Special Edition Disney New Balances!

In January 2016, a handful of girlfriends and I will be taking a trip to Walt Disney World in order to run the Half Marathon event that is part of the larger Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.  Although I have never been all that athletic of a girl, the weekend is going to coincide with my 30th birthday and I figured, What better way the commemorate the event than reaching a hefty fitness goal in my favorite place in the world!?

In addition to the races, the event also consists of a running expo where exclusive runDisney merchandise can be purchased, including limited quantities of special edition Disney New Balances. Here are the ones from 2014:

Each is themed to a particular character including Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Cinderella, and Sorcerer Mickey. I definitely would have made a run for the Cinderellas!:

I'm obsessed with the little embroidered appliqué on the back and the sparkles on the plastic component on the body of the shoe:

Even the material used on the inside is printed with a special Cinderella fabric:

It is no surprise that this special edition merchandise is incredibly popular. Apparently you have to sign up for a time to come purchase a pair and there is a limit to how many you can buy (two adult pairs and two children's pairs) because of the people who try to stock up to sell them on EBAY (which makes me FURIOUS by the way). Anyway, can't wait to snag a pair when I run my race in 2016!

Authentic Mid-90's Figment Plush!

This week I have been staying a friend's house whilst working in the city.  Although this friend isn't a Disney fan in particular, she did pull out this memento from her trip as a child to show me:

That's right! That lovable fellow with two tiny wings and eyes big and yellow, Figment! Here are some more pictures of this very special Disney parks character:

Tiny Ringer Tee!

The best part is that when I took off his little shirt, I learned that his belly is pink!:

Decades after his creation, Figment continues to enchant audiences. Heck, Marvel even wrote a comic about him!  When I asked my friend what is was about Figment that captured her heart (although I don't word things like that in everyday speech!), she said that it had something to do with the fact she had never seen him before. I see this as evidence that every attraction does not have to be tied to a franchise, and in fact, it is often endearing that it not.  I really hope that at some point Disney returns to a philosophy of original attraction developement as opposed to relying so heavily on its films as the sole source of inspiration.

Sci-fi pins from my pin collection!

Anyone that has visited a Disney Park in the past 20 years is aware that pins are serious stuff to many Disney fans! Whilst I am by no means a 'serious' collector, I do have a little collection consisting of pieces that, for whatever reason, took my fancy:

Some Disney fans don't care much for pins, but for me, they are a very satisfying, yet relatively cheap (especially if you buy them second hand off Ebay) way to indulge in something I love. For instance, I may not want a ceramic model of Spaceship Earth, but can I commit to a pin? You betcha! It's like merchandise snacking.

I have too many to share all at once, so for today I picked out three, all related to Disney science fiction films:

The Nautilus, from the live-action classic, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Adorable Wall-E, from my very FAVORITE Pixar movie.

Tron, the original, because TRON THE ORIGINAL!

Figment, the newest from Marvel's Disney Kingdoms series!

Of the acquisitions Disney has made over the last decade or so, Marvel has interested me the least.  Although I respect the art form, comics just don't do all that much for me… that is, until Marvel released a series which provides a backstory for Epcot's own cult duo, Dreamfinder and Figment.  My copies of issues #1 and #2 came today!:

This title is the second in what I think is going to be a very interesting series by Marvel called Disney Kingdoms.  The goal of the series is to explore some of the more obscure facets of Disney history, culture, etc. in a fresh way.  For those that don't know, Figment was a character created in the early 80's for Epcot and he, along with his friend, Dreamfinder, were the stars of the attraction Journey into Imagination.  The original incarnation of the attraction closed in 1998, yet, to this day Figment and Dreamfinder maintain a following.

This blog seems to work better when I keep writing to a minimum, so I will let some illustrations from Issue #1 do the rest of the talking for me, and delve further into review mode at a later date. Enjoy!

Silly Figment.

Lyrics lifted straight from One Little Spark, the attraction's theme song.

The story is set in the early 20th century and has a distinct steampunk vibe.

Dreamfinder's leg looks so long!

Duffy the Disney Bear's new friend Gelatoni!

Like many people, I have a somewhat obsessive fascination with Japanese culture, especially when it comes to Disney.  It is my dream to visit the Tokyo Disney Resort (which I have a goal to do within 3 years!) and I spend an inordinate amount of time ebaying merchandise from the Japanese Parks.  The other day I came across this little guy!:

His name is Gelatoni and he is a friend of Duffy, the Disney Bear.  Like Duffy's girlfriend, Shellie May, Gelatoni is exclusive to the Japanese Parks (owing, it seems, to Duffy's mega-stardom over there)! Check out the adorable pink Mickey heads on his little paws and the beautiful minty-green of his coat! I don't know about you but I think he is precious and I just gotta have one!

Duffy and Gelatoni, so cute!

Gelatoni bento from OmGIRI,, previous post about OmGIRI's AMAZING bentos here.

Official Illustration of Duffy and Gelatoni kickin' it.

I want all the Gelatoni Merch!

Asian Goodies from World Showcase!

