The Disney Parks Blog posted an article about merchandise related to Finding Nemo at the Art of Animation Resort and in it mentioned the Pixar 1 9″ Crush and 3″ Squirt combo will release in Spring of 2013.
The article also said we should see the Pixar Little Green Men and Tuck and Roll LE combos “in the coming months.” The Pixar 1 mystery box set releases on November 16.
WDWNT’s own Katey McGregor went on a special tour of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort on Monday and was nice enough to take a number of photos to share with us prior to the resort’s official opening on May 31st:
Pulling up to the resort
One of the large sketches on the exterior of the main building
A palette of colors dominate the check-in area, while early character concepts cover the opposite wall
An animator at work in the lobby. I hope this is a regular thing and not just something they were doing for the special event…
Some of your favorite characters looked a little different at first
Storyboard artwork covers a chandelier
This one is actually signed by hand by John Lasseter
More artwork on another wall
Landscapes of Flavor has 4 themed sections like the resort – Cars
The Little Mermaid
Finding Nemo
Lion King
The Ink and Paint Shop looks ready to go
The back of the Cars wing
Even the staircases are themed to the different films
The Lion King section is coming along nicely
I can kind of see Simba there…
Finding Nemo is ready to open on May 31st
A look inside the rooms
The bathroom looks like the sunken ship where the sharks live
Shower curtain
Squirt’s Righteous Reef
Ha…
Welcome to Radiator Springs!
A little bit of Cars Land in Florida
Sheriff hiding near the billboard as always
A picture with Doc Hudson
The Cadillac Range is on the buildings
Some of the town establishments were built
They even have the Cozy Cone sign
Sarge’s Surplus Hut
Guests are staying at the Wheel Well Motel
I didn’t know Luigi sold Lightyear tires
Another building has an entrance through Casa Della Tires
Guido!
The Cozy Cone motel
A look inside the rooms
The TV is on a toolbox
brilliant
The bathroom is a car wash…
Thanks for the report Katey!
Vinylmation fans were treated to a sweet surprise this past Monday with the surprise release of Kidada’s “Let Your Conscience be Your Guide” set. This limited edition set of 500 pieces comes complete with a nine-inch figure, a Vinylmation Jr, and a pin and retails for $74.95.
It is available only at DisneyStore.com, the North Michigan Avenue Disney Store in Chicago, the Times Square Disney Store in Manhattan, and the Walt Disney Studio. Like Kidada’s other Vinylmation figures and sets, this one features an incredible amount of detail. According to the description, it “showcases the positive and negative sides of temptation.” On the front of the nine-inch figure is a happy Pinocchio surrounded by all kinds of sweet treats at Pleasure Island.
The Vinylmation Jr figure is designed to look like Jiminy Cricket with eyes glancing in the direction of Pinocchio and a disapproving expression on his face. The back of the nine-inch figure depicts an unhappy Pinocchio with donkey ears and tail inside the mouth of Monstro the whale. Above Pinocchio are the words, “Go ahead. Make a fool of yourself, then maybe you’ll listen to your conscience!” The pin is a sculpted metal pin that reads “Official Conscience 18KT” and is a great addition! As usual, the box art for the set is as whimsical as the Vinylmation. The front of the box matches the candy theme of the front of the nine-inch figure, and in a great innovation, the back of the box also has a window and is designed to resemble a stage through which one can see the back of the nine-inch figure! Hopefully this type of packaging will be used in future sets of nine-inch figures.
Friday saw the release of the Vinylmation Star Wars Disney Characters set at the parks and the Brave set in Disney Stores as expected. It also saw the release of images of some upcoming designs. Here is a preview of the Phineas and Ferb figures, from the set of six open edition figures coming to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Store next Friday, May 25.
The figures in this set will retail for $12.95. Kudos to the artist for adapting Phineas’ triangular shaped head perfectly to the rounded Vinylmation canvas!
The other preview released on Friday was of the rest of the figures being released during the Vinylmation Trading event, Mickey’s Circus. In addition to the three figures previewed earlier this year, there is this set of two three-inch figures of Bongo and Lulubell from the animated film, Fun and Fancy Free.
The combo was designed by Monty Maldovan and has an edition size of 500. It will retail for $26.95.
The last two figures for Mickey’s Circus are two nine-inch designs. Both figures will have an edition size of 100 and will each sell for $150.00 (we’re hoping this is a typo on Disney’s part)!
The first design is by Caley Hicks and features a Circus Seal standing on a platform while balancing a ball on its nose. The seal’s face is done in profile, allowing the canvas’ left ear to be used for the ball and the right ear for a hat. It may be a little tricky to make out the design at first.
