Disney Store Closed!

[Leonia]

I know only one Disney store, it's at the Westfield Shopping Center in Arcadia, California. It's still open, and I used to love going to the Disney Store as a kid.

But they don't have any good stuff now that I'm 18...it's mostly kid fluff now. Every time I go there, it's more action figures for the boys and princess-related stuff for the girls...

[Kram Nebuer]

one of the Disney stores here in Kansas closed at the end of last summer. luckily it was just for refurbishment. it has since reopened with a super cool DIGITAL TV much better than that projection one that glared when you got close to it.

My brother Escapay mentioned the Cherry Hill store ( hehe...cartwheels in the Disney store). I think this had the same exact refurbishment as this Kansas one. And what's really really cool is that on the Snow White 2nd disk in the Disney Through the Decades documentary for the one about the 90's (the one hosted by Ming Na), they have a screen shot of our Cherry Hill Mall Disney store!

[AwallaceUNC]

When I was in Raleigh, NC, there were 2 Disney stores open at the malls there, now I'm pretty sure they are down to one, and the newest malls built there, within the past 2 years in Raleigh and Durham, there is no Disney store. Don't know about anymore that are open in the Triangle area of NC. Here in Charlotte the only one I know of is 35 miles away from where I live on the opposite side of the city.

I'm in the Triangle, but haven't been to any of the malls yet. I have plans to go tomorrow, so I'll check on it and let you know their status.

Despite Disney Store's decline in quality, I too still love going in them. It DOES feel like you're walking into a world of Disney, and it would be nice to not have to travel to Disney World just to see a Disney store. So here's to hoping something turns around and they stay open .

-Aaron

P.S. What happens to all the stuff they have lining the top of the store when they close?

[chrisrose]

Despite Disney Store's decline in quality, I too still love going in them. It DOES feel like you're walking into a world of Disney, and it would be nice to not have to travel to Disney World just to see a Disney store.

Yeah it would be nice... but maybe that's part of Eisner's plan? As we all know, discerning fans and collectors used to be able to buy a variety of quality items at the Disney Store - but now, if you want the good stuff, you have to order it straight from Disney (and pay absolutely INSANELY high shipping prices - I did it once for the Walt bio DVD because I was desperate... NEVER AGAIN!) ...or... travel to the theme parks. Which means they make more money since you have to pay admission to get inside in order to reach their stores, then pay again at the stores.

Evil, isn't it?

And sad. That they don't care about Disney fans who aren't interested in the kiddy crap so readily available at the Disney Stores... but who are just "regular folks" with limited finances, unable to visit the parks in order to buy better merchandise. We just get screwed. Walt was "regular folks" himself and I'm convinced he would not be pleased about this.

The Disney company's so greedy these days they'd rather cater to wealthy customers. The rest of us must content ourselves with the garbage at Wal-Mart and the Disney Store. I'll have to cultivate bad taste, I guess. Lizzie McGuire fandom, here I come!

[chrisrose]

Okay I'm obviously talking to myself here but...

Just saw Eisner on Larry King Live and he pretty much admitted he's closing the Disney Stores because he wants people to go the stores in the Theme Parks instead. Because he's a greedy bastard.

I don't have a transcript, but a caller asked him why so many stores were closing and he said there was still a great one open in New York... (significant pause) ... "and at the Parks" (this said with a meaningful look and smug smirk).

I was glad one caller bashed his California Adventure crapfest and said there was only one good ride and it wasn't worth the money. That was satisfying.

I won't go into how furious the whole interview made me and how full of lies (and omissions) it was. I don't think anyone on this forum wants to hear me rant anymore about Eisner. So I'm going back to lurking from now on.

[AwallaceUNC]

Indeed... lies, lies, omissions, and lies. Part of me wants to still like Eisner, he is a symbol of Disney for me, as he's been around all my life, but he's just crapping the company up.

-Aaron

[Starion]

One Disney Store in Arlington, VA (USA) closed. I think it moved to Ronald Regan Washington National Airport. The store in the airport is really small. The size is only about 10 x 20 feet (3.048 x 6.096 meters). The Disney Store in Tysons Corner Mall is about four times larger.

