I remember getting so hyped when I went to the Disney store as a kid, and saw the huge plush mountain! Sad to know that future generations won’t share that same excitement 😢
same only i was a young adult in early 20's but yes plush mountain first display i would "attack" i got for an easter plush to pick out a disney plush and i went right for stitch i lived with my parents then but i has him in my bedroom. too many bunnie plushes wanted something original. i do remember being a little girl late 80's and 90's went to malls a lot esp with my dad on dad weekends. always had make trip in and i usually had some money to buy some small things. i miss the screen too that would play movie trailers and show videos.nothing will compare to being at then downtown Disney Florida 1996 and spring of 1998 going into the world of disney not sure what happened to my Wendy porceline figurine that was and is still sure the ultimate disney store.i really was disappointed when in mass a mall had disney store and i just had gotten back from visiting my dad in floirida in 2013. i mean i was with my mom she promised have me stop by so i could see about getting some Frozen merchandise and that like they had nothing because the place legit just closed down. then was only outlets but those better than nothing. my dad didn't live near a disney store plus i had to pack light. i am so glad i got frozen 2 merch early in SC i got adventure anna 18in plush they ran out of the young anna plush i had wanted so i put some money on a gift card for shopdisney i also had pack light i got something for frozen 2 at Walmart down there and at target my aunt and i managed to fit all my loot into my bag Spirit airlines have mad rules. Oh one more disney memory of the stores were the character displays on upper walls and some of them animatronic. it was always mostly my dad and then stepmother who brought me to disney stores. think the only time i went into disney store with my mom stepdad and sis was in 1996 to go pick our disney world park hopper tickets. now i legit studied the travel guides too stepdad had made itinerary for us. we got to spend 4th of July at disney world where best fireworks are. I so really wanted my nephew to have that experience and also wished he could been a toys r us kid like i still am. the only toy store where could play with toys and employees would take time play too like hired to do that. got lot of video game stuff from there
I also remember that plush mountain at a Disney store and they changed location within my local mall and the redesign store was compared to a dollar general
get so angry that frozen and frozen 2 no plus size ladies shirts of anna or anna and elsa even with olaf. like why should the little kids have all the fun. all i saw for frozen 2 clothing was an elsa nighshirt. anna is my favorite Disney princess of the newer ones. i mean like both sisters but like and then other stores have frozen stuff and only make more of elsa excuse me they movies about 2 sisters. i have a younger sis. i went to walmart few days ago no frozen stuff but got pair of Minnie mouse ears headband for 6 dollars in party isle and not cheap plastic and fits me good.doing home made accessories Halloween "costume". i am guessing be going with the fam take my nephew trick or treating.
one is never too old for a light saber but yeah some collectibles because kids really don't collect. they should have a more adult like stationery sets and note card type things things like planners and journals and even adult colring books. i have an Art therapy Frozen 100 page coloring book it's appropriate for any age but more adult coloring genre. i got it as a get well gift when i had spine surgery in 2016 from my stepmom. i so excited i told her i had asked for it for xmas from my mom but nope. it's nice too it's hardcover.i got all kinds of gel pens,brush tips, markers and colored pencils. i have gotten the kid stationery sets before they come in nice cases. also handbags that not super pricey geared towards adults would be nice. my last visit in sept to disney outlet i didn't have enough money for this nice minnie mouse journal with click pen it wasn't kiddish either and not sold on shopdisney so very disappointed.
I cried when I went to my local store for the last time a few weeks ago, I have so many wonderful memories but what made me cry was that one of the cast members recognized me from a different location and said hi and asked about my family, that did it, cast members are awesome!
i cried too an outlet store one. so glad was able to get small haul last visit 3 things for me and a toy my nephew picked out i bought him my mom let him pick out toy too he was so happy excited he calls the place disney world. he wouldn't he hasn't been yet. a good age would be like 6 he prob get on most rides and be able to remember more. also we all have cells with good cameras no more of the one time disposable cams from the 90's. i wish had money i need get back to disney i need go on space mountain not scared before but no one ride with. other newer rides too. i also never got in pic with Mickey Mouse i mean i need pic with Anna and ok Elsa and Rapunzel and ooh would be nice if Flynn rider was out for photos i am old already 40 in june. i don't even care all i know is everyone supposed to stop being adult and be a kid for however long there. cast members in stores and at parks go above and beyond they are great. when i went to outlet in sc in 2019 for frozen 2 merch i got adventure anna plush but even though called ahead for young anna plush they were out but the cast member gave me a coupon for free shipping. so i put money on a gift card to order online. they had pins out that were free and for Mickey's Birthday. the even had paper catalogs all disney stores used have them i always grabbed one. and in park in 1996 at food place went to condtiment station and employee was filling ketchup and splashed my shirt by accident i wasn't even mad but she felt bad handed my mom a 20 and so i got to get a t shirt i said to my mom i need to go back i want to thank that nice lady and show her how much i appreciated and so wouldn't smell like vinegar. she made my night and when thanked she was touched. my mom didn't even tell me what i should do. but i was taught ettiqute. my other t-shirt washed the stain right out at hotel laundry room. my new one was purple and said walt disney world and had Pooh on it. i stood for moment just admiring it. we are called guests in stores and parks how nice and i love the double meaning of Have a disney day. the super grochy rude guests get the snarky tone one. i never got that one only cheery one.my second trip to disney in 1998 i got a week off from school by having a waiver meeting. parents there as i went with my dad then. all i had to do was read for english and keep vacay journal. i was given plenty of time to make up my homework assignments. the disney stores in parks are better too esp cast members get the whole southern hospitality thing everyone at ease. i of course made conversation anything to make sure they had good day as well as myself.
One the things I noticed is that you can really see the sadness in the parents' eyes as they walk through what remains of the store with their little ones, knowing their children may never get the same magical experience that they had. It's really heartbreaking.
I have worked for the Disney Store for 27 years, it was so heartbreaking when we closed in July of 2021. I miss my guests and my Disney family! I am saddened to see the product in a Target store, there’s no respect for the brand! 😞😞😞
Do you still keep in touch with them? At least hang out with them did you at least find a new job? I love going shopping in Disney. And on this day right now I'm still sad and feeling heartbroken. I wish I got a lot of toys there when I had the chance. Some people like me don't even shop online. I can't really shop online. and it's not cheep flying all all the way to Florida to go to Disney world or Disneyland.
@@kristenfuller9168There are lots of nice looking Disney merchandise that you won’t find in any stores. I like to buy Disney holiday merchandise at Daiso.
All these decisions they're taking now they're profit only driven, and it'll backfire on them in the long term. It's just sad to see how they're killing their own brand without even realizing it
Even I enjoyed each Disney store visiting, as wonderful as going to chuckie cheezes and Disney stores in New York I visted back in childhood, even visit to downtown Disney in late 2012( when I thought it was the end of the world back then, lol)
I was an opening store Cast Member for our local Disney Store back in 1999. That was in the height of the Disney renaissance and we were one of the first "Show Biz Set" stores in the country. For a few years after our store opened we still had a pink and green original store in our area. They later converted that over to the new "Show Biz Set" and I helped that store transition and open as well. They were one of the few in the country to be designated a "Walt Disney Gallery" store and feature collectibles and art. When we first opened the stores still had the costume of tan slacks, white button down oxford shirts and the blue cardigan sweaters (which I still have in my possession as we were allowed to purchase them once we switched to the blue denim costumes.) Yes, Kevin, Plush Fountain or Mountain as some called it was real and I remember straightening it up each night in the store. :-) Those were some of the best years in my life and as you've always said you truly become a family with the rest of the cast. Now why is Disney changing to Disney Stores in Target stores? Simply it's money. It's cheaper, and you don't have to staff the stores and you have another workforce do the labor, stocking and hard work. You just ship them the product. Unfortunately the company took a dark turn when Chapek was put in charge. Many of these plans were in the works before he took over I'm sure, but the fact that they've used the pandemic as an excuse to try to convince the public that these changes that are not at all guest friendly or guest first are for their own good and what they really want is absolutely disgusting. Disney has devalued their own brand with how they have treated their cast over the past year(s), pandered to the "guest" and used this as an absolute excuse to up-charge and up-sell everything that they offer to essentially prop up the studios and streaming while not committing to invest the money back into the theme parks and people.
Completely agree to all of your points. I was a CM for mine back in 2004 (my mother was an OG when they opened too) …I got to work with some of the same CMs my mom worked with. It really was like a family. I LOVEEEDDD plush mountain but hated it when kids would climb it or parents tried to use the store as a daycare. But the items we sold were the best. Snow globes, watches, scene prints and cells. Ahh memories.
The lockdowns only made things worse and put some restaurants out of business too. Lockdowns don’t even work and they put more people on edge. Anyone can survive the pandemic by washing your hands multiple times a day.
For here in Scandinavian countries, in Denmark and we in Sweden had a Disney Store in our capital cities. This was a HUGE thing as this was the closest you could get to some Disney magic within our countries. Like we have to travel abroad pretty far to get to Disneyland and Disney World. And we got them pretty late. We only had them for less than 10 years. So the closing of our Disney Stores is devastating. 😔
This made me tear up all over again, I was a cast member at The Disney Store Rivercenter in San Antonio TX. We closed on March. It was heartbreaking seeing the store emptying out, but we continue to create magic on our new jobs, I miss it so much, best job I’ve ever had❤️
I was a cast member in 2007-2008 I opened two stores. My son worked for 4 years at the same store I worked at .... so, so, sad to see the stores go away. Our store had a reunion on the last day, many previous cast members showed up to take pictures. Disney Shopping online is terrible !
