US City Exclusives… Now Less Exclusive

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

On the heals of the UK Disney Store Online’s release of the London exclusive Vinylmation, the US Disney Store Online has followed suit with select NYC exclusive figures now available for cyber purchase.

Only two of the 9″ figures are available… Hey Taxi and New York, New York

The interesting note here is the price. Although $44.95 is the original price, if you were to go to the NYC Times Square Store to purchase them, they are discounted to $30 as of about a week ago. Vinylmation are not the only city specific items popping up online. The Disney Store Online now has a full section of the website dedicated to some of their big city Disney Stores.

You can go online to purchase select merchandise from NYC, Chicago, San Francisco and Hawaii. No Vinylmation in any other city yet, but look at this ad:

Vinylmation is the product they feature on the generic ad for this section of the online store. This leads me to believe other city specific figures will be online soon as well. We do know, the Honolulu, Hawaii Disney Store will take mail orders for the Tiki Mickey due out October 4. So since they are already willing to ship, I suppose the thinking is, why not make the process easier for Disney, and the guest, and let everyone purchase them online. I’m not a big fan of this shift. A NYC tee shirt or Chicago coffee mug are one thing, but placing collectibles online like this takes away from that specialness of the item. We talked about this on the latest podcast after finding out about the London vinyls. What are your thoughts on city specifics being made available online?

Park 7 Chaser Revealed

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

This is one of the oddest chaser stories we have seen. Disney, usually shy about posting pictures of chasers before they are released, posted the Park 7 chaser on the Vinylmation website today:

This is made even more odd because of the Park 7 pin we have already seen:

Add on top of that, the lengthy discussion we had on the last podcast about the above pin not being one of the 11 revealed characters or combo topper in Park 7. And how I mistakenly described the pin as being maybe the Hong Kong Castle until it dawned on me that the design on the body is that of the banners that hang outside Cinderella’s Castle at WDW.

All that being said… what are your thoughts on this chaser? I think it’s the first great one since Lincoln in Park 6.

WDW 40th In Pictures

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

by Nick LoCicero

I had the great pleasure of hanging out at Walt Disney World on Saturday, October 1st for the 40th celebration. I’d like to share with you some of my favorite pictures I took on that day. (click to enlarge)

The line waiting to get in at about 7am
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Inside Diamond Horseshoe

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

Steve Jobs will be missed in the world of technology, but he also held a unique position in the history of the Disney company:

In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from Lucasfilm’s computer graphics division for the price of $10 million. After years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute. The first film produced by the partnership, Toy Story, brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. On January 24, 2006, Jobs and Disney’s Bob Iger announced that Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. Once the deal closed, Jobs became The Walt Disney Company’s largest single shareholder with approximately 7% of the company’s stock. Jobs joined the company’s board of directors upon completion of the merger. Jobs also helped oversee Disney and Pixar’s combined animation businesses with a seat on a special six person steering committee.

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey Zhang

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

Destination Vinylmation: You were a featured artist at The Customation Project a few weeks ago and you came up with some astonishing figures.

Chelsey: As I mentioned, I want to take my custom to a next level. Well, here it is.

DV: Ok, this first one is California Adventure’s Grizzly River Run. Tell us all about it.

Chelsey: This piece is my favorite so far. I spent over 3 weeks to finish it. I sculpted the inner scene from the famous rush down on the ride. Then I made it light up from the vinyl’s head. I covered it with a cap (which is removable so that if the batteries runs out, it will be very easy to replace the batteries in the flash light).

Outside of the bear is realistic fur instead of paint. That’s one of my favorite rides in California Adventure. That’s why I really wanted to make it perfect. Hope you guys like it.

DV: Next up is Tom and Jerry. How did you decide on this custom combo?

Chelsey: I really loved to watch Tom and Jerry when I was young. I haven’t seen any artist make any customs on them. I decided to take a shot.

DV: That is a very inovative use of the 9″ Vinylmation. The third custom you are sharing with us today you call Dream castle. 

Chelsey: I wasn’t really impressed by the castle nine inches that have been produced (i.e. Hong Kong 9″ castle.) that’s why I decided to make my own version of it. I wanted to make it more 3D. That’s why i sculpted the balconies for the princesses.

DV: As always Chelsey, thank you for sharing your work with our readers.

Chelsey: I’ll send you the new 3″ ones later. Hope you guys enjoy. Again, thank you very much for helping post the info about The Customation Project.

Park Starz Review

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

They said it would be different. This set would “break the mold” so to speak. It would also push new boundaries and do things no Vinylmation set has done yet. The new Park Starz set, released today, has given us 12 vinyl figures without a single Mickey mold. This set also has a 2 for 1. And some obscure Disney references.

The entire series is packaged in blind boxes, or rather blind tins for the price of $18.95. That puts Park Starz $6 more than any other blind box set. So each individual collector has to make the call if there is enough value added into each character created. If you get the chance, make sure to stop by and say hi to Disney artists Thomas Scott and Casey Jones at D-Street Orlando today. They will be signing from 5p-7p.

Park Starz are different in that each figure is molded into a characterture of the Disney Park character they represent. They all have some great little details and unique accessories like the Horizon Butler’s duster and Jose’s perch.

Park Starz measure up at about the same height as your 3″ Vinylmation. My favorite out of the initial 12 is Big Al from the Country Bears Jamboree.

His large, exagerated figure looks amazing in person. As does his little guitar. Park Starz was a team effort between Thomas Scott, Casey Jones and Lin Shih. Love them, like them or dislike them, you can tell a lot of thought, and Disney Parks passion, went into each and every figure.

Abe Lincoln stands tall and stout with the Gettysburg Address firm in hand. His tuft of hair and beard are molded out from the rest of his head. It’s a great representation of an important piece of Disney Park history.

The you have the Blizzard Beach Ice Gator. A more contemporary park mascot. He has a very cartoonish look. He is very playful and colorful. Very appealing to a certain audience. That’s the beauty of this set. It can be enjoyed by a wide range of fans. But at it’s core, Park Starz serves the core parks fan. It’s chaser is a character only die-hards would recognize.

Click to see Park Starz Mystery Chaser

Another of my favorites is the Haunted Mansion Bride. This ghostly spirit borders that edge between a beautiful collectible and just spooky enough looking that it fits into that old creepy house. The veil and ax in hand are magnificent touches.

The 2 for 1 I mentioned is from It’s A Small World. Both the boy and the goat are both packaged in one tin. These look really special and are artistically designed, while still holding true to the great Mary Blair’s concept.

Overall, Park Starz makes a welcome addition to the Vinylmation scene. They are both designed and produced very well and will no doubt feature us Disney Geek’s favorite characters in every set. While Mickey-mold Vinylmation stand up as great mini works of art, Park Starz should serve a market for affordably priced Disney Park collectibles.