The new store sells doesn't sell a lot stuffed animals. There is one small shelf on a wall that has stuffed animals. There are some racks of children's clothes and shelves of DVDs and CDs. Behind the counter is a bookshelf full of snowglobes.

Since the store is inside the airport, I can watch planes land at the same time. Also, the clerks need to wear ID tags for security reasons.

[yoda_four]

Mine in Vancouver at Metropolis at Metrotown is still open. A lot is being renovated at the mall currently but The Disney Store's still there. Unfortunately, It's pretty flat. They got a big Stuffed animal area with somec clothing on the east of the store and games/watches/small home entertainment section on the west side. Right in the centre there's 4 tills. The outside looks nice, almost like something from Disneyland. I'd say it's the size of 800 sq ft if my calculations are correct (which they probably aren't)

[yoda_four]

Just found this at Jim Hill Media:

Disney Store cast members are told about the pending sale of retail chain ...

... in an letter that Disney Store senior V.P. Kay Murfin sent out to all employees last week. In a JHM exclusive, read for yourself what Murfin told Disney Store staffers about the pending sale to The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc.

A message from Kay Murfin, Senior Vice President - Store Operations

Dear Fellow Cast Member:

As you know, The Walt Disney Company has been considering various strategic options for Disney Store during the past year. In the spirit of keeping you informed I wanted to personally update you on the status of the Company's position.

This morning, The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. announced that it is in discussions with The Walt Disney Company to acquire and operate Disney Store in the United States and Canada under a long-term license arrangement.

The Children's Place is a growing specialty retailer with 700 stores in the United States and Canada.

As we have gotten to know the company, we have come to appreciate its knowledge of retailing and its appreciation of the Disney brand and culture in the Disney Store organization.

While the announcement is a formal one, we all need to consider three very important things:

* A final deal has not been made, nor are we certain that these discussions will result in an agreement or completion of the transaction.
* If Disney Store is ultimately sold to The Children's Place, the buyer currently anticipates that the field organization will remain intact.
* And most importantly, we continue to represent The Walt Disney Company and are its brand ambassadors in this community. During this process, we must all continue our commitment to providing our Guest an exceptional shopping experience.

Remember, even if another company buys Disney Store, the Disney name will still be above the door. And the special experience that represents to our Guests will also remain the same.

While it is premature to provide you with a timeline, I will continue to share information as the situation develops as appropriate. Regardless of these developments, day-to-day operations of the Stores will not change. And as I said above, your dedication and professionalism are critical at this time.

Because of this announcement, there will be heightened press activity. If a member of the press approaches you, notify your Store Manager. Store Manager should refer press inquiries directly to Gary Foster, vice president of Corporate Communications at (***) ***-****.

This information should also not be discussed with Guests or other mall employees.

Over the past year, we have grown and strengthened as a team, achieving phenomenal results in the face of challenging times. I want to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of each of you.

Kay

[DreamerQ18]

The Volusia County Mall Disney Store closed about a eyar ago since then I have seen the store be 9 diffrenet shops is rather sad actually the store was always packed when I went and there was always a pretty good of variety in product. It sucks not having one near by now i have to drive to the sanford mall about 45 minutes away to go and visit the Disney store and to be honest I have not been there in so long I am not even sure its open still.

[Starion]

It sucks not having one near by now i have to drive to the sanford mall about 45 minutes away to go and visit the Disney store and to be honest I have not been there in so long I am not even sure its open still.

There's a Disney Store in Sanford (Seminole Towne Center) and Ocoee (West Oaks Mall) near interstate 4. Sandford and Ocoee are more than 30 miles from Daytona Beach.

The store sounds far. The small store at National Airport is about 45 by subway.


Later

[DreamerQ18]

It sucks not having one near by now i have to drive to the sanford mall about 45 minutes away to go and visit the Disney store and to be honest I have not been there in so long I am not even sure its open still.

There's a Disney Store in Sanford (Seminole Towne Center) and Ocoee (West Oaks Mall) near interstate 4. Sandford and Ocoee are more than 30 miles from Daytona Beach.

The store sounds far. The small store at National Airport is about 45 by subway.


Later

Hey thanks for the info I didnt know about the Disney Store at the Wst Oaks Mall . SInce it is summer I am going to make it a point and go check it out .

