30 venues announced for Disney Springs

[rteetz]

I am REALLY excited for most of the stores coming to DS! I know that these stores will be opening in phases but does anyone know when they will be all open? I know initially DS transformation was suppose to be done late 2016, are we still on track for that date, even with all the new announcements?

Yes. These stores will start opening in May.

 

[bmbmd]

Sometimes, in a fit of whimsy and nostalgia, I play back the old family videos from the early nineties. One of them has an extended segment shot in the old Disney Village Complex. My two youngest were still in diapers, and played 'til they dropped on that old blue fort-slide contraption that served as a centerpiece for the area. In those days, we did a significant amount of shopping in the Disney store, the Sport Mickey store, and the gentleman's store (I think it was called Harringtons's?) For years, I wore button-down pinstriped dress shirts with a little Mickey logo on the right upper panel, muck like the ubiquitous Polo labels of today. I had ties, belts, socks, boxers, pajamas, swimwear, umbrellas, golf wear-almost every imaginable item of clothing and accessories, all purchased in the now extinct Disney Village. I miss the street performers (I have the juggler's complete performance on dvd), the music, the atmosphere, and the relatively slow pace of a time go by. We visit Disney Springs every time we come to WDW, but it's not the same. The Boardwalk, in a small measure, is reminiscent of that era, and is a must-see for my bride and me. I'm sure we will visit the new shops next visit, and we'll have a good time. I bet I won't find a long-sleeved button down pin-striped Mickey logo shirt, though. Time marches on.

 

[nco91590]

ANTHROPOLOGIE!!!!!!!!! SQUEE!

Everything in Disney is high end. A tee shirt is $30 down there. It's hard to imagine people who are dropping $$$$ on a Disney vacation also have $$$$ to spend on high end shops, but I think there's a really big international population (particularly from the UK) that take advantage of the exchange rate and think that a $80 sweatshirt is a good deal. I mean, an Adidas hoodie in London is 80 pounds...so, it's all relative.

Pumped...even if it's just for window shopping

 

[tinydancr06]

Well it's definitely going to be themed. The Springs area will be very pretty if nothing else. Mall of America is a bit of a special case but this is several steps up from your average mall.

This is so true. While many of these stores do appear in malls, a lot of them are only in higher end malls and rarely appear all in the same place. My local mall does not have the vast majority of these stores, I have to travel to a mall that is farther away for some and others that I don't have one even remotely close. Not everyone has access to the best malls and I think those people will love visiting these stores on vacation. I am excited to be able to shop in so many of my favorite places all at once and in my favorite place, Disney! It's important to note that I live in Florida and will often pop into Disney Springs even if I am not able to visit the parks. It will definitely be popular for locals.

Also, a number of these stores (Alex and Ani, Vera Bradley, Sephora, etc.) already create great Disney specific merchandise that sells REALLY well. I am not surprised at all that they would set up shop in Disney Springs. I'm hoping this will mean some of the other brands in Town Center will team up with Disney to create new merchandise, too.

I do understand why some people aren't too pleased but there are plenty of people that will enjoy these new additions, myself included!

 

[Roxyfire]

This is so true. While many of these stores do appear in malls, a lot of them are only in higher end malls and rarely appear all in the same place. My local mall does not have the vast majority of these stores, I have to travel to a mall that is farther away for some and others that I don't have one even remotely close. Not everyone has access to the best malls and I think those people will love visiting these stores on vacation. I am excited to be able to shop in so many of my favorite places all at once and in my favorite place, Disney! It's important to note that I live in Florida and will often pop into Disney Springs even if I am not able to visit the parks. It will definitely be popular for locals.

Also, a number of these stores (Alex and Ani, Vera Bradley, Sephora, etc.) already create great Disney specific merchandise that sells REALLY well. I am not surprised at all that they would set up shop in Disney Springs. I'm hoping this will mean some of the other brands in Town Center will team up with Disney to create new merchandise, too.

I do understand why some people aren't too pleased but there are plenty of people that will enjoy these new additions, myself included!

You're totally right. My hometown has a really shabby, failing shopping mall. Where I live now is one of the biggest in the Midwest. There's tons of stores here and more opening all the time. So, I personally don't need to go to Disney Springs to shop, but there are some good standbys for people from smaller towns. Back home, the closest Sephora is probably in St Louis, 3 hours away. The nicest restaurants are 30-45 minutes away and they're mainly chains. This isn't that appealing to me (for the exception of maybe that World of Coke if it's a factory demo type place) but I'll go look around anyway. A lot of the whining seems to be summed up by the annoyance that other people spend their money differently. Until you've literally lived in the middle of nowhere, you really can't grasp how limited the choices can be.

 

[DanBoris]

I am REALLY excited for most of the stores coming to DS! I know that these stores will be opening in phases but does anyone know when they will be all open? I know initially DS transformation was suppose to be done late 2016, are we still on track for that date, even with all the new announcements?

