The Disney Store on London's Oxford Street was forced to delay its opening on Friday after massive crowds swarmed the flagship store, leading to the cancellation of a highly anticipated limited edition release. Around 600 people had queued and camped outside the store since 5pm on Thursday evening for the launch of Disney's Lorcana Curator's Collection: Heroines Edition trading cards and a limited edition foil playmat.
Queue Reaches Half a Mile
At its peak, the queue snaked for almost half a mile between Marylebone Lane and Vere Street to Chapel Place. The situation escalated early on Friday morning when large groups of scalpers—individuals who buy high-profit items for resale—reportedly stormed the queue, pushing and shoving to get to the front. Amber Parslow, a keen player and collector who travelled from Poole, described the scene: “At around 6:30am, at least 100 people descended on the queue, coming in from all sides and pushing to get to the front. They were obviously fighting between themselves. One was trying to get in through the front of the Disney Store. Another had stolen the tickets from Disney Store staff and was handing them out to his friends.”
Safety Concerns Lead to Closure
The store was forced to shut and the drop was cancelled. The Met Police attended, though security at the scene ultimately dispersed the crowds. Parslow added, “It was quite frightening. It was chaos. Any order was completely gone. They ruined what could have been an amazing experience.” Before the scalpers arrived, she noted that “the vibes were honestly amazing,” with people playing games together while waiting. The Disney Store had planned to open at 9am for the limited edition drop, with tickets handed out at 7am, but announced the cancellation via a Facebook post.
Calls for Better Crowd Control
Many on social media have called on the Disney Store to introduce tougher crowd control measures such as barriers and ticketing. The cards, which retail for £100 in store, are already being sold on eBay for £650. A Disney Store spokesperson said: “The safety of our Guests, Cast Members and the local community is always our highest priority and following the disruption outside the Oxford Street store overnight, we made the decision, alongside local authorities, to open later than usual this morning. As a result, today’s planned in-store release of the Disney Lorcana Curator's Collection: Heroines Edition will no longer take place. We know how disappointing this is for our fans and we sincerely apologise to those affected. We are working internally to review the process for future in-store launches.”
