[LiamMcKay]

Does anyone know why the Disney stores that are in the malls are kind of....well....lame? Why can't they make them more like the Main Street stores? They seem to have little variety. Honestly....thats the main reason that my wife can get me to a mall. "If you go....you can go spend some time in the Disney Store"! I admit having no self control.....so I go. The thing is that they seem to have a very limited variety of stuff. Stuffed animals, videos / DVDs and kids pajamas. Where the rest of the stuff that I see at the stores in the parks?

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[nathalie]

In the stores at the park in Paris, you have to look really good to find some dvd's.

[Piglet75]

Liam, I was at the Gardens Mall the other day and the Disney Store there was gone!!! I think they are all shutting down. I heard that the Children's Place bought them out. It is so sad. I actually used to work at the Disney Store from about 1994-1996 and we had great stuff back then. Lots of collectibles and adult clothing. It was also a really fun part-time job and a way to be a cast member without living in Orlando or Anaheim. We used to have company wide Trivia competitions and everything- I have such great memories of that job. It's too bad that they went down hill these last few years and are now shutting their doors.

[MouseMan]

I was in one last week and there is a pervasive attitude seeping into the CM's who work there. (And I no longer feel comfortable even refering to these store workers as official CM's any longer!)

When I and my friend asked if they were ever going to get anything in for adults, they defiantly threw 2 tacky t-shirts our way and said "Here! Here's something for adults! So stop complaining that there's nothing for adults!!!"

As you can imagine...this did not stop me from going off on them and as if shoving 2 awful shirts in our faces would prove that there was indeed anything for adults of worth! I'm sure they get lots of complaints, but if they were indeed CM's, there are venues to point out what is selling and what is not as well as what customers are asking for to the heads of the company. It's as if the workers at the stores are riding the last gasps of life in the stores until they close with "no muss-no fuss" attitudes.

[LiamMcKay]

Ed,

I too have sensed the tension with the ...*ahemm*...."CM's" (?) in the stores. What is the deal?! I've had the same experience asking for Adult size shirts and such ("Yeah....we might have something back there...."). They act like I'm being the biggest pain they ever saw! Sorry to ask a question! What is the root of this issue? The stores are closing, the employees are not exactly Disney material. Is this indicitive of whats going on with corporate (the Eisner syndrome)? Not only were the stores a momentary Disney fix in local, everyday life.....but they were supposed to be annexes of the whole philosophy I thought. Now it's "iffy" attitudes and no merchandise.

[Disneypro]

I have to echo what Liam has said. The Disney Stores have been going steadily downhill for quite some time. Gone are the days of the huge plushie pile, the statues, animation cels, better quality watches and adult-sized clothing.

It used to be that if I headed to the mall, I always looked forward to going into the store and poking about. There was always some new little thing, whether it be a t-shirt, figurine or even just a simple mug that would catch my eye. Not anymore. Now it seems that there is nothing but bad attitudes coupled with poor service and the want to either foist off on folks cheap goods that are not even remotely interesting.

And gosh forbid if you don't pre-order the latest DVD that is coming out. I actually had clerks wanting me to order the DVD even after letting them know that I already pre-ordered it. Made me sorta wonder if there was some type of commission or prize for signing up the most pre-orders.

[nathalie]

I've been in Londen at the Disney store, people were really friendly there.
But that's already 2 years ago (times flies ...)

And I pre-ordered Finding Nemo there in March, and I'm still waiting on my litho's.

Don't seem to get a responce from them.

[Piglet75]

This is so sad because the Disney Store used to be something special! They were really selective on who they hired, and therefore all the cast members truly were Disney lovers/fanatics. Being a Disney Store Cast Member in South Florida we used to take Cast trips to WDW all the time- it was so great- and such a neat way to catch the Disney magic even locally. I think this truly is a sign of corporate neglect on Disney's part.

[tink07]

Since I go to the Disney store by my house all the time I have made friends there, so I havent experienced any rude behavior. I have been to the Disney Store in San Francisco a couple times and it was beautiful. There were paintings of angels on the ceiling and it was based on the structure of the beasts castle. I have gone into some really small ones with bad stock and rude people there. Maybe some people dont understand the magic.Hmm.

[MouseMan]

I don't think there's any problem with the visual presentations in the stores. The constant and growing compalints have a lot to do with the ages of the people who visit the Disney Stores.

If one is a child or youth, there's more than one can wish for available. If one is an adult...not so much. It's all perspective and the Disney Stores are indeed proving "Age-ist" against adults.

[tink07]

Hmm maybe the Disney store my family goes to is different because everyone in my family buys stuff from there adults too, especially in the clothes area. But it is true that sometimes they don't have very good stuff for the adults.

[Fozzie Bear]

Are the Disney stores in the USA "related" to those in Europe? The Disney store by me in Liverpool still has the huge pile of plush toys and big screen showing videos, with kids toys and clothes downstairs and adults clothes and accessories, snow globes, watches etc upstairs. The staff are friendly and walk around singing along to the music in the background- all in all, a totally different experience to what seems to be going on over there!

[tink07]

That sounds exactly like the one I go to in CA.

[LiamMcKay]

Yeah...here they walk around and mumble things....but I don't think it's exactly singing along with the music. Not to take this too far, but the attitude seems to be one of thin tollerance rather than a little slice of Disney magic right in your neighborhood.

[Fozzie Bear]

Maybe it's just the luck of the draw...