Where to Buy Vinylmation at Walt Disney World

For today's post, I will be talking about where in Walt Disney World you can purchase Vinylmation. Please note, that these locations do not necessarily offer trading also. For a list of where to trade at Walt Disney World, please visit this post.

Magic Kingdom

The Emporium - Main Street USA

Merchant of Venus - Tomorrowland

(I have also heard that Mickey's Star Traders sell Vinylmation, but I do not currently have any confirmation of this)

EPCOT

Mouse Gear - Future World

Mission Space Cargo Bay - Future World

Hollywood Studios

Villains in Vogue - Sunset Blvd.

Mickey's of Hollywood - Hollywood Blvd.

Tower Gifts - Sunset Blvd.

Animal Kingdom

Disney Outfitters - Discovery Island

Island Mercantile - Discovery Island

Downtown Disney

D-Street - West Side

Once Upon A Toy - Marketplace

World Of Disney - Marketplace

If you have any stores to add, or know of any that should be removed, please leave a comment

Vinylmation Review - Behind the Mask Series

For today's Vinylmation Review, I will be looking at the recently released Behind the Mask series. Sadly, I don't really have anything positive to say about this series, and in my opinion, these are not worthy of the name "Vinylmation".

Released: May 20, 2013

Blind Box

I first heard about this series around March time. The idea sounded pretty interesting and full of potential. Masks... that could mean so many things. Disney characters dressed up? I'm thinking in the style we saw with the Star Wars Open Edition: Stitch as Yoda, Goofy as Darth Vader, etc. Maybe it would be like the Tiki Gods in Adventureland? But despite all these appealing ideas, The end product was actually this:

And if you're dying to know just what is behind those masks...

I have never been so disappointed and disinterested in a Vinylmation series. And there are over 2,000 vinyls currently in existence. For starters, I don't understand the target audience. Even if I didn't like them, I would hope that I could think of a market that would want them. I don't like the High School series, but I can understand that if you were in your school marching band, or football team, you might want a couple of those. But THIS series?! It makes absolutely no sense to me. Even if you wanted a vinyl wearing a mud mask, (maybe because you're a beautician), do you really want an old bearded guy underneath?

Complete with painted toe nails...

So for starters, I don't understand the premise of this series. The "characters" are strange, I don't know who Disney think these appeal to, and why would you want to blind box these? On top of all that, they're just so incredibly ugly!

I find it really hard to take Behind The Mask seriously. It looks like a "worst Vinylmation contest". And if it is, I declare the chaser the winner. Get a load of this guy:

The Chaser

Tell me you've never wanted a vinyl of a grandpa in briefs pretending to be a wrestler!

I will cut Disney some slack and concede that this series probably hit the drawing board years ago and went into production a long time ago also. (And on that note, man I would be embarrassed to pitch this to Disney! I can just imagine the whole boardroom laughing. Surely this series is just a joke?) My sincere hope is that this series is a HUGE failure (it does have buy-one-get-one written all over it) because 99% of vinyl collectors do not want series like this. We got into the hobby for DISNEY and I hope this series will be the last and Disney will learn their lesson.

What are your thoughts on this series? I'd love to hear them!

Walt Disney World Trading Locations

***PLEASE NOTE: I'm leaving this guide up for reference, however, trading has since been removed from the Walt Disney World Resort***

You might be new to trading Vinylmation at the Disney Parks, or you might be a seasoned collector wondering where in the World you can trade after Disney re-vamped park trading in February 2013. Whichever category you fall in, I hope this post will be useful for finding out where to trade when you're at Walt Disney World.

Magic Kingdom

Frontierland Trading Post

EPCOT

Mouse Gear
(photo credit: WDWLive)

Hollywood Studios

Villains in Vogue

Animal Kingdom

Island Mercantile

Downtown Disney

D-Street

Please remember that trading is not always the same at each location. There may be Mystery 12, Mystery 15, Mystery 24, and/or clear trading boxes at each location. The trade boxes available at these locations may also change.

Happy trading!

Park Starz #2 Pull

One of my friends is currently at Walt Disney World and really wanted to get the Tower of Terror bellhop from Park Starz 2. She had amazing luck pulling the Park 9 bellhop chaser from a purchase of precisely one blind box and look what she pulled this week from a purchase of 2 blind tins...

