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U7 + DHS = FUN
Urban 7 was released on Friday, and like many Vinylmation sets, couldn’t wait to check out the theme park. So, I tracked this set down at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and found an unlikely love connection as well. We will post those pic later. In the mean time, check these out. And remember, to see the variant photos, please go over to our Facebook page.
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| The Aliens observed earth life at the Sci-Fi Dine-In |
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| Rock’n Roller Coaster got a visit from Jukebox |
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| Doug Strayer’s Squirrel found a good home |
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| Was Crazy Zombie Rabbit at the Florida Project taping? |
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| Dark Side of the Mouse enjoying the studios |
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| Disturbed fill’n up cars at Oscar’s |
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| Cyclops |
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| Boo! |
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| Paint Splatter made a mess inside the Muppets Gift Shop |
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| So they tossed him to the curb |
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| Just getting back from a fruitful swim |
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| Right at home in the Prime Time Cafe |
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| We took a break to eat at Spaghetti’s favorite place |
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| Zombie School Girl takes a drop on the tower |
Comic Con Exclusive Pop Vinyl
If you happen to be in San Diego this week for Comic Con, check out some of the cool Disney Pop Vinyl exclusives that will be sold there. Warning: If you aren’t at the Sand Diego Comic Con DO NOT LOOK AT THESE. YOU WILL WANT THEM!
The 9″ Metallic Maleficent will be sold for $50. There is a LE of 360. Needless to say, this looks awesome! The metallic finish really gives the piece a great look. And at 9″, Maleficent will cast fear into the heart of anyone who goes into your room.
9″ Buzz will also be $50 and have a LE of 360. I miss that he doesn’t have a helmet, but his suit looks much shinier in metal. What do you think?
This 3″ Mr. Incredible is dressed in the suit he wore in his younger days. Of all the pieces that are comic con exclusives, this is the one I’d want. It’s super cool, and only $15 with a LE of 480.
Mike Wazowski is 3″s tall, sells for $15, has a LE of 480, and GLOWS IN THE DARK. How awesome is that?
I’m not sure what “flocked” means, but this Sulley for $15 and with a LE of 480 seems pretty soft from looking at it. I think it means it will be furry. Not like hairy, but just like short peach fuzz across his body. Weird….
Now this is the Metallic I was thinking of when I read about the 9″ exclusives. Sort of like the Metal powerup in Super Smash Brothers. Mickey is all metallic colored and only $15. There also only 480 of him, so get him while you can!
Also at Comic Con, Ben Butcher, Disney-Pixar designer will meet with Comic-Con attendees and sign autographs at the Funko Booth #4829 on July 21 and July 22 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
If the convention is too much for you, head over to the Fashion Valley Mall Disney Store location, where they can meet their favorite Disney Store Vinylmation artists on July 22 and 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
More 9″ Park 6 Release Dates
Both of these have already been seen on the shelves at Disneyland Paris, but today, Disney announced a July 29 release date stateside for both Davy Crockett and Animal Kingdom Crate. They will be released at both D-Streets as well as a “limited quantity” available at the Disney Store Online. Check them out below and visit our 9″ Park 6 Explained page for more details.
This figure is designed by Maria Clapsis, is LE 800 and will set you back $44.95. Normally, I love everything Maria puts out, but this one will not be joining my collection. As a 3″, it would be welcome, but especially with so many other great 9″ and the price tag, it just doesn’t work for me. It’s a well done design, but doesn’t have that special touch 9″ need to warrant the purchase for me. But I am curious… what animal lurks in the darkness?
The King of the Wild Frontier was a favorite of mine as a kid, and I am so glad designer Casey Jones went the extra step to make Davy Crockett’s signature cap removable! Davy is LE 1000 and will retail for $44.95. As you can tell, this is an immediate pick up for me.
Robots Vinylmation Explained
Here is you look at both the 3″ and 9″ figures in the Robots series. Robots is a set of 11 blind box Vinylmation with 1 Mystery Chaser and 3 limited edition 9″ figures. Robots is exclusive to Disney Stores and was designed by artists Oscar Mendez, Jim Valeri, Enrique Pita, Gerald Mendez and Marcella Lau.
