Merchandise – Page 25 – WDWNT Archive

Star Wars Weekends 2014: Inside Darth’s Mall & Rebel Rendezvous Review

WDWNT on June 29, 2014

I attended today’s Rebel Rendezvous event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This hard ticketed affair gave guests the opportunity to pre-purchase limited and open edition merchandise. There were also some gifts, meet and greets and artists signings inside the event. Rebel Rendezvous also gave attendees a look inside Darth’s Mall, the Star Wars Weekends merchandise shop, one day before the general public.

Before we take a look at the photos, let’s answer the question everyone was asking me: “Was Rebel Rendezvous worth the $250?” I’d have to say no. It was great being assured all my merchandise without having to brave hours and hours of lines on Friday morning. But the price of the ticket did not seem to cover the entertainment and gifts offered. There was a meet and greet, but it was the same four characters all day… Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, Darth Goofy and Stormtrooper Donald. Granted, all 4 at once with no line is a treat, but I would have like more. The artist signing was great, but a presentation would have been welcome. The initial gifts were okay (great messenger bag), but no departing gift was a fail.

In the end, I wanted a “Wow!” unexpected, unadvertised moment for my money… and I didn’t get it.

Now, take a look at all that awaits guests to Star Wars Weekends…

First, Darth’s Mall this year is located inside Sound Stage One (next to Toy Story Midway Mania). The welcome room area that guests will queue up in before entering the shop itself has some merchandise preview cases as well as some Star Wars props.

Now we venture inside the shop…

Rebel Rendezvous RSP pick-up area

Star Wars Lightsaber Umbrellas and Lamps

Although this was the Rebel Rendezvous, Stormtroopers freely roamed the halls???

Latez Jabba

R2-D2 Bank

Stormtrooper statues lurked over the crowd

As you walk in, you are greeted by plush. A new X-Wing Micky and Yoda Duffy

Star Wars Weekend logo merchandise

The 2014 calendar is fulled with the SWW ads over the years

X-Wing Pilot Mickey

Chewie Plush

Bantha Plush

New Duffy pre-dressed as Yoda visiting WDW

The 2014 mug is full of detail. Raised lettering, date on handle and Rebel Mickey logo on the inside bottom

I love the X-Wing Mickey and R2-MK logo and this shot glass is great

SWW logo tumblers and frame

Also available is the JediÂ costume for Duffy

Shadowtrooper and R2 bank

Beach towel has Darth Goofy fighting Jedi Mickey

This year, the Disney Design Group released a second series of the popular Pixar Cars as Star Wars die cast…

New this year…

Luigo as C-3PO and Pitties as Jawas combo pack

Chick Hicks as Boba Fett

Ramone as Han Solo

Red as Chewbacca

Mater as Vader and Doc as Obi-Wan

Disney Store Talking 14″ poseableÂ figures. Love these! Real movie lines recorded with clear playback

Ashley Eckstein, meets with fans

Trays of Star Wars series 4. And the chaser is…

Wampa!

Star Wars headphones for $199.95

Star Wars headphones listening stations

Star Wars car wraps

An anamatronic Admiral Ackbar drinks out of the new Stormtropper stein

This amazing custom Vinylmation sold within an hour of shop opening

There is a character meet and greet area

Star Wars name tags are available again this year. This one was exclusive to Rebel Rendezvous event.

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Highly Anticipated Marketplace Co-Op Store Opens at Downtown Disney

WDWNT on June 29, 2014

Earlier today, the Marketplace Co-Op store at Downtown Disney we have been reporting about anxiously for several months finally opened to the public:

Our first stop inside is Centerpiece

Plenty of Polynesian and Adventureland inspired pieces

So much glassware

There’s an entire rack of Little Orange Bird merchandise

Plates

Some new, smaller signs were introduced

Tiki Room coasters

Trophy Room is pretty much the remains of Team Mickey

D-Tech on demand features pre-packaged electronics and cases, as well as 125 pieces of art that you can make into a new phone case

