Disney Stores Coming Back??

[Mirabell Rose]

Word is the Gen Z and Gen Alpha are trending to in store shopping. One will see.

Personally I think Disney proper does a lousy job with merchandising. Rarely see something that I want. My DD loves Box Lunch and their Disney merchandise. I def see more things there than Disney proper.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Word is the Gen Z and Gen Alpha are trending to in store shopping. One will see.

Personally I think Disney proper does a lousy job with merchandising. Rarely see something that I want. My DD loves Box Lunch and their Disney merchandise. I def see more things there than Disney proper.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Word is the Gen Z and Gen Alpha are trending to in store shopping. One will see.

Personally I think Disney proper does a lousy job with merchandising. Rarely see something that I want. My DD loves Box Lunch and their Disney merchandise. I def see more things there than Disney proper.

"They are returning to value-oriented shopping malls, which have stores and brands that are often also located in suburban strip malls rather than high-end luxury brands"

That would not be a good signal that bringing back Disney Stores would be a viable option for Disney... which tends to not be a value-oriented experience.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

"They are returning to value-oriented shopping malls, which have stores and brands that are often also located in suburban strip malls rather than high-end luxury brands"

That would not be a good signal that bringing back Disney Stores would be a viable option for Disney... which tends to not be a value-oriented experience.

Google Gen Z and malls. It’s not strip malls. Disney stores did not sell merchandise at the same high prices at the parks. Their price structure was well in line with other mall stores. Target it struggling. Millennials loved Target. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are hitting us now.

 

[deedubb]

Noooo!! Please don't! Do you know how much freakin' money I have saved since the stores closed?

 

[LKing]

I think Primark/Penneys is doing something similar in its UK stores.

I believe it is Selfridges.

 

[hardcorestitch]

I believe it is Selfridges.

The Primarks in the UK have Disney themed cafes.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Disney hasba store in NYC. I could see Disney adding a few more stores. Possibly Vegas.

Malls are closing. I don't see Disney returning to a big retail operation

There are outlet stores too…

 

[clappyclaps]

The Primarks in the UK have Disney themed cafes.

Selfridges are *meant* to have Disney pop ups including park merch:
https://www.disneystore.co.uk/Selfridges.html

However I went to see what they had in the Manchester Exchange store not long after it opened and all it had was a few Christmas baubles and biscuits/chocolates. Disappointing doesn't even come close. Keep meaning to try the Trafford Centre one but don't think I can face the disappointment.

Primark is far superior when it comes to Disney merch, even if it's not officially from the parks. Although I do wish the Disney cafes were at all Primarks - the ones in Manchester change theme sadly.

 

[frenchfryseagull]

Word is the Gen Z and Gen Alpha are trending to in store shopping. One will see.

Personally I think Disney proper does a lousy job with merchandising. Rarely see something that I want. My DD loves Box Lunch and their Disney merchandise. I def see more things there than Disney proper.

Agree with this - If you're a teen to an adult, Box Lunch has all of the good stuff for adults that the Disney Store stopped selling towards the end of its life, plus more. Highly recommended

 

[DodgerGirl]

What really caused the demise of Disney Stores in malls was that they lost their family oriented image that they had began with. But when you looked in a Disney Store before it's closure you could tell that their image had changed and they started to focus more on children. Because when you walked into a Disney Store the first things you would see were toys like dolls and Disney plushies and few kids clothing items and what I saw of this new image was that Disney Stores were converting itself to be a Disney toy store. Why I think Disney Store went with this new image was so they could compete with the toy store chains. But if Disney Stores wanted to come back they would be bigger and like the World Of Disney stores in Walt Disney World and Disneyland and feature sections for family clothing and Disney themed home decor such as bedding and kitchen decor and then they would have a children's area with toys and a playroom type area with a stage for character meet and greets and daily storytime hours and the final part of these huge Disney Stores would be devoted to Disney collectibles like snowglobes porcelain Disney figurines and art and believe me this new revival of Disney Store would be a hit if it were to exist

 

[Nayan]

But if Disney Stores wanted to come back they would be bigger and like the World Of Disney stores in Walt Disney World and Disneyland and feature sections for family clothing and Disney themed home decor such as bedding and kitchen decor and then they would have a children's area with toys and a playroom type area with a stage for character meet and greets and daily storytime hours and the final part of these huge Disney Stores would be devoted to Disney collectibles like snowglobes porcelain Disney figurines and art and believe me this new revival of Disney Store would be a hit if it were to exist

Disney Stores are NOT coming back no matter how much you think they should. They are a niche market, malls are dead and it would cost too much money to have stand-alone stores with merch that quite honestly, not many people would buy. If Disney thought they would be profitable, they'd be doing it already instead of having closed most all of the stores.