Release Date: July 22, 2011
Retail: $9.95/box and $238/case
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Atomic Bot 3″ by Oskar Mendez This fiery figure has a cool skull-like plate on it’s face. |
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Communication Bot 3″ by Oskar Mendez This one is a bit more plain than the others in the set. It has a Tron-like disc on the body. It’s colors seem to represent crash test dummy more than communicator. |
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Cranky Bot 3″ by Jim Valeri Disney says that even Robots can get a little cranky. This guy has some cool detail. Clear ears with light bulbs, one broken. Clear arms with scratched up paint. Some chips on the belly and a chipped tooth. “Best in the set.” – Nick |
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El Elektro Bot 3″ by Enrique Pita A Mexican Wrestler style Robot. With his lightning bolts all over and flames in the ears, this guy has a lot of spark. The colors are great on this one. |
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Ignition Bot 3″ by Gerald Mendez He has a couple bolts in his ears and screws all over his body and arms. A big red on / off button decorates his body. He has a cool steel color scheme. |
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Love Bot 3″ by Enrique Pita Disney would like you to know that Robots have feelings too! With a big grin and a warm heart, this red and black robot is ready for love. Or does he use his innocent face to steal other’s hearts? He has big bolts in his ears and pac man shaped eyes. |
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Radio Bot 3″ by Enrique Pita It looks like he has dials for eyes and little antenna actually attached to his head. Some mesh ears to catch or send radio waves? And what looks like speakers on the body. |
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Security Bot 3″ by Gerald Mendez He has a clear head and few cool features. First, the wavy brown lines across the forehead look like hair. The bulbs for eyes look good too. I also like the wave representing the mouth. |
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Steampunk Bot 3″ by Gerald Mendez We first called this Robot C3-PRobot. But toss some gears on and Disney has yet another Steampunk figure. He has clear ears with some bulbs painted in. |
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Tesla Bot 3″ by Jim Valeri Disney calls this one “the mad scientist of the bunch.” Ya, he has some nifty coils in his ears, but can he play “Secrets” by One Republic? |
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UltraSonic Bot 3″ by Enrique Pita This is a busy design. It looks like this Robot can DJ you next party. Some turntables on the body with volume faders. You can see the sound waves all around this figure. |
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Mystery Chaser |
9″ Robot Vinylmation
Release Date: July 22, 2011
Retail: $39.95
LE: 700
 Here is a peak at the backs:  |
Reflector Bot 9″ by Oskar Mendez LE 700 This Robot really shines. |
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Salvage Bot 9″ by Jim Valeri LE 700 An amazing design with a Robot in the “cockpit” drawn in the head. He is at the controls. Another great feature is the satellite dishes in the ears. They have a neat shadow effect. |
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Silly Bot 9″ by Marcella Lau LE 700 This guy scares me. The name describes the crazy face. He has some wacky piston like designs in the body and a big metal cap with antennas. This is probably to keep the aliens from reading his brain. |
ZoMG: Pirate Vinylmation Invade Disneyland
Last week after picking up my Pirates of the Caribbean Vinylmation I figured I would go and have some fun at Disneyland. After walking around the park for a while, my bad seemed a bit too light. When I looked down into my D-Street bag, the six Pirate figures that I purchased were missing! There was only one place they could be… the Pirates of the Caribbean ride! Luckily I got there in time before they could manage to get inside so there wasn’t too much damage.
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| First I saw, the Dirty Foot Pirate and the Dirty Pig playing in, of course the dirt outside of the Pirates ride. |
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| Then I spied the Hook Handed Pirate and the Pirate Crew Member lurking in the actual sign in front of the ride. Everyone kept staring at them and they couldn’t understand why. |
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| Then as I entered the line I spotted Jack Sparrow reading the sign that explains the ride to guests. He was intrigued to find out what was in these dark mysterious caverns, maybe treasure? Rum? |
Finally, they decided to meet up with Tiny at the Pirates of the Caribbean fountain right before you enter the ride. I was able to grab them all in time before they went inside and stirred up even more trouble! – Zoe
Disney Store Online Under Repairs
This morning at 3 AM (EST) I went to check out the DisneyStore.com and look what popped up. Usually when they update the products the store does not shut, so this must mean something bigger is happening. Any ideas? Do you think Vinylmation will have anything to do with it? How long will it last?
