There’s no denying that Disney really knows how to hit it out of the park with innovation and exciting trends.
But, what about some of Disney’s ideas that didn’t work as well? From unpopular color trends to divisive treats, we’re taking a look at a few weird Disney ideas that didn’t quite catch on.
1. FuelRods Price Increase
This was a trend SO divisive that it ended in a lawsuit!! In October 2019, Disney announced that they were increasing the price to exchange FuelRods, which are a portable charger that you can buy around the parks for $30, and (until then) had been available to exchange for free whenever you needed it. The proposed change would have increased this from free to $3 to swap.
Swapping Fee Sticker
The news was met with outrage from the Disney community, and the parks quickly switched back to the original, complimentary swapping. This was one Disney trend that fans nipped in the bud FAST!
Read more about the FuelRod fee reversal here!
2. Dapper Yellow Color Trend
Don’t get us wrong – this sunshine-y color definitely had its upside. The striking shade of Dapper Yellow brings an immediate smile to your face, and there’s no arguing that wearing it makes it easier for your party to track you down in a busy park!
Dapper Yellow Spirit Jerseys
That being said, the eye-catching color was a bit too vibrant for some Disney fans, which might be why the color trend didn’t catch on quite as well as others, such as Millennial Pink. What, no one wanted to look like a Disney World banana?? But, while Dapper Yellow might have been a miss, it didn’t take long for Disney to bring about another slew of hits. We still have serious heart eyes for the current color of the moment, Arendelle Aqua!
Read more about the short-lived Dapper Yellow HERE!
3. Automated PhotoPass Photos
This one should come as no surprise! Not long ago, Disney tried yet again to get fans on board with automated cameras at meet-and-greets. Instead of having your photos taken by a PhotoPass Cast Member, certain meet-and-greets became a photo booth of sorts, placing an automated camera in a themed box that would take a few shots for you automatically.
Themed Photo Box in Royal Sommerhus
Problem was, so many great candid shots were lost and no one could really tell when pics were being taken! This was one change that was met with some fiery feedback, and it wasn’t too long before human photographers were brought back on the scene at many locations. Currently, these boxes have made their return to this location. So we will see what happens and how long they stick around for!
Learn more about the outrage that was Automated PhotoPass
4. (Most of) The Designer Ears
We firmly believe you can never have enough Minnie Ears. But, when it comes to designer Minnie Ears, we can understand why the trend hasn’t quite caught on. While we’ve swooned over designs from the likes of Heidi Klum, Alex and Ani, and COACH (just to name a few), we can’t deny that the price tags can often come with a bit of sticker shock!
New BaubleBar Tiana Minnie Ears
The intricately beautiful designs are totally Instagram-worthy, but the high price tag also makes us a bit more wary to wear them around the parks for the day. The first designer ears had double-digit price tags, but once they skyrocketed into the hundreds, we were shook. With many more design collaborations ahead, we’re interested to see what happens with this trend in the future. If we do ever decide to hop on board the designer ears trend, we’ll just make sure not to wear them on Splash Mountain!
While most ears haven’t sold out, there is a very notable exception. These Coach ears sold out incredibly fast (6 hours!!), even with their steep price tag. Coach purses sell for hundreds of dollars and have a slew of devoted fans, so this wasn’t TOO shocking. So does that mean the RIGHT brand or artist really can drive the sales enough that guests will be willing to shell out a LOT of cash for these babies? Time will tell! We’ll stick to our standard priced pairs for now, TY.
Read more about the super trendy SOLD OUT Coach ears here!
5. Icing on Pretzels (and Other Unappetizing Treats)
In theory, icing on anything doesn’t sound like a bad plan. But, the actual presentation? Well, that can turn into a bit of a mess. Case in point is the Pumpkin Spice Pretzel dipped in orange icing that appeared (and disappeared…then reappeared) during the holiday season at Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks in Animal Kingdom (a treat that has quite the mystery surrounding it, if you want to read further).
