Episode 155 Sea Serpent

Ep. 155 Sea Serpent This week we talk about some upcoming events that do and may or may not include Vinylmation including, Imagination Gala, DLR Trade Night, NBC at DLR and D23 2015. We also discuss the release of Robots 4 and the final Mickey Through the Years combo.

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The Nightmare Before Christmas’ in Disneyland Trading Event Explained

The Nightmare Before Christmas’ in Disneyland Trading Event
June 13-14, 2014
Disneyland Resort

Jack Skellington and his Halloweentown gang are not satisfied with just taking over the Haunted Mansion for the holiday season. With thirteen years of Haunted Mansion Holiday behind them, Jack and his pals are looking to expand their presence throughout Disneyland park all year long. Join us as we take a peek into what things might look like if Jack and company could have their way. Could there be a nightmare in Disneyland park?

Update 03/13/14 It does not seem at this time that Vinylmation will be offered at this event.

Reservations for “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” in Disneyland event will be accepted only via www.DisneyParksMerchandise.com beginning Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific Time).

“Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” in Disneyland event Package Details – $90

Event Admission Includes:

Registered event guests will have the opportunity to purchase “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” in Disneyland event themed merchandise via the Random Selection Process.

June 13, 2014 (12 p.m. – 8 p.m.)

• Early Registration
• Event Store & Random Selection Process Merchandise Pick-up
• Trading Area

June 14, 2014 (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

• Event Store & Random Selection Process Merchandise Pick-up
• Trading Area
• Trading Boards
• Trading Activities
• Merchandise Artist Signing Opportunity
• Silent Auction – featuring pre-production pins, artist proof pins and more
• Product Showcase – meet Disney Pin Merchandisers and view upcoming pin releases
• Commemorative Gifts (including a commemorative event T-shirt*)

Early Bird Offer:
Don’t miss out! Register early and receive an early bird pin. Available while supplies last.

*Event T-Shirt:
When registering for “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” in Disneyland event, please indicate your desired T-shirt size. Guests who do not register prior to Thursday, May 1, 2014, will not be guaranteed the desired shirt size.

Disneyland Trading Night: September 20, 2013

There will be Trading Night at the Disneyland Resort on September 20, from 5 – 8 p.m in the Pacific Ballroom at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel.

Disney asks that Guests do not line up until one hour prior to the start of the event. Please park in the Downtown Disney District parking area or the Mickey and Friends parking structure.

There will be a Haunted Mansion pin trading night pin:

WDW Vinylmation and Pin Trading Night - August 13

A free trade night has been announced for Walt Disney World and once again it is on a Tuesday and once again it will be held at the Grill at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. Last time, despite worries, the trade event was seemingly a success. Plenty of trading room and previews.

What do you think about the choice of Tuesday? Not sure I understand the change of venue of day, but I would guess it is a money or availability issue. But what about choosing August, when another trade event is right around the corner in September? August 13 is also the Tuesday directly following the D23 Expo weekend and many guests may be on a west coast vacation. Here are the trade night details from Disney:

Calling all Traders! Join us for Disney Trading Night, August 13, from 6 – 9 p.m. in ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Meet avid and novice traders, make friends and share stories about your collections. You will also get the opportunity to take part in a special product signing with Artists from the Disney Design Group.
Just a couple of reminders:

• The specific location of Trading Night will actually be in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill Restaurant area and adjacent lobby area.
• Space will be extremely limited, we ask that you limit the number of items that you choose to bring.
• The Product Preview Section and Artist Signing Area remain, but the Vinylmation team will not offer trading at their table
• Food & Beverage concession areas will be open

Disneyland Trade Night! Today, May 10th

Trading Night at the Disneyland Resort
May 10
Pacific Ballroom at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel

Calling all Traders! Join us for Disney Trading Night, May 10, from 5 – 8 p.m in the Pacific Ballroom at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. Meet avid and novice traders, make friends and share stories about your collections.

