Disneyland’s Downtown Disney Is Opening Yet Another New Store, But I’m Already Questioning Its Existence

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2025 marks a significant milestone for Disneyland Resort, as it prepares to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its founding theme park. Instead of just refurbishing old attractions such as the debated Walt Disney animatronic, there appears to be a focus on enhancing Downtown Disney District further. Over the past month alone, two new shops and a food marketplace have opened, with two more scheduled to debut soon. Despite the anticipation surrounding these changes, I find myself wondering about one of the upcoming stores.

Scott Gustin, a theme park reporter, has shared pictures of the revamped Disney Dress Shop, now called Disney Storyland Boutique. New signage was spotted last week, and this is the first glimpse fans have had inside. From the images, it appears that Imagineers spared no effort in the theming. However, it seems that the merchandise may not be as impressive.

The Disney Storyland Boutqiue Looks Gorgeous

As reported by LaughingPlace, the store is due to open its doors to the public this coming Friday, February 24. From the images they’ve shared, it seems the store is vibrant, filled with colors, and appears as if it’s straight from a fairytale. The sign bearing the store’s name features letters mimicking various animated characters, such as an “R” reminiscent of Remy from Ratatouille. Furthermore, there seems to be a mound of plush toys evoking memories of the 90’s Disney Store (for those who are familiar with the reference).

The freshly opened store showcases a multitude of vibrant neon signs displaying words and depicting popular figures. Notably, the design’s pièce de résistance lies in its division into sections themed around various characters. Enthusiasts of Stitch will discover an entire wall dedicated to his merchandise, while there also appear to be designated areas for less commonly adored characters such as Marie and Baymax.

But Where Is The Exclusive Merchandise?

It’s clear that the photos reveal an attractive store design, but upon closer examination, it seems as though the merchandise inside is similar to what you can find in other Downtown Disney shops and parks. Interestingly enough, many of these items are also available in the expansive World of Disney shop, which is just a short distance away from this new location. This leads one to wonder if another store offering the same goods was truly necessary.

It’s unfortunate to notice a shift in the selection at stores located within the Disneyland Resort. Previously, these stores mainly stocked items that matched the theme of each attraction. For instance, upon disembarking from Star Tours, one would find oneself in a gift shop overflowing with exclusive Star Wars merchandise not found anywhere else. However, this trend appears to be changing as more and more generic Disneyland souvenirs have become prevalent. This new store seems to offer the same old items, leading me to fear that the era of finding unique, hard-to-get merchandise may be coming to an end.

I was quite eagerly anticipating that the Disney Storyland Boutique might follow suit with the recently opened D-Lander store, offering unique items exclusive to the shop. However, it appears they haven’t made any such changes. It’s too bad, as it would have been exciting to see new merchandise appear at this location – maybe even a section for books to reflect the “boutique’s storyland” name.

No matter what, I’ll definitely drop by the new store on my upcoming visit to Downtown Disney. Fingers crossed that by then they’ve refreshed some of their product selections.

OR

It doesn’t matter; I’m going to visit the new shop during my next trip to Downtown Disney. Let’s hope they’ve updated some of their inventory by then.

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2025-01-24 21:37