My Thoughtful Spot - Park Starz

I remember when Park Starz were first released. I read about the upcoming release of the Park Starz line in a copy of the Disney Files Magazine. The article explained that they were an extension of the Vinylmation brand and previewed the Yeti and Figment. I thought the character choices were awesome, but I wasn't sure about the way they looked. I like how Vinylmation are the same but different, and Park Starz literally broke the mold.

For a long time (even when Park Starz #2 was released) I didn't want to collect them. I loved their unique design and shape, and how they seemed to be a more nostalgic series. They contained many characters from extinct attractions, which meant a lot to me as a Walt Disney World veteran. I missed those attractions and loved how the characters could live on in Vinylmation form. But what drew me to Vinylmation in the first place, as opposed to other Disney collectibles, was how perfectly a collection came together, and I didn't feel like Park Starz did that.

(Not my Vinylmation collection)

I'm a very Type A person - I plan, organize, alphabetize, everything has its place. Displaying certain mixes of Disney collectibles to me would just look like a mess. The great thing about Vinylmation is that each one has a different design, but they are all the same shape, making them easy to display neatly. You can line them up and they look organized and orderly, all the same, but all different at the same time. Your shelf doesn't look like a clutter of Disney themed junk. I love how at first glance, your collection just looks like a bunch of Mickeys. But look closer and you get lost in the individual designs and uniqueness of each figure.

But with Park Starz, I was worried that since they all look different, lining them up on a shelf would look like a messy, confusing mixture of Disney looking objects, which is exactly what I was wanting to avoid. Then of course there was coughing up an extra $6 per figure. Regular 3" figures cost $12.95 a blind box, but Park Starz retail at $18.95 per tin. You can almost buy three 3" figures for the price of two Park Starz. Did I really want to gamble with that extra money?

(Park Starz Display)

Eventually I gave in. I was so excited by all the different Park Starz figures, that I decided to finally get some. However, I didn't really want to gamble with $20 (after tax) to see if I'd get the figure I wanted. It was also harder to trade Park Starz, as when the trade boxes existed, they were only for 3" vinyls. I ended up trading 3" figures for Park Starz with other collectors through trading forums to initially start my collection. Then I moved to eBay to fill in the gaps and got some figures cheaper than their original retail price.

As for displaying them in a way that doesn't give my Type A personality anxiety - I haven't got there yet. My Park Starz are still in their tins waiting for me to figure out a good place to put them. For some reason I expected them to be bigger in person, even though they're still 3" tall. They just looked bigger in all the pictures I saw.

Overall I think Park Starz are a great addition to the Vinylmation hobby, I definitely would not want them to replace Mickey mold figures, but they are fun to compliment and stand alongside the original Vinylmation figures collectors have come to love.