Even the display stands in Disney stores are artistically done. I love finding objects with colour, shape, and texture.
And contrast. This Mickey Glove High Five image has all of these things:
Seeing the other merchandise in the negative space is a bonus feature for this shot. I like that they are out of focus, but still adding visual interest!
Job well done? High Five!
Publisher: Centennial Media
Year: 2023
Pages: 100
Type: Softcover
ISBN: N / A
“First Look at the Anniversary Festivities”
With the Disney 100 Celebration in full swing it was only a matter of time before we got the obligatory Collector’s Issue magazine. And here it is!
This 100-page glossy magazine gives us the usual details about Walt Disney, his animated classics, the Theme Parks, and the future of the Disney company, that we would expect. As I suspected when I begrudgingly plunked down my $16.99 CAN, there isn’t much new to learn from this edition.
That being said, it isn’t a total loss. For most Disney fans, you will find a few new pictures you haven’t seen before. Maybe a factoid or two may surprise you. A quick look at the contents page below will help you to see what is offered:
I’m not going to include too many images from the magazine. I’ll leave you to discover the bulk of the content if you decide to buy it for yourself. And I don’t want to send the Centennial Media group into a copyright snit!
But I will say that, for me, the standout section (and largest) was the Animation Domination pages. Beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and numbering, in order, every animated Classic up to and including Strange World (No. 61 if you’re counting), you get the release dates, Box Office receipts, and a Legacy bio for each film:
Notable live-action films are also mentioned and Pixar gets its own section.
I feel that most people buy these magazines for the cool pictures and this edition won’t disappoint. I especially liked comparing the two images below:
Obviously, you will find many images of Walt to tug at your heart strings:
The cost of these magazines has always been a tad high for my taste. But as a Disney Completist, I end up buying most of them!
For those of us who won’t be able to attend the Disney 100 Celebration at a Disney Theme Park, this magazine might just have to be enough to give us our anniversary fix! But if you want a copy, it will only be displayed for purchase until May 1st of 2023, and then it’ll be gone.
If these types of magazine are your jam, check out my 2016 issue of LIFE special about Walt Disney, my 1971 issue of LIFE covering the Opening of Walt Disney World, or my 1978 issue of LIFE featuring Mickey Mouse.
It’s time to satisfy our collective Sweet Teeth with another piece of candy. And if it just happens to come with a tiny toy, so much the better!
This Kinder Surprise Tiana chocolate egg figurine is fun and delicious:
The Princess and the Frog (2009) was the 49th Disney animated feature film. It is loosely based on the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm.
It’s not my favorite Disney Princess film. I guess I’m still pining for Rapunzel! The main thing I didn’t like was how deep the story went into Voodoo, which I thought was a tad over the top for a fun children’s movie. But then, Disney doesn’t have a history of shying away from such scary imagery in their kids films, so… that’s probably just me.
Tiana does look lovely in her signature green dress patterned after the foliage of the Bayou. And the dress is so easy to make:
This series of Kinder Surprise eggs also comes with a free App offer. I guess a toy just isn’t enough for the tech savvy children of today!
With but a scan of the code, or the figure itself, you can open the App Store where you can download the Applaydu Family Games App. Now it does say ‘Activities for your kids’ so I didn’t download it. Are there App Police? I don’t want to find out!
The Tiana figurine came in four pieces and would be easy to assemble for anyone, even a child.
Things change. Sometimes I wish things would stay the same. Case in point is the ticket systems at Walt Disney World and Disney Parks in general. There’s something about having a piece of paper in your hand with images and text that can be saved for souvenirs! Such things become what is known as ephemera, items that are made for a purpose and then to be thrown away, usually paper-based products.
I know I’m not alone!
My sister-in-law recently bestowed upon me these vintage Walt Disney World ticket books and coupons from the early days of Walt Disney World:
I have one A to E Ticket Book and three Magic Key Coupon Books. All three of the coupon books are complete but the ticket book isn’t, with the cover ripped off and missing:
This ticket book is incomplete with only one E ticket and two A tickets left. It is in pretty bad shape, but it is fairly rare to find mint condition and complete examples. This book likely dates from before 1975 as the Flight to the Moon attraction was replaced by Mission to Mars in that year.
Considering the price point of tickets today, these ticket books were positively a steal! A $8.80 value for just $5.40 US. Now, you can just about buy a bottled water in the Parks for that amount.
We transition now from a purchased book of tickets to a complimentary alternative:
A-type attractions would have been basic rides mainly geared to children with the E-type attractions would have been more thrilling adventures!
Walt Disney World Village was announced on August 1st of 1975 and has changed into many other venues over the years. Today you may know it better as Disney Springs.
It appears that this small coupon book was given to Guests as a courtesy for some undisclosed reason. It would have been free and good for a few rides on any A to E type attraction. Not a bad deal!
I also have several Parking Ticket Stubs, an Opening Day EPCOT Ticket, and even a Sunlight Airlines Disney Vacation Ticket Folder. But for something a little different but the same, you can also click to see some of my FastPass Ticket Stubs.
Corelle dishware is made in Corning, New York. The company has been in business and producing ‘unbreakable’ plates and bowls for your dinner table since 1970. The official website says of the product: “There’s nothing else like Corelle. The secret is our proprietary three-layer glass – yes, glass: fired to an amazingly strong and lustrous finish, backed by our No Chip, No Crack Guarantee. Corelle dinnerware comes in styles for every taste, mood and season, and you can mix and match them.”
This Corelle Mickey & Friends Dinnerware Set was manufactured in 2022 and sold at Costco:
As we look at the plates, keep in mind that they will look the same size, but there are actually three different sizes: A dinner plate, a salad plate, an appetizer plate. And there’s a bowl. The types and sizes are listed with the first images below:
We are treated to eight different images of Mickey Mouse as he has appeared throughout the years. Each image is an actual pose lifted from a Short. For example, the image of Mickey as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a still from the scene in Fantasia where Mickey is leading the brooms as they carry the water between the well and the inner room.
