FanBoy's Blog
Welcome Back Disney Stores (Hopefully)

Disney and Childrens' Place announced they are in advanced negotiations to return the Disney Stores to the Disney family. The handwriting has been on the wall forever. First Disney decided not to sell their European stores after all. And then they end up keep charging The Children's Place with breaching their contract. I have no doubt that Disney wants to extend franchises like the Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique outside of the parks, but having Disney Stores being run by a third party complicated the issue. I don't know what The Disney Stores will look like when Disney takes them back, but I invision them being brand ambassadors to local communities that promote and benefit from Disney's recent franchise success such as Pirates, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical.

I loved the Disney Store's during their peak, but many mistakes were made in their operation. I hope the team that has revived so many of Disney's underperforming divisions, such as animation, can revive what I believe is an important part of the Disney company. The Disney Stores were the local presence of Disney in the community. While you couldn't always go to the park, you could always go to a Disney Store and see what Disney was up to. As far as I am concerned, that is the true value of the Disney Stores. Their importance as a promotional tool, far outweighs their retail sales. Let's hope Disney does it right this time.

Quick Takes:

Parks and Resorts: The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival started, and I would love to tell you how it was. However this year they started it during Spring Break and there is no way I am going withing 500 yards of Epcot until its over. So I look forward to seeing the festival this year, but it will have to wait.

Studio Entertaiment: Chloe, a pampered white Chihuahua from Beverly Hills; Papi, a long-haired Chihuahua; Delgado, a proud German Shepherd; and El Diablo, a Doberman, all from Beverly Hills Chihuahua will be blessed in the 78th annual Blessing of the Animals on Olvera Street. Does Cardinal Roger Mahoney have nothing better to do than engage in a cheap Disney stunt? This is one of the top 10 strangest things Disney has done. And I don't think I like it.

Media Networks: Disney Channel is preparing a short form reality series that goes behind the scenes on The Jonas Brothers' Look Me In The Eyes Tour which we saw in Orlando last week. I only hope they have an in-depth interview with the trash can.

Video of the Day: While I might not be attending Flower and Garden for a week or so, Disney.com was nice enough to put out a video regarding horticulture at Disney parks. The irony is that the video is about Disneyland, not Epcot.

What to Watch: Its Thursday, so that means LOST!!! In tonights episode, "Sayid confronts Ben's spy on the freighter, and Ben urges daughter Alex to flee Locke's camp in order to survive an impending attack." I can't wait to watch and then watch UCLA kick some big dance booty.