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cabjf
October 14, 2009 1:38 PM
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It sounds like they're letting the same people who design their rides and amusement park features to work on the stores.

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2 replies
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Falcon5768
October 14, 2009 1:44 PM
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@cabjf: They apparently are consulting Steve Jobs about his Apple Stores for a lot of the information based on other reports.

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uncle moe
October 14, 2009 1:38 PM
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how much are they going to charge for admission?

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5 replies
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lehrdude
October 14, 2009 2:44 PM
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@uncle moe:


Will they have discounts for Florida Residents?

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 14, 2009 4:35 PM
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@lehrdude: there will also be a special after 4pm ticket for florida residents that only allows you access to the candy/food shelves

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RedCatLinux
October 14, 2009 1:51 PM
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I think this will cause me to avoid the stores. Not that I hate Disney. My family has always been big with Disney stuff.


But if there is one thing I hate about Disney rides, it's the ones that incorporate what I call Smell-O-Vision. These are the rides or shows that puff scents at you to add to the experience. They make me want to hurl.


@uncle moe: @uncle moe: @cabjf:

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Parnassus
October 15, 2009 10:26 PM
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@RedCatLinux: I have really drastic perfume allergies. With the rising percentages of allergies and asthma, I hope they recosider the smells.

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merely_a_muse
October 14, 2009 5:38 PM
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@RedCatLinux: But the best part of Heimlich's Chew Chew Train is that it smells like cookies!

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squinko
October 14, 2009 1:40 PM
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\"Indeed, some Disney board members fretted that the concept was so lavish that parents would try to use the stores as day care centers.\"

Places don't have to be lavish for neglectful parents to abandon their kids there for a few hours. See: anywhere that has a video game console demo unit.

I say if the child has been there over an hour and there aren't any parents in sight, you should call the police and report an abandoned child. When the parents come back to get the kid and find out they have to go to the station to get them, they may think twice before leaving their kid unsupervised again (you hope they would at least).

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 14, 2009 4:37 PM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: speaking as someone who worked in a mall toy store - mall security FTW! they take the kids away to the security office and when the parents come back we call security to escort the parents to where the kids are located. and in way under an hour.

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dragonfire81
October 14, 2009 5:25 PM
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@catastrophegirl: Having worked at several games stores, I've seen this so many times. At one point, a child left by a woman who was shopping in the Wal-mart across the parking lot left our store and went to another store in the same plaza, when Mom came back she chewed ME out for not paying attention to HER KID. Man did I rip her a new one for that. The kid was found safe and sound.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 15, 2009 4:41 AM
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@dragonfire81: my favorite was at a place at disney [not inside the parks but admission required] when the parents left two boys, maybe 4 and 6 yrs old, with NO english and NO money in the ticket line at around 3 pm.
the kids got a guided tour of the building and on all the rides they were tall enough for with a disney security guard....

and when the parents showed up at 10pm looking for their kids to be waiting outside the building where they told them to wait, they were sooo mad because the kids weren't right there. the kids were inside, supervised.
outside the building, waiting for the parents was a sheriff's deputy who charged them with child endangerment.
bonus credit to mike, the security guard, who managed to communicate with two little boys for 7 hours entirely through gestures. [he already had three of his own at home]

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
October 14, 2009 3:42 PM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: I did that once. The cops came. BOY was the parent pissed when she eventually showed up.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
October 14, 2009 2:12 PM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: I can vouch for that.. I know of parents that used to leave their kids in my waiting room at my old job.. sometimes for a couple of hours. And there is NOTHING to do there.


Receptionist does not = free baby sitter.

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squinko
October 14, 2009 2:52 PM
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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: I had a friend that worked at Chuck E. Cheese that would call the cops all the time about abandoned kids. It's great because the parents don't have a legal leg to stand on. They can try and sue, but who's going to take their case when they admit that they did abandon their child? Even if it gets to court, no one will be able to fault the company for trying to protect a child.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
October 14, 2009 3:37 PM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: I probably would too if I worked at a high volume place like that.


My old job was a small business and we gave private lessons. So it was hard to draw the line between \"Dropping kid off for lessons\" and \"taking advantage of free babysitting\" I did call parents that were taking advantage of me though.


One time I had a woman leave her 3 year old son with us because his sisters were taking lessons. She didn't speak very good English so I called the father at work, and told him what happened. She came back and picked up the son, but boy was the dad pissed.


