Last week I was lucky enough to win £150 worth of Disney Store vouchers, which I went to spend yesterday, and I decided to let you all in on the wonderful place to shop that is the Disney Store. If I see a Disney Store while we're on a day out I'll always pop in so know that the stores are ... Read review
Advantages: Quality, a good range of Disney merchandise, a lovely shop Disadvantages: Prices are a bit heavy
...to win £150 worth of Disney Store vouchers, which I went to spend yesterday, and I decided to let you all in on the wonderful place to shop that is the Disney Store. If I see a Disney Store while we're on a day out I'll always pop in so know that the stores are mainly laid out in the same way, if I describe the Birmingham store it'll give you a good idea what any Disney Store in the country is like.
Because it's the run up to Christmas ... ...Disney certainly haven't scrimped on the decorations, there's tinsel everywhere and the whole place just looks sparkly. Even sparklier than usual because the Disney Store is always a riot of colour and is so glittery you can feel youiself checking your hands for signs of sparkle as you leave the shop! It really is a gorgeous place to shop at any time of year. It's always spotlessly clean and the shelves and display racks are laid out in such a way ... more
Last week I was lucky enough to win £150 worth of Disney Store vouchers, which I went to spend yesterday, and I decided to let you all in on the wonderful place to shop that is the Disney Store. If I see a Disney Store while we're on a day out I'll always pop in so know that the stores are mainly laid out in the same way, if I describe the Birmingham store it'll give you a good idea what any Disney Store in the country is like.
Because it's the run up to Christmas the store has a decidedly festive feel to it. Disney certainly haven't scrimped on the decorations, there's tinsel everywhere and the whole place just looks sparkly. Even sparklier than usual because the Disney Store is always a riot of colour and is so glittery you can feel youiself checking your hands for signs of sparkle as you leave the shop! It really is a gorgeous place to shop at any time of year. It's always spotlessly clean and the shelves and display racks are laid out in such a way that the shop isn't a boring maze of aisles, whichever way you turn at the end of a display rack you'll see something different and there are mirrors all over the place to reflect the displays. A clever marketing strategy I know but it makes for a lovely relaxed shopping atmosphere. At the back of the shop is a huge bank of televisions which are all showing clips from various Disney films and sometimes when you go in there's an actual Disney film showing and they just try getting the kids to leave... This part of the shop is definitely a favourite for the kids because right underneath the television wall is a toy mountain. Huge plush characters from Disney films are lumped together in the biggest box I've ever seen, Dopey the Dwarf is lying on top of Nemo and Pooh Bear is sandwiched between Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Ariel (Little Mermaid). The kids are encouraged to play with these toys although there is a polite sign up asking parents to make sure children in pushchairs are clean before they handle the merchandise. This seems a bit of a pointless sign to me though because there simply isn't room in the shop to handle more than one or two pushchairs at a time and if you DO take a pushchair in be prepared for the panic attack causing moment when you think you're going to knock down a display of very expensive figurines...
Another fairly prominent display is a wonderful range of childrens party gear. There is everything you need to send your child to a party dressed as Tinkerbell, Woody from Toy Story, Cinderella and loads more. My personal favourite outfit is the Tinkerbell one which I brought for Alice, complete with silver sparkly dress, tiara and wand. Careful here though because they ain't cheap, the standard price for a complete outfit with plastic shoes is round about the thirty quid mark which doesn't sound too expensive for a quality outfit but really, how many times is your child going to dress up as Peter Pan? The quality of the clothing is excellent and the Disney Store also stock a range of everyday clothes which are absolutely gorgeous. There are babygrows and bibs for newborn babies, cute Pooh Bear fleeces for toddlers and sparkly trousers and tops for youger children - everything is blatantly Disney and carries pictures of a variety of characters. Again pretty expensive, expect to pay around £15 for a babygrow and upwards of £20 for a fleece. The quality is there though, Alice is still wearing a Tigger fleece that I brought Charlotte about 5 years ago and it still looks in brilliant condition. There is a wall rack full of Disney PJ's and dressing gowns for children aged up to around 10 years and although these are beautifully made and very pretty they are too expensive at anything up to 20 quid for a set. A solitary rack of adults tee shirts and nightshirts stands at the back of the store, with most of these items showing Tigger which I think is to cater for the rather bizarre student love of the bouncing tiger. Have a root around in this rack if Tigger's your thing because you'll often find a lot of their adult range is reduced in price, presumably to make way for even more overpriced kids clothes.
