New Hotel-Specific Merchandise at Disney World
There’s new resort-specific merchandise popping up around Walt Disney World. In this post, we’ll share photos of hotel souvenirs from Pop Century, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Old Key West, Caribbean Beach, and Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We should probably disclaim that this merchandise is new to us, and not necessarily hot off the presses. For all we know, some of this stuff been on the shelves for months. Since it’s unlikely anyone reading this makes monthly trips to every single hotel at Walt Disney World, at least some of it will be new to you, too.
Not that you care, but this post is somewhat reverse-engineered. I’m a total sucker for resort-specific merchandise, and when Walt Disney World first reintroduced these lines a few years ago, I was worried that it’d be a short lived thing, so I bought a decent amount.
Since then, the designs have (mostly) improved and become less formulaic, and rather than buying more, I’ve found myself taking photos of what I see for posterity. I then wait until resort-specific items end up at one of the two Character Warehouse outlets near Walt Disney World before buying.
Most resort-specific items released in the last couple of years have not made their way to the outlets, so I’ve found that having the photos is a nice ‘backup’ keepsake–and leads to far less clutter. The photos are also nice reference tools for searching eBay, too.
Anyway, we’ll start with Pop Century:
This is actually the resort that motivated this post. I was debating whether to toss this photo into our Disney Skyliner Gondola January 2019 Construction Update, but figured it’d get lost in the mix and missed by people who are fans of Pop Century but don’t care about construction tracking.
I really like the pop art featured here, and strongly debated buying that mug. To me, it screams ‘Pop Century’ and is perfectly on-theme without being over the top in its design. I don’t recall the price, but it wasn’t too expensive (I want to say $15 or $16). Not really sure why I’m waiting on this to end up at the outlet–when we go back to Pop Century, I’ll probably just buy it if it’s still there.
Some other items also feature the same graphic, but I’m not as into those. At Walt Disney World, you need a water bottle with a filter, and the ornament strikes me as bland. We aren’t really pin traders or collectors anymore, but a couple of those designs are cool.
Next up is Beach Club.
I’m on board with using a mermaid in the design of this mug’s logo, but why did they feel the need to put the “mermaid at heart” line on the mug?
Perhaps I’m a fuddy duddy, but I’m not a mermaid at heart. I love Beach Club Resort and would like to have a mug from the hotel, but that seemingly little thing is a deal-breaker for me.
Despite reading several articles in an attempt to understand this trend, I don’t get the current obsession with mermaids. It seems to me that there’s no consistency in what mermaids symbolize.
Different depictions of mermaids paint them as pretty much everything: beautiful, carefree, deranged, hopeless, and so on. I think there are empowering versions of mermaids, but that’s not how I view Disney’s telling of the Little Mermaid.
The other shirts here don’t do a ton for me in terms of the graphic placement.
While none of the Beach Club Resort merchandise is anything we’ll end up buying, at least Disney is trying different and interesting things here.
Next up is Old Key West Resort.
The selection here is interesting because it’s a mix of the formulaic older designs (left) and newer stuff (right).
Same above, except with the newer design on the left and older shirt in blue on the right.
Personally, I like the older merchandise better at Old Key West. The lighthouse is iconic to the resort, whereas the newer designs seem more generic, even if they are distinct.
I really like this hat, and debated whether to buy it, but I already have the “same” one from Caribbean Beach and Vero Beach.
Many of you reading this are probably seeing this ‘old’ look and thinking it’s far superior to the new styles. I wouldn’t disagree. The problem is that it’s an approach that was repetitive in font and logo layout, so the designs blur together once you’ve seen a few.
…Here’s the old look on an ornament
And the new, unique approach…
With the ornaments, I think we finally have an example of something where the ‘after’ is far superior.
I hope Disney tries to find a way to incorporate the design on the right into other merchandise. It’s a winner.
We already shared some Caribbean Beach Resort merchandise in our last update from there, but we’ll quickly rehash that here.
I like the above logo, which captures the vibe of the resort well in a playful, “Disneyfied” look.
To my knowledge, Banana Cabana is the only pool bar that has its own merchandise.
I’m not surprised to see this–Banana Cabana has an oddly loyal following. I’m not sure that following is sufficient to sustain a piece of merchandise, but kudos to Disney for the deeper cut here.
These shot glasses underscore the old v. new style distinction.
I’ve had the hat on the right for ~4 years now; it was one of the first resort-specific items I saw at Walt Disney World, so I snatched it up.
In hindsight, I far prefer the one from Old Key West. Think they’ll let me exchange my sweaty and faded four year old hat for a new OKW one?!
Moving on to Animal Kingdom Lodge, which arguably has the best and most distinct merchandise of any resort. As it should be.
You can see a wide selection of what’s available in the top photo of this post, but we’ll take a closer look here at a few things we really like.
Starting with these coffee mugs.
They’re vibrant and eye-catching, perfect for anyone who wants something for the office that doesn’t scream “Disney.” Unfortunately, they’re over $20.
There are also a variety of cool t-shirts, tank tops, polos, and even a hooded sweatshirt.
Most of this isn’t my style, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Lots of interesting uses of textures and patterns that give the shirts a surprising amount of depth–very fitting for Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Finally, we’ll conclude with Wilderness Lodge. Much like Animal Kingdom Lodge, there’s a lot of unique offerings here.
