View Full Version : Virgn Megastore in Downtown Disney Westside to close this summer
DizneyFreak2002
03-02-2009, 06:39 PM
According to Orlando Sentinel, the Virgin Megastore in DTD will be closing this summer... No replacement store named yet... My guess, APPLE store... Steve Jobs has a lot of pull as we all know...
Actually I believ the location is slated to become an ESPN Zone this was reported earlier that when the lease runs out on the Virgin Megastore it will be converted. This is where all the original Disney Quest rumours becoming an ESPN Zone stemmed from.
lockedoutlogic
03-02-2009, 07:46 PM
That seems to be too large of a store space for apple...don't you think?
Steve Jobs has "alot of pull" because he is chairman of the board at the Walt Disney Company....
....pull is part of the "perks"
however....Jobs has progressed pancreatic cancer.....so...well.....nevermind....
ESPN is of course Disney's cable cash cow.....the ESPN club could very easily be replaced with a full espnzone that would bring in much more local traffic for when times are slow....like.....NOW
I would think that now that ABC/ESPN has a NASCAR contract.....they could twist some elbows to encorporate that into an ESPNzone or even a stand alone replacement for the club at Boardwalk (similar to the one at Citywalk)...that would probably do very well....
Good riddance to Virgin....there simply is no need for retail music stores with digital formats taking over and dominating the market with the speed it has....
And perhaps they can spruce up disneyquest or rethink the concept a little while they're at it....perhaps making a more "kid" friendly (as in actual kids...the current disney quest is that weird tween age focus that disney has unsuccessfully played with for 20 years) location to compliment the adult friendly ESPN location next door....
or they can put a big sign on the front of Virgin saying:
"Dear consumer,
Due to global economic conditions....the Walt Disney Company chooses not to use this prime space and instead make it an eyesore or a character meeting spot. Please now proceed to Disney's Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios to purchase an $80.00 one day ticket....
Have a Magical Day,
Bob Iger"
Figment!
03-02-2009, 07:52 PM
Here's the article cited:
Virgin Megastores, including Disney location, will shut down this summer
by Sandra Pedicini |Staff Writer
Orlando Sentinel
March 2, 2009
Virgin Megastores around the country -- including the one in Downtown Disney -- will close this summer, a company spokeswoman confirmed Monday afternoon.
Virgin Megastore, which sells music CDs and video, had previously announced plans to close stores in San Francisco and Union Square in New York City. The company had six stores across the country.
CaptSmee
03-03-2009, 12:36 AM
[QUOTE=lockedoutlogic;1841245]
Good riddance to Virgin....there simply is no need for retail music stores with digital formats taking over and dominating the market with the speed it has....
QUOTE]
I was a store manager for a retail music store for 9 years, but saw the writing on the wall and swtiched jobs. I think it's awful that the Virgin Megastores are closing. I could spend hours in them when I visit them. I can't believe that they are closing them all, first the Times Square location which was the highest volume music store in the country and now the rest of the chain. I wish they had never changed owners. And sorry, while I do use digital downloads it's not my preferred way of listening to music.
CaptSmee
03-03-2009, 12:54 AM
Any word on when the liquidation sale begins? Hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of some sales when we are there the end of April!:(
i had seen a rumor of this earlier.
suprised they lasted this long.
mayb it could become a balloon ride...oops they have that coming
or a restaurant
big blue and hairy
03-03-2009, 08:26 AM
An Apple store would be a huge wast of space. Nothing anti-Apple, just Apple's whole thing is...well...small! Love the Ipod Touch, btw....
ESPN Zone is the perfect replacement in my opinion. There's only going to be one problem. Parking is already at a premium and ESPN Zone will pack 'em in.
:sulley:
GothMickey
03-03-2009, 09:06 AM
Actually I believ the location is slated to become an ESPN Zone this was reported earlier that when the lease runs out on the Virgin Megastore it will be converted. This is where all the original Disney Quest rumours becoming an ESPN Zone stemmed from.
ESPN Zone is the most logical choice. An Apple Store would be a huge waste of space.
GothMickey
03-03-2009, 09:07 AM
An Apple store would be a huge wast of space. Nothing anti-Apple, just Apple's whole thing is...well...small! Love the Ipod Touch, btw....
