Hallmark's Holiday Pop-Up Shop Opens at Disney Springs Tomorrow With a Whole Lot of Disney Christmas
The limited-time shop opens Wednesday, October 7, with merchandise from the new Holiday Ever After movie filmed at Walt Disney World, and opening day comes with a few things to plan for.
Christmas is showing up early at Disney Springs. The Hallmark Holiday Pop-Up Shop opens tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7, and it is packed with red, green and Disney details that feel like a storybook holiday.
The limited-time shop is built around the new Hallmark Channel movie Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True, which was filmed on location at Walt Disney World. Inside, guests can browse merchandise inspired by the film alongside a curated mix of Disney and Hallmark holiday cards, gifts, ornaments and more.
If you want to be one of the first through the door, read on. There are a few opening day details worth knowing, and the weather is not helping.
What to Know Before Opening Day
Disney has warned that an in-person virtual wait list may be used on opening day. Merchandise restrictions may apply too, so do not count on walking out with a full armful of everything.
Disney recommends parking in the Lime or Orange garages. The Disney Springs garages open at 9 a.m.
Then there is the forecast. Wednesday is expected to be a very wet day in Central Florida, so pack an umbrella or a poncho, and bring some flexibility along with your Christmas shopping list.
Where to Find the Shop
The pop-up sits in Town Center, close to Gateway to Discovery and the Disney Springs Welcome Center. It takes over the former Francesca's storefront, near Frontera Cocina and right next to Everything But Water.
The signage is already up. Hallmark's familiar script logo stretches across the front of the shop, and a red Holiday Pop-Up sign hangs outside. Lime Garage is the closest garage, which helps explain why Disney is pointing opening day visitors that way.
The Holiday Ever After Collection
The collection covers a lot of ground. Expect greeting cards, Keepsake Ornaments, gift wrap, apparel, home goods, accessories and other Disney inspired gifts. Some pieces use a custom holiday design featuring Disney Parks imagery.
Several well known brands are part of it. The lineup includes two Spirit Jerseys, family pajamas, Loungefly accessories, Vera Bradley bags and Corkcicle drinkware, plus holiday cards, home goods and ornaments.
Some of the park inspired pieces were first spotted this spring. That includes a red Mickey Mouse Keepsake Ornament, a Jingle Cruise ornament and an elaborate Cinderella Castle tree topper.
Mickey and Minnie look cozy in coordinating holiday plush, bundled up for the season. A soft throw features Cinderella Castle surrounded by red and green fireworks, Christmas trees and other Walt Disney World details. The same whimsical artwork carries over to matching pajamas.
The smaller touches are festive too. Preview images show a shiny red Mickey shaped ornament, and fans have guessed it may matter somehow in the movie. Nothing has confirmed that, so for now it is just a fun theory.
Hallmark greeting cards and elaborate gift packaging are also expected, decorated with Mickey, Minnie and vintage inspired holiday artwork. The palette of candy apple red, evergreen and snowy white feels right at home for Hallmark, while the castle and the mouse ears keep everything rooted in a Walt Disney World Christmas.
A Hallmark and Disney Milestone
Here is a neat piece of history. Hallmark says this collection marks the return of Hallmark products to Disney Parks for the first time since the 1980s.
The pop-up also lands early. It opens more than a month before Walt Disney World's holiday season begins on November 13.
The Movie Behind It All
Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True stars Lacey Chabert and Travis Van Winkle. It premieres Saturday, November 28, at 8/7c on Hallmark Channel.
The shop was first announced back in August, when a Hallmark executive explained the thinking. The company wants to build a complete experience around the film, and the pop-up is part of that. A few original products tied to the movie are expected to reach shelves closer to the premiere.
That approach is part of a Hallmark initiative called One Hallmark, which means pulling together every commercial piece of the company around a single project. The same executive said Hallmark wants fans to always wonder what comes next, and called the Disney partnership one of the best examples of that.
Disney Springs said in August that the shop would open in early October, and tomorrow is the day. Between Disney Christmas and Hallmark Christmas under one roof, our wallets are already nervous.
/ More from FirstDrop
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