TDS RIP

[YesDear]

Many of you know that The Disney Stores were recently sold to The Childrens Place. The stores will still be callled The Disney Stores, but they will be only selling Disney merchandise. Well today is the last day for the stores to be owned and operated by Disney.

Many will not notice the difference until you try to return something from the parks or the catalog and are told you can no longer do that. Some say the merchandise will get better. Some say it will get worse.

I fully expect many who post here to say things like: " well they have been going downhill for years." "All they had was princess stuff," and so on.

I would personally like to take a minute and thank all those Disnesy Store Castmembers who for the past seventeen years, understood the magic and believed in the magic even when times were tough. And they were tough. I know that many of you worked there, not for the money but for the chance to be a part of what Walt began. You understand that The Walt Disney Company is not just a coroporation, but a culture. A culture that dreams do come true and a smile in a childs face only reflects the smile in your heart when you believe in the magic.

I know tomorrow you become an employee of The Children's Place. You will no longer be a castmember. For those that have never worked for Disney, you probably will not understand.

Thank you for the time you have given to The Disney Store. To me, you have helped to spread the magic.

I know some of you are leaving because of the way you have been treated in the transition. I just want you to know that there are many out here that do understand and want to say again Thank You.

I for one will miss The Disney Store and the Disney Store Castmembers.

[mickey4ver]

Thanks for those kind thoughts....

[SueM in MN]

My DD's best friend worked at one of the Minnesota Disney Stores until it closed (I think around New Years last year). I still remember when that store opened; it was a little bit of magic in the mall near us.
DD and her friend both wanted to work there because it seemed like those CMs in that store were full of pixie dust.
TDS will be missed. :(

[Luv2Roam]

Very well stated.
Yes, thank you all. I know you have been under great stress for awhile. I hope the best for everyone.

[madaboutMickey]

Thank you for the kind words. As of midnight I no longer am a castmember.

[KerryCM]

Thank you so much for the kind words. I have been at my store for 11 years, since it opened. I went to the store today to turn in my company ID and receive my TCP id card. It was a very sad day for me. Most of the cast at my store left over the summer. There were only a few of us left that had been with DS for more than a year. Even our new manager is from another company. These people had no idea why some of us are upset. It is a feeling inside that you have. We were once part of a wonderful man's dream and we all tried to pass that feeling along to every guest that entered our stores. Yes, it became more difficult over the past few years, but those of us that believe in the magic tried our best to spread it around.

[AuntRoeRoe]

As a 10 year TDS cast member, I too appreciate the kind words. It was really strange working Saturday, knowing it was my last day as a WDC cast member and when I work this Friday, I will be a TCP employee.

[Disney01]

Will the store still sell Park passes and Disney Dollars?

[AllyBri]

Thank you for the kind and sincere words.

[AuntRoeRoe]

In response to a previous poster, yes, the Disney Stores will continue to sell Disney Dollars and park passes.

[domestic goddess]

Working at TDS was the BEST job I have ever had!!! Our store closed last February and it was a very sad day. I have never enjoyed working anywhere else as much as I did there. As the previous poster said I didn't work there for the money, I did it because it was fun and I loved being a CM! The cast at my store was the greatest and we still keep in contact.

Where else can you sing and dance with your favorite character and no one looks at you funny? It's actually expected!! I had so much fun talking to guests about their upcoming trips or ones that they had just returned from. This Christmas season just isn't the same. This year I am having to go to WDW to get my Disney Fix!!!!!

If you haven't been a CM it may be hard to understand how it feels, but for those of you that are(were), we have our memories!

Good Luck!

[RoLaren]

As a former TDS CM, my heart so goes out to all of you still there who had to face that change or who had to face store closings :( .

Thanks for all the magic you've given us all; including your fellow Cast Members. I appreciate all you have done.

[doombuggy]

Thanks for that great post, YesDear! I spent about 7 yrs & 10 months at TDS before transferring to WDW in July. I was lucky in the fact taht I found a f/t job & was able to move. I miss my pals at my last store a lot and know they are all going thru a rough patch.

