food IS a theme park
It’s certainly no secret that the Disney World parks are changing. New expansions are coming to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, but changes are also coming to Disney Springs!
A NEW store is coming!
On a recent stroll around this shopping, dining, and entertainment district, we spotted something new! It looks like a new store will be coming to Disney Springs soon, in the location that was formerly home to the Volcom store — here’s what we know.
Disney World has a TON of merchandise you can buy during your vacation!
Need some new Disney merch?
Stores have everything from clothes to toys to Christmas ornaments. And, while we love doing some shopping when we’re in the parks or at Disney Springs, we don’t love the long checkout lines that are pretty common. Luckily, Disney has introduced a new Mobile Merchandise Checkout system at a few stores, and the system was just added in another location!
Disney has had a number of different health and safety requirements in their parks, hotels, and stores throughout the pandemic.
Mask Signage
Since Disney properties have reopened, we’ve seen a variety of requirements from temperature checks, physical distancing, face mask requirements, and more. Gradually, some of those requirements have been scaled back or disappeared completely. And now, another change is being made to how you shop in Disney stores.
Last year, Disney CEO Bob Chapek shared that The Walt Disney Company would be shifting towards a direct-to-consumer focus.
Disney Store
Part of this transition included the closures of 20% of Disney Stores, including the original location in California. Now, in an effort to continue to shift to e-commerce, we have some major news on the status of Disney Stores across the country.
A LOT has been going on with Disney Stores this year.
Disney Store
Not only have we seen many Disney Store locations being closed, but like at Disney Parks, health and safety guidelines have also started to change for guests visiting the stores.
It’s been a busy year at Disney World!
Sadly, Disney won’t let us live here 🙁
As the parks continue with their phased reopening, preparations have been taking place for the big 50th anniversary celebration! But among all the construction and excitement, we’ve seen some changes to everyday operations. And nope, we’re not just talking about safety procedures or price changes — there have been also some major technological advances.
We’ve seen some pretty cool new Disney tech lately.
Facial recognition!
And recently, we’ve seen a lot of that tech go hands-free! Guests can use the new MagicMobile service on their phones instead of MagicBands, and they can enter Magic Kingdom using facial recognition instead of tapping a park ticket (wild right?!). But while browsing the gift shops in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we spotted a sign that a new kind of technology might be on the way.
Things are constantly changing with Disney. Just this year, we’ve seen changes made when it comes to parks reopening, movies being released in theaters vs. Disney+, and more.
Do You Like to Visit the Disney Store?
But, we’ve also seen changes announced when it comes to your local Disney Stores. Earlier this year, Disney announced that it would be closing 20% of its Disney Stores as the company shifts its focus to e-commerce. So, what will the future of shopping for Disney merchandise look like? We got a few more details today and it looks like some changes are on the way!!
More and more of traditional brick-and-mortar experiences are moving online for Disney, from movie premieres (like Raya and the Last Dragon) to shopping.
Raya and the Last Dragon movie poster
Due to the shift to e-commerce on shopDisney and elsewhere, Disney announced that 20% of Disney stores across North America would be CLOSING, sending Disney fans into a tizzy wondering if their nearby store would be one of the affected closures. (After all, where would you be able to find Spaghetti Stitch?!)
Have you gotten on the nuiMOs hype train yet?
Mickey and Minnie nuiMOs
Disney recently launched a new-to-the-U.S. line of totally collectible plushes called Disney nuiMOs. These little buddies are posable and you can even buy little outfits to dress them up in stylish clothes or Disney costumes. Now, two new plushes are hitting the scene and they might be the best yet.
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