Another Disney Store Closing

[Alicenwonderment]

I decided to drive to Saugus MA to go to the Disney Store. We don't have a regular Disney Store in NH (Just an outlet)and I wanted to check out what they had for inventory. When I got there I saw a sign that read They were closing July 17th. I was so sad. No big discounts yet. Pretty sure they will just bring their stock to another store. Ugh! Disney Stores are getting harder to find. The cast members kept saying,"You can go online." Hmmm Do you all think that someday there will be no more Disney Store outside of their parks? I miss the days when the nearest Disney Store was a 10 minute drive from my house.

 

[Micca]

I remember going to TDS years ago and it was like having a little piece of WDW in our own hometown. Really great merchandise and displays of merch with Disney magic. Some years ago they turned into an average toy store with a lot of cheaply made stuff. Also now that you can get everything on line I think traffic at malls in general is on the decline. If you don't have the Shop Disney Parks app yet, please look into it. It's pretty cool!

 

[supernova]

I'm still pining for the old World of Disney store on 5th Avenue. Miss that place!

 

[Micca]

There was a cool Disney Store at the mall in Caesar's Palace in Vegas. It had huge statues of Mickey and Goofy (?) in Roman Empire garb at the entrance to the store. They also had some exclusive merch there. The original store in London was also fantastic with some higher quality items than you'd find here in the states.

 

[TinkerDust10]

Does anyone know why they closed this location? I used to frequent that store almost daily and the cast members knew us by name! I recently moved to Central Florida so I havent been since February of this year. I am truly heartbroken and shocked that the saugus location closed permanently! It was pretty much always busy at that location. I remember when they closed the one in Rockingham Mall! How crazy!

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Yeah, That is shocking. All I can find in Essex county Disney sections at JCPenney (such as at Northshore Mall). I doubt it might return like twice at Burlington Mall did.

 

[mjmgsssp]

I worked for The Disney Store in the late 90s. As the beanie babies craze was ending, Disney futilely tried anything to regain the business. Shortly thereafter, they sold the stores to The Children's Place and EVERYTHING changed. Once Disney regained control of the stores, they "re-imagined" them and turned them primarily into toy stores, with usually only one table of adult screen-printed tees. Gone are the days of embroidered tees, henleys, sweatshirts, collectibles, artwork, watches, etc. I agree that it's REALLY SAD the stores we once knew and loved are now just memories.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Who knows? It's not Square One Mall in Mississauga, Ontario. But we did lose The Disney Store in St. Cathrines Ontario after Fairview Mall went out of business in 2012. It may be possible that it might return to Square One Mall in Saugus in the near future. But don't give up hope. It happened twice in the row at Burlington Mall in Massachusetts.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

I decided to drive to Saugus MA to go to the Disney Store. We don't have a regular Disney Store in NH (Just an outlet)and I wanted to check out what they had for inventory. When I got there I saw a sign that read They were closing July 17th. I was so sad. No big discounts yet. Pretty sure they will just bring their stock to another store. Ugh! Disney Stores are getting harder to find. The cast members kept saying,"You can go online." Hmmm Do you all think that someday there will be no more Disney Store outside of their parks? I miss the days when the nearest Disney Store was a 10 minute drive from my house.

I don't know. But others are getting a redesign.

 

[JenniBarra]

These days, I am more likely to find Disney items that interest me at Hot Topic than the Disney Store.

 

[Kaley555]

These days, I am more likely to find Disney items that interest me at Hot Topic than the Disney Store.

I haven't thought about it. Thanks for sharing!

 

[supernova]

I worked for The Disney Store in the late 90s. As the beanie babies craze was ending, Disney futilely tried anything to regain the business. Shortly thereafter, the sold the stores to The Children's Place and EVERYTHING changed.

As a shopper, I remember that godawful merger. The stores dwindled and never really regained their former glory. Heck, back then, Warner Bros also had mall-based stores carrying great collectible merchandise. I even met Joe Barbara during an art signing at my local WB store in the Staten Island Mall. Picked up a Dastardly & Muttley print that Joe signed that day. Then there was their flagship store a few blocks up from Disney's flagship World of Disney store on 5th Avenue. I remember riding the elevator (that Superman was pushing) up to the third floor to see the 3D Marvin the Martian movie.

The World of Disney store had the Snow White-themed elevator, with the apple on one floor and the Old Hag's face at the top. There was a 7' statue of Cruella DeVille standing overlooking the balcony up near where the watches, posters, and art prints were. Some really quality collectibles that are sorely missing from the mall stores these days. Now it's plus, kids' costumes, Star Wars/Marvel toys, and a tiny corner or clearance merchandise, sometimes featuring items from the parks. I have found a few neat things every now and again at the Disney Store Outlet locations, both in Orlando and New Jersey.

 

[old lady]

Why do into a store when you can shop online?

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

My local store at Lakeline Mall in Austin TX is closing. Everything 50% off this weekend, anything left come Monday is 75% off (on top of the 25% twice upon a time sale). At least I still have the Disney Outlet Store in Cedar Park.

 

[Wubar]

Disney store in the Montgomeryville Mall here in PA is closing next week. Four pretty big malls here in the area and that one is the last to go. Sad.

 

[supernova]

My local store at Lakeline Mall in Austin TX is closing. Everything 50% off this weekend, anything left come Monday is 75% off (on top of the 25% twice upon a time sale). At least I still have the Disney Outlet Store in Cedar Park.

Truthfully, at this point I prefer the Outlet locations over the standard stores. Outside of the incredible ornaments they release during Christmas, there isn't much I find myself looking at when I do a flythrough while I'm at the mall. The regular stores have deteriorated into nothing but Marvel, Star Wars, and princess merchandise.

 

[Micca]

With the Disney shopping apps, the stores have become superfluous. I used to love going to the Disney Store back in the 80s and 90s, don't even bother now.

 

[supernova]

With the Disney shopping apps, the stores have become superfluous. I used to love going to the Disney Store back in the 80s and 90s, don't even bother now.

Yes, but then that argument could be made for ANY major retailer operating a website or shopping app. Yet malls are still thriving. Hell, the mall by me is adding on a whole new wing, with a state-of-the-art movie theater, a Dave & Busters, and still-unnamed stores, along with a four-deck parking garage. So someone is still hitting the mall, despite the mall being on their desktop, tablet, or smart phone. it's sort of like Barnes & Noble competing with itself by selling their Nook right in their brick-and-mortar stores. Yet they still continue to operate retail locations, which have actually expanded their product offerings lately beyond simply books, music, and DVDs.

The other thing about an app is that it eliminates the "impulse buy". If I'm not shopping for something, I'm not using the app. And for a store that I might only shop while I'm at a mall or when I definitely need a gift, I'm not keeping an app on my phone. But while I'm at the mall, I will wander into the store, and there is always a chance (even if it's slight), that I could make a purchase. And it really is a more fun experience floating the sales floor than floating the website.

 

[supernova]

Why do into a store when you can shop online?

Why visit your grandmother when you can just Skype with her instead?

 

[RangerPooh]

The Disney Store in Memphis, TN closes tomorrow. From what we learned it was not Disney’s intention to move. Instead the mall sold their lease (and other businesses) to H&M. Since they had the old 90s design moving wouldn’t have been as easy. So no more Disney Store in the western part if the state. Sad.