Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
something different |
| Disadvantages: |
prices are slightly above average |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I'm always in a quandary when a birthday comes up and I'm unsure of what to get. This usually means it's a child's birthday and they've already got most things they could ever want, or what they want is way out of my price range, especially if it's not a close family relative.
I was in this situation last week, and just happened to be in town, going past the Disney Store. Inspiration struck. Everyone loves a bit of Disney don't they. Young or old, there's a bit of magic waiting for everyone.
I'm not a frequent visitor to Disney stores and there is only one near me which is in Southampton. They appear more in the larger city centres rather than in every town. According to the online Disney store there are 58 stores in the UK.
When I last visited, I remember noticing the huge pile of soft toys that seemed to dominate the shop as a huge feature had gotten a lot smaller. Unfortunately, last week, the pile had almost diminished altogether.
I know that stock lines increase all the time, especially with a new Disney movie coming out nearly every school holiday, so the teddy bear pile was going to have to be sacrificed to make way for other lines.
My local store (and I have visited two others as well), is always cramped and full to bursting with stock. This isn't done in a messy way, but I do worry when there are thousands of pushchairs etc. all trying to go in and out of displays. All shop layouts I have been in have been very similar. There doesn't appear to be much order as to what is placed where, except for character theming. You will tend to find a lot of Disney Princess in one area and Buzz Lightyear in another etc.
I wasn't sure what I was intending to buy, but with the release of the film Cars, I knew I was onto a safe bet with something from that range.
I found a wide variety including children's clothes, jigsaws, novelty toys, play sets, walkie talkies, pencil cases, stationary, toothbrushes, and watches.
This was more like it as I knew if I had browsed through something like the Argos catalogue looking for inspiration, there wouldn't have been such a huge selection.
I chose a flip watch at 6.00gbp in the end as I felt it was something a little bit different.
I have always found Disney store prices to be slightly above average, but I find the quality is excellent, and you really are paying for a product mainly not found in most other shops.
It's not a shop I would shop in all the time because of the prices, but it's definitely a good place to go for something different if you are stuck.
Disney store sells much more than kids character toys and games. As I have already mentioned, there is a small range of clothing available, which includes slippers. These are a nice novelty present at any time. You can also get your hand son umbrellas, suitcases etc.
One Christmas I bought my daughter a Snow White luggage carrier which had flashing lights on the outside. This was reduced from 20.00gbp to 17.50gbp. Not a huge saving I admit, but that was 5 years ago, and even though she doesn't use it any more, it survived the childhood years and is still in good condition.
There are lots of items for adults too. One of these include the limited edition Christmas tree bauble's. These are brought out once per year at Christmas, and they are personalised with the year. It will be slightly different from any released in previous years, but remember you wont be able to get your hands on them again once they remove them from their shelves. It's a nice touch to your tree if you're into that sort of thing.
Other adult gifts can include mugs, plates etc., and there are a variety of crystal ornaments. This is usually the section when I get very nervous with children around.
Staff are always helpful, and they always seem to be busy. I would love to work here if for nothing else the staff discount (if there even is one).
When there is a sale on the shop gets even busier than it normally is, and some of the reduction on stock is very good, making even the more expensive item value for money. I have picked up some good bargains from here in the past.
Payment is accepted by all the usual forms, cash, cheque, card etc. They do accept Electron here as well.
As I previously mentioned about the layout of the shop, the till area is one of the places the shop lets itself down. I have never seen the shop too quiet, and there isn't a formal queuing system. With only two or three tills located at the side of the shop, forming an orderly queue around pushchairs, people and shelves isn't the easiest thing to do.
Included at the till is the option to book and pay for your trip to Disneyland. I've seen this happen in front of me, but never actually used this process.
If you're passing, the Disney store is well worth a look, but beware you'll be in there more than a couple of minutes oohing and ahhing at all the cute merchandise.
| More Reviews |
 Not only for the kids
Review of The Disney Store (Shop) by
ickle_devil
Advantages: range, high quality
Disadvantages: costly
...himself who had himself frozen, the Disney store is always one of the best shops for me to visit. Whilst taking an extend lunch break I went on a shopping expedition, I just got paid and so had money burning a hole in my bank account, after wandering in and out of numerous shops and buying stuff that I really didn’t need I ended up in the Disney store. This is why the lunch break became extended. This store always incites me in, I don’t ...