However, toys is the order of the day in the Disney Store. As well as the toy mountain I already told you about there are literally racks and racks full of different beanies. There's no order to the shelves at all, you can pick up a 101 Dalmatians beanie and behind it find a pair of Chip n' Dale beanies. The beanies retail at around £7 each which is fairly good value as the toys themselves are quite large and are of a very high quality, as is everything in the Disney Store. With the beanies the emphasis seems to be on the more recent characters from the Disney films rather than the more traditional characters such as Mickey Mouse, which is obviously because children will always want a toy of the very latest and most exciting characters so they'll shift more Nemo beanies because everyone's already got a Donald Duck toy! The Disney Store also stocks a small range of baby toys which are, again, overpriced and include items such as rattles and pram toys.
Other miscellaneous items are sold in a separate area including Mickey Mouse watches (excellent quality adult watches costing anything up to £70), lunchboxes, plates and dishes, wrapping paper, pens, folders. You name it they sell it, usually with a HUGE Disney motif stuck somewhere so all your childrens friends can want one and get their mums and dads spending joke money like a fiver for a 10 page notebook.
The staff in the Disney Store are brilliant. There's a good mix between young staff who will happily talk to and play with the kids and older staff who will advise the parents. They are all extremely knowledgeable and helpful to the point of making you feel uncomfortable sometimes. Because of the high value of stock held in the Disney Store security is very tight and uniformed security guards are constantly wandering around watching what people are doing with things off the shelves which is a bit off-putting really because even when you know you've not nicked anything you still start feeling paranoid! The standard uniform is a pair of bright blue jogging bottoms and a Disney Store bomber style jacket which means all the staff look very smart and instantly stand out when you're looking for a member of staff to advise you on a purchase. There's a greeter in every store just inside the door who will hand you a shopping basket as you enter and they say goodbye as you leave. A nice touch.
The tills can get very busy. Yesterday I queued for neary a quarter of an hour to pay for my goods but when you get to the till the assistants will pack your stuff into bags and carefully wrap anything breakable, pens are always packed in a seperate bag in case they leak as are the snowstorms. You're also given a leaflet outlining the Disney Stores returns policy which is fairly straightforward and basically consists of you returning the offending item with your receipt and getting either a refund or replacement. I've had to return items before and it's always been done in a professional manner and with the minimum of fuss.
So, for a really enjoyable shopping experience head to your local Disney Store but you have been warned that you might need to remortgage your house if you want to buy more than a few items. Just for the record, yesterday I spend £155 and came away with four carrier bags which weren't particularly full and brought a few items of clothing, pens and a couple of toys. I'm afraid the Disney Store have got to lose a star for their prices but otherwise it's an excellent place to shop with some absolutely wonderful and downright gorgeous items for every Disney fan.
Advantages: Tooo many fun gifts to choose from Disadvantages: I could spend a fortune in here
Not just for kiddies! The Disney Store is a gold-mine for adults gifts too…
The Disney Store is part of The Walt Disney Company, who have been responsible for animated films, theme parks and cruise ships as well as these shops. Their work has been going for over 75 years, and most people are familiar with many of the popular, cute characters, from classic cartoons like Mickey Mouse, old favourites like Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan, through fairytale ... ...The downside to the Disney Store is that they can be a bit expensive, but then many quality toys and gifts are these days. However, with the range of products stocked, I am convinced you can find something you would be happy to pay the price asked for.
The range of Disney products available is huge. Their website quotes over 1800. When you visit the store you are surrounded by fantastic products of all shapes, sizes and functions, usually grouped ...
alish 30.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Disney Store
Advantages: good quality, variety of merchandise, highly collectable beanies, many Disney characters available Disadvantages: expensive
The Disney Store is a wonderful shop for young and old alike, if you are a fan of Disney, but you need a lot of money, as it is very expensive. The shop sells the Disney videos, books, soft toys, clothing, dressing up costumes, stickers and so on. If you love films like Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, Bambi and The Lion King (or your kids do), this is the place to find the perfect gift.
My seven year old daughter loves dalmatians and at one point, ... ...I can go into the Disney Store and find a purse, pair of pyjamas or the latest Dalmatian beanie and she will be thrilled with it.
The Disney Store beanies are now highly collectable, with adults rushing to their local Disney Store to buy the latest Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh design. So if you are into collecting things, it may well be a good investment to buy a few Disney beanies (especially if they are a limited edition or for special occasions ...
