The bright and the bobble-headed
Get nose to nose with Mickey and Minnie at the new Play House in Siam Square
IN A shift from the conventional toyshop, the brand new Play House at the recently opened Siam Square One mall aims to tempt young shoppers by bringing their favourites characters to life in a Disney World-like setting.
Run by siblings Praepan and Pongsthon Tumwattana, themselves toy fanatics, Play House is well stocked with Disney merchandise covering everything from stationery, dolls and fashion accessories to tableware and educational toys.
Just like at Disney World, young shoppers are welcomed at the door by Mickey Mouse and his consort Minnie before entering a fairytale world complete with the Sleeping Beauty’s white castle.
“This is the biggest Disney toy shop in Thailand. We hold a license for Disney and other brand merchandise so we are able to carry a range of items by such famous brands as Enesco and Funko in the US as well as those of Japanese manufacturers,” Praepan says.
“We have cartoon characters, the latest collections from upcoming Disney movies, action toys and we also hold activities for customers like a lucky draw that earns its winner a set of movie tickets.”
Disney merchandise occupies about 80 per cent of the 330-square-
metre space with Mickey and Minnie, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Aladdin, Toy Story, Lilo and Stitch, Dumbo, Maleficent, Peter Pan and Cars ruling the shelves.
Kids can spruce up their writing skills with notebooks, colourful pens, pencil cases, tapes, staplers and marker pens or dine out on Disney’s fancy fondant pots, ceramic plates, mugs, glasses with colourful straws and containers, all of which are inspired by Mickey and Minnie, Monsters, Donald Duck, Snow White, Belle and Jasmine.
And of course there are the superhero and princess costumes, which are guaranteed to delight any young fashionista.
US giftware brand Enesco ensures kids have exactly the right birthday presents for friends with a range of figurines of such stars at Ariel, Cinderella, Mickey Mouse, Alice and Belle.
And then there are designer toys and action figures by newer brands ThreeA, Hottoys, Coarse, Foxbox, Funko and Kotobukiya.
“We have licensed products and designer toys by more than 30 brands in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Malaysia and more. We also have partnership deals with Funko and Kotobukiya,” Pongsthon says.
And indeed Funko’s famed wacky wobbler bobble heads are very much in evidence, their characters inspired by such popular figures as Wolverine, The Joker, Batman, Darth Vader, Khal Drogo from Game of Throne and Robot.
“We will be organising storytelling by the actors who do the voiceovers for cartoona, as well as a painting workshop and playground zone,” Praepan says.
Play House has a branch at Maya shopping mall in Chiang Mai and will be opening a new shop at MBK Centre soon.
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Play House is located on third floor of Siam Square One. It’s open from Monday to Friday, 11am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 9.30pm. Call (02) 115 1416-7 or visit Facebook.com/ PlayHouseTh.
