The Disney Store was one of the greatest things lost with the regime of Chapek. For folks who could not make it to the parks all of the time, the Disney Store was a nice escape to see at least some of the Disney magic someplace. Now, ironically, the only remaining Disney Stores are in the states that have the US Disney Parks locations. Not having a place locally in several neighborhoods I think is a huge marking loss to Disney. I definitely miss having a local Disney Store.
@CursedKeyblade1 @rawradinosaur56 This is interesting. According to the official Disney Store locator website, the only Disney Stores that still exist are in CA and FL
The later disney stores only had generic merchandise that you could get at Walmart for less. The older stores from the early 2000’s at least offered more unique merchandise as well as some theme park merchandise. But then again I live in canada so maybe we don’t get get any theme park stuff.
I worked at Disney Store early-on when there were only 12 stores. At that time, they were all decorated differently. I was at Pier 39, the 2nd store, which had a San Francisco theme. Then we opened Concord, CA which was the start of the Pink and Teal generation. The logo was Mickey with a Clapboard, which changed with the opening of the Pink and Teal stores. At that time, 50% of the product was from Disneyland. We sold tickets out of the safe. We also had many collectibles. I was management, and we went to Disneyland for "Traditions" training. Management also had Gold Passes - However I was in the Bay Area, so I don't think I used it much. While I was there, Euro Disney opened, the Hollywood Studios, and Dick Tracy was in theaters.
My parents collected the Disney VHS & lithographs in the 90s. I remember waiting in line at the Disney Store to pick up our pre order! When I got my own house I framed all of the lithographs and made a cool wall in my office!
The Disney Gallery store mentioned in beginning was in Natick, MA (not Framingham) and was a regular disney store with a section dedicated to the Gallery. That location closed early on before the major decline of the rest of the stores Unfortunately. It was a free standing store outside of the mall the location is currently the container store which is about as charming as the disney stores were the last few years of existence...
Inestimable loss of brand presence for WD. It was like having a little piece of the park-experience there in the mall. It lost a little when WD sold the license but it still got a visit from the fan base- Every. Single. Time. They were at the mall. Even if nothing was purchased. And when you needed a Disney gift? You knew right where to go.
Yeah, I don’t think Disney realized that by the 21st century, people were using these stores as park proxies. My local store, which still exists, is an outlet for the former stores, website, and Disneyland, though during COVID they did get WDW and Aluani merch. Fans would go there and feel at home, talking with other customers about their trips as well as with the cast members. So when the brick and mortar stores started to close, people were losing their proxies, and that’s not ok, because for many, that was their only way they could visit.
Jasons shirt is amazing! Also- in my opinion, the downfall of the Disney Store coincided with broad licensing agreements to market Disney products in big box stores- exclusivity was the appeal.
There’s two of those Outlet stores called “Disney Store” in Texas. There used to be more, but they closed. I got so much stuff from the one that used to be in Round Rock after they reopened after COVID. They had some bonkers sales then. I miss it dearly and make regular pilgrimages to the one in San Marcos. I got SO MANY pins for cheap. And I used many of them during my trip back in January.
I live near the one at Grapevine Mills. My favorite memory was buying a $75 Carsland jacket for $15, going to Carsland, and having a cast member compliment me on the jacket as well as ask me where I got it. My least favorite memory was buying one of those blue 2020 Wish spirit jerseys for $42, going to Disneyland two years AFTER it was released, and not just seeing it at World of Disney for $69.99, but seeing a sticker added over the price that read $79.99!!! This outlet mall opened in 1997, and like maybe once or twice a year Disney would rent out store space for a month to sell their unsold Disneyland merch. It was always annoying because my family always went to WDW. When it’s the same amount of travel distance, most Texans will travel to FL rather than CA. They didn’t get a real store till like 5 or so years later, possibly around the same time Childrens Place stopped owning it, as it’s theming is a bit dull. Just a red mouse logo for an entrance. A few years before COVID, a cast member said they were going to remodel, but that never happened.
LOVED this episode! It was so fun to hear the deep dive into pins and your personal histories with the visiting the stores and pin trading. Would love more episodes where we can hear more about your Disney backstories and deep dives into small topics.
One of my earliest memories as a child was in 2004 when I was 4 years old and my mom took me to our local Disney store in Birmingham,UK to buy me a buzz lightyear figure ,a VHS copy of the lion king 1 and a 1/2 and a Peter Pan costume.
The NYC 5th avenue one during the 90s was iconic - I'll never forget the Snow White stain glass elevators and the villain statues on the staircase by the art gallery section.
I was a CM at that location when it was the WOD NYC. It was part of the Theme Parks so we could sell some Theme Park Merchandise, some WOD NYC exclusive merchandise, and meet the Fab 5 Characters there wearing NYC outfits. I love theming and often try to find old photos and videos of the place (wish I took more photos of the place myself before it closed).
@@AngelJD That's beyond cool that you worked there! It was such a highlight of my childhood - every time me and my mom went into Manhattan to see a show it was part of our tradition to go there first. Thanks for being part of the magic!
My Manager from Cherry Hill was one of the opening training managers on loan from the Disney store for that 5th Avenue opening. If you were there on opening day you may remember her., Her name was Lil
If you are ever in PA, outside of Philadelphia, there’s still a large Disney Store in Lancaster! I just was there last week, so it’s still open. It’s more of an outlet type store, but it’s still super fun ❤️
When they announced they were closing the Disney Stores in Canada, people were shocked. Ever since then many people think Disney turned their back on Canada, and they lost a lot of fans.
I had ordered a Space Ship Earth Ornament thru shopDisney that had to be resent FOUR TIMES, because the packaging was so poor that it kept breaking in transit. They finally just gave up and refunded the order. I love my collection of Space Ship Earth Ornaments in various conditions of broken.
