The Disney Theme Park Merchandise Product Team was nice enough to take the time to answer several questions for us. Read the exclusive Q&A here!
SwStarTours.net: Thanks for letting us submit some questions to you. I know a lot of Disney and Star Wars fans will appreciate it. To start, why has there been such a lack of merchandise for Star Tours 20th Anniversary? So far we have only seen one commemorative pin.
Disney Theme Park Merchandise Product Team: This is fairly standard for all attraction anniversaries. They are normally only supported in merchandise by pins. In some rare cases, like DL’s 40th anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean, we do a few more items.
SWST: Were any non-droid characters ever considered for the Hasbro Star Tours action figure line?
DTPMPT: Not that I am aware of.
SWST: C-3PO and R2-D2 were not part of the Hasbro Star Tours line. Was there a reason for that?
DTPMPT: I was not in the category when the 1st wave was started, so I am not a complete expert. However, it is my understanding that they wanted to focus on exclusive figures from the attraction. Obviously, C-3PO & R2-D2 have been a part of many previously released figure lines, through Hasbro.
SWST: Were there any difficulties in acquiring the rights to the Muppet/Star Wars crossover licenses?
DTPMPT: It’s something that we have wanted to do for a while. With Disney’s recent alignment with Henson, it is now a much more manageable arrangement. With Disney also having the Muppets attractions, we are also always looking for new ways to support that brand, as well.
SWST: Will the Darth Goofy action figure be sculpted wearing his boxer shorts outside his black costume, like the Big Fig version?
DTPMPT: No.
SWST: Is Hasbro manufacturing the Disney Characters AS Star Wars Characters action figures, or is another company producing those?
DTPMPT: We are doing those direct with the factory, under agreement & approval from Hasbro.
SWST: Will there be any more Latex Star Wars characters like the Yoda?
DTPMPT: Nothing further is planned right now.
SWST: Are the Electronic Monorail toys and Hotel/attraction playsets continuing to be sold at the theme parks, and how well are they selling? Are any future sets planned for this line?
DTPMPT: The monorail and accessories continue to be key tangible memory toys for those visiting the parks. Last year, the Monorail updated to a deluxe version, with working doors, clear windows, and micro-characters. We also did a re-fresh to the packaging for the Monorail, track sets, and [miniature Contemporary hotel]. Every year, we will be switching out the color of the Monorail stripe (in hopes of eventually releasing all of the actual Monorail colors). Last year was Gold; this year was Blue; and right before the holidays, Monorail Lime will debut.
SWST: We have been asked this many times so I am going to the source. Can you give us release dates and Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices for the Potato Heads, Leia and Padme Dress Sets, Disney Star Wars character crossover figures and the already very popular Star Wars Muppet set?
DTPMPT: Release dates are a little tough. The traffic/ transportation will cause some variance that we can’t control. The traffic times are also different between WDW & DLR. Generally, we are targeting October ’07 release for the SW Mister Potato Head line and the Disney SW Action Fig Series 1. Mr. Potato Head will retail at $12 & the action figs will retail at $8. The dress sets and the Muppets set are still under development, so I don’t have any definite info on them. They will likely be a late spring/early summer 08 release.
SWST: Thanks Again!
