I hadn't been to the Disney Store in years (I can't even remember my last visit because it has been so long). I remember it as a fun place to browse with everything that you could possibly think of that is "Disney" related, but also remember that it was not a place that you would go to buy things because everything was just so expensive and a lot of times you could find comparable things at places like Target.
I took my daughter to the Disney Store at the Galleria Mall yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised by many of the prices. When I first walked in, there was an employee standing at the door who greeted us and let us know that any items with "red" tags were 50% off. I browsed through these items, but most of them weren't worth bothering with (in my opinion at least). I did find a cute "Nemo" swimsuit coverup for my daughter for $5, though. As I looked at other items and then checked out their prices, I found that many of them were reasonable. Even their pajamas were comparable with the price of pajamas you would find in other stores where I normally shop (Kohls, Target, etc.). The way that they try to "get" you is by having "two for..." sale prices meaning, for example, that you can get two items for $10, and if you don't buy two items, you have to pay the regular price. In most cases, the "regular price" was only a dollar or two more and for me, it was worth it to pay rather than having something extra that I didn't need cluttering the house. I ended up buying my daughter a very cute "Nemo" cup with a straw (she is going through a Nemo phase right now) for $6 and my mother-in-law purchased a set of Disney princess figures for her. I had a gift card, so I only ended up spending $2 out of pocket which definitely made the experience worthwhile!
One thing that I was surprised by was their limited selection. They had some stuffed animals, but they appeared to be very picked over and I didn't even see any that I would have considered buying for my daughter. I also saw several different display shelves and tables that were completely empty. I don't know if this was the "norm" or if they were just changing over merchandise. They had some t-shirts, pajamas, different music boxes, movies, small items like keychains, and the stuffed animals I mentioned earlier. The biggest display was of their Cars items, but even at that, I've seen bigger displays in other non-Disney stores.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience (especially for my daughter!) and if you have a Disney store in your area (or are at the Galleria here in Houston) and you have kids, I think it's definitely worth checking out!
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