Boy you hit my soft spot on this one. Went to TDS a lot late 90 thru 94 here in Phoenix. It was an extension of Disneyland Emporium for most of us and the place to preorder the vhs releases where you got the lithogragh. At the time we had 3 in the valley and when they were going to open one in Glendale I jumped to apply to be a CM for the opening. This was back when the Disney image handbook was king. No facial hair and same standards as the parks. My wife had wanted me to shave my mustache off for 4 years and I only did it to interview for the mouse. I opened the store along with 35 or so other new CMs and we did the full Disney traditions training.The Store had two amazing SM and ASM that were Disney and another ASM that was retail and clueless to Disney. The staff was a mix of Disney fanatics and former park CMs including former characters as well as College Program CMs. We got to connect to a lot of former DL CMs that opened DL and even some that were mermaids on the Submarine voyage. The stories the told were amazing. The first years 94 to late 95 were great it was all about the Disney magic and bringing the animation up high to life and to see the magic light up people's eyes and to be a part of that on stage. This was back just after the passing of Frank Wells. The company had direction and after his loss it became all about $$. It became about the upselling and numbers about sales and the magic was about selling stuff not helping give a magical experience. In all the store the management that lived and bled Disney left and were replaced by sales people that had no Disney connection. They stopped the sales of the collectables and Disney art. The cell art went away. It was all about the Benjamins and nothing about the Walts. This is when Eisner became the first cheapskate as reflective in DCA. I was told by my CM in 94 that if you ever feel that the magic fades to get out before it goes away for you. My kids all grew up with me working my 4 years there. In 98 with terrible managers that had no clue about Disney. I left the company before they killed the Disney magic. Eventually our store closed then a few years later it reopen in a different location in the mall. It was crappy. No animation and crammed with sub qualty products at full Disney pricing. One of the CMs that I opened with worked all thru the years with the Store. She had 25 years in and I saw the total decline of the magic under poor management that forgot what this was all about. When I want to see the magic its a road trip back to the stores in DT Disney and to Disney Springs. The stores still have that magic we use to have. When I was in Disney Springs in late January it felt great to feel that magic. That magic pushed one of my kids to do the college program at the MK in 2010. I still have all of my 101 dalmation perfect score shop pins. My Steamboat Willie double bubble and my blue TDS sweater as a reminder of what the Disney retail magic was.
Myrtle Beach still has a Disney Store outlet. That's the closest one to us in the Carolinas. I have soooo many memories of going to the Disney Store as a kid and the huge mountain of plushes under the huge TV
Me at 16 cleaning out my room: "I don't need this Millennium Celebration pin because I'm grown and I'm not supposed to be into Disney anymore" Me at 32, watching this channel: "...dang it."
I remember in my local mall there was a Disney Store. Every time I went to the mall I wanted to go to the store. It had the film windows and everything.
Jason, my family and I must have seen you at least once at the Framingham Disney store. We made it a weekend tradition to go there and check out the pins. A great childhood memory! We were devastated when it closed.
Also I saw the Disney Store in Target thing ONCE at the Super Target in Jacksonville, fl. 90% of those giant munchlings were on clearance and there was like 300 of them across the store.
the disney store was great. sad it is gone. target is not the same. i would like to see a podcast about pins and what is rare and what is in your collections
I don't know why we are not talking more about how Disney Parks merchandise can be found at Burlington's now (Burlington Coat. Factory-- for all us old people)
We bought a clothing item at one the WDW parks as a gift and got home to discover the CM forgot to take one of those theft devices off of it. Took the item and receipt to a nearby Disney Store and they got it taken off for us. Sure beat having to mail it somewhere and wait to get it back.
There were so many things to talk about with the Disney stores and instead you kinda got stuck on pin trading. You missed plush mountain, theme park ticket sales, how the merch varied in the 90s to too much kids stuff, how they went through several transformations, etc. There’s enough there that you could do another episode!
Yea I was so excited for this episode, kind of disappointed. These stores amazed me as a kid. More research ahead of time would have been good - very unlike WDWNT
We bought a Cinderella and a Prince Charming figurine from the Disney Store in 1990 for a total of $8 and used them as the topper for our wedding cake. They were well made and looked great. Prince Charming fell and broke years later but we still have Cindy. Also, the best gift to the kids was a Disney Store gift card and the joy of the shopping spree. LaurieO
The Disney Store in the UK, was an absolute essential part of my childhood. Before I have memories of any films, I remember visiting the Liverpool shop. Two floors, pink and blue handrails on the staircase with Mickey heads on the railings. Adult clothing, ceramics, books, pictures upstairs, childrens and other items on the bottom floor. The giant cuddley toy pyramid. The screens showing cartoons and films. All the characters around the ceiling. I can picture so vividly walking in the door and on the right was this massive display for Toy Story. Being allowed to choose my first grown up watch. Spending birthday money from my grandmother. When they closed that store to reopen literally a sneeze away to become part of the newer shopping area I was upset. The original 1990s theming had been replaced with a generally soulless interior design (although the sparkly blue floor tiles instead of carpet was a nice touch). Now I often walk past what was the Disney Store and if the current owners chose to keep them, the blue sparkly floor tiles are all that's left to show it was Disney. The only UK mainland shop is London. I went there last year, my first visit to a Disney store since they shut and honestly I was amazed by my reaction. I was so angry that this was all that was left, I couldn't enjoy my time there and then it made me really, really sad. While more places in the UK sell Disney merchandise since they closed, it was never about JUST merchandise. It was memories and creating memories and family.
To be fair to DCA, there are more than 6 non-carnival rides, there are more like 9! You're thinking of DAK which does have 6 non-carnival rides, but at least there are animals.💀
I'm from Framingham, and the Disney Store did have regular merchandise also. I bought my first Mickey fanny pack there. It was a beautiful store and we loved to go there between vacation trips to WDW.
