Disleelandia

‘Ode to Joy’ INSIDE OUT Plush

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Originally Karen and I picked a character to represent ourselves from the Disney/Pixar film Inside Out. We did this tongue-in-cheek of course! Karen picked Sadness and I picked Anger. Neither character really defines us, but they looked so good in plush!

We finally decided we should add a little joy to our lives (and bedroom shelves) to remind us that even in the worst of times there can always be found a little Joy:

I’m sure we all remember good old Friedrich Schiller who wrote the famous poem Ode to Joy in 1785. A bit before your time? Perhaps you’re more familiar with the version done by Ludwig van Beethoven in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony in 1824. Still no?

Well, lucky for you I just happen to have the lyrics to this masterpiece available for your perusal. However, some of the words seem to have been changed sometime between then and now, which I have indicated by shading the changed words in grey. I think you will agree that Mr. Schiller definitely had Joy in mind when he wrote the poem all those centuries ago:

Joy, beautiful spark of Pixar,
Daughter from Inside Out,
We enter, hearts on fire,
Inward, thy sanctuary!
Your giggles join again
What decision strictly divided;
All people become brothers,
Where your gentle laugh abides.

Who has succeeded in the great attempt,
To be an emotion’s friend,
Whoever has won a free ticket,
Add his to the jubilation!
Indeed, who calls at least one character
Theirs upon this world!
And whoever never managed, shall steal himself
Weeping away from this storyline.

All creatures think of Joy
At Disney’s behest.
Just and unjust
Alike taste of her whim;
She gave us OCD and micro management,
A controlling friend to the end.
Even Anger has been granted peace,
And the animator stands before Walt!

Gladly, as Walt’s animators fly
On their courses through the dailies,
Thus, brothers, you should take your date,
As a hero and go to the movies.

You millions, she embraces you.
This Joy is for all the world!
Brothers, beyond the present box office
There must dwell the obligatory sequel.
Do you hurry to pay, you millions?
World, do you know your place?
Seek Joy in the theaters;
That is the place you must dwell.

If everyone embraced this poem, it would bring a tear of Joy to their eye, and a ton of money to Disney’s bottom line!

Posted in Humor, Music, Plush | Tagged Friedrich Schiller, Humor, Inside Out, Joy, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lyrics, Music, Ninth Symphony, Ode to Joy, Parody, Plush | Leave a comment

MIKE WAZOWSKI Visits Greenfield Village

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Dis-LEE

It’s not every day that you meet a Disney celebrity but today my wife and I did just that! We saw one of Monstropolis’ most prestigious monsters taking a nap in his customized ride at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI:

He sleeps with his eye open. Creepy!

Of course his ride would be a turbo and shaped like a ball. We respected his personal space and didn’t wake him for an autograph.

The whole thing was just… groovy!

Posted in Humor, Plush | Tagged Greenfield Village, Groovy, Humor, Mike Wazowski, Monsters Inc., Plush, Volkswagen Beatle | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: The Ultimate Guide to an Affordable Disney World Vacation

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Dis-LEE

– This publication has been provided by the Author for review –

by Kevin Barry

Publisher: Frugal Enterprises, LLC

ISBN: 978-0-9974363-1-0

Pages: 122

Type: Soft Cover

Size: 6″ x 9″

Synopsis: This book was written to help cut the costs of a Disney vacation which will allow more frequent visits, longer stays, and enjoyable trips that won’t break the bank. It serves as a central resource to help vacation planners tackle the largest expenses for every Disney trip: travel, hotels, food, and tickets.

Content: Each chapter focuses on an area where the most costs can be cut. Included are step by step guides to walk you through the strategies to help save money on each of five main areas – Traveling, Park Tickets, Accommodations, Food, and Miscellaneous Expenses.

The Review: This a most thorough piece of work. I don’t want to give any of its secrets away but instead I recommend you buy the book and read it for yourself. It does have tips for everyone, from the well-to-do Disney traveler looking to keep money in the bank to the budget-minded Disney fan who would like to start traveling, or travel a bit more.