Update 07/15/11 8:30am – (from Nick) I just wanted to add, remember my call with Disney’s Presidential Customer service two weeks ago that I talked about in the Vinylmation online policy change article? A change was expected this weekend. Disney’s Presidential Customer Service department called me about an online survey I filled out about my online ordering experience. The customer service rep did seem genuinely interested in all I had to say about release times, fake sell outs and yes, purchase limits. When I asked what would be done, she told me that a HUGE change to the Disney Store Online will occur on July 18th. She said it will improve inventory control, the way we find items and the way we check out. The 18th is Monday, and DisneyStore.com has since changed the graphic on the home page to this:
ZoMG: Arial and Goofy Visit DCA
On Friday, two California exclusive Passholder Vinylmation figures were released. Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Goofy’s Sky School. These two Vinylmation couldn’t wait to explore their attractions at Disney’s California Adventure and see everything for themselves. Luckily I was there to capture the adventure! We began by following Goofy over to his new ride.
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| He first checked in with one of his pilots as you can see above, things seem to be going great. |
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| Goofy gave us a tour of the ride. He showed us where they keep his goggles and flight suits. |
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| Goofy then showed off his official… well sort of official flight school permit. |
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| He also showed us his instructor’s license. Looking good Goofy! |
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| Goofy posing with the sky school poster. |
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| Goofy then decided that he was ready to go on the Sky School ride. After months of preparation, the ride was ready to go! |
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| Just hanging in the queue waiting for our turn. |
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| And we’re off! |
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| We made it! |
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| That was fun… don’t forget about me in here! |
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| After the ride Goofy showed us a Hidden Mickey! See the tool on the left! |
After Goofy’s Sky School we took the Little Mermaid figure around to have her show us around my favorite ride, Ariel’s Undersea Adventure!
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| Here we are!! Ariel’s Undersea Adventure! |
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| The first stop was the hidden seashells in the ground. Ariel wanted to bring a little piece of the ocean with her to California Adventure; this was a perfect way to do it! |
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| Almost there! |
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| We then got a tour of the inside of the ride, so beautiful. |
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| Almost time to get in the shell and go under the sea! |
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| In the shell ready to go! |
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| We’re going under the sea… |
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| Saying hello to Ariel on the surface with flounder. Hey guys! |
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| We got no troubles, life is the bubbles, under the sea! |
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| Glowing! |
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| Go on and kiss the girl!! |
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| Bye guys! |
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| That was so much fun! |
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| As we were about to exit, we discovered a treasure chest over by Prince Eric’s Castle! |
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| We stopped to play in some seaweed on our way out because after all, the seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake. |
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| Swimming with Ariel outside of the ride. |
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| Admiring the beautiful entrance! |
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| Hey look who we found on our way to meet back up with Goofy! |
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| We met back up with Goofy at the Blue Sky Cellar. This is where I would always go to find out all the new things that were happening with the Little Mermaid ride. |
And that concludes our trip! Hope you guys enjoyed our adventure and visit Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Goofy’s Sky School when you get a chance! – Zoe
Vinylmation Exchange Report: Location Specific
By Ryan Thompson
Welcome to another episode of V.E.R., or the Vinylmation Exchange Report. It’s no secret that part of the allure of Vinylmation is the ability to trade for the ones you want; however, sometimes it’s hard to be sure you’re getting a fair trade.
This article, will contain reports based on several websites that sell and trade Vinylmation in order to give YOU, the faithful reader, an idea on how hard it will be to get the figure you want as well as update everyone to the best of our ability if certain figures are sold out or close to being sold out. VER will cover “Rising stars”, or figures that are on the increase in trade value, and “sinking” stars – figures that might be on the way down, so you can grab them up or trade them before the value sinks!
This month has seen an EXPLOSION of location exclusive Vinylmations. These are the figures that can ONLY be found in one location or city, such as the newly announced Denmark exclusives. These can be some of the toughest figures to locate, and since they are mostly related to their specific location, can hold a special place in certain collector’s hearts that have a personal tie to the location.
For this particular article we are adding a “I gotta have it right now price”, which is what you would pay if you had to buy this figure immediately, without shopping or trading around. Prices for figures fluctuate dramatically, so consider that when you’re shopping for your favorite new figure!
NOTE: These do not include figures exclusive to the Walt Disney World or Disneyland parks!
