Thought it was interesting that a pic of the Forum Shops (at Caesar's LV) was posted earlier, because it helps to isolate the definitions of retail theme-ing, decorating, and what the possibilities and limitations are for DTD going forward. The Forum (and Paris, Paris, and once Desert Passage) is a shopping mall elaborately decorated/designed to evoke Classical Rome, but it is populated by the typical or upscale third party shops.
For a retail area to be "themed" (evoke a place/transport through time/tell a story), obviously the architecture is a key component. But I've found that the built environment is necessary but not sufficient. The interior details, the merchandise and the sales-people are also key, because without the latter completing the story, it's just a decorated mall.
At their apex, Main Street U.S.A.s were themed environments to a high degree because they were a collection of specialty shops (a tobacconist, a bank, an auto showroom, a magic shop, a book store, a camera shop) and inbetweens (a penny arcade, a working cinema, a fire house) as one might find in a romanticized turn-of-the-century Small Town America. There were always the commercial aspects, selling Disney merch, but it did not overwhelm the theme of the land. Similarly, the Adventureland shops (Timbuktu Traders) would sell unusual, exotic merch and enhanced the theme of the land; Frontierland: western trinkets, etc.
Woodcarvers Shop
Then, as we all know, came a long, tragic period where specialty shops and unique merchandise were eliminated or minimized across Disney theme parks, and plush, DisChannel DVDs, bright t-shirts, and all manner of generic items, no matter their appropriateness to the area's sense of place took over modern adjustable, wheeled shelves. An insidious change that poisoned theme in general:
Adventureland Paris with Princess Dresses shoved into the entrance path
I thought themed retail was extinct.
Then came a couple bright spots. Hogsmeade showed that the old model - where Show was tantamount, even in retail - can be very profitable. Interestingly, when the new Buena Vista St opened at DCA with windows full of historic, unique displays, salespeople found park-goers asking about the cool stuff in the windows, but the only thing stocked was the standard DisneyStore merch. The historic displays were promptly altered to show the DCA T-shirts sold inside.
Coming back to DTD, without some kind of radical shift in strategy at the top (e.g. eliminating the 3rd Party Vendor model or making vendors conform - inside the shops - to the imagined theme), the most that can be hoped for/expected is a very nice environment, with some interesting things to look at (locomotive, 'natural' springs), maybe a few special dining venues (Tiki Sam's) and some entertainers. I'd be fine with that if the parks would miraculously revert to actual themed-retail, and let DTD be a nice, Disney outdoor mall.
In a perfect world, I think there are ways - expensive ones - to take DTD far beyond a Lifestyle Center and create an 'actual-themed' district (as Main St or World Showcase or Port of Entry were actual-themed areas emphasizing retail and dining).
