World of Disney is the name of a chain of stores owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company of Burbank, California, USA. It is a semi-replacement to the now sold-off Disney Store chain, but intended to built in far fewer frequency.
The first World of Disney shop was built in the Downtown Disney shopping complex as part of the Walt Disney World vacation resort in Orlando, Florida, USA in 1998. On one story, but spread out on about one acre (4,000 m²), the store was originally meant as a one-off edition of the company's international chain of Disney Stores which retail Disney merchandise across the world. As the Disney Stores are usually quite small, one couldn't obviously be able to cope with the crowds that gather at Downtown Disney. So the Disney Imagineers designed a store that featured quirky sculptures and art, just like an attraction at one of their theme parks. The store makes about 10,000 sales on a non-busy day.
The second World of Disney store was opened in the Downtown Disney of the Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California, USA in 2001. The store is slightly smaller than the Florida branch. On October 5th 2004, the Walt Disney Company opened the first non-resort World of Disney store in New York City, New York, USA. This store was built over three stories but yet again smaller.
There are plans to open three more stores in 2005 as part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth season celebrating 50 years since the opening of Disneyland. The Disney Village shopping complex in Disneyland Resort Paris will host a large World of Disney, as will the Ikspiari shopping complex in Tokyo Disney Resort, taking over from the current flagship Disney store, Bon Voyage.
