The Disney Store, an opening day store for Disney Village (or as it was called when it first opened on April 12th, 1992, Festival Disney), closed its doors after over 33 years of operation for the final time on January 4, 2026, to make way for a new store. It was originally slated to close in the fall of last year, but this was slightly delayed.
The store, after opening in 1992, received several expansions of its store space. In 2001, the post office between the store and Annette’s Diner closed its doors and moved to the train station nearby. In the picture below, the signage of La Poste, the French post office, is visible on the yellow door. The marquee with Mickey in the rocket ship was removed around the same time (Disney Village history is not well-documented), though it was likely gone by 2003.
The entrance of the store originally resembled a Union Station, as all stores back when Festival Disney opened were meant to represent a part of the United States, matching its hotels. This was later changed to a more generic entrance.
The side entrance used to house the Never Land Club Children’s Theater and was an indoor playground for kids from three to ten years old. You would enter this venue through the window. Later, this was used as another expansion of the store, marked with a strange rock formation with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. This side entrance was already redone with the reopening of the Sports Bar & Grill.
The interior did not change drastically from the original 1992 store, having multiple displays paying tribute to 90’s classics like Talespin, Ducktales, and more. The centerpiece of the store would spin around slowly, the only kinetic element in Disney Village. It was updated in the 2000’s to include a Walt Disney Studios display.
Several of the displays were themed to a land in Disneyland Park, like the Peter Pan display to Adventureland and the Sleeping Beauty Castle to Fantasyland. This was the only remaining physical Disney Village arch that remained after the original was removed in the 2010’s.
A video was put online with cast members and team leaders of the store gathering to say farewell to the shop. Annette’s Diner, the dining location that is adjacent to the building, has also closed as of yesterday for a refurbishment, though Disneyland Paris has stated it will mostly keep the idea and food the same, as well as the name. That establishment will reopen in 2027.
Frank Gehry, the architect behind Festival Disney, passed away late last year. Unfortunately, this news entails that more elements of Gehry’s original Disney Village are being removed as the shopping and dining district goes through a reimagining. Pictured below is some of the concept art for the new store. A new McDonald’s is set to open this year, as well as the Italian restaurant Casa Giulia, taking the place of Planet Hollywood.
The store will become Disney Wonders later this year, which as pictured above, will match the new design of the other reimagined buildings at Disney Village, including the Sports Bar & Grill, which reopened late last year. Watch our review of its offerings below or read it here:
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