Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Zach

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

Today, we feature the work of a newcomer to the custom artist scene, Zach from Radnor, PA.

Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been customizing Vinylmation?
Zach: I have been customizing for 2 months.

DV: How did you get into creating customs?
Z: There were some vinylmations that Disney hasn’t created yet, or characters I felt I could change and make better that I really wanted to see on the Vinylmation mold. So I decided to start painting them as customs myself.

DV: Do you work on any other types of canvases? 
Z: I have painted on regular canvases, but Vinylmations were my first 3D mold.

DV: Why did you choose the Toy Story Alien as the subject of one of your pieces?
Z: I chose the Toy Story Alien because he is one of my favorite Disney characters of all time, and I felt Disney didn’t properly represent him in Park 2 with the lack of certain features, such as the antenna.

DV: What was the biggest obstacle in creating the Merida figure?
Z: The biggest obstacle in creating the Merida figure was trying to make her face look right without the hair, and trying to figure out how the hair should appear.

DV: What part are you most proud of?
Z: I am most proud of the Toy Story Alien because I feel he turned out true to e character, and had some of the features Disney didn’t.

DV: You seem to favor Pixar movies… what are your favorites?
Z: My favorite Pixar movies are Toy Story, Brave, and Finding Nemo.

DV: Do you have a site where people can view your work?
Z: I have a Facebook page called Customs By Zach where people are able to view all my customs.

Happy 57th Birthday Disneyland

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

As Disneyland celebrates its 57th anniversary, I remember back fondly to my one and only trip to the original Disney theme park. Although my heart belongs to Walt Disney World, I am not afraid to admit that my one day at Disneyland was one of the best I ever had. Here are a few of my highlights…

I love the Disney Character additions to It’s a Small World

Fantasyland sure had it’s picturesque views

I got to revisit some old friends

Nemo Submarine was surprisingly one of the most fun adventures I had.

People always ask me which park’s attractions are better. Overall, my answer is neither. Jungle Cruise, Small World, Big Thunder… to me they all have their own high points. The exception by far is Pirates of the Caribbean. I fell in love with Disneyland’s version and went on it 3 times. WDW’s pales in comparison. 

At the end of the day, it was just nice to sit back and enjoy the history and beauty of this park and what it means to us Disney fans.

Park Starz Yeti Rides Expedition Everest

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

Austin and I had the rare chance to tag along with the great and mysterious Yeti as he visited Animal Kingdom to ride Expedition Everest.

Yeti arrives at Animal Kingdom on a beautiful summer day.
It didn’t take him long to find Asia
Like most tourists, the Yeti could not resist a photo in front the fabled mountain range.
First he made sure he fit in the ride vehicle. Plenty of arm room. You know how those Yetis like to move their arms!
Then, with a 90 minute wait, it was wise to grab a Fast Pass. A nimble creature the Yeti is.
Respect the Yeti you will.
While waiting, he shopped at the Serka Zong Bazaar. “How dare they make me look cute!”
“Arrrg! Now I’m a Yeti!” He said it should shrink in the wash.
Now it was time! The anticipation grew! Let’s get in line, our time has come!
“Sorry sir, you must be one Yeti foot tall to ride Expedition Everest.” What!!! Grrrr! What does that even mean!? I AM a Yeti!
A very angry Yeti then spent the rest of the afternoon swatting at guests as they swooped off the mountain side. He didn’t hit much, but it made him feel better.

History of: The Land, Epcot

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

The Land Pavilion at Walt Disney World opened just about 35 years ago with Phase 1 of the rest of Epcot Center on October 1, 1982. 

Epcot, The Land Pavilion Circa 1982
Photo from Matterhorn1959.blogspot.com



For some undefined reason, this is my favorite pavilion in all of Epcot. It is not the most exciting. It doesn’t have the best food. And it is home to one of the longest wait times and hardest to get Fast Passes in all of Walt Disney World. But I enjoy the Living with the Land boat ride. 



It’s a nice relaxing trip through the greenhouses when the rest of the park is hot and in a rush. I enjoy Soarin’. Not as much as most, but the imagineering behind the ride system make it a special experience. I enjoy the smells of the food court. Not sure why, but the mixture of whatever they are cooking up makes me hungry every time. But most of all, I enjoy the sights. The greenery lining the entrance is inviting. The walls, ceilings and carpets are full of color. And then of course, there are the 4 seasons balloons…

And this is were Caley Hicks took her inspiration when designing the 9″ Park 9 The Land figure.

