Twenty-five years in business. Nearly ten of them are inside one of the most visited shopping districts in the world. Tomorrow, it is all over, and the clock is running out faster than most Disney Springs regulars probably realize.
Francesca’s is closing permanently on March 29th. Not just the Disney Springs location. All 466 stores across the United States are shutting down on the same day as part of a full company liquidation that takes both the physical stores and the online shop offline for good. If you have never walked past this boutique during a Disney Springs visit and thought twice about it, tomorrow you will notice it is gone.
How It Got Here
The Disney Springs location opened in May 2016, announced earlier that year as part of the district’s ongoing expansion. It has been a fixture in the shopping lineup for just about ten years, which by Disney Springs standards makes it one of the longer running non-Disney tenants in the district. The store carried women’s clothing alongside accessories including candles, hats, socks, and mugs, and built a quiet but loyal following among guests who appreciated having a boutique option that sat outside the usual theme park retail experience.
The closure is not a Disney decision. Francesca’s made a company-wide call to exit traditional retail entirely, pulling all 466 physical locations and shutting down its online store as part of the same move. The Disney Springs location just happens to be one of 466 addresses getting the same news on the same day.
What the Store Looks Like Right Now
Anyone who has walked through Disney Springs in the past week has likely already noticed something is different. The carefully arranged displays that once filled the front of the store have been replaced by clearance signage and heavily discounted merchandise. The shelves are thinning out, and the energy inside feels like what it is, a store in its final days working through the last of its inventory before the lights go off for good.
Liquidation sales are currently underway and the discounts are real. The selection is not what it was a month ago but there is still merchandise moving, and today is the last day any of it is available. For guests who made the clearance section a regular stop on their Disney Springs visits, this is the final pass.
The Space It Leaves Behind at Disney Springs
Disney has not announced what is replacing the Francesca’s location, which is unusual given how rarely Disney Springs sits on empty retail space for long. The storefront occupies a noticeable spot in the district and its departure creates a gap that guests are already paying attention to.
Whatever comes next will eventually generate its own excitement. Disney Springs has consistently used retail turnover as an opportunity to introduce concepts that bring something new to the mix, and there is no reason to think this space will sit empty for long. But for now the question of what fills it remains unanswered and that uncertainty is its own kind of story.
The rest of the shopping district remains fully stocked with options. World of Disney, Basin, Disney Ever After, Fabletics, Little Words Project, Once Upon a Toy, Tren-D, and UNIQLO are all still operating and worth the time if you are making a full visit out of today.
Why Today at Disney Springs Matters
Francesca’s has been part of Disney Springs for ten years. For a lot of guests that is long enough to become part of the routine without ever fully registering as something that could disappear. Vacation traditions have a way of feeling permanent right up until they are not.
Tomorrow March 29th every Francesca’s in the country closes at the same time. The company is done with physical retail, done with online retail, and done operating in any form that guests have known it. The Disney Springs location goes with the rest of them and Disney has given no indication of what comes next for that corner of the district.
Today is the last day. If Francesca’s has ever been part of a Disney Springs visit for you, that is worth knowing before tomorrow arrives.
Check back for updates on what replaces Francesca’s at Disney Springs and all the latest news from the shopping district.
