By Zach Patberg
One toddler plucks a stuffed Finding Nemo fish from the shelf, throws it over his shoulder and walks away. In a minute, he returns and grabs another. A second child walks in front of his stroller selecting various characters from Toy Story and piling them onto the seat.Little girls peruse the Cinderella beach towels and Little Mermaid place settings, while boys try on their Buzz Light Year swim trunks and gawk at rows upon rows of The Incredibles DVDs.This is the borough's only Disney Store and, having opened last week inside Queens Center, it has made mall rats out of plenty of toddlers.As the store's president, Mario Ciampi, said “our merchandise will be unique – 100 percent authentic Disney.”Odds are, the Minnie Mouse tote bags and Tigger T-shirts are giving Rave Girl next door a run for its money.According to Ciampi, this is Disney's first mall-based store to open in five years and a concept fresh to the “important and under-penetrated” metro market. It understandably chose Queens Center in Elmhurst as its first anchor, which is one of the top performing malls in the country, not just New York. It just went through a $275 million expansion last year. The store is Disney's 307th in the United States since it first opened in Glendale, Calif., in 1987. Already existing city locations include stores in Manhattan and Staten Island.And now they're in Queens – finally giving the borough's nostalgic a place to pick up a coffee mug with Mickey Mouse etchings circa 1950 and the young to pick out a 21st century pint glass of Lilo-N-Stitch.Reach reporter Zach Patberg by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