The entire premise of the book is to show how a family of four can save well over $2,000 US on their next Disney trip. The only problem I have with that premise is that most people would not be able to use all of the tips on just one trip. The well-to-do people I referenced earlier may be able to as long as they have a lot of money and beyond amazing credit. So it is more likely that budget-minded (or struggling) people, perhaps like you and me, will save only a few hundred dollars or perhaps more on successive trips. Eventually, we would save thousands! This is not a fault with the book, but perhaps with the book’s premise, as the author states this problem himself.

The only thing I would have to mention is the misinformation about Disney’s Vacation Club given in a chapter about renting DVC points. The author gets his math wrong and so advises strongly against a DVC membership saying that it’s never a winning proposition. Many have found just the opposite. This still doesn’t negate the value of the book for those looking to save money on a Disney vacation, for budget-minded people probably won’t buy into a DVC membership anytime soon anyway. So take the chapter with a grain of salt but be sure to read the information about renting DVC points, because it is valid.

Rating: I would give this book a 4.5 stars out of 5 for die-hard Disney travelers who have been everywhere and done everything. There are many many tips for such people that should help to drastically cut expenses.

However, I would give this book only 3 stars out of 5 for the average Disney travelers who don’t have a Brinks truck following them around and lack stellar credit. Most of the tips are either obvious or beyond the ability of such ones to exploit.

However yet again, I would still recommend this book for everyone for only you know what is valid for your situation. Frankly, if the tip to save money isn’t in this book, it isn’t anywhere else!

Posted in Books, Reviews, Tips, Vacation Planning, Walt Disney World | Tagged Book Reviews, Books, Frugal Enterprises, Kevin Barry, The Ultimate Guide to an Affordable Disney World Vacation, Tips, Vacation Planning, Walt Disney World | 4 Comments

Huey, Dewey, or Louie SALT & PEPPER SHAKERS

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Dis-LEE

I hope everyone loves a mystery! Today I have a vintage set of Disney salt and pepper shakers in the likenesses of two of Donald Duck’s three nephews. But which of the three are represented here?

Let’s start our investigation:

They measure about 3 3/4 inches tall and about 2 1/4 inches wide

In their very first cartoon Huey wore a green shirt and cap, Dewey orange and Louie red. But the red-blue-green designation was later invented in the comics, where their shirts were black but their caps have those three now-recognizable colors. Today, the shirts and caps are color coordinated for each character.

And so because Disney did assign a shirt color to each duckling in later years, we will be able to name our two spice merchants.

Circa 1950’s (?) and stamped ‘Japan’

So we have red and green, although they have swapped caps with each other just to be difficult. Well, that’s in character!

4 holes for salt and 3 holes for pepper

We will assume the shirts are on the right duck. Let’s get some more information from Disney’s former Chief Archivist Dave Smith: “Note that the brightest hue of the three is red (Huey), the color of water, dew, is blue (Dewey), and that leaves Louie, and leaves are green.”

So it appears that our two spice merchants here are Huey and Louie.

Stripes on shirts aren’t character appropriate

Here is how the three mischievous ducks look today:

Perhaps you noticed the corks in the, er… tail feathers of our two ducklings? Here is a closer look for those who aren’t faint of heart:

Unfortunate placement!

I guess you have to get the spices into them somehow. But… seriously? This could be why Huey has an annoyed look on his face:

Angry, or constipated?

These shakers are listed in the book 1003 Salt & Pepper Shakers with Values by Larry Carey and Sylvia Tompkins for $200.00 US which seems a tad high. Sites such as eBay have them listed for auction starting at about $70.00 US. As usual the sellers are claiming they are rare.

Just can’t get enough Disney salt & pepper shakers? I have many in my collection and most of them are featured in another post entitled Disney Salt & Pepper Shakers.

Posted in Ceramics, Collectibles, Figurines, Kitchen | Tagged 1003 Salt & Pepper Shakers with Values, Ceramics, Collectibles, Dave Smith, Figurines, Huey, Kitchen, Larry Carey, Louie, Salt and Pepper Shakers, Sylvia Tompkins | Leave a comment

DONALD DUCK Florida ORANGE JUICE Vintage Can

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Dis-LEE

I have seen these great vintage orange juice cans for years along with the miniature reproductions but have never been to a place that had one for sale. Today I was visiting a flea market/antique store and there one was, holding up a glass shelf with four other vintage juice cans (non-Disney).

