Tim Alcoser’s 6-29-13 Disneyland Photo Report

WDWNT on July 17, 2013

Disneyland News Today Reporter Tim Alcoser visited the Disneyland Resort on Saturday (6/29) and caught a few bits of news in and around the resort.

The Steam Engine from the upcoming film, The Lone Ranger, is on display east of the Esplanade at Disneyland’s East Transportation Center.

A fairly obvious hidden mickey is seen inside the cab of the engine.  I wonder if you will be able to see it in the movie…?

A closer look.

It’s a real Steam Train.  Not just a movie prop.

With 4th of July almost here, many guests are stopping to enjoy the Flag Retreat ceremony.

Over at Disney California Adventure, Sir Tow Mater takes a stroll towards Carsland.

Radiator Springs Racers was down for awhile when I dropped by.

Here’s another look at the holiday decorations on Buena Vista Street.  Buena Vista Street is all set to celebrate it’s second Independence Day!

“We sell hats…and not much else…”

With Summer in full swing comes the return of an annual guest favorite.  The All American College Band.

The band is very talented and always draws huge crowds.

A look at Main Street USA, finally cooling off after a heat wave rolled across much of the state.

80z All Star Band played 80’s favorites all evening long.

The large crane that was rebuilding Big Thunder’s track has been long gone.  But basic renovations of the landscape still go on.

Magical! Fireworks Spectacular.

What Disney day is complete without Fantasmic?

Lasers, lights, fireworks and smoke.  Hope you enjoyed the report!

New DCA, Carsland and Disneyland Vinylmation

WDWNT on June 22, 2012

Attractions Magazine posted a video interview with Steven Miller at last week’s merchandise showcase at WDW. In the video, we see numerous upcoming figures that we have been sharing over the past few days. Thanks to one of our readers Kevin, we have more to share.

Unfortunately the camera does not get close to these, but Steven points at this part of the display and refers to DCA, Carsland and Disneyland vinyls. The 9 inch does look Carsland themed with the mountains and road and red car. It appears to be a take on the DCA Carsland Radiator Springs Racers Poster.

This view gives us a more clear view of the 9″. No word on release dates or edition sizes.

This next 9 inch portrays the poster for the Buena Vista Street Red Car Trolley that is coming to DCA.

Here is a look at the actual poster hanging in the Blue Sky Cellar.

If you can help us identify the 3″ figures in the photos above, that would be much appreciated. But it looks like Disneyland fans have a lot of vinyls to look forward to this summer. Also, Disney seems to be releasing commemorative vinyls in a timely fashion more and more. That gives me great hope we will see some fantastic designs for Storybook Circus and Fantasyland over here on the east coast.

New 9″ Vinylmation Shape Racing to Stores

WDWNT on June 11, 2012

In an interesting twist, a new 9″ Vinylmation shape has been announced, but not on Disney’s official Vinylmation Blog. We first saw the news on Noah’s Fine Art blog, then on the Disney Parks Blog. The mold will be in the shape of Lightning McQueen and is called “Vinylmation 95.”

At first I thought this might just be a custom deal, but all wordage points to this being a new Vinylmation platform for Disney artists to create new designs on in addition to the Mickey mold. Here is a quote right out of the Disney Parks Blog:

“One of the things I’m most excited to share with you is the debut of the new Vinylmation 95 platform! Guaranteed to get your motor racing, this new 9” form is shaped like the one and only Lightning McQueen and pays tribute to his signature number, 95.”

Update 5/30/12 Disney Artist Eric Caszatt tweeted us, in fact confirming this new mold will be used by other artists for more designs.

The new Vinylmation will officially be unveiled to the public on June 9th at the grand opening of WonderGround, a new art store at the Downtown Disney District in California. As part of the event, the artist Noah, will debut a limited edition design on this Lightning McQueen Vinylmation 95 platform. That same day,  Noah will be holding a Vinylmation Signing from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. He is also scheduled to be on hand every Friday and Saturday night throughout the month of June, from 5–9 p.m.

What else can you expect to find in WonderGround Gallery? Not only will you find original artwork on the walls, but you can actually find some of this featured art on an array of items, including limited-edition giclées, deluxe prints, t-shirts, mugs, magnets and more. In addition, look for art-inspired home and lifestyle products, including books, journals, note cards, picture frames, novelty pens, stencils, vases, paperweights and art figures, among other items. Visit WonderGroundGallery.com for more information and artist appearance schedules.

