Nothing says ‘souvenir’ like a t-shirt. Nothing says ‘expensive’ like a Disney t-shirt but they are oh-so worth it! Let’s have a look at some fun designs:
Do they sell those umbrellas for real?
Two true-blue characters
Just because…
And of course you just have to pose with a t-shirt. You’ve done that… right?
And that concludes our look at Disney t-shirts. We have exceeded our allotment of cuteness for one post!
These three amigos first traveled together in 1944 although Donald and José Carioca met two years earlier in 1942. But it wasn’t until 1957 that along with Panchito Pistoles the three friends were ready for their first Canadian road trip:
1957 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible
Being birds-of-a-feather they agreed to buy a classic open-top car. How appropriate! This way they would feel the wind in their feathers even though they were driving and not flying. Above and below we see them trying out their choice in the showroom:
Looking ready for fun!
So after sealing the deal and packing the trunk with all the luggage and bird seed they needed, they piled into their new ride:
Preparing to leave the car port
Panchito called shotgun so that left Donald to sit in the back seat, but that’s OK, as that’s where he liked to do most of his driving anyway!
With their maps marked for adventure the three were finally under way! But would they turn left or right at the end of the driveway?
Right it was = East!
Here’s hoping they had lots of good driving weather! I remember getting a postcard from them which I have kept to this day:
This is a variation of the game Trouble even sporting that little plastic dice bubble that we all loved so much as kids. However this game is much simpler and aimed at the younger 4 to 8 age market.
Here is the box:
The Fab Five play together
The rules are a bit vague. To play each player pops the dice bubble and moves ahead the number of spaces indicated on the die. But if the die shows this:
Oh-oh!
Then you slide the red lever and one or more players may be popped off the board. No one is safe! But here is where it gets confusing. The box says ‘Will you get popped off? And where will you land when you pop back on – ahead of where you were, or behind?’ There is no explanation as to how you can ‘pop back on’.
Fairly generic character art
This game is by Parker Brothers and was released in 1991. You can play as either Pluto, Goofy, Minnie, or Donald but not Mickey as he is the one hosting the poppin’ party:
Is that much butter healthy? Ah, the 1990’s!
I’m constantly surprised, shocked, and dismayed when I realize that a game from 1991 is now 25 years old. The 90’s seem like yesterday to me!
I picked this game up for just $7.50 CAN in a deal of two games for $15.00 together. To see the other game, check out my post entitled Mickey Mouse Spin-A-Round Game.
A Marvelous Memoir
For those unfamiliar with Stan Lee, all three of you, this is called a ‘marvelous memoir’ because Stan the Man brought a comic book company named Marvel to fame and prominence while doing quite well for himself along the way. He created, along with a team of talented artists, heroes like Spiderman, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and at least a few others.
If you attend super hero movies then probably you know him as the man who shows up in a cameo role. He looks like Hugh Hefner. He’s always smiling. He pretends to be full of himself. And he is one of the truest characters left in entertainment today.
Front and back sleeve art
This book is kind of his life story so far rendered as a comic book. Funny that a real comic book is actually a magazine and this memoir is actually a comic book. But I digress. But so does Stan in his memoir, so I feel justified!
This book sold for $30 US or $36.99 CAN but I got it for just $10 CAN on clearance which should in no way reflect on its quality and value unless you’re a nit picker and consider the fact that the book only came out on November 3rd of 2015 and thusly it is a bit early for such a deep discount. But I digress. But so does Stan in his memoir, so I feel justified!
As I said, this book is presented in comic book form:
It starts with Stan appearing at a convention to tell his life story. He does so in his signature bombastic style with lots of dramatics and regressions. So he digresses. But so do I in this post, so he’s justified!
The artwork is entertaining without being too realistic, or realistic at all. It harkens back to a simpler time when comic art had energy and pizzazz in every panel.
The book is definitely a highlights-only volume with no new insights offered. We’ll probably have to wait until The National Enquirer does an expose to learn the real truth about this comic book icon. Did you know that Stan has also penned stories for Marvel’s arch rival company DC Comics? Did you know that ‘DC’ stands for ‘Detective Comics’ so when you say ‘DC Comics’ you’re actually saying ‘Detective Comics Comics’? But I digress. But so does Stan in his memoir, so I feel justified!
