Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the new theme park in Disneyland California, is a spaceport home to smugglers and rogues. That means that the LARP experience is going a bit further and folks are actually swiping menus, coasters, and everything else that they can from the park, not for souvenirs but to re-sell on eBay.
Some things, like coasters, are going for about $10. Other items, like the flight cards that you get before you go on the ride Smuggler’s Run—which you are supposed to return to the cast members before actually boarding the ride—are being sold for $20. Menus from Oga’s Cantina are now going for about $40. Even the sporks from eatery Docking Bay 7 are being grabbed.
Listen, Galaxy’s Edge has high prices, and I understand swiping a coaster for a souvenir. But it seems somewhat awful to steal as much as you can and then go sell it to the highest bidder on eBay. Especially the flight cards from the Millennium Falcon, which you are actively not supposed to be taken off the ride. I’m sure the cast members aren’t getting in trouble for guests with sticky fingers, but it’s still not cool.
Also slightly less cool? Buying up the merchandise to re-sell as well. I understand if you’re trying to get rid of stuff you already have, but buying new merchandise just to re-sell it seems like a jerk move. We can talk about accessibility until the banthas come home when it comes to Disney’s prices at the park, but going there and buying a lot of merchandise just to re-sell it is not the answer.
Deadline reports that while Disney hasn’t commented on the stealing, cast members are now taking menus back and working on steps to curtail visitors from swiping some free merchandise.
This isn’t technically illegal—no one is going to prosecute you for stealing a coaster or a flight card. But it still seems not particularly cool. Re-selling merchandise, potentially at a higher price than it was sold for in the parks, is just a jerk move. You’re preying on fans who can’t make it to the parks, forcing them to pay for things you stole or things you bought for a lower price. There has to be a better way if this kind of demand is in place. If fans are so eager to have a coaster from Galaxy’s Edge, they should be made available officially at a reasonable price.
(via Deadline, image: Disney)
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