MainPlace Santa Ana in California was the first mall to get the Walt Disney Gallery, which was located next to The Disney Store. The best of The Disney Stores, in my opinion, was the enormous location at Montclair Plaza in California that had a split-level design and a restaurant with four separate dining areas on the upper level. The Winnie the Pooh area was particularly pretty with its autumnal-colored foliage that was illuminated from above.
The Disney Store wascmy first memory of Disney. I remember going in the store at our local mall as a kid and not wanting to leave. That was my first exposure to a themed store and that was what made me want to go to WDW so badly when i was young. My local store closed in 2010 due to flooding at the mall and never reopened. The ones in neighboring states also slowly closed through the years and I think the closest one now is the NY flagship.
Also before they tried doing the store within a store at Target they tried doing the same with select JC Penney around 2010s...yeah that turned out well for both brands
I live near Destin FL - there's an outlet there but it's really...sometimes you can find something really special (I love my stitch beach cushion that I sleep on), but it's a glorified toys r us.
There used to be a Disney Store at Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan that I remember going to, and from what I remember, the store was well themed. That location has since been closed.
My mother-in-law worked for the Disney store the Steamtown Mall location in Scranton PA. Opened in 1992/ gone by 2008. Used to remember the animated characters in the window displays. Right down the hall was the great train store, which I worked at, that’s gone now as well.
The Disney Store was the best! We also would go to the one in KOP mall. I miss that location so much…BUT there’s one still left around here in Lancaster, PA. It’s more of the outlet type store of course, but I still love going. Stepping into the store still gives me all the Disney feels 😊🥰❤️
The gallery store that opened in New Jersey was at Freehold Raceway mall. I was a full-time Disney backstage manager at the time and had to go to Freehold when my store at Cherry Hill was picked as the 2 new renovated stores in the late 90s along with Coasta Mesa. I don't think any other store in New Jersey had a gallery inside..
I had my custom Lightsaber from Galaxies Edge mailed to me in Canada after my visit, it arrived literally just in the foam cover thing with no additional packaging lol the saber was broken obviously
My favorite things about the Disney Store in my local mall (So. Portland, ME) were the window and store displays. It felt engaging to go in there, even if I never bought anything.
Worked for Disney Store for many years. We were a family. Still friends. Favorite packing stories: case of stemware with two layers with a piece of cardboard between the two layers. None survived. And the princess snowglobes with the Anastasia theme. Disney didn't own it then. They all went into the dumpster. Guess they should have waited a couple of decades. 😊
the disney store was i thought such a cool store when i was young decades ago. i actually tried to work at the local disney store were i live but shortly months to at least a year later it closed permanently; going to the local disney store was like going into a store within the parks, ha lol!
I’m very interested in pins so this episode is cool. I have a few pins not a lot. Mostly from the parks from about a decade ago. I specially collect Star Wars & Muppets. I might get back into so I’m glad that they aren’t really expensive.
I was at Bridgewater Commons when it opened in 88, and when they opened the brand new one years ago (that lasted just a couple years) i was there and got the special Ears.
I actually used to work at the Disney Store Outlet on Lightcap Road in Pottstown in 2015, so it’s entirely possible that I sold Jason something, most likely a pin, during my time there. 😆
I Miss the Disney Store at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon and Fashion Valley in Mission Valley and of course the one at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana and it had the disney gallery as well.The last thing I bought was Funko Pop Jungle Cruise.
My parents booked a millennium package both Xmas 1999 and 2000. 2000, the gift was this cool spaceship earth container with 2000 on the base. You could remove the ball, turn it, and it would open. That’s there I started keeping all my pin backer cards. In 1999 however, we were given the pin and a lanyard, which was typical. Usually the pin was a character in an airplane, but this time it was the 2000 logo. Since pin trading became a thing, we were told to trade that pin with cast members, but I never did because I thought that pin was much cooler.
I have a pin advertising the movie Aladdin with Jaffar on it. A friend working in the media section of Walmart gave it to me. Wonder if it’s worth anything more than my appreciation for Disney.
Tsum Tsums are my favorite thing to collect. Only the hard plastic ones though. They got rid of them for Disney Doorables and I just can't get into those. I really liked Munchlings at first but they're just too massive and now the designs are ugly. The Munchling Pins are adorable though.
I think the reason why Disney Store Japan or Japan in general comes out with better merchandise than the actual Disney does mainly comes down to cultural differences. Japan, as a whole, has always been focused on creating smaller yet more detailed and higher quality merchandise than the U.S. has across all sectors due to how small housings typically are here in Japan. Furthermore, Japanese Disney merchandise have always been primarily catered to females rather than men, and they tend to spend more money than men do if you factor in cosmetic items, kitchenwares, plushies, stationaries, and so on. If that wasn't enough reasons for the O.L.C. to produce creative merchandise, they also have some strong competitors like Bandai and Kaiyodo that also use Disney license. Ichiban Kuji, Happy Kuji, and gachapon (mainly by Bandai ) come out with a whole bunch of Disney-themd items every couple of months
I know there was a lights motors action pin that you can only get if you were the person that was driving the “remote control” car. And that does for 100 bucks on eBay
Fun facts: Edmonton, Alberta was one of the few cities in North America with 2 (yes TWO) Disney Stores. One at Kingsway Mall, and the other at West Edmonton Mall (once the largest mall in the world and also once sued by Disney for using "Fantasyland" in the names of it's hotel and indoor amusement park ... now called Galaxyland)
I made a shop Disney order around Christmas they canceled my order i placed another order without the items that weren’t “available” they sent me doubles of items
Why are you giving Chapek credit for the "vault" moratorium on the video releases? Walt Disney, personally, was responsible for re-releasing his films to theatres every seven years or so, and that business was extremely lucrative. When VHS and LaserDisc became available as formats, Disney wanted to preserve the re-release business while also selling the movies on video.
I’m going to start a campaign to take Skippy to the new studio! If Tom can stop Disney from removing the Country Bears then we can stop Tom from leaving Skippy behind!
