Throughout my time at the Disney Parks, the World of Disney has been one of my favorites. Blending the uniquely cozy art and architecture of the Grand Californian with the Disney brands we’ve come to love, the World of Disney has been my one-stop-shop for merchandise for a very long time. The stained glass and grandiose nature of the store embodied a sort of magic, as the second a guest entered the store, they were filled with a sense of awe.
The Grand Californian-esque architecture fits extremely well in Disneyland, as it is somewhat connected to the hotel it is inspired by, developing a thematic connection that bridges a cozy hotel and a magical shopping experience. In Walt Disney World, the store retains that same motif, providing a shopping experience that elicits feeling greater than it should. The act of standing in line to buy your 15th Mickey Mouse plush holds genuine emotion to it, delivering theming beyond what is expected or necessary.
Today, Disney announced that the World of Disney stores in Disney Springs and Downtown Disney at Disneyland would be refurbished, offering the same merchandise as they do now, but with “a dynamic and distinctly Disney retail environment.” Nobody is quite sure what the final product will look like, but we’re assured that it will be completed by the end of the year at both parks.
In Disney Springs and in Downtown Disney, certain types of merchandise, likely the merchandise whose area is affected by the refurbishment, will be relocated to other stores on Disney property.
As a fan of the World of Disney stores, the fact that we’re losing the current theme to refurbishment is disappointing, and I hope that the replacement achieves the same level of theming that the former attained.
At this point, we know so little that any criticism would be baseless, but I look cautiously towards the future for more news surrounding this development.
Ryan Dorman is a Columnist and Content Director for the Boardwalk Times. He can be found on Twitter at @OpentheDorman, and on the Boardwalk Talk podcast on iTunes or YouTube