It is a remarkable figure, brilliantly illustrating summer, winter, fall and spring as seen on the four hot air balloons that hang high over the food court. Caley was able to incorporate all the features of each balloon including the bird on summer and butterflies on fall.

For me it’s the colors of this building that stay ingrained in memory and the colors here seem spot on.

The 9″ Park 9 Epcot, The Land figure will be in stores on July 20. The edition size is 1000 and the retail price is $44.95.

Now for a bit of history about The Land. The pavilion underwent a gradual refurbishment beginning on September 27, 1993. The pavilion’s main attraction, Listen to the Land, which took guests on connected boats through various exhibits within the pavilion, reopened mostly unchanged as Living with the Land on December 10, 1993.

The Kitchen Kabaret another of the pavilion’s original attractions featuring an Audio-Animatronics presentation about nutrition, closed on January 3, 1994. It was replaced with a new show titled Food Rocks, which featured some of the elements from the original show with an updated presentation intended to be more modern and appealing to younger audiences. Food Rocks has since closed down to make room for “The Land”‘s newest attraction, Soarin’. Soarin’s massive movie screens and ride mechanics required the construction of a large physical addition to the pavilion itself.

Symbiosis, the last of “The Land”‘s three original attractions, was closed on January 1, 1995. This attraction, which was a cinematic presentation that discussed both the positive and negative aspects of human relationship with the land, eventually reopened as Circle of Life, a new film featuring characters from The Lion King.

Between 2004 and 2005, the pavilion underwent its second major refurbishment. It received a new color scheme and foliage. The walkways and stroller parking to the pavilion’s entrance were redefined and widened. All of the carpeting in the pavilion was replaced, and the main food court was completely redesigned. The pavilion’s signage was updated, incorporating the new color scheme, new typography, and a modernized logotype.

Former Attractions:
Listen to the Land (October 1, 1982 – September 27, 1993)
Kitchen Kabaret (October 1, 1982 – January 3, 1994)
Food Rocks (1994 – January 3, 2004)
Symbiosis (October 1, 1982 – January 1, 1995)

Current Attractions:
Living with the Land (December 10, 1993–Present)
Soarin’ (May 5, 2005–Present)
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable (January 21, 1995–Present)
Behind the Seeds Tour

Current Dining:
The Garden Grill Restaurant
Sunshine Seasons food court

Disney Parks Merchandise on the Horizon for 2012

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

The Disney Parks have some exciting and unique mefchandise offerings coming up in 2012 and Steven Miller was nice enough to share a sneak peek at some of the product on the Disney Parks Blog:

I feel like a time traveler at Disney Theme Park Merchandise. I’m surrounded by developers and artists who are already creating cool things that will arrive in late 2012 (a long development time is essential for many categories). I wanted to give you a sneak preview of their work in what I hope will be a recurring article. The article title is a nod to my favorite Disney attraction, Horizons, which also gave a glimpse into the future. Here are a few of my favorite items currently in production.

I’ve been a long time fan of The Haunted Mansion clock and the timepiece pictured above is a worthy tribute. It’s heavy and the details on the watch and figure are impressive. Disney Design Group artist Caley Hicks, who also designed the Vinylmation – Flags series, created the artwork. Releasing in a few months, this is the last timepiece in our Vinylmation watch series. The set will have an edition size of 750 and a retail of $175.

Our next stop – a new mystery pin set coming this summer to the Disneyland Resort. This limited release set contains 12 pins (plus a few chasers), and was designed by Disney Design Group artists Quynh Kimball and John Henselmeier (from Starspeeder 1000 Vehicle Playset fame). Product developer Jeanne Lewis told me that this collection “highlights favorite Disneyland attractions in license plate form.” Her favorite pin is “World of Color”, while mine is the Jungle Cruise (with Duffy The Disney Bear a close second, of course).

I like wearing ties (as you may have seen in previous Disney Parks Blog articles). That article contained a sneak preview of a new tie coming this year. There are a few additional items arriving in April that I think are super cool – bow ties! All I need now is a hat.