You know, I was young when the OG Disney Stores were a thing, so you unlocked this overwhelming nostalgia when you showed one in this video. Thank you for that :) I wish Disney Stores could stay though :(
I didn’t think most of the Disney stores would go out of business several years later after the redondo beach location closed in California. I really hate businesses using the pandemic as an excuse.
only black friday i did was when Furby's were out. my mom and i got up got to Caldor yikes so long ago 5am to wait in line my mom would gone on own but was limit one per person i got to pick mine and of course act surprised Christmas morning. it was not all crazy and we out quick went back to bed to pass out. my furby didn't last long i swear thing was possessed my dog was scared of it too. it be nighttime i asleep and dang thing yell out feeeed me I'm hungry not only scared crap out of me but i actually as i was teenager yelled at it to shut up no food yeah i seen Gremlins. my mom had to that night go grab screwdrive to take battery out i hid the thing too the whole night i slept with one eye open. oh well live and learn right
the disney store would be last place i'd even want to try to attempt to go to on a black Friday. i love watching all stores not just disney crazy videos of black Friday shoppers that grown adults fighting and supposedly thankful for what they have just hours ago.
We lost all but 2 of our Disney Stores in the UK on 9th September. It’s really sad as I spent so much time in there and buying online just isn’t the same 😢
in the states and no it isn't the same at all and fact my 4 year old nephew thinks calls it disney world well did because he hasn't been to wdw yet. i still as stores being shelves scared in toys to have my nephew give me some ideas on shop disney and order him something from there. i am doing his shopping in November before thanksgiving and i don't do black Friday. i did cyber Monday for frozen 2 merch the lady messed up order got set of anna and elsa dolls but was the somethings never change outfits when i specifically said queen anna and snow queen elsa set. but lot waiting and all but still got the deals because they messed up and they had me keep the dolls that were wrong ones. of course classic dolls not limited edition because i don't have the room and they pricey. the set i wanted kept going sold out but they quite often got more in i was on phone with them constant so i also got something for the troubles(promotional) in which i thanked fo r help and generoisty and realizing they did make mistake. when go to an actual store can always make sure get the right item. i am from MA i think there was one out of the 3 that didn't close but since i can't drive too far for my mom to get to. i hear some targets have or are getting mini disney stores. they don't look all that magical or stand out i have seen on videos here. i am also to far to go to the one target in my state that is getting one. i am so hoping though to get a disney gift card or two or three for Christmas. only one big thing i want well need is an new android phone. i use as my landline too so be hard if not have good working phone. sure i will get some clothes too but i am way more simple than in m teens and child years of course we never got the whole mall for Christmas or birthdays. i was always grateful.
Same. Luckily I live in London so I have one I can go to once in a while but it's just not the same having to go to central London if you want to go to the Disney Store. And online is definitely not the same. For some places, I don't mind buying online but Disney is one of those places where I don't go in planning on buying something. 90% of the stuff I buy there is because I'm browsing and I see something I like. I'm not going to do that online and if I want free delivery, I'm going to have to spend £50 or pay £4 for delivery. That's reduces the stuff I buy even more
This is heartbreaking🥺!! I love target but it is NOT DISNEY and I wish this could be fought so we don’t lose everything to the internet and bigger chains like this😞 so sad.
The worst thing is I live in Canada I don't even have a Target in Canada. It's not cheep to fly all the way to the United States just a visit Disney world Disneyland Target. It just doesn't feel fair to me at all. and sadly I didn't get every thing at the Disney store when I had the chance. I don't even feel like shopping online it's just too hard. And it's not the same.
I worked at Disney store for 7 years. Back in the early 2000’s malls were still thriving. So many yummy junk food chains and cool experiential retail stores. It makes me sad that’s all fading away
It's all very well having an online store but walking through a door into a shop full of goods you can touch and just stroll around looking at all the goodies on shelves can never be replaced. Bring back shops. It also sucks that now you get stung for postage. These are sad times.
Awesome coverage. I was living in NY when they closed the 5th Avenue Disney Store. It was the best in NY as far as I was concerned. There was another at Forest Hills, Palisades Mall and at 42nd Times Square. I think only the one at the 42nd Times Square is alive. The most magical was at the 5th Avenue. Excel spreadsheets tells you where you can profit and save more. It doesn't tell what a magical experience is.
Thank you for showing love for the TDS cast member family. I'm a former CM that opened a store back in 1994...from there I went on to work for Disney Cruise Line....sad to see the stores vanish, so many memories...thanks for this tribute Kevin 😎❤️👍
Really good video. In the UK we have just 2 stores left. Our trip to Florida was moved 3 times due to COVID (not Disney’s fault of course) but then cancelled and now significantly more expensive for what appears to be a poorer experience. We are not going. Our replacement trip to Paris is now laden with problems and may well be cancelled. Our local Disney Store was the only thing keeping the magic going. It seems like the end of an era.
Thanks for including my picture in your tribute video for the Disney Store. I was telling my husband that the first Disney Store I had ever gone to was in 1999 for a band trip in NYC and he had to correct me telling me that one was a World of Disney, the only other one outside of Downtown Disney. It was massive! Growing up the nearest Disney Store at the time from South Texas was further north in Austin and San Antonio so I never went to any growing up. Great video. And you're right, Disney stores don't belong at Targets. :(
So sad ,going to my local Disney store at our outlets in Massachusetts was the closest to feeling like I was shopping at the parks I could be without being in Orlando or Anaheim .☹️💔
i'm also a former store cast member here...most people who went to the box office had no intension on buying anything when they walked in...it wasn't until they held the merch in their hand that they made the decision to buy it. People didn't buy stuff...they bought a memory or a feeling...that is something you can't get on a website and i can guarantee that 90% of our former guests will never go to the Disney Store online...the stores in Canada and the US were a way of connecting with people...Ursula's tentacles if you will. Brick and mortar stores are not as dead as some people think and I believe Disney might have made a big misstep by turning off the lights.
I feel the same way about the Disney Store being such a magical place! My local store was at the Mall of America and it was the closest thing we had to the Disney experience. Even as an adult, the cast members would go out of their way to be so kind to me when I’d be looking at and buying Ariel merch (she’s my fave) and we’d talk about The Little Mermaid and Disney Princesses, it was always a lovely experience. And the thing with the mirror is extra cool bc when you pick a princess wand and wave it at the mirror, there’s a little video of the princess whose wand you’re waving that plays on the mirror! I was maybe too old for it when it was first introduced but I thought it was the COOLEST ❤️
Yes I completely agree! The Disney Store at the MOA was kind of my main Disney experience growing up (because I love Disney so much but have only been able to go to Disney World once) so I was heartbroken when it closed. The Cast Members there were always so kind and welcoming, I miss it for sure :(
Growing up, going to the mall was always exciting because that meant possibly going into the Disney Store and I always had so much fun just walking around and looking at all of the cool merch. I especially the remember the mountain of plushies and I still have the cub Simba plush that my aunt got for me years ago. Sadly, the one closest to me closed down a while back and has been replaced with an F.Y.E. The next nearest one was a 45 minute drive in an outlet mall (Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, MI) and it was among those to be just closed down two weeks ago. I will forever miss the magic.
Ugh, I am not impressed with the Target Disney Store. Completely thrown together. Do you remember what Toys R Us looked like right before it closed? That's what these stores remind me of. Also, half the fun was the experience, and Target isn't providing that. And where is all the merchandise for adults? This is all for kids. Disney Adults are the ones making and spending gobs of money. Lastly, were there any piles of big stuffed animals? I didn't see any, and I feel like that would be the main thing I'd go for.
There was a Disney Store at my local mall my whole life, from the OG design to the more modern one. This video is the first I've heard of them closing, and, honestly, I think you're right: Disney is devaluing its brand. The lackluster remakes, the soaring park prices, and relegating the only accessable Disney experience to an everyday Target one? That's really disappointing.
My special needs daughter would look forward to going to the Disney Store. It was the closest thing to actually going to Disney, since we would only go once every 5 years. When I had to break the news to her that all the stores closed, she was devastated. It’s heartbreaking for me, because going to the different Disney stores throughout our city brought her so much joy and now they’re gone. I’m not going to even mention to her that they’re in Target, because from what I saw on this video, the magic is not there. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I remember being 6 and for Christmas, I would always go to the Disney store for family with my auntie. I find it still sad for it closing. It just hits in a spot I haven’t felt since my favorite cartoon ended.
When i went to Target, and seen this Disney area it just seemed like a joke, not a Disney feeling. So sad, i hope they can realize they made a mistake and reopen Disney stores.
Well they? I didn't get a chance to get a lot of toys when I had the chance 😢 I'm still sad on this day. Doesn't feel the same. Bring them back I miss the stores. Bring them back company.
I worked at my local Disney Store #344 from ‘92. - ‘99. So the green/blue pink purple white and black checkered front floor with a Mondo Plush Mountain the Bain of my existence! I LOVED those days. I kept 1 of my sweaters and made some awesome friends. That store was my Disney Fix when I needed it. Miss it a LOT! Thanks for the vid Kevin💖💜💚💙
Nobody taught Target the Disney Merchandising it would seem. I don't know that the disarray can be completely blamed on Target ... humans are animals and I am sure treated the disney stuff like hooey. But there's no reason for the Target employee to care about the Disney stuff any more than the other stuff in the store. I certainly wouldn't bother going to the store to shop for these things, especially if there's no housewares stuff since that's all I would be interested in, really. I love Disney but I am finding myself more and more alienated from them with all the changes happening. It breaks my heart.
Thanks for this. As a target employee there is usually only one person for toys and another random section as a time. Sometimes there’s just one person for the whole general Merch department. I think Disney could’ve definitely done more to prepare it for target employees or even have cast members from the old stores come to specifically focus on that and keep the magic going in their own way. But usually we just get a piece of paper that tells us how to set up a shelf and that’s it. 🤷🏼♀️
I have the Disney Store in Hull closed in a decade ago along with the rest in Great Britain as well and we all sad and disappointed at the same time... Bring back the Disney Store, Disney!!!
