Disney Cruise Lines 2011 Explained

Update: 9/15/11 Disney announced September 25th as the release sate for several pieces.

Update: 8/28/11 At D23 we saw a whole new line of DCL Vinylmation. These will be available aboard all DCL Cruise Ships and will be Open Edition... so around for awhile.

	Castaway Cay Hammock Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: October 14 A nice vacation on Disney's Castaway Cay island? Mickey is resting in a hammock on the body. The head has a bright yellow sun and the shadows of palm trees rest against it. And the feet have some flowers.
	Aquaduck Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 25th 2011 Phenomenal figure! perfect placement of Donald sitting on the inner tube. The hat flying off, the splashing water in the feet and the Aquaduck logo in the ear make this a perfect figure. The Disney Dream guests get a great ride and a great Vinylmation.
	DCL Mickey Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011 Mickey has an accessory hat.
	DCL Minnie Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011 Minnie has an accessory bow.
	DCL Donald Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011
	DCL Goofy Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011
	DCL Pluto Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011
	DCL Chip Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011
	DCL Dale Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 2011
	DCL Magic Bow Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 25th 2011
	DCL Wonder Bow Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 25th 2011
	DCL Dream Bow Open Edition $12.95 Release Date: September 25th 2011

June: At the trade show last night they had quick glimpses of three Disney Cruise Lines exclusives. One is available now. Two are coming real soon.

	Mediterranean DLC
	Mexico DCL Release Date: September 25th 2011 Check out the cool Native Mexican artwork. Along with what appears to be the sun in one ear and a tree in the other. This will become available the next time the Disney Wonder docks in the Mexican Riviera.
	Alaska DLC We've already seen this is great detail at Cruising to Alaska... Disney Style but here it is again. I love the wood grain. This is available aboard the Disney Wonder.

Pint Sized Disney: A Charming Use for Juniors

Instead of reviewing a Jr Vinylmation this week, I decided that I would let you in on a little thing that I love using my Jr figures for. All of my Jr Vinylmations have been used for this purpose, and it’s called phone charms.

Phone charms are a little way you can express yourself when you are all dressed up like a boring person. They so so much about a person; mine say that I love star Wars, Vinyl/ Disney, and I like alligators. My phone charm holster has three things on it: a Storm Trooper, a Black Cauldren Jr, and an alligator toe. And honestly, my vinyl is my favorite attachment right now!!! I think that phone charms are a cool way to use all of your favorite Jrs. What do your phone charms say about you?

Rafiki 9" Baby Simba Jr Combo

Update: 8/28/11 Ten Rafiki's were released at the SF Disney Store on Saturday along with the 3" SF Golden Gate Bridge exclusive. So... 690 for the rest of us at stores scattered across North America and some warehouse waiting to be shipped to a few lucky online buyers.

This is an exciting combo set that makes a ton of sense. A 9" Rafiki with a baby Simba Jr will be released at select Disney Stores across the country on August 29. This Jim Valeri designed set is limited to only 700 and will retail for $59.95. This is the same day the Lion King 12 figure series is released across the country (and Canada) exclusively to Disney Stores as well.

The catch, just like the Villains 9/Jr combos, is that only select stores will have a limited quanity of these, as will the Disney Store Online. Here is the list of stores:

US
Chandler Fashion Center - Chandler, AZ
Mission Viejo, CA
Montebello, CA
Fashion Valley - San Diego, CA
Santa Monica, CA
Stockston Street - San Francisco, CA
Westfield at Culver City, CA
International Plaza - Tampa, FL
Perimeter - Atlanta, GA
North Michigan Avenue - Chicago, IL
State Street - Chicago, IL
Roosevelt Field - Garden City, NJ
Freehold Raceway - Freehold, NJ
Times Square - New York City, NY
Palisades - West Nyack, NY
Cherry Hill, PA
Northpark - Dallas, TX
Northstar - San Antonio, TX
Bellevue Square - Bellevue, WA

Canada
Metropolis at Metrotown - Vancouver, BC
Square One - Mississauga, ON

Good luck on grabbing one of these. Rafiki is my favorite design in the 3" Lion King set, and this 9" looks great as well. I really like the background in the ears.

