The Disney Store in Fresno is closing. Here’s when and why it could reopen elsewhere
The Disney store at Fresno’s Fashion Fair mall is closing.
The store is scheduled to close on or before Sept. 15, according to its website.
It’s one of 60 stores closing nationwide.
The store, which opened in Fresno in 1994, was remodeled in 2015, adding a castle, a “pixie dust trail” and a 90-inch screen playing movie trailers and music videos. The store sold everything from Disney movie DVDs to Baby Yoda dolls, Elsa from “Frozen” costumes and Marvel merchandise.
The Disney store in Modesto’s Vintage Faire Mall is also closing.
It’s the second round of closures this year, with the company announcing 38 store closures in March.
After the closures, 40 stores nationwide will be left open, but none are in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Reopen in Target?
But there’s a chance we may not have seen the end of a Disney store presence in the Fresno area.
On the same day Disney announced the store closures, Target announced it would expand its store-within-a-store Disney shops to 160 Target stores nationwide by the end of the year.
It now has Disney sections inside 53 stores.
Target did not release a list of stores that would get the Disney store and did not return a message seeking comment. A manager at a the local Disney store also declined to comment.
Target plans to have the Disney stores up and running selling Star Wars and Raya and the Last Dragon merchandise before the holiday shopping season.
Disney is closing stores as people turn to online shopping, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
