20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Review

WDWNT on September 2, 2011

I was incredibly scared to go on this ride as a kid. But after I got a few under my belt (rides and years), it became a favorite… then, as fast as I fell in love with this classic, it was gone. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a favorite to many Disney fans and now artist Caley Hicks has masterfully captured the Nautilus in 9″ Vinylmation form.

The first thing I notice is the water line detail around the bottom third of the figure. The colors used to make all the details in this figure are really perfect. Caley had to figure out how best to wrap the giant squid’s arms around the sub. One curls up the front, while another, larger one, winds it’s way up the side and ends up in the ear.

There is no noticeable texture feel between the water and sub, but there is between the squid and sub. The squid has a glossy feel to it, so it stands out against the matte finish of the sub.

Every nail, porthole and the ridge up top all capture the feel of this beloved attraction.

This is a 9″/3″ combo that comes with a 3″ diver. I could very much do without the diver. Not that it is poorly executed by artist Jason Zucker, just not needed in my opinion and doesn’t add greatly to anything more than the price tag.

He is actually designed very well. The gloves and boots look great. The body suit is painted in gloss that gives they shiny effect you would expect.

The gem of this figure is the helmet. It is painted with a sparkle that gives it the metallic effect a helmet should have. And the gold paint around the mask has a brilliant color to it.

I always give Park Vinyls high grades, but I couldn’t think of how the sub could be done any better. Great job guys. And on a side note, I just got back from Disneyland where I was able to once again take a sub trip at a Disney park. This one Nemo themed. I had a smile on my face the whole time. The Nemo ride at Disneyland is extremely fun and enjoyable and helped bring back, if only a little, those Under the Sea memories at Walt Disney World.

China Pavilion and Matterhorn will Release Aug 12

WDWNT on August 2, 2011

Update: 8/11/11 The China vinyl will be postponed and released on August 19th. ONLINE DATE ONLY. It will still be released in parks on August 12th.

Icons from both WDW and DLR will show up in Vinylmation form to D-Streets and Disney Store Online on August 12th.

Park 6 Matterhorn 9″
This iconic Disneyland ride opened in 1959. Guest ride down a Switz themed mountain sized in bobsled like ride vehicles. It will be limited to 800 and will retail for $44.95.
Park 6 China Pavilion 9″
Designed by Lin Shih, this LE 800 figure will retail for $44.95. The China Pavilion is one of the 11 World Showcase Countries at EPCOT. What is your favorite pavilion? What one do you think would make the best Vinylmation?

From the Far East

WDWNT on July 30, 2011


The Vinylmation Facebook page released a picture of the EPCOT China Pavilion, a 9″ from the Park 6 series. It was designed by Lin Shih and will be limited to 800 and retail for $44.95. Check it out. What do you think?

Doug, 9″ Park 6 Now Online

WDWNT on July 29, 2011

Update: Noon- The Doug set is now sold out. According to @VMKingdom, they were gone at 3:45 AM. So they were on sale for about 25 minutes. I hope more people got them this time because of the limits!

Did you get one??


The update was a little late, almost 3:20 AM before it arrived, but thanks to a tweet by @Vinylchaser, we all started to purchase our Dougs.

Interesting note: I was only limited to purchasing up to 2 of these. So hopefully these will stay around for a while.

For those who want to reach the $75 free shipping, you can also order one of the two 9″ Park 6 figures that came out today. Animal Kingdom Crate and Davy Crockett.

What do you think of this release?

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Hits Shore August 19

WDWNT on July 25, 2011

Update: 8/11/11 Disney just announced that the release date of 20000 will be postponed a week to August 19th.

The 9″ + 3″ Park 6 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea figure will be a Disney Store Online exclusive on August 12 19th. It is LE 1000.

Copyright Disney
Today, on the Disney Parks Blog, Caley Hicks, who designed the 9″ figure, talked about this classic attraction:
“When I was younger, I visited the Magic Kingdom each month with my dad,” explained Caley. “I loved the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction, particularly the mermaids. I was eager to design something for Vinylmation to pay tribute to the attraction.”

Take a look at the concept art.

Copyright Disney

Casey also talked about what went into this design:

“I learned that getting the squid to wrap around the Mickey Mouse shaped form was more difficult than I first thought,” continued Caley. “I used countless sheets of tracing paper to get the image correct. The finished figure looks wonderful, so it was worth the effort.”

