The Collector's Space - Why I Collect Vinylmation

I want to begin writing on this topic by first explaining WHY I collect vinyls in the first place. The reason I collect them and love them so much, influences every other aspect of the hobby for me and I'm sure the same applies to other collectors also. This post also serves as a "how I found Vinylmation" post.

The first vinyls I ever saw were blank, Create Your Owns (CYO) in a Disney Store. I guess that must have been around late 2010. I thought they were just a fun, artsy activity for kids. Get them some stickers, some Sharpies and they'll be entertained drawing on some Mickey shaped canvases for an afternoon. It seemed like a great idea and I was oblivious to the fact that Vinylmations are so much more than that.

The first blind box series I ever saw, was Have A Laugh. That series was released in June 2010, so it couldn't have been long after I found the CYOs that I saw this series. I didn't realize that there were different series of vinyls, or how that whole thing worked and I had only seen one of the shorts that the Have A Laugh characters came form. Again, vinyls didn't mean much to me at this point.

Then, later that year, in an issue of the Disney Files magazine (a Disney Vacation Club publication for members) I saw a picture of some other Vinylmations - Park #4. There was a picture of Goofy, the Disney Cruise Line Smokestack and most importantly and memorably for me - Colonel Critchlow Suchbench from The Adventurers Club in Pleasure Island. Suddenly, Vinylmation had a huge meaning to me and I wanted in! ASAP!

The Colonel

Thankfully, I had a trip to Walt Disney World coming up pretty quick and it all started there. I bought my first vinyl in April 2011 (I still have the receipt and could tell you the exact date!) and I have been adding to my collection ever since.

The biggest reason why, is that as a veteran of Walt Disney World (I have been taking trips to the World annually since my mom was pregnant with me) I wanted a way to take the Magic home with me. I wanted things to remind me of my trips and all the memories WDW has for me. Now that's a story in itself.

One of my first and most treasured Disney plush toys

I first collected plush toys from every trip, so I could take the magic home. I still have them, but they take up space and it's kinda awkward to be married and proudly display plush toys. I moved on to pin trading when I was about 10. My dad was on business in California and stopped off at Disneyland to buy me a pin lanyard with my very first pin. But I never found a good way to display my pins. They stayed on my lanyard which ended up tucked away in a drawer.

So when I saw Vinylmation, that was it, problem solved! They were around the same price as pins, there are endless ways to display them, they're not too big (if you're collecting 3"), they're not childish, and they bring the magic home! Now I can look at my vinyl display at home and remember all the great times I've had at WDW.

All of this is also the backstory to What Vinylmations I Collect