Children’s Place era wasn’t just about not having anything for adults, it was walking in, feeling incredibly awkward as a childless millennial, realizing that there was nothing for children 8 and up, having a cast member ask you if you were looking for something in particular, saying “anything with Donald Duck,” having them walk you around the store, only to then apologize because no, they truly had nothing with Donald Duck. They could do Mickey. They could do Minnie. But no water fowl at all!!!
I used to visit the Disney store regularly and bought all kids gifts there. It was great until they sold the license it was crappy after that.
6 месяцев назад
Could WDWNT do an episode looking at WDW on Google Earth? There’s so many interesting things sitting backstage and I know there are things that your team could identify that would be fun to see
I miss the Disney store. ShopDisney is really hard to navigate, really hard to find what you want. I like the Disney store back when Disney stores were beautiful, attention to detail, feeling like you're in the parks. The outlets store is just an outlet store, it's not the same. However, there needs to be a mechanism when you want to buy certain merchandise to be able to find it. I like Disney shirts that have a positive or funny message on it. I don't like buying Disney shirts just because it's a Disney shirt. However, I don't want to go through a bunch of Disney stores at the park or online or outlet trying to find those type of shirts. (I'm not a great or patient window shopper- it's not fun for me.)
Same in Bridgewater NJ. Community formed around the Millennium and the 100thWalt Disney birthday sets. Worked for Disney but in line with everyone else.
I’ve way too many good memories related to the Disney Store, we had quite a few local to me here in the UK. I’m lucky that I still have a flagship 20mins away from me in Central London that’s pretty well themed, but I miss when Disney Store still had its own unique merchandise, I despise how today you can just buy Parks merch in them! I was ranting to a friend just this weekend that I find it ridiculous that I could buy a Disneyland and WDW mug in Central London. We have a shelf here in London of the Tiki room bird mug on clearance… because guess what it has no context in central London.
I have wondered what the Disney character warehouse store was. The one at the Sawgrass Mills mall is near me. I am going to have to check it out. I do miss the old Disney stores though.
MMA was such a pain fighting the bots. Luckily I got everything for It’s a Small World. Who has space for such a large collection? MMMA wasn’t very cute. From a business perspective it makes sense to only do online sales. I’m sure the cost associated with rental space and minimum wage were factors for the demise of the stores. Also after Lion King animation took a nose dive in quality of providing entertainment not only to kids but to adults as well. I have so many complaints about merchandise from design to availability, I could complain all day😂
The Mickey beyond the attractions stuff was a mess. It was supposed to come out once a month for the year. It didnt start until March or April. Then everything for the first month came out, then it took like 2-3 months for the next one to come out. And it just got worse from there. It was supposed to release on a certain day of the month and it wouldn’t come out for a week after that day. I have them all because they are really cute but they were a mess to get them all and I had to order a bunch from ShopDisney which was a nightmare. I loved the Disney store. When my daughters were little we used to go there all the time. The one in Costa Mesa which was at South Coast Plaza was an amazing store and we would go all the time. And I know Oliver might have been from Tom’s childhood and think they are super popular but I wouldn’t consider them a big draw. I remember Shaggy DA when I was a kid although i dont think it’s a big draw either. My daughters did love the goofy movie backpack though.
I have been saying that the merchandise for America sucks compared to Japan. Like the plush quality in America sucks. I only buy my plush from Japan now because there are such rare characters that I’ve never seen.
Oh my goodness that was years ago. One of the guys who was the main speakers when Tom stepped away for a bit. I see his face in my mind. I will have to get back. LOL...Not sure you guys still have shows from that far back..pre-covid days... I have been here a long time. Just don't comment a ton. I am an old school Disney fan. I commented more back then.
I can definitely vouch for the decline in quality of the products because I wanted to get a class of 2005 shirt (year I graduated from college) and they just had bland generic kids' things.
Worked at the Disney Store in Indy - actually while I worked there the store was upsized. What an exciting experience. Sorry this discussion became about pin trading. Turned it off
The Disney Store was one of the greatest things lost with the regime of Chapek. For folks who could not make it to the parks all of the time, the Disney Store was a nice escape to see at least some of the Disney magic someplace. Now, ironically, the only remaining Disney Stores are in the states that have the US Disney Parks locations. Not having a place locally in several neighborhoods I think is a huge marking loss to Disney. I definitely miss having a local Disney Store.
There’s still one in an outlet mall here in Cincinnati
There’s a few in PA
@CursedKeyblade1 @rawradinosaur56 This is interesting. According to the official Disney Store locator website, the only Disney Stores that still exist are in CA and FL
There are also Disney Store locations in London and Paris
The later disney stores only had generic merchandise that you could get at Walmart for less. The older stores from the early 2000’s at least offered more unique merchandise as well as some theme park merchandise. But then again I live in canada so maybe we don’t get get any theme park stuff.
I worked at Disney Store early-on when there were only 12 stores. At that time, they were all decorated differently. I was at Pier 39, the 2nd store, which had a San Francisco theme. Then we opened Concord, CA which was the start of the Pink and Teal generation. The logo was Mickey with a Clapboard, which changed with the opening of the Pink and Teal stores. At that time, 50% of the product was from Disneyland. We sold tickets out of the safe. We also had many collectibles. I was management, and we went to Disneyland for "Traditions" training. Management also had Gold Passes - However I was in the Bay Area, so I don't think I used it much. While I was there, Euro Disney opened, the Hollywood Studios, and Dick Tracy was in theaters.
My parents collected the Disney VHS & lithographs in the 90s. I remember waiting in line at the Disney Store to pick up our pre order! When I got my own house I framed all of the lithographs and made a cool wall in my office!
The Disney Gallery store mentioned in beginning was in Natick, MA (not Framingham) and was a regular disney store with a section dedicated to the Gallery. That location closed early on before the major decline of the rest of the stores Unfortunately. It was a free standing store outside of the mall the location is currently the container store which is about as charming as the disney stores were the last few years of existence...