I was a Cast Member for The Disney Store in the UK for 15 years and was made redundant last month as all our stores were closed apart from our flagship store in Oxford Street, London and also the one in Dublin. I literally cried watching this!! After giving our 'absolute all' as Cast Members into our stores and bringing the Disney magic to our guests, our hearts were broken when they were all closed.....but to sell all this 'tack' in target stores and call it 'Disney Store' is just shocking!!! So upsetting to see. What on earth are you doing Disney? 😭 I just don't know what else to say.
First they tried to turn the Disney store into The Gap. That didn't work. Now they're trying to turn it into Target. Will those marketing geniuses NEVER understand that the Disney Store is not about the stuff???? This is the opposite of "magical"...it's tragical.
Disney Store needed to close. Expensive mall lease with customers coming in on weekends for kids to treat it like a play area. I think the Saturday activities were the great part. Although the manager got fired a few years ago for making "Forky's". The action figure had yet to come out. So they made some like the one from Toy Story 4. But what I really wanted were more T-shirts for adults. I would have also liked to see a private travel spot along with a dedicated person to man it. Unfortunately the focus was related to mainly selling disney barbies.
I worked at The Disney Store from 2001 through 2008 when they closed the majority of them across the U.S. In those final days it was very difficult to show up to work and seeing how cheaply thrown together everything because in order to sell everything off. Merch was hanging from the ceiling and giant red clearance signs were plastered everywhere.
The Disney store pretty much died for me when the store I often went to closed back in the early 2000's. The nail in the coffin was when they remodeled them and made them way more simplistic. But It was around that same time it became more and more for little kids and my parents would find less and less that they'd love. And as an adult when I went to the one farther away I wouldn't find anything much like my parents. RIP Disney Store and especially RIP to the Evansville location which is getting close to having gone 20 years without.
This is heartbreaking 💔 I grew up with amazing stores in the height . Target space looks so sad and I am so sad my kid won’t have those experiences. I used to take her before the pandemic and it was so special for us. This hot garbage set up I won’t be buying from 😩😩😳
As an ex target employee I’m assuming Disney is paying target for a person to do an eight hour shift a day. Which means this person restocks/puts out new merch/ re sets/ puts up new presentations by themselves. If its a brand new team member this area will be a mess. if its a hard working employee is still impossible to do by yourself unless its a slow week. Plus that person has off days which means on their days off they might be putting random people. So i could see it being alot worse. Imagine if that one person goes on vacation forget about it. It’s a mess that is empty.
The Disney Store in Aventura Mall is now an arcade parlor, to say this that Aventura Mall didn’t had an arcade parlor since the 2000s or 2010s it was called Fun N Games but now the arcade parlor is where the Disney Store is at in Aventura Mall and it is had another name.
In the U.K., when The first Disney store opened, Regent Street in London, not only it was a magical place, it was a destination place in its own right selling cheap items and high end collectors items, animation cells etc as well as lots of things for adults and older children, Good quality clothing. But as they expanded in to every shopping centre they stopped selling the high end stuff and just became full of plastic junk, even the internal the wing became half hearted. I’m sure in the U.K., if they just had a flagship store in London, one in Edinburgh and perhaps one in Manchester they would be successful.
I worked in the Disney store in the mid 90s for 5-6 years. The pay was shit and raises were ridiculous (I think one raise was 17 cents) but the cast members were great and I loved that letterman sweater. There were some great perks. We got four free tickets a year that we could give to anyone (as long as we didn’t sell it) and the discounts on property were great - we were on par to the part CMs. Every so often we got something cool like a cast member mini bean bag plush (when beanie babies were huge) and those went for 1000 on eBay but you could also get fired for selling it (I never understood that directive).
I do agree that the Disney store in targets aren't really much of a "store" more or less a section in a department store. But like....try not to be so harsh?? I mean at the end of the day Target is just a department store and can only do so much. If Disney really wanted to put their stores in sections of department stores they should've just gone all out and make a physical "store within a store" if that makes any sense. but I will say that I do liked how they labeled the types of Disney properties and gave them their own shelf space.
You’re so right. People who aren’t close to a Disney park use this as a Disney fix. I wish the company understood that. I don’t mind them moving more towards online shopping - it’s how the business goes. But their site sucks (especially when limited edition items come out), their customer service is awful & their shipping isn’t great PLUS WHY HAVEN’T THEY OFFERED FREE SHIPPING FOR EVERY ORDER BY NOW?! As of now, I still have one Disney outlet in my town. But once that’s gone, I’ll probably only by Disney merch when I go to a park. The Target section is so… Target and doesn’t really look like there’s anything for adults.
Target have Disney in they store so that good because I get to see some disentangle princess stuff also JCPenny actual have Disney store before target.
They closed all the Disney stores in the UK except one in London. Which I don’t understand as they don’t have a set up like they do with target so it will all be online. I think they will loose money in the long run as the brand recognition will go and with kids no longer seeing items they won’t ask there parents for Disney products for birthdays and Christmas like they would having been able to visit the store for the exclusive items that were only sold in Disney stores.
My opinion on 1 reason why Disney store weren’t doing as well= too much tat and toys. Back when I was younger yes there were toys but there were also cool things like snow globes & fancy stuff adults loved but kids could put on a shelf to display. Then they stopped that. For several years it was a lot of rubbish and kiddy stuff. Adults love Disney too but they weren’t really being accommodated to. Then they started bringing back stuff adults wanted but then the pandemic happened. I know this isn’t the only reason but I feel it is one reason that contributed to the decline in sales. If Disney want to survive they need to accommodate adults as well as children. No point in only selling 5000 dollar Swarovski castles and kids toys they need to accommodate to a wide audience with items of varying price ranges.
It will hurt Disney in the long run. Often the power of kids would draw you into the shop as you pass, online, Disney gets lost behind many other stores. Unless a new big film is released I can't see anyone searching much for official Disney items. They should have had larger adult areas catering to the collectors with the larger lego sets and collectable pieces. Sadly where I am from the original design was changed to the new design when the store moved to the shopping centre. Despite it being the first store you saw as you walked in, it just seemed like a kids toyshop. The magic had largely gone.
The last time I tried to visit a Disney Store was in Glendale, CA. I was walking around the mall all day wearing my Gaiter. The only store in the entire mall that wouldn't let me inside was the Disney Store, due to my gaiter. I just left and continued visiting other stores, and I thought to myself "Hope they enjoy the low sales and good luck staying in business"... And I was right! They are now going out of business. Disney got what they deserve.
I Agree in That I've NEVER Been To A Theme Park & The Crabtree Mall Disney Store Was The Closest Thing! I STILL Have My Original Merch From There & SUNCOAST. (Jack with 12 Heads, Sally Doll, Light-Up Mr.Incredible, Holiday Stitch, Grumpy Shirt, etc) But What I Loved MOST Was A Movie Playing Behind MOUNDS Of Stuffed Animals & The Displays Of Old Disney Films... Even Seeing The Entrance with The Film Reel Vibe Got Me Excited.
It’s definitely very sad they are taking away all the disney stores. People could go to the disney store and have a piece of Disneyland near them with the little events that were held at the store and hearing the cute disney music. It’s all about money, and i wouldn’t be surprised if they started taking away entertainment in the parks. I was laid off last year from the resort so i definitely know how you feel. It was very difficult to deal with. I was recently called back and I’m grateful but things will never be the same
The funny thing is that the Disney Store was always full of cheap crap that was slapped with a Disney Logo and charged 80-90% more than what it was worth.
When my daughter was little, we used to go to pick out her princess costumes from Disney Store. The quality of the stuff directly from Disney was great and the stuff you usually get from Target, not so much. I haven't seen one of these at my local Targets yet so I'll have to check I guess.
Why didn’t Disney just sell their stores to franchisees (like with fast food places like McDonald’s). That way the stores could stay open but Disney don’t pay rent There are no targets in uk so I have no idea what they will do here in uk once they have closed all the stores. Target Disney store is total rubbish. Messy, no adult merch, less choice, no pins or trading.😡🤬
@@editprussell1015 ye but the children’s place was an existing company with their own views I said like McDonald’s where it’s individual people who own the stores and Disney benefit from them.
@@EmilyCheetham but that would mean Disney couldn't control every aspect even if they put agreements. It could easily backfire. I work for a type of franchised business ( teaching and education based) and we definitely don't do things the way Corporate would want. 🤣🤷🏽♀️
@@editprussell1015 well I’m pretty sure private franchisees would have done a better job than target did. That target Disney store looked messy, crap overall choose, no adult collectibles, no pins or pin trading board. It was a disgrace. If a franchisee if McDonald’s was dirty, had only part of the menu, took away all happy meals etc. McDonald’s company would NOT be happy. Well Disney in target have kind of become a disgrace. Atleast if they had had privately owned franchisee stores they would have been a lot cleaner, tidier, more choice in merchandise including adult collectibles & pins etc. I think Disney made. A bad choice closing all their stores. Hay in uk they haven’t even given an alternative they just close the stores and that is. Only way to get any official Disney merch is online other than stores that sell second hand Disney stuff (brands that pay Disney a licence to make Disney stuff) like toy stores or supermarket own Disney stuff.
To be clear I'm definitely not arguing that Target was a good choice. 🤣🤣 I was a CM so I know that there is a stark difference from the actual stores vs target having a Disney section...bc that's exactly what it is. It's not "a Disney store in Target" like they claimed...but just simply target selling Disney stuff. Target staff is probably busy stocking other things or ringing up ppl instead of standing around to organize the things ppl touch or take. Lord knows I was constantly organizing plushies, keychains, washcloths ect when I worked at Disney. Don't even get me started on kids climbing the displays (like plush mountain 😑😑) The move to close the stores is utter BS in my opinion. Pisses me the heck off bc I loved having an outlet to get clearance park items and spirit jerseys. All the good things online go to resellers who mark up the prices and have the items sell out fast (esp since they rarely restock sold out things online) from a business point I see why they did it. But I don't think it was a good move image wise also.
