If you’re among the thousands of guests that descended upon shopDisney this morning with a faint glimmer of hope at being able to obtain any of the new May the 4th releases for Star Wars Day, you probably noticed the odds were not in your favor.
Despite implementing a new virtual waiting room to ensure fair chances for all to obtain merchandise, the same issues that have been plaguing the shopDisney website and app for the past month for limited edition pin releases and the Minnie Mouse: The Main Attraction monthly collection nearly rendered the site unusable.
First, the site had its customary full-on crash the moment the items became live at 10:00 AM (ET). Then, as guests scrambled for each item, some were faced with immediate “out of stock” notices, while others had to make repeat attempts at adding them to their cart. And that’s just where the fun begins.
Completing check-out has been impossible for nearly everyone––even if you managed to add the items to your cart and proceeded to sign in or fill out your address and billing info, no payments would process in order to complete the order. Some guests have also reported being continuously stuck inside the virtual waiting room with seemingly no sign of being transferred to an item page.
We’re aware of the technical issues that you are currently experiencing and working quickly to resolve them. Our apologies for the inconvenience and thank you so much for your patience.
— shopDisney (@shopDisney) May 4, 2020
At 11:49 AM (ET), nearly two hours after the official launch, shopDisney released the following statement:
“We’re aware of the technical issues that you are currently experiencing and working quickly to resolve them. Our apologies for the inconvenience and thank you so much for your patience.”
It is unknown whether additional stock of these limited edition items will be released. Various screenshots of the same items that sold out within seconds being resold on eBay at increasingly high markups have been spotted all across social media, as automated bots have been snatching up limited release items before actual humans can get through the checkout process.
Did you brave the virtual lines on shopDisney to get your Star Wars merchandise fix this morning? Did you succeed in your mission? Let us know in the comments. And if you aren’t looking to wait in any lines, virtual or otherwise, you can shop tons of Star Wars Day deals from other retailers like LEGO, Her Universe, and more by clicking here.