We kindly ask that Guests do not line up until one hour prior to the start of the event. Please park in the Downtown Disney District parking area or the Mickey and Friends parking structure. Visit.disneypins.com to see the latest pin releases and future Disney Trading events.

When and What is the 13?

We learned back at Mickey's Circus that this year's big trading event was going to be called 13: Reflections of Evil. Today, the Disney Parks Blog gave us more info, and it kinda blows my mind.

Not only is this event starting on the Friday the 13th in the year 2013, but according to the story, it's going to feature 13 Villains who have come together to gain power. The only way this can happen is by using the Magic Mirror to bring all these villains to the same world. This was done.

Now (quoted from Disney Parks Blog) "As the newly assembled Villains are hashing out their nefarious plans, the Villains intentionally break the mirror and hide the thirteen shards. Now the mirror can never be used against them, as it is the only object that can send them home. Lucky for us, an imaginative purple dragon named Figment overheard their plotting and asks Mickey Mouse for help. Along with five of their trusted friends known as the “Lucky 7,” Mickey Mouse and Figment devise a plan to stop “The 13.” They must reassemble the broken shards to send the villains back to their rightful places in time."

This is an awesome story that seems to be leading to an awesome event. It almost makes me want to see all three days! I am also hoping for a series of 13 Villains Vinylmation to go with this story (It could be Villains 4!). But based on the pieces revealed today, I don't think that's happening (unless there is a lot more vinyl to come). Today we got to see two figures. First, a Maleficent on the Minnie platform.

This is interesting, although I'm not sure abut the use of the bow. I kinda wish they would use the Mickey platform head with the Minnie body to get interesting combo (just like Amber Gonzalez did with her Ladies of Disney Set).

The set Vinylmation revealed was a two pack set with Madam Mim. She looks better then she did last time we saw her in vinyl form. Madam Mim isn't even in the picture of the event! But the big question is what will be the second vinyl. It could be a mirror, that seems vital to the story. It could be the hero that defeats them. But I think this set of pins will give us a better idea of what it could be.

These pins are called the "mirror" set. In it, each villain is shown with their alter ego. How awesome is that? And does that mean that the second piece of the Mim set might be her in a different form? Could they have two piece sets for all 13 villains? In the past they have only had a few vinyl each year, could this be the year they bust out over 26 vinyl? I certainly hope so!

Also note, tickets for the 13: Reflections of Evil event will go on sale via DisneyParksMerchandise.com on May 8 at 1:00 p.m. EST.

UPDATE- WDW Trade Night!!! April 30th

Update: 4/24/13 New start time plus news. The Disney Parks Blog says that the event will take place from 5-9 p.m. The event will be in the Grill and the adjacent lobby. There will be NO Vinylmation trading table. Space will be super limited. Good luck!

4/12/13- Over the past few days, collectors on every Vinylmation fan site have been discussing an unofficial fan sponsored trade night. Did we scare them into making this move? Out of nowhere, the Disney Merchandise Blog today announced a Walt Disney World Trade Night on Tuesday, April 30th held, where else, but the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The free activity will be held from 5-9 p.m. at EPSN Grill and Josten’s Center.

Both Vinylmation and Pin collectors are of course welcome and there will be two LE 750 Pin Trading Night pins available for $15.95 each.

For those who need it, here is a link to the ESPN WWOS Maps and Directions page.

Episode 116 Red Gear Bear

Ep. 116 Red Gear Bear This week we talk about Animation 3 and the upcoming trade nights. In our feature topic, we discuss what we each believe is the high point of the Vinylmation hobby to date. And in Mystery Mail Bag, we tackle the differences and similarities between the Parks and Disney Store releases.

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Disneyland Pin and Vinylmation Trade Night on May 10th

The Disney Pins section of the Disney Parks Merchandise Blog has announced a Pin and Vinylmation Trade Night for May 10th at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel in the Pacific Ballroom from 5-8pm.