The first store was in Glendale, CA?? That’s the one I’ve been going to since I was kid! 🤯 Had no idea. Thank you for those old photos - they brought me back to the good times. Stores looked WAY better back then. Happy to say that I went to buy a few things at the original store (Glendale galleria) before they closed. Very perfect.
I agree with everything you said... I understand them moving into target, but I think they should have taken a corner and made it a mini disney store you know like kmart and Walmart use to have a sit down picture studio. Something like that. It's so sad they all closed it was a way for those who couldn't afford to go to the parks to get a little magic.
The one in Staten Island Mall, I used to go to the Disney store there growing up all the time! The OG stores were he best and the mountains of Disney plushies were the best!!! It was part of my childhood. I was devastated that it was closed recently. Now, the only Disney store is in Times Square. The one in Staten Island, I love the old version then they changed it and now it is gone.
Lol the Target one isn't really a Disney Store though, it's a Disney section at Target. Of course I would not expect it to be the same as an actual Disney store. Target employees are not trained that way.
I went to my local Disney Store when it was having its closing down sale, the last thing I ever physically purchased from it was a Grogu Key! I feel sorry for the Disney Store staff, they were very nice and friendly when shopping at the stores. A lot of the closing down sales were giving away free shipping coupons. The new "Disney Store" at the Targets isn't warming up on me! I hate them! I do like the Pixar figurines that Target sell though! Especially the Monsters at Work ones.
Just went to Opry Mills in Nashville yesterday...........had NO CLUE the Disney store had closed. My heart was completely broken!!! Hoping the store in Myrtle Beach will still be open when I go yo visit in 10 days. Fingers crossed
So sad 😰💔 I took my son to a Disney store in June and it was PACKED with people along with the entire mall in Northern California. Then my family tells me they closed it. Now our closest ones are the main park ones themselves in Florida or California when we visit. I actually made a special request to meet my grandma there instead of another location so I can go shopping and get an apple. The atmosphere is what makes the store special not so much the stuff. It’s just more stuff at Target.
Considering in Canada we don't have a Disney land, the Disney store made it possible to easily get merch whenever us Canadians needed our Disney fix. Such a crappy year its been and now without my Disney fix D: !
I went to a Disney store a few months ago. It wasn't in the liquidation stage yet and I got a T-shirt showing my favorite character (Donald) in different poses. In fact, I have collected a lot of DD merch over the past decade, most of which came from the Disney Store. I'm so sad that they're shutting down. 😢
Last time I was in a Disney store a couple of months ago I was disappointed in the amount of adult things they had. I remember a time where half the store was adult clothes and stuff, but this time it had maybe two jackets that fit adults and they were priced way too much. The rest for very young kids, no in between.
I opened/worked at the 5th Disney Store. We had two full weeks of training at Disney Studios in Burbank. They called it Disney Retail Academy. We had to wear Cheerleader costumes.
Man, the one up in CT back in the 90's/00's didn't look anything like that! The floor was carpeting, the interior pieces like the trees looked like it was pulled straight out of a Whinnie the Pooh book, and there were no awesome set designs like the stage or the castle. We did have that classic TV wall, with 20 or so separate screens merged together to show 5-10 minute clips of various cartoons or movies, and some characters hanging on the walls/ceiling but that was it.
As a 90s kid, I loved the Disney store. But over the years, it definitely lost its magic. The one at the mall near my house has been a dump for years (it's Potomac Mills in Northern VA not far from Leesburg), and the merchandise there was awful and BEYOND overpriced. As a parent, I dreaded having to take my children there to buy junk they would never use for ridiculous prices. Tbh I was not sad to see it go. My Target really hasn't put out the Disney items as promised. I was bummed at that, because they were supposed to start selling merch from Galaxy's Edge. That would be amazing! I bought one Baby Yoda shirt from the Galaxy's Edge collection, and it is my favorite shirt. I haven't seen any other GE merch sadly.
I agree that it has lost its magic over the years. In the early days they had lots of cool stuff for sale but these days it's just the same type of junk at Target and Wal Mart.
Disney stores closed for a handful of reasons. 1, people don't shop in person as much as they do online, and the physical stores were expensive to maintain and also a lower priority for the company than the parks division and their online reach. 2, malls are dying--traffic and sales are down in nearly every mall without a lot of hope for long term rebound. 3, Disney tanked their offerings for the 'whole family' and chose to focus on a more targeted younger age demo, so adults were less likely to spend for themselves, but that wasn't necessarily a bad move because realistically people typically are willing to spend more on their kids without as much hesitation--still, it sucked to see TDS go from a full family experience to a place where your kids are stoked and you're just bored looking at the sea of toys and stuff. However, with malls dying and people more likely to purchase their Disney merch from a big box catch-all like Target, closing the brick and mortar mall stores was probably smart financially, even if it feels like it was a mistake to those who loved the stores. At the heart of it all, though: Disney doesn't give two f**ks about the guest experience anymore, they care about money. These stores closing was an eventual inevitability; the company hasn't truly cared about the stores for a very very long time. I was a store and area manager for TDS for several years and I got out before things got really bad--the writing was on the wall and I ran screaming after several years of trying really hard to deliver a guest experience that was up to what I felt the standard of service should be, all while dealing with a parent company who spouted a lot of buzzwords about 'magic' and such without ever backing up what they theoretically wanted their stores to be. For many years, there was very little support from the top in terms of maintenance, quality merchandise, consistent messaging, hiring/pay rates to find and keep quality CMs, good marketing, good synergy, etc. It was honestly the worst and most frustrating job I've ever had and I was so stressed from beating my head against a wall trying to do the best for my guests and CMs, but I stuck it out with the hopes that it'd get better. It didn't, it only got worse. But as bad as things got, I will say that I left with the resolve to never ever run my own business the way they run theirs and to never be the kind of boss to my employees that they were to so many of us--I'll never be caught being a hypocrite on the order of TWDC and I'll never treat my own clients like dollar signs and my team like whipping posts instead of treating them all like people deserving of a good experience. The Disney Stores are dead because Disney deliberately killed them and knew exactly what they were doing. I feel bad for the CMs who are left without what they felt was their home, but trust me, y'all, you're going to be fine and you're going to take what you learned working for a company that didn't value you as much as you did them and turn it into something even better for you and those who interact with you. Keep moving forward.
It's upsetting knowing that for children with low income families this was the ONLY way to have a Disney experience and now it's gone. Apparently Disney thinks you shouldn't be able to have that experience without handing over exorbitant amounts of $$$
I am really sad the Disney store closed forever I loved it since I was younger because when it was my birthday when I was 5 I got a Disney key ornament and I was the first one in the Disney store that day
I don't know, IMHO as someone who shopped at multiple Disney stores since the 90s I feel like the store kind of died 10 or so years ago. Cast members aside, they have always been awesome and you are 100% correct on the pride, they went from a store with unique decorative fixtures and unique merchandise that covered the full spectrum to a plain Old Navy rip off (with premium prices). Occasionally there were cool finds in there but usually it was overpriced toys and meh tshirts or the occasional clearance park stuff (which was sometimes good). I don't blame them for the change back then, with falling mall traffic the "studio store" (RIP WB! Store) was unsustainable. If they hadn't changed the stores would have closed by 2012. I wish the stores weren't closing, we went out of our way to go to an outlet (and we're not outlet people) when visiting a city 2 hours away from our own. but I think the writing was on the wall for a long time on this.
Disney unfortunately has become a nightmare. Former seasonal CM here from NYC. Only the Times Square store is left here. They should just end it pack up and get out. It’s a waste to even walk in there. So sad. I can’t even 😞
I feel so bad for all the cast members, not only have they lost a job but they lost the connections and interactions with the kids and the magic, but most of all they no longer get to call themselves cast members and lose the CM perks like vacation time to go to Disney for free. It just sucks all around and I hate it. Plus it looks like there’s NOTHING for adults. At all. So annoying
I remember getting so hyped when I went to the Disney store as a kid, and saw the huge plush mountain! Sad to know that future generations won’t share that same excitement 😢
same only i was a young adult in early 20's but yes plush mountain first display i would "attack" i got for an easter plush to pick out a disney plush and i went right for stitch i lived with my parents then but i has him in my bedroom. too many bunnie plushes wanted something original. i do remember being a little girl late 80's and 90's went to malls a lot esp with my dad on dad weekends. always had make trip in and i usually had some money to buy some small things. i miss the screen too that would play movie trailers and show videos.nothing will compare to being at then downtown Disney Florida 1996 and spring of 1998 going into the world of disney not sure what happened to my Wendy porceline figurine that was and is still sure the ultimate disney store.i really was disappointed when in mass a mall had disney store and i just had gotten back from visiting my dad in floirida in 2013. i mean i was with my mom she promised have me stop by so i could see about getting some Frozen merchandise and that like they had nothing because the place legit just closed down. then was only outlets but those better than nothing. my dad didn't live near a disney store plus i had to pack light. i am so glad i got frozen 2 merch early in SC i got adventure anna 18in plush they ran out of the young anna plush i had wanted so i put some money on a gift card for shopdisney i also had pack light i got something for frozen 2 at Walmart down there and at target my aunt and i managed to fit all my loot into my bag Spirit airlines have mad rules. Oh one more disney memory of the stores were the character displays on upper walls and some of them animatronic. it was always mostly my dad and then stepmother who brought me to disney stores. think the only time i went into disney store with my mom stepdad and sis was in 1996 to go pick our disney world park hopper tickets. now i legit studied the travel guides too stepdad had made itinerary for us. we got to spend 4th of July at disney world where best fireworks are. I so really wanted my nephew to have that experience and also wished he could been a toys r us kid like i still am. the only toy store where could play with toys and employees would take time play too like hired to do that. got lot of video game stuff from there
I also remember that plush mountain at a Disney store and they changed location within my local mall and the redesign store was compared to a dollar general
And I used to get excited to get into the giant mannequin castle 😭
The magic is no longer there when you walk in the Disney merchandise section at JC Penny and Target.