 

[Cfabar1]

Disney Stores are NOT coming back no matter how much you think they should. They are a niche market, malls are dead and it would cost too much money to have stand-alone stores with merch that quite honestly, not many people would buy. If Disney thought they would be profitable, they'd be doing it already instead of having closed most all of the stores.

Disney can’t even figure out how to merchandise products it seems to me… it’s been years since I’ve found their offerings in the parks to be unique or special overall.. we always go in ready to hand over our cash, and end up being disappointed…

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Disney can’t even figure out how to merchandise products it seems to me… it’s been years since I’ve found their offerings in the parks to be unique or special overall.. we always go in ready to hand over our cash, and end up being disappointed…

Check out Box Lunch and Hers Universe.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Disney Stores are NOT coming back no matter how much you think they should. They are a niche market, malls are dead and it would cost too much money to have stand-alone stores with merch that quite honestly, not many people would buy. If Disney thought they would be profitable, they'd be doing it already instead of having closed most all of the stores.

Malls are not dead. Some are doing very well. Malls have to change to those formulas. And those of us who live in areas that get cold in the winter appreciate shopping indoor versus strip malls.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

https://consultasg.com/malls-are-not-dead-theyre-just-getting-smarter/

 

[frenchfryseagull]

https://consultasg.com/malls-are-not-dead-theyre-just-getting-smarter/

I dislike "lifestyle centers," I don't see them as malls at all. I want real, enclosed malls with anchor stores, food courts, and movie theaters! Luckily I live near a pretty successful enclosed mall.

One good thing about lifestyle centers is they offer higher density housing and a pretty walkable lifestyle. I do think those things are important, I just don't enjoy the vibe of a lifestyle center, they feel very artificial to me. It's a fake downtown stuck in the middle of the suburbs kind of thing

 

[Scalemaster34]

Malls are not dead. Some are doing very well. Malls have to change to those formulas. And those of us who live in areas that get cold in the winter appreciate shopping indoor versus strip malls.

The only ones I've seen that are doing well, are those that are in tourist zones... with a lot of high end retail options. And/Or those locations that have added non-retail elements like parks or small venues. And have added enough security and rules to keep out the urban juveniles that tend to cause issues that kept away actual customers...

Nor far from Everglades Port that DCL uses, is the Sawgrass Mills Mall, which is a thriving mall that did still have a Disney Character Warehouse. When we were there last year - I understand it was set to close this month. We walked though it, but nothing was a "bargain" or interesting enough to buy. Fully understand it closing...

Mall was built right next to an arena, had a couple of hotels on property and a number of upscale resturants in a outdoors areas....

Malls are not dead, but there is a market bifurcation rather than a universal comeback https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/...y 900 malls,the bottom 350 make up 10 percent.

 

[Nayan]

Multi-use will work in some places, but not all. Same with making some of them high-end luxury shopping destinations. Plus the owners/developers have to decide is it really worth converting those spaces (if we build it will they come?) or tearing them down and selling the land to someone else. Or leaving them to rot for decades.

Some of us wax-nostalgic. I was a YA in the 80's-90's and I loved the mall. I could shop, eat, people watch, etc. But that version is dying with online shopping and big-box stores. I mean, look at movie theaters. Two big ones in my area shut down just this year. Economic's change, shopping habits change and areas themselves change.

Stand alone (or mall) Disney stores will not come back and like I said earlier, if there was a market for those then Disney wouldn't have closed the ones they had.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Multi-use will work in some places, but not all. Same with making some of them high-end luxury shopping destinations. Plus the owners/developers have to decide is it really worth converting those spaces (if we build it will they come?) or tearing them down and selling the land to someone else. Or leaving them to rot for decades.

Some of us wax-nostalgic. I was a YA in the 80's-90's and I loved the mall. I could shop, eat, people watch, etc. But that version is dying with online shopping and big-box stores. I mean, look at movie theaters. Two big ones in my area shut down just this year. Economic's change, shopping habits change and areas themselves change.

Stand alone (or mall) Disney stores will not come back and like I said earlier, if there was a market for those then Disney wouldn't have closed the ones they had.

In my studies, everything is cyclical in a never ending cycle.