My Disney store closed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ShellyLynn3630]

I was heartbroken when I went into Hamilton Place Mall this week with intentions on buying some Disney Dollars for my three-year-old and it has been closed. Where else can I buy them or a Disney gift card????

 

[annie1995]

I'm not sure what to tell you about where you can buy them, but you are definately not alone. Ours closed last week too, I was soooooo sad

 

[bradk]

you can buy the gift card online at http://www.disneyshopping.com - just make sure you're buying the card and not the eGift Certificate

you can also buy them at disneyland.com and even have a lot more designs to choose from.

 

[EchoThree76]

Ours closed too!!! Two months before our trip to the world. Sad thing is we live in Wa state and it was our only connection to disney in the area!!! I heard a report that they are opening up 146 stores in India!!! Where is the justice in the world i tell ya!!!

 

[PrincessKara22]

Why are they closing so many stores?! If either of the two near me close I'll be heartbroken!!!!

 

[Robo]

Why are they closing so many stores?! If either of the two near me close I'll be heartbroken!!!!

For anyone who does not know, Disney does not own or operate the (so-called) "Disney Store."

It is owned and operated by The Children's Place.

It, to me, was a very pale comparison to anything the quality of the Disney Company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Store

nly the European Disney Stores and one location in New York City (now operated under the theme park division of the "World of Disney" brand) remain property of The Walt Disney Company. Japanese Disney Stores are owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company, the company that owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort and in the United States and Canada (save for the location in Manhattan), the stores are owned and operated primarily by Hoop Retail Stores, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Children's Place, LLC. Both Oriental Land and The Children's Place operate Disney Stores under long-term license agreements with The Walt Disney Company. TCP's operating agreements extend at least 50 years.


Disney Store in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, after a 2005 renovation.
Upon declining popularity and return on the mall-based chain, The Walt Disney Company decided to sell their Disney Stores. Japanese stores were sold in 2002, while most North American stores were sold in November 2004.

 

[bam15]

My disney store closed here last week too It was in the mall right in my town! Now I have to travel about 30 minutes to get to the Disney store! Oh well!! There is always online!!

 

[ligirlz]

The one near me closed too. It was like a 2 week fast close sale. I was sad to see it go but I live 20 mins away from the WOD in DTD so I go there when i can.

 

[Feralpeg]

They are also closing one here. I'm very sad to see them go. I see WDW merchandise all of the time. The merchandise carried by the Disney Store was different from WDW merchandise and, IMHO, very nice. I actually felt like the Disney Store carried more unusual character merchandise than WDW. WDW has changed. They carry so much of a few themes and very little else. It is a shame that so many Disney Stores are now gone.

 

[Wendy31]

Originally posted by ShellyLynn3630 - I was heartbroken when I went into Hamilton Place Mall this week with intentions on buying some Disney Dollars for my three-year-old and it has been closed. Where else can I buy them or a Disney gift card????

Please, please tell me you're not talking about the Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, TN!

 

[GGOOFY1]

Since The Children's Place took over the Disney Store, I only go in there at Christmas to buy gifts for my nieces and nephews. Otherwise it was not the same.

 

[DLBDS]

Robo's link also went on to say...

"The Children's Place intends to reinvigorate the Disney Store brand in the United States by expanding the number of stores, reducing initial selling prices (Disney Stores have been well known for inflated initial prices, which would be marked down substantially after just a few weeks), and opening outlet stores, which have lower operating costs and typically have a high profit margin even though they have reduced prices versus mall stores."

Doesn't sound like things are going the way they intended.

 

[ellenmiele]

The 2 stores near me (in 2 different malls) are - thankfully - still there but they both temporarily closed and one already reopened but just in a different place in the mall. The other one is scheduled to reopen (also in a new location within that mall) in June. And I have to say that, for me, the one that already reopened is better than what it was before. It has a larger location and the staff is very very nice - a real Disney feel for me. Only thing I miss is the big screen that played the Disney movie clips and videos. I'm waiting to see if the one in the other mall has the big screen when it reopens but I have a feeling that it won't. And the new stores seem to be a little more about clothes than the old stores were - I think that's the Children's Place influence. I'm going to have a closer look around on Tuesday when I go back to pick up my copy of Enchanted - I'll see what other differences I notice.