Corelle’s claim to fame is that it stacks up in less space than ceramic plates and bowls and is more resilient if dropped. It’s non-porous and ultra-hygienic and so provides a healthy choice to keep your food pure and clean.
Need some mugs to go along with your plates to complete your dinner? Then check out an earlier Foodie Friday post entitled WDW Mugs. Bring your own beverages.
I believe this hit the shelves on February 14th. Can you guess why a DVD/Blue-ray combo pack with 10 Shorts starring Mickey and Minnie Mouse would have that release date?
I found this Disney 100 Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts disc at Walmart:
By now most Disney fans will have all ten of the Shorts from this disc, or can stream them from Disney+. But it’s amazing the power that new packaging has on the consumer! Are you tempted?
You get 83 minutes of black and white and colour goodness with this set. You may also notice that it is branded with the Disney 100 logo, linking it to the 100th year anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. And this is only Volume 1. Obviously Disney plans on milking this idea.
I just thought I’d add this post to the blog as a Public Service for all of those Disney Completists out there that just have to have everything Mickey and Minnie! But hurry, for just $19.96 CAN, they may sell out fast!
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, or the Hollywood Tower Hotel, is an attraction inspired by Rod Serling’s anthology television series, The Twilight Zone. The original version of the attraction opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, then named Disney-MGM Studios, at Walt Disney World in July 1994.
To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World in 2021, Disney partnered with Funko to create an entire series of awesome figurines. One of my favorite is this POP! Town Hollywood Tower Hotel and Mickey Mouse set.
Let’s start things off with a Fun Pic of Bellhop Mickey pulling a King Kong. It’s all Hollywood, right? Right:
Now let’s get as serious as a mouse dressed in a Bellhop uniform on a plastic fake hotel can possibly be. Some Funko packaging isn’t too special but this WDW 50 series is a definite exception! I love the design of the logo and the foil effect on the back.
And we see the return of the backing card with this release:
But nobody buys Funko Pop! figurines for the boxes. So let’s take a creepy peek at the contents:
Mickey strikes a pose reminiscent of the attraction Bellhops as they beckon you to your doom. They are the last thing you see as you enter the elevator to head into… the Twilight Zone!
The hotel itself is extremely detailed for the size. I love all of the windows, balconies, and archways! But the star of this set is definitely Bellhop Mickey:
Every attraction at WDW seems to exit into a gift shop, and The Twilight Tower of Terror is no exception! I’ve always wanted to buy a Hollywood Tower Hotel bathrobe, but just haven’t been able to cough up the cash. So this keepsake will have to do!
And it wasn’t cheap:
Almost $50.00 CAN but well worth it!
Another reason I wanted to add this figurine to my collection is that The Twilight Tower of Terror is one of my favorite attractions. To find out why, please check out my earlier post entitled Why Wait in Long Disney Line-ups? Don’t worry. It won’t take as long to read as it does to get onto the ride in real life!
I took this picture from the balcony of the Howard Johnson hotel across the street from Disneyland in California. I had a nice view of the monorails as they glided past the mountain. But I just couldn’t resist this shot of the peak peaking out from the forest of trees around it:
In the Park itself the Matterhorn looks much higher, as it sits back from this growth. But from my distant vantage point, it seemed to shrink the rock down to size!
Further diminishing the attraction is the miles of clear blue sky above it. Although there isn’t much going on in this shot, I still like it!
Algonquin Park in Canada has a vast interior of maple hills, rocky ridges, and thousands of lakes. In fact, there are at least 7,635 square kilometers of forests, bogs, lakes and rivers. The only way to explore the interior of this park is by paddle or on foot. That’s why this Sounds of Algonquin Park 45 single has an entire side dedicated to paddling around the site!
There is also a second Algonquin. Here you can enjoy camping at one of eight campgrounds, hike one of 14 trails, take part in the extensive educational Discovery Program, or visit Algonquin’s exceptional Visitor Centre, Logging Museum and Art Centre.
Don’t have time for all that? Or maybe just the thought of that much physical activity tires you out? Then this little vinyl disc is for you:
Thanks to the exercise of one Dan Gibson and his production company, you can sit in the comfy chair of your choice and listen to what you’re missing:
Not into wolves? No problem. Let’s imagine ourselves in a canoe. With someone else doing the paddling:
Yes, it’s almost enough to make one want to lace up the hiking boots and hit the portage trail! Almost. But not quite. Maybe I’ll walk to the fridge.
Things were simpler back in 1978, no?
I enjoyed the first Avatar movie released in 2009 but still haven’t seen the recent sequel. Am I over the franchise after so long or is it that I don’t want to sit in a theater for three hours? Hard to say. My tender butt aside, I do love chocolate!
So this Kinder Surprise Avatar chocolate egg figurine was something I felt I could handle:
These little chocolate eggs are tasty and hide a surprise inside. Hence the name:
White and milk chocolate together? Yes please! But did you know that some countries have banned these ‘toys’ because of the danger of having small plastic pieces inside a food item? True. But not in Canada! We use them to cull the child herds. Kidding!
They call them Kinder to indicate that they are primarily for children, but come on! Adults love chocolate. Adults love toys. And adults love gaming apps:
With but a scan of the code, or the figure itself, you can open the App Store where you can download the Applaydu Family Games App. Now it does say ‘Activities for your kids’ so I didn’t download it. Are there App Police? I don’t want to find out!
The blue dragon character came in four pieces and was easy to assemble… for an adult. Your ‘kids’ might need a little help.
Disleelandia 