Inestimable loss of brand presence for WD. It was like having a little piece of the park-experience there in the mall. It lost a little when WD sold the license but it still got a visit from the fan base- Every. Single. Time. They were at the mall. Even if nothing was purchased. And when you needed a Disney gift? You knew right where to go.
Yeah, I don’t think Disney realized that by the 21st century, people were using these stores as park proxies. My local store, which still exists, is an outlet for the former stores, website, and Disneyland, though during COVID they did get WDW and Aluani merch. Fans would go there and feel at home, talking with other customers about their trips as well as with the cast members. So when the brick and mortar stores started to close, people were losing their proxies, and that’s not ok, because for many, that was their only way they could visit.
Jasons shirt is amazing! Also- in my opinion, the downfall of the Disney Store coincided with broad licensing agreements to market Disney products in big box stores- exclusivity was the appeal.
There’s two of those Outlet stores called “Disney Store” in Texas. There used to be more, but they closed. I got so much stuff from the one that used to be in Round Rock after they reopened after COVID. They had some bonkers sales then. I miss it dearly and make regular pilgrimages to the one in San Marcos.
I got SO MANY pins for cheap. And I used many of them during my trip back in January.
I live near the one at Grapevine Mills. My favorite memory was buying a $75 Carsland jacket for $15, going to Carsland, and having a cast member compliment me on the jacket as well as ask me where I got it. My least favorite memory was buying one of those blue 2020 Wish spirit jerseys for $42, going to Disneyland two years AFTER it was released, and not just seeing it at World of Disney for $69.99, but seeing a sticker added over the price that read $79.99!!!
This outlet mall opened in 1997, and like maybe once or twice a year Disney would rent out store space for a month to sell their unsold Disneyland merch. It was always annoying because my family always went to WDW. When it’s the same amount of travel distance, most Texans will travel to FL rather than CA. They didn’t get a real store till like 5 or so years later, possibly around the same time Childrens Place stopped owning it, as it’s theming is a bit dull. Just a red mouse logo for an entrance. A few years before COVID, a cast member said they were going to remodel, but that never happened.
LOVED this episode! It was so fun to hear the deep dive into pins and your personal histories with the visiting the stores and pin trading. Would love more episodes where we can hear more about your Disney backstories and deep dives into small topics.
One of my earliest memories as a child was in 2004 when I was 4 years old and my mom took me to our local Disney store in Birmingham,UK to buy me a buzz lightyear figure ,a VHS copy of the lion king 1 and a 1/2 and a Peter Pan costume.
The NYC 5th avenue one during the 90s was iconic - I'll never forget the Snow White stain glass elevators and the villain statues on the staircase by the art gallery section.
I was a CM at that location when it was the WOD NYC. It was part of the Theme Parks so we could sell some Theme Park Merchandise, some WOD NYC exclusive merchandise, and meet the Fab 5 Characters there wearing NYC outfits. I love theming and often try to find old photos and videos of the place (wish I took more photos of the place myself before it closed).
@@AngelJD That's beyond cool that you worked there! It was such a highlight of my childhood - every time me and my mom went into Manhattan to see a show it was part of our tradition to go there first. Thanks for being part of the magic!
I went in that store every time I walked by it - to & from work.
My Manager from Cherry Hill was one of the opening training managers on loan from the Disney store for that 5th Avenue opening. If you were there on opening day you may remember her., Her name was Lil
I miss our Disney Store. It wasn’t that big of a store but it felt magical. I wish I could take my kids there.
If you are ever in PA, outside of Philadelphia, there’s still a large Disney Store in Lancaster! I just was there last week, so it’s still open. It’s more of an outlet type store, but it’s still super fun ❤️
Yep I miss Disney store in Canada I miss it so much
When they announced they were closing the Disney Stores in Canada, people were shocked. Ever since then many people think Disney turned their back on Canada, and they lost a lot of fans.
I had ordered a Space Ship Earth Ornament thru shopDisney that had to be resent FOUR TIMES, because the packaging was so poor that it kept breaking in transit. They finally just gave up and refunded the order. I love my collection of Space Ship Earth Ornaments in various conditions of broken.
lmao wow imagine going "We can't do this," and handing a refund.
I liked the stuffed toy bin and the videos playing in the stores.
Plush Mountain.
Boy you hit my soft spot on this one. Went to TDS a lot late 90 thru 94 here in Phoenix. It was an extension of Disneyland Emporium for most of us and the place to preorder the vhs releases where you got the lithogragh. At the time we had 3 in the valley and when they were going to open one in Glendale I jumped to apply to be a CM for the opening.
This was back when the Disney image handbook was king. No facial hair and same standards as the parks. My wife had wanted me to shave my mustache off for 4 years and I only did it to interview for the mouse. I opened the store along with 35 or so other new CMs and we did the full Disney traditions training.The Store had two amazing SM and ASM that were Disney and another ASM that was retail and clueless to Disney. The staff was a mix of Disney fanatics and former park CMs including former characters as well as College Program CMs. We got to connect to a lot of former DL CMs that opened DL and even some that were mermaids on the Submarine voyage. The stories the told were amazing.
The first years 94 to late 95 were great it was all about the Disney magic and bringing the animation up high to life and to see the magic light up people's eyes and to be a part of that on stage. This was back just after the passing of Frank Wells. The company had direction and after his loss it became all about $$. It became about the upselling and numbers about sales and the magic was about selling stuff not helping give a magical experience.
In all the store the management that lived and bled Disney left and were replaced by sales people that had no Disney connection. They stopped the sales of the collectables and Disney art. The cell art went away. It was all about the Benjamins and nothing about the Walts. This is when Eisner became the first cheapskate as reflective in DCA. I was told by my CM in 94 that if you ever feel that the magic fades to get out before it goes away for you. My kids all grew up with me working my 4 years there. In 98 with terrible managers that had no clue about Disney. I left the company before they killed the Disney magic. Eventually our store closed then a few years later it reopen in a different location in the mall. It was crappy. No animation and crammed with sub qualty products at full Disney pricing.