Pumpkin Spice Pretzel
While this dessert is actually delicious, the poor Cast Members tasked with putting the icing on this pretzel truly are in for a hard task each and every day! It’s just impossible to get it to look quite right, and unfortunately, the end result looks a bit unappetizing! It looks like plastic cheese attacked a poor, innocent pretzel! The trend for Instagrammable treats at Disney is strong, but ones like this are understandably just not catching on!
Read more about the saddest Disney pretzel here 🙂
6. Mac & Cheese with Gummies
We are BIG fans of gummies, so it hurts us to say this, but….they simply don’t belong on EVERYTHING. Take, for example, the Pumpkin Chipotle Mac & Cheese. Or really any sort of mac and cheese…
Pumpkin Chipotle Mac & Cheese
This Halloween offering included cavatappi pasta mac & cheese topped with a pumpkin cheese sauce, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and…. gummy worms?! While we understand the creepy, crawly topping (and, in some cases, have found it works quite well!), this is one we just cannot understand. Unfortunately, it didn’t add anything good to an otherwise flavorful dish, and this is a case where gummy bears were not “slimy, yet satisfying”. This isn’t the only savory treat Disney has attempted to put gummies on: We’ve also seen them on burgers!Â
Read more about this spooky mac and cheese here!
7. Sporks
Ok, we WISH we could say sporks caught on in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge but…not so much.
That’s one fancy shmancy WEIRD spork.
Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland and Disney World attempted to introduce the coolest looking sporks as the eating utensil of Batuu, but guests were a little TOO here for it. Guests immediately began pocketing the unique sporks and saving them as a souvenir or worse, selling them online for a hefty price tag.
But, instead of cueing up Taylor Swift’s “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” Disney changed the tune to “this is why you have to PAY for nice things.” That’s right — Sporks are BACK in Disney World and Disneyland, but they’re going to cost you!
Now you can pay for your galactic utensil
Now you can get yourself a Spork with a handy travel bag for $10.99 when you visit Docking Bay 7. So, yes, you CAN still eat with the coolest utensil in the galaxy if you’re willing to pay the price!
Read more about how a few guests ruined the sporks for everyone here!
What will be the next Disney trends that just don’t stick? Disney is always upping their game with new unique food trends and merchandise so it surely won’t be too long ’til the “next big thing” hits the parks and we’ll be ready for the hits and the misses!
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The sporks caught on, the problem was people grabbing handfuls of them as souvenirs
About six years ago a park hopping shuttle was offered for a fee. The loading spots were back stage and made it possible to park hop without going through the security line between parks.
It was very convenient when first introduced and a van was used to transport guests. Less convenient when they started to use a bus and you had to wait longer for it to be about three fourths full.
The biggest problem now is that the prospective has changed from making things magical and convenient for guests to making it easier for Disney as well increasing their profit.
The reservation system makes it easier for them to control the number of guests at each park so instead of increasing cast members at a busy park they can divert the guests to a park with less guests attending and so serving the same number of guests but not increasing payroll.
Obviously changing fast pass to Genie + is a pure profit move. When Universal introduced their pay system of a “fastpass” Disney came out with a statement that they wouldn’t charge a fee that fast passes were included in the price of admittance. I’ve been looking for that article which I read years ago.
The spontaneity has been taken away with reservations, Genie+, only after 2:00 park hopping, mobile quick serve orders. Gone are the days of deciding which park to go to by the first bus that arrived at the bus stop.
The 25th Anniversary celebration was truly magical. Throughout the year each quest entering a park received a Guest of Honor badge with the 25th logo on it.
There was a special castle show that included guests who carried signs of the year of their first visit.
With your check at sit down restaurants guests received a pieces of chocolate for everyone in the party that had the 25th logo. The drinks for children at sit down restaurants were in a reusable plastic cup that also had the 25th logo.
For the 100 years celebration (Walt’s 100 birthday) guests were surprised with magical moments. It could be a night in the castle, merchandise, a snack, or a pass to go to the front of a ride line.
The 50th celebration is a few signs and merchandise.