After skipping an expected January date, Disneyland has continued the every other month trading events in 2013 with one in March and now another May. Walt Disney World is still without a scheduled official Trade Night in 2013 (except for the Villains weekend event in September). What does this mean for the future of the hobby on the East Coast? It has been much talked about online recently, Disney officials have been ignoring inquires as to why WDW has no events in 2013. I did see one recent response that stated no events are being planned at this time.

Is it time to organize an unofficial event at one of the WDW resorts? If so, would you attend? Leave your ideas below as to preferred day of the week, time, and resort preference and maybe we can get something together.

"Trading in the Park" Returns to Disneyland

OC Vinyl Don, our friend over at VinylmationTraders.com, sent us a wonderful announcement that is sure to help many Vinylmation collectors in the Disneyland area.

"In light of the reduced Trading in the parks. Starting Sunday, February 17th "Trading in the Parks" is coming back to the Picnic area at DLR from 11am-1pm. Then starting in March, it will be on the 1st Saturday and 3rd Sunday of each month. If you collect Vinylmation, Pins or Pop come on out, meet with new friends, see old friends and lets make some trades."

This is a wonderful idea! I look forward to hearing from everybody about how these events go. The Vinylmation (and Disney) community has so many great people, events like this make the hobby fun. I'd love to see someone organize events like this at WDW as well.

First Disneyland Trade Night of 2013 Announced

They left us waiting and wondering. Disneyland will have their first trade night of 2013 on Friday, March 15th  from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m at the Pacific Ballroom at the Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. That is a very interesting time, as normally the Disneyland trade nights are 7-10 (and WDW's are 6-9). Well, West Coasters, enjoy your trade night, as pin and vinyl fans in Orlando still await an announcement of Walt Disney World's first trade night of 2013. Originally, DLR was to have one in January and WDW in February, but that is seeming less likely.

Fantasyland Grand Opening Details and Trading Event

I will start with the news that most directly impacts Vinylmation collectors. Disney has announced a merchandise (mostly pins, no vinyls) event to be held on December 6th to commemorate the Grand Opening of The New Fantasyland. The event will be held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Room J at the Convention Center from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. At the event, various pins, a coin and a shoulder bag will be on sale. They will also be offering space for guests to trade pins (or Vinylmation if desired) during that time. It is important to note two things: For pin collectors, there will by NO pins released at the Magic Kingdom on December 6th. They make a point of letting us know that. And for everybody, the resort will not allow guests to line up before 4pm on December 6th.

The pins that will be released include the Annual Passholder pins that were expected at the Fantasyland previews, but delayed. We also have info on the DVC exclusive pin that was previewed at the trade nights. Now, lets take a look at the merchandise:

Here is the AP merchandise that includes an LE 600 shoulder bag and LE 1000 coin:

We also found out where this DVC exclusive pin went:

According to Steven Miller on the Disney Parks Blog: "It will be released at the Merry Member Mixers for Disney Vacation Club Members. The first once was held (November 27) at Epcot and the pin was released there. It will continue to be sold at the Mixer events until gone. We won’t have it at the Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort release party."

As for the other pins, including the Pluto's Christmas Tree Piece of Disney Movies pin, Steven Miller is checking to see if those will also be at the Coronado Springs event. Now lets take a look at the merchandise that will be made available only at the Magic Kingdom on December 6th. This merchandise will not be at Coronado Springs, but select pieces will be available online.

For men, shirts will be offered in sizes ranging from small to 3-extra large, while ladies’ shirts will have sizes ranging from extra-small to 2-extra large. For youth, the shirts will be offered in extra small to extra large.

This is one of those covers for an ear hat instead of a full hat. It is LE 1000.

Finally, iPhone 5 cases! The Fantasyland versions are LE 300 each. The Princess ones are limited release.

I LOVE these prints. They are LE 500 a piece. No price given.


