Disney Store 2011 Holiday Collection Preview

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Disney Store as part of the Disney Consumer Products holiday preview and get a first look at some of the new and exciting items coming this fall exclusively to Disney Store and DisneyStore.com. The two major franchises to expect more of in the holiday season at Disney Store are Disney Princesses and Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2, both of which will be offering some amazing limited edition items that any fan will be sure to appreciate.

On the Disney Princess side, the big ticket item is the limited edition Rapunzel dress from Disney’s Tangled. dancing in the footsteps of Snow White and Belle, this costume is sure to make any young princess the belle Rapunzel of the ball. Retailing for just $149.50, it will be limited to an edition size of 2,000 worldwide and comes complete with a certificate of authenticity. Some of the other princesses are also receiving new dresses, the skirts of which are decorated with amazing glittery details paying homage to their respective Princess, including a new deluxe Belle costume to be released in the fall.

For princesses with aspirations of being a different princess every day, Disney Store is also debuting a virtual closetful with the Enchanting Princess 5-in-1 Wardrobe Set. Packaged as a transluscent garment bag, this role-playing fantasy set includes costumes for Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella and Rapunzel, all in a convenient easy-to-travel-with bag.

Guests that have visited an ‘Imagination Park’ style Disney Store will be sure to appreciate the ‘magic mirror’ jewelry box. Designed to look just like the magic mirror found in the store, the front features a lenticular panel which magically transforms its image between Disney princesses and opens to reveal a dress-up dream in children’s toy jewelry.

Also of note is Disney Store’s venture into the world of radio controlled toys aimed at girls. Here, for example, is a little video of the Beauty and the Beast in action. Belle and Beast take to the ballroom dance floor as the toy plays the theme to the music as they move in all directions, including the ability to twirl. Beast’s head and jacket are also removable, transforming him back to the Prince. It will retail for $49.50.

And, of course, one can’t forget the amazing ‘Disney Animators’ Collection‘ line of dolls designed by famed Disney animators Glen Keane and Mark Henn. For more information and photos, be sure to check out our article on this holiday season’s must-have here.

For Cars 2, Disney Store will be offering a limited edition Lightning McQueen with Mia and Tia die-cast collectibles. The vehicles are to 1:18 scale and will be limited to an edition size of 5,000 sets and will retail for $149.50. A first of its kind, the bottom plate of Lightning McQueen can be removed to expose his undercarriage, as faithfully reproduced directly from Pixar Animation Studios’ digital files.

Also of note for Cars 2 is the Stephenson die-cast carrying case which features lights and sounds and comes with three die-cast vehicles (Mater, Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile as seen in the film) and a great boys’ leather motorcycle jacket which includes a large Piston Cub trophy emblem on the back along with Lightning McQueen’s number 95. The jacket will be available both in-store and online for $49.50.

Building on the popular exclusive lines of merchandise recently debuting at Disney Store, guests can look forward to new fragrances (including Disney Store’s first personal scent) and new collectibles and jewelry.

Beginning with its line of fragrances exclusive to Disney Store, new fragrances will continue to be launched throughout 2011. Imagination is now available, with Magic currently rolling out in July, to be followed by both Pixie Dust and Imagination Winter in October. Pixie Dust will also be the first of the scents to be considered a personal scent, being released as an eau de toilette in addition to the body mist, hand soap and body lotion. At this time, there are no plans to remove any of the scents from the stores as new ones debut and ‘Imagination Park’ style Disney Store locations will continue to offer the Imagination scent piped in at the store entrance until Imagination Winter debuts in October, at which time it will be piped in instead for the season.

The Kidada for Disney Store line by Kidada Jones line will also receive new additions to its family come fall. Belle, Cinderella, Snow White and Tiana will welcome Alice, Ariel, Jasmine and Tinker Bell. While only the Wish-a-Little secrets collection was previewed at the event, expect the new additions to fully be supported by the line.

There’s good news for fans of Disney Vinylmation as well. In addition to the Robots series debuting this summer, there will be two new series being released this fall from Disney Store. The Disney Villains line, released earlier this year, will see a followup Disney Villains 2 series which will include Shere Khan from The Jungle Book, Snow White‘s Evil Queen (with clear plastic as part of the form’s ears) and Runaway Brain Mickey Mouse. The Disney Store is also releasing a set of four, open-boxed Vinylmation figures called ‘Jingle Smells,’ which — as you may have guessed it — are scented, holiday figures. The 3″ figures have been modified to appears as if they have ornament hooks on top and will be available in gingerbread, marshmallow, chocolate and peppermint scents. The ‘Jingle Smells’ collection may also be available at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts, although that has yet to be decided.

I hear the Disney Store also has more surprises and announcements planned for D23 Expo taking place in Anaheim, CA this August, so be sure to watch this space for even more Disney Store news. Until then, please enjoy this gallery of images of things to watch out for later this year when you visit your local Disney Store and DisneyStore.com.

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