Unfortunately, I was obsessed with this one hat, so I didn’t take photos of much else. If this post is popular and turns into a series, I’ll head back to Wilderness Lodge for a more thorough look at what’s available.
Due to the $28 cost, I wasn’t going to buy this flannel hat for myself, even though I love it. Instead, I thoroughly documented it via photos. Sarah’s mom ended up giving it to me for Christmas, and I’ve been wearing it whenever it’s cold.
We’ve been back to Wilderness Lodge a few times since first seeing the hat, and it has been in and out of stock, so I wouldn’t expect it to end up at the outlets. Definitely not a style that will appeal to everyone, but it’s the epitome of Wilderness Lodge merchandise.
In part, we suspect there’s so much Wilderness Lodge merchandise because the new Disney Vacation Club villas just opened, giving the resort a boost from that. We also suspect that since Wilderness Lodge has a ton of character and charm–and a loyal fan following–there’s more of a market for it.
In short, these two lodges are places people want to remember, as they play a pivotal role in the Walt Disney World experience for guests who stay at them. (I wonder if the same will be able to be said for the comparatively charmless Disney’s Riviera Resort.)
Hopefully this was a fun, useful, or interesting post. If so, let us know and we’ll make more of a concerted effort to take more photos of resort-specific merchandise around Walt Disney World. As we mentioned in our recent Epcot update, we’re toying with the idea of doing more merchandise updates, and this was something of a test run for that. Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have any favorite pieces of merchandise from the resorts? Any hotels you think have consistently better items than others? Would you like to see this series continue? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Just found this old post when searching for CBR. You need to get back to Old Key West. We were there in Aug and just like that ornament that graphic and colour scheme are all over now. There are shirts, magnets, key chain, hats, mug. There’s also a Gurgling Suitcase t shirt so Banana Cabana has lost it’s title. We bought tonnes of stuff as like you I really appreciate Resort Specific Merch and will support it. Also check out Fort Wilderness Campground. They have a fantastic new line.
Would LOVE to see more resort-centric posts especially about merchandise! We’re headed to the World in June.
I really enjoy the reports on merchandise in the parks and at the resorts, so please keep them coming. We are pin traders so it’s always fun to see the new stuff we will want to grab on our next visit or hunt for online. Thanks for all the great information!
I really hope AoA has some specific merch when we go for our honeymoon in 2020! (Or wherever we end up, but we both like the look of AoA the best.)
This is such a fun post!
I love this post and hope to see more merch posts. And I agree that Wilderness Lodge hat is great! I may just have to stop by and purchase one (and while there I’ll get the Mickey waffles with strawberries and cream!)
I love the resort merchandise! I make sure to get something from each one I stay at. I hope this continues. 🙂
Definitely would love to see more! And I totally agree about the WL hat. While I enjoy looking, I am not one to buy resort specific merch. However…that hat is fantastic! Regardless of the price, it would be hard for me to pass.
We stayed at Pop century in September during free dining, and I almost bought that same mug. Growing, my family stayed at a lot of the value resorts and something about that mug made me feel so nostalgic. The bf convinced me $15 for another mug I didn’t need was not per se *necessary*
Thanks for sharing this resort specific post, I really enjoyed reading it. I have just recently found out about this blog and thoroughly enjoy it. The Wilderness lodge hat is fab!
Love this merchandise post. When we were at Port Orleans French Quarter in 2018, the cast member was telling us that they were getting new merchandise with a new design for 2019. Would love to see that in a future post. Thanks.
I would love to see more of Wilderness lLodge ! We are looking forward to our first stay there because of how lovely the theme is. ( I think all the resorts aregreat and it was hard to pick .) We always get something from the resort we stay at for a souvenir.
Tom, the beach club has used “the mermaid” for awhile, including a statue of her in front of the villa building. We were there in December and would have loved to have found some of the mermaid souvenirs.
I love the Ariel statue out front of BCV, and even the graphic design on this mug–it’s fitting of Beach Club.
The text, on the other hand, is a totally different thing…
Hello! Does anyone know if there is resort specific merch at AoA? Specifically the Mickey-Shaped ceramic ornament? Thanks!
I feel exactly the same about the “Mermaid at Heart” line on the Beach Club merchandise… I love the design otherwise, and personally I feel that it’s classy, timeless, and fairly gender-neutral, but all of those are undermined by the addition of that line.
This is a great idea for a post, and I am now searching my app for that Wilderness Lodge hat! Love posts that are particular to the resorts. Keep them coming.
I love the resort specific merchandise! I had a Beach Club mug years ago and someone… put it in the dishwasher… now it is just a blue mug… may have to get a new one! Would love to see more at the Wilderness Lodge too!
If it makes you feel any better, I ruined my favorite mug from Grand Floridian the same way.
There ought to be a law against making mugs that aren’t dishwasher safe. [shakes fist at cloud.]
Exactly! There is a law banning plastic straws but no law for mugs in dishwashers! 🙂
I am glad I am not the only one! Wish they could figure out a way to make all the mugs dishwasher safe… They can figure out ways to make it seem like you’re flying with a banshee but mugs have to be hand washed…
Not sure how it works in the states, but in Australia, we just put the mugs in the dishwasher on a lower setting (60 degrees C I think?) and we have had no problems with the mugs. They come out sparking, provided they’ve been rinsed of any milky drinks before being loaded in. This is for our big Hank and Porg mugs, which were both “shaped” as their relevant characters, and so were very expensive. We were a bit nervous the first time, but no problems here.