Speaking of hats, here is a first look at the Buzz Lightyear-themed Disney Ear Hat that will be arriving this fall. It is part of the Disney character ear hat collection that was first introduced last August.

Sadly, unlike Horizons, you won’t be able to choose your own ending to this article. But stay tuned as more cool things are coming.

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Brian Shapiro

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

We recently put out a call for custom artist designs on the new Vinylmation 95 mold and have received a great response! Keep those customs coming. Today, we feature an artist familiar to DV, Brian Shapiro.

Destination Vinylmation: What inspired you to choose Maleficent as the subject of your first Vinylmation 95 custom?
Brian Shapiro: Maleficent is my hands down favorite Disney Villain.  Whether she’s in Sleeping Beauty, Fantasmic, or even Kingdom Keepers, she never disappoints!  Also, I think she has the most striking features in both her humanoid and dragon forms!

DV: You managed to place all of Maleficent’s iconic features onto the canvas to make it instantly recognizable. Did this take much planning on paper, or were you able to instantly picture it on the mold?
Brian: When I saw the Vinylmation 95 canvas for the first time, I immediately noticed the horn shaped side windows and instantly thought of the Maleficent dragon.  From that starting point, it was easy to imagine her features on the new mold.  The hood of the car worked perfectly for the snout, and the spoiler was a perfect place for wings.  I did sketch out the design, though, before painting it.  I downloaded an image of the canvas from disneystore.com and inverted the colors on my iPad to make it black.  Then I used a paint program to layout the basic design features.  In the end, she came out looking exactly as I imagined her!

CPU Rendering

DV: What was the most challenging part of the this design?
Brian: The most challenging part was the placement of the wings.  While the spoiler on the back of the car was an ideal location, it wasn’t split down the midline to provide two separate wings.  As a result, I had to take some artistic license and make the wings appear pressed together in the midline.  I’m really happy with how they came out.

DV: You pulled off exactly what I hoped an artist would do. You ignored the features of the car itself (tires, windshield, etc.) and just painted a design onto the canvas… sort of like an artist ignoring the placement of eyes, feet or arms on a Mickey shape. Was this difficult to do?
Brian: Not with this particular design, which was pretty obvious to me once I saw the canvas.  As you have previously spotlighted, I created a version of the Maleficent dragon on the 3″ Mickey shaped mold, and Disney recently released a version on the 9″ Mickey shaped mold, but a lot of compromises had to be made in both of those instances.  I think the Vinylmation 95 canvas is ideal for characters with snouts and bills like Figment, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto.

DV: As an artist, what is the major difference between working on a Lightning McQueen shaped mold as opposed to Mickey?
Brian: Other than the shape, I think the biggest difference is that you can’t disassemble the figure into separate pieces like you can with the Mickey shaped mold.  As a result, you are forced to handle the figure in areas that have already been painted.  Because the Maleficent dragon is mostly black in color, it was hard for me to keep the black paint clean.  Every little piece of dust would show, and if I had the slightest trace of yellow or purple on my fingers, it would appear where it wasn’t supposed to.  In this case, once I finished painting in all the features, I placed her on top of a jar of peanut butter and painted back in all the black areas!

DV: Did you enjoy working on the Vinylmation 95 mold enough to do more?
Brian: I really enjoyed working with the canvas a lot!  Ironically, I’m not a huge fan of the Cars movies or even cars in general, but I think the Vinylmation 95 canvas has a lot of potential.  I have another blank that I would like to paint.

DV: Can you give us any hints to what we might see next?
Brian: I have a few ideas, but I’m undecided on which one I will pursue.  I will definitely keep you posted, and I appreciate your generous support of my art!

P.S. – Brian sent us a little tease of his next project just before this article went live:

Field Trip! Nerds go to Epcot

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

It’s Summer vacation for most kids out there, but the Disney Nerds can’t get enough of school. So they have been sent off to summer camp to keep on learning. Last week, they took advantage of the beautiful Florida sunshine with a field trip to Epcot. Math, Science, Art and History are all at your finger tips at this Walt Disney World park.

