One of the new and improved Disney stores, opens at the Mission Viejo Mall in Orange County CA today. This appears to be kind of a preview opening with the official grand opening ceremony on October 9th. The first 250 guests today will get a free gift. I am going to try to get down there today. I was at the mall on Sunday and took these pictures.
Last edited by OC2Epcot; 09-21-2010 at 03:36 AM.
So I stopped by the Shops at Mission Viejo today to see the new Disney store. I didn't get there until around noon, since I was working earlier in the morning. The look inside appeared to be very much like the one in Long Island posted by yoyoflamingo at the end of July.
Getting there around noon, there was still quite a line to get into the store. The line seem to be mostly Mom's with their kids this time of day.
The princess castle greets you on your right as you walk in the store.
Inside the castle is a magic mirror, that the CM made me try for myself. I ended up seeing the Princess and the Frog.
Next to the princess castle, of course plenty of princess outfits for the girls.
The projections throughout the store onto the trees gave a sense of movement in the store, and certainly made them more interesting than plain old trees.
One of the many projectors in the store, putting images onto the trees.
The center of the store was a popular area with the coloring section next to the large video screen showing various Disney shows and stars.
I've never seen this before, but maybe it has already been around. I'm guessing we will see this in Carsland at DCA. Kids can build their own cars that run either manually or by remote control.
The lighting is much more directed in the store, with an overall darker more "stage" like look to store than the previous Disney stores.
Overall all I think it's a big improvement over the older Disney stores, though I think I was still expecting more entertainment for the kids that will make them want to keep coming back.
Last edited by OC2Epcot; 09-21-2010 at 06:03 PM.
Thanks for posting!!!
We were sent over there with the message that only we would defend Disney quality.. We learnt quickly that the Japanese culture speaks to a level of quality that is hard to comprehend. They were all unbelievably skilled and willing to do the right thing.Bringing the Love since January 10, 2011
Craig Russell -Walt Disney Imagineering
Wow...that looks like a whole lotta nothing new. It looks just like the standard Disney store you'd find anywhere at the moment...only it's spruced up to look like it's different (and seems to be selling more clothes). It's like having a really bad room and only changing the curtains.
Ya it's kinda disappointing?
What happened to the "sophisticated lighting", "neighborhoods", scents and "interactivity"? And what's with the projector just hanging there?
Maybe it's more interesting in person.
There are projectors hanging all over the store like that, for the trees. The lighting is certainly there, but I agree I was expecting a lot more. I think the stores do look better than they used to look, but I was also disappointed overall.Originally Posted by mcstewart37
I thought the whole idea was to make the stores so entertaining, that kids will want to come back. I don't think people are going to build a car more than once, if ever. Kids can color at there average sit down restaurant, minus the video screen. The magic mirror may entertaining the younger ones a few times ... After about a minute looking at the images change on the trees I think you're done with that ... I'm not sure what will make people want to come back any more than the previous Disney stores. Anyone at Disney think of maybe having an area that demos the newest Disney video games? That would be something easily tied to the latest film release. I think more could have been done.
Lipstick on a pig. Same old merchandise. Can they please get beyond the plastic toys, plush and tacky clothes and bring back the collectibles and unique items they used to have? I used to seek out malls that had a Disney Store. Now when I'm in a mall that has one, I just walk on by.
I'd like to see the new store in Times Square when it opens. I hope it's quite a step up.
-Hale (wumbology)
a.k.a. h2mc, omnimover.mousetalgia, omnimover, wumbology, hogbackmtn, hhmcsharry, Hale M., h2m, h2mc
(I've never visited Disneyland Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris, nor Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, so don't be fooled when I pretend to know what I'm talking about. [But I'm pretty good with the information, if I do say so myself. And you can hit me all you want with Walt Disney World.])
There used to be a nicer Disney Gallery at the MainPlace mall in Santa Ana (not far from Disneyland). It emphasized art, including original cels, etc. Never understood why they closed it down...
Where's the stuff for the grown ups?
Oo-de-lally!
The original Disney Stores were the best, they were original, interesting, and animation themed. The best one was at Las Vegas, but it didn't last long for some reason. The newer ones were bland, like the Gap or Sears. These look slightly more interesting, but truthfully, not much better. If you're going to sell Disney, even if it's mainly clothes or whatever, you really should emphasize the rich animation tradition, because that's what gets people excited about Disney, IMO
The "newer ones" that were made after the original, interesting ones, looked like Gap because I believe that was during the time that Disney Stores were owned by Children's Place, which is a division of the Gap. Is Pressler still the CEO of the Gap?
The majority of inventory for adults is still online, although some stores at least have tshirts and such in stock...*sigh*
Sorry, computer hiccup!!!
It was quite disappointing. The Store we have in our area is so small and dull. I have faint memories of the Disney store where I lived as a kid, and it seemed magical to me then. Most of what I recall were scenes around the store featuring Mickey, or Pinocchio. They were up high, but they captured my imagination and I wanted to play in them so much. I would even dream about them coming to life etc. The store here has some cheap looking molds of peter pan, alice, etc. they just seem so cheap and boring. The ones I remember were so richly detailed...unless my memory through my imaginative child's eye is playing tricks on me...also, I like the princesses, my daughter loves them, but at the same time I am getting so sick of the "princess's" getting crammed down my throat. I fear I may grow to loathe them if they don't cool it. It doesn't help either, that I now associate the princess's with really tacky, cheaply made merchandise and poorly animated/written direct to dvd movies. *gag*
* *The dreams that you wish will come true* *
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