As a person with taste, shopping at Disney World can be a little tricky.  Much of the merchandise is gaudy, cheap s*@! that you don't really want in your house (although, with the opening of Centerpiece, this seems to be changing).  The huge exception to this is World Showcase.  Here, you can buy authentic world goods (every time I pick up an item, I check the sticker to make sure that it is made in the country in which it is being sold) that don't look like they came from a Disney park.  I wanted to share a few items I picked up last time I was there.

From China, this is the graphic from a bamboo calendar I bought (the calendar portion is the bottom half.)  Once the year is over, the bottom can be cut off and you have this pretty wall hanging.  I think it was like 3 bucks:

From the Mitsukoshi department store, this pretty little plant pot.  The plant is actually a Mickey's Minnie Garden which I bought from the Land pavilion.  Every time I water this little guy I think of Epcot!:

Fun fact, Mitsukoshi is a real Japanese department store chain dating back to, get this 1673!  Hopefully, I'll get to go to a real one someday!:

Birthday Cake Castle!

There are lots of things that Disney fans love, but near the top of the list is speaking, thinking, writing, and generally obsessing about moments in Disney history they may have, but probably did not, experience.  Given that I have been Disney-obsessed for a relatively short period of time, I do this ALL THE TIME.  I have started compiling a list (Disney fans also love making lists) of attractions, shows, events, etc. that I would visit were I to procure a time machine.

At the top of that list is Walt Disney World's 25th anniversary, specifically this:

Don't get me wrong, I understand why this pink monstrosity may not have been popular with people who were coming down for their once in a lifetime whatever, but it's sooooo amazing.  I don't have many Disney memories from my young life (we only took a couple day trips), but I DO remember being captivated by commercials.  Imagineering would never do something so bold now… it's kind of sad in a way.  Screw the haters, I'm in love.

The up-side is that we live in a world where online auctions allow you to purchase limited merchandise to feed the aforementioned obsessions.  I found this glass for cheap on Ebay:

It was a part of a set of four released by McDonalds (remember when they did stuff like that? Weird…), and is surprisingly cute.  I bought the others in the set but I will save those for another day :)

What attraction/event/celebration would you visit with your imaginary time machine? Let me know in the comments!  Also, babygirl finally got an iPhone, so follow me on twitter… @thedizfizz! 

Country Bear Jamboree Appreciation: Big Al

In the realm of Disney Parks fandom, there is an elite handful of very special attractions that occupy sacred ground.  Some are opening day attractions, other have just been there for a very long time.  Alongside The Enchanted Tiki Room, Peter Pan's Flight, and the Jungle Cruise stands The Country Bear Jamboree, timeless and whimsical.

Having come across the original of Tears will be the Chaser for your Wine on a Wanda Jackson album, I realized I knew relatively little about the origin of the music of the Country Bears.  Blood on the Saddle, for example, was originally sung by Tex Ritter (LOVE THAT NAME), country singer and father of John Ritter the actor!  Here is the original:

I always loved Big Al for his very unique vocal style, but it turns out that he was just mimicking the legend!  Very cool.

All the Country Bears have their fans, however, following a 'Country Bears' Ebay search has shown me that Big Al has had the most merchandise (in the past at least, I haven't seen any Country Bear specific merchandise since I became a fan).  When this vintage Big Al bank showed up on my Ebay home page, I just couldn't resist:

It came yesterday and is so cute and charming, and I think of the Country Bears every time I drop a

penny in!

The Diz Fizz loves: New Disney Parks Merchandise

Ok. I know that everyone has already blogged the crap out of all the AMAZING new merchandise that is going to be coming to the Marketplace Co-op at Downtown Disney, but when I was browsing the online store earlier this week and saw that they are already starting to roll some of it out, I literally squealed with delight.  As I think most of us agree, contemporary Disney merchandise has been classically lack luster to put it nicely (and downright shitty to put it honestly). Personally, I tend to ogle items from the Japanese parks on Ebay, but I think I will save myself a bundle on shipping and treat myself to a few items from the US site.

I've kind of been digging the thing they're doing with limited release t-shirts.  It really gives niche fans a chance to get something attraction specific. I want to get this, cut out the graphic and sew it onto the back of a denim jacket punk-rock style.

I knew the trash can shakers would be popular, but these sold out in no time! Guess I better go ahead and scoop them up next time they're up on the site.

These plates! Must haves, and reasonable-ish at around 7 bones.

MMM! And this cutie, I could just eat him up! Disney is even stepping up their model game!

I'm so excited about this that I skipped on Film Friday… catch up on Sunday!

The Diz-Fizz loves: Disney Instax Film

One of my favorite things to do at Disney Parks is take tons and tons of instant photos, which are somehow more magical when the exposures have Disney prints on the frames!  There are a bunch of ones to choose from but here are a few of my favorites.

 

        

These are really fun. I especially love how the third variety has a 90's elementary school valentine's vibe.  What can be cool is when you plan what you are going to photo with the pack so that the image is relevant to the illustration on the exposure… for example, taking pictures of Alice in Wonderland related things with the Alice pack or planning a day of meet and greets with the Fab Five and using Mickey and Friends film to photograph it.  The films also come in Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Princesses, Minnie, Stitch, and Fairies, just to name a few.  They each come with 10 exposures, can be found on Ebay, Amazon, or with a Google search, and I HIGHLY recommend shopping around as the same type can vary wildly in price.