Disney Store Permanently Closed 2020

[elmwyn]

Considering that, by the sounds of it, most if not all Disney Stores are closing in Canada, we really ought to have a Canadian ShopDisney website. Apart from having to convert the currency to CAD, shipping costs are atrocious and there’s often duty charges on top of that

That's one reason why I was confused about their 'ecommerce experience' explanation for closures. They obviously have no cares about the experience for their Canadian customers, literally zero effort. Their storefront in the Toronto Eaton Centre was one of their top performing stores too, worldwide.

 

[AurumPunzel]

That's one reason why I was confused about their 'ecommerce experience' explanation for closures. They obviously have no cares about the experience for their Canadian customers, literally zero effort. Their storefront in the Toronto Eaton Centre was one of their top performing stores too, worldwide.

It's all about the money. The only language Bob Chapek speaks is money. He thinks that there's money to be made online, despite the consensus amongst fans being that shopDisney is frustrating and unmagical compared to in-store, and there's still a lot of work to be done to address the issues the website has, especially when it comes to limited releases and scalpers. It's ridiculous that Disney are pushing this strategy to the detriment of fans and loyal CMs who are now worrying about how they're going to pay the bills and keep roofs over their head. As I've said time and time again, this strategy will eventually backfire on Disney and there'll be backlash against the online store, especially after the pandemic subsides and people beg for a return to physical stores.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Simon is the one responsible for Disney Stores closures and if Disney Stores and Simon Malls had made a deal for Disney Stores to stay in Simon Malls the closure of Disney Stores in Simon Malls would not have happened in the first place. As you know Simon is one of the biggest mall companies in the world and yet they have malls that are known by different names like Westfield and many others but when you take a store like Disney Store and put it in a Simon Mall you know that it won't last very long but some of the other stores do stay in business because Simon probably gives the small stores a little amount of money than retail store chains like Disney Store. But when I think about it I do agree that Simon Malls raised the rent high for Disney Stores in their owned malls and Disney Stores had to fight to keep their leases at a cheaper deal and so when it didn't happen Simon told Disney Stores to close. But I also think Disney will try to team up with QVC and start having a whole hour of shows on Disney merchandise and this will lead to the Disney Shopping Channel idea that I mentioned because QVC sells a lot of Disney toys and collectibles a lot during Christmas and Disney's shopping channel would be a huge miracle indeed

 

[LadylovesTramp]

I checked a nearby store in the Aurora IL mall. It was closed permanently. The closest is in the outlet mall about 5mi(?) away, also in Aurora. Upon further searching the closure was Sept 2019 so not related to Covid.

Awww… that’s too bad! I go to the store in Woodfield and an happy that is still in business.

 

[Lewisc]

I think Simon is the one responsible for Disney Stores closures and if Disney Stores and Simon Malls had made a deal for Disney Stores to stay in Simon Malls the closure of Disney Stores in Simon Malls would not have happened in the first place. As you know Simon is one of the biggest mall companies in the world and yet they have malls that are known by different names like Westfield and many others but when you take a store like Disney Store and put it in a Simon Mall you know that it won't last very long but some of the other stores do stay in business because Simon probably gives the small stores a little amount of money than retail store chains like Disney Store. But when I think about it I do agree that Simon Malls raised the rent high for Disney Stores in their owned malls and Disney Stores had to fight to keep their leases at a cheaper deal and so when it didn't happen Simon told Disney Stores to close. But I also think Disney will try to team up with QVC and start having a whole hour of shows on Disney merchandise and this will lead to the Disney Shopping Channel idea that I mentioned because QVC sells a lot of Disney toys and collectibles a lot during Christmas and Disney's shopping channel would be a huge miracle indeed

Westfield is a competitor of Simon.
You have it reversed. Simon seems to be holding on to more Disney stores then other malls. Speculation is Simon isn't Disney break store leases.

Disney closed stores in Roosevelt Field, Mall of America and other leading malls. Disney is getting out of retail stores.

I don't know if Disney will work out a deal with Disney. Its clear Disney wants out

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Westfield is a competitor of Simon.
You have it reversed. Simon seems to be holding on to more Disney stores then other malls. Speculation is Simon isn't Disney break store leases.