The other nine-inch design is by Eric Caszatt and features a Circus Lion. This design is straightforward, and like the seal, is very colorful.
Mickey’s Circus Vinylmation Trading Event will take place at Epcot’s World Showcase on Sunday, September 9, 2012, from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. Registration for the event is now open. Will you be attending? As the Kidada figure states, “Let your Conscience Be Your Guide!”
Thanks to Tomio Keisuke, we have a look at four new 2012 Christmas themed Vinylmation figures that will be released in Japan.
They will be released at Tokyo Disney Sea for 1200 Yen and be made available during their Disney’s Christmas celebration between November 7 – December 25.
At the release of the first Fantasia combo today at D-Street, Vinylmation Exchange’s Cheryl Harris Kramp snapped a photo of the Park 11 set list.
Of course Park 11 is Disney’s California Adventure themed and we have seen a few of these before, but the new ones are:
Crush from Turtle Talk with Crush. Francis from Francis’s Ladybug Boogie. Jack in the Box for Mad Hat ‘n Beach.. Mickey’s Fun Wheel. And from Cars Land DJ’s Dance ‘n Drive. The Combo Topper is Mickey with a California hat on. He appears to be perhaps a guest at the park? Or someone from the Redwood Creek or Grizzly area?
You can find more info about Park 11 at our explained page.
So, about that romance segment in “The Magic, the Memories, and You” that was ending later this month… it’s not. The romance segment which was added in February will be staying through the entire summer and will be joined by a new unique summer segment. The new summer segment features characters from Phineas and Ferb, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid, as well as Cinderella Castle’s transformation into a giant sand castle.
Concept art for the Cinderella sand castle
The following concept art shows what the show might look like on both Cinderella Castle and on the facade of “it’s a small world”, where it plays at Disneyland
The new version of “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” debuts on May 25th, 2012 at the Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland Park. If you want to check out the romance segment that is already running, here is our video:
If you’re a Star Wars fan who won’t be getting out to Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios this year, you’ll be very happy about what we have to share. Our friend Jeff Lange over at JeffLangeDVD.com and MouseSteps.com (both awesome sites you should check out all the time) captured some highlights of the first day of Star Wars Weekends 2012 for your enjoyment:
Here’s a very funny skit featuring some Stormtroopers that is performed while guests are waiting for Stars of the Saga
Some children were dressed up as Snig and Oopla (characters from various Star Wars Weekends activities)
Star Wars Weekends Celebrity Welcome with James Arnold Taylor, Ashley Eckstein, and Ray Park
And last, but certainly not least, this year’s Hyperspace Hoopla:
The release date for a new series appeared on the Vinylmation Events page. It is called Extreme Wrestlers of Vinylmation and will be released at Disney Stores on October 29th. We have no previous knowledge of this series, but from the listing know it is a 3-inch mystery Limited Release series for $9.95 each. Will these be Disney Characters as wrestlers or just an urban like design?
Does anyone else think of these old M.U.S.C.L.E. figures when you read this story? We have seen a couple other wrestler figures in Vinylmation’s history…
Remember the Rudos from Urban 8? We also had El Super Raton back in Urban 1…
Rust this World delivers us some more classic Disney in custom form.
Destination Vinylmation: First of all, Splash is my favorite ride at Walt Disney World and your depictions of Brier Bear, Brier Fox and Vulture are fantastic. Why did you decide on these three Villains?
Rust This World: I think the characters from Song of the South and Splash Mountain are under utilized. I know Disney likes to pretend that the film doesn’t exist, but I’m pretty shocked that we haven’t gotten a single park figure based on Splash Mountain yet. I love the character designs, and of course they add to my huge villain collection. I got to try some new stuff on them too like sculpting hats and painting parts of their bodies so that they didn’t match up with the same part on Mickey’s body.
DV: What are some of your favorite features about the Queen, Hook and Tremaine?
Rust: The others I did because I wasn’t satisfied with the official designs. Though instead of just stretching them out, I framed their bodies with a background or other features, so they keep their look without becoming fat, but aren’t split in half on the bridge of the nose. I really liked putting Lucifer on the feet of Tremaine.
DV: And where can people reach you?
Rust: My webpage is www.rustthisworld.com and my facebook is www.facebook.com/rustthisworld
For those of you wondering what the facade of Test Track will look like when it is completed, wonder no more:
If you look closely, you’ll even see the World of Motion pavilion logo in the giant T on the canopy. Test Track presented by Chevrolet opens December 6th at Epcot.
So, what do you think of the new look for Test Track?
