Has your Disney Store turned into a...

[Blondie]

Stuffed animal store?

3/4 of the store in my area is nothing, and I mean nothing but stuffed animals. Every size, shape and Disney character you could ever thing of!

A very small portion at the back of the store is for small children's clothes.

Since I'm not in the market for stuffed animals or small children's clothes, I don't even go inside anymore.

 

[JasonLyons]

I dont know, I never been in it

 

[browneyes]

Shame on you Jason.

Kathy, mine has turned into a girlie store. It's almost too young for my 10 yo to enjoy it. They told me yesterday they were going to stop selling adult sized stuff for awhile.

 

[Serena]

Our's has mainly stuffed animals too. I want clothes, adult clothes.

 

[dbond]

Yes, ours is the same, disappointing isn't it? TDS used to be a regular stop for us on every trip to the mall. In fact, we usually made a beeline to the store before we went anywhere else and we never left the store without making a purchase. I haven't been in that store in almost a year, there's just nothing in there but little girl princess stuff and stuffed animals. Someday maybe I'll have a grandchild and it will be worth my while again, most of my Disney store shopping used to be clothing & collectibles for myself and my husband.

 

[MarkRG]

All of the stores around Chicagoland are these pitiful stores now.

We make a very quick breeze thru once in a while in hopes someone at store marketing gets a proctologist to find their head for them.

I think the last time we bought something from one of their stores was over a year ago.

The Catalog is going the same way, at least 1/2 to 2/3 of princess and plush, although we have bought some home decor items from it.

We have better luck finding good Disney items at Wal-Mart.

 

[PamOKW]

Yes. TDS has gone in a different direction and sells stuffed toys and "Princess" items. The catalog is going that way, too.

Our Disney stores went this route and then closed. The closest store is now a 30 mile drive and sure "ain't worth the trip".

On the other hand, CMs who post here somtimes report that sales are good with these items. It's just too bad we can now only get our Disney fix on items when we got to WDW.

 

[CynJ]

We make a very quick breeze thru once in a while in hopes someone at store marketing gets a proctologist to find their head for them.

hehehe...ROTFLMTO!!

The Meriden DS stinks....no adult clothes anymore it feels like its all kids costumes and stuffed animals....even the collectibles have gone away!

 

[becka]

Our Disney Store has turned into a Rue 21.

I guess it is for the best since our store was pretty bad before it closed. You would not think it would be difficult to find a Mickey outfit for an infant boy in at Disney Store but it was nearly impossible.

 

[allicat]

yup! plastic Princess toys and stuffed animals. DD age 7 doesnt even want to go in anymore!
There was a great Disney store by me that had a small gallery in it, home items, stationery. It was the best Disney store ever and probably twice the size of the smaller mall Disney stores!
The gallery is gone and now set up to look like a little girls bedroom. The entire store is stuffed animals and princess.

 

[BobbinWeez]

I have been very disapointed with the Disney Stores. The first one I ever went to was the one in Quincy Market in Boston. I was absolutely enthralled by that store. It has since closed. I used to collect the china figurines that they used to sell. You can't get those now. It's a bummer. I don't like going in and only finding children's clothes and all that stuff. I want to shake some sense into some of those Disney people and tell them that not everyone that loves Disney is eight years old!

 

[iluvdisney]

Yes - it is very disappointing - no more weekly trips to TDS - I just don't understand their thinking. I seems to remember reading that all the stores will probably close by the end of 2006 - and that doesn't make me very happy either.

 

[snoopy]

I'm with Jason, however, I have been in the store. Its just not a store I ever shopped in regularly.

Love WDW, don't want to wear it on my clothes though, and I never thought they had a good selection for boys. My boys are not big stuffed animal fans, and I don't collect Disney knick knacks, so the store has never really held a lot of appeal for me.

 

[RUDisney]

This just stands to prove my theory... stuffed animals, when left alone will breed. It happens in my house and I guess it has also happened in TDS.

 

[Blondie]

Originally posted by MarkRG
We make a very quick breeze thru once in a while in hopes someone at store marketing gets a proctologist to find their head for them.

 

[Dan Murphy]

As Mark said, we used to have at least a dozen nice TDS's here in Chicagoland, with the Michigan Avenue store its hallmark store. Now, after several having been closed, the balance of them, including Michigan Avenue, are the pits. DT does not even carry 'Chicago Mickey's' anymore. (Sorry Big Dude) I really never visit any of them anymore.

 

[kellyla]

Take a lok at this thread about the Disney Store is trying to get the customer back in the stores.I found out all this info on the weekend.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=349437

 

[Suzy Mouse]

I was just in the Disney Store the other night complaining about how the stores have changed over the past few years. The employee there told me that they are going to start getting in more children's clothing. I told him I wanted adult clothing, home accessories, stationery, and art work. He said that stuff didn't sell!!! Well I bought it!!!

 

[MarkRG]

Hm, that last comment is interesting. They have a 6 year plan, and in the next 5 years they might be bringing back the other product lines.


The BIG IF is IF there will still BE Disney Stores in the next 5 years to bring it back to. Moving in this direction is deleting a large segment of the clientele.

 

[BobBrazeal]

On my flight back from DL last week I ended up sitting next to a Disney store regional manager. I mentioned the same thing about the adult clothing lines, home accessories and etc. They said that they had often heard that same complaint about the direction the stores were going and about the adult lines and etc. However, the sales numbers did not show the market for these things and did not warrant keeping them in the stores.

It could be that we are a unique group in that respect. We are, by the very nature of this community, more likely to buy Disney items than the public at large. We may have bought our share but it seems that the general population was not doing their part!