They later worked around this by signing the son up for lessons : /

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Scrutinizer
October 14, 2009 1:57 PM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: Good luck getting the police or DCF involved. I've left my kids at the mall 3 or 4 times this month, reported myself for abuse but they just keep coming back.

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Spaceman Bill Leah
October 14, 2009 1:43 PM
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O Imagineers!

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Meathamper
October 14, 2009 1:48 PM
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Now how will the drug dealers get children hooked?

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CompyPaq
October 14, 2009 1:54 PM
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I think what is really interesting is that Steve Jobs, the creator of the most profitable stores per square foot, is the one that pushed the concept. He wanted to make Disney stores as much as an \"experience\" as walking into an Apple store.

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Moosenogger
October 14, 2009 7:44 PM
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@CompyPaq: I hope Disney doesn't start forcing people to make appointments just to get any help in the store.

\"Oh, you wanted to return something you bought here yesterday? Sorry, you need to create an appointment before we can help you.\"

\"Oh, you need to exchange this shirt for a different size? I'm afraid you'll have to come back when you have an appointment.\"

Apple stores piss me off.

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Blueskylaw
October 14, 2009 2:04 PM
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I wish I had a magic mirror.


Almost none of my toys had batteries when I was a kid.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
October 14, 2009 2:14 PM
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Wow.. I already thought that the Disney store was sensory overload.


I have to admit though.. I want to see it.

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2 replies
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calquist
October 14, 2009 2:16 PM
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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: I would totally go in. It will definitely increase traffic and stimulate some sales, but $1 million a store for the renovations? Yikes!

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
October 14, 2009 3:39 PM
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@calquist: I imagine the high markup on their stuff might make it worth it to them.


I will be pushing the birthday button though.

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ArcanaJ
October 14, 2009 2:17 PM
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I have never been happier to be a dedicated mall-avoider.

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1 replies
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redskull
October 14, 2009 4:10 PM
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@ArcanaJ: On the rare occasion I venture into my local mall, I always think, \"I haven't been here since last year.\" Then as I leave I think, \"Oh yeah, now I remember why.\"

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angryneo
October 14, 2009 2:21 PM
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Dear gawd. Now my GF will *never* want to leave the mall.

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1 replies
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RogerTheAlien
October 14, 2009 3:58 PM
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@angryneo: Well at least you'll get *free* babysitting. Woohoo!

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bohemian
October 14, 2009 2:36 PM
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The smells sprayed into the stores is not a great idea. Things like commercial air fresheners and most cheap perfumes make many people sick. There is plenty of hate online for the Ambercrombie stores polluting the air with perfume. I guess none of these retailers remember the 80's when stores quit having the roving women spraying people with perfume after a few were sued.

These things are made with a variety of toxic chemicals and synthetic scents. They can give everything from headaches to nausea and even asthma attacks or anaphylaxis.

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Moosenogger
October 14, 2009 7:49 PM
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@bohemian: I think Disney (a company who has had plenty of experience with sue-happy guests) can handle filling parts of the stores with scents that won't cause someone to vomit their intestines all over the floor.

They actually fill their Christmas store in Magic Kingdom with a very delicious smell all year round and I've never heard anyone complain. (If I stay in there too long and inhale like a stoner sniffing paint, it can give me a headache. But then I just move to another part of the store and I'm fine.)

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pmcpa4
October 14, 2009 4:05 PM
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@bohemian: I believe Disney will be using the same tech that they use on their rides for scent cues.... and I've never heard of anyone having a reaction.... not even myself, and I can sometimes be triggered easily.

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floraposte
October 14, 2009 5:17 PM
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@pmcpa4: And the most reactive elements tend neither to be toxic elements (unless you're circularly defining a toxic element as reactive) nor synthetics; good old limonene, a citric extract, is one of the biggest offenders, and it's the naturals that the EU keeps banning.

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subtlefrog
October 14, 2009 4:05 PM
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@bohemian: +1 and a heart. I work in a high school where certain class rooms (and I wish the whole school) ban any sort of scented stuff because some of the kids (and teachers) are highly sensitive. In one room, we had a kid pull out some of that scented lotion crap and another kid had a major attack, bolted from the room, and had to shoot herself full of drugs to get through the day. She's a good student though, so she refused to leave her partner and work on the day's activity elsewhere. We had to air out the whole room, and it was so sickly sweet that even I was nauseated.