What Stan Lee really looks like
I’d give this memoir a 3 out of 5 Stars for the general public as they are unlikely to appreciate or understand Stan’s writing style and self-aggrandizing fakery. But for die-hard Marvel Comics fans I would give it a 5 out of 5 Stars and say that if you are one of them and haven’t bought and loved this book yet then you should turn in both your MMMS membership card and every issue of FOOM magazine that you have.
‘Nuff Said!
It’s time for another post about Disney games! So gather the kids and get ready to see Mickey Mouse deal some cards and match you with some fun:
If magic was only dealing cards…
This game has nothing to do with magic. It is simply a card matching game to help youngsters between the ages of 4-7 develop memory skills.
The rules are simple: The game is played in rounds. In each round of play, the Mickey dealer is spun, cards are picked and the Magic Card is matched or put out of play. For more detailed instructions, please read the following pages:
Produced in 1986 by Milton Bradley Co.
There are 8 Goofy cards, 8 Donald Duck cards, and 8 Mickey Mouse cards to match:
The magic cards are divided into 2 each of double Goofy, Donald, and Mickey cards:
Then there are 2 each of mixed pair Goofy, Donald, and Mickey cards:
And lastly there are 4 triple match cards:
The game I purchased for $7.50 CAN was complete except for some stickers that were to go on Dealer Mickey.
In conclusion, there was also a pamphlet in the box for other Disney games by Milton Bradley:
So which of these games do you have?
Alternate names for this post: Winnie the Pewter. Pooh Bank. OK, that’s all I got! But sometimes the real fun of posting is coming up with the post name.
So, enough of that, let’s take a look at the piece:
This little cutie is about 4″ tall and in need of some serious cleaning. I’m not sure if I want to have it shining like new as I kind of like the patina.
This little bank is obviously not for the well-to-do as you wouldn’t get a whole lot of pocket change inside!
Bottoms Up!
The first thing I look for in a piggy bank is if the cork or stopper is still inserted. Most banks you find have this part missing, which I feel affects the value and collectibility.
It was empty when I got it 😦
I cannot find any information about this bank so do not know how old it is nor can I extrapolate a value. Other metal Pooh banks are being sold on eBay as of the date of this posting for between $20 and $40.
Mickey Mouse has played many characters over his storied career but none maybe so strange as the one you will see here today!
He has played cowboys before and certainly has brandished his fair share of firearms. But I thought the way he was doing it in this ceramic collectible was a bit… off. We’ll touch back on that point nearer the end of the post. First, let’s have a look at it:
Manufactured by Leeds
I’ve researched this item and found a range of dates for its manufacture. Some sellers on eBay are claiming it comes from the 1940’s and others from the 1950’s. It’s about an equal split with just one seller claiming a pretty specific date of 1949.
Measures 7″ tall x 6 3/4″ long x 3 1/2″ deep
So if it is from about 1950 that would make it over 65 years old! But age doesn’t necessarily make a Disney item valuable with this example only fetching a price of around $30.
‘Mickey Mouse’ – ‘Walt Disney Productions’
So now we need to answer the question of why this particular depiction of Mickey as a cowboy is a bit… off. Take a look at the next picture and note the placement of the gun:
It could look like he is aiming the gun at his own head! He could blow off an ear that way! No doubt this unfortunate hand placement is due to the problems of sculpting for a ceramic mold. Any small pieces that would protrude from the main body of the sculpt would require extra care both in the original sculpting and the subsequent casting. So having the arm and hand, and gun, close into the body would be easier, thus cheaper to produce.
I don’t know though, mightn’t it have been better to leave the gun in the holster?
To conclude I’d like to mention that the Cowboy Mickey Planter is part of a set of at least three pieces. There is a Farmer Donald (Duck) Planter:
And a Cowboy Mickey (Mouse) Bank:
Truly a very nice set and my search for these last two collectibles is so on!
Or… is it? This little ceramic piece is quite a mystery. It resembles other nightlights in structure but I can’t figure out how any light would escape it if it had a bulb in it.
