In our previous post & podcast, we had a chance to take a look at the retail magic found in Shanghai Disneyland. We had a chance to move up the right side of Mickey Avenue, head over to Adventure Isle, Treasure Cove, and then continue counter-clockwise around to Fantasyland. Today we’re going to continue that direction, finishing out Fantasyland, move through Toy Story Land, Tomorrowland, and then finish out in Avenue M Arcade. We finish off at World of Disney at Disney Town.
You can find our podcast here on Podbean, iTunes, Spotify, MyTuner, and ListenNotes. Key links, videos and photos are below, but you’ll find most of my commentary on the podcast.
Fantasyland Continued
Without seeing any signage, see if you can guess what the theme is of this next mercantile location?
Be our guest at Be Our Guest Boutique. While the new Fantasyland addition at Magic Kingdom includes a whole section devoted to Beauty and the Beast, this is the only real presence you will find in the park. Let’s step inside.
The merchandise is very similar to Bonjour Village Gifts, again in Magic Kingdom, though there are a few items not related directly to the film. There are other product lines, many of them princess-related.
And there are some thematic touches that are not just focused on a quaint French village. Here’s my favorite:
Who wouldn’t love a clock set in their home like that! It’s just one of the wonderful details I so love about the retail spaces here in this park.
Across a courtyard, which subtly leads to a set of restrooms, is our next and final major retail location in Fantasyland. This is Mickey & Minnie’s Mercantile:
You can see that the focus of this shop is Mickey-themed merchandise:
There are some interesting placards around the room:
In this image, don’t just look at the plaque, but the design of the wallpaper behind it:
On of my favorite pieces in the entire park is this one. It is really clever:
One of the most beautiful places is Fantasy Faire, found inside of the Storybook Enchanted Castle.
Here you find a shop ran by Arribas Brothers. And their creations are exquisite. It is perhaps one of the finest castle shops created.
Be sure to look for Cri Kee from Mulan found inside a little cage on top of one of the shelves. Again, attention to story and detail.
Toy Story Land
One of the newest shops can be found in one of the newest lands, which is Toy Story Land. The theme here is Al’s Toy Story Barn.
Tomorrowland
Now we’re off to Tomorrowland. Now we know that the biggest joke about Disney attractions is that they always lead to a gift shop. Well, this gift shop has not just one, but two attractions leading into it. Intergalactic Imports stands ready for your shopping needs whether you’ve just encountered Stitch or supported rescuing the galaxy with Buzz Lightyear. It’s a good sized shop, sandwiched between both attractions.
Retail wise, a much more interesting, though intimate retail location is at the exit of another attraction–this time the Tron Lightcycle Power Run.
What’s truly amazing is that they have ramped up so much product line for this film. I have never seen so much Tron merchandise. And it’s pretty cool!
Avenue M Arcade
We’ll weave our way back to Mickey Avenue to see the remaining–and biggest– merchandise venues inside Shanghai Disneyland. Here we come upon Avenue M Arcade. We enter through a familiar site–the Carthay Circle Theater.
Avenue M Arcade is Shanghai Disneyland’s Emporium. It stretches the entire side of the street. You can traverse the entire length of the street inside the building and never have to exit outside. The word arcade suggests a covered passageway with shops along both sides. That pretty well defines what you will experience. Each retail outlet holds its own thematic experience as well as dedicated merchandise. Here is one boutique that suggests a sort of “bird in a gilded cage” look–only the bird is Daisy:
There are other entry points into this mini retail mall. This one is Goofy About Toys:
Goofy has clearly been responsible for the look and feel of this shop which plays off of his “how to” cartoon series. It is stuffed with details in every direction. Perhaps too many details, as this creates a very congested look.
Still, there are some hidden gems in this clutter. Here was my favorite thematic detail–a random assortment of Disneyland Long Playing Albums:
Talk about showcasing the heritage of the most random Disney merchandise. Heidi and Black Beauty were not even Disney films. They just handled producing and distributing the albums for those films. It’s a testimony to randomness. Here’s another shelf:
Some of these boutique stores are beautiful–Here we have a store tailored to Pandora product and other fine pieces.
Still, step into an adjoining store and you see that there are no ceilings that have been attached, leaving again a cluttered look:
Moving toward the exit we finally arrive at this main part of the store, much more handsomely finished than other sections.
From this end, there are two ways to exit the store. One is through this entry that has some nice stained glass touches:
But during peak times, you would be escorted with your purchases through a vault and into this bank:
This would be Scrooge McDuck’s Bank. It’s a little recessed, and appearing from the front as a little inaccessible. In truth, there is no entrance from outside into this building. There is only an exit on the left side of the building.
You actually can find this same design at Tokyo Disneyland as well. The last store on the Emporium side is not a store but a long set of cash registers.
The difference is in the merchandise. Here, you have your standard fare. In Tokyo, the shop does not hold Emporium style merchandise, but boxed cookies and crackers. The big thing in Tokyo’s culture is that they like to bring gifts to those back home after they have visited the parks. That same cultural sentiment is not so much here.
Did You Miss Something?
We’ve covered a lot of retail space in this two-part series. As an encore, we leave you at World of Disney, found at the entrance to Disney Town.
The space is expectedly big, and it holds most all of the merchandise you can find in the park.
The map confirms the layout:
Here’s a compass if you get lost:
Theming stays to the aeronautical feel that have decorated most World of Disney stores.
But there are also many other tributes to different Disney films.
There are even tributes to other Disney parks and attractions:
And even some that have long since left us.
At any rate, that’s a wrap for Retail at Shanghai Disneyland. There’s much to check out. Make sure that when you visit the parks, you take the time not only to do all of the amazing attractions, but to visit many of the stores that complement the entire park experience.
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