I have been surprised how common these issues are among the kids. Start spraying that stuff in a store, and any kid with issues like this - can't walk in the door.

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MagicEyes
October 14, 2009 3:52 PM
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@bohemian: And Bath and Body Works. For a while last year, they polluted the entire hall outside the store with a nasty rotten vanilla smell that made me sick. I had to avoid that part of the mall until they finally quit. Isn't it supposed to make people want to go in the store, not drive them away?

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JulesNoctambule
October 14, 2009 2:36 PM
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That will just spell 'free child care' to lazy parents, and given how chaotic it sounds, it would be easy for someone to leave their kid while they do some shopping and have it be difficult to realise for a while that the kid isn't with a parent.

And the scents? I'm thinking instant headache for me on those alone. Sorry, Disney store. I'll shop for the nieces elsewhere.

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subtlefrog
October 14, 2009 4:07 PM
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@JulesNoctambule: And aside from the scents - the other people thinking free child care would be enough for me to never shop there. Without someone to actually corral the children, the other customers are going to be left to deal with kids tearing around the store, and the merchandise will suffer. Think about what misbehaving children do to toys - do I want to buy that for any kid in my life?

Pass.

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JulesNoctambule
October 15, 2009 9:00 PM
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@subtlefrog: Of course, I've seen plenty of children with parents present damage items in a store, too. Makes my inner nanny want to whip out the Bad Parent stick.

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sicknick
October 14, 2009 3:11 PM
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Mt g/f is obsessed with Ariel. The few times we venture into a mall and wander by one, I have to physically restrain her from going in, spending money she doesn't have on knick knack crap she doesn't need/goes against on us saving for the house next year.


The term \"fairy princess crack pipe\" is the greatest description of a Disney Store I've ever heard. Keep it up.

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RogerTheAlien
October 14, 2009 3:59 PM
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@sicknick: \"The term \"fairy princess crack pipe\" is the greatest description of a Disney Store I've ever heard. Keep it up.\"

Where's Whitney Houston when you need her? She'd take care of that in a heartbeat.

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Saltillopunk
October 14, 2009 3:20 PM
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The concept sounds really cool. But, I would prefer the stores go back to stocking a nice mix of clothing and other items to appeal to all age groups. Much like they were when first rolled out across the U.S.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
October 14, 2009 3:42 PM
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@Saltillopunk: Yep, they stopped doing that about the same time that the Warner Brother's store went out of business.


I miss that store...

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Slave For Turtles
October 14, 2009 5:04 PM
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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: Oh yes! The Warner Bros store was great! Thanks for the reminder. The Disney store never had that effect on me though.

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kaceetheconsumer
October 14, 2009 3:26 PM
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I already avoid taking my kid anywhere near such stores (we are trying to prevent her from deep-brain branding before she's old enough to understand what marketers are trying to pull over on her), and now if I ever have to take her to a mall, I'll make sure to first check if there's a Disney store there and plan my route to avoid it entirely.

I let her watch some Disney movies, so I'm not anti-Disney (in fact kudos to them for their early adoption of same-sex spousal benefits), but as a parent I do not respond well to tricks to get my kid to consume consume consume.

So...backfire fail +1.

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philipbarrett
October 14, 2009 3:33 PM
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I never took my kids to Disneyland or Disneyworld. Does this make me a bad parent?

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6 replies
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LadySiren is murdering her kids with HFCS and processed cheese
October 15, 2009 1:14 PM
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@philipbarrett: I'm a huge Disney fan but we haven't taken the hellions to the House of Mouse yet. I have THREE girls - 6, 7, 8 - and we regularly take hits off of the Disney Princesses crack pipe. I'm afraid their little brains might explode when we finally make our way to Orlando.

That being said, I don't think we can put it off much longer. I always keep that old saying in mind: \"Be nice to your children, for they shall pick thy nursing home.\"

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oneandone
October 14, 2009 9:12 PM
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@philipbarrett: My parents took the whole family to Disneyworld when I was 12, and I wasn't impressed. I was actually deeply cynical about the whole thing. I was a precocious kid & like kacee up there my parents were trying to educate me about marketing messages my whole childhood. Plus, I was (am) a tomboy and there weren't a lot of female Disney characters that appealed to me.


I enjoyed trips back home in NJ to Six Flags more (better roller coasters, imo, at the time). Also, in the same trip we went to Disney, we also went to Sea World (loved it) and the Kennedy Space Center (LOVED IT!!!!). THAT was a magical place I'm always trying to find an excuse to go back to.