Let’s have a look together:
Roughly 4″ square and 2″ deep
Uses aside, it will make a great display piece with a classic style Pooh and a charming little blue bird. He is sitting on a window ledge looking out with the inside shutters open.
Now let’s have a look at the back so we can ponder our mystery:
Stamped ‘Disney’
It is the perfect size for a nightlight bulb to fit inside. Also note the notches at the bottom which would allow a base to be slid in. Presumably the same base would have prongs for plugging into an outlet. If it is indeed a nightlight shade.
Well, with a little research I have found a ceramic Winnie the Pooh nightlight that will help us to confirm once and for all that our example is also a nightlight:
Same material and rear configuration
And my wife has conducted an experiment to determine if light could indeed shine through such a dense ceramic shell, and if so, how much. I am missing the nightlight mechanism so she held it up to a ceiling light and it does indeed light up! The light shows through the window panes. So it wouldn’t give much light, but it would try.
Mystery solved.
Today we are sharing the best frozen treats you can find at Disney.
Everyone knows about this classic/iconic Disney treat! And I doubt there are too many theme park guests who haven’t had at least one.
Is it tasty? Yes. Is it good for you? Sure, why not. Is it addictive? Yes. Should you buy a box of them and smuggle them back to your home State or country? Sure, why not.
Ah, that first bite! It’s like a Disney rite of passage. But do you bite into the left ear or right ear first? Scientists have spent millions conducting an exhaustive study on that conundrum but as yet have only determined that biting into too many Mickey Bar ears causes stomach aches. Money well spent people!
Fun Facts: There are some things you may not know about this funny-shaped treat.
And we end this loop just as we should all end each and every one of our Disney vacations: With a Mickey Bar!
Things were much different in the 1950’s and even in the 1970’s when it came to acceptable practices. Construction projects were rushed to completion with minimal thought to safety. And nothing was off-limits for entertainment if it put a smile on the face of a paying customer!
We can’t judge Disney too harshly for any of the questionable things on this list as they were common practice in the past. But now in a world ruled by the PC Police and environmental concerns, there is no longer any room for the Top 5 things Disney wouldn’t do today:
Orange groves? We don’t need no stinking orange groves! Cut them down. Bulldoze the landscape. We have a theme park to build! This is very close to the mentality of the builders of Disneyland back in the 1950’s. It was better in the 1970’s when Walt Disney World was built, but things were still done that wouldn’t fly under today’s environmental rules and regulations.
Of course, all things were done within the current understandings of those days. It is good to see that Disney is in the forefront of modern environmental practices today!
This could easily be Number One. But back in the early days of animation, no one was making a good living, and this lasted longer than you might think. Just read this informative post by Floyd Norman called There’s No Money in Animation for confirmation of that.
But if the average guy was having a hard time making ends meet, the average gal was practically working for charity! And women, or girls as they were called, were not allowed to be animators. Ink and Paint was the highest rung of the ladder for the ladies!
Times have changed with more female animators and Imagineers, but I think we still have a way to go.
Disneyland was built in just over a year. A single year! The entire park. No wonder most of the rides were broken down at the end of Disneyland’s first day! It can take up to five years just to build a single attraction today.
Would you have wanted to trust your life to an opening-day attraction in Disneyland? Again, it’s good to see that Disney has slowed down and made safety and longevity the keys to every building project today.
Doesn’t that look beautiful? How many balloons do you think are in the sky in the above picture? Now, how many birds do you think died because of choking on these same balloons when they finally deflated and landed on the ground?
For an eye-opening education into this problem, check out balloonsblow.org to have your mind blown and your view of such beautiful spectacles changed.
What could possibly be wrong with doing this: Bringing actual untested water samples from some of the dirtiest rivers of the world and dumping them into a clean water source in the United States? This is just another example of money being able to do whatever it wants in the 1960’s.
Fortunately the samples were dumped into a closed water system that was likely highly chlorinated or otherwise treated. But still! Any number of foreign and dangerous parasites could have been released into the greater water sources of the park, and thusly, the US!
Being as you can’t take an apple across international borders today, I’m guessing that untested water samples would probably get you detained in Customs.
CONCLUSION
So what do you think of my list? Are you glad things are different today?
Disleelandia 