Congrats! I love Vinylmation stories like this :)

Star Wars #3 Release

Star Wars 3 was released today at Walt Disney World and will release Monday at The Disneyland Resort to celebrate Star Wars Weekends. (This series will not be released online due to licensing agreements). Each box retails for $12.95 and the figures were designed by artists Casey Jones and Maria Clapsis.

Will you be attending Star Wars Weekends?

Vinylmation Review - Mickey's Wild West

Today I will be reviewing the recently released Mickey's Wild West series!

Released: April 22, 2013

Blind Box

I was pleasantly surprised by this series! I'm not sure why but when I first heard about this series, it didn't sound like anything special. It might even have sounded like outlet fodder. But I'm happy to say that my assumptions on this series were wrong. Where do I even begin with this series?! I'm really happy to see a DISNEY themed series for starters! All this stuff like Extreme Wrestlers, High School, Zooper Heroes... WHY?! Who thinks, "y'know, I really wish I had a Vinylmation of a koala in a super hero costume and a school bully vinyl to remember the good ol' days". Surely every vinyl collector got into it for the Disney factor on some level?

I'm also super impressed with the level of detail on these figures! The more I look at them, the more I'm blown away. I even love Clarabelle! There's a great mix of characters in there and I'm also interested to see work from Gerald Mendez and Enrique Pita since I do not have any vinyls by either of those artists.

Reasons to love this series:

• There's such a great variety of characters: the Fab Five plus new additions of Huey, Duey and Louie was a good choice in my opinion. I think there's a character there for everyone
• I just cannot get over the detail! Every little thing is covered! Minnie has bonnet strings under her chin, Clarabelle has her cow bell, each of the Duck nephews has his signature color weaved in, the wild west scenery in many of the characters ears... it goes on and on and I'm so impressed
• The unique and creative accessories: how awesome is Minnie's bonnet, Mickey's hat and Donald's war bonnet?!

Things that aren't so great:

• I do not understand the reason for Horace and Goofy's spaced out expressions. It makes them look creepy in my opinion. I do actually like both of these characters, but I'm really not a fan of these vinyls because of their weird faces
• Daisy. I hear she's stirred up quite the controversy! I don't really have a problem with her being a "saloon girl", it fits the theme and cowgirl was already taken. But honestly, I do think it's a little "risque" considering how cautious Disney usually are. My reason for saying Daisy is a not so great aspect of this series, is just because I think she looks like there's something missing... like her skirt. Just my opinion

My Verdict:

I think this is an awesome series, worthy to have been made and sold in Disney Stores! I'm hoping this is a sign that Disney is listening to vinyl collectors. As much as I love this series, I wasn't sure if I wanted to add them to my collection. I think you can appreciate and love a vinyl without wanting it for yourself. (If you've been here a while, you'll know that I exclusively collect Park Series 98% of the time). I also had a really hard time narrowing down the ones I wanted. Well, I caved! My favorites are Minnie and Donald and after debating with myself for a few weeks, I bought both of those. That however will be my limit of Mickey's Wild West vinyls, as much as I really do love this series.

Park Starz #2 Release

Park Starz #2 has been released today at D-Street stores and online at the DisneyStore.com

Will you be picking any of these up? Leave me a comment!

Vinylmation Beginner's Guide - How to Collect

Today's VBG post will cover how to start collecting: deciding what to collect and building up your collection. For me personally, I liked way more vinyls than I could afford or store, so receiving tips on how to form a strategy for collecting (aside from "buy the ones you like") was extremely useful.

Tip #1 - To some people this is just common sense, but I think it still needs to be said. Collect what you love! Vinylmation is such an unpredictable and changing hobby (in terms of value) that I would not advise collecting what you think will turn a profit later down the line. Each person is different, but the point of collecting vinyls for me, is to have a hobby, connect with other people, and have a great display of figures that I will never get tired of looking at. They hold so many memories for me.

Tip #2 - Decide your size. Will you collect only Jr? Only 3"? A mix? Making this decision, or creating certain rules for yourself can definitely help save money and space. Be prepared to spend more on 9" vinyls, Limited Editions and Combo sets.

