Disney stores inside Disney Springs area resort hotels permanently closed

Aug 07, 2020 in "Disney Springs"

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Aerial view of the Disney Springs Resort area hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd

Posted: Friday August 7, 2020 1:29pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney is in the process of closing down its leased retail spaces inside the Disney Springs resort area hotels.

The seven third party operated hotels located along Hotel Plaza Blvd typically offered a small Disney retail space, which sold Walt Disney World tickets, gifts, and snacks.

Ticket sales were the primary revenue driver at those locations, and the current theme park ticketing demand is not enough to sustain the stores, along with the continuing shift to online sales of ticketing.

Aerial view of the Disney Springs Resort area hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd

The Disney Ticket Center in Disney Springs also offers an in-person alternative for ticket purchases outside of the theme parks.

Disney Ticket Center at Disney Springs

Aerial photos for WDWMAGIC by @cchard.

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TJJohn12Aug 13, 2020

This is a little disappointing to me, as when I stayed at one of these hotels for a conference, the gift shop was the location to get the discounted "After 4" tickets for conference attendees. Hoping to see that end of the partnership - in-lobby ticket sales for conference attendees and guests - continue at very least.

Figments FriendAug 12, 2020

What..? Disney actually closing shops..?? I can't help but wonder what @realBobChapek has to say about this. He doesn't like seeing sales opportunities diminished ! :oops: -

UNCgolfAug 12, 2020

Now that they've basically homogenized all stores across the property, both in the parks and out, to sell the same assortment of items (absent some resort/attraction specific things), you can sometimes find stuff in the resort shops that are sold out in the parks. My GF really wanted one of those sleeping Dumbo plush things, but every single store we went in both in the parks and at Disney Springs had tons of the other characters but no Dumbos. We had dinner at the California Grill one night and dropped in the shop at the Contemporary while waiting for our reservation time, and lo and behold, they had two Dumbos.

Jon81ukAug 12, 2020

When we stayed at the Hilton the only reason I went into that Disney store was to buy headache pills. For souvenirs we bought at the park or Downtown Disney. Someone in our group picked up their convention-rate tickets from there too I think. In the age of FP+ I don't think they would be doing many on-the-day ticket sales anymore either. Its very similar even at the Disney resorts for me really, we take a look at the resort specific stuff, but I'm more likely to use the store as a store for snacks, drinks, and essentials such as nail cutters or other bits and bobs. There are better places to get souvenirs from.

LilofanAug 12, 2020

Don't know but Swan and Dolphin pay annual lease to Disney to have their resorts in Disney property.

castlecake2.0Aug 12, 2020

Was rent really costing them that much money?

Brer OswaldAug 12, 2020

Never knew this was a thing

disneyC97Aug 12, 2020

A bit surprising. I wonder if we'll see something similar with the Dolphin and Swan shops.

nicb88Aug 12, 2020

I can only imagine that they think ‘Well they’re only 10 minutes from Disney Springs so they can just walk there.’ Detracts somewhat from the magic of buying your little souvenir just on your way back to bed. But I guess cost savings must make this a no brainer for them?

lewiscAug 08, 2020

I thought, without any evidence to support it, the Disney stores in the Hotel Plaza resorts was part of the deal which gave guests of those hotels access to resort guest extra hours and FP60.

MonorailCoralAug 08, 2020

As long as the funny-looking busses with insider-level drivers and annoying videos keep making their rounds to and from the parks, I don't think this alone will change anyone's impression of the partnerships.