One of the CMs that I opened with worked all thru the years with the Store. She had 25 years in and I saw the total decline of the magic under poor management that forgot what this was all about.
When I want to see the magic its a road trip back to the stores in DT Disney and to Disney Springs. The stores still have that magic we use to have. When I was in Disney Springs in late January it felt great to feel that magic.
That magic pushed one of my kids to do the college program at the MK in 2010.
I still have all of my 101 dalmation perfect score shop pins. My Steamboat Willie double bubble and my blue TDS sweater as a reminder of what the Disney retail magic was.
Thanks for doing this. I was a CM at the Disney Store 1989 -1991 - loved it!
My first job while in college was at the Disney Store from 1993-1996. I still have all of my pins that I acquired while working there. Great memories!
I need a whole Disney Pins episodes!!
Myrtle Beach still has a Disney Store outlet. That's the closest one to us in the Carolinas. I have soooo many memories of going to the Disney Store as a kid and the huge mountain of plushes under the huge TV
My favorite thing about the store, was the gift boxes. I used to collect them and put them up in my room as decorations.
Me at 16 cleaning out my room: "I don't need this Millennium Celebration pin because I'm grown and I'm not supposed to be into Disney anymore"
Me at 32, watching this channel: "...dang it."
This is my favorite episode ever!!!! The passion 👏👏👏👏
I miss ride specific merch. All the store have the same stuff now at WDW.
There is only one left in PA. The hershey park one closed. Its sad! Bring back the Disney store.
I remember in my local mall there was a Disney Store. Every time I went to the mall I wanted to go to the store. It had the film windows and everything.
Loved the Disney Stores! So bummed when they first changed and then closed. 😢
Jason, my family and I must have seen you at least once at the Framingham Disney store. We made it a weekend tradition to go there and check out the pins. A great childhood memory! We were devastated when it closed.
That was my store too! So many great memories.
I had the same Skippy as my good luck charm for my entire dancing days when I was younger!!!
Also I saw the Disney Store in Target thing ONCE at the Super Target in Jacksonville, fl.
90% of those giant munchlings were on clearance and there was like 300 of them across the store.
They would offer you something for a deal . Loved the store ❣️You could buy Mickey money and park tickets .
the disney store was great. sad it is gone. target is not the same. i would like to see a podcast about pins and what is rare and what is in your collections
There is actually only one Disney outlet still open in Pennsylvania; it's in Lancaster at the Rockvale outlets.
The store on 5th avenue had a character meet and greet on the top floor!
I don't know why we are not talking more about how Disney Parks merchandise can be found at Burlington's now (Burlington Coat. Factory-- for all us old people)
I love the little oysters! Oh man… I can’t save for a Japan trip fast enough!
I loved the Disney Store. I haven’t purchased any Disney merch since my store got closed - except for a recent trip to WDW i got souvenirs.
We bought a clothing item at one the WDW parks as a gift and got home to discover the CM forgot to take one of those theft devices off of it. Took the item and receipt to a nearby Disney Store and they got it taken off for us. Sure beat having to mail it somewhere and wait to get it back.
Billy did a great job with the pins!!!🙌
There were so many things to talk about with the Disney stores and instead you kinda got stuck on pin trading. You missed plush mountain, theme park ticket sales, how the merch varied in the 90s to too much kids stuff, how they went through several transformations, etc. There’s enough there that you could do another episode!
Yea I was so excited for this episode, kind of disappointed. These stores amazed me as a kid. More research ahead of time would have been good - very unlike WDWNT
We bought a Cinderella and a Prince Charming figurine from the Disney Store in 1990 for a total of $8 and used them as the topper for our wedding cake. They were well made and looked great. Prince Charming fell and broke years later but we still have Cindy. Also, the best gift to the kids was a Disney Store gift card and the joy of the shopping spree. LaurieO
The Disney Store in the UK, was an absolute essential part of my childhood. Before I have memories of any films, I remember visiting the Liverpool shop. Two floors, pink and blue handrails on the staircase with Mickey heads on the railings. Adult clothing, ceramics, books, pictures upstairs, childrens and other items on the bottom floor. The giant cuddley toy pyramid. The screens showing cartoons and films. All the characters around the ceiling. I can picture so vividly walking in the door and on the right was this massive display for Toy Story. Being allowed to choose my first grown up watch. Spending birthday money from my grandmother. When they closed that store to reopen literally a sneeze away to become part of the newer shopping area I was upset. The original 1990s theming had been replaced with a generally soulless interior design (although the sparkly blue floor tiles instead of carpet was a nice touch). Now I often walk past what was the Disney Store and if the current owners chose to keep them, the blue sparkly floor tiles are all that's left to show it was Disney. The only UK mainland shop is London. I went there last year, my first visit to a Disney store since they shut and honestly I was amazed by my reaction. I was so angry that this was all that was left, I couldn't enjoy my time there and then it made me really, really sad. While more places in the UK sell Disney merchandise since they closed, it was never about JUST merchandise. It was memories and creating memories and family.
To be fair to DCA, there are more than 6 non-carnival rides, there are more like 9! You're thinking of DAK which does have 6 non-carnival rides, but at least there are animals.💀
I used to work at the Woodbridge NJ Disney Store back in the early 90's. Character visits and adult merch back then! Miss it!
I'm from Framingham, and the Disney Store did have regular merchandise also. I bought my first Mickey fanny pack there. It was a beautiful store and we loved to go there between vacation trips to WDW.
MainPlace Santa Ana in California was the first mall to get the Walt Disney Gallery, which was located next to The Disney Store.
The best of The Disney Stores, in my opinion, was the enormous location at Montclair Plaza in California that had a split-level design and a restaurant with four separate dining areas on the upper level.