:earsboy:

[Terry S]

Thank you YesDear and everyone else for your kind words and thanks. Going to work on Sunday no longer a Cast Member was very difficult. Not many people understand and to hear someone actually say thank you brought a tears to my eyes. Thank you again!

[Bwalker]

Thank you, YesDear, for your kind words.

I was a DS CM for over 5 years and just loved it :)

You make me wonder if you were ever a CM yourself as you have a real insight to the inner thoughts and joys of being a Disney CM :) :) :)

Thanks again!

Aloha,
Bwalker ;)

[Blackunicorn]

Your post made me cry.

I'll be staying on in the hopes that we'll be able to keep the magic going, but it's going to be very hard not to be a CM anymore. :(

[mitros]

Yes, God bless all of the Disney Cast Members that made the Disney stores a magical place to shop, just as they make the theme parks so wonderful so that we keep coming back year after year. If only they would treat you folks better.....Good luck to all of you!::yes:: :wave2:

[raidermatt]

Just wanted to add my thanks to the Disney Store CMs. Its been a pleasure dealing with people who truly cared about what they were doing.

[PatMcDuck]

My last day at the stores is Saturday.......... 5 year vet here.

MANY of the CMs from the stores are leaving. We will replaced by new employees, so be patient with them this Holiday season. Some CMs are sticking it out until January, others of us look forward to a break from all the craziness and do not want to wait that long. My kids are older now (teens), no one uses the toys or wears the clothing (except me!) so the discount that is left is meaningless to me. I of course hold NO bitterness about that, we are not part of the Disney company any more, so I am leaving........ BUT I will miss it in many ,many ways.

Thanks to all the wonderful CMs and Guests that made working in the stores so much fun over the years. I wish the new stores all the best, and all the new employees luck as well-- they will do fine.

[curtessey]

Thank you YesDear for the kind words and thoughts. After 9 years, I too was a DS CM to be part of Walt's magic and just couldn't bring myself to stay under the CP umbrella. I will miss my fellow CM's - have made a lot of good friends over the years and will most definitely miss the smiles on the faces of the children (and adults) that I have enjoyed over the years as they came in for their Disney fix. The children were always the best part - at least I had one more Halloween season of watching them try on costumes before the stores were sold.

Good luck to those CM's that are staying on with CP, hopefully they'll treat you well.

[TiggerStac]

I am a former DS castmember. I worked throughout college (I did the 5 year plan :0) ). I, also, loved the feeling of working there and being a part of the magic. I had always hoped to go back there to work part time one day...but it wouldn't be the same. I actually worked in 2 different DS one in Southern NH and one closer to Boston. It will be interesting to see how the store is when I visit on Tuesday. I have to admit, though, I have noticed a huge change in the stores since I worked there!!! It seems that all of the training that they put into to us changed/was different. I was shocked a few weeks ago to go into the NH store that I worked at and have someone standing in the front of the store w/a clipboard asking if I wanted to sign up for the disney visa. We did ask people at checkout...it was pretty standard, but not right as I walk into the store!!! I thought that was definately a bit much.

[perdidobay]

That person trying to get you to sign up for the Visa was not a cast member... they were privately hired merchandisers ( hired by Disney Visa).

[TiggerStac]

That's even worse that they hired someone outside to come in and do it. I just thought it was very odd and undisneylike for someone to ask me to sign up for a visa...where we use to greet someone. I remember when I worked there kids in college would do the disney run. They would try and make it to the back of the store without someone greeting them...I don't think it ever happened!!

[exDS vet]

I witnessed the decline

After reading these posts about TDS for three years now, I have come to a conclusion that I hope many of you will agree with. The Disney Store was born in California - Glendale to be exact. Then came Pier 39 in San Francisco. Over the years, the company grew and grew to over 700 stores around the world. Then the demise began.

Some people have referred to TDS as part of Walt Disney's dream. That's simply not true. Walt never dreamed of over exposing his product by putting retail stores in every mall around the country. TDS was Michael Eisner's dream and over time, it became many people's nightmare.

As a twenty year old in 1987, I experienced my first Disney Store, the Pier 39 store mentioned above. It quickly became a dream of mine to be in charge of a store like that. A huge Disney fan working at a Disney Store, what could be better besides moving away from home and working at a Disney park?

