Japan’s Disney Store still thrives with popular pop-up museum

Back on Valentine’s Day, shopDisney was rebranded as Disney Store. Same difference, it’s just an online retailer, still not a rebirth of the actual in-person stores that hold a spot in our heart.

But while Disney Store in the United States is limited to Times Square and outlets, it’s still a thriving chain in Japan.

In August 2022, they launched a Disney Store 30th Anniversary Pop-Up Museum. Last October, that was rethemed to a Disney Magical Pop Up Store, and just this newer iteration alone has had more than 180,000 people tour as it criss-crosses the island nation.

It’s returning to Okayama, “which was very popular the last time” according to Disney, and visiting Ehime and Aomori, cities that previously hosted Disney Store locations. (Yes, the chain is smaller than at its peak, but still has dozens of locations.) For a complete list of locations, visit the Disney Store Japan blog.

Is the “museum” going to knock you off your feet? No, it’s largely display panels on walls, with a selection of “venue-limited items” to purchase. But nevertheless it’s Disney directly in cities beyond its theme parks.

Most of us don’t live in the Los Angeles, Orlando, or Tokyo metropolitan areas. Disney Store was something tangible of the brand between park visits, or even for those who don’t make the pilgrimage to the happiest places on earth. At a time when many of the company’s movies have failed to connect with audiences, this seems like a simple way of forming a personal connection with people in the places in-between.

This isn’t the only pop-up format, internationally. There were solely retail pop-ups in Australian malls in 2023, for the Disney 100 commemorations.

What do you think? Would you visit a Disney Store pop-up museum if it visited your community?