A lot will open in 2016, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something things not open until 2017.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I agree, while I like to shop at Trend D and the big Disney store there and maybe grab something to eat at one of the dining establishments, getting there if you are staying on site is such at PITA that I just don't go any more. The buses can take longer than a hour and every single time I've gone, it doesn't matter what resort I'm staying at, I've sat at the stop there at DS for at least 45 min, sometimes a hour just waiting for a bus. If the buses would go directly there and not stop at the water parks, I might go even with the horrible waits but going to the water parks just makes the trip longer and I always wonder why they do it. It's not like you are going to leave a water park in your wet suit or carrying your wet suit and go shopping. I have a car since I drive down but I'm not going to fight that traffic and fight for parking just to go shopping, not worth it for me.

Since the first parking garage opened we have visited twice and had no problem with parking at all. The lights pointing you to open spot and open rows really makes parking in the garage a breeze.

 

[Planogirl]

The quality of Disney clothing isn't all that great nowadays. Won't that become even more apparent with high-end stores selling clothing in the same mall? Plus I wonder if any of those stores will sell Disney logo items? THAT would interest me.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

ANTHROPOLOGIE!!!!!!!!! SQUEE!

Everything in Disney is high end. A tee shirt is $30 down there. It's hard to imagine people who are dropping $$$$ on a Disney vacation also have $$$$ to spend on high end shops, but I think there's a really big international population (particularly from the UK) that take advantage of the exchange rate and think that a $80 sweatshirt is a good deal. I mean, an Adidas hoodie in London is 80 pounds...so, it's all relative.

Pumped...even if it's just for window shopping

I honestly don't understand this comment...that's what they want and they've made it painfully apparent for the last 10 years...

They should use "spend or get out" as their slogan...it has the virtue of being the truth.

 

[Bluecat74]

Looking froward to seeing it develop

 

[nco91590]

I honestly don't understand this comment...that's what they want and they've made it painfully apparent for the last 10 years...

They should use "spend or get out" as their slogan...it has the virtue of being the truth.

I'm not sure I understand your statement. Disney sets their prices because people are obviously paying them. Jacking up prices at tourist traps is not a new phenomenon. If you don't want to pay $29.95 for a tee shirt at the parks, don't. It's that simple.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm not sure I understand your statement. Disney sets their prices because people are obviously paying them. Jacking up prices at tourist traps is not a new phenomenon. If you don't want to pay $29.95 for a tee shirt at the parks, don't. It's that simple.

Yeah...I agree with YOU. The previous comment implies that Disney doesn't expect people to spend mounds of cash because they charge a lot...

Um...no..."budget" is of no concern.

 

[nco91590]

Yeah...I agree with YOU. The previous comment implies that Disney doesn't expect people to spend mounds of cash because they charge a lot...

Um...no..."budget" is of no concern.

Oh I got it! Lol.

 

[PuppyJonathan]

The quality of Disney clothing isn't all that great nowadays. Won't that become even more apparent with high-end stores selling clothing in the same mall? Plus I wonder if any of those stores will sell Disney logo items? THAT would interest me.

I just want to double check, by quality do you mean aesthetically or quality as in how durable it is? I've had mixed experiences lately with the clothing so that's why I'm asking

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I just want to double check, by quality do you mean aesthetically or quality as in how durable it is? I've had mixed experiences lately with the clothing so that's why I'm asking

I personally feel the aesthetic appeal is pretty awful. A result of consolidating merch to the point of redundancy.

As far as the "quality" goes I actually think it's ok...probably because retail consumer product quality had declined a lot in the last 20 years

 

[PuppyJonathan]

I personally feel the aesthetic appeal is pretty awful. A result of consolidating merch to the point of redundancy.

As far as the "quality" goes I actually think it's ok...probably because retail consumer product quality had declined a lot in the last 20 years

I've noticed how much more "hip" the clothing has decided to become and I try to avoid those for the normal shirts. Some have held up extremely well (durable wise) and some haven't as much, but it's whatever. I'm still a growing boy technically

 

[Planogirl]

I just want to double check, by quality do you mean aesthetically or quality as in how durable it is? I've had mixed experiences lately with the clothing so that's why I'm asking

Both for me. I find most of the designs mediocre and also most of the clothing paper thin and poorly constructed. That is definitely a problem all over though.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Gee, honey let's pay $400 a night (with resort fees) and go to the mall just like the one down the street.

No thanks Disney! The parks are under construction and not worth the price of admission, you are building a mall with very little in the way of unique product, you are cutting back on all the extras to "finance China"

hmm....... Reminds me of why I am gone for a few years. If you ever actually open Star Wars and invest in Epcot let me know

 

[rteetz]

Gee, honey let's pay $400 a night (with resort fees) and go to the mall just like the one down the street.

No thanks Disney! The parks are under construction and not worth the price of admission, you are building a mall with very little in the way of unique product, you are cutting back on all the extras to "finance China"

hmm....... Reminds me of why I am gone for a few years. If you ever actually open Star Wars and invest in Epcot let me know

I actually think this is better than the typical mall. Many of these stores I can't find at my mall. Now if they were adding a Jc Penney that would be different.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I actually think this is better than the typical mall. Many of these stores I can't find at my mall. Now if they were adding a Jc Penney that would be different.

Depends where you live...I have little trouble finding them here, but little interest, since high end is not my current lot in life...

Most malls are going away from "anchors" and becoming open air/high end walk-able sites with zero anchors (or "restaurant/entertainment" anchors - boy, that sounds familiar)...so this is what you can find in any well-off suburb or city all over the US...