I feel a little bitter about this. It is the end of an era, the Disney Stores are no more or a shadow or themselves with only a few remaining. I love Disney. I have mentioned before how it was a lifeline growing up, the only bits of hope and magic I had. Disney stores were a treat to visit. My parents even after we moved to France were never interested in going on a Disney trip to Paris so I would visit our local Disney Store on a weekly basis since my high school was a few minutes walk from it. It was my me space, that and the cinema theatre. Wherever I moved later on I would love going to the local Disney Store, it always felt familiar. Once I had my children we started visiting after baby playdates, our local Disney Store in Scotland was lovely, the Cast Members were always so helpful and it became tradition, summer times we would go for the craft activities, we would go all together in the long lines for new toy releases.
Going to the Disney Store was a real life magical experience, it was a place where you could meet fellow Disney lovers and even as a grown up you could appreciate the magic and not feel out of place but as part of the Disney community. I feel that this is what we will all miss the most now that Disney have decided to close their local store doors and focus on the Parks and online shopping. I understand they are trying to make the best of shopping from a distance and that physical stores might be more costly than warehouses but from a human and Disney fan point of view I feel let down. A great thing about Disney land originally was bringing into real life the dream and the magic and in their own little way, Disney stores contributed to that physical presence, they were relevant to the original Walt Disney vision and the local hubs of a very special community. I am sad I never took my youngest to our local Disney Store before it closed its doors for the final time, it will be a while before we can take her to a Disney location and while we keep the magic alive at home, it now feels a little bit more lonely and isolated without a place to meet my fellow Disney fans or carry on family traditions such as our Christmas visit picking a new ornament and going for hot chocolate afterwards and a walk to see the Christmas lights. It is the end of an era for us and for many other Disney fans. I hope the Cast Members who worked there know how grateful me and my family will forever be for each visit they made possible, we will miss them and we will miss our Disney Store. So long Disney Store…
The Little Mermaid Now 