A lot is changing at Disneyland Resort – and much of it is big.
As the resort approaches its 70th anniversary, Disney has announced sweeping new attractions, land overhauls, and IP integrations aimed at redefining the future of the Anaheim property. But not every change has gone as planned.
Across both coasts, Disney is ramping up its largest expansion phase in years. At Disneyland Resort alone, guests can expect an Avengers Campus upgrade featuring Avengers: Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab, a Coco-themed boat ride near Pixar Pier, and a new Avatar land replacing some of the Hollywood Backlot area—taking Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! along with it in 2026.
In Florida, the company is preparing for even more dramatic growth, with Tropical Americas, a new Cars area, and Villains Land among several new offerings coming to Walt Disney World. Yet amid all the billion-dollar plans, a more modest update inside Disneyland Park has reversed course—silently.
Disney Walks Back Plans for New Orleans Square Storefront
Earlier this year, Disneyland shuttered Port Royal Curios and Curiosities, a longtime gift shop tucked beside the Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square. The closure wasn’t officially announced but was widely understood to be permanent. In its place, Disney created a new outdoor seating area for the Veranda’s quick-service guests—a change that debuted in early May.
The Port Royal Curious and Curiosities shop, which was converted from a shop into additional seating for Royal Street Veranda, is being converted back into a shop at Disneyland today
byu/TheDisneyScoopGuy inDisneyland
The transformation aligned with the nearby opening of Madame Leota’s Somewhere Beyond, a new Haunted Mansion-themed gift shop that appeared to replace the need for Port Royal’s retail footprint. Many assumed the repurposing of Port Royal was a strategic decision—both to relieve guest congestion and to address the persistent seating shortage near the popular dining spot.
That theory didn’t last long. Guests have reported spotting cast members dismantling the seating and working to convert the space back into a store. Disney has not publicly commented on the reversal.
One Reddit user speculated, “I am guessing it was always an experiment, they got the data in to see if having expanded seating impacts sales for quick service. If they didn’t want to test and just make it another shop they would have just kept it open longer until the transition.”
The Port Royal Curious and Curiosities shop, which was converted from a shop into additional seating for Royal Street Veranda, is being converted back into a shop at Disneyland today
The Port Royal Curious and Curiosities shop, which was converted from a shop into additional seating for Royal Street Veranda, is being converted back into a shop at Disneyland today https://t.co/6yjBe3yrhg pic.twitter.com/J4LF6FKzUg
— Matt Desmond (@DisneyScoopGuy) July 2, 2025
Others noted this isn’t the first time the space has seen dramatic reinvention. “That shop has been so many things through the years,” another user wrote. “I remember when the Pirates movie was huge and the store became an extended Pirates of the Caribbean store. Then it was Le Bat en Rouge for Nightmare Before Christmas. Then just Haunted Mansion themed merch. Then back to pirates for a while, and then back to Haunted Mansion/Nightmare mash up.”
Fan Debate Follows Quiet Change at Disneyland
As work on the space progressed, so did speculation. Some fans theorized the test was meant to evaluate guest behavior with the altered seating footprint, while others believed the shop might still eventually serve as part of an extended queue for Pirates of the Caribbean, which routinely sees its lines spill far into New Orleans Square’s narrow walkways during busy periods.
Even so, the reversion has left a portion of the fanbase disappointed—especially those who welcomed the rare expansion of outdoor seating in a land notorious for its crowding.
The Port Royal space has long been one of the more flexible assets in Disneyland’s retail portfolio—often adapting to shifting franchise priorities. Whether the latest update is truly permanent remains to be seen. For now, though, the quick-service seating is gone, and the shop is returning once more to the lineup of merchandise locations in New Orleans Square.
What do you think of Disney’s latest update to Port Royal Curios and Curiosities?
