Hallmark is arguably the best supplier of Disney merchandise outside of the Theme Parks themselves! This wonderful Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary ‘Ittybittys’ Jungle Cruise plush is a great example. The fun factor is off the charts, and if you don’t believe that, then you’re in de Nile!
Let’s have a look at our Skippers:
Siamese Skippers
How adorkable are they? Mickey sports a traditional Jungle Cruise Skipper uniform, while Minnie seems to have adapted her look to reflect the boat canopy. I don’t remember Cast Members having a red and white striped costume at any point.
Ittybittys is a collectible plush toy line by Hallmark released in 2013. These plush are big fun. They are stuffed animals that are sturdy, cuddly, and the perfect size. You can check out the full line at the official website here.
Bogey & Hepburn
For a deep dive into how The Jungle Cruise attraction drew inspiration from the 1951 action adventure film The African Queen, just click the link.
The boat has two little holes that fit Mickey and Minnie’s itty bitty butts!
Walt Disney World celebrated its 50th Anniversary during the pandemic in 2001. Pretty much alone! The only thing that really came out of the event was some awesome merchandise.
Now that The Disney Store is no more we will need to rely on brick and mortar retailers like Hallmark and others to give us our Disney fix.
Can you spot what is in this picture? It, or they (that’s a hint) are so well hidden, it might take a thrice to find them (that’s another hint):
While walking to my car one sunny day I was engaged by a slender and lanky bird pretending to have a broken wing and running, slowly, away from me. I’ve seen this behavior before and so knew to look for a nest with eggs.
Stock Photo
Killdeer are well known for this ‘broken wing’ ruse to lure predators away from their nests. These nests can be on open ground with low vegetation (or no vegetation at all), including lawns, golf courses, driveways, parking lots, and gravel-covered roofs, as well as pastures, fields, sandbars and mudflats. Gravel certainly does camouflage the eggs, as seen in my picture above.
This species is one of the least water-associated of all shorebirds. The parking lot where I encountered my little friend was miles from any body of water. After taking my picture, I ‘fell for’ the ruse and left the area!
Once again we must visit that famous place that we all go to eat, even though we know there are better places and better food out there… but they have toys! And so we go buy our Happy Meals almost solely for the pleasure of finding fun inside.
The fun today comes from 1988 with this Goofy McDonalds Happy Meal friction car toy:
If Goofy is depicted in a car, it’s always a jalopy! Some old beater on its last legs and usually completely incapable of getting the driver to his destination.
You can find these little toys at any flea market or antique store for next to nothing. They aren’t worth more than the fun they can bring when you play with them! I paid one Canadian dollar.
Let’s have a look at Goofy as he takes a spin, literally, in his jalopy:
Goofy Goes for a Spin!
I’m just trying out a new video program called Wondershare Filmora. You no doubt noticed the watermark on the video presentation above. After using the software, I do believe I will buy the full version. It seems pretty intuitive and has most of the features you’d ever need to make interesting content.
But I digress…
To be fair, Goofy didn’t flip his car over, although he did crash it many times during the filming of the video!
For more friction car fun, check out my Tomorrowland Speedway collection, or if it’s the Goof you’re into, check out another car in his garage from Motorama. It’s also a jalopy!
Facebook can be a very convenient way to find unique businesses. I have purchased many things from sellers in this way but have never had such a nice experience as I have with Gracey Manor Designs.
I’ve been blogging on this website for well over a decade and haven’t really done much with the branding nor have I created a line of merchandise. That may change if and when the site gets popular enough to warrant it. But until then, I now have two pieces of exclusive ‘merchandise’ that are just for me, but now I’d like to share them with you:
If only it were a real place!
Disleelandia is a blending of a small show that Walt Disney was going to tour around America called Disneylandia and my name, ‘Lee’, which I inserted into the middle. And the rest is blogging history! My logo is a modification of the original entrance sign from Disneyland, as seen below:
This is a real place!
And here is where Gracey Manor Designs comes in. I saw their advertisement on Facebook and gave it a click. You can do so from this post. They specialize in small recreations, or replicas, of vintage and modern signs from the Disney Parks, and more.
But… they will also modify the items to suit your needs. If you have a website like mine, you could do something like this:
This little beauty stands just 4 1/2″ high and is 9 1/2″ long. It faithfully recreates the pattern and colours of the original sign, with obvious differences due to the adding of two extra squares of letters. The material is a plastic, so I assume there is some 3D Printing behind it. The fit and finish is very good, but to be fair, I should mention that there is a very slight warping of the base on one end. Plastic forms will do this, so I don’t see it as a problem. I mention it to be complete in my evaluation. I’m not expecting any additional warping.
How long did it take and how much did I pay?
I first inquired after having my modified replica on April 30th. They responded the same day and sent me a digital mock up of the finished product:
After considering it, I ordered on May 8th. I received and paid a PayPal invoice that day and the process began. On May 9th I was promised it would be shipped in three weeks. On June 16th I received an email telling me it would be shipped on June 20th (an unavoidable family emergency delayed things). It took just under two weeks to arrive from then.