KarenUK 27.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Disney Store
Advantages: Loads of Choice, High Quality Disadvantages: Prices. layout
LOCATION
Disney Store has an ideal location on one of the busiest streets in the centre of York. The name of the street is Parliament Street. The Disney Store is almost opposite the fountains!
OPENING HOURS
I couldn’t actually find a sign stating the opening times of the store but all shops around it open at 9am and close at 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sunday so I can only guess that Disney Store would do the same.
STORE LAYOUT
... ...I have been in other Disney Stores (White Rose Centre, Leeds) that sell the same products in almost twice the size shop.
MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE
The range of merchandise that the Disney Store sells is almost limitless. From teddies and toys to videos and clothes. Anything anyone wishes for whether old or young. For kids there was a great range of swimwear, t-shirts shorts and fancy dress outfits and for adults there was a range of clothing including ...
rebecca863 31.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Disney Store
Advantages: excellent store for kids and adults Disadvantages: cost
There's only one Disney store in the North West, so when I saw one I wasn't going to miss an opportunity. So, in I went and to my surprise I was worse than a kid, I was still in there over 45 minutes later.
Two reason really:
the queues were massive, the store was to small and it was full of little kids trying to buy little Disney ornaments. and there were so many gift ideas at reasonable prices, that you had to have a look around.
There are so ... ...a fury diary with a Disney badge
Disney socks-I bought some they are so cute.
The prices were quite expensive, I was surprised that some of the pens and pencils were so dear.
But, it's one of them stores once you go in you can't come out of so be prepared to spend some money.....lots of it. A good store, small and very cramped but it has loads to chose from. ...
sid 23.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Disney Store
I've loved disney films all my life so i was thrilled to find pout there was a whole disney store dedicated to all my favourite characters! Unfortunatley there wasn't onme in my local town, so I dragged my mum up to the nearest one so that I cold have a looka nd seee what it was like. When i first got there I couldn't belive how amazng it was. So colourful and totally full of winnie the pooh, tigger, mickey and all their friends! It was heaven. I ... ...best frends so I picked it up to take over to the till to pay. But when I saw the price I nearly dropped piglet on his cute, squishy bum in horror! It was over £20 for a small stuffed toy! Madness! A rip off!!! They may well be official products but they're oficially over priced! They just want to make money and don't care avbout the price they charge us! I don't have that much momney so have to settle for the cheaper alternatives! ...
Grace100 14.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Disney Store
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Advantages: Special products, great for children, good quality and nice staff Disadvantages: A lot of impulse buying
The DisneyStore is a shop that sells Disney merchandise. There are DisneyStores across the UK and indeed across the world. There are DisneyStores in Disney World and Disney Land.
If you have never been in a DisneyStore you will be amazed at the different types of products that are usually always in stock. Although I must say I think you either love or hate the DisneyStore. My husband doesn't understand the appeal of purchasing a Disney character bear for £20 when you can buy another bear somewhere else for half the price. I think if you have been brought up to watch Disney cartoons then you have an automatic liking of Disney. Whenever I have been into the store there is a good selection with plenty of stock and the staff fill the shelves on a regular basis throughout the day.
Impulse buying is very easy in this store as you ...
Advantages: Great for all ages and a wide range of products Disadvantages: Can be pricey
I have loved going into the DisneyStores since I was young and, as I am now mid-30's (not revealing my exact age here!), just proves that the magic of the Disneystore is for the whole family.
There is not a Disneystore where I am, they are mainly around the larger cities - near me (I live in Scotland), I think the closest shops are in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Pre-children, I always loved going to the Disneystore whenever I visited Glasgow or Edinburgh and I would buy things to put aside for friends' children for Christmas and birthday presents. Now that I have a family it's nice to take them to the stores too whenever we are away.
When you go into a Disneystore, what first amazed me was that there was not just items on display to buy, but also a large screen which showed clips, songs and music from Disney shows.
The shop ...
The DisneyStore
146 The Harlequin Centre
High Street
Watford
(01923) 223399
Like a lot of major shopping centres across the country, the Harlequin centre has a Disneystore. These stores are aimed towards all ages. Disney has a brand image of magic, and this is somehow felt when you enter this Watford based store. At the shops entrance you are greeted with a cheery smiled and beckoned in.
As in most Disneystores around the country, a huge mountain of stuffed, Disney characters greets you and your eyes stare in amazement at the large TV screen, showing cartoons and previous Disney movies.
The store also stocks a large range of clothing from adults and kids nightwear, to casual tops and even fancy dress costumes, of your favourite Disney characters. They also sell a range of merchandise such as pencil cases and figures ...