$15.00 later and it was mine!

Anyone thirsty?

It took a little research to date this particular 48 Fluid Oz. can but here is what I came up with. Donald Duck juice was a brand of frozen and refrigerated orange (and grapefruit) juice produced by the Florida’s Natural Growers agricultural cooperative, which was known as Citrus World from 1969 to 1998, and before that as the Florida Citrus Canners Cooperative.

You can see in the picture to the right below that the Florida Citrus Canners Cooperative is listed on this particular can which should place it pre-1969. The Donald Duck brand was first introduced in 1940 so it had to be manufactured between those dates, but only knowledge of when different label designs were used would date this sample with any more accuracy.

The fact that the can is also stamped with W.D.P. (Walt Disney Productions) doesn’t help us narrow the date of release down for this company name was used by Disney from 1929 to 1986. So both the Canners Co-op and W.D.P. could have appeared on this can between 1940 and 1968.

Top and Bottom w/vintage rust

There are some random production letters on the bottom of the can but I doubt they would help with our attempts to date the can unless we could find documentation from the plant that recorded them and their meaning. Not going to happen!

So again, are you thirsty?

Fun Fact: This can mentions that it was distributed from a production plant in Lake Wales, Florida. For many years Donald Duck also appeared on the juice plant’s water storage tank in Lake Wales, until 1998, when the cooperative decided to remove the Donald Duck logo as part of its name change and re-branding.

Posted in Food, Kitchen, Promotions | Tagged Donald Duck, Florida, Florida Citrus Canners Cooperative, Food, Groceries, Kitchen, Lake Wales, Orange Juice, Promotions, Tins, Walt Disney Productions | Leave a comment

The Wonderful Worlds of Walt Disney BOOK SET

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Once again the idle thought to stop at a yard sale has yielded yet another great addition to my growing Disney book collection. This time I’ve found a beautiful set of four hardcover volumes from 1965. Complete and with the original cover sleeve no less! This is especially precious to me as that is the year I was born and I love finding things from my birth date.

From Golden Press

As mentioned, there are four volumes to this set. And they are:

This volume starts out with Disney animated and live-action movies that are set in other lands. It then segways into chapters adapted from the motion pictures series ‘People and Places’ and then goes back to Disney’s library of fictitious characters from around the world.

This volume mostly focuses on Disney animated and live-action films depicting historical characters.

Fun Fact: This volume has a picture of Br’er Rabbit on the cover who is from Disney’s ‘banned’ Song of the South movie. What is even more interesting is that it contains the Tar Baby story which is one of the main reasons the movie will never be released. There are so many examples of bits and pieces of the Song of the South being released in video compilations and in print, so why not just release the movie?

This volume focuses on creatures from the ‘True-Life Adventures’ series and also contains chapters containing pictures of many strange and unusual animals.

This volume contains mostly stories from Disney’s animated fables. Here is the title page:

Each volume has a similar title page as well as a contents page with a forward like this one:

Each of the four volumes have the same inner sleeve design:

All in all this is a very nice set which must have delighted children back in 1965!

Fun Fact: This set of books contain stories that have been published before and after its production date. One such duplication is the stories of Mother Goose done over with a Disney twist. To read a review of that book, please see the post entitled Book Review: Walt Disney’s Mother Goose. I guess if a story works, why not keep publishing it?

Posted in Books, Collectibles, Education | Tagged Books, Collectibles, Education, Golden Press, People and Places, The Four Wonderful Worlds of Walt Disney, The Wonderful Worlds of Wlat Disney, True-Life Adventures, Walt Disney's America, Walt Disney's Fantasyland, Walt Disney's Stories From Other Lands, Walt Disney's Worlds of Nature | Leave a comment

Walt Disney’s Stories from THE MOUSE FACTORY LP

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Dis-LEE

A long title for a short entry in the catalogue of Disneyland Records. These story records are indeed short on content but perfect for little ones with short attention spans. This offering even has eleven storybook pages to help focus the listener.

Front and back of the sleeve

The four stories that are narrated for us are The Little House (1952), Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), Johnny Appleseed (1948), and Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952). These are all Disney Shorts. This album was produced in 1972.

