Big Top moves in months before Mickey’s Circus

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

In September we get Mickey’s Circus. But before that we’ll be seeing a whole Circus Vinylmation Mystery Box series called “Under the Big Top” from Disney. On July 23rd the Disney Stores will be releasing this new series across the country and online.

Two days before, we will see a special release of the series at a signing at the Costa Mesa Disney Store. On July 21st, Gerald Mendez will be signing his new series from 10:30 – 1:30. There will also be special events and activities at the event. Some interesting fine print for the event. If you purchase a full tray of this set, then you get a gold ticket, good for up to 7 signatures. If you buy 3-8 boxes, then you get a silver ticket, which gets you up to 3 signatures. While supplies last.

Here is a quick look at four of the pieces from this series. What do you think?

Fire Eater

Love the accessory (I always do). Looks great.
Ring Master

Great mustache. And Hat.
Monkey

Reminds me of Abu. Another nice accessory!
Fortune Teller

Great us of artist technique to show the table and crystal ball in front of the vinyl.
There also looks to be two more pieces in the picture of Gerald. One looks like it could be a Strongman (with a mustache similar to the Ringmaster’s, but not crooked.) The second is harder to identify, maybe a Clown or even a concession item.

Comic Con Girl and Boy Revealed

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Disney just showed us a picture of the Comic Con girl and boy. Just as we had predicted on the podcast, it’s a girl and a boy dressed up in costumes. The costumes are generic vinylmation themed costumes (not Marvel or Disney as we had hoped), but I still think they look great. The boy is a masked adventurer with a utility belt full of vinylmation. The girl has both a cape AND glasses.

 

Thanks Disney, these made my day!
Readers, what do you think of this set?

This set will be a LE of 2000 and cost $34.95. For more info on the other Comic Con vinylmation check out our post:

The Dark Side Revealed

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Looks like Darth Vader’s Star Wars Series 2 Vinylmation was hiding out north of the border. Vinylmation Kingdom, in their search for the empire’s secret location was lead by the force to a newspaper in Vancouver Canada. Thanks for your dedication to the Rebel Alliance guys! The Vancouver Sun just published an article that featured this little guy to showcase the hot Disney collectible:

This gives us a better look at the helmet we saw as an outline on the Vader pin. It is a molded piece of plastic attached to the head to give the feel for the helmet coming down to the shoulders. Love it! The Sun article talked all about how Disney is now “hip” and the Vinylmation collectible is part of this movement. Here are some excerpts:

It’s a souvenir shop called D Street and there’s nothing Winnie The Pooh or Tinkerbell about it.


Instead, the place is wall-to-wall with something called Vinylmation, and you could be forgiven for thinking you have been transported to Tokyo, given that the funky little anime-style 3D vinyl figurines are more urban art than embroidered mouse ears could ever be.


It all began in 2007, says Steven Miller, Disney merchandise communications manager, when company designers decided to take a step beyond Goofy stuffies and trading pins.


To say Vinylmation has been a hit is to underestimate that ol’ Disney magic.


“We hadn’t planned on the response,” says Miller. “We knew we wanted something artistic, but something like the pins, with an opening price point for guests.”


How popular are they? Outside D Street, two young men lugging plastic trays full of their Vinylmation collections are in trade mode. And this September, at the annual Mickey’s Circus Trading Event in Florida’s Epcot, an entire day will be devoted to all things Vinylmation.


“There are,” says Miller, “certain items you don’t leave the park without. The hats, the pins. And Vinylmation is certainly up there.”


Check out the entire article here at the Vancouver Sun site.

History of: Toy Story Midway Mania

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Update 7/16/12 D-Street had this figure on display and we finally get to see the back and sides of the figure:
One side has Bullseye. These logos are find on the side of the ride vehicles.

 

The back mimics the front, as tiny design disappointment.

 

The other side has the color Woody logo. Do the side logos add enough to this design to make it worth the money? They look perfect in person. Production wise they are applied well and full of color. Seeing these logos, I now see why this is a 9″ figure when it seemed like a 3″ worthy design. However, in my opinion, the 9″ canvas needs to be filled with these logos from all the characters to make it worth it. The 3″ has a ton of little details and is the best part about this set.
–
Update: This article has been modified from it’s original version with updated attraction history and new info based on the product shots of the 9″/3″ Toy Story Midway Mania figure and the fact that it is a combo set.
Toy Story Midway Mania is an interactive attraction that takes place in the Disney Pixar Toy Story Universe. The attraction opened it’s first location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 31, 2008. This was shortly followed by the same attraction opening on June 17, 2008 on the Paradise Pier at Disney’s California Adventure Park. And today, July 9, 2012, a version is having it’s grand opening at Tokyo DisneySea. The attraction starts you off with a walk through a room full of larger-than-life toys… making you feel “toy sized” as you walk around the queue line. You then encounter an animatronic Mr Potato Head that interacts with the guests.
The queue brings you into Andy’s room, which is the ride vehicle loading area. Then, with your 3D glasses on, you are sent through rooms full of interactive amusement park type games filled with the Toy Story characters.
Current Mini Games:
Hamm & Eggs (egg throw game now featuring Buttercup from Toy Story 3)
Rex and Trixie’s Dino Darts (dart throw game; once Bo Peep’s Baa-loon Pop)
Green Army Men Shoot Camp (baseball throw / plate breaking game)
Buzz Lightyear’s Flying Tossers (ring toss game)
Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery (suction cup shooting game)
It was also good to see one of the mini game’s refreshed after only two years in operation. A lot of times Disney promises this, but doesn’t follow through. (Disney Quest, I’m looking at you) In 2010, Bo Peep’s Baaa-loon Pop was reimagined with a Rex and Trixie Dinosaur theme to represent Toy Story 3.