The display at target is lacking magic and creativity. It blends with the rest of target. It doesn’t get people excited to go.
They need to put more merch for adults at the end of the day older Disney fans love merch and they are once willing to drop big money
get so angry that frozen and frozen 2 no plus size ladies shirts of anna or anna and elsa even with olaf. like why should the little kids have all the fun. all i saw for frozen 2 clothing was an elsa nighshirt. anna is my favorite Disney princess of the newer ones. i mean like both sisters but like and then other stores have frozen stuff and only make more of elsa excuse me they movies about 2 sisters. i have a younger sis. i went to walmart few days ago no frozen stuff but got pair of Minnie mouse ears headband for 6 dollars in party isle and not cheap plastic and fits me good.doing home made accessories Halloween "costume". i am guessing be going with the fam take my nephew trick or treating.
one is never too old for a light saber but yeah some collectibles because kids really don't collect. they should have a more adult like stationery sets and note card type things things like planners and journals and even adult colring books. i have an Art therapy Frozen 100 page coloring book it's appropriate for any age but more adult coloring genre. i got it as a get well gift when i had spine surgery in 2016 from my stepmom. i so excited i told her i had asked for it for xmas from my mom but nope. it's nice too it's hardcover.i got all kinds of gel pens,brush tips, markers and colored pencils. i have gotten the kid stationery sets before they come in nice cases. also handbags that not super pricey geared towards adults would be nice. my last visit in sept to disney outlet i didn't have enough money for this nice minnie mouse journal with click pen it wasn't kiddish either and not sold on shopdisney so very disappointed.
agree the only place is in Hot Topic and warehouse stores (Walmart and Target)
@Pink Girl they should have tried selling some other stuff like Figpins too.
I cried when I went to my local store for the last time a few weeks ago, I have so many wonderful memories but what made me cry was that one of the cast members recognized me from a different location and said hi and asked about my family, that did it, cast members are awesome!
i cried too an outlet store one. so glad was able to get small haul last visit 3 things for me and a toy my nephew picked out i bought him my mom let him pick out toy too he was so happy excited he calls the place disney world. he wouldn't he hasn't been yet. a good age would be like 6 he prob get on most rides and be able to remember more. also we all have cells with good cameras no more of the one time disposable cams from the 90's. i wish had money i need get back to disney i need go on space mountain not scared before but no one ride with. other newer rides too. i also never got in pic with Mickey Mouse i mean i need pic with Anna and ok Elsa and Rapunzel and ooh would be nice if Flynn rider was out for photos i am old already 40 in june. i don't even care all i know is everyone supposed to stop being adult and be a kid for however long there. cast members in stores and at parks go above and beyond they are great. when i went to outlet in sc in 2019 for frozen 2 merch i got adventure anna plush but even though called ahead for young anna plush they were out but the cast member gave me a coupon for free shipping. so i put money on a gift card to order online. they had pins out that were free and for Mickey's Birthday. the even had paper catalogs all disney stores used have them i always grabbed one. and in park in 1996 at food place went to condtiment station and employee was filling ketchup and splashed my shirt by accident i wasn't even mad but she felt bad handed my mom a 20 and so i got to get a t shirt i said to my mom i need to go back i want to thank that nice lady and show her how much i appreciated and so wouldn't smell like vinegar. she made my night and when thanked she was touched. my mom didn't even tell me what i should do. but i was taught ettiqute. my other t-shirt washed the stain right out at hotel laundry room. my new one was purple and said walt disney world and had Pooh on it. i stood for moment just admiring it. we are called guests in stores and parks how nice and i love the double meaning of Have a disney day. the super grochy rude guests get the snarky tone one. i never got that one only cheery one.my second trip to disney in 1998 i got a week off from school by having a waiver meeting. parents there as i went with my dad then. all i had to do was read for english and keep vacay journal. i was given plenty of time to make up my homework assignments. the disney stores in parks are better too esp cast members get the whole southern hospitality thing everyone at ease. i of course made conversation anything to make sure they had good day as well as myself.
One the things I noticed is that you can really see the sadness in the parents' eyes as they walk through what remains of the store with their little ones, knowing their children may never get the same magical experience that they had. It's really heartbreaking.
I have worked for the Disney Store for 27 years, it was so heartbreaking when we closed in July of 2021. I miss my guests and my Disney family! I am saddened to see the product in a Target store, there’s no respect for the brand! 😞😞😞
my old fellow cast member in my store was also at the company for 27 years!
Do you still keep in touch with them? At least hang out with them did you at least find a new job? I love going shopping in Disney. And on this day right now I'm still sad and feeling heartbroken. I wish I got a lot of toys there when I had the chance. Some people like me don't even shop online. I can't really shop online. and it's not cheep flying all all the way to Florida to go to Disney world or Disneyland.
@@kristenfuller9168There are lots of nice looking Disney merchandise that you won’t find in any stores. I like to buy Disney holiday merchandise at Daiso.
All these decisions they're taking now they're profit only driven, and it'll backfire on them in the long term. It's just sad to see how they're killing their own brand without even realizing it
I totally agree with you!
down with bob chapek
Even I enjoyed each Disney store visiting, as wonderful as going to chuckie cheezes and Disney stores in New York I visted back in childhood, even visit to downtown Disney in late 2012( when I thought it was the end of the world back then, lol)
I'll never forgive Bob Paycheck for this
Me either
@@lifequest7453 Chapek has had his hands in the Disney Store's death before becoming the CEO
I was an opening store Cast Member for our local Disney Store back in 1999. That was in the height of the Disney renaissance and we were one of the first "Show Biz Set" stores in the country. For a few years after our store opened we still had a pink and green original store in our area. They later converted that over to the new "Show Biz Set" and I helped that store transition and open as well. They were one of the few in the country to be designated a "Walt Disney Gallery" store and feature collectibles and art. When we first opened the stores still had the costume of tan slacks, white button down oxford shirts and the blue cardigan sweaters (which I still have in my possession as we were allowed to purchase them once we switched to the blue denim costumes.) Yes, Kevin, Plush Fountain or Mountain as some called it was real and I remember straightening it up each night in the store. :-) Those were some of the best years in my life and as you've always said you truly become a family with the rest of the cast. Now why is Disney changing to Disney Stores in Target stores? Simply it's money. It's cheaper, and you don't have to staff the stores and you have another workforce do the labor, stocking and hard work. You just ship them the product. Unfortunately the company took a dark turn when Chapek was put in charge. Many of these plans were in the works before he took over I'm sure, but the fact that they've used the pandemic as an excuse to try to convince the public that these changes that are not at all guest friendly or guest first are for their own good and what they really want is absolutely disgusting. Disney has devalued their own brand with how they have treated their cast over the past year(s), pandered to the "guest" and used this as an absolute excuse to up-charge and up-sell everything that they offer to essentially prop up the studios and streaming while not committing to invest the money back into the theme parks and people.
Completely agree to all of your points. I was a CM for mine back in 2004 (my mother was an OG when they opened too) …I got to work with some of the same CMs my mom worked with. It really was like a family. I LOVEEEDDD plush mountain but hated it when kids would climb it or parents tried to use the store as a daycare. But the items we sold were the best. Snow globes, watches, scene prints and cells. Ahh memories.
You’re 100% right on all points! I wish Disney was in different hands and wish they brought back the magic.
We had a gallery store as well several yrs ago they remodeled the store and made it smaller and removed the gallery section 😭
The lockdowns only made things worse and put some restaurants out of business too. Lockdowns don’t even work and they put more people on edge. Anyone can survive the pandemic by washing your hands multiple times a day.
For here in Scandinavian countries, in Denmark and we in Sweden had a Disney Store in our capital cities. This was a HUGE thing as this was the closest you could get to some Disney magic within our countries. Like we have to travel abroad pretty far to get to Disneyland and Disney World.
And we got them pretty late. We only had them for less than 10 years. So the closing of our Disney Stores is devastating. 😔
This made me tear up all over again, I was a cast member at The Disney Store Rivercenter in San Antonio TX. We closed on March. It was heartbreaking seeing the store emptying out, but we continue to create magic on our new jobs, I miss it so much, best job I’ve ever had❤️
I didn’t realize the rivercenter Disney store closed down :(
I was a cast member at the Ingram location! So sad they all closed here in SA
@@klmao9395 we all closed in San Antonio:( the nearest store open is the outlet in San Marcos
I was a cast member in 2007-2008 I opened two stores. My son worked for 4 years at the same store I worked at .... so, so, sad to see the stores go away. Our store had a reunion on the last day, many previous cast members showed up to take pictures. Disney Shopping online is terrible !
You know, I was young when the OG Disney Stores were a thing, so you unlocked this overwhelming nostalgia when you showed one in this video. Thank you for that :) I wish Disney Stores could stay though :(
I'll miss the magical feeling it gave me when you were in the store. I'll miss the black Friday madness the day after Thanksgiving.
So Sad there gone
I didn’t think most of the Disney stores would go out of business several years later after the redondo beach location closed in California. I really hate businesses using the pandemic as an excuse.
only black friday i did was when Furby's were out. my mom and i got up got to Caldor yikes so long ago 5am to wait in line my mom would gone on own but was limit one per person i got to pick mine and of course act surprised Christmas morning. it was not all crazy and we out quick went back to bed to pass out. my furby didn't last long i swear thing was possessed my dog was scared of it too. it be nighttime i asleep and dang thing yell out feeeed me I'm hungry not only scared crap out of me but i actually as i was teenager yelled at it to shut up no food yeah i seen Gremlins. my mom had to that night go grab screwdrive to take battery out i hid the thing too the whole night i slept with one eye open. oh well live and learn right
the disney store would be last place i'd even want to try to attempt to go to on a black Friday. i love watching all stores not just disney crazy videos of black Friday shoppers that grown adults fighting and supposedly thankful for what they have just hours ago.