So many choices

Seems easy enough

On to Beautifully Disney…

Plenty of spa products, including some previously only available at Aulani

Zoey and Pickles is items focusing on tweens

Our last stop is Cherry Tree Lane

If all of this wasn’t enough to excite you about the Marketplace Co-Op, we also have a full video walk-through:

Limited Edition Star Wars “Vanity” MagicBands To Be Released This Weekend

WDWNT on June 29, 2014

Some time ago, we told you that Disney would eventually sell “vanity”, or character/movie themed MagicBands to guests at some point in the future. Well, that point will be the final weekend of Star Wars Weekends 2014 June 13th-15th:

The bands come in a special Star Wars Weekends box and are a limited edition of 2500 each. Yoda and Darth Vader are the two styles that will be available to guests. No retail price has been provided at this time.

Magic Kingdom’s “The Yankee Trader” To Become Haunted Mansion Store

WDWNT on June 29, 2014

It’s one of those rumors seemingly as old as the internet, but come October, it seems likely that The Yankee Trader in Liberty Square will become a store selling just merchandise themed to the Haunted Mansion attraction. The store is scheduled to be closed from July 7th until September 30th, 2014, opening just in time for some new Haunted Mansion merchandise that will be arriving at Walt Disney World.

Just last year, a line of very popular Haunted Mansion home décor items were released as a test to see if guests would buy more-expensive luxury items based on attractions. The test was a huge success and for several months, Walt Disney World had a hard time keeping any of these items in stock. The success of the line inspired most of the merchandise you’ll find at Centerpiece in the Marketplace Co-Op, but also over 100 new Haunted Mansion items set to arrive at Disney Parks this Fall.

In order to showcase and sell over 100 items, every square inch of the Yankee Trader will be needed. 100 items is a lot considering this one display in the store pictured above is holding just 6 different items…

Just a few weeks ago, Disney teased the art styles for some of this new merchandise on the Disney Parks Blog. Maybe we’re reading into the Disney post too much, but the store may have a heavy Madame Leota theme…

Nothing has been confirmed and all of this is pure speculation at this time, but it seems highly likely. Stay tuned as we receive more information on this story as it develops…

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE: On July 28th, 2014, Walt Disney World confirmed that the Yankee Trader would become a Haunted Mansion-themed store. The store will indeed have a theme mostly focusing on Madame Leota as we had speculated. No further details have been made available at this time.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, what do you think? is a dedicated Haunted Mansion store a good idea?

6/16/14 Walt Disney World Photo Report (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs)

WDWNT on June 29, 2014

In an effort to best keep you updated with what is going on at Walt Disney World, we will be providing a comprehensive photo report every Monday. Should we attend anything of note during the week, we will of course continue to post videos and smaller photo reports on other weekdays, but Monday will offer the largest and most detailed on a weekly basis. With that being said, let’s dive in and see what’s new as of June 16th, 2014:

Avatar construcvtion is in full swing at Animal Kingdom and you can clearly see the cranes over the tree-line from the parking lot

A Lion King musical “ocarina” mug is now for sale at the Harambe Popcorn cart

It comes with sheet music to show you how to play a few Disney songs

Some work happening by this gate between Africa and Asia

Walls also up by Creature Comforts on Discovery Island

Moving on to Disney Springs, work continues on Food Truck Park on the West Side

More of the elevated area that is supposed to be abandoned train tracks has appeared in the park area

A soccer store called United World Soccer has opened on the West Side, just in time for the World Cup

The store was quite busy on Saturday, but it was Car Masters Weekend

Pleasure Island continues its conversion into The Landing

Construction finally happening in the old Harley-Davidson location

The waterway between Pleasure Island and Marketplace is behind walls, also, one of the old PI train ticket booths is gone

Work continues outside of Fulton’s and Portobello

The latest progress on the new Marketplace bridge

The area between T-Rex and the LEGO store is a mess right now

Reminds me of 2010 at Disney California Adventure

The former site of Pollo Campero

Looking towards World of Disney

If you go this way, you will be funneled into LEGO

A look at the lake from the LEGO area

I hit Marketplace Co-Op to pick up some things and also tried my hand at creating a phone case. The process is fairly simple…

Moving over to Epcot, removal of the Flower and Garden Festival is still taking place… more on that later…

The Odyssey is actually open and hosting World Cup viewing all-day long

Come on in!

