Disney's Vinylmation Trading

I confess. The first time I saw Vinylmation, I didn't get it. Then, on a trip to Walt Disney World in 2011, I discovered Vinylmation trading. One day, while in the Screen Door General Store at the Boardwalk Resort, I saw this Rizzo the Rat Muppets Vinyl in one of the clear trading boxes. I wanted it. I also liked a few of the newly released Animation 1 set. So, I bought one. It was Aladdin. I'm an Aladdin fan, but I'm not as drawn to this Vinyl as I am to others, so I traded for Rizzo.


The very next day, I found this little beauty in the Serka Zong Bazaar at the exit of Expedition Everest in the Animal Kingdom.


I was officially hooked. Another thing I like about Vinylmation is the rare and unusual characters. All of these examples come from the Park 6 Series.

From Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom, comes that stellar entertainer, Sonny Eclipse.

This next piece is a Vinyl of the Troll from The Puffin's Roost in the Norway Pavilion in Epcot.
Maybe not a character in the traditional sense, but I for one, have a few photos from past trips of me posing with this lovable fella.



Here is a rather extreme version of a character a few of you may recognize.
In 1995 an animated short called "Runaway Brain" starring Mickey Mouse was released with the feature film "A Kid in King Arthur's Court."

Finding a Vinyl I want to trade at the parks can be a highlight of the trip, and here are two I found that are among my favorites:


Then there is the excitement of picking up a "blind" box and getting a figure you want. It's like gambling for toys. Now I won't lie, I have traded some clunkers from picking one from the blind boxes, but that's okay, because I can use them to trade.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, some stores at the parks and Disney Stores have a little clear lucite box with three Vinylmations to trade.
Some park locations have mystery boxes, where you pick a number from a box numbered 1 to 15 or 1 to 24.

If you are interested in jumping in and trading, there are a couple things you should know:

Some stores have different rules when it comes to trading, usually you can make 2 picks from the blind box, and if you don't like what you've picked you get to keep your figure. I recently had an experience that was different however. Apparently, some stores will give you 2 picks, and KEEP your original figure even if you don't like what you chose. Other stores will allow only one pick. So, I strongly recommend you ask the policy of that location before trading.

Also, while the "rules" are to pick from a "blind" box, often, if you ask the Cast Member you are trading with "What looks good to YOU in there?" or "Are there any Mickey's?" they will often tell you. Don't hesitate to ask, the worse they can say is "I can't tell you."

Something else that is great about trading: you may actually run into fellow collectors, and trade with them. I've had some great experiences doing this. That's me on the right with a new friend.



Like pin trading, trading vinylmation a great way to get a shy child, or if you yourself are introverted, socializing.

Have fun!

This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Diva Blog, where Nick is a contributing writer.

Lambert the Sheepish Lion

Yesterday I shared a few of the Whiskers and Tales Vinylmation series.
How I got the Lambert the Sheepish Lion Vinyl has a story.

I visited my local Disney Store, and they were having a sale, buy 1 Vinylmation and get a Robots 3 Vinylmation free. I picked up a Whiskers and Tales, and a Brave set, which was marked down to $7.99!

I opened up the boxes right there. The two Robots I got were Grumpy Bot and the Alien Bot from Toy Story. The Whiskers and Tales figure I got was the Baby Pegasus from Hercules.

Now, in the photo above, you can clearly see I do not have the Baby Pegasus pictured. That's because when I opened up my box to reveal a Baby Pegasus, a young lady standing nearby gave out a little gasp. "I've been trying to get that forever! I've bought 7, and still didn't get it!" I told her I'd be more than happy to trade for whatever figure she had. She pulled out Lambert, the Lion pictured above. She was almost in tears, and gave me a hug!

Who's Lambert?
"Lambert the Sheepish Lion" is an animated short film released in 1952, narrated by Disney Legend Sterling Holloway, the original voice of Winnie the Pooh,  about a lion cub mistakenly left with a flock of sheep by a stork. It's a fish out of water story about how Lambert comes into his own. It's a wonderful cartoon which I haven't seen in several years.
I brought it out this past weekend.
It can be found on YouTube, but I have it on the Walt Disney Treasures, Disney Rarities, Celebrated Shorts: 1920s-1960s DVD Set.