We lost all but 2 of our Disney Stores in the UK on 9th September. It’s really sad as I spent so much time in there and buying online just isn’t the same 😢
yeah no in scotland
Online store customer service is terrible
in the states and no it isn't the same at all and fact my 4 year old nephew thinks calls it disney world well did because he hasn't been to wdw yet. i still as stores being shelves scared in toys to have my nephew give me some ideas on shop disney and order him something from there. i am doing his shopping in November before thanksgiving and i don't do black Friday. i did cyber Monday for frozen 2 merch the lady messed up order got set of anna and elsa dolls but was the somethings never change outfits when i specifically said queen anna and snow queen elsa set. but lot waiting and all but still got the deals because they messed up and they had me keep the dolls that were wrong ones. of course classic dolls not limited edition because i don't have the room and they pricey. the set i wanted kept going sold out but they quite often got more in i was on phone with them constant so i also got something for the troubles(promotional) in which i thanked fo r help and generoisty and realizing they did make mistake. when go to an actual store can always make sure get the right item. i am from MA i think there was one out of the 3 that didn't close but since i can't drive too far for my mom to get to. i hear some targets have or are getting mini disney stores. they don't look all that magical or stand out i have seen on videos here. i am also to far to go to the one target in my state that is getting one. i am so hoping though to get a disney gift card or two or three for Christmas. only one big thing i want well need is an new android phone. i use as my landline too so be hard if not have good working phone. sure i will get some clothes too but i am way more simple than in m teens and child years of course we never got the whole mall for Christmas or birthdays. i was always grateful.
Same. Luckily I live in London so I have one I can go to once in a while but it's just not the same having to go to central London if you want to go to the Disney Store. And online is definitely not the same. For some places, I don't mind buying online but Disney is one of those places where I don't go in planning on buying something. 90% of the stuff I buy there is because I'm browsing and I see something I like. I'm not going to do that online and if I want free delivery, I'm going to have to spend £50 or pay £4 for delivery. That's reduces the stuff I buy even more
@@joevictor53 hit ‘em where it hurts
This is heartbreaking🥺!! I love target but it is NOT DISNEY and I wish this could be fought so we don’t lose everything to the internet and bigger chains like this😞 so sad.
You’re damn right. The magic is no longer there when you see the Disney merchandise at Target and JC PENNY.
The worst thing is I live in Canada I don't even have a Target in Canada. It's not cheep to fly all the way to the United States just a visit Disney world Disneyland Target. It just doesn't feel fair to me at all. and sadly I didn't get every thing at the Disney store when I had the chance. I don't even feel like shopping online it's just too hard. And it's not the same.
I miss when my local store was next to Spencer’s in the mall. I always went into both of em every time and auntie Anne’s was right after hahaha
I worked at Disney store for 7 years. Back in the early 2000’s malls were still thriving. So many yummy junk food chains and cool experiential retail stores. It makes me sad that’s all fading away
Yessss!!! Same here! Lol like people have their Disney routines...
It's all very well having an online store but walking through a door into a shop full of goods you can touch and just stroll around looking at all the goodies on shelves can never be replaced. Bring back shops. It also sucks that now you get stung for postage. These are sad times.
They basically just cut off their Canadian customers by closing all the stores.
Awesome coverage. I was living in NY when they closed the 5th Avenue Disney Store. It was the best in NY as far as I was concerned. There was another at Forest Hills, Palisades Mall and at 42nd Times Square. I think only the one at the 42nd Times Square is alive. The most magical was at the 5th Avenue. Excel spreadsheets tells you where you can profit and save more. It doesn't tell what a magical experience is.
i will always miss the plush mountain inside disney stores :(
Thank you for showing love for the TDS cast member family. I'm a former CM that opened a store back in 1994...from there I went on to work for Disney Cruise Line....sad to see the stores vanish, so many memories...thanks for this tribute Kevin 😎❤️👍
Really good video. In the UK we have just 2 stores left. Our trip to Florida was moved 3 times due to COVID (not Disney’s fault of course) but then cancelled and now significantly more expensive for what appears to be a poorer experience. We are not going. Our replacement trip to Paris is now laden with problems and may well be cancelled. Our local Disney Store was the only thing keeping the magic going. It seems like the end of an era.
Thanks for including my picture in your tribute video for the Disney Store. I was telling my husband that the first Disney Store I had ever gone to was in 1999 for a band trip in NYC and he had to correct me telling me that one was a World of Disney, the only other one outside of Downtown Disney. It was massive! Growing up the nearest Disney Store at the time from South Texas was further north in Austin and San Antonio so I never went to any growing up. Great video. And you're right, Disney stores don't belong at Targets. :(
So sad ,going to my local Disney store at our outlets in Massachusetts was the closest to feeling like I was shopping at the parks I could be without being in Orlando or Anaheim .☹️💔
i'm also a former store cast member here...most people who went to the box office had no intension on buying anything when they walked in...it wasn't until they held the merch in their hand that they made the decision to buy it. People didn't buy stuff...they bought a memory or a feeling...that is something you can't get on a website and i can guarantee that 90% of our former guests will never go to the Disney Store online...the stores in Canada and the US were a way of connecting with people...Ursula's tentacles if you will. Brick and mortar stores are not as dead as some people think and I believe Disney might have made a big misstep by turning off the lights.
I feel the same way about the Disney Store being such a magical place! My local store was at the Mall of America and it was the closest thing we had to the Disney experience. Even as an adult, the cast members would go out of their way to be so kind to me when I’d be looking at and buying Ariel merch (she’s my fave) and we’d talk about The Little Mermaid and Disney Princesses, it was always a lovely experience. And the thing with the mirror is extra cool bc when you pick a princess wand and wave it at the mirror, there’s a little video of the princess whose wand you’re waving that plays on the mirror! I was maybe too old for it when it was first introduced but I thought it was the COOLEST ❤️
Yes I completely agree! The Disney Store at the MOA was kind of my main Disney experience growing up (because I love Disney so much but have only been able to go to Disney World once) so I was heartbroken when it closed. The Cast Members there were always so kind and welcoming, I miss it for sure :(
happened in the UK too. I miss the 2000's era of the Disney Stores 😢
Growing up, going to the mall was always exciting because that meant possibly going into the Disney Store and I always had so much fun just walking around and looking at all of the cool merch. I especially the remember the mountain of plushies and I still have the cub Simba plush that my aunt got for me years ago. Sadly, the one closest to me closed down a while back and has been replaced with an F.Y.E. The next nearest one was a 45 minute drive in an outlet mall (Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, MI) and it was among those to be just closed down two weeks ago. I will forever miss the magic.
The aesthetics of their retail stores were always quite impressive with all the creative design details that went into it
Ugh, I am not impressed with the Target Disney Store. Completely thrown together. Do you remember what Toys R Us looked like right before it closed? That's what these stores remind me of. Also, half the fun was the experience, and Target isn't providing that. And where is all the merchandise for adults? This is all for kids. Disney Adults are the ones making and spending gobs of money. Lastly, were there any piles of big stuffed animals? I didn't see any, and I feel like that would be the main thing I'd go for.
The Disney Store was indeed a magical place. It was an end of an era when they closed the store in my area last year.
There was a Disney Store at my local mall my whole life, from the OG design to the more modern one. This video is the first I've heard of them closing, and, honestly, I think you're right: Disney is devaluing its brand. The lackluster remakes, the soaring park prices, and relegating the only accessable Disney experience to an everyday Target one? That's really disappointing.
My special needs daughter would look forward to going to the Disney Store. It was the closest thing to actually going to Disney, since we would only go once every 5 years. When I had to break the news to her that all the stores closed, she was devastated. It’s heartbreaking for me, because going to the different Disney stores throughout our city brought her so much joy and now they’re gone. I’m not going to even mention to her that they’re in Target, because from what I saw on this video, the magic is not there. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Never been to Disney World in my 17 years of life and going to the Disney store make me so happy
Mostly my Target just picked up the Disney stuff from the toy department and dumped it into these areas
I remember being 6 and for Christmas, I would always go to the Disney store for family with my auntie. I find it still sad for it closing. It just hits in a spot I haven’t felt since my favorite cartoon ended.
When i went to Target, and seen this Disney area it just seemed like a joke, not a Disney feeling.
So sad, i hope they can realize they made a mistake and reopen Disney stores.
Well they? I didn't get a chance to get a lot of toys when I had the chance 😢 I'm still sad on this day. Doesn't feel the same. Bring them back I miss the stores. Bring them back company.
I worked at my local Disney Store #344 from ‘92. - ‘99. So the green/blue pink purple white and black checkered front floor with a Mondo Plush Mountain the Bain of my existence! I LOVED those days. I kept 1 of my sweaters and made some awesome friends. That store was my Disney Fix when I needed it. Miss it a LOT! Thanks for the vid Kevin💖💜💚💙
Nobody taught Target the Disney Merchandising it would seem. I don't know that the disarray can be completely blamed on Target ... humans are animals and I am sure treated the disney stuff like hooey. But there's no reason for the Target employee to care about the Disney stuff any more than the other stuff in the store. I certainly wouldn't bother going to the store to shop for these things, especially if there's no housewares stuff since that's all I would be interested in, really. I love Disney but I am finding myself more and more alienated from them with all the changes happening. It breaks my heart.
There is a Disney merchandise section at my local target and the magic isn’t really there.
@@legendaryTMNICO How would they add the magic…
Thanks for this. As a target employee there is usually only one person for toys and another random section as a time. Sometimes there’s just one person for the whole general Merch department. I think Disney could’ve definitely done more to prepare it for target employees or even have cast members from the old stores come to specifically focus on that and keep the magic going in their own way. But usually we just get a piece of paper that tells us how to set up a shelf and that’s it. 🤷🏼♀️
@@musicgirl493 I agree. It’s not Target’s fault. It’s Disney’s.
I have the Disney Store in Hull closed in a decade ago along with the rest in Great Britain as well and we all sad and disappointed at the same time...
Bring back the Disney Store, Disney!!!