The Winnie the Pooh area was particularly pretty with its autumnal-colored foliage that was illuminated from above.
Thanks for this podcast. The Disney Store is near and dear to my heart. I was a CM there from 1994-1998. It was the best time to work there!
The Disney Store wascmy first memory of Disney. I remember going in the store at our local mall as a kid and not wanting to leave. That was my first exposure to a themed store and that was what made me want to go to WDW so badly when i was young. My local store closed in 2010 due to flooding at the mall and never reopened. The ones in neighboring states also slowly closed through the years and I think the closest one now is the NY flagship.
Also before they tried doing the store within a store at Target they tried doing the same with select JC Penney around 2010s...yeah that turned out well for both brands
I live near Destin FL - there's an outlet there but it's really...sometimes you can find something really special (I love my stitch beach cushion that I sleep on), but it's a glorified toys r us.
Miramar Beach, FL - the Silver Shells Outlet Mall…yeah, I do remember mainly toys there
There used to be a Disney Store at Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan that I remember going to, and from what I remember, the store was well themed. That location has since been closed.
My mother-in-law worked for the Disney store the Steamtown Mall location in Scranton PA. Opened in 1992/ gone by 2008. Used to remember the animated characters in the window displays. Right down the hall was the great train store, which I worked at, that’s gone now as well.
The Disney Store was the best! We also would go to the one in KOP mall. I miss that location so much…BUT there’s one still left around here in Lancaster, PA. It’s more of the outlet type store of course, but I still love going. Stepping into the store still gives me all the Disney feels 😊🥰❤️
The gallery store that opened in New Jersey was at Freehold Raceway mall.
I was a full-time Disney backstage manager at the time and had to go to Freehold when my store at Cherry Hill was picked as the 2 new renovated stores in the late 90s along with Coasta Mesa. I don't think any other store in New Jersey had a gallery inside..
Loved the Eisner and Iger comparison😂
One is 5th Avenue and Paris, France. While the other is Time Square and Shanghai, China. It speaks volumes!
I had my custom Lightsaber from Galaxies Edge mailed to me in Canada after my visit, it arrived literally just in the foam cover thing with no additional packaging lol the saber was broken obviously
With the three of you it reminds me of the Bill Brasky sketch from SNL.
I’m dying
My favorite things about the Disney Store in my local mall (So. Portland, ME) were the window and store displays. It felt engaging to go in there, even if I never bought anything.
Stopped in the Chicago Disney Store on the Mile every trip there. And there were a lot of trips.
Worked for Disney Store for many years. We were a family. Still friends. Favorite packing stories: case of stemware with two layers with a piece of cardboard between the two layers. None survived. And the princess snowglobes with the Anastasia theme. Disney didn't own it then. They all went into the dumpster. Guess they should have waited a couple of decades. 😊
I miss the figurines from the 70s-90s! Each visit as a kid and teen, I would add to my collection. Now I can only search eBay.
the disney store was i thought such a cool store when i was young decades ago. i actually tried to work at the local disney store were i live but shortly months to at least a year later it closed permanently; going to the local disney store was like going into a store within the parks, ha lol!
I’m very interested in pins so this episode is cool. I have a few pins not a lot. Mostly from the parks from about a decade ago. I specially collect Star Wars & Muppets. I might get back into so I’m glad that they aren’t really expensive.
Always liked going to The DIsney Store across from The Hershey Hotel in PA!
I was at Bridgewater Commons when it opened in 88, and when they opened the brand new one years ago (that lasted just a couple years) i was there and got the special Ears.
I actually used to work at the Disney Store Outlet on Lightcap Road in Pottstown in 2015, so it’s entirely possible that I sold Jason something, most likely a pin, during my time there. 😆
I Miss the Disney Store at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon and Fashion Valley in Mission Valley and of course the one at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana and it had the disney gallery as well.The last thing I bought was Funko Pop Jungle Cruise.
My parents booked a millennium package both Xmas 1999 and 2000. 2000, the gift was this cool spaceship earth container with 2000 on the base. You could remove the ball, turn it, and it would open. That’s there I started keeping all my pin backer cards. In 1999 however, we were given the pin and a lanyard, which was typical. Usually the pin was a character in an airplane, but this time it was the 2000 logo. Since pin trading became a thing, we were told to trade that pin with cast members, but I never did because I thought that pin was much cooler.
I have a pin advertising the movie Aladdin with Jaffar on it. A friend working in the media section of Walmart gave it to me. Wonder if it’s worth anything more than my appreciation for Disney.
Love Skippy! Hi Gertie! Got a class of 2001 Mickey shirt from the Disney Store.
Tsum Tsums are my favorite thing to collect. Only the hard plastic ones though. They got rid of them for Disney Doorables and I just can't get into those. I really liked Munchlings at first but they're just too massive and now the designs are ugly. The Munchling Pins are adorable though.
I miss my Disney store in Utah
How funny…I found one of those millennium pins on the ground at one of the parks some years ago! 🤪
I think the reason why Disney Store Japan or Japan in general comes out with better merchandise than the actual Disney does mainly comes down to cultural differences. Japan, as a whole, has always been focused on creating smaller yet more detailed and higher quality merchandise than the U.S. has across all sectors due to how small housings typically are here in Japan. Furthermore, Japanese Disney merchandise have always been primarily catered to females rather than men, and they tend to spend more money than men do if you factor in cosmetic items, kitchenwares, plushies, stationaries, and so on. If that wasn't enough reasons for the O.L.C. to produce creative merchandise, they also have some strong competitors like Bandai and Kaiyodo that also use Disney license. Ichiban Kuji, Happy Kuji, and gachapon (mainly by Bandai ) come out with a whole bunch of Disney-themd items every couple of months
I know there was a lights motors action pin that you can only get if you were the person that was driving the “remote control” car. And that does for 100 bucks on eBay
I liked that they had animatronics characters in some Disney Stores.