Disney closed stores in Roosevelt Field, Mall of America and other leading malls. Disney is getting out of retail stores.

I don't know if Disney will work out a deal with Disney. Its clear Disney wants out

Simon does not own The Mall of America. That is owned by Triple Five.

 

[Lewisc]

Simon does not own The Mall of America. That is owned by Triple Five.

I knew it wasn't a Simon mall. Initially we thought Disney was closing selected locations. Mall of America and Roosevelt Field should be on a short list of open stores. I'd think both would be included if Disney was only going to have a very small number of mall stores.

It seems obvious stores are being closed as soon as Disney can get out of leases.

I wonder if the NYC store will stay open. After the sale to Children's Place NYC was run by theme park division. It was a World of Disney.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

I knew it wasn't a Simon mall. Initially we thought Disney was closing selected locations. Mall of America and Roosevelt Field should be on a short list of open stores. I'd think both would be included if Disney was only going to have a very small number of mall stores.

It seems obvious stores are being closed as soon as Disney can get out of leases.

I wonder if the NYC store will stay open. After the sale to Children's Place NYC was run by theme park division. It was a World of Disney.

That might be next.

 

[AurumPunzel]

That might be next.

That's a flagship location, so it's guaranteed to survive, along with London (UK) Oxford Street and possibly one of the last-standing LA area stores.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

And maybe Toronto. The Mall at Toronto Eaton Centre is possibly a flagship store as well.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I really think what could help Disney bring back new and improved Disney Stores is if they were turned into stores like Build-A Bear and World Of Disney stores like the parks have and what it would be is it be split into sections. Like one section would be kids oriented and sell toys and plushies but the kids would also have the chance to stuff their own Disney character plushies like at Build-A Bear and there will also be free meet and greets for kids with a free picture much like Bass Pro Shops does with Santa at Christmas. The second part of the store would feature clothing and adult clothing too and the third part would be home decor and Disney collectibles. Believe me if Disney Stores make a comeback this is the format they should try and it would work

 

[AurumPunzel]

I really think what could help Disney bring back new and improved Disney Stores is if they were turned into stores like Build-A Bear and World Of Disney stores like the parks have and what it would be is it be split into sections. Like one section would be kids oriented and sell toys and plushies but the kids would also have the chance to stuff their own Disney character plushies like at Build-A Bear and there will also be free meet and greets for kids with a free picture much like Bass Pro Shops does with Santa at Christmas. The second part of the store would feature clothing and adult clothing too and the third part would be home decor and Disney collectibles. Believe me if Disney Stores make a comeback this is the format they should try and it would work

That's what I've been saying all along. The biggest misnomer that's often used as a clamour for the future of retail is it's all going online, yet online shopping still has a lot of disadvantages such as the risk the package can get damaged before arrival, the time it takes for it to get there, and having to wrangle with customer services should things go wrong. The reality is that there's market oversaturation, problems with unit leases that aren't fit for a dynamic retail world, and of course, the shift to experiential retail and leisure. Disney has the potential to reformulate their stores into what you've mentioned, while also having a synergy with their online store. If you have Disney Stores that can serve a wider region - and one orders online - then you can have faster shipping à la Amazon Prime, or even click-and-collect. Disney doesn't have to keep depriving regions and whole countries of a proper Disney Store, run everything out of one location, or shoehorn an overglorified toy section into a third party store in its place. There's plenty Disney can do, and I've argued that point with people who seem to think that they're in a precarious financial position, since Disney have just expanded into Mexico and the Gulf States with new Disney Stores-within-stores. They need to reconsider their strategy and moot what we've mentioned, since it'll work out better than what they're currently doing, which I feel will massively backfire on them and alienate even the most loyal of Disney fans.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

That's what I've been saying all along. The biggest misnomer that's often used as a clamour for the future of retail is it's all going online, yet online shopping still has a lot of disadvantages such as the risk the package can get damaged before arrival, the time it takes for it to get there, and having to wrangle with customer services should things go wrong. The reality is that there's market oversaturation, problems with unit leases that aren't fit for a dynamic retail world, and of course, the shift to experiential retail and leisure. Disney has the potential to reformulate their stores into what you've mentioned, while also having a synergy with their online store. If you have Disney Stores that can serve a wider region - and one orders online - then you can have faster shipping à la Amazon Prime, or even click-and-collect. Disney doesn't have to keep depriving regions and whole countries of a proper Disney Store, run everything out of one location, or shoehorn an overglorified toy section into a third party store in its place. There's plenty Disney can do, and I've argued that point with people who seem to think that they're in a precarious financial position, since Disney have just expanded into Mexico and the Gulf States with new Disney Stores-within-stores. They need to reconsider their strategy and moot what we've mentioned, since it'll work out better than what they're currently doing, which I feel will massively backfire on them and alienate even the most loyal of Disney fans.