 

[MareSINY]

The 2 stores near me (in 2 different malls) are - thankfully - still there but they both temporarily closed and one already reopened but just in a different place in the mall. The other one is scheduled to reopen (also in a new location within that mall) in June. And I have to say that, for me, the one that already reopened is better than what it was before. It has a larger location and the staff is very very nice - a real Disney feel for me. Only thing I miss is the big screen that played the Disney movie clips and videos. I'm waiting to see if the one in the other mall has the big screen when it reopens but I have a feeling that it won't. And the new stores seem to be a little more about clothes than the old stores were - I think that's the Children's Place influence. I'm going to have a closer look around on Tuesday when I go back to pick up my copy of Enchanted - I'll see what other differences I notice.

I see your from NJ, are one of the stores you're talking about in the Freehold Mall? The Disney store there closed in January and is being moved to another location in the mall. I've been waiting to see when it would reopen, I'm going to need to get more Disney Dollars before our trip in August.

Like many others have said, I don't find the Children's Place version of the Disney Store to be as magical as the Disney version. I used to love the collectibles section with all the art and different collectibles. A large portion of my Tink collection came from the old Disney store.

 

[donaldseeyore]

Seriously I am hoping this is not the one in Chattanooga.....I could cry!!!!!!!!!

 

[utkscvol1]

The store @ hamilton place closed last weekend. One of the girls I work with said she went in there the weekend before and it was like a mad house. I was very sad to see it close. Guess I'll be buying my stuff online but I think it sucks that it closed!

 

[donaldseeyore]

<<--throwing fit

 

[bavaria]

To be frank, even the stores still run by Disney are not that impressive. I am quite often in Paris and stop at the store there on the Champs-Élysées, and have been to the one in Manhattan a few times. (Most recently two weeks ago)

While the Manhattan store has character greets etc, the merchandise is not very impressive. They used to carry unique New York themed items; there are now very few of these and they don't seem to change very frequently. Much of what was carried there recently was the same as in the parks.

Both the Manhattan and Champs-Élysées stores are in high volume tourist areas, so are always busy, but the merchandise is no longer the quality and variety from the orignal Disney stores of years ago.

 

[madfelice]

Every Disney Store in my whole entire country closed a few years back.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

They are also closing one here. I'm very sad to see them go. I see WDW merchandise all of the time. The merchandise carried by the Disney Store was different from WDW merchandise and, IMHO, very nice. I actually felt like the Disney Store carried more unusual character merchandise than WDW. WDW has changed. They carry so much of a few themes and very little else. It is a shame that so many Disney Stores are now gone.

Thank you for saying that! I thought I was the ONLY one who thought that about how the Stores changed (in ways for the BETTER) after TCP took over. There's more character selection and different merchandise that Disney never would have tried.

TCP brought back the adult clothing that everyone was missing so much as well as houseware items. I think a lot of people were turned off to the stores before the change over (when all of the adult clothing was removed), but should go back now and take a look. There's so many new adult clothing items...some we can't even keep in stock! It's impressive to see the clothing moving the way it is, even when it's not on sale.

I've been at my store for almost 9 years (with the exception of a few months when I worked at WDW) and we still have the Disney magic at my store. To me, I still work for Walt. It doesn't matter who signs my paycheck, what matters is what is in my heart everytime I go to work and see the looks on the kid's faces when they see the Mickey and Pluto on the magic carpet up by the ceiling. Sure my benefits aren't "Disney" benefits, but that was never the reason I wanted to work there. I do it because I love Disney.

Like many others have said, I don't find the Children's Place version of the Disney Store to be as magical as the Disney version. I used to love the collectibles section with all the art and different collectibles. A large portion of my Tink collection came from the old Disney store.

When TDS was owned by Disney, there were certain stores that would carry the more art and collectables, they were the Gallery stores. My store was never a Gallery store, though we did have the cels as well as the WDCC pieces. Do I miss the fact that we don't carry those products? Yes, but most people never bought them. It was rare to sell a cel and WDCC pieces. To me, the stores were never defined by the artwork.

If you're ever in eastern PA, stop by my store near Allentown, PA. the magic is still at my store and we're more than happy to share the Disney magic with all of our guests!