Build-A-Bear Workshop will open its largest and most customizable retail experience yet at Orlando’s ICON Park on November 5, 2026. The $11 million, three-story flagship will span approximately 33,600 square feet and introduce new ways for guests to design, personalize, and enjoy their plush creations.
The store’s centerpiece will be the company’s first-ever Design Studio, an appointment-based experience where guests can work one-on-one with a design consultant to create a custom plush. Options will include different fur textures and colors, eye colors, animal styles, and paw designs. Digital tools will let guests preview their choices before their design is brought to life. The experience will also include a Heart Ceremony, a personalized birth certificate, and an exclusive Design Studio Cub Condo.
Guests can explore additional customization options at the “Personalize Me” station, which will offer embroidery, patches, and screen-printed graphics for plush outfits, along with embroidered details on select stuffed animals.
The flagship will also feature a rooftop terrace and the Build-A-Bear Bakeshop, an interactive dessert experience where visitors can decorate their own cupcakes and cookies with frosting and other toppings.
Build-A-Bear first announced plans for the Orlando flagship in March 2025, with construction beginning that July. The new store is being developed in partnership with design firm Chute Gerdeman and will be located at 8431 International Drive, replacing the existing Build-A-Bear location that opened at ICON Park in 2021. CEO Chris Hurt has described the new store as the company’s “most ambitious experience yet.”
