Well, this thread gives me a tiny bit of hope. I was in the store on Michigan Ave in Chicago three weeks ago, and even though it was 4 or 5 times the size of the mall stores, it had nothing but plush (they were everywhere!), baby clothes, and toys. NO collectables, NO artwork (I used to love browsing the animation cells) and NO adult clothes other then one small rack. I used to go in and purchase stuff regularly, but never anymore these days.
Hopefully the changes mentioned here will come to my area. I have never met a CM with anything other than a winning "Disney" attitude though. They continue to be wonderful! Just trapped in a prison of Plush.