[CJ]

The only Disney Store we had here in mississippi has closed. It doesnt matter though, it had become nothing more than a place to find the princesses merchandise.

[AwallaceUNC]

Well, I hope that these talks are successful. I'm so excited to see that they will remain open, rather than simply being shut down. Ours here is still open, and I hope it stays that way long enough for the buy-out to happen. The selection here isn't too great, but occasionally it has somehting cool, and I just like to go inside. It also makes buying advanced purchase WDW tickets easy. I'm a little surprised that Disney would allow an outside company to manage their name like this, though. I'm sure Disney will still be in control of many aspects. I'm sure that The Children's Place sees potential in the franchise, and will improve it. At least they can't do much to make it worse!

* If Disney Store is ultimately sold to The Children's Place, the buyer currently anticipates that the field organization will remain intact.

What exactly does that mean? Hopefully the merchandising WILL change! Maybe even some lowered prices, too.

Paul, thanks so much for posting this.

-Aaron

[yoda_four]

You're welcome. It's a bit old by now but still some good news. There was also something about it on SaveDisney....

[TheZue]

I'm a little surprised that Disney would allow an outside company to manage their name like this, though.

That seems to be all they do now, get other people to do the work and offer their name in return for money . It's pretty much what they've been doing with he outsourcing of animation.

It's too bad about the disney stores, I used to collect the porcalien figurines they used to sell. They are basically a gawdy kids clothes store now.

[AwallaceUNC]

Well, but with those, someone else is making something and then handing it to Disney to manage. With the stores, Disney will be making something (or at least lending their name) and then giving it to someone else to manage. With animation and non-BV movies, the final product seen by the public still has Disney's name on it, with Disney in control of that. This time they are kind of handing over their name and logo for someone else to manage, it seems. That's what surprises me.

-Aaron

[Owlzindabarn]

I think the main reason that Disney Store has refocused its merchandise outlook in this: they were looking at the bottom line, realized that the little girls' pjs were selling more than anything else, and decided that was their target market. So away with the dvds, the lithographs, the limited edition porcelains, animation cels, and anything else that's FUN. I remember a time, maybe 5 or more years ago when I could spend a whole hour at a typical Disney store, going through all that terrific collector's stuff.

The place is a bore now! No wonder they're going out of business, so focused are they on the wish-fulfillment fantasties of preteen girls who want to be princesses, and the fat parents who live vicariously through their unpleasant children, treating them like said princesses. What an icky place to go, I think.

Typical Disney Store story: When Lion King came out on dvd, I had one of those pre-order tickets. Well that Tuesday, I really wanted to pick up the dvd, but realized that I wouldn't have time to get it after work. So I figured I could get there right at 10am when the store opened, pick it up and race to work. Well, I got there about 5 of 10, and the shop still had the grate down. No one was around except for this one fat lady with a baby carriage. The little girl inside was about 18 months if she was a day. Well, apparently this woman had been standing there for some time. I think she felt there would be this mass stampede of people trying to be the first in line to get the Lion King dvd! Seriously! So she sees me coming with my little pre-order ticket and says to me, "Um, when they open the door, you're not going to rush past, now are you?"
And I'm like "What? No, ma'am, I wasn't planning on it."
And she says, "That's good. I just wanted to make sure. My daughter wanted to be the FIRST in line to get the Lion King, and it'll simply break her heart if she's not first..."
And I'm looking down at this uncomprehending little baby, thinking HUH?? Like she's old enough to even know what the Lion King is, or anything. What the hell ever!
That's the kind of families that shop at the Disney store.

[Christian]

Over time it was more and more common for "cast members" to look at me funny when I went in a Disney Store. I never figured out why until I read this thread and realized that it must be because over time they started to focus on just selling merchandise to prepubescent girls. Nothing wrong with being one if you are one but they used to cater to everyone.

[ValenciaJoe]

I remember going to the Disney Store in Glendale, California when it was a test market store for Disney (the Glendale Galleria tends to be a test market location for a number of stores). It had perhaps the best collectible section of Disneyana stuff outside of a NFFC convention. Even when they expanded the store (basically doubled the size), they had a good selection of Disneyana. Now, that is history!