The sign itself was $45.00 US with a $20 US shipping charge to Canada. An order shipped within the United States would have been only $5.00 US.
I would highly recommend Gracey Manor Designs for both the quality of the product and the quick and friendly service!
Representing!
I also own a t-shirt that was made for me many years ago by a very good friend. For me, this really is The Happiest Blog on Earth! Even though I’ve been blogging since 2009, I’m still working hard to build the brand and gather an audience. But having cool pieces of representative ‘merchandise’ like the sign and the ‘T’ definitely help me to stay pumped and focused!
If you’re enjoying my content, why not share Disleelandia with a friend? I’d like to take this time to thank YOU for visiting!
Lido Toy Corporation was an American based toy maker that began operations in 1947. It was started by the brothers Seymour and Effrem Arenstein. It could be the same Lido that made this vintage Disney metal target game as it was sold in 1964 with most of its assets destroyed, but this target game was made in 1961. There are many plastic and metal toys attributed to the Lido name from the 1940s thru to the 1960s, so we’ll assume we have a match!
So now let’s have a look at the game itself, along with some discrepancies:
But what do I shoot with?
I purchased this game for $40.00 CAN at a local antique shop. It didn’t come with any kind of shooting device. It was most likely that it had a toy pistol that shot suction cup darts. Perhaps three darts after which you would add up your score and pass the pistol to the next player. You can find different versions of the target boards online, but none of them seem to have the shooting device, which would be easy for a child to lose.
Top row of targets
I feel that the choice of characters for the targets constitute the discrepancies I mentioned earlier. There is unnecessary duplication of some characters with other main Disney characters being unrepresented. For example, we have Mickey being used twice but Minnie is not used at all. It can’t be that they didn’t want a female character shot at, as Daisy Duck is included. Donald, Goofy, and Von Drake are also used twice, with Pluto being used three times. Only one of Donald’s nephews are used, while they could have used all three if they didn’t double up on other characters.
Swivel Targets
The swivel targets are also a discrepancy. We have Donald Duck on the left, then Pluto, then Goofy, and then Pluto again? Why not use Mickey to make the famous foursome complete?
Main Bullseye & Bottom Targets
This would have been one the first appearances in merchandise of Professor Ludwig Von Drake, who was created in 1961 for Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color television program broadcast on NBC.
This metal target game was made in the United States by Lido. It is branded as a Walt DisneyProductions product.
As mentioned already, having only one of Donald’s nephews (specifically Dewey, in blue) is definitely a discrepancy. Why only one nephew, and why the middle one? And why isn’t he in the middle? I feel that the bottom row could have been Huey on the left, Dewey in the middle, and Louie on the right. Visually, it would have been amazing!
The back is nothing to look at. You can see that the metal tray is unfinished and the swivel targets are hollow molds.
Target games today are less common likely due to the current problem with gun violence affecting children around the world. But back in the 1950s and 1960s it was definitely different times!
Some loved it. Some hated it. Some thought Tim Allen should have voiced Buzz Lightyear. Some understood why the filmmakers opted to use Chris Evans instead. Me? I haven’t even seen the film yet! I’m interested but will probably wait for its Disney+ debut in August.
In a nutshell, the film is a spin-off of the Toy Story films and the fifth installment overall. Although it features Buzz Lightyear, he’s not the plastic toy version. Instead, it stars the ‘real’ Buzz Lightyear as he was portrayed in a film that characters within the main Toy Story universe would have watched, in which Lightyear is a human “space ranger”. Got that? Good.
Let’s move on to the Lightyear movie Funko Pop! figures that I just couldn’t resist:
The Boys
These figures are highly detailed and just amazing! Sometimes a purchase is a no-brainer, and these Funko Pop! figures fell under that designation in spades.
Back in the box so they won’t fight!
Some of these figures I keep in the box, especially the ones that are top heavy and so can’t stand on their own. These figures don’t have that problem. So I will take them out for display but will keep the boxes.
Now let’s have a look at the figures themselves:
Strangely enough, I like the back of the Buzz Lightyear figure the best! But does his jumpsuit look a bit like the Star Wars rebel gear?
I’ve heard some fans didn’t like the new look for Zurg. His figure does look more like a robot than the cartoon version. But I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.
Box Office isn’t always the best gauge of a movie’s quality. Lightyear didn’t perform as Pixar had anticipated, but going up against the Tom Cruise powerhouse that has become the Top Gun sequel likely didn’t help!
As always, whether the movie is good or sucks, the true measure of its greatness is… The Merchandise! And in the case of these Funko Pop! figures, they go ‘To Infinity and Beyond’ awesome.
SkyBox is a prolific creator of Trading Cards along with many other forms of collectable media. You can click the link to see what is currently available.
This post features the Cinderella Limited Edition trading card set from 1995.
I picked this up at a local reseller for just $5.00 CAN. It goes to show how much the value of trading cards has softened over the years. It used to be that baseball cards were like gold! But now with the saturation of the trading markets, all collectibles have fallen as investments. This set can be purchased for about $20.00 US on most sites today.
