Spoke to the Manager at our local Disney Store........

[DisneyKidds]

......and she denied a number of rumors I've read here about the future of the Disney Stores in the Children's Place era.

According to her (we talk with her frequently when we are in the store):

- The official changeover will be sometime in November.
- The stores will be remodeled.
-There is no plan to close her store even though there is a Target in the mall.
-There will be no change in the merchandise carried, other than expanding the clothing line to include more sizes. She denied that the stores will only carry clothing in the future.
- The DVC discount will not be going away.

Basically, she said that other than changed in benefits for the employess, they don't expect much to change. I hope she is right. We'll see.

 

[KNWVIKING]

..... Was there any mention of the stores carrying more adult apparel ?

 

[DisneyKidds]

I'm not sure if, by "more sizes" in the clothing line, that they would have adult sizes of just expanded kids offerings. What kids sizes didn't they have? Expanding adult offerings would seem to make sense. I'll ask next time I see her.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Effective immediately you will no longer be able to get catalogs at The Disney Store. Don't think you will be able to make catalog returns at the Disney Store any more either.

 

[pixiedustforever]

how will the employee benefits be changed?

does that mean that employees will no longer get WDW discounts?

does anyone know?

Thanks!

Pixiedustforever!!!

 

[Planogirl]

It could mean more clothes for babies and toddlers. There has been a dearth of these too particularly for babies.

 

[mt2]

One of the Mgr's I know here believes that they will lose all of the perks from WDW/Park area but they will get their discount still at the store level.

Tickets, rooms, everything is gone. That was one of the fun things I liked when I was there.

mt2

 

[umbluegray]

We went to our local Disney Store tonight to get a couple of Christmas presents for our 4DD.

The clerk told us about the Children's Place purchase. She said the stores will carry more merchandise but there won't be a catalog.

She also said Disney is keeping the NYC and LA stores.

It seemed she was kinda going overboard about how great and exciting it's going to be.

 

[mb20fn26]

When it comes to sizes...the new Disney Store will be carrying infant to adult clothing lines...
Cast Members have lost most of their benefits...not good...
We will still be taking both online and cataloge returns at the store as a help to our guests...

Much Love,
Amanda

 

[mjtm610]

The employees loose all of their WD connection. No discounts at anything from Disney. They will get a discount on Children's Place merchandise. This is really a lousy deal-----as the cast members are the ones that are the big loosers!!! They have to re-apply for their current positions. The insurance is about the same. The pay is about the same.

 

[mb20fn26]

The only paper work er had to do for our current possitions was to re-fill out tax forms...other than that there was no "re-applying"
Yes the deal is terrible and in the end it's the cast members who are getting the short end of the stick.
It's hard to stay possitive when so many of our benefits are being taken away.
We do lose all discounts at Disney but...some park privilages are still in place....

Originally posted by mjtm610
The employees loose all of their WD connection. No discounts at anything from Disney. They will get a discount on Children's Place merchandise. This is really a lousy deal-----as the cast members are the ones that are the big loosers!!! They have to re-apply for their current positions. The insurance is about the same. The pay is about the same.

 

[what]

Taking catalog returns back, after the the sell goes through? That is a new one to me. Cast members are losing perks but we started losing them last year. The people who shop at Disney Store should be very happy though. Disney hasn't been "Walt's Disney" for a long time. How they treat their cast members is pretty pathetic. In the end WDW will lose out. Every kingdom has fallen throughout history and it seems Magic Kingdom will be very shortly if they don't wise up. Interesting to see how much junk they will have when TDS cast members aren't buying it in the cast shops. It will also be interesting to see how much the cruise ships will lose when those room availables aren't filled up. As well as the hotels. Oh well, all good things must come to an end. They better find out how to make some successful animation movies on thier own. Brother Bear licensing won't quite pay the bills. Maybe Home on the Range will?

 

[turtle51]

If disney is keeping their stores in LA does this mean that they have the same discounts to dw and at the parks. It would be nice to have some extra money and get discounts on the stuff that I love.

 

[scott1981]

I don't know who you guys have been talking to, but the cm's aren't really losing anything... Managers and dependants still get in the parks for free, cm's still get a discount on food and merch in the park, cm's still get 3 passes to the park a year, managements disc. in store goes down to 30%, but cms goes UP to 30%... I don't know what everyone is crying about...

 

[ohanafamily]

I think the big stores that Disney is keeping are actually World of Disney stores.

I am not sure how the employee benefits will pan out, I guess you will all find out in January after Holiday bonuses are given out.

If they add back adult merchandise and revamp the discounting I think it may be good for Guests. Disney is doing well with it's outsourcing, I mean look at Disney Sea?

Mr Kidds, what is your take?

 

[mb20fn26]

Ok not sure who you've been talking to but the only thing in your statement which is true is that of the discounts. There will be NO DISCOUNT for former CM's in the parks and what you've said about the passes is also untrue.

Originally posted by scott1981
I don't know who you guys have been talking to, but the cm's aren't really losing anything... Managers and dependants still get in the parks for free, cm's still get a discount on food and merch in the park, cm's still get 3 passes to the park a year, managements disc. in store goes down to 30%, but cms goes UP to 30%... I don't know what everyone is crying about...

 

[DisneyKidds]

Mr Kidds, what is your take?

As for the transition to TCP ownership, I agree that it could be good for the consumers. We used to shop at the DS much more a few years ago. Getting back to adult clothing, maybe an increase in the quality of clothing, expanded kids offerings....those can get us back and spending more. Maintaining merchandise in addition to clothing is also a big positive. It will be interesting to see if there is any change in pricing structure. I'd sure love to see prices on some things come down. Particularly things like princess dress up gowns and such.

This is very one sided and may sound callous, but, while I'd like to see any employee of any store get more benefits as opposed to less, changes in benefits such as park perks and such shouldn't be a huge problem from an operational perspective. If in store merchandise discounts remain or increase and health benefits are stable, I can't see the loss of WDW/DL discounts being a back breaker. Unfortunately, life is often full of changes...good and bad....and we all go through them. Yes, there are those employees whose moral may take a hit because of it, but if it hurts enough they will move on. Beyond that I can't see friendliness of store employees changing all that much. I will miss the enthusiasm many store CM's had for discussing things Disney....although a change in corporate ownership probably won't wring the Disney love out of all of them .

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds
It will be interesting to see if there is any change in pricing structure. I'd sure love to see prices on some things come down.

In the analyst conference call when the merger was announced, TCP management said they wanted to move toward lowering the base prices and reducing promotional pricing. So, fewer and less dramatic sales, but more stable and lower general pricing.

 

[Luv2Roam]

What I heard on the ex-DS discounts (and not from a CM or Disney) was the store employees receive three non park hopper tickets a year. No Company D access, park merchandise discounts, etc.
And my understanding the tickets are basically from TCP, not anything that Disney is handing out.

I think I also heard that Disney park employees retain their discounts at the (former) Disney Stores.

What I have heard anyway, for what it is worth.

 

[scott1981]

Well, my bf is a manager at one of the flagship stores... all of what I said is true. Beleive it or not... it doesn't matter to me...