The interior is nicely decorated

There’s even a physical board they will update through the rounds of the World Cup

Tables and chairs are set-up inside, but there are also some cushy leather chairs in the first two rows in front of the big screen

The side pockets of the room are also filled with chairs and smaller screens

Some modest food offerings inside as well

There’s even a store filled with Epcot World Cup merchandise!

So, where the butterfly garden was located, apparently the workers hit a water main and now the entire area is being excavated…

No Figment comics remaining at Imagination!, they sold out pretty quick

As a result of the damaged water main, the Imagination! waterfall is off

Some ponds in the area have been drained as well

Olaf carrot cake cupcake for sale at the Main Street Bakery

There’s also a Frozen cupcake

We had dinner at the Be Our Guest Restaurant last night…

It had been a little while since we had been here, but the menu again had some new additions and price hikes

The current kid’s menu

The grey stuff is now offered as a dessert, served on top of a chocolate cake. It was still delicious!

Aerial Construction Photos of Disney Springs from 6/23/14

WDWNT on June 29, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Nick LoCicero once again takes us high above what is today Downtown Disney so we can see what is happening to make it Disney Springs for the future in this latest aerial update:

Downtown Disney is pretty much a war zone right now, but at least the parking structure will be complete in a few weeks

Some road work starting to happen, preparing for all of the new access roads for busses and cars into and out of the area

It may be hard to believe now, but the structure will open by the Fall

A lot of the waterways near what was Pleasure Island are being torn up now

We can see that quite a bit of progress has been made on the Marketplace bridge

If you look towards the top of the photo above, you can see what appears to be a small amphitheater being built next to the large waterside dining building for The Landing

Pollo Campero is history…

You can see the new bridge to Saratoga Springs towards the top of this photo

Stay tuned for more exciting updates on Disney Springs!

Star Wars Weekends D-Tech Me Offerings Expanded for 2014

WDWNT on May 12, 2014

Star Wars – D-Tech Me has been one of the most talked about merchandise offerings at Star Wars Weekends over the last several years, so it is no surprise that Disney will be adding to the line-up of offerings in 2014. This year, the D-Tech Me location will be located inside Darth’s Mall, located in Soundstage 1 between Studio Backlot Tour and Toy Story Midway Mania.

For those unfamiliar with Star Wars – D-Tech Me, this 10-minute experience uses the world’s highest-resolution, single-shot 3D face scanner created by our Imagineering scientists with Disney Research labs. The captured image is later sent to a high resolution 3D printer to create the figurine.

The existing Carbon-Freeze Me and Stormtrooper programs are returning this year, joined by two new figurines – Alderaan Princess and X-Wing Pilot. There are both male and female options offered for X-Wing pilot, Carbon-Freeze Me and Stormtrooper figurines.

For children, Alderaan Princess and Carbon-Freeze Me figurines will be available in more youthful appearances.

For the first time, a 16-inch figurine will also be available. You can see the size differences of the Stormtrooper figurines in the above image.

Disney is also promising that on May 16 on DisneyParksMerchandise.com they will let guests know how to have their image from last year added to a new figurine this year.

The Star Wars – D-Tech Me 7-inch figurines are $99.95 each, plus shipping and applicable sales tax. For the 16-inch figurines, retail is $1,499.95 each, plus shipping and applicable sales tax. All participants will receive a specially designed button. Completed figurines will arrive within 7-8 weeks after the experience if shipping domestically (it takes a little longer if shipping internationally).

To book your experience, please call 407-WDW-TECH (407-939-8324). Disney will only offer the experience during Star Wars Weekends 2014 (May 16 – 18, May 23 – 25, May 30 – June 1, June 6 – 8, and June 13-15).

Finally, guests attending the Rebel Rendezvous event on May 15 will be some of the first individuals to experience Star Wars – D-Tech Me this year. Registered event guests should look for an email soon that will explain how to sign up.