Noah’s customs will be the first designs on this new 9″ Vinylmation platform, but others are sure to follow. Will we see a few non-customs released in conjunction with the June 15th Carsland opening? Cars is sure getting special treatment in the world of Vinylmation. This film series was the first to get designs on the Monorail mold and now this. However, just like the monorail, I do appreciate the unique and Disney themed mold and am excited to see some very creative designs. And like the monorails, I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know the creativity coming out of the Disney Design Group will continue to push the boundaries and expand way past what we imagine. It is very hard to judge this without seeing the initial Disney designs, but I do know this opens a door to whole slew of new possibilities. How about you? Will you enjoy Park, Animation or Urban designs on this platform? Or how about character and movie representations? And it all begs the question, what new mold form will they think of next?

ZoMG: Review of AP Merchandise Showcase at DCA

WDWNT on March 31, 2012

by Zoe

Today begins the three-day event for Annual Passholders to experience some of the new and exciting things coming to California Adventure in the upcoming months!

The Merchandise Showcase event was centered on Cars Land and the merchandise that will be available when the land opens June 15th, 2012. The event also had information about Mad T Party as well as new California Adventure themed merchandise.

Walking in to Stage 17 (which is located near the back of Hollywood Pictures Backlot) there was a pop-up shop set up in the center of the room. The set up reminded me of the D23 Expo set up.

They had all different kinds of Cars Land merchandise for fans of all ages! Ride posters with “Grand Opening” stamped on them were available, as well as matching Ride Poster T-Shirts. I LOVE the way these turned out. They are each unique to their ride and look awesome.

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I love the details that they put on these T-shirts as well. Not only is the design great but also the little touches are what make it that much more magical.

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Each T-shirt has stamped on the sleeve, “Grand Opening” as well as something about the ride. A Cast Member there told me that once they run out of the “Grand Opening” stamped merchandise, they will reprint everything but without the Grand Opening stamp. Also this extremely informative Cast Member told me that every 6 Months Disney is going to release 4 Attraction Posters (for California Adventure). This makes me so happy because that means my Little Mermaid Ride Poster is coming! (Sorry for derailing about Ariel, it happens.)

Now back to the Merchandise! There are plenty of T-shirts, jackets, mugs, plastic cups, key chains, and pins etc that were made for Cars Land. There is a limited edition 1000 pin set of ride posters, as well as a limited edition coin set.

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Also available early today were the brand new Monorail Cars Vinylmation. They looked awesome in person! The tray comes just like a tray of Vinylmation, you get 24 figures, 2 sets and 1 chaser! I bought one blind box to see how the packaging looked and to see how the quality of the figures would be… and they look great! The box is a bit skinnier compared to our normal Vinylmation blind box, but it works since the design is a Monorail. I love the box design, it reminds me of a ride poster.

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Now personally I wouldn’t go back and buy more of these, they just aren’t my thing. I like the idea of monorails and I absolutely LOVE all the Cars characters, but this set seems to me like it would appeal more to men/boys. Now maybe if the set were on the Vinylmation mickey mold I would re consider. But the monorails honestly didn’t do much for me! I was thinking how cool it would have been if they made a Lightning McQueen mold, and then put each car onto his mold! Who knows what the future will hold! Check out Destination Vinylmation’s Monorail Cars explained page for more on this set.

My favorite thing pertaining to Cars Land (which I bought!) has to be the Piston Cup figurine! I think this is absolutely awesome! It says Grand Opening on the front, and on the back of the Piston Cup it says “Cars Land”.

I love that Disney decided to add Cars Land to DCA, the Land is themed perfectly, the merchandise looks awesome, and I can’t wait to actually step foot into Radiator Springs!

The Showcase also featured some of the new DCA merchandise that will be available soon. I love the idea behind these designs. The theme is, Mickey and Minnie driving through California and all the different stops they make on their journey. Each stop is represented by a different stamp. Each stamp stands for a different attraction at California Adventure. There is a Toy Story Mania Stamp, Little Mermaid Stamp, Cars Land Stamp, and World of Color Stamp etc. I love this idea, the merchandise looks great! This design is available on many different products such as, T-shirts, Jackets, Cups, Shot Glasses, Blankets, Key Chains and more!

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After walking out of the shop, Mater and Lighting were there for a photo op!

Next to Mater and Lightning was a display that showed the new costumes for Cars Land!

Lastly there was a display for the Mad T Party, which will be replacing ElecTRONica in June! The merchandise looks AWESOME! The Mad T Party merchandise wont be available until June as well.

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There are various items like hats, rabbit ears, t-shirts, jackets and ties. Also there will be ‘Mad Treats’ such as, light reflective lollipops, rock candy, bagged candy, and Cheshire cat candy as well as mickey sprinkles!

There was an opportunity to purchase some of the new snacks that would be for sale during the T Party such as, dill popcorn (I didn’t try this but everyone that did said it was delicious) and sour apple/cotton candy slushies!

Over all I thought the AP Preview was awesome. It was organized, in a big area so everyone could see everything, the merchandise looks awesome and now I am even MORE excited for Cars Land and Buena Vista Street to open on June 15th!!