On December 6, you can find commemorative merchandise in the following Magic Kingdom Park locations:
Emporium – Main Street, U.S.A. – Will have tees, Cover Your Ears and D-Tech On Demand cases.
Main Street Cinema – Main Street, U.S.A. – Will have deluxe prints only.
Big Top Souvenirs – Fantasyland – Will have tees only.
Mickey’s Star Traders – Tomorrowland – Will have tees only.
Pirates Bazaar – Adventureland – Will have tees only.
The event tees and the D-Tech On Demand cases with Disney Princesses for iPhone 4/4s and iPhone 5 will also be sold via the Disney Parks online store from December 6-9, 2012 (please allow 8 to 10 weeks for delivery). To find these items online starting December 6, visit http://www.DisneyStore.com/NewFantasyland.

No December Disneyland Trade Night?

It appears that Disneyland may not have a December trade night. Over the course of 2012, DLR and WDW have alternated months, and the final month of the year should have belonged to the west coast. However no trade night has been put on the calendar section of either the Disney Pin or Vinylmation websites.

We do know, however, Disneyland will host a January trade night at the Paradise Pier Hotel (date TBA) while Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort will get it's next one in February. The coasts will continue to alternate throughout 2013. One hint to no December trade night is the Disney Pin announcement that the December "Trade Night Pin" featuring Duffy the Disney Bear in Santa suit will be released on Thursday, December 6th at Pin Traders in the Downtown Disney District.

We put an inquiry into Disney to confirm, but does anyone out there know any news to the contrary?

Extended Hours for November 2 WDW Trade Night

Update: 11/01/12 Since we first brought you this news about extended hours, the Vinylmation Events page has re affirmed the 4-9pm trading hours and the apparent use of all the Ballrooms (plural). Again we ask why? A good thing for sure, but is it just for extra room or some kind of entertainment, artist signing or release? I'm also thinking maybe a larger mobile store with on sale Vinyls to sell off extra D-Street inventory?

We have been waiting since Mickey's Circus four the Walt Disney World's next trading night on November 2nd, and according to Disney's pin blog, the hours have been extended to give guests two extra hours of trading! The event will now take place from 4-9pm at the Contemporary Resort. As always, these bi-monthly trading nights are FREE to all guests and select Vinylmation and Pins should be on sale. This is the first time I've seen the hours extended like this. I wish the extension went an hour or two later as opposed to earlier. Due to work, the extension doesn't help me, but will you be getting there earlier to trade? Will you try to make it the entire five hours? Come early, take a break and go back for the end? Just so you know this was not a misprint, they specifically called out the time extension:

"In order to provide more hours of fun, we are starting the November 2nd pin trading night event at 4:00pm!"

Also of note, and this one may be a misprint, they say the event will take place at: "Disney's Contemporary Resort - Fantasia A-G Ballroom." A-G? Are they extending the trading space for us?

WDW Trade Night- November 2nd 2012

Contemporary Resort

Reflections of Evil 2013

Beware Villains Themed

Disneyland's August Trade Night

Zoe sent some pictures to us of Friday's Trade Night at Disneyland of the crowd and some of her favorite customs.

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Release Day! - June 29th, 2012

Lets start with the biggest, most exclusive, piece first.

Today the Park 8 Yeti was released exclusively online. The Casey Jones figure costs $74.95 and there are only 1000 of them. Buy it at DisneyStore.com

At both D-Streets the Duffy the Bears came out. Read more about them at

Duffy the Bear Vinylmation Explained

And also at D-Streets are the new Color Block Series. Read more about them at:

Color Blocks Vinylmation Explained

Also remember that Disneyland will be having a trading night tonight from 7-10 at the Pacific Ballroom at the Paradise Pier Hotel.They will also be having signing with Monty Maldovan and Quynh Kimball throughout the day and at the trade event.
Over in Orlando, WDW will have a Park Starz Series artist signing with Thomas Scott and Casey Jones from 5-7 at D-Street. D-Street WDW will also be getting the new 9" CYO Vinylmation '95 pieces.

For all the details of upcoming events go to our calender at

Destination Vinylmation Calender