i'm not a disney collector or even a frozen collector but i have had my eye on some of the frozen items and enjoy coming to read others talking about them on this site. I was able to acquire kristoff anna animators and the four classic dolls since the beginning of this month. here's what i've gathered from my local disney store:
The stores in my area recieve shipment on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. it can sometimes be tues weds thurs depending on if there was a delay.
I would call every morning at 10:00-10:15am (opening is at 10am) and ask if they recieved any frozen shipment, if they say yes then ask what they got. i noticed sometimes they're more helpful if you ask for general items because when i call and ask for dolls i mostly get a flat no.
The morning i was able to get elsa and hans classic dolls i called the store at 9:50am a few minutes before they opened and they said all they got was pajamas. However, because it wasn't opening time i think they were not very happy to get my call so early. so i stopped by the DS store on my way home around noon and low and behold they had put out classic elsa and hans dolls. i was able to get one, but while i was in there a lady came in and bought NINE ELSA DOLLS. im assuming they got 10 total, i got one and she got the rest.
one of the cast members told me they were expecting another shipment the next day and they assumed they would be getting the other two dolls but not guaranteed. I was there the next morning 10 minutes before opening and sure enough they had the anna and hans classics. AND sure enough while i was in there a few minutes after opening there was another lady buying the whole stock of dolls.
It seems like most of the stores have been restocking dolls and items every week however it gets sold out within hours of being put on shelves. Is it all fans? probably not. you really just have to call every morning and sometimes even physically be there for opening. with a little bit of luck and determination you should be able to find some sort of frozen doll.
1 of the 2 stores in my area is actually holding 80% of the frozen shipment they've been getting for the past few weeks in their back room to have a good selection for the morning the dvd is released. however they are also expecting a HUGE amount of people to show up that morning. the other DS manager told me he wasn't doing that and whatever comes in gets put out immediately and its possible unless he gets a frozen shipment tuesday morning, he won't have much to offer besides the dvd on release day.
AGAIN this is just what i've heard from the two stores in my area, it's possible most stores are doing this, its possible its only the two in my area. Again, this isnt disney's fault, i see the disney store facebook page getting yelled out post after post for not supplying dolls and costumes. The stores are recieving these items in small amounts but they're being snatched up right when they're on the shelves. Like the last poster said, dont resort to ebay prices because unless you're looking for a LE doll, everything will eventually be re-stocked. I think theres a little bit of urgency because once a movie is no longer "new" the quality of the merchandise gets a little more...generic...but with this movie, i dont see them changing the dolls or toys they are offering for a few months because it's so in demand. i would imagine theres no point in changing the product or making new frozen dolls when the ones they have are selling so well.