ESPN Zone is the perfect replacement in my opinion. There's only going to be one problem. Parking is already at a premium and ESPN Zone will pack 'em in.
:sulley:
What about the parking garage that was rumored to be going in at the backside of West Side? That would alleviate a lot of spaces. However, does the West Side parking lot fill up? I know the Marketplace lot and most of PI lot fills up. But I always remember seeing a lot of free parking spaces by West Side.
lockedoutlogic
03-03-2009, 09:21 AM
What about the parking garage that was rumored to be going in at the backside of West Side? That would alleviate a lot of spaces. However, does the West Side parking lot fill up? I know the Marketplace lot and most of PI lot fills up. But I always remember seeing a lot of free parking spaces by West Side.
the short answer is "No"....the west side parking lot rarely fills up...
The lot directly behind planet hollywood and AMC fills....but you can still almost always find a spot with 10 minutes of lurking...
And the west side lots curve all the way around the backside of Cirque and House of Blues....
they are rarely that busy....during festival of the masters perhaps....but Downtown isn't the happening nightspot it once was....their main parking issues involve the marketplace alone...
Besides....an ESPNzone would surely generate alot of traffic....but not 50,000 cars or anything....the parking is fine unless they were to add several popular locations to downtown....not likely in this climate.
but ESPNzone would be perfect.....broad appeal across all of disney's clientele spectrum....and a disney brand as well....
synergy in action...
caryrae
03-03-2009, 10:42 AM
I heard the projected closing date would be towards the end of spring on May 31st. I guess that is getting close to summer.
GothMickey
03-03-2009, 11:29 AM
the short answer is "No"....the west side parking lot rarely fills up...
The lot directly behind planet hollywood and AMC fills....but you can still almost always find a spot with 10 minutes of lurking...
And the west side lots curve all the way around the backside of Cirque and House of Blues....
they are rarely that busy....during festival of the masters perhaps....but Downtown isn't the happening nightspot it once was....their main parking issues involve the marketplace alone...
Besides....an ESPNzone would surely generate alot of traffic....but not 50,000 cars or anything....the parking is fine unless they were to add several popular locations to downtown....not likely in this climate.
but ESPNzone would be perfect.....broad appeal across all of disney's clientele spectrum....and a disney brand as well....
synergy in action...
Big Blue, I assume there would be nothing to worry about then.
big blue and hairy
03-03-2009, 12:37 PM
Big Blue, I assume there would be nothing to worry about then.
Works for me just mark the parking areas, and bring it on! :D
:sulley:
lockedoutlogic
03-03-2009, 12:46 PM
The article in the Sentinel about Virgin Closing today had a WDW spokesman stating they have "approached multiple retailers" about the space....
now that might be standard speak....or it might highlight an unfortunate page out of the cheapskate playbook...
An ESPNzone would involve disney absorbing all the construction and operation costs....something they probably are not going to do....
Great.....all they need is a 10 year lease to Walmart to run an overpriced discount chain next to Bongos.....
well at least nobody would be clogging up Pucks from there.....too rich for that blood
valjane
03-03-2009, 01:51 PM
I was a store manager for a retail music store for 9 years, but saw the writing on the wall and swtiched jobs. I think it's awful that the Virgin Megastores are closing. I could spend hours in them when I visit them. I can't believe that they are closing them all, first the Times Square location which was the highest volume music store in the country and now the rest of the chain. I wish they had never changed owners. And sorry, while I do use digital downloads it's not my preferred way of listening to music.
I agree with this. I like albums-- actual albums with album art. Always have, always will.
I don't have itunes and I don't buy music digitally. I don't even own an ipod!
Of course music stores have been closing all over because of the digital wave, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
I loved looking at the Virgin Megastore. Sad to see it go.
lockedoutlogic
03-03-2009, 03:00 PM
I agree with this. I like albums-- actual albums with album art. Always have, always will.
I don't have itunes and I don't buy music digitally. I don't even own an ipod!
Of course music stores have been closing all over because of the digital wave, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
I loved looking at the Virgin Megastore. Sad to see it go.
I can appreciate you preferences.....
...but you are, of course, in the ever shrinking minority....
digital, transportable music offers so much convenience that it simply will eat up the entire market
when we first discovered this thing called "napster" in college in 1998...
nobody could have even imagined how it ignited the fire which consumed the entire music industry....
