secure the latest drop, with virtual queues and standby passes even implemented to control the crowds on special merchandise release days, such as Star Wars Day.
This year, some Christmas merchandise has proven so popular that some guests will be left waiting for their purchases for a whole six months. As per Pinzuba News, Tokyo Disney Resort has been overwhelmed with orders for its famously cute holiday items, meaning that select items are on backorder until May.
In other words, they’ll go from being festive buys for 2024 to incredibly early purchases for 2025.
Unsurprisingly, guests aren’t too happy – especially as delays stem largely from bulk purchases by resellers cashing in on Disney merchandise at a huge markup through platforms like Mercari.
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The Oriental Land Company (which operates Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea under a licensing deal with The Walt Disney Company) has now released a statement on the issue and explained the measures they’re taking to try and temper demand for hot new merchandise items and prevent resale. Translated from Japanese, it reads:
In the parks, we are taking measures such as limiting the number of times a guest can enter a store by checking their park ticket, limiting the number of times a guest can make a purchase by distributing purchase tickets, and limiting the number of items that can be purchased per transaction, depending on the characteristics of the product and sales status, so that as many Guests as possible can purchase and enjoy the products.
In addition, in December 2010, we established the Theme Park Terms and Conditions, which clearly state that ‘purchasing merchandise or souvenirs for the purpose of resale’ is one of the prohibited acts. Guests who purchase park tickets are required to agree to these terms and conditions before making their purchase.
In March 2010, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercari, Inc., and together we are warning Mercari users that listing prices on Mercari may suddenly rise around the time of the release of certain park products, encouraging them to make calm decisions. We are also working to remove inappropriate listings that violate the Mercari Terms of Use, such as listings for products that are not in stock or that use official Tokyo Disney Resort images.
But despite Tokyo Disney Resort’s best efforts, Pinzuba News reports that the Lil Ring Ring sweater – one of the most-hyped Disney Christmas items of the season, which features what might quite honestly be the most adorable Mickey Mouse festive illustration we’ve ever seen – is currently listed between 13,000 and 17,000 yen ($84.23 USD and $110.14 USD) on Mercari, despite Disney selling the sweater for just 6,900 yen ($44.71 USD).
Biggest reason why Disney Parks sippers and popcorn buckets sell out within days is because of resellers jumping back in line multiple times to purchase the max limit.
Biggest reason why Disney Parks sippers and popcorn buckets sell out within days is because of resellers jumping back in line multiple times to purchase the max limit. pic.twitter.com/u6bUAtXgHe
— Wonders of Magic (@wondersofmagic) September 5, 2023
Reselling has proven problematic at other Disney resorts, too. Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort see their fair share of shoppers swoop in to purchase new items en masse, with guests often sharing pictures of their OTT hauls.
The likes of limited edition sippers and popcorn buckets are often the go-to items, with resellers listing new items at an inflated cost on eBay.
Do you think Disney does enough to stop resellers?