The class is on their way to the park entrance.
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Chip ‘n Dale don’t need too much help in this area, but they picked up some tips on how they can better live with the land.
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They took in the sights and sounds of nature.
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Donald was amazed at the physics of an up side down waterfall.
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Daisy was also drawn to water, but she wanted to learn about The Living Seas.
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No goofing around here… lets learn about speed!
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Double bonus! Not only is Pluto a Bill Nye fan, but he also loves energy!
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This is one thing they do not teach you in class… but Figment is an expert in Imagination.
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Stitch isn’t looking to escape… he’s just on a mission to learn more about the galaxy.
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Is an Imagineering degree in the works? Mickey discovers that this shape is everywhere in nature. (at least here at Walt Disney World.)
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Always excited about culture, Minnie explores the World Showcase.
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Only the nerdiest of Nerds would be interested in the survey marker found in the parking lot.
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A “What if” experiment went wrong and Nerd Mickey was super sized!
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Speaking of experiments… Stitch is in awe of the Mickey Spaceman statue…
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…so he poses for one of his own.
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Nerd Figment went home with a bunch of cool souvenirs.

ZoMG: Under the Big Top Release Party

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

Zoe went to the Costa Mesa, CA Disney Store release of the new Vinylmation mystery box series Under the Big Top. Check out her pictures:

Poster advertising the big event!
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There were clowns, a carousel, games and other entertainment.
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Wow! The packaging looks great!
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Gold and Silver tickets were handed out to guests. 
The more product purchased, the more autographs you could get.
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Here is a look at what Zoe and her friend pulled from the blind boxes. All signed by artist Gerald Mendez.

Villains 3 Attempt DHS Takeover

WDWNT on July 27, 2012

Villains 1 set up a stronghold at the Swiss Family Treehouse, but ultimately could not conquer the Magic Kingdom.Villains 2 harnessed the powers of Epcot to destroy Walt Disney World, but fell short at the poisoned well. I thought they had learned their lesson until a scorching hot summer day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Austin and I were just minding our own business, going on our favorite rides when out of no where the attack began. Villains 3 thought that by capturing the power of the movies and sabotaging the rides, they could rule Walt Disney World.

Judge Frolo wasn’t pleased the US park stole this car stunt show idea from Disneyland Paris. So his devious plan was to take it out, flooding the rest of the park with overflow crowds!
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He also decided to conquer New York City while he was here.
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The Coachman hijacked some prop cars around the studio to take guests to Pleasure Island (in Downtown Disney) where they were forced to watch the human statue show for hours and hours on end.
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Gaston was on his way to take over the Beauty and the Beast theater, but then he caught his reflection in the water fountain and began thinking “wow, you’re ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career.”
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Oh how Gideon wanted so much to be a famous actor. And fame would bring him power. And with power he could help the Villains rule WDW! So he planted his memorabilia inside Sid Cahuenga’s where people would see it and think he was famous. Sure, it’s a long term plan, but he’s just not that devious.
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The Queen of Hearts became ruler of the movies. Only the best films would now be made or else… You guessed it… Off with their heads!
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Chernabog made an appearance in Fantasmic to let loose his evil spirits onto the crowd.
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Look who we found hiding in a corner inside the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Ratigan was lurking around, chewing on the elevator cables.
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Smee wanted to enlist only the best pirates for his crew. Where better to find pirates than… The American Idol Experience! Why? Everyone knows the best Pirates also love to sing! “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!”
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Tick Tock was lurking in the swamps.
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Madame Medusa used this magic film strip to steal the fortunes of all the Disney film characters.
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Mortimer Mouse was seen sneaking around the Disney Animation building.
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His plan was to have himself drawn into every Mickey Mouse cartoon ever made. Replacing Mickey with himself and therefore changing history and becoming the most powerful cartoon on earth!
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The great Disney animators were too smart for this trick, and Mickey remained the #1 mouse. But a pair of Villains have still been unaccounted for…
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Si and Am wanted nothing more than to share their golden voices with people world wide. They were spotted sneaking around back stage.
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There, they found the secret Cast Members Only recording studio.
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The plan was to hypnotize everyone with their spooky chants.
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But then they got distracted. A back stage pass!
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And a chance meeting with the legend himself. The excitement made the sinister cat duo forget all about their evil plans… for now.