 

 

On July 20, 2012 a 9″/3″ combo designed by Lin Shih will be released at D-Street. We first saw the concept art for this one at least a year and a half ago and it was presented to us as a “future park series.” Well, a few Park series had passed, Park 10 was unveiled, and still no Toy Story Midway Mania figure. Then, the LEs for Park 9 hit the release calendar and not only was the Toy Story figure on the list, but it was coupled with a 3″! I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed to see this design be blown up onto a 9″ canvas. I think the patterns and colors would have looked perfect on the more compact 3″ canvas. That’s not to say I do not think this is a really beautiful figure.
The positives about this piece is the representation of the true colors and patterns of the attraction. The stripes in the ears of both figures match up with the strips you will find on the signs and walls around the attraction.
A look at the poster for the attraction, also shows where many of the patters, colors and overall feel of the design came from.
The arms on the Vinylmation seem to coincide nicely with the “vintage” amusement park ride style of the attraction. Also the blue pattern used on the body, matches the pattern found on the side of the ride vehicles.
The 3″ figure in this combo is a wonderful little treat and would have served as a fantastic piece of a 12 figure park set. I almost wish I didn’t have to buy the whole combo to get it.
Lin Shih took the various targets found throughout the game play and placed them in a collage around the canvas. We see the Plates, Sheep, Rockets, Planets and 100 point targets. Here is a promo shot from Disney that shows some of the targets.
So, what’s your high score? Mine is 368,000. What do you think of the Park 9 Toy Story Midway Mania 9″/3″ combo set?

A tease of Pixar Series 1 Vinylmation

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Pictures from Daniel Jue

Over on the facebook page, Vinylmation Exchange, Daniel Jue posted this picture from comic con. It’s the first look at the Pixar Series 1. We speculated on this when we saw the Carl and Ellie two pack and it’s packaging made reference to it. It looks like MC was right and the series will be a normal 12 figure blind box series. (That’s speculation at the moment, but the display with 3 loose characters seems to point to it.) This would make the Carl and Ellie figures the first LE from that series. Here’s our breakdown.

Nemo

From: Finding Nemo

Great use of clear.

King Fergus

From: Brave (2012)

Another peg leg! (For the first one see the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides vinylmation)
Dug

From: UP

Simple, but classic.

Let the speculation begin. Who else would you like for this series?

Rhino rolls out of D-Streets

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Today we stood in line for 7 hours to pick out this cute furry guy from the D-Street in Orlando. Word is that in California they have been waiting since midnight and they are already out of the first stock and are waiting for the next one.

Tell us about your experiences getting Rhino.

We also got this pic of the store before the change out. Looks like the topper, Roger, and the Land are ready for next week.

Collector’s Corner: MC

WDWNT on September 12, 2012

Name: MC
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Collection Size:
3″ = 448+
9″ = 6
Jrs = 15
Park Starz = 0
Customs = 3
Pocket Watch= 1
How long have you been collecting? Since August of 2010.
Chelsey’s Ninja and Celeste’s Samurai lead my army of Green Army Men and Storm Troopers. (In front of my signed Star Wars case).
What is your favorite figure that you own? Chelsey made me a Ninja and gave it to me during D23.
My Evilos Carbonite Mickey is watched over by the Star Wars Boba Fett. Near by Luke and Han dress up at stormtroopers. Also seen is the great Pocket Watch from Steampunck as well as several Passholder specials. Pluto and Goofy represent my Nerds collection (AM just helped be finish them with a Daisy) and Alice in Wonderland shows up without the chaser. Also notice the signed Thomas Scott Bearded Man!
What is your favorite figure that you don’t own? Ghost Obi Wan.
The rest of the Star Wars 1 crew hang out on top of my display case under the Millennium Falcon.
What is the best feeling? Getting a figure you need from a trading box.
Unlike Nick, I only have a few of my collection out at any one time. This is the second shelf of my case. Here Urban 4 and various tins hang out. Also of note for me is the Admiral Donald and Bronze Donald DLC pieces and the Bird and Tree Trade City set. Oh, and a few various Jrs.