Lambert is pictured on Disc 2 (which is odd, as his cartoon is actually on Disc 1).

And he can also be found in the booklet which accompanies this outstanding set, pictured with his adoptive mother.

 

So the trade at the Disney Store turned out to be very fortuitous. I was able to make someone happy, and in return was reminded of an animated treasure, and have a wonderful momento as well.

Whiskers and Tales Vinylmation Series

One of the newest offerings from Disney's Vinylmation line is the Whiskers and Tales Series, and over the last few weeks, I've picked up several.

 

I started off with 3, and was lucky enough to get the very awesome chaser, Timothy Mouse! Timothy is, of course, from the animated classic, Dumbo.

I also got Figaro from Pinocchio...

...and Bolt, from...Bolt.

Last week I traded a Robot Series 2 figure for Flower from Bambi at a local Disney Store.

Other figures in the series are Tito from Oliver & Company, Baby Pegasus from Hercules, Lucky from 101 Dalmatians, Nana from Peter Pan,  Dinah from Alice in Wonderland , Lady from Lady and the Tramp, Lambert from Lambert the Sheepish Lion, and Lucifer from Cinderella.


Tomorrow I will share another Vinylmation figure I traded for at the Disney Store.

Vinylmation Around the House

 There's only one Vinylmation Orange Bird in the photo. I noticed him while I was taking photos of the Orange Bird collection. Surprise!

As I've stated before, I didn't really understand Disney's Vinylmation, but I'm coming around. For those of you who might not know about Vinylmation yet, the name is an amalgamation of the words animation and vinyl. Vinylmation was first introduced in 2008, and I thought to myself, I wonder whether this will last? Well, it has only grown in popularity each year!

All the figures are three inches (exceptions are nine inch special edition figures and one and a half inch figures) and shaped like Mickey Mouse but are painted up to look quite differently from Mickey. Each figure is sold in sealed packaging in little boxes or collector tins. You don't know which figure you are buying until it is opened. The figures can be purchased singly or by the case. Cases are by theme, such as Muppets, Robots, or Star Wars. There seems to be no end to the themes. There's something for everybody.

Disney allows people to trade one of their Vinylmations for one out of an opaque, numbered mystery box. If you do not like the vinyl from the mystery box, you can keep yours! They also have clear cases that showcase the traders which you can trade. You can participate at most stores throughout Disney World, Disneyland, and in some cases, the Disney stores in your local malls. Just politely ask a cast member whether they do any Vinymation trading at that particular spot or not. Be careful, you just might get caught up in a whole trading marathon with other customers! You'll be buying each other Vinylmations and trading together, and you might even make some life long friendships.

But I digress, this was supposed to be a short post about vinyls showing up, nay, sneaking into the house and quietly insinuating themselves into my life! How long has that cactus vinyl been there?

O.k. I'll admit that my husband asked me to pick out the robot themed Vinylmation box for him when we were in the Disney Store. He got the robot Pooh and proceeded to place him in with my little Pooh collection. There's more! Stay tuned.

The Case for Vinylmation

They have been growing on me! Yes, Disney's vinylmations are starting to appeal to me, and I thought it couldn't happen. Disney has been putting out some really sweet characters, unique sets that are extremely collectible as a series, and pieces that can even be hung on your Christmas tree! Here are two of this year's Jingle Smells that are ornamental, they are supposed to smell like the treat they hold; gingerbread, pie, but they really don't (don't hold that against them).

 

Here are a couple others that have taken hold in my heart: the grey and pink mouse must have been in every trading box because every time the hubby went to make a trade he'd end up with this mouse.

The pink flowery mouse wouldn't take no for a answer from us as its new owners. It decided to become the protector of my phone and the girlfriend of Remy, another favorite. It is always protecting the phone from being lost. What a good mouse. How can you not love that face? They both have a forever home now. Pink mousie will not be traded away!

Even though I have been neglecting this blog, look forward to a couple more posts on exactly how much fun Disney vinylmations are. Of course, you can read all about them from my hubbie's perspective, a guy who embraced them long ago!