Our Disney store employees held hands and sang The Mickey Mouse Theme Song every night when they closed. Was that a thing that happened everywhere?
The character warehouse at Sawgrass Mills is still operating as well as the 2 At either end of International drive.
PA only has one store left located at the Tanger Outlets in Lancaster, PA. Sadly the Hershey store closed.
It’s at the Rockvale outlets, not Tanger.
Fun facts: Edmonton, Alberta was one of the few cities in North America with 2 (yes TWO) Disney Stores. One at Kingsway Mall, and the other at West Edmonton Mall (once the largest mall in the world and also once sued by Disney for using "Fantasyland" in the names of it's hotel and indoor amusement park ... now called Galaxyland)
I made a shop Disney order around Christmas they canceled my order i placed another order without the items that weren’t “available” they sent me doubles of items
Why are you giving Chapek credit for the "vault" moratorium on the video releases?
Walt Disney, personally, was responsible for re-releasing his films to theatres every seven years or so, and that business was extremely lucrative.
When VHS and LaserDisc became available as formats, Disney wanted to preserve the re-release business while also selling the movies on video.
Other companies rereleased films too
I’m going to start a campaign to take Skippy to the new studio! If Tom can stop Disney from removing the Country Bears then we can stop Tom from leaving Skippy behind!
He's staying in the museum for people to enjoy
I hope that Skippy stays on set when you move... Love seeing him...
Children’s Place era wasn’t just about not having anything for adults, it was walking in, feeling incredibly awkward as a childless millennial, realizing that there was nothing for children 8 and up, having a cast member ask you if you were looking for something in particular, saying “anything with Donald Duck,” having them walk you around the store, only to then apologize because no, they truly had nothing with Donald Duck. They could do Mickey. They could do Minnie. But no water fowl at all!!!
That first one was my Disney store
I used to visit the Disney store regularly and bought all kids gifts there. It was great until they sold the license it was crappy after that.
Could WDWNT do an episode looking at WDW on Google Earth? There’s so many interesting things sitting backstage and I know there are things that your team could identify that would be fun to see
One of the outlets is in Lancaster, PA
I miss the Disney store. ShopDisney is really hard to navigate, really hard to find what you want. I like the Disney store back when Disney stores were beautiful, attention to detail, feeling like you're in the parks. The outlets store is just an outlet store, it's not the same.
However, there needs to be a mechanism when you want to buy certain merchandise to be able to find it. I like Disney shirts that have a positive or funny message on it. I don't like buying Disney shirts just because it's a Disney shirt. However, I don't want to go through a bunch of Disney stores at the park or online or outlet trying to find those type of shirts. (I'm not a great or patient window shopper- it's not fun for me.)
Same in Bridgewater NJ. Community formed around the Millennium and the 100thWalt Disney birthday sets. Worked for Disney but in line with everyone else.
I’ve way too many good memories related to the Disney Store, we had quite a few local to me here in the UK. I’m lucky that I still have a flagship 20mins away from me in Central London that’s pretty well themed, but I miss when Disney Store still had its own unique merchandise, I despise how today you can just buy Parks merch in them! I was ranting to a friend just this weekend that I find it ridiculous that I could buy a Disneyland and WDW mug in Central London. We have a shelf here in London of the Tiki room bird mug on clearance… because guess what it has no context in central London.
Hold on a second. There was a Shaggy Dog plush? I would have loved to get one! Well, not if it was based on the Tim Allen version lol
You can still get it online at shopDisney now Disney store 🐶
I have wondered what the Disney character warehouse store was. The one at the Sawgrass Mills mall is near me. I am going to have to check it out.
I do miss the old Disney stores though.
MMA was such a pain fighting the bots. Luckily I got everything for It’s a Small World. Who has space for such a large collection? MMMA wasn’t very cute. From a business perspective it makes sense to only do online sales. I’m sure the cost associated with rental space and minimum wage were factors for the demise of the stores. Also after Lion King animation took a nose dive in quality of providing entertainment not only to kids but to adults as well. I have so many complaints about merchandise from design to availability, I could complain all day😂
The Mickey beyond the attractions stuff was a mess. It was supposed to come out once a month for the year. It didnt start until March or April. Then everything for the first month came out, then it took like 2-3 months for the next one to come out. And it just got worse from there. It was supposed to release on a certain day of the month and it wouldn’t come out for a week after that day. I have them all because they are really cute but they were a mess to get them all and I had to order a bunch from ShopDisney which was a nightmare.
I loved the Disney store. When my daughters were little we used to go there all the time. The one in Costa Mesa which was at South Coast Plaza was an amazing store and we would go all the time.
And I know Oliver might have been from Tom’s childhood and think they are super popular but I wouldn’t consider them a big draw. I remember Shaggy DA when I was a kid although i dont think it’s a big draw either. My daughters did love the goofy movie backpack though.
We have a Disney Outlet in Tulalip, WA.
Park Candy has no sizes left in many shirts!!! I emailed them and got nothing back! :(
One in PA...Hershey closed.
I have been saying that the merchandise for America sucks compared to Japan. Like the plush quality in America sucks. I only buy my plush from Japan now because there are such rare characters that I’ve never seen.
i remember the store but...... what about the WDWNT old staff that are no longer there? What happened to them? Any chance on some may return?
Like who?
Oh my goodness that was years ago. One of the guys who was the main speakers when Tom stepped away for a bit. I see his face in my mind. I will have to get back. LOL...Not sure you guys still have shows from that far back..pre-covid days... I have been here a long time. Just don't comment a ton. I am an old school Disney fan. I commented more back then.
I do not see in the files.... This is back in the skype days. When and when things were at Tom's house.
I can definitely vouch for the decline in quality of the products because I wanted to get a class of 2005 shirt (year I graduated from college) and they just had bland generic kids' things.
Worked at the Disney Store in Indy - actually while I worked there the store was upsized. What an exciting experience.
Sorry this discussion became about pin trading. Turned it off