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Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Disney Collectible Curmudgeon Shows His Stuff

The Partners Statue from DCA
Try as I might, I didn't return home from Disneyland empty handed. A few trinkets made their way into the trunk of the car on the journey home. I admired the replica of the new Disney California Adventure Partners statue ever since Disney Parks Blog posted it last summer. Yep, at $155.00 it is way (,way) overpriced. I'm not even sure what it's made out of. But the little statue now sitting in our curio cabinet looks almost as nice as the real deal in DCA. We caught a bit of a break on the price. When we purchased our AP's, there is the 10% discount on merchandise that comes along with it. However, Disneyland was rolling out 20% discount coupons with meal purchases at park restaurants like it was toilet paper so basically, everything we bought was at a 20% discount. The 20% off the $155.00 makes the little statue a little more pleasing. I don't walk by it and think to myself "what was I thinking spending that much money on something that probably costs a few bucks to actually make". The deal with the 20% discount was that it had to be redeemed between park opening and 1:00 pm and had like about a 5 day expiration. No problem there, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler can shop pretty much any time of the day or night. We just rented a locker and stored up the purchases (which of course, eats up some of the discount - lockers aren't exactly cheap).

Footnote: From a historical perspective, the Partners statue is incorrect. Mickey is standing on a suitcase and the time period is 1923, the year Walt Disney first showed up in Hollywood to begin his empire. The problem is Mickey Mouse didn't make his first appearance until 1928. If Oswald the Rabbit appeared on top of that suitcase in the statue, it would have been a more accurate portrayal of the time. But Disney being Disney, don't let the facts get in the way of making a buck off someone like me. 

The real deal Partners Statue
Mickey and Minnie celebrate a bargain at $25
Next up is the little figurine of Mickey and Minnie's wedding (I suppose). This was spotted by Mrs. DLT and got snapped up quickly because at $25 or there abouts  this was a bargain for what really is a nice piece. And while we were at Disneyland, we were pretty close to our 15th wedding anniversary so the wedding themed figurine seemed to fit the occasion. Compare that $25.00 with a Disney Lenox figurine and its price tag and I had absolutely no issue with Mrs. DLT whipping out the charge card for that one. 

At about $40, this purse was a bargain
Mrs. DLT has a thing for purses, especially Disney purses. Mrs. DLT also will not go anywhere Mickey's Fun Wheel. So while myself, my sister, and her husband took our spins on the Fun Wheel (non-swinging side of course), Mrs. DLT was in the neighboring shops across the way on Paradise Pier and excitedly found this purse. So excited that she called me on my cell phone while I was 200 feet in the air at the top of the Fun Wheel. "Come see this purse she found" she was exclaiming. "Eh....I'm a little busy up here at the moment" as I tried to explain to her with the wind whipping through the Fun Wheel cage. But sure enough, when I got back down to the ground and her found in the store, she already had the purse clutched in her hot little hands. A quick check of the price tag and I told her go for it. The purse was around $40. On a previous trip, somehow I told her to go for a Disney Dooney & Bourke purse - a $200 purse (that she doesn't even use any more). I felt good about the purse with the price (only got the 10% AP discount on this one). And best of all,Mrs. DLT felt good about how the purse looked especially when a castmember asked where she got it because he wanted to get one for his wife.

There were a few other purchases along the way on our 5 day trip. Mrs. DLT picked up a couple of t-shirts for herself. As much as I bulked at the idea saying I don't need or want them, she picked me up a pair of shorts and a lightweight polo shirt (on the day she questioned my wisdom when I showed up to the park with a long sleeve shirt and the temperature approached 90 degrees). We also picked up a nice desktop pirate skull head for the boy back home but this was purchased at the hotel gift shop. We stayed away from the usual pins, mugs, and magnets but did pick up a mouse glove coffee scoop which is quite useful hear at home. All told - I guess our Disney shopping ran a little over $350 as I sit here. It was in the budget and we came home happy. I guess I'm not always a curmudgeon when it comes to Disney shopping.

How'd he get in here
Purse $40 - Herbie the Cat - free


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