Disney Artist Jason Zucker designed the 3″ Diver figure. This is one of my most anticipated Vinylmation. What about you?

Davy Crockett Release Date: July 29

WDWNT on July 13, 2011

At the WDW Trading Event, we were told that the 9″ Park 6 Davy Crockett would be out mid-August. Today, on the Disney Vinylmation Facebook page we saw a July 29 release date announced. Look for Davy and his hat at both D-Streets in just a couple weeks!

“Lofty Expectations” DV Review: Up

WDWNT on June 25, 2011

9″ Park 6 Up
Artist: Maria Clapsis
LE: 1000
Price: $44.95

There was a lot of buzz outside D-Street this morning for this figure. Even though, in my eyes, two other great pieces were coming out, Up was the Vinylmation everyone wanted.

To me, it is the simplest of designs. It is just the floating house and a head full of balloons. Normally I like simple, but with such dynamic characters in Up AND no official Up Vinylmation released yet, I think myself and other fans were wondering why there were none on this piece. There is one simple answer… it doesn’t need it. 
I was nervous that the Up Vinylmation wouldn’t look too impressive in hand, but I was wrong. The artwork is done very well and they pulled off some good looking balloons in the head. 
And in true Maria fashion, she gives us something special near her signature. She customizes a little piece of art for each piece. On the bottom off this one is a hand drawn heart with “C + E” written in it for Carl loves Ellie. What a fantastic little touch!

Would it be cool to have a Kevin on the roof or a Carl in the window? Yes, but this is just a nice piece of artwork that represents the film well. There is a painting of the sky with a little floating up house way in the background. I love that painting. I like simple and subtle Disney merchandise. Two things here… the desire to have Up characters on vinyl and the fact that pictures don’t do this one justice had me worried, but the final product is a must add to any Up’s fan’s collection.

“Close Encounter” DV Review: Alien Encounter

WDWNT on June 24, 2011

9″/3″ Park 6 Alien Encounter – “9 Alien and 3” Skippy
Artist: Maria Clapsis
LE: 1000
Price: $74.95

This design looked intricate from the concept art and the figure does not disappoint in person. In fact, I’d have to say I’m more impressed in person.

The 9″ Alien looks absolutely fantastic. Lots of detail and great colors used on him. Take a close up look at face, I didn’t notice the slimy drool oozing out of his mouth before I got the figure in hand.

Skippy is also well done. His droopy characteristics are captured perfectly by Maria.

One interesting note is that the foot is stamped “Primevil Whirl – Animal Kingdom”. An interesting misprint that appears to be on everyone’s Skippy.

Overall, a win in my book. A great tribute to a great attraction. Sorry Stitch, your awesome, but I loved the real Aliens that would scare the heck out of me as a kid. Just a note, no artist card is included with this combo.

They’re Here… (almost)

WDWNT on June 23, 2011

On June 20, 1995 Aliens invaded the Magic Kingdom. For eight years, guests to ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter were treated to a scary adventure that attacked all the senses. When the X-S Tech employees make a mistake with the teleportation device, a huge alien appears before the audience. Much of the same effects you feel in your chairs today while sitting through Stitch’s Great Escape, were used to make the audience feel like an alien was wreaking havoc all around and right next to them. Vinylmation will pay tribute to this great attraction on June 24 when the 9″/3″ Alien Encounter combo ($74.95 LE 1000) is released. Designed by Maria Clapsis, collectors can pick up a 3″ Skippy with a 9″ Alien.

The alien looks amazing. I hope it looks this good in person. Maria really captured the details of this scary creature. I can almost feel him breathing on my neck.

On the back, you can see the alien’s wings. The color scheme is perfect as well. A lot of little detail when into this 9″ figure.

The 3″ Skippy excited people when we saw him back on New Year’s Eve. His droopy expression is painted perfectly on the vinyl. I really like the eyes in Mickey’s ears, this character translates well to the mouse shaped vinyl.

Overall, it’s an intricately designed set that’s a great nod to a classic Magic Kingdom attraction. I’ll be picking up this set without hesitation.

Check out our earlier preview of the 9″ UP figure.