Now let’s have a look at the storybook pages within:

I was very glad to see no coloring or children’s name scrawled on these pages! Also, there is no hole punch through the top right corner. This was a technique practiced by retail stores to identify discounted LP’s that could not be returned for a refund. Most of my Disney record collection has just such a hole punched in the corners. Boo retailers!

Disneyland Records label

Just for a bit of fun, take a look at the time on the punch clock at The Mouse Factory where Mickey works:

Who starts or ends their shift at 2:50 in the morning or afternoon? I guess when it’s your image on the clock, you can punch in or out any time you want!

Posted in Music, Shorts, Soundtracks | Tagged Disneyland Records, Johnny Appleseed, Lambert the Sheepish Lion, LP, Music, Shorts, Soundtracks, Stories from The Mouse Factory, Susie the Little Blue Coupe, The Little House, Vinyl Records | Leave a comment

Disneyland ROLLERCOASTER Tin Toy

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Dis-LEE

I’ve always wanted one of these vintage Disney tin toys but have never been able to justify the cost. But today I found one at a reasonable price, although it has many condition issues. Let’s have a look:

Wonderful graphics!

This is a roller coaster that uses small individual cars which are drawn up the main ramp by a belt and then traverse the track using downward momentum alone.

Now let’s look at the whole toy:

So the first condition issue is the spring which has sprung:

Also, the wind-up key is missing as is the conveyor belt used to move the cars up the main ramp:

And… the cars themselves are missing. But here is what they look like according to an eBay seller:

But other than that, it is in beautiful condition and will make a very nice display piece!

Now let’s look at the graphics more closely and see the wonderful characters that are attending the fair today:

Nice pattern on the ‘floor’:

And here is a final shot of the bottom of the toy:

J. Chein & Co. was the manufacturer and the piece was likely produced between 1951 and 1953. I say this because Alice (in Wonderland) appears on the toy (July 28, 1951) but Peter Pan does not (February 5, 1953). Nor do characters from Lady and the Tramp (1955) or Sleeping Beauty (1959) and no characters from the 1960’s or later appear either.

The eBay seller I mentioned above is selling this piece for $150.00 US in a more complete condition than the one featured in this post. I paid just $42.50 CAN but again with more condition issues. But for me I simply want it for display purposes.

To conclude, here is some information about the J.Chein company:

J. Chein & Company was an American toy manufacturer in business from 1903 through the 1980s. It is best remembered today for its mechanical toys made from stamped and lithographed tin produced from the 1930s through the 1950s. Founded by Julius Chein in a loft in New York City, Chein’s earliest toy production was a line of premiums for the Cracker Jacks snack line. The American Can Company provided the lithographic printing for Chein’s early output until 1907 when Chein opened their own full production plant in Harrison, New Jersey. With their new facilities, they were able to produce piggy banks, noisemakers and model horse-drawn carriages. They also manufactured a number of toys under license from such companies as King Features Syndicate and Walt Disney Productions, producing Popeye, Felix the Cat and various Disney character toys.

Posted in Collectibles, Disneyland, Games, Toys | Tagged Collectibles, Disneyland, Disneyland Rollercoaster, Games, J. Chein & Co., Lithograph, Roller Coasters, Tin Toys, Toys | Leave a comment

Disney Movie Display Stand

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Since moving into our new place we have much more room to display our Disney collection. And of course that means setting up our genuine store display stand that holds all our Disney movies (plus movies from other studios, to be fair).

Here is how it looks in its new home in the corner of our living room:

What is there to watch?

We picked this up many years ago from a couple who bought it from a video store that was going out of business. That was in the 1980’s so it is close to or more than 40 years old!

Two designs for the sides

The long yellow area has a slit that allows a card to be slid into the space. This was probably to promote the latest Disney release.

Many Hidden Mickeys everywhere

Heavy duty casters allow easy movement of the stand

The casters can also be locked which we imagine was to stop customers from pushing the stand accidentally. It is so heavy though this would be hard, especially when fully loaded with VHS tapes (yes, VHS back in the early 1980’s).

Tsum Tsum hangout

There originally was a center piece that bolted to the top, but that was missing when we got the stand. We haven’t been able to find what was supposed to be there. None of these stands seem to be for sale on the Internet.

All in all not a bad purchase at just $80.00 CAN back in the 1990’s!