My dream came true twelve years later when I became THE manager of that historic Disney Store. Unfortunately, it did not take long before the terror that I experienced began. Like when my grandmother died and my District Manager said I could not take 2 days off to be with my mourning family.

Disney is all about guest service, unless you are in upper management. Then then you are bigger and better than everyone else. Like when a D.M. talked openly to a group of managers about some of the "trailer park trash" that comes into the stores.

You would think that a company that goes out of it's way to create happy guests would do the same for it's castmembers. Instead, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while my father was in the hospital having spinal surgery, my D.M. fought (unsuccessfully) to prevent me from taking a week off from work to tend to them.

I will give them credit for being focused and determined with their goals. Like when my D.M. enlisted the help of the Regional Director to bully me into working on a critical day of my mother's medical ordeal, that the D.M. had previously authorized me to have off. I was told that "the business" was more important than my family. In my response to those evil women and to my H.R. rep. I quoted Walt Disney's own line that I display at the bottom of these posts, and then took the day off anyway. I was promptly fired for "insubordination" shortly after my return to work.

Is mine an isolated incident? I don't think so. I have heard many horror stories about the Disney Store. But I have heard some great things too. From reviewing these many posts over the years, I am convinced that TDS was run much more poorly on the west coast than on in the midwest and the east. All of the positive messages that I read usually come from those other areas.

While TDS was born in California, it's true heart was back east. It's ironic that so much of the greatness of TDS was also in the midwest, which is where Walt Disney was born and raised.

I still have plenty of passion for the real Disney. I left a great company to work for TDS. My firing did not trigger my negative feelings towards TDS. When it is all said and done, I controlled my own destiny and allowed them to do what they did. In the end, I was able to return to my prior company which cares more about people (customers and employees) than today's Walt Disney Company ever will.

Here's to those Disney Store castmembers who have made so many guests so happy. And thanks to district manager, Mary Glesener and regional director, Grace Douglas. Two angry, bitter women (mercifully, now gone from the company also), who, by thier actions toward me, helped to make this former TDS castmember a much happier and more successful person.

Rest In Peace, Disney Store.

[RweTHEREyet]

Thank you, YesDear, for your kind words.

I was a DS CM for over 5 years and just loved it :)

You make me wonder if you were ever a CM yourself as you have a real insight to the inner thoughts and joys of being a Disney CM :) :) :)

Thanks again!

Aloha,
Bwalker ;)

No, he isn't a CM, just happens to be married to one.

[shirley 38]

Thank you "Yes Dear" for the kind words. A lot of people do not understand that working for The Disney store was not a job. I would not work anywhere else. We were a family in every sense of the word.
Most of our cast members have left. It is heart breaking. There are only two of us oldies left.
IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES AND NOW IT COULD BE THE WORST OF TIMES.

[mt2]

I was a TDS CM (PT) years ago. I was always excited to go to work. I have some wonderful memories there. The one I always remember 1st is when a mom and her DD came in to get matching shirts for DD's 1st birthday. She was finally able to find something for herslef, DH and DD.

She put DD on the floor so she could write her check out. DD was standing, holding onto her mommy's leg. She turned to me and smiled/drooled. I got down to her level and held out my arms and asked to to talk to me. See my DD's walked at 9 months and I thought that everyone else's child did the same (I was a 1st time mom and ignorant).

This beautiful drooling girl with Pebble Flinstone pigtails started walking to me. She was unsteady but she walked over to me (about 5 steps). I picked her up and her mommy just stood there crying. I didn't know what I had done wrong. She explained to me that that was her 1st steps. She didn't want to walk to anyone before just stand in one spot. Well, that got me (and the other 2 CM's) crying.

She wanted to write my name down this her DD's baby book because I must have "created magic" for her DD that night. She was also going to write down (in the baby book) that her DH was at home sitting on the couch watching football instead of being at TDS with the video camera. LOL

I will remember fondly the years I was there. Thanks for the tread.

mt2

[prince of thieves]

No, he isn't a CM, just happens to be married to one.

Don't forget that he is the father of one as well!!!!!!!! :-p