Disney Coloring Books

By Nick

Yes. Coloring books. I just found these in the garage last week. I’m not sure why, when or where I bought these, but it was likely in the early 1990s, when I was buying anything reasonably priced that reminded me of Disney World.

And I love the covers. Especially this one featuring Figment and Dreamfinder. While I don’t know what year this is from for sure, it was likely before 1994, when Epcot Center became Epcot ’94.

 

  

Another great cover.



In 1998, the Mile Long Bar closed, and became part of Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.



  

I wonder if I have any crayons laying around somewhere…

Walt Disney Classics Collection Grumpy

By Nick

These Grumpy Walt Disney Classics Collection pieces are from 1995.

Grumpy bears the trowel production mark, in honor of the Academy Award winning 1933 cartoon, “The Three Little Pigs”. 

The official title of the Grumpy sculpt is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Humph”.

The pipe organ is made of resin, carved with woodland creatures such as frogs, owls, fish, rabbits and a baby bird in its nest. Rabbits support the organ and race across the front, and squirrels are at each end.

It measures 7 1/4 inches (18.4 centimeters) tall.

I won this on eBay, and it didn’t come with a box. What it did come with, however, was pads on the bottom of the pipe organ. I’m not at all sure if these were original to the piece. I’ve searched online, and can’t seem to find any pictures proving it one way or the other. This also has the trowel production mark and is titled Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Pipe Organ.

Grumpy is seated on the bellows for the pipe organ.

He is 4 1/2 inches (11.4 centimeters) tall.

I better stop here, my typing is interrupting the music, and Grumpy is giving me an angry stare. Did he just say humph?!

The Disney Exchange- Episode 28- Walt Disney World Trip Planning

By Nick 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

-The Disney Exchange is David Hodges, Lisa Green, and me, Nicholas Maglio  

-Main Topic: Walt Disney World Trip Planning

-We give a couple of shout outs and show off our high end production values with a sound clip, expertly executed by our technical team.

-Look: David smiling! Or is it, as he claims, photoshopped?

 David Hodges and me on the Boardwalk, January 2015

So Lisa doesn't feel left out, this is me and her last October at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The important thing here is you are getting to see 2 photos of me.

-The Princess Half Marathon is in February of 2016, and early registration is in...well, that depends on when you are reading this! And we attempt math again. Poorly. Regardless, please join Lisa, David and me next Feb 18, 2016 - Feb 21, 2016.
We'll have more information on future shows as to our planned events.

-People apparently have a problem with Poop Candy. (Google it)

-Dave talks about some changes to 2016 Walt Disney World Vacation Packages.

-People do dumb things. Not our listeners, but people.

-We talk cheese. Disney has apparently removed the cheese whiz type topping from it's fixins bars, but you can still ask for it at the counter, allegedly. (I added allegedly at the request of our legal team.)

Photo: Dave

-Someday Miss Pixie will return to share her opinion on Selfie Sticks.

-We finally get into our main topic : planning for our Walt Disney World Vacations, a year out, 6 months out, and last minute trips.
We each give some recommendations for preparing for a vacation at each of the aforementioned time frames, including a fairly lengthy discussion on boarding pets at Best Friends Per Care.

-The Wheel of Distiny topic this week: Name an attraction you have ridden multiple times in a single day & what were the circumstances, and HOW did you get to ride it multiple times?

You can find us on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thedisneyexchange
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyexchange
Or email us at: info@thedisneyexchange

Thank you for listening to The Disney Exchange, the podcast of honesty.

Making Disney Pin Trading an Adventure

 

by Lisa Green 

 

We’ve been collecting and trading Disney pins for about 10 years.  On that one visit to Walt Disney World where we first took notice of all the adults and children wearing pin-filled lanyards and saw all the fun and clever pins for sale – well, we jumped right onboard!  Once we figured out how to make pin trading and collecting into a game – like a scavenger hunt, we became even bigger fans!

Yes, I know what you’re thinking – it’s another Disney trick to get you to part with your money – and you have a point.  If you let it, the cost of buying pins can easily amount to a significant chunk of change.  I’ve been to some pin trading events (at WDW resorts and on Disney Cruise Line) and there are people who have spent thousands of dollars and many, many hours accumulating impressive pin collections (I imagine some of them have similar amounts of Beanie Baby or Pokémon items, as well).  All things in moderation is my motto!

Rather than break the bank, our family likes to make Disney pin trading into more of an adventure than a passion.  We each pick out several pins from our existing collection that we’re willing to part with before we leave for Walt Disney World (so we have some to trade away).  We think about any series of pins we have that may be missing one or two pins to complete the set and decide what we’ll be hunting for.  For example – when we were at WDW a couple of weeks ago, I was looking for the last Orange Bird pin I needed – the “flying” Orange Bird.  Everyone knew what to look for and, like a scavenger hunt, we all looked for that one pin until it was found (by Raymond on a Cast Member’s lanyard in Animal Kingdom).

