Disney Store Closes at Houndshill

Disney Store in Houndshill Shopping Centre. Blackpool girl heaven Mini and Mickey. 2 February 2015 – LEE RAMSDEN / ALAMY

The Disney Store at Houndshill Shopping Centre became a familiar part of Blackpool’s town-centre retail scene, occupying a prominent unit at 57–58 Victoria Street. The precise date on which the Blackpool branch first opened has not been firmly established, although it was trading at Houndshill by 2002 and remained there for almost another two decades.

The shop offered considerably more than conventional Disney merchandise. By its later years the Blackpool branch operated as one of Disney’s Imagination Stores, designed to make a visit part of the entertainment rather than simply a shopping trip. Children could encounter character-themed displays and activities, while the store stocked clothing, toys, collectables and merchandise associated with Disney’s expanding range of characters and franchises, including Marvel and Star Wars.

One of the more unusual features was the Disney Store opening ceremony. Before the shop opened for the day, a large ceremonial lock and key could be positioned at the entrance and a selected visitor invited to help officially unlock the store. A countdown appeared on a screen before the doors opened, after which the participant received a miniature version of the Disney key as a souvenir. Disney pin trading was also taking place at the Blackpool branch by 2009, allowing collectors to exchange pins with participating members of staff.

Disney Store in Houndshill Shopping Centre. Blackpool girl heaven Mini and Mickey. 2 February 2015 – LEE RAMSDEN / ALAMY

The store survived the enormous changes that affected British high streets during the 2000s and 2010s and was still trading in June 2021. Its days were nevertheless numbered. Disney was withdrawing from much of its physical retail operation as the company placed greater emphasis on online sales, and the Blackpool branch was among a number of Disney Stores across Britain that closed during August 2021. By the autumn, Disney’s Oxford Street flagship in London was the company’s sole remaining traditional Disney Store in Britain.

The prominent Houndshill unit did not remain entirely dormant after Disney’s departure. From 18 September 2021 the former store became an exhibition space for artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s illuminated White Tiger car. Created in connection with the Netflix film The White Tiger, the installation featured a spectacular illuminated tiger above the vehicle and was displayed as part of Blackpool’s Lightpool programme.

For many Blackpool residents and visitors, however, the Victoria Street premises remained associated with the Disney Store. Its closure in 2021 marked the disappearance of one of Houndshill’s most distinctive family-oriented shops and formed part of a much wider transformation of Britain’s town-centre retail landscape.

© Deeper Blue Marketing & Design Ltd

© Deeper Blue Marketing & Design Ltd