On May 31st, 2022, the first-ever Walt Disney World Store opened on International Drive. Along with the store, a digital billboard display was unveiled, and it overlooks I-4. The Hollywood Plaza Garage, only minutes from ICON Park, is where you can find the store and the display. The brand new store is located on the first floor, and the display can be seen from the side and the back of the building that faces I-4.
The digital display shows our favorite Disney characters in gold, just like the different gold statues found in the parks made for the 50th Anniversary. It looks like the use of this display is to let people know they can buy tickets here without having to go to the parks or Disney Springs. I spoke with a cast member about which tickets they sell here at the Walt Disney World Store. They sell any tickets you could buy online, at Disney Springs, and at the ticket booths. Meaning day tickets, multi-day tickets, annual passes, and special event tickets like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.
There is a lot of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary merchandise in the store, and they have it displayed right at the front of the store. Toward the back of the store there’s more Disney merchandise. The merchandise that can be found are items like the Spaceship Earth cookie jar, trading pins, coffee mugs, and kitchenware. The store is relatively small, but it’s easy to see they want to push the 50th Anniversary and ticket sales.
Toward the back is the virtual Disney Vacation Club experience, where you can do room walkthroughs of different resorts. This tool is used mainly to get people interested in Disney Vacation Club or see what DVC offers. They don’t sell DVC at this location, but if you are interested, the cast members at the store will guide you to a QR Code that will send you to the DVC website, where you can learn more about becoming a member. I stood in the room for a while and explored many different rooms, from the Grand Floridian to Aulani. I would go back to do that experience again.
With this new store being close to a popular tourist attraction, ICON Park, I’m sure the store will get traffic from people interested in buying tickets or looking for merchandise. I wonder if the store will stay open past the 50th Anniversary Celebration or close the minute the celebration is over. I think it’s a fun idea to have this on International Drive, and it adds something new to this already busy area.
Will you be visiting this store on your next visit? Let us know in the comments.
