Villa Donaldo!

[DuffyDaisuki]

TDRdeASOBLOG has some fantastic photos of the new shop that replaced Romeo's Watches - and it is AWESOME!!!

Villa Donaldo Home Store is a charmingly executed example of the right way to mix Disney's traditional characters with atmospheric theming. It's a bit of a shame that, like Kingdom Treasures in TDL Fantasyland, all this theming isn't carried over into the merchandise, though. Instead, it just looks like a bunch of "cute" Minnie stuff. I'd love home decor items themed to the Ducks and Mediterranean Harbor, like the shop's remodel...Minnie just got her own cutesy shop a few months ago. Personally I'd rather bring home stuff that looks a little more like MiraCosta. Maybe in the future?

Really wishing I'd taken a photo of the Romeo and Juliet portraits that used to be there, though.

[TravisMT81]

I had seen pictures of this space via our internal work space last week.. While it is nice, I for some reason have an issue of the continued character fying of the stores. Just like the recent Minnie store change over.

[DuffyDaisuki]

I understand that, too, and I'm a little apprehensive about the trend. I think it risks detracting from the international flavor of TDS, especially. But I think it's executed better in Villa Donaldo, based just on the photos, and the Ducks have always had a large presence in the Harbor and it keeps the Romeo & Juliet element, so it's not as much just character pushing as Bella Minnie. I went on 2/20 and it wasn't open yet, so I'll have to hold my final verdict until I can actually go in the shop and see for myself.