On the forth shelve I have the Sea Creatures, a complete Park 4, and a partial Pirates set. Also this is were I display the Park combo toppers.
On the bottom shelf I display the Day of the Dead combo from Trade city. Also, there are two years worth of Marathons and the first two Disney Afternoons (The rest are still in their boxes in storage). I also picked up the whole set of Animal Kingdom and 3″ Sports (with various Sports Jrs.) Florida Project Minnie rounds out the crew.
Some other displays I have include the two incomplete cases you saw at the top of this post where I keep series I am currently working on completing. (Since this picture was taken it now includes 10 of out 12 of Park 7 and 11 or 12 Park 8s.) I also have these two hanging cases, in which I rotate sets. Right now the Park 3 set is in one and Flags is in the other. In the background is the Disneyland Ticketbook set.
And then, finally, most of my sets is in my closet packed up in various cases. (Each one hold two different sets.) This doesn’t include the various sets I have no way of displaying and the hundreds of traders I still have.

However, every day I “Keep on Collecting!”

NOAH’s Trip to Florida

WDWNT on September 8, 2012

According to his blog, artist NOAH will be at several events in Florida in the upcoming weeks.

On September 23rd he will be boarding the Disney Cruise Line to sign his painting “Life with You is a Dream” as well as painting other pieces. Among the artwork will be six special 9″ Vinylmation figures (no pictures yet).

Then on September 28th – 30th Noah will be inside the The Food and Wine Festival Center (former Wonders of Life Pavillion) signing his EPCOT 30th anniversary piece “The 21st Century Begins”. This special event will have its own Vinylmation. There will be ten 9″ and ten 3″ figures (artwork not seen yet).

Have you ever purchased a NOAH custom?

Adam Roth’s 3/23/12 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on September 8, 2012

WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom on Friday and has a TON of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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Flower and Garden Festival in bloom at Epcot

IF ONLY WE HAD XPASS!!!!

Queue modifications are done… it’s a completely different queue experience now…

Peacock

Cool graphics on the Epcot tip board

Enjoy Kim Possible while it lasts

Habit Heroes and the VISION House now on the list inside Innoventions East

Habit Heroes is still closed

I’m offended…

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Work continues on the VISION House

Habit Heroes now has a sign on the entry wall

Goodbye

VISION House will be added soon as it opens in April

Phineas and Ferb now have an entire section at MouseGear

AGENT P!

The light-up Vinylmation lamps and Baseball figures now available

Let’s Go Yankees! (Personal bias)

These are buy 1, get 1 50% off

Shouldn’t the Knicks be on the bottom? (I actually am a fan… but I’m realistic)

Let’s go Dolphins! (Please pity me)

2012 dated Vinylmation

Zodiac series

Flower and Garden merchandise

Cool magnets

This is too cool…

If your imagination features Captain EO, seek help

Bambi’s Butterfly House is back

The play area for this year’s festival is called “Let’s Get Moving”

Chimpanzee is coming… before Earth Day?

Can’t imagine why they are changing this…

Exterior work continues at the Seas with Nemo and Friends

A new entrance being worked on, possibly for Turtle Talk

There’s a new path in the queue…

It leads to Seabase

The mural is surviving the work

A new company has taken over the chromakey photo area at Imageworks

It’s pretty empty right now

Amazing Pictures (who you may have seen at Universal Studios) is now here

Hey, why don’t we just start the demolition…

On to the Festival Center

The Flower and Garden, Food and Wine Festival?

A touch-screen map of the Festival available

Body Wars is back there somewhere

The Odyssey has been painted blue

Well, at least the roof

This exhibit is weird…

Tarps are now up for the Tutto Italia refurbishment

FREE SAMPLES!

Another play area

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Let’s take a boat over to Studios

We can’t get enough of these

The outline of Roger Rabbit has seen better days

The entrance at Tower of Terror had some pavement replaced

The Star Tours name is on some of the merchandise tags now

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On to the Magic Kingdom, Skyway demolition continues in Fantasyland

The Tigger Bounce area being removed from the Pooh queue

Yes, more Dumbo photos…

Storybook Circus sure is something at night

HA!

I love restrooms… there, I said it…

I’ll tell you what I don’t love… the Club 626 Dance Party

A sad not to end on…

Mickey’s Circus- 2013 LE series

WDWNT on September 8, 2012

Updated on day 2 with more pics. Also, each figure is designed by a different artist and the design is a theme we will see through other merchandise

They are LE and one will be released each month. Similar to how pins do pin of the month series. But because its 2013, there will be 13. We will find out sunday how to get the 13th.