Total domination in about 10 years....that's impressive
JRocker
03-03-2009, 09:01 PM
I'm one of those that likes to have something physical to hold when I shell out the money. I don't know, purchasing something that is essentially "virtual" just doesn't sit right. What happens to that virtual property when the company goes under? I just buy the CD and burn it, that way if the electronic copy gets wasted, I can just burn it again. Anywho...
I'm glad to see Virgin go away. I went into that store way back when and was drooling like a kid in a candy store. Then I looked at the price tags. Wow! I couldn't believe that people actually paid that much for a CD. I have hundreds of CD's and never paid as much as they were charging (at that store).
I am curious what they'll replace it with. Given the climate, it wouldn't surprise me to see a shell there for quite a while.
valjane
03-04-2009, 08:23 AM
I'm one of those that likes to have something physical to hold when I shell out the money. I don't know, purchasing something that is essentially "virtual" just doesn't sit right. What happens to that virtual property when the company goes under? I just buy the CD and burn it, that way if the electronic copy gets wasted, I can just burn it again. Anywho...
I'm glad to see Virgin go away. I went into that store way back when and was drooling like a kid in a candy store. Then I looked at the price tags. Wow! I couldn't believe that people actually paid that much for a CD. I have hundreds of CD's and never paid as much as they were charging (at that store).
I am curious what they'll replace it with. Given the climate, it wouldn't surprise me to see a shell there for quite a while.
Their regular priced CDs were kind of crazy but the sale bins were awesome! I've never seen prices that good anywhere else, except used on Amazon.
CaptSmee
03-05-2009, 12:46 AM
Their regular priced CDs were kind of crazy but the sale bins were awesome! I've never seen prices that good anywhere else, except used on Amazon.
Agreed. They were competing and being successful, but they were sold to a real estate investment company. I don't think they ever had intentions of keeping the stores going. I hope I can score some good stuff when I'm there next month! Then again with the way Circuit City was liquidated...maybe not...
Marker
03-07-2009, 09:27 AM
I like the ESPN Zone idea. It would be a place to go in Downtown Disney.
I'm not so thrilled with an idea such as an Apple store. Boutique type shops are one thing, but I'd hate to see it become a "mall" with stores and shops that your average everyday mall has.
Here's a thought.... how about turn it into the next generation Adventurer's Club?????
Kennywife
03-07-2009, 10:05 AM
I'm hoping it's an ESPN. Hubby and I enjoy eating there! I went on my honeymoon in June 2006 to WDW and we visited the megastore. I bought a movie for dad and a cd for me. Couldn't believe the prices. Since I started using my ipod, I hardly even buy cds anymore.
Anna
Aurora
03-07-2009, 12:09 PM
I would suggest a Borders bookstore but they're closing the one here on Michigan Avenue.
Signs of the times.... :(
drummerboy
03-07-2009, 01:43 PM
when we first discovered this thing called "napster" in college in 1998...
nobody could have even imagined how it ignited the fire which consumed the entire music industry....
Wait, now, if we're talking about things that caught fire in college (other than ROTC buildings) when I was there, we'd be talking "8track". Nearly wiped out the cassette and record industries. :D
I've got to agree that the prices at Virgin store kept me from going in more than once.
Great.....all they need is a 10 year lease to Walmart to run an overpriced discount chain next to Bongos.....
well at least nobody would be clogging up Pucks from there.....too rich for that bloodInteresting...
That would keep more people on site. I know I always leave property at least once to go to a store, be it Walmart or some grocery store. I assume many others (with cars) do too.
Of course the resort gift shops would take a hit not selling as much $12 a six pack Budwieser.
However, your "Pucks" analogy is wrong. A Walmart at DTD would, as you said, have higher prices which means the people with the "blood" you refer to would still go offsite to one of the other Walmarts.
DizneyFreak2002
05-11-2009, 07:55 PM
According to the Hub, the Virgin Megastore will be closing after business on 5/12/09, not the end of the month as originally said... Not sure if the Hub is wrong or not, but, this is what has been told to employees via their website... So, only one more day left...