Raymond and Joseph were looking for Jessica Rabbit pins – old or new, to buy or trade – and they managed to find a couple to add to our collection.  Megan just wanted a Frozen pin – any one would do.  This proved the most difficult challenge of all!  After chasing down several leads – most of which were fruitless, we finally found some Olaf pins early one day in Magic Kingdom (I’m sure they sold out later).

Hunting for a particular pin adds another level of fun to a Disney vacation!  Whether at a Disney park or on a Disney cruise, we all get into the spirit of the hunt and, by doing that, we’re able to keep our pin purchases from eating up our entire souvenir budget.

Do you collect or trade Disney pins?  What are your favorite pins to find?
Just getting started with pin trading?  See this post for tips. 

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!

Disney Dollars

By Nick

Disney Dollars were introduced in 1987 at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
For an in depth history of Disney Dollars, please check out disneydollars.net.

I bought my first Disney Dollars at the Disney Store in 1992, for use on my first trip to Walt Disney World that year. I saved a few, and have picked up more through the years.

Let’s start with the earliest dollars, 1s and 5s.

A waving Mickey greets us.

“May be used as legal tender only at Disneyland Park, Walt Disney World Resorts and the Disney Stores.” “Disney Dollars may be spent or collected and saved as souvenirs and are redeemable at any time before or after any time of inactivity.”

Series 1991. 

Treasurer, Scrooge McDuck. Of course!

A Series

 .

A lovely illustration of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle on the back.

Goofy looks proud to be honored with the 5 Dollar bill.

For my second trip to Walt Disney World in 1994, I picked up a few more Disney Dollars, including this fiver.

Same disclaimer as to where the dollars could be used, but with a notation that they could only be used in the U.S.A. and Puerto Rico.

The highlight of this is the absolutely beautiful illustration on the back.

1993 was Mickeys 65th birthday, and this momentous occasion called for a special dollar, and Mickey is decked out in a tuxedo to celebrate.

1993 was also the year that Mickey’s Toontown opened in Disneyland, which is commemorated on the back.  

Disney Dollars even came with their own fun envelopes. “Currency With Character”. Cute!

In the future, I’ll share some Disney Dollars from the recent past.

Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World-September/October 2008 - Part 2

By Nick

Part 1 can be found here.

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

After a, surprisingly, good nights sleep, I woke up at 5:30AM.
We checked out of Pop about 6:30, and were at the Boardwalk Resort by 7.
I asked for a room on the 5th floor, facing the green. The CM at the desk said there would be nothing facing the green available on 5, in fact the only thing available would be 2nd floor. I said we were really hoping for a higher floor. She started clicking away, and after maybe 2 minutes said there was something close to what I'd requested. So, I said that would be fine.
Off we went for coffee and a danish at the Belle Vue Lounge.

We took a walk around the Boardwalk, and by then it was almost 8:15, so we walked over to Disney's Hollywood Studios.



We were one of the 1st people in line, and immediately after rope drop, we, along with everyone else, headed for Toy Story Midway Mania.
After riding, Barbie got in a conversation about pin trading with a nice couple from the Netherlands,
while I waited in line for FastPasses to TSM. I waited longer for FPs than I did to get on initially.
Barbie made some great pin trades, we walked over to TOT and rode twice. Nobody was there.



We walked through some shops till it was time for our FPs at TSM, and rode again. It was 11:15, and the wait was already 70 minutes.
After the ride, we walked over to Mama Melrose, where we had ADRs for Noon. While waiting for the restaurant to open, I found a couple of hidden Mickey's, and wound up starting a hunt with some other nice folks. We found 1 more in the lobby, and was told there were more, but, it was time to eat!



After lunch, I called to check if our room was available. It wasn't so we walked back to the Boarwalk, and grabbed our swimsuits out of luggage, and took a swim.
I love the Kieister Coaster. We stayed at the pool for 2 hours, till 4, and called and got our room. It's a good thing I love the pool, because our room was dead center overlooking it. Room 5060 is indeed very near where I had requested, it's across the hall from the room I'd hope to get!



By now it was 4:30, and we had tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
I wasn't sure about the weather, but it turned out to be a lovely evening. I was Fred Flinstone, Barbie was a hippie.








When we arrived I called our friend Pam, and told her we were there. A little latter we met Pam and her husband Tom at The Haunted Mansion.
We had a blast trick or treating, getting pictures with characters, and riding rides.



There is a story behind why Barbie and Tom are looking off to the side, and that can be found here.

At about 8:45, right after the 1st parade, we staked out a spot on a bench facing the castle, next to the Partners statue and watched the 9:30 fireworks from there.



Great show. Then we got some more candy, rode Pirates, and went over to Frontierland and got a perfect spot for the 10:30 parade. Afterwards we rode Big Thunder, and walked around the rest of the park, getting candy. By that time it was 11:30, my feet were on fire. We headed out. Pam and Tom drove us back to the Boardwalk.

I showered and don't even remember getting into bed.

Part 3 next Thursday!

Disney Wordless Wednesday: New Roots on The Tree of Life

By Nick