Disney Store

This Disney Store’s claim to fame: the smallest store in the entire world. If feels like a gift shop at the end of a ride at one of the theme parks.

After 4 days in London, I was getting REALLY tired of the customer service that we encountered everywhere (at 2 separate hotels, at restaurants, in cabs).
I’ll say it: I’m American, and I thought most of the service industry people that I met in London on this trip were snobbish.
Well, not so at this Disney Store.
We came to browse but ended up buying some t-​shirts and souvenirs. The Cast member at the register had a ton of pins for us to trade, and she was super nice about it. She let my 4 year-​old hem and haw about which pin to choose, she replaced a broken pin, gave us extra pinbacks to replace ones we lost.
We asked for extra shopping bags, which cost like 5 pence. She joked about how people get crazy when they get charged for these bags (which is true) and she gave us bags for free.
We then proceeded to just chat like friends for 10 minutes.
It was so refreshing to meet someone who was friendly, who wasn’t snobbish, and who wasn’t asking for a tip.
5 stars for this Disney Store!

I love the Disney Store! This is a great branch, quite small but with good stock. They sell so much Disney merchandise — from the Disney channel to classic characters and lovely gifts. I love watching the TV screens with all the adverts for Walt Disney World and Disney Channel. The store is well themed, to Disney of course! They are going to start selling the collectable pins soon, so I am really looking forward to that!

I love any excuse to visit a toy store. Well, to be perfectly honest, sometimes I don’t need an excuse at all. But with Christmas almost here, I had to buy some very last-​minute gifts for my nieces. So the Disney Store it was. And boy, did I have fun. They have such a range of all my favourite Disney characters, in all forms: stuffed, plastic, games and books. The perfect place for the little one in your life, or maybe even for you!

What do you get a baby that is not synthetic, totally soft and without edges? I went to baby stores, toy shops and more until I ended up at the Disney Shop. Genius! What child does not like to play with stuffed animals?! Could this be the start of another Calvin and Hobbes friendship?
Many questions entered my mind, as I entered this grand haven of American marketing. Not that I have anything against subliminal marketing to children, no. At least they portray animals as happy fluffy lovable things instead of hunted and persecuted for food, or worse. Many a child might be traumatized by the discovery channel, and lose their innocence forever. I can help them regain it with the help of a giant stuffed Dumbo. And shopping here is fun, for adults too. We all have a hidden child after all.