Times Square Disney Store gives its first floor a magical makeover

Jim Hill

14 years ago

The Times They Are A-Changin' — Bob Dylan

And – by "Times" – I mean the Times Square Disney Store.
Which – just this morning – re-opens for business after its first floor sales
area received a pretty significant makeover.

For those of you who can't quite recall what the first floor
of Disney's flagship used to look like … Here, let me share a few shots that
Nancy took back in November of 2010 just prior to the grand opening of this
20,000 square-foot store.

Photo by Nancy Stadler

You'll note that the ground floor level of the Times Square
Disney Store was very beige. More importantly, that the Disney characters (as
they were presented in this part of the store) were fairly understated.

Photo by Nancy Stadler

"Which wasn't really what people were looking for when they
visited the Times Square Disney Store," admitted Jon Endicott, Director of
Global Store Design for Disney Store. "Which is why we decided to evolve the
look of this store. Bring more of the magic that people were finding in our
upstairs area downstairs."

Photo by Nancy Stadler

And to provide stronger connective tissue between the two
floors of the Times Square Disney Store, Jon and his team took that understated
Disney character mural which used to be next to the store's escalator and – borrowing a page from
the Magical Disney NYC nighttime skyline that wraps around the second floor's "Imagination
Park" retail area …

Photo by Nancy Stadler

… and created an animated escalator ride. Where – if you
keep an eye on that two dimensional space just above the escalator – you'll
sometimes see Tigger bouncing through Central Park or Pooh clutching a balloon as he floats above the skyscrapers.

Thanks to Disney animators, the sky above Central Park is filled with the floating lanterns
from "Tangled." Photo by Gary He. Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

"We worked very closely with our feature animation team to
bring about this particular change at the Times Square Disney Store. Our
ultimate goal here was to give our Guests a far richer experience as they rode
the escalator upstairs. Surround them with characters and color," Endicott
explained.

Of course, in order to complete this makeover on time and
under budget, Jon and his design team made an effort (wherever they could) to
recycle elements from the previous version of the Times Square Disney Store
wherever they could. Take – for example – the quartet of mannequins that used
to dance around the upstairs "Cars" display.

Photo by Nancy Stadler

If you'll look closely at the photo below, you'll notice
that three of those four mannequins are now being used as decorative elements
on top of the "Cars 2" merchandise display that's been set up next to the
escalator.

Photo by Gary He. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

"We also brought the Disney magic skyline – which is obviously
New York City here in our Times Square store – downstairs to create more
connective tissue between the first floor and the second floor," Jon continued.
"We also moved our cash wrap area from the middle of the store …

Photo by Nancy Stadler

… to the very back of the first floor. These changes – along
with that new revolving door which we just installed in our entrance area – will
make it far easier for our Guests to enter and then explore the first floor of
the Times Square Disney Store."

Mind you, the first floor of the Times Square Disney Store
is still where you'll find all of the NYC-specific merchandise. Not to mention the
store's ever-changing selection of seasonal items as well as collectables like Vinylmation,
Kidada for Disney and Bloc28. But when you factor in the new pixie trail design
elements that have been added to the first floor's floor covering as well as
the magical trees that have sprouted among the display cases …

… the end result is that the Times Square Disney Store now feels
far more unified. Both floors of the flagship store are now telling the exact
same story, which clearly pleased Endicott.

"We sometimes have 10,000 people come through this store in
a single day. And it's just nice that the revamped version of the Times Square
Disney Store will now give these Guests a far more seamless experience," Jon
concluded. "And the lessons that we learned here, we'll definitely be applying
to our Champs-Elysées store when we remodel that one next year."

So if you'd to get a sense of what shoppers at the Disney
Store Paris will be experiencing in 2012, be sure to swing by the Times Square
Disney Store. Which unveils the magical makeover of its first floor area this
morning at 10 a.m. ET.

Your thoughts?