No More Disney Dollars

Disney Dollars have been around forever as a favorite of kids and collectors.  I know someone with stacks of 'em.  Well, starting May 16, Disneyland is doing away with Disney Dollars and they will no longer be available for purchase.  The Disney Dollar has gone the way of the dinosaur and Disney will no longer be offering them instead going with the more preferred tool of currency exchange these days - the infamous gift card.

So what about those people who are sitting on stacks of Disney Dollars.  Well, they are redeemable forever so they still can be used to buy things in the park, just new ones will not be sold.  But what most likely will happen is the people who have the Disney Dollars will hang on to them and offer them up on eBay at a hefty profit as the dollars, like anything Disney, increase in value over time.

And what about Disney?  For years they basically sat on free money selling currency the may never be redeemed for anything.  Just selling pieces of paper.  Genius.

Starting The Day With A Couple Of Scoops Of Mickey

As most people who read this blog regularly, I'm kind of a Disney shopping curmudgeon. I figure by the time I've paid to get into the Disneyland, foot the bill for a hotel, and bought all kinds of meals and food in the place, I've invested enough of my hard earned money on Disney (Mrs. DisneylandTraveler on the other hand...that's s different story). So personally, I just don't have a of Mickey stuff. I have a couple of baseball hats. There's a few prints hanging on the walls around the house, and Mrs. DLT has her Mickey curio cabinet. 

So here at home, far removed from Disneyland, my life doesn't exactly sing the praises of Mickey Mouse except for maybe the wisest Disneyland investment I have ever made. A few years ago, Mrs. DLT and I bought a Mickey coffee scoop, a simple metal scoop that retails at a whopping ten bucks. But you know, I use the Mickey coffee scoop every day. Oh sure we've got other coffee scoops, better coffee scoops, cheaper coffee scoops, but I go out of my way to use the Mickey Coffee scoop. There's probably something psychological there stuck way down in my brain. The scoop only holds about two tablespoons of coffee but add three scoops to a 12 cup coffee maker and you have just made yourself a fine cup of coffee - Mickey coffee. Is there a better way to start a day? I'm not just having a cup of coffee. I'm having a cup of coffee assisted by the hand of Mickey. It makes me smile.

Once in awhile I forgo the making my Mickey Mouse pot of coffee and head over the Starbucks. But now, even standing in line at Starbucks - the line at one of the new Disneyland Starbucks locations isn't far from my mind. As Disney weaves itself into the simplest facets of societies' conventions, it probably makes the corporate accountants quite pleased with themselves. And you know, I even think the old Walt would be please with his beloved cartoon character helping you start your day with a simple cup of coffee.

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

John Lasseter Plays With Some New Toy Monsters

His title is Chief Creative Office for Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also the Chief Creative Adviser for Walt Disney Imagineering. He reports directly to Disney CEO Bob Iger. Aguably, he is one of the top 5 most powerful men in the Walt Disney Company. His name is John Lasseter and today, thanks to YouTube, we can watch this powerful visionary play with some of his new toys for the upcoming movie Pixar's Monsters University. The man does seem to know how to enjoy himself.

The Selling Of Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie Plush Merchandis
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disney is making a big park push to promote Tim Burton's Frankenweenie film scheduled for release on October 5. An exhibition of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie art will be displayed at Disney California Adventure beginning this month along with movie previews shown in the Muppet's 3D Theater in the evenings. And of course, Frankenweenie merchandise is hitting the store shelves. Am I the only one who finds this to be a little too weird and unsettling to actually be enjoyable? I've seen a couple of previews for the movie including what is being shown in theaters in 3D and I have to admit there is a bit of sad sweetness to what I saw on the screen but overall - unsettling seems to be the word, at least for me.

My Disneyland Bucket List - Item #6

I don't know what happened to it. Many years ago, I had a Disney silhouette cut-out made by one of the very nice artists that work in Disneyland's Silhouette Studio. I never had the silhouette framed or otherwise prominently displayed but over the years I'd see it in assorted boxes or in a closet somewhere around one of the several residences I have lived in. Haven't seen it in years though so I'm sure it is permanently lost.

Every once in awhile, as Mrs. DisneylandTraveler made our walks down Main St., I'd take a quick peek into the Silhouette Studio to watch the ladies proudly show their craft work. But I never stopped to have a silhouette actually done. Why not? It's a lovely souvenir and quite inexpensive by Disneyland standards. Why haven't Mrs. DLT and I had a silhouette done of us - together? The only thing I can think off is that we always seem to be in a hurry to run off and do something else.