Disney Reveals 25th Anniversary Merchandise for Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

WDWNT on May 12, 2014

On May 1st, 2014, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will celebrate its historic 25th anniversary in style with a plethora of exclusive commemorative merchandise items. Soundstage 1 between the Studio Backlot tour and Toy Story Midway Mania will be turned into a special merchandise location for the day and all of the following will be available:

Here are the men’s, women’s, and children’s shirts (including a polo shirt)

Keychain, pre-dressed Duffy the Disney Bear, messenger bag, logo pin, and “I Was There” pin

An assortment of other pins and pin accessories including an annual passholder pin and some open edition pins that will be available throughout 2014

A mystery pin collection featuring Disney characters

The Disney Parks online store will also carry the four shirts pictured in this story from May 1-5, 2014. The shirts will ship in 6-8 weeks once orders are completed (express shipping is not available). To order the shirts starting May 1, visit http://www.DisneyStore.com/ParkEvents.

WDWNT will be covering all of the festivities for the 15th anniversary of Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 1st, so stay tuned!

Aladdin Junior Series 10 Explained

WDWNT on May 12, 2014

Aladdin Junior Series 10 Explained

Release Date: January 10
Where: Disney Stores, Online, D-Streets
$9.95 per blind box
18 figure set

This Junior series based on the 1992 Disney animated feature film is the first Junior series designed by Disney Store artists.

Update: 02/04/14 Based on the officially released imaged by Disney and the leaked photo of the side of the case of Aladdin vinyls, it appears Disney has released images of the chasers early. They did not officially announce them as chaser, but if the box is not a misprint, than they certainly are. They do not seem to be variants of any other figure. The two figures assumed to be the chaser are the last two photos on this page (in case you do not want to see them) Also, Disney seemed to not release images of 4 of the common figures: Abu, Jasmine in red dress, Aladdin and Jafar as old man in prison.

image from Vinylmation Exchange Facebook page

Presumed Chaser

Brandon and Melissa Share Latest Customs

WDWNT on May 12, 2014

Brandon and Melissa are a pair of Visual Arts Teachers Millennium Middle School in Sanford, FL. We recently shared their student’s work, now it is time to see what they have created for their latest custom Vinylmation.

What subject did you choose and why?
Brandon: I chose King Hippo and Little Mac. I love vintage video games and was a big fan of the original Mike Tyson’s PunchOut!!

Melissa: My favorite Disney character is Mr. Smee, so I really wanted to do him. Then Villians 2 came out and I really liked the Smee in that set. I considered one of the Lost Boys first, but when we decided to make it a 9” and 3” set, I knew Michael with Teddy was the way to go.

What have you learned from your first customs to now?
Brandon: I actually think I learned the most from my first 9’ custom. King Hippo was good practice to reacquaint myself with painting a three dimensional surface before tackling my 3” custom of Little Mac.

Melissa: I was a big believer in not taking the Vinylmation apart- I was so afraid I would break and arm or things wouldn’t look right, but it is so much easier if you do. Michael was also the first Vinylmation I ever painted on a “Custom” mold (we usually spray paint commons), and although I really like the surface, I felt like I had to do more layers (but the stars in his ear glow, so it was worth it)

And then there were a pair of customs you did that were chosen by your students?
Melissa: Yes, we also did 3” customs in which we let the kids decide our subject…they chose Sherlock Holmes for Brandon & Dr. Watson for me.

Category: Merchandise

Star Wars Weekends 2014: Inside Darth’s Mall & Rebel Rendezvous Review

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Highly Anticipated Marketplace Co-Op Store Opens at Downtown Disney

Limited Edition Star Wars “Vanity” MagicBands To Be Released This Weekend

Magic Kingdom’s “The Yankee Trader” To Become Haunted Mansion Store

6/16/14 Walt Disney World Photo Report (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs)

Aerial Construction Photos of Disney Springs from 6/23/14

Star Wars Weekends D-Tech Me Offerings Expanded for 2014

Disney Reveals 25th Anniversary Merchandise for Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Aladdin Junior Series 10 Explained

Brandon and Melissa Share Latest Customs

Archives

Categories