V.E.R. RISING STARS
1. NYC Exclusive 9″ I Love NY
Way back in 2009, when Vinylmation was in its infancy, the New York City Disneystore was the first to get its own location-specific Vinylmation. It also marks the first, and only time that this writer can recall, that the Vinylmation was “embossed” so to speak, with Mickey’s “head” done up in red bricks that you could feel. Despite only being LE450, this figure sat on the shelves… right up until the old NYC Disneystore closed, and was even part of the clearance sale. Reports indicate that the small remaining batch of these figures made the trek down to the WDW area, but they were gone and prices remained stagnant at just above cost for a long time. However, the recent rash of NYC exclusives has given a second life to this figure, (even though one of them is a near look-a-like) and its price has recently skyrocketed.
The “I gotta have it right now price?”: $200 – $300
2. Hong Kong Exclusive 9″ Castle
The Hong Kong exclusives simply came out of nowhere, the first of the foreign country specific Vinylmations, and all three offered figures that were similar to previously available (or at least announced) in the U.S.A. The Dumbo, perhaps the hardest to find trade wise because it’s US counterpart won’t be released until September is one of the first figures with a hat, but it’s the HK Castle that is the higher value, but mostly because it’s a 9 inch figure. It’s almost identical to the DLR Castle released during Park 2, only it features Mickey Mouse welcoming you to the gates of the castle in Hong Kong, and the trademark HK Fairy Dust, found on all three of the HK exclusive figures.
The “I gotta have it right now price?”: $100 – $150
3. Japan Exclusive 3″ Pirate Mickey: Hero of the Caribbean
Thanks to some bilingual Vinylmation fans, we’re able to get information off of the Japanese Disney Store website, and the release of the Pirate Mickey HOTC was one that everyone got excited for. Released near the premiere of the newest “Pirates of the Caribbean” film, collectors waited with baited breath to hear when this figure which comes in what will probably be the last (and best designed) tin, would see a release over in the States. Only, it never happened. Luckily this figure is not LE as far as any translators can tell, and a flurry of them has already made their way onto American soil. Still, the price is high, and given the upcoming Pirates series, will likely stay that way for awhile.
The “I gotta have it right now price?”: $30 – $40
V.E.R. SINKING STARS
1. NYC Exclusive 9″ Boroughs
Featuring a bunch of exciting images words, it’s no wonder this well designed yet rather boring 9 inch figure sells for less than its retail value, repeatedly. Perhaps only the hardcore of collectors or NYC fans would need this figure when compared to the flurry of other NYC figures that are… how do we put this, more “visually stimulating.”
The “I gotta have it right now price?”: $30 – $50
2. Hong Kong Exclusive 3″ Sorcerer Mickey
The Sorceror Mickey, the last of the 3 Hong Kong Exclusives features the “fairy dust” as outlined in the 9” counterpart above, but offers very little else compared to its U.S. counterpart… except that it’s not winking. That’s right, the lack of the wink is the major separator here between the two versions of Sorcerer Mickey figures available to Vinylmation fans, and while that might make it the very first, albeit unintentional, “Variant”, it also means people that have easier access to the US one have very little reason to shell out the big bucks for this one.
The “I gotta have it right now price?”: $20 – $30
3. NYC Exclusive 3″ Minnie Mouse Statue of Liberty tin
A great design, with a popular artist, from one of the most popular statues in history, sounds like an instant sellout, right? Well, no, not quite. Seriously, I want to emphasis this is a GREAT design, despite making it to the bottom of this article, and the only reason that this price is not through the roof is that there are crowds of them on the U.S. shelves. Initially a hot ticket item, the Minnie dressed as the Statue, complete with cute tiny torch, swiftly sunk in resell value. I guess everyone already has one?
The “I gotta have it right now price?”: $18 – $20
Lots of new designs will be flooding this particular market soon, and while some of them seem rather neat, it will be interesting to see how well they do in the secondary market. I really like the design of the San Fransicso “Golden Gate Bridge” for example, but without ever being there myself, will it be worth the purchase price? Time will tell, and until then… make mine Vinylmation!
Destination Disney Radio Show: June 17, 2011
Disney just raised ticket prices, we tackle the whys and ask if you would give up some new park elements for consistant and lower ticket prices at times. We also what other guest cost like food and rooms are doing. Also, Doug Ingersol, author of The Complete Idiots Guide to WDW stops by to talk Disney Dining. We of course bring you the news behind all the latest Disney headlines. We thank you for listening to Destination Disney.
The Destination Disney Radio Show can be heard live every Friday at 6pm EST at www.HeartbeatRadioUSA.com. Subscribe to our show on iTunes. Call in with your comments or questions to 209-28-MOUSE. For updates, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @DisneyNews.