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floraposte
October 14, 2009 5:21 PM
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@philipbarrett: If you live in Orlando or Anaheim? Yes, because that's just cruel taunting otherwise.

If you live someplace where you'd have to take time off and put people up in hotels and forego what other vacation the family might have to do it? No. It's not a parent's obligation to give a kid every single enjoyable experience there is.

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pervy_the_clown
October 14, 2009 5:05 PM
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@philipbarrett:

Yes. Yes it does.

I went for the first time last summer (I'm 19) with my girlfriend. Loved it. I can't wait to go back. I'm mad at my parents for not taking me!

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
October 14, 2009 4:05 PM
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@philipbarrett: Depends.. did you go there yourself and first invite the kids, but then later say something similar to, \"NOT! We're going without you!\"?


It happened to me.. *Sigh*


My dad still hasn't lived it down.


I kind-of forgive him now because he was not in the right state of mind back then (I was 9). But I do take the opportunity to jab him for it whenever it comes up.


I'll make it to Disneyworld eventually.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
October 14, 2009 3:42 PM
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Scent library = Eyebrows never shopping there again.

I can do without the headaches or allergic reactions, thanks.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 14, 2009 4:44 PM
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as someone who worked in the World of Disney store at Walt Disney World for a while, which is pretty much like a giant on site version of the mall Disney Stores....
i am currently having a great deal of glee and joy over the fact that i do not work there and hope to never work in retail again.
this sounds like the mixed up love child of the store i used to work in and one of my other former Disney work locations: DisneyQuest Virtual Reality Indoor Interactive Theme Park.
and thinking about that makes me a little queasy

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meg9
October 14, 2009 5:01 PM
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@catastrophegirl: I was a WDW college program kid for 4 months, working in the Disney Interactive computer exhibit in Epcot--- and I can definitely vouch for how nice it is to no longer work in the happiest place on earth ;)

On days off, my friends and I would go into downtown Orlando, just to see things like cigarrette butts and real dirt.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 15, 2009 4:57 AM
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@meg9: and gum. i love to look down and see a wad of chewing gum on the sidewalk.

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mariospants
October 14, 2009 7:39 PM
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@meg9: you guys must post on stupidguesttricks.com, don't you? ;-)

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lmarconi
October 14, 2009 6:25 PM
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The whole \"we do everything we can to sell to small children\" thing is overwhelmingly predatory and creepy. However, the technology that these guys are dreaming up is super cool. So I'm not sure where I stand on this....

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mariospants
October 14, 2009 7:37 PM
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There's only so much Disney stuff one can buy. They actually should have spent more money developing more useful (but branded) products, not kitsch. You know, things like furniture, bedding, towels, etc. etc. and instead of letting stuff go on mega sale, they should have better prices up front.


\"We think it might be cheaper, and just as effective, if they simply build American Girl facades and hide the Disney stores inside.\"


Kudos for that one!

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dahlink_natasha
October 14, 2009 10:11 PM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: I have a friend that works as a blackjack dealer in a casino, and they end up picking up kids every night who have been abandoned by their parental units, since it's more worthwhile to sit in front of slot machine instead...

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H3ion
October 14, 2009 10:55 PM
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I'm waiting for Big Thunder Mountain Railway to open in my local mall. The way to do it is this. \"Johnny, you're big enough to make choices now. Would you like to buy some of this overpriced Disney crap or would you prefer to continue living.\"

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quail
October 15, 2009 2:34 AM
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In the early years of The Disney Store they practiced what they called synergy or some such nonsense. Workers in the store, in their 1950's sweaters and ears, would approach you and chat you up. Sweet and innocent, yea. But before you knew it they were talking about the newest Disney movie coming out to theatres soon or the year's schedule out at DisneyWorld some 1500 miles away.

I caught onto it the first time I saw it in action, then read about the practice in a trade magazine. Rather sickening, and it soured me on the whole Disney experience. Sell.... Sell.... Sell.... Sell.... *barf*

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly
October 15, 2009 5:23 AM
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@quail: disney slang for 1990's era disney store employees standing around talking is 'a sweater convention'

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RandomZero
October 15, 2009 10:56 AM
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@squinko - is pretending there's a star: Yeah,

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RandomZero
October 15, 2009 10:56 AM
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@RandomZero: oops, broken tag. That was supposed to say that this was what came to my mind.

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