Opening in target doesn’t feel the same even though I love target
I was a Cast Member for The Disney Store in the UK for 15 years and was made redundant last month as all our stores were closed apart from our flagship store in Oxford Street, London and also the one in Dublin. I literally cried watching this!! After giving our 'absolute all' as Cast Members into our stores and bringing the Disney magic to our guests, our hearts were broken when they were all closed.....but to sell all this 'tack' in target stores and call it 'Disney Store' is just shocking!!! So upsetting to see. What on earth are you doing Disney? 😭 I just don't know what else to say.
First they tried to turn the Disney store into The Gap. That didn't work. Now they're trying to turn it into Target. Will those marketing geniuses NEVER understand that the Disney Store is not about the stuff???? This is the opposite of "magical"...it's tragical.
Got an ad for Universal Orlando before watching this. How fitting....
Disney Store needed to close. Expensive mall lease with customers coming in on weekends for kids to treat it like a play area. I think the Saturday activities were the great part. Although the manager got fired a few years ago for making "Forky's". The action figure had yet to come out. So they made some like the one from Toy Story 4. But what I really wanted were more T-shirts for adults. I would have also liked to see a private travel spot along with a dedicated person to man it. Unfortunately the focus was related to mainly selling disney barbies.
I worked at The Disney Store from 2001 through 2008 when they closed the majority of them across the U.S. In those final days it was very difficult to show up to work and seeing how cheaply thrown together everything because in order to sell everything off. Merch was hanging from the ceiling and giant red clearance signs were plastered everywhere.
The Disney store pretty much died for me when the store I often went to closed back in the early 2000's. The nail in the coffin was when they remodeled them and made them way more simplistic. But It was around that same time it became more and more for little kids and my parents would find less and less that they'd love. And as an adult when I went to the one farther away I wouldn't find anything much like my parents. RIP Disney Store and especially RIP to the Evansville location which is getting close to having gone 20 years without.
It's horrible since Target isn't world wide. Paying custom and shipping fees isn't cool. Disney really hurt their international shoppers.
This is heartbreaking 💔 I grew up with amazing stores in the height
. Target space looks so sad and I am so sad my kid won’t have those experiences. I used to take her before the pandemic and it was so special for us. This hot garbage set up I won’t be buying from 😩😩😳
As an ex target employee I’m assuming Disney is paying target for a person to do an eight hour shift a day. Which means this person restocks/puts out new merch/ re sets/ puts up new presentations by themselves.
If its a brand new team member this area will be a mess. if its a hard working employee is still impossible to do by yourself unless its a slow week. Plus that person has off days which means on their days off they might be putting random people. So i could see it being alot worse. Imagine if that one person goes on vacation forget about it. It’s a mess that is empty.
The Disney Store in Aventura Mall is now an arcade parlor, to say this that Aventura Mall didn’t had an arcade parlor since the 2000s or 2010s it was called Fun N Games but now the arcade parlor is where the Disney Store is at in Aventura Mall and it is had another name.
In the U.K., when The first Disney store opened, Regent Street in London, not only it was a magical place, it was a destination place in its own right selling cheap items and high end collectors items, animation cells etc as well as lots of things for adults and older children, Good quality clothing. But as they expanded in to every shopping centre they stopped selling the high end stuff and just became full of plastic junk, even the internal the wing became half hearted.
I’m sure in the U.K., if they just had a flagship store in London, one in Edinburgh and perhaps one in Manchester they would be successful.
I worked in the Disney store in the mid 90s for 5-6 years. The pay was shit and raises were ridiculous (I think one raise was 17 cents) but the cast members were great and I loved that letterman sweater. There were some great perks. We got four free tickets a year that we could give to anyone (as long as we didn’t sell it) and the discounts on property were great - we were on par to the part CMs. Every so often we got something cool like a cast member mini bean bag plush (when beanie babies were huge) and those went for 1000 on eBay but you could also get fired for selling it (I never understood that directive).
I do agree that the Disney store in targets aren't really much of a "store" more or less a section in a department store. But like....try not to be so harsh?? I mean at the end of the day Target is just a department store and can only do so much. If Disney really wanted to put their stores in sections of department stores they should've just gone all out and make a physical "store within a store" if that makes any sense.
but I will say that I do liked how they labeled the types of Disney properties and gave them their own shelf space.
It's a shame the stores are closing. I took my kids there. They loved it. Now they are adults.
Disney stays on the increase asking for more and more while offering less and less. Brand loyalty is a hell of a drug.
You’re so right. People who aren’t close to a Disney park use this as a Disney fix. I wish the company understood that. I don’t mind them moving more towards online shopping - it’s how the business goes. But their site sucks (especially when limited edition items come out), their customer service is awful & their shipping isn’t great PLUS WHY HAVEN’T THEY OFFERED FREE SHIPPING FOR EVERY ORDER BY NOW?! As of now, I still have one Disney outlet in my town. But once that’s gone, I’ll probably only by Disney merch when I go to a park. The Target section is so… Target and doesn’t really look like there’s anything for adults.
I remember going to Disney store as a child and when I come back in the mall I hear that the Disney store was close. This make me feel so sad.
Target have Disney in they store so that good because I get to see some disentangle princess stuff also JCPenny actual have Disney store before target.
They closed all the Disney stores in the UK except one in London. Which I don’t understand as they don’t have a set up like they do with target so it will all be online. I think they will loose money in the long run as the brand recognition will go and with kids no longer seeing items they won’t ask there parents for Disney products for birthdays and Christmas like they would having been able to visit the store for the exclusive items that were only sold in Disney stores.
I miss Toys-R-US, & Disney Store’s
My opinion on 1 reason why Disney store weren’t doing as well= too much tat and toys. Back when I was younger yes there were toys but there were also cool things like snow globes & fancy stuff adults loved but kids could put on a shelf to display. Then they stopped that. For several years it was a lot of rubbish and kiddy stuff. Adults love Disney too but they weren’t really being accommodated to. Then they started bringing back stuff adults wanted but then the pandemic happened. I know this isn’t the only reason but I feel it is one reason that contributed to the decline in sales. If Disney want to survive they need to accommodate adults as well as children. No point in only selling 5000 dollar Swarovski castles and kids toys they need to accommodate to a wide audience with items of varying price ranges.
It will hurt Disney in the long run. Often the power of kids would draw you into the shop as you pass, online, Disney gets lost behind many other stores. Unless a new big film is released I can't see anyone searching much for official Disney items.
They should have had larger adult areas catering to the collectors with the larger lego sets and collectable pieces. Sadly where I am from the original design was changed to the new design when the store moved to the shopping centre. Despite it being the first store you saw as you walked in, it just seemed like a kids toyshop. The magic had largely gone.
The last time I tried to visit a Disney Store was in Glendale, CA. I was walking around the mall all day wearing my Gaiter. The only store in the entire mall that wouldn't let me inside was the Disney Store, due to my gaiter. I just left and continued visiting other stores, and I thought to myself "Hope they enjoy the low sales and good luck staying in business"... And I was right! They are now going out of business. Disney got what they deserve.
I Agree in That I've NEVER
Been To A Theme Park &
The Crabtree Mall Disney
Store Was The Closest Thing!
I STILL Have My Original
Merch From There & SUNCOAST.
(Jack with 12 Heads, Sally Doll,
Light-Up Mr.Incredible, Holiday Stitch, Grumpy Shirt, etc) But
What I Loved MOST Was A Movie
Playing Behind MOUNDS Of
Stuffed Animals & The Displays
Of Old Disney Films... Even
Seeing The Entrance with The
Film Reel Vibe Got Me Excited.
I never was in a Disney store but my heart is crying seeing them getting closed :(
It’s definitely very sad they are taking away all the disney stores. People could go to the disney store and have a piece of Disneyland near them with the little events that were held at the store and hearing the cute disney music. It’s all about money, and i wouldn’t be surprised if they started taking away entertainment in the parks. I was laid off last year from the resort so i definitely know how you feel. It was very difficult to deal with. I was recently called back and I’m grateful but things will never be the same
The funny thing is that the Disney Store was always full of cheap crap that was slapped with a Disney Logo and charged 80-90% more than what it was worth.
It’s not that you was happy in Disneyland it’s just that you miss being happy🤗
When my daughter was little, we used to go to pick out her princess costumes from Disney Store. The quality of the stuff directly from Disney was great and the stuff you usually get from Target, not so much. I haven't seen one of these at my local Targets yet so I'll have to check I guess.
Why didn’t Disney just sell their stores to franchisees (like with fast food places like McDonald’s). That way the stores could stay open but Disney don’t pay rent
There are no targets in uk so I have no idea what they will do here in uk once they have closed all the stores.
Target Disney store is total rubbish. Messy, no adult merch, less choice, no pins or trading.😡🤬
They did that several years ago with “the children’s place” bought them. It didn’t end well and was a messy transition before and after.
@@editprussell1015 ye but the children’s place was an existing company with their own views I said like McDonald’s where it’s individual people who own the stores and Disney benefit from them.
@@EmilyCheetham but that would mean Disney couldn't control every aspect even if they put agreements. It could easily backfire. I work for a type of franchised business ( teaching and education based) and we definitely don't do things the way Corporate would want. 🤣🤷🏽♀️
@@editprussell1015 well I’m pretty sure private franchisees would have done a better job than target did. That target Disney store looked messy, crap overall choose, no adult collectibles, no pins or pin trading board. It was a disgrace.
If a franchisee if McDonald’s was dirty, had only part of the menu, took away all happy meals etc. McDonald’s company would NOT be happy. Well Disney in target have kind of become a disgrace. Atleast if they had had privately owned franchisee stores they would have been a lot cleaner, tidier, more choice in merchandise including adult collectibles & pins etc. I think Disney made. A bad choice closing all their stores. Hay in uk they haven’t even given an alternative they just close the stores and that is. Only way to get any official Disney merch is online other than stores that sell second hand Disney stuff (brands that pay Disney a licence to make Disney stuff) like toy stores or supermarket own Disney stuff.
