Bringing pixie dust, Mickey and Minnie set to hit the Strip

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013 | 2 a.m.

One of the weekend’s most significant celebrity sightings on the Strip is set for Saturday morning.

We speak, of course, of Mickey and Minnie.

The famous, romantically linked mice of Disney fame are in town for the formal opening of the Disney Store at Fashion Show mall. This is one of several newly designed Disney outlets across the country and the fourth Disney Store in Las Vegas, joining the outposts at Meadows mall and both Las Vegas Premium Outlets locations.

The event begins at 10 a.m. as one young visitor will be chosen to “unlock imagination” with a giant key. From noon to 4 p.m., guests can line up to meet Mickey and Minnie.

The store is already open for business. The hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

Disney Store District Manager Lori Pulliam was asked in a phone interview Wednesday if these were the actual Mickey and Minnie representatives from Disneyland, or if they were members of a great collection of Mickey and Minnies who make appearances across the country.

Pulliam said they would be the actual superstars but didn’t say if Mickey and Minnie were taking a break from their usual jobs as ambassadors roaming throughout Disneyland.

“With pixie dust, anything is possible,” Pulliam said, chuckling.

The new store takes up about 5,500 square feet of territory at Fashion Show. Find the store on the mall’s main level, next to Macy’s Men’s and across from Sur La Table. The closest parking is underground in the “green” section.

The store will feature a few Las Vegas-centric products and design features. The skyline around the perimeter is a depiction of Disney characters integrated into well-known Vegas landmarks (Hoover Dam, Red Rock, Lake Mead and the Strip). Among the attire for sale are T-shirts of Stitch donning an Elvis jumpsuit and Minnie as a Vegas showgirl.

Las Vegas has often been referred to as Disney for grownups. Those grownups who visit here are known to hit the casinos, and Pulliam was asked if she thought the Mouse would ever be featured on a bank of slot machines. Would we one day see five Minnies lined up to win a half-million dollars, for instance?

“I can’t speak to what the future would hold, but Disney is family oriented and is entertainment for the entire family,” she said. “This is not my specialty, but I would not expect to see that.”

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