Tip #3 - choose a strategy. There are probably endless strategies to formulate, but here are some suggestions:

• Choose one, two or three series where you love many or most of the vinyls and collect those series exclusively. For example Park and Urban. That's not to say you should buy all the vinyls in that series, but you could limit yourselves to collecting vinyls from those series if there's tons that you love and you need to limit your spending and/or space
• Collect the vinyl (or couple of vinyls) that you love from multiple different series. Maybe you liked a lot of vinyls but loved only one vinyl from Cutesters, two from Urban, and a couple of open windows. You could limit yourself to no more than 3 per series
• Collect only your favorite characters. Some people collect only Stitch vinyls, or Toy Story characters. Others collect their favorite characters in multiple series, such as Villains, Animation, Lion King
• Or like me, you could decide to collect vinyls that have a sentimental meaning to you

Tip #4 - Don't feel obligated to complete a set. If you're limited on money and space, don't feel pressure to complete a set if you can't afford it or can't store it.

Tip #5 - If you don't love a vinyl, or you like the idea of a certain vinyl, but don't think it translated well to the Mickey canvas - don't buy it. This has happened to me a couple times where I love the ride so much, that when I've seen it as a vinyl, I've felt almost a duty to buy it. Make sure you love it enough to add it to your collection.

Tip #6 - Set yourself a budget. It can be tempting to buy quite a few vinyls that you really like, especially when you're new to collecting, and then find yourself strapped for cash when a new series that you love is released. Keeping track of upcoming release dates and setting yourself a budget can help you collect vinyls more evenly and help you refrain from going overboard on your spending! (It can also help to decide if you'll blox or buy from the secondary market before you set a budget)

As for me personally...
I collect for the memories these vinyls represent. I collect only what I absolutely love and I have no intention of ever parting with my vinyls, so I don't think about their future value. I only buy vinyls to add to my collection, not to sell on. I have never completed a set and I would only do that if I loved them all. Since I collect for the memories and sentimental value of vinyls, I mostly collect Park Series vinyls and only deviate from that rule if vinyls in other series relate. (For example Urban 5 Popcorn).

I also try to stick to only 3" vinyls. I don't really like Jrs because they're on keychains and I don't actually like all that many 9" so they're not too tempting. I stay away from those mostly for space. They would end up in a closet!

Please leave a comment telling me how you grow your collection!

Vinylmation Review - Star Wars #3

Today, as it's May the 4th (or Star Wars Day) I'll be reviewing the upcoming Star Wars 3 series!

Release: May 17, 2013

Blind Box

Since I favor the original Star Wars trilogy and we've already seen A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, I don't have a problem with the Vinylmation trilogy being completed with Return of the Jedi. If you really love the movies and you collect movie series vinyls, or your favorite characters, and you love Star Wars, then this will be a great addition to your collection.

I think there's a good mix of characters here, and despite some people preferring to see some lesser known favorites like Max Rebo, I'm glad to see only well known, recognizable characters in this series. In my opinion it completes the series better and makes it more meaningful. Even if you like Max Rebo, he doesn't really have any effect on Jedi, nor any valuable contribution in my opinion.

 

Reasons to love this series:

• There's a great mix of characters, if you've seen Return of the Jedi, I'm sure you can recognize all of them. Although I had trouble recognizing Leia in disguise at first because I thought her outfit looked skin color, kinda like she was naked with a helmet. (Awkward).
• Some of these vinyls have amazing detail! I think Admiral Ackbar looks exactly like him, so does Nien Numb, Lando, Wicket, Bib Fortuna, the Imperial guard, the Scout Trooper, Logray and the Gammorean Guard - so basically everyone except Luke and Leia
• I love the detail of the trees in the Ewoks' ears, I'm so pleased whenever I see great, inventive uses of the ears

My Verdict:

I think this is a good series. I LOVE Star Wars but I'm not desperate to have Star Wars vinyls, it's just not what I desire to collect. I considered buying Lando, the Imperial Guard, the Scout Trooper, Admiral Ackbar and Wicket, because I think they're all very well done. But actually, I think I will only go for Wicket, purely because he reminds me of the Star Tours ride in Hollywood Studios.

May The 4th Be With You

 

Happy Star Wars Day!