To be clear I'm definitely not arguing that Target was a good choice. 🤣🤣 I was a CM so I know that there is a stark difference from the actual stores vs target having a Disney section...bc that's exactly what it is. It's not "a Disney store in Target" like they claimed...but just simply target selling Disney stuff. Target staff is probably busy stocking other things or ringing up ppl instead of standing around to organize the things ppl touch or take. Lord knows I was constantly organizing plushies, keychains, washcloths ect when I worked at Disney. Don't even get me started on kids climbing the displays (like plush mountain 😑😑)
The move to close the stores is utter BS in my opinion. Pisses me the heck off bc I loved having an outlet to get clearance park items and spirit jerseys. All the good things online go to resellers who mark up the prices and have the items sell out fast (esp since they rarely restock sold out things online) from a business point I see why they did it. But I don't think it was a good move image wise also.
The first store was in Glendale, CA?? That’s the one I’ve been going to since I was kid! 🤯 Had no idea. Thank you for those old photos - they brought me back to the good times. Stores looked WAY better back then. Happy to say that I went to buy a few things at the original store (Glendale galleria) before they closed. Very perfect.
I agree with everything you said... I understand them moving into target, but I think they should have taken a corner and made it a mini disney store you know like kmart and Walmart use to have a sit down picture studio. Something like that. It's so sad they all closed it was a way for those who couldn't afford to go to the parks to get a little magic.
The one in Staten Island Mall, I used to go to the Disney store there growing up all the time! The OG stores were he best and the mountains of Disney plushies were the best!!! It was part of my childhood. I was devastated that it was closed recently. Now, the only Disney store is in Times Square. The one in Staten Island, I love the old version then they changed it and now it is gone.
Lol the Target one isn't really a Disney Store though, it's a Disney section at Target. Of course I would not expect it to be the same as an actual Disney store. Target employees are not trained that way.
I went to my local Disney Store when it was having its closing down sale, the last thing I ever physically purchased from it was a Grogu Key!
I feel sorry for the Disney Store staff, they were very nice and friendly when shopping at the stores.
A lot of the closing down sales were giving away free shipping coupons.
The new "Disney Store" at the Targets isn't warming up on me! I hate them!
I do like the Pixar figurines that Target sell though! Especially the Monsters at Work ones.
The magic isn’t there with the Disney merchandise section at JC Penney and Target.
I don't even have a Target in Canada. 😞😢💔 So sorry for me in Canada no Disney at all. I sadly have nothing.
Just went to Opry Mills in Nashville yesterday...........had NO CLUE the Disney store had closed. My heart was completely broken!!! Hoping the store in Myrtle Beach will still be open when I go yo visit in 10 days. Fingers crossed
So sad 😰💔 I took my son to a Disney store in June and it was PACKED with people along with the entire mall in Northern California. Then my family tells me they closed it. Now our closest ones are the main park ones themselves in Florida or California when we visit. I actually made a special request to meet my grandma there instead of another location so I can go shopping and get an apple. The atmosphere is what makes the store special not so much the stuff. It’s just more stuff at Target.
Considering in Canada we don't have a Disney land, the Disney store made it possible to easily get merch whenever us Canadians needed our Disney fix. Such a crappy year its been and now without my Disney fix D: !
I went to a Disney store a few months ago. It wasn't in the liquidation stage yet and I got a T-shirt showing my favorite character (Donald) in different poses. In fact, I have collected a lot of DD merch over the past decade, most of which came from the Disney Store. I'm so sad that they're shutting down. 😢
This sucks so much. I want to cry. Going to Disney store was my thing.
It was inevitable that the Disney stores would close, mostly due to the fact that yu can get all of the Disney merchandise on line now.
Ugh I wish I went before they closed that discount is amazing
Last time I was in a Disney store a couple of months ago I was disappointed in the amount of adult things they had. I remember a time where half the store was adult clothes and stuff, but this time it had maybe two jackets that fit adults and they were priced way too much. The rest for very young kids, no in between.
I opened/worked at the 5th Disney Store. We had two full weeks of training at Disney Studios in Burbank. They called it Disney Retail Academy. We had to wear Cheerleader costumes.
Man, the one up in CT back in the 90's/00's didn't look anything like that!
The floor was carpeting, the interior pieces like the trees looked like it was pulled straight out of a Whinnie the Pooh book, and there were no awesome set designs like the stage or the castle.
We did have that classic TV wall, with 20 or so separate screens merged together to show 5-10 minute clips of various cartoons or movies, and some characters hanging on the walls/ceiling but that was it.
As a 90s kid, I loved the Disney store. But over the years, it definitely lost its magic. The one at the mall near my house has been a dump for years (it's Potomac Mills in Northern VA not far from Leesburg), and the merchandise there was awful and BEYOND overpriced. As a parent, I dreaded having to take my children there to buy junk they would never use for ridiculous prices. Tbh I was not sad to see it go. My Target really hasn't put out the Disney items as promised. I was bummed at that, because they were supposed to start selling merch from Galaxy's Edge. That would be amazing! I bought one Baby Yoda shirt from the Galaxy's Edge collection, and it is my favorite shirt. I haven't seen any other GE merch sadly.
I agree that it has lost its magic over the years. In the early days they had lots of cool stuff for sale but these days it's just the same type of junk at Target and Wal Mart.
Store within a store strategy is all the rage. Look at Best Buy, about 50% of it is subleased to big brands: Apple, Microsoft, Samsung etc.
If anyone in the uk wants to find one of the last Disney stores, go to merry hill shopping center
Disney stores closed for a handful of reasons. 1, people don't shop in person as much as they do online, and the physical stores were expensive to maintain and also a lower priority for the company than the parks division and their online reach. 2, malls are dying--traffic and sales are down in nearly every mall without a lot of hope for long term rebound. 3, Disney tanked their offerings for the 'whole family' and chose to focus on a more targeted younger age demo, so adults were less likely to spend for themselves, but that wasn't necessarily a bad move because realistically people typically are willing to spend more on their kids without as much hesitation--still, it sucked to see TDS go from a full family experience to a place where your kids are stoked and you're just bored looking at the sea of toys and stuff. However, with malls dying and people more likely to purchase their Disney merch from a big box catch-all like Target, closing the brick and mortar mall stores was probably smart financially, even if it feels like it was a mistake to those who loved the stores. At the heart of it all, though: Disney doesn't give two f**ks about the guest experience anymore, they care about money. These stores closing was an eventual inevitability; the company hasn't truly cared about the stores for a very very long time. I was a store and area manager for TDS for several years and I got out before things got really bad--the writing was on the wall and I ran screaming after several years of trying really hard to deliver a guest experience that was up to what I felt the standard of service should be, all while dealing with a parent company who spouted a lot of buzzwords about 'magic' and such without ever backing up what they theoretically wanted their stores to be. For many years, there was very little support from the top in terms of maintenance, quality merchandise, consistent messaging, hiring/pay rates to find and keep quality CMs, good marketing, good synergy, etc. It was honestly the worst and most frustrating job I've ever had and I was so stressed from beating my head against a wall trying to do the best for my guests and CMs, but I stuck it out with the hopes that it'd get better. It didn't, it only got worse. But as bad as things got, I will say that I left with the resolve to never ever run my own business the way they run theirs and to never be the kind of boss to my employees that they were to so many of us--I'll never be caught being a hypocrite on the order of TWDC and I'll never treat my own clients like dollar signs and my team like whipping posts instead of treating them all like people deserving of a good experience. The Disney Stores are dead because Disney deliberately killed them and knew exactly what they were doing. I feel bad for the CMs who are left without what they felt was their home, but trust me, y'all, you're going to be fine and you're going to take what you learned working for a company that didn't value you as much as you did them and turn it into something even better for you and those who interact with you. Keep moving forward.
It's upsetting knowing that for children with low income families this was the ONLY way to have a Disney experience and now it's gone. Apparently Disney thinks you shouldn't be able to have that experience without handing over exorbitant amounts of $$$
I am really sad the Disney store closed forever I loved it since I was younger because when it was my birthday when I was 5 I got a Disney key ornament and I was the first one in the Disney store that day
All of the Disney stores around me closed except the outlet which I thought was really weird but at least I can still going there....for now....
I want Disney Store to reopen forever, not a shutdown close forever! 😢 💔
I don't know, IMHO as someone who shopped at multiple Disney stores since the 90s I feel like the store kind of died 10 or so years ago. Cast members aside, they have always been awesome and you are 100% correct on the pride, they went from a store with unique decorative fixtures and unique merchandise that covered the full spectrum to a plain Old Navy rip off (with premium prices). Occasionally there were cool finds in there but usually it was overpriced toys and meh tshirts or the occasional clearance park stuff (which was sometimes good).
I don't blame them for the change back then, with falling mall traffic the "studio store" (RIP WB! Store) was unsustainable. If they hadn't changed the stores would have closed by 2012.
I wish the stores weren't closing, we went out of our way to go to an outlet (and we're not outlet people) when visiting a city 2 hours away from our own. but I think the writing was on the wall for a long time on this.
I bought my stuffed lilo & stitch dolls from the one at MCO airport when I was little.
Looking through the catalog was one of my favorite things as a kid. I kept a copy after all these years.
Disney unfortunately has become a nightmare. Former seasonal CM here from NYC. Only the Times Square store is left here. They should just end it pack up and get out. It’s a waste to even walk in there. So sad. I can’t even 😞
I feel so bad for all the cast members, not only have they lost a job but they lost the connections and interactions with the kids and the magic, but most of all they no longer get to call themselves cast members and lose the CM perks like vacation time to go to Disney for free. It just sucks all around and I hate it. Plus it looks like there’s NOTHING for adults. At all. So annoying
Brand standards and white glove excellence just went in the dumps with the Target move
Every Disney store in the Uk has now closed down except for the flagship store in London :((