Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I see you mentioned the Kaa thing! It doesn't bother me having characters from more than movie and the Fab 5 are pretty much international, but this is definiteky wrong on geographical terms which IMHO is the point.<<< Yes, I mentioned it. I hope you don't mind that I used your post for a comment over there.
Originally Posted By u k fan No, I don't mind at all. Nobody seemed to care anyway. It is very nitpicky, but since that side of Asia is under-represented it might have been nice to have a whole JB mural instead of combining it with Tarzan. Does anyone online have a full list of what the murals are yet?!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Sadly I have not commented on WODS as there is not much positive for me to say. The store is small for a WODS. Having seen the exterior the other month, it is ok, but not as nice as the concept art. And the colours of the globe are cheap and tacky (I had envisaged etched glass to define the continents instead). I hate the mickey and Minnie statues with a Passion, they are ugly. And the interior leaves me cold. What is the betting the merchandise is the same overpriced crap I don't want from the other stores either. Stores that remain fully open while one struggles to find an open counter service restaurant that does not necessitate an hour long queue and eating standing up or the floor due to lack of seats. Man I wish it was Anaheim TDO running this place instead of the clowns they have. Doubt we will go back until the 25th anniversary now.
Originally Posted By u k fan I don't doubt for a minute that the merch will be the same. I'll be very surprised to find any exclusive WODS merch available. Quite frankly, if it's the same stuff (shirts, keyrings, mugs etc.) with a WODS logo on it then they can keep it anyway. Who wants to buy stuff branded with a store logo? If they had attraction specific merch as exclusives or something cool like a Whatnot store that would be different, but otherwise I'm not bothered. And you're right about the statues. I think the only real reason to get excited about this is it feels like Disney Village and DLP have finally been allowed to sit at the adult table and get something we should have had years ago!!!
Originally Posted By dagobert I agree on the dome, that looks cheap, but I like the statues. I know they are out of scale, but I like the fact that they came from another WoDS, which undortunately had to close. It's sad that I'm excited about a store, but compared to the rest of DV, I like it, even the inside. As for the merchandise, I'm sure we will be disappointed by the variety. I guess it's the same stuff that is available everywhere else. More infos and pictures about the shop can be found here, but it's in French: <a href="http://disneyshowcasekey.blogspot.be/2012/06/world-of-disney-visuels-inedits.html" target="_blank">http://disneyshowcasekey.blogs...its.html</a> And here: <a href="http://disneyshowcasekey.blogspot.be/2012/06/evenemnt-special-merchandising.html" target="_blank">http://disneyshowcasekey.blogs...ing.html</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert Since we are talking about merchandise here, I think I can post this as well. Do you want to see some of the 2012 Christmas Season merchandise <a href="http://disneyshowcasekey.blogspot.be/2012/06/le-merchandising-de-noel-2012.html" target="_blank">http://disneyshowcasekey.blogs...012.html</a> Basically it's the same as every year, but I like the big cookie can in the second picture.
Originally Posted By dagobert Ukfan, you can find a list of the murals at the and of the article: <a href="http://disneyshowcasekey.blogspot.be/2012/06/evenemnt-special-merchandising.html" target="_blank">http://disneyshowcasekey.blogs...ing.html</a>
Originally Posted By u k fan Thanks for the list. There are a couple of interesting merch pieces shown. I like the Donald Mickey Ears and the Mad Hatter-esque hats are cool!!!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Does anybody know what is going to happen to the other Disney store in the Village? I would assume it will close, but has there been an announcement of what will replace it?
Originally Posted By dagobert I think it's still not yet decided what will replace the old Disney Store. Since the old store is really big, I can imagine that it will be devided into two or three shops with different offerings.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo That's the crazy thing, I think the WODS is smaller than the existing Disney store.
Originally Posted By dagobert According to Disney Showcase Key the new shop will have 1500 squaremetres. <a href="http://disneyshowcasekey.blogspot.be/2012/06/evenemnt-special-merchandising.html" target="_blank">http://disneyshowcasekey.blogs...ing.html</a> I don't know how big the old store is, but I also think the new one is a bit smaller.
Originally Posted By u k fan But the old store was a dump and very unpersonal. I'd like to see some non-Disney retail move in (as has been hinted at). If the other Disney stores are remaining open there is nothing that Disney could offer retail-wise that would be worth it. I'd love a mini Disney Quest (I know it won't happen), but attractions like Cyber-Space Mountain would fit the Village really well and are a lot of fun. Decent fast food is also in short supply - there must be a dining concept Disney has floating around that could work. Maybe an actual Pizza Planet?!!!
Originally Posted By dagobert Good idea. Rip out the ugly Toy Story restaurant in Discoveryland and open a nice one in DV. The CEO of ED SCA mentioned recently that they plan to add more non-Disney shops. I think that's a good idea. Not every store has to offer Disney stuff. I'm sure nothing like H&M will come to DV. A LEGO Store would be nice, or a small shop dedicated to pins.
Originally Posted By u k fan Before things went wrong for them something like a Virgin Megastore would have been a good fit. A nice entertainment/bookstore/cafe would also be fun. There'd be room there to do a Pizza Planet the right way - like it is in the movie and I'm sure would be hugely popular without upsetting McD's and EoS as the core menu item is pizza, nit burgers or sandwiches. I'd be surprised if they don't have something in the works already as it would be embarrassing to have that huge, highly-visible space empty for a long time!!!
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I'd be surprised if they don't have something in the works already as it would be embarrassing to have that huge, highly-visible space empty for a long time!!!<<< I'm sure they have already plans for that space, but it's DLP and they aren't good with announcing new things. Even WoDS never got an official announcement.
Originally Posted By dagobert Some of the walls have come down at WoDS. Picture by DisneyCentral Plaza. <a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/318030_10151851842410615_1039255171_n.jpg" target="_blank">http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net...71_n.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert Here are some informations provided by the Magic_Live Twitter Account regarding the future of some Disney Village shops. - Disney Store will soon change its concept. It will open only afternoons and evenings and will become a children's shop, ft. Cars, Toy Story - Also the 'new' Disney Store will feature an all year round Christmas section! Soon in Disney Village! - Finally, World of Toys and Hollywood pictures will disappear and make place for ... A Lego Shop! Planned for end of this year! - And one more scoop: the old Hurricanes building will be used as a temporary Castmember restaurant, opening end of this month. <a href="http://twitter.com/" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/</a>#!/Magic__live
Originally Posted By u k fan Well that all sounds quite dull. I get the year-round Christmas thing as there are people who will always buy ornaments etc. as keepsakes. If the kids store concept is done right it could be fun, but it's a bit predictable. It needs to be highly-themed and a bit "concept" otherwise it's pointless. I'm still hoping for a Whatnot Workshop, but I know it's a dream. I have nothing against a Lego shop, but that's a huge chunk of space to hand over to one non-Disney store IMHO. Any word on the old Tourism building that now sells the collectibles? Is that staying? Personally I'd rather see the high-end stuff in WoDS so that is features a good mix!!!
Originally Posted By dagobert I don't know about the toy shop. I guess I have to wait until the shop opens. As for the huge Lego Store, I can imagine Lego demanded a big space, just because it's very popular and the shops in the US resorts aren't small either. The Christmas section in WoDS isn't really needed, since there is one in the Castle that is open all year round. However it's more convenient, because you got everything in one store. I always bought my stuff at the end of the day in the Disney Store and so I like the fact that everything will be available in WoDS. Are you talking about the small green Tourism Building between DV, the train station and Fantasia Gardens?