And baby Simba has the markings on his head. I like how they put a 3" Rafiki in the set even though they are putting out a 9" as well. I hope we eventually get a 3" Animal from Muppets for example. I do question the LE 700 on a piece that's spread around the Disney Stores when a figure that's produced to 1000 or 1500 sits on the shelves of two D-Street stores for months. What are your thoughts on the LE, distribution and figures themselves?

Special Birthday Present for M.C.

Chelsey surprised us first with the Blind Box Buyer. Then, as a listener to the podcast, she knew it was M.C.'s birthday. So she gave M.C. a really special birthday present.

Wow! Look at this guy. A ninja warrior. The detail on this figure is astounding.

With one sword in hand and another in holster, he is ready to go into battle.

Speaking of battle, this ninja warrior has a carrying case on his back with a scroll.

The scroll comes out and unrolls to reveal a real saying the warriors memorize before going into battle.

Then, in one last special touch, Chelsey wrote a special birthday message for M.C. and dated it on the bottom of the scroll case. We can't express how thankful we are for these amazing gifts Chelsey. We look forward to all your great customs to come.

Blind Box Buyer Custom

At D23, we were able to meet many of our readers, listeners and featured custom artists for the first time. One such artist was Chelsey. We have featured Chelsey's work before. She has done some great Pixar characters. So we were very excited when she contacted us and said she had a special custom Vinylmation to give us. Meet, the blind box buyer.

Chelsey said she modeled it after a picture she found of me, Nick, wearing a backwards baseball cap on our website. Of course, the DV logo is on the front of the shirt. According to the facial expression, it looks like I'm trying to decided how many more to buy.

Chelsey put amazing detail into the blind box and into the hat that has a brim sticking out. Also the line of the jeans over the shoes. Now this must be in the early days of my collecting, otherwise I would have a case in my hand :)

The back says Destination Vinylmation on the shirt with Nick and M.C. on the ears. Amazing job Chelsey! Thank you so much for this special souvenir of our D23 trip.

It's a Small World Jr. 4 Vinylmation Explained

It's a Small World
Release Date: August 19 (D23), September 11 (Florida Project), September 16 (D-Streets)
Artist: Thomas Scott

Update: 8/28/11 IASW was released at D23 last weekend and sold for $8.95 a blind box. We have revealed the entire set and chasers below. We also learned that IASW will be released at the Florida Project, but then in D-Streets on September 16.

Update: 8/5/11 Thomas Scott showed us a handful of Small World Jrs. today. Some of which we have not yet seen:

Photo from Disney's Vinylmation Blog

For more ideas of what might also be in this set check out

ZoMG: It's a Small World Juniors

	Poodle This pink pooch made the cut. In my opinion, it looks a little odd on this Jr mold, but it has been well received.
	Penguin I like the choice to have him looking up so his beak uses the ear.
	Indian Girl One of the female dolls in the attraction.
	Girl Doll One of the female dolls in the attraction.
	Girl Doll One of the female dolls in the attraction.
	Girl Doll One of the female dolls in the attraction.
	Frog Looks good on the Jr with the eyes in the ears.
	Boy Doll One of the male dolls in the attraction.
	Boy Doll One of the male dolls in the attraction.
	Queen Chess Piece A black and white figure, the Queen spins around on a chess board with the King toward the beginning of the ride. Will we see the King? Could he be on the back??
	Cactus Next to the Leopard (already done brilliantly in Park 4), the musical Cactus is one of my favorite characters in the attraction. Glad to see him a part of this set. - Nick
	Masked Girl This is another one I was hoping to see after refreshing my memory with last weekends boat trip. The masked girl is in a hula skirt and is dancing around a masked boy playing a drum.
	Smiling Sun The big smiling sun. If they were not going all Kids and Animals, this one had to be in there. It brightens up any trip around the World.
	Tiger I really like all the animals in It's a Small World. This tiger Jr is great A lot of character packed into a 1.5" piece of vinyl.
	Girl This girl was our first glimpse at this series when Disney Artist Thomas Scott tweeted it one morning.
	Hippo Including so many animals really brings up the enjoyment level of this set for me. Great detail for a Jr. Will it have a bird on the head?
	Mystery Chaser #1 Click the mystery chaser icon to reveal chaser #1.
	Mystery Chaser #2 Click the mystery chaser icon to reveal chaser #2.

Here is a look at the IASW packaging: