Disney Store Trafford Centre Gets Official 14th September Launch But The Concession's Still Open

Disney Store has confirmed that its new permanent space inside Selfridges Manchester Trafford will officially open at 10am on Monday 14th September 2026, complete with a traditional Disney Store Key Ceremony and opening-day promotion. However, there is one slightly confusing detail. Riding the Magic visited the Trafford Centre today, Tuesday 1st September, and found the existing Disney Store concession still trading, complete with its standing Mickey display and even the returning yellow Winnie the Pooh plush promoted for the upcoming launch on sale.

Trafford Centre Disney Store Concession: Announcement Contradicts On The Ground Shopping Experience

Disney Store have confirmed the opening date for the permanent concession in Selfridge’s at the Trafford Centre, but the original concession that opened for the Christmas collaboration never closed at the Trafford Centre, still occupying the same space. Today, Riding the Magic were in the Trafford Centre concession holding the returning yellow soft toys that are coming back with the launch. So for Disney fans in the North of England, there’s a question about what’s really going on with the closest physical Disney Store shopping experience we have.

When Does the New Disney Store at Trafford Centre Officially Open?

Disney’s 1st September media announcement says the new Manchester Trafford Centre Disney Store concession in Selfridge’s officially opens at 10am on Monday 14th September 2026. Originally it was announced back in June that a Disney Store concession would be permanently opening in Selfridges in both Birmingham and Manchester, but only the Birmingham concession was given an opening date.

With today’s statement the launch date has been confirmed along with details that state there will be a traditional Disney Store Key Ceremony, and confirmation the new location selling merchandise from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. The announced range includes apparel, accessories, stationery, plush, collectibles and dress-up products.

Patrick Sager, Global General Manager of Disney Store and VP of Retail Marketing, describes the development as bringing Disney Store "back to Manchester." But the situation on the ground is slightly more complicated than that wording suggests; the concession is there and trading now, as you can see in the picture below. They’ve even got some Mickey Mouse Christmas mugs out, and the yellow Selfridge’s ears.

There’s Already a Disney Store Concession Open at Selfridges' Trafford Centre

Following Disney’s new announcement today, we decided to visit the Trafford Centre having only recently been in the store and walking round the concession. Today, as we entered Selfridges from the car park, we were surprised to see that the Disney Store concession continues to trade. There’s a mickey statue, Disney Store branding, and merchandise, although a bit less than previously.

The existing concession has been in the same place since Disney and Selfridges' major A Most Magical Christmas collaboration in 2025. In June 2026, Disney announced plans for new permanent concession spaces at Manchester Trafford and Birmingham. Contemporary reporting said both were originally planned for mid-July, building on the popularity of the earlier festive activations. Disney even advertised for a Manchester Concession Manager, describing the role as managing the Disney Store team operating within a third-party retail environment.

So the messaging today of a new concession is a bit of a mystery and has us asking: what’s new? The 14th September looks much more like the formal launch of Disney Store's new permanent Selfridges Trafford Centre concession; it’s definitely not the first time visitors will be able to buy Disney products there after a concession has closed for a significant period and reopened.

What Will Happen at the Disney Store Opening on 14 September?

Disney is treating 14th September as a proper launch event, with a Key Ceremony and a limited opening promotion. Selfridges Unlocked members who spend £50 or more will receive a Disney Store Stitch Mystery Soft Toy Keyring, while stocks last. Disney is also promoting the return of its Selfridges Plush Collection, including the distinctive yellow Winnie the Pooh plush that previously sold out. But that plush isn’t sold out.

Again during our Riding the Magic visit to the Disney Store concession on 1 September, that yellow Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Piglet was already displayed in the existing Disney concession and available to purchase. So if you want one, you can get one now.

What is evident is that stock in the concession has been reduced from previous times we have been, and there are marks on the wall where old Disney Store signs have been taken off and moved around. What we expect to find on the 14th September is:

• a rebrand of the same concession area, possibly with some new flooring

• more stock, there’s no costumes currently and when we visited the Birmingham Disney Store concession in Selfridges there were plenty of costumes

• Disney Store staff running the area rather than Selfridge’s staff

• a storewide promotion. In Birmingham’s Selfridge’s the bull in store wore yellow Mickey Mouse ears.

The announcement does refer to a "brand-new space" however, so perhaps the concession will move. We’ll be interested to see whether the current concession will be relocated, significantly expanded, remodelled or simply transition into the formally launched permanent Disney Store operation.

With still almost two weeks before the official opening, the concession could close and changes could obviously take place before 14th September. But what we can say from visiting Selfridges at the Trafford Centre in Manchester today is that Disney Store is not currently absent from the building. The concession remains open, Mickey remains standing within it, and merchandise, including the yellow Pooh being promoted for the September launch, is already on sale.

Magic In A Minute

Disney has announced an official 14th September launch for a permanent Trafford Centre Disney Store concession in Selfridges, despite the existing Disney retail space continuing to trade, and some of the supposed launch merchandise being currently on sale.