New NYC Jobs with Character Jr. Key Chains

Disney Store artist Enrique Pita has been a bastion for DS Vinylmation release info since the flow of updates slowed from the company itself. Recently, he Instagramed three new junior key chains he created specifically for the NYC Times Square Disney Store.

The three figures are sold individually. There is NYC Cab Driver Goofy, NYC Policeman Mickey and NYC Fireman Donald! Wow, what amazing detail on these 1.5 inch canvases. They are getting better and better. To actually convey emotion on the faces of these is incredible to me. Here is a photo via Vinylmation Kingdom of each of the figures in the packaging.

Mickey's Circus- Jrs. 8 Goofy's Candy Company

Jr. 8 Goofy's Candy Co.
by Maria Clapsis

Bubble Gum Goofy?

This picture of a Goofy Vinylmation, apparently covered in a burst gum bubble, is on display at D-Street Anaheim. Does anyone know what it could be?

Then and Now: Disney's River Country

Park 7 celebrates the rich 40 year history of Walt Disney World. All the figures, 3" or 9", feature both current attractions and ones that now only reside in the memories of the guests who enjoyed them. This article is about the later. On January 6th Disney's first water park, River Country, will be commemorated with a 9" Vinylmation.

This 9" features Goofy with a huge water tube "accessory" around his waist. The tube is one of the finest accessories to date for a large figure. Monty Maldovan designed this LE 1500 piece. Goofy's face has a simple, yet perfectly placed look to it. The nose and mouth seem so much more suited for this larger canvas than previous Goofy 3" efforts. The ears waving up into the air is nice, although I would have liked to see some kind of background pained on. The bathing suit is also simple, but works. Just a green and white striped pattern. But let's be honest, the tube is the highlight here.

It has the River Country logo painted on and is very colorful. Overall, this figure is a solid Park addition. Now, the reason Goofy was chosen is because he was featured on the park's logo:

Goofy always seemed to be tossed into the water at WDW... remember water skiing Goofy? Well I also found this 1981 picture at MainStGazette.com of Goofy enjoying a River Country slide.

River Country was a fun watering hole for Walt Disney World guests that opened on June 20th, 1976. It was located at the Fort Wilderness Resort, right on the shore of Bay Lake. In fact, the main feature of River Country, The Old Swimming Hole, was actually part of Bay Lake. There were rope swings, T-Bars, large platforms, a ship's boom and other areas where guests could jump into the water. There was also a barrel bridge for guests to cross over to the slides.

Scan from a WDW guide book. (scan from BigFloridaCountry.com)

Scan of a River Country park map

Here are some of the River Country attractions as described on old WDW material:

Whoop 'n' Holler Hollow - Two twistin' 'n' turnin' body slides that plop right into Bay Cove.

Slippery Slide Falls - Two winding slippery slides that sploosh you into the Upstream Plunge.

Upstream Plunge - Dive into 330,000 big, splashin' gallons of good, clean fun.

White Water Rapids - Hang on for an adventure in relaxation as you float through swishin' and swirlin' waters.

And here is a picture from BigFloridaCountry.com of River Country in it's hay day...

I also found a scan of this undated park admission ticket on ImagineeringDisney.com

Not a bad price for a day at an Orlando water park! This was also a cool find...

A scan of a 1976 Eyes and Ears, the Cast Member magazine, inviting CMs to preview the new water park. So, that's a bit about the history of the park, but it's all in past tense... On November 2, 2001 the park closed for the last time... then finally, on January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently. So what ever happened to River Country? Oh, it's still there. You can see the banks of this abandoned water park when you take the boat ride from the Contemporary Resort to Fort Wilderness. And here is a current Google maps view.

That's the watering hole in the center. And you can see all the slides, albeit with much plant growth surrounding them, still standing to this day. Here is a then and now picture from ImagineeringDisney.com.

It's really a spooky site to see some of these current pictures. Guests have been fence hopping for years to get some shots. Here is one of my favorites...

An inner tube still floats around the murky waters. You can find a ton of pics and stories at these two links:

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2009/12/19/abandoned-disney-river-country-part-1.html

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2344523

Although I stayed at Fort Wilderness many times throughout my childhood, we never visited River Country. To this day, I'm not a big water park fan, but do find the history of this park, being that it still sits abandoned, fascinating. Do you have memories of splashing in the waters of River Country? Please share them, and your thoughts on this Vinylmation, here.

A Very Goofy Christmas

On November 18, the Goofy Very Merry Christmas 3" figure will be released at select locations at WDW and DLR. It will retail for $16.95. We first got a look at this one during The Florida Project.

Caley Hicks designed this special 2011 commemorative figure. The packaging is spectecular!

Photo from Disney

Pick it up at the Magic Kingdom at Uptown Jewelers, Emporium, Frontierland Trading Post or Merchant of Venus. At Disneyland, you can find Goofy at Star Trader, Adventureland Bazaar, Emporium or Disneyana. It will also be available at both D-Streets. Here is the turnaround (and the hat comes off!)

Photo from Disney

No word on a Dancing Lights or EPCOT Holidays 2011 Vinylmation yet.

A Goofy Summer Vacation

DV reader Jacob sent us some summer vaction photos:

My family and I recently took a vacation to the beaches of Galveston, TX.  Goofy went along with us, and we thought you would like to see some pics!  Enjoy

This is Goofy checking out the aquarium at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX.  He loved it!!

This is Goofy checking out the Fallen Heroes Memorial at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Tx.

ZoMG: Arial and Goofy Visit DCA

On Friday, two California exclusive Passholder Vinylmation figures were released. Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Goofy’s Sky School. These two Vinylmation couldn't wait to explore their attractions at Disney's California Adventure and see everything for themselves. Luckily I was there to capture the adventure! We began by following Goofy over to his new ride.

He first checked in with one of his pilots as you can see above, things seem to be going great.

Goofy gave us a tour of the ride. He showed us where they keep his goggles and flight suits.

Goofy then showed off his official... well sort of official flight school permit.

He also showed us his instructor’s license. Looking good Goofy!

Goofy posing with the sky school poster.

Goofy then decided that he was ready to go on the Sky School ride. After months of preparation, the ride was ready to go!

Just hanging in the queue waiting for our turn.

And we're off!

We made it!

That was fun... don’t forget about me in here!

After the ride Goofy showed us a Hidden Mickey! See the tool on the left!

After Goofy’s Sky School we took the Little Mermaid figure around to have her show us around my favorite ride, Ariel’s Undersea Adventure!

Here we are!! Ariel’s Undersea Adventure!

The first stop was the hidden seashells in the ground. Ariel wanted to bring a little piece of the ocean with her to California Adventure; this was a perfect way to do it!

Almost there!

We then got a tour of the inside of the ride, so beautiful.

Almost time to get in the shell and go under the sea!

In the shell ready to go!

We're going under the sea…

Saying hello to Ariel on the surface with flounder. Hey guys!

We got no troubles, life is the bubbles, under the sea!

Glowing!

Go on and kiss the girl!!

Bye guys!

That was so much fun!

As we were about to exit, we discovered a treasure chest over by Prince Eric’s Castle!

We stopped to play in some seaweed on our way out because after all, the seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake.

Swimming with Ariel outside of the ride.

Admiring the beautiful entrance!

Hey look who we found on our way to meet back up with Goofy!

We met back up with Goofy at the Blue Sky Cellar. This is where I would always go to find out all the new things that were happening with the Little Mermaid ride.

And that concludes our trip! Hope you guys enjoyed our adventure and visit Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and Goofy’s Sky School when you get a chance! - Zoe