Have you made your way to Florida to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary? If you haven’t, don’t worry it’s an 18-month long celebration that started on October 1st, 2021. Lately, we have been hearing from family, friends, and our Disney community, that many items they have seen on social media were not in stock when they were visiting the parks. Unless you’re at the parks everyday (like us) you wouldn’t know that Walt Disney World, like every other company, is experiencing supply shortage issues. This means that when new Disney Park exclusive merchandise hits the shelves, it is only a matter of days (possibly even hours!) before the merch disappears from the shelves. You know things are bad when you physically see a store in Hollywood Studios close down, due to Disney not being able to keep the shelves fully stocked. At the time of this article’s writing (1/7/2022), that store remains closed (and it originally closed around Thanksgiving/Christmas!).
Now let’s talk Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary park merchandise. It started SLOWLY trickling on to the shelves even before the official start of The World’s Most Magical Celebration. There was a “soft release” or a “sneak peek” drop back in summer 2021. Since then, there have been multiple collections released, some dropping at the start of the celebration (October), and others that still haven’t even dropped yet!
If you did not know already, Disney usually never announces an “official drop date” for any of its merch beforehand, instead they usually hint “coming soon” – and this is all for a very good reason. I’m sure you heard about the fist fight in Emporium on Main Street over 50th merch, and we certainly don’t need that happening every time new items are released. Since Disney never announces a drop date, it’s really fun for us to be surprised when we see new (and even re-stocked) items on their shelves. But don’t get us wrong, it can also be really stressful when you’re looking forward to something, and have absolutely no clue if or when it may ever appear. That said, there are plenty of items from the 50th anniversary collection that we have never even seen because they sold out so quickly… which is kind of crazy since we are at the parks almost daily!
We put together a list of 10 hard-to-find (you may even call rare-find) Walt Disney World 50th anniversary merchandise items, that you may not see when you visit the park. Number 1 has consistently been the HARDEST to find, and an item that we haven’t physically seen in person ourselves yet! Can you guess what it is?
10. 50th Monorail Play Set
They’re bulky, heavy, and take up a lot shelf space… and honestly just what Disney needs to keep the store looking full when items are flying off the shelves. Unfortunately, this 50th Anniversary Monorail play set is a hot item that doesn’t last long on shelves. At the time of writing, this item is sold out (and has been for over a month now!).
9. Mickey 50th Popcorn Bucket and Minnie 50th Sipper
This cute couple were not released at the parks at the same time. In fact, the Minnie sipper was released a few weeks before the Mickey popcorn bucket made its debut! We loved them so much, that we made sure to make them part of our personal Disney collection. At the time of writing, both of these items are sold out.
8. Starbucks 50th Been There Series Mugs, Ornaments, & Pins
Everyone loves Starbucks, especially their 50th Been There Series items – only found at the parks. In order, the first ones we personally came across were: Hollywood Studios, then Animal Kingdom, then Epcot, and finally a few weeks after those were released we found the Magic Kingdom ones. We started our very first Starbucks collection with both the ornaments & pins (we are lucky enough to have all 4 park pins, and all 4 park ornaments)! At the time of writing, all of these items are sold out.
7. Starbucks 50th PINK & BLUE Studded Tumbler
Make it pink, make it blue! This is the notorious Starbucks studded tumbler that makes people go crazy, that’s right, CRAZY… this is the item people were fist fighting over in the middle of Magic Kingdom. The blue one was released in October 2021, and the pink one was just very recently released. Everyone has noticed that the retail price for these tumblers started out at $39.99 in October, and has since increased to $49.99 per tumbler. We don’t exactly blame Disney, they probably need to hire extra security any time they re-stock these tumblers. At the time of writing, the blue tumblers come in & out of stock sparingly, and the pink ones are sold out.
6. Loungefly 50th Castle Backpack
The popular backpack brand did not disappoint its loyal fans with this one. This Loungefly backpack has hit the shelves in random waves & has disappeared just as fast. At the time of writing, this backpack is sold out.
5. 50th Castle Spirit Jersey
It’s no secret that Disney loves to release backpacks & accessories that pair nicely with their apparel. This was no different. Credit to the popular brand, Spirit Jersey, for making a beautiful shirt that had fans going nuts (rumor has it a fight broke out over this one at Disney Springs!). This shirt was the ONE & ONLY MUST HAVE for me (out of ALL the 50th merch!), and I am proud to have added it to my growing Spirit Jersey collection. At the time of writing, this item is sold out.
4. Dooney & Bourke 50th Castle Tote bag
The luxury handbag brand, Dooney and Bourke, recently released this beautiful 50th castle bag. You might think, because of its hefty price tag, that they are still on the shelves… but oh boy, are you very wrong. This bag sold out within a day or two of its release on property. We heard it sold out from shopDisney within minutes. At the time of writing, this bag is sold out on property.
3. Disney Character & Castle Mugs
As we wind down to the final 3, it is important to note that these final 3 items have not been restocked on property since their initial releases. Thus, making them our top 3 extremely hard to find 50th items. These two beautiful mugs were a one and done deal, at least so far. I would like to note that we have seen pictures on social media that the Character mug has been found by some at their local Target’s across the country. We have looked at many Targets during our travels & had no such luck. Let’s just say, if you ever find these mugs (whether that’s at Walt Disney World or Target) you should go for it, because chances are you will not see them again! At the time of writing, these mugs are sold out.
2. CorkCicle 50th Travel Mug
It’s a beautifully designed travel mug, and Luis’s favorite when we are on the run & he needs to bring coffee. We purchased it during its summer 2021 release, before the celebration officially began, and it has yet to be restocked. You are almost 100% guaranteed not to find this on your trip to Walt Disney World. At the time of writing, this travel mug is sold out.
1. Loungefly Earidescent Backpack
The number one item you won’t easily see during your visit to The Most Magical Place on Earth is this Loungefly backpack. You hear about people seeing the Yeti, and I’m not talking about the one over at Animal Kingdom on Everest, but the “real one” out there in the wild… but you have never actually seen it yourself (besides some phony photographs perhaps). This bag is our Yeti… we’ve heard about people seeing it, we have seen photos of it, but we have NEVER once come across it ourselves… and we are the parks/Disney Springs everyday! For the 10th and final time, at the time of writing, this backpack is sold out.
Don’t be disappointed if you make your way to Walt Disney World and do not see these 10 items on the shelves during your trip, chances are you’re not alone.
I wonder if there is someone out there who lives around the corner from the parks, who would let me know if & when these items are back in stock?
Oh that’s right, @shopminniemart can do that! Especially with our text subscription service, which is available to those who have previously shopped with us at least once before. Be the FIRST to know and the FIRST to claim these items the next time we see them on shelves. To learn more visit: shopminniemart.com/textsub
Until next time friends 👋