Well it's time to stop - stop and have a silhouette done. I'm adding this to my Disneyland bucket list. It's official. And when we come home, it will go on a wall.

The Orange County Register did a nice little video of the Silhouetted Studio and a couple of the cast members who work there. Yep, it's on the bucket list.

In The Battle Of Superhero Movies - The Avengers Still Wins

My personal summer superhero trilogy is now complete. I wasn't going to do it but in the interest of an excuse to get out of the house for a family outing, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler, the Boy, and me headed off to the multiplex to see The Dark Knight Rises. It was 107 degrees here at home yesterday, let's use someone else's air-conditioning for awhile (and with a running time of close to 3 hours, a very long while).

The Dark Knight Rises caps off the Warner Bros. and DC Comics latest Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. The quick review - The Dark Knight Rises is long, plodding, dark, and violent. Not that it isn't interesting or have it's moments but in the end, there is something unappealing about its bleakness. Glad I saw it. I will probably rent it when it comes to home video, but after that, I will quickly put it to rest and forget about it. No plans to go out and buy the movie when it becomes available which is always the truest measure of how much I like a movie.

So over the summer, we have seen Disney / Marvel's The Avengers, Sony / Marvel's The Amazing Spiderman, and now Warner Bros. / DC Comics The Dark Knight Rises. Guess what? The Avengers wins - easily. Am I prejudiced because The Avengers is a Disney produced movie and this is a Disney blog? Nope - The Avengers is flat out better than the other two and by a pretty large margin.

The Amazing Spiderman was somewhat surprisingly entertaining but brought nothing new to the party from the original 2002 Spiderman movie. It was basically the same movie - entertaining but pretty much forgettable. On the other hand, The Avengers advanced and grandly topped off the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Phase One series of films that began with the original Iron Man (and continued with The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America - The First Avenger). 

The Avengers delivered the goods - highly entertaining, sharply written and directed by Joss Whedon, and had nice performances from a cast of fine actors. Most of all, The Avengers was a fun movie, something that could not be said about the other two films.

Mrs. DLT is already chomping at the bit for when The Avengers hits the home video market (Sept 25, I believe is the day). The only question is whether to buy the blu-ray Avengers package or shell out the 140 bucks (an Amazon pre-order price now - about $220 closer to the release date) 10 disc set that contains the other four prequel movies and tons of special features loaded into its special briefcase packaging. Tempting.

Dumbest Looking Disney Hat - EVER

Disney has made their share of stupid looking hats over the years. Sometimes it's been intentional. And of course, these "unique" hats come with an exorbitant price tag. But this one takes the cake. We may have a new leader in the clubhouse for probably the dumbest looking hat I've ever seen. Anyone care to wear a whitewall tire as a hat? When he was much younger, if the Boy would have asked me to buy him at tire hat, I would have had to tell Mrs. DisneylandTraveler to take him to the doctor to see if there was something wrong with him. Maybe he hit his head on something. It could be just me. If a hat like this is your fashion statement, good luck to you.

Then again, I had a Davy Crockett "coonskin" hat when I was a kid. Wearing a dead rat on your head would look pretty silly in 2012.

The only reason, THE ONLY REASON, I would think about getting a hat like this is that many are questioning how long Luigi's Flying Tires will be around as a ride. It may have some collector's value at some point in the future. These things could have a future on EBay.

Just A Cuddly Bear Searching for Love

Duffy the Bear -  Duffy is the Tokyo Disney mega hit character that Disney here in the states has been trying to ram down our throats for a year of so now. Maybe its time to give it up. Notice something missing in the picture above? Cute bear - no people, no line of eager fans for the photo op with good ol' Duffy.  Across the way, the Mickey photo booth has kids of all ages lined up 20 deep.

Mrs. DisneyTraveler and I walked into adjacent merchandise store and there they were, a wall full of naked Duffy's and countless outfits available for additional cost to dress him in. My wife was tempted because he is kind of cute and then the math started.  We wouldn't be able to walk out of there for less than a $50 Duffy. Nope - can't do it. And there's the rub.  There is the cock and bull story that Disney gives that Duffy is Mickey & Minnie's personal stuffed teddy bear and you can have one for your very own. But when it comes down to it, the purpose of Duffy is to sell Duffy's and little else. He is kind of cute. Maybe there will be a 75% off clearance sale some day.