MinnieMommie
05-11-2009, 08:50 PM
I am sorry to see the Virgin Store go and sorry I won't be there for the sale. I expect they will replace Virgin with something interesting - or as DH says, "you would think so". :mickey:
DizneyFreak2002
05-11-2009, 09:12 PM
I am sorry to see the Virgin Store go and sorry I won't be there for the sale. I expect they will replace Virgin with something interesting - or as DH says, "you would think so". :mickey:
It is a prime store.. I cannot see it sitting empty for long.. Then again, PI has been slow in getting 3rd party vendors, and in this economy, who knows...
chrisb26
05-12-2009, 01:34 AM
I am sorry to see the Virgin Store go and sorry I won't be there for the sale. I expect they will replace Virgin with something interesting - or as DH says, "you would think so". :mickey:
I doubt it will stay empty long as well with how big the space is however as far as sale goes I would hardly call it that. I am almost positive they raised their prices to have the sale. I was there last week and saw a DVD with 20% off however when I was there a couple months ago the same DVD was cheaper. So that 20% off you got made it the exact same price it would have been had there been no sale.
chrisb26
05-13-2009, 10:39 AM
Just an update that last night was in fact the final night the Virgin Megastore was open in Downtown Disney. I went there last night the strange thing was that unlike most stores who go out of business Virgin never lowered their prices much the most was 30% off and that didn't seem like good deals. They also had tons of stuff left over last night not too sure what they plan to do with it all.
They also had tons of stuff left over last night not too sure what they plan to do with it all.Virginmega.com
GothMickey
05-13-2009, 11:55 AM
Still wondering what will go there. I thought the IMAX theater would go there. But it is not. I still think an ESPN Zone will be perfect.
Annichi
05-13-2009, 09:25 PM
**heavy sigh** I have nothing against ESPN or the people that love it but I just don't see it fitting well in this area. Mind you, I'm coming from years of "let's just meet at Virgin!" or "well, we've got an hour before the movie starts, want to step into Virgin?" This is the perfect place to have an entertainment store. Something that will cover many demographics instead of just one or two. Though, I realize that even a book store seems unfeasable considering they've got electronic books that work like iPods now which are also much cheaper than buying novels. Again, this is just coming from someone that has grown up with the Megastore (I remember the opening!) so perhaps I'm a little too biased towards one demographic myself... heh heh. Does anyone else remember back when Virgin had those HUGE bean bags that you could sit on and read magazines and books for hours!? There were also tables all around the top floor, not just by the cafe. I miss THAT Virgin Megastore!!!
Polynesian Dweller
05-13-2009, 10:17 PM
Just an update that last night was in fact the final night the Virgin Megastore was open in Downtown Disney. I went there last night the strange thing was that unlike most stores who go out of business Virgin never lowered their prices much the most was 30% off and that didn't seem like good deals. They also had tons of stuff left over last night not too sure what they plan to do with it all.
So they closed the shop earlier than their first announcement. Interesting, but not unknown. Often when a chain is closing they move product to a store that is moving the product out faster OR they have had some other chain buy the stock to sell in their stores. Both happen and when they do, stores close quickly. The bottomline, is the liquidator gets the stock sold off and the store closed as quickly as they can, especially if they can save money on the leasing agreement.
Steve Jobs has "alot of pull" because he is chairman of the board at the Walt Disney Company....
....pull is part of the "perks"
A board member, yes, but not Chairman. That's John Pepper.
Annichi
05-14-2009, 11:40 PM
So they closed the shop earlier than their first announcement. Interesting, but not unknown. Often when a chain is closing they move product to a store that is moving the product out faster OR they have had some other chain buy the stock to sell in their stores. Both happen and when they do, stores close quickly. The bottomline, is the liquidator gets the stock sold off and the store closed as quickly as they can, especially if they can save money on the leasing agreement.
Just a small tidbit of info on Virgin closing early(My friend was an employee through this). There was a meeting with Disney Execs the week before and Disney asked Virgin to be closed by midnight on the 12th. This is why they closed earlier than they had advertised. I'm hoping that this means they already have a buyer and are getting things ready for whatever it will be. :mickey:
KevMcNJ
05-16-2009, 08:35 AM
I would think that now that ABC/ESPN has a NASCAR contract.....they could twist some elbows to encorporate that into an ESPNzone or even a stand alone replacement for the club at Boardwalk (similar to the one at Citywalk)...that would probably do very well...
Im pretty sure NASCAR has contracts with Fox and NBC right now but I could be wrong I dont follow NASCAR too much. Im more of a Dirt track guy
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.2 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.