This set adds a nice twist to the collectible nature of the cards. The box is ornate and utilizes a drawer-like operation to remove the cards. Once out of the box, you have 50 beautiful images from the original Disney classic that proved that women can run in just about any kind of footwear! The back of each card has a brief snippet of the story, each card sequentially forwards the narrative along.
Above I have included the front of the first card and the back of the last card. There are simply too many cards for me to photograph them all for this post! So I’m choosing to focus on the unique box instead. But if you want to see each and ever card, please check out TCDb for images of the complete set. They’ve done the work so I don’t have to!
This is Number 07287 or 20,000. So about the middle of the run.
I’ve featured one other SkyBox set of trading cards on this site so far. You can check out my Toy Story cards by clicking the link.
Mickey and Minnie have had an on-again off-again romance for decades. Mostly on. What has kept the spark alive for so long a time?
This Walmart Mickey and Minnie canvas picture might just have the answer:
Oy! What’s going on ‘ere, then?
This is a nice stretched canvas picture featuring the eternal love birds… er, love mice. It measures a respectable 11 1/2″ x 23 1/2″. There is a little wire on the back to hang it with.
Now let’s get to solving the mystery behind the staying power of Mickey and Minnie’s relationship:
Oh, Mickey. You charmer!
Mickey is whispering a sweet nothing into Minnie’s ear. What’s he saying? We will never know, but we can certainly see the results:
Yup. She liked what he said!
Minnie has become overwhelmed with passion after just a few words from her man… er mouse. Is a little peck on the check going to be the end of this exchange?
REALLY liked what he said!
Nope! Mickey goes in for the Big Lip Lock and get’s a Triple Heart mark from the judges. Well done, sir! You are a Doctor of Smoochology!
How much? Don’t know.
This was likely under $20 CAN when it was sold new. I paid just $6.50 CAN at a local reseller.
Wrapped canvas on wooden frame
These inexpensive works of art can brighten up a wall in the home of any Disney fan. But be careful – It might just give your Significant Other ideas!
Steamboat Willie was released in 1928 as a Short film by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white and is considered the debut of Mickey Mouse, although a Short called Plane Crazy was completed first. The sensation that was The Jazz Singer, credited as the first ‘Talkie’, motivated Walt to move his cartoons to sound before any other animation studio did so.
Walt knew that synchronized sound was the ‘fad’ of the day that was there to stay! And yes, the rest is history.
This ground-breaking Short has spawned more than cinematic history. It has also given us a lot of merchandise, like these Nano Metalfigs 100% die-cast Steamboat Willie figures:
Outflanked!
For more information about this particular line of merchandise, please check out my earlier post featuring an eclectic grouping of Disney Characters.
I love this set because they are in black and white! They really capture the feeling of the original animation:
This Short didn’t follow the usual plot that would play out again and again over the years, that being that Mickey has to save Minnie from the inappropriate advances of a cad… usually Pegleg Pete, with or without a peg leg. This time, she is merely a passenger on the steamboat, and a fellow abuser of animals alongside Mickey.
What’s he up to?
The final character in this set is a bird on a perch. He appears three times in the Short. First, he laughs at Mickey when he falls down a flight of stairs, only to have a bucket of water dumped over him. Next, he is seen dancing to the music that Mickey and Minnie are making with the bodies of other animals, and lastly, he shows up at the end to laugh at Mickey again as he is pealing potatoes as a punishment for goofing off. Mickey again fixes the bird by throwing a potato at him, knocking him overboard and into the river.
It was a gentler time, I guess? Not!
Jada Toys Inc.
These are very well done figures in a high quality die-cast material. The fit and finish is superb! I highly recommend them for any Disney collector. They are small (under 2″ high) so don’t take up much shelf space.
I bought these from a private seller for just $10.00 CAN.
It may be July but that doesn’t stop retailers from trying to make a buck by cashing in on a holiday. Even one that’s six months away! Hallmark has a nice line of ornaments that cover just about any IP and pop culture reference you could want. Disney is a common tie-in for the greeting card chain, and so I wasn’t surprised to find these Hallmark Mickey Heart Hands ornaments.
They feature the beloved character with his hands forming a heart shape. The stylized silicone design is available in a rainbow array of colors. Here is the display I found:
I don’t do holidays. So why do I collect ornaments? Well, I only collect non-descript ornaments, in that ones that don’t have holiday decorations on them or that are specifically themed to any holiday in question. I use them for display, keychains, or to dangle from my rearview mirrors. There are so many other uses for these well made figurines! And if you buy a non-descript ornament, you can display it all year around without the Holiday Police getting on your case.
True Blue
These particular ornaments are made of plastic and are available in multiple colors but are not sold boxed. You can see from the opening image how they are sold. Now let’s have a look at some more of the colours:
The tags say that these are not toys but only for decorative use.
Two last colours:
These little guys measure 2″ Wide by 3″ High by 1.25″ Deep, or thick.
So what do you think? Could you come up with a year round use for one of these colourful little Mickey Mouse figurines?
Disleelandia 