Retail Magic at The Disney Store

In a move that will bring a touch more Disney magic closer than ever to home, the company is planning major renovations to their 340 Disney Stores in the U.S. and Europe - including possibly changing their name to Imagination Park.

The retail industry at large is still hurting - badly - so this announcement of the company's ambitious and costly plans are surprising. According to this NY Times article, the retrofit of each store could cost as much as $1 million.

The new stores will be packed with technology that will make shopping more interactive than ever. Scents, props, and plenty of Disney magic will be used to keep shoppers guessing what's next.

Banking off of lessons learned from Steve Jobs and his Apple store empire, Disney has actually built a full fledged test store in a warehouse in California. Apple stores are known as one of, if not the most successful retail operations anywhere, so that's a pretty sweet knowledge base to work off of.

There's still one of these stores at my local mall, and I know when they redo it I'll certainly be lured into checking it out!