Disneyland shoppers in a frenzy over exclusive backpacks

A shop at Shanghai Disneyland was overwhelmed recently with shoppers desperate to get their hands on new backpacks.

After Sweetheart Confectionery, which sells Disney merchandise, put them on sale customers reported waiting in line for over eight hours, only to be told by the evening that they had sold out.

The scene at the store was chaotic at times, with reports of fainting incidents and security being called to maintain order.

Amid the chaos, videos surfaced online of people demanding a resolution from Disney officials and some attempting to rush into the store.

Suspicions of scalpers queuing multiple times were raised, further fueling the frenzy. The coveted backpacks, retailing on the official website for 399 yuan, were sold out and listed at up to 500 yuan on a second-hand e-commerce platform.

Fans expressed their frustration after queuing all day and not being able to buy their desired backpacks.

A breakdown of the event revealed miscommunication and organizational mishaps. Despite promises of stock availability and structured queueing systems, many were left uninformed about the actual stock levels until it was too late.

There is online reservation service to the Disney Home store on Disney's official Wechat account, however, hundreds of reservations were all gone within minutes after they were released at a little past 5am.

Scalpers reportedly charged between 300 to 500 yuan per person for access.

Shanghai Disneyland Resort issued a statement on Thursday promising to optimize operations to ensure more visitors can purchase their desired products.

It said it was committed to enhancing operational strategies to improve access to products, while combating unauthorized reselling and illegal activities within the resort. They also reminded visitors to purchase merchandise solely through official channels.