...the shop, or the whole range of cuddly teddies beneath it, but when I walk past the window I regress several years and am that big kid again pulling their parents into a shop and sulking when they don’t get what they want. I suppose it’s the effect of the shop, not me?! If we look at the shop from a marketing point of view it’s layout is very well thought through, it draws you in and even if you don’t want to you end up looking ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
| Age Group |
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very helpful
21.06.2001
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Heaven on Earth for Disney Lovers!
Review of The Disney Store (Shop) by
kimbyanne17
Advantages: Lots of different Disney items, excellent quality, lovely stores, wonderful staff
Disadvantages: Can be pricey and things sell out fast
...in to huge detail about the history of the The Walt Disney Company as most people already know it! I am however going to write about The Disney Store. In the UK there are 56 Disney Stores which are usually based in major cities around the country. They sell lots of different Disney branded things such as their Baby Disney Range, Children's Clothing, Adult Clothing & Accessories, Toys & Action Figures, Soft Toys, DVDs, Books, Homewares, Stationery, ...
...Stores are all pretty much the same layout and design. They tend have a large TV Screen at the back of the store which continiously shows Disney Movies and clips. They also have Disney Movie soundtracks playing all the time! Around the ceilings of most Disney Stores are large plastic Disney characters. Everything is designed to be very "magical". I have never seen a store designed the way that Disney design their stores! Quite a few UK Stores are ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
| Age Group |
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very helpful
11.07.2008
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A great store for all the family
Review of The Disney Store (Shop) by
Simoncook1
Advantages: Great collection of memorabilia and other fun Disney stuff!
Disadvantages: Can be very expensive!
...every time I go to the shopping center. As we walk past all the other stores my children seem to be magnetically attracted to The Disney Store? Not sure why?
The Products
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There is sooooo much you can buy in this store. Videos and DVDs – you can buy every Disney movie on video or DVD.
Cuddly toys – you can probably find every character that Disney has created in their huge pile of cuddly toys. Children’s eyes goggle ...
...Piglet to large representations of the characters from The Lion King.
Games – a variety of games exist, ranging from the very good Disney Trivia game to some excellent and educational computer games.
Books – you will find many books, ranging from story books, three dimensional pop-out books, to history books that detail the history of Disney or some of the movies.
Clothes – there is a great range of top quality clothing with ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
| Age Group |
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very helpful
06.06.2001
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 Great for pressies
Review of The Disney Store (Shop) by
GR-Design
Advantages: Great for pressies
Disadvantages: Price
...most big Towns or Cities. The stores are great for those small or large Christmas present for big and small kids alike. If your looking for something small and fun to give to a relative or just a small present for your kids then this is the place to find them. You can however get larger pressies too. You do pay for them though! The merchandise they sell is of a very good quality though so I didn’t have any problems with paying that little bit extra.
...
...you will look at everything! The shelves are low down so the kids can see the stuff too, but then they’ll probably end up moaning at you to buy them! The store staff always seem very friendly too and as I bought my products I got a nice merry Christmas wish from 2 of the store staff which was nice, you don’t get that in many other stores. So what’s in the store I here you cry!? Well, obviously its full of Disney memorabilia but you will find stuff ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
| Age Group |
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very helpful
22.12.2000
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Great store with great gifts
Review of The Disney Store (Shop) by
WAD1-2-3
Advantages: see text
Disadvantages: can be busy
...have always wanted to visit the Disney store, but there isn’t one near me and I never seemed to have the time when I go to Manchester. Well, anyway I found the time and I loved the shop.
It’s quite a big store and it had loads of Disney memorabilia. The items they stock are so varied, they had little children’s clothes with Disney cartoons on, fleeces, and scarves and hats.
They had some really good mugs with the bright Disney ...
...Donald Duck on might do the trick. Who can forget the Disney socks, I bough myself two pairs, I couldn’t resist and they were £1 off so I got them for £2.99. They had loads of key rings, from Pokemon style to key rings with all the Disney characters. I bought a key ring for £4.00 it’s really nice and has all the faces of the Disney characters on like Mickey Mouse.
They had some lovely diaries, which I bought for my friend, they had a ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful |
| Age Group |
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helpful
12.04.2001
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