As a self-proclaimed Disnerd and a former manager at our local Disney Store, this news just cuts me to the core.
According to WDWNewsToday, Disney is shutting the gate on almost all the remaining Disney Stores in North America, and I’m not okay.
Some of the Disney Store outlets will remain open — for now — but they are closing all the standard Disney Stores across the nation.
When Disney took back over ownership of the Disney Stores — back in 2008 — a bunch of locations were shut down, and only the highest trafficked stores remained.
My store got the axe, but luckily we still had 2 Disney Stores we could frequent within a 2 hour drive.
Then, a few months ago, Disney did another round of closures, and our closest store didn’t make the cut.
NOW, Disney is saying that they are going to go ahead and close all the stores that aren’t outlets.
Where in the world are we supposed to go to get our Disney fix?!?
The closures are going to happen FAST!!
You can expect all stores to shut their gates for the last time at the end of September.
An announcement will reportedly be made tomorrow addressing the impending closure of nearly all of the remaining Disney Stores across North America. A few Disney Store Outlets will remain open for the time being, but most standard Disney Stores will close by the end of September.
WDWNewsToday
Disney has previously partnered with Target to bring mini Disney Store to the inside of some lucky Target locations.
They will also keep their online presence. So, at least there’s that.
But, seriously, that is not the same as going in and immersing yourself in the Disney magical experience at the Disney Store.
I feel bad for all the Disney Store cast members who have poured their Mickey-loving souls into their stores. They are about to be let go. I know that pain, and it simply sucks.
So, you might want to make one last visit to your Disney Store. Tell Mickey you’ll “see him real soon.”
If there is any good news in this situation, where there are store closings, there are usually massive sales. *Smile Emoji*