I can agree.

 

[mdmost]

It was just announced that our Frisco Texas Disney store will be closing before the middle of next month. That store is always hopping and the mall is still very busy so that one surprises me.

It's a Brookfield mall. Unfortunately it has less to do with how busy the store or mall is and everything to do with the ownership of the mall itself.

I was shocked to find the Disney Store at Northpark had closed. It was always busy. We went there tonight for the first time in a while to find it gone. I guess it closed back in May 2021. It really bums me out. We would constantly take our kids there and it really got us excited for our next Disney vacation. We were actually going to check out clothes and see if they had any Magic Bands or masks for our September trip. There were a bunch of wonderful cast members there that we always enjoyed talking with.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

I was shocked to find the Disney Store at Northpark had closed. It was always busy. We went there tonight for the first time in a while to find it gone. I guess it closed back in May 2021. It really bums me out. We would constantly take our kids there and it really got us excited for our next Disney vacation. We were actually going to check out clothes and see if they had any Magic Bands or masks for our September trip. There were a bunch of wonderful cast members there that we always enjoyed talking with.

Right now, The only Disney Store left in Dallas is the outlet store at Grapevine Mills.

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Thank goodness for the Dis Boards because my family is so depressed. We had no idea they were closing so many Disney stores. My son just sent me the notice they closed our Disney store in Stonebriar Mall in Frisco TX. So now I see SO MANY of the stores have closed in the US. This store was always packed with customers. I am so sad they are closing so many stores. Just heartbreaking.


I just had to email my concerns to Disney, not that it matter…….. here is what I sent.

I write this today with a heavy heart in seeing the mass amount of Disney stores being closed and converting to what you refer to as e-commerce. The Disney store in my home town of Frisco TX probably got more customers than any store in the Stonebriar mall. The employees were always friendly, engaging, and so helpful and truly loved their job.
Where do these customers and employees go now? Online shopping! Not a fun experience and we go to the Disney store and spend lots of money for the experience.
The new management at Disney made a decision not in the best interest of the employees or the customers, but only in the best interest of the share holders and padding the executives pockets.
My son and I have been HUGE Disney fans for more years than I can count.
We visited Disneyworld during COVID and when we returned from our December 2020 vacation and always staying on site and using Disney Magical Express, we learn that is now also being taken away.
The closure of all these stores nationwide and in other countries as well is putting a very bad feeling in my heart on how this is not Walt’s direction and is making me pretty sure we just need to put our vacation dollars elsewhere.
I hope the executives that made this decision have a hard time sleeping knowing how they have treated their employees who no longer have a job and the customers who so enjoyed the in store shopping experience we used to enjoy at the amazing Disney stores.

 

[BuddyBoy600alt]

Now, All Canadian Stores (Except Toronto Eaton Centre, Vaughan Mills, and Scarborough Town Center) are closing on or before August 18.

 

[wildling99]

Now, All Canadian Stores (Except Toronto Eaton Centre, Vaughan Mills, and Scarborough Town Center) are closing on or before August 18.

Ugh, you hate to see it become official. Assuming they keep those three open to send any remaining merch from the closing stores and then eventually close them as well.

 

[wildling99]

A few more US non-outlets also:

Americana at Brand	Glendale
Plaza West Covina	West Covina
South Coast Plaza	Costa Mesa
Chicago Ridge Mall	Chicago Ridge
Polaris Fashion Place	Columbus

 

[Silvermist999]

Now, All Canadian Stores (Except Toronto Eaton Centre, Vaughan Mills, and Scarborough Town Center) are closing on or before August 18.

Ugh, hate to see all the closing rumours are really true. Bad enough the location closest to me (Square One) was one of the first to close back in March.