December 3 will be an exciting day at D-Street in California and Florida. We will be releasing several things including the 3-inch figures from Vinylmation™ – Holiday #2, the Vinylmation – Ice Cube Tray with 3-inch figure, and three different timepieces with 3-inch figures.

You probably recall reading a Disney Parks Blog article about the Steampunk inspired timepiece as few months ago. Here are some additional details.

This timepiece plus 3-inch figure was designed by Mike Sullivan from Disney Design Group. It has an edition size of 750 and a retail of $150.

This timepiece plus 3-inch figure was designed by Eric Caszatt from Disney Design Group. It has an edition size of 750 and a retail of $150.

This timepiece plus 3-inch figure was designed by Eric Caszatt from Disney Design Group. It has an edition size of 750 and a retail of $125.

For fans in Florida, we are finalizing details for an artist autograph session with Disney Design Group artists to be held on December 3 at D-Street. Stay tuned for more details.

Here is a small glimpse at a great suprise awaiting Guests to the new Disney Store which will soon be opening in the heart of New York City:

 

The wait is finally over! The 3″ collectors set originally scheduled to be released at Trade City USA will be released tomorrow at D-Street at Walt Disney World® Resort. Click below to get full views of the 3″ figures found in this collection:

The collection also includes a pair of Vinylmation™ Jr. Figures.

We also received release information about some additional items coming to the D-Street locations.

Holiday #2 – 9-inch figure desgined by Lin Shih (Limited Edition 800).
Releasing on October 22 at the D-Street locations in California and Florida.

The petite print and canvas wrap for Vinylmation™ Park #5 will also be released on October 22.

We have the release date for the Park #5 combo pack featuring a 3-inch Sorcerer Mickey figure designed by Monty Maldovan.

Park #5 – Combo Pack featuring Sorcerer Mickey Mouse.
Releasing on October 29 at the D-Street locations in California and Florida..

And for those wondering about the release of the 9″ Vinylmation™ Park #5 Figures, the first two will be released near the end of the year. We’ve decided to space the releases of the 9″ figures to give more collectors a chance at obtaining these awesome pieces.

How many of you already have the Vinylmation™ Toy Story series? We will be releasing the three 9-inch figures on Friday, September 17 at D-Street in California and Florida. The three figures were designed by Thomas Scott who also designed the 3-inch figures.

The Bo Peep figure is a 9-inch plus 3-inch set and includes one of her sheep.

 

The remaining two figures include the Evil Emperor Zurg and one of the Little Green Men (who isn’t so little). You may recall that we had a 3-inch Little Green Men figure in Park Series #2.

 

 

The Zurg and Bo Peep figures will have an edition size of 1200, while the Little Green Men figure will have an edition size of 1500.

Christopher with Disney Design Group Artist Thomas Scott

Disney Design Group Artist Lin Shih

Disney Design Group Artist Eric Caszatt

24 Slot-Mystery Trading Box at Event

Signed Buzz Lightyear Figure from Toy Story Series by Thomas Scott

Signed Figure by Lin Shih

Signed Artist Cards From Event

Fellow Disney Parks blogger Michelle Harker recently wrote about several upcoming events at Disneyland Resort. She said she didn’t want to “steal my thunder” regarding a special event taking place at D-Street at Downtown Disney District in California. So here is “my thunder” (more like some additional details) about the Vinylmation Artist Signing and Meet and Greet scheduled for Sunday, July 25, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The particularly cool part is this event will feature the core Vinylmation art team from Disney Design Group including Thomas Scott, lead designer for Vinylmation; Eric Caszatt, Senior Graphic Designer (known for the previously discussed Vinylmation Oh Mickey!; and Lin Shih, production artist, who has designed figures, packaging and other three dimensional product modeling. Donald Ferro, Product Developer for Vinylmation, and I will also be there to meet with Vinylmation fans. It’s not often that the artists visit the West Coast, so I’m happy we will be holding this event (especially since many blog readers had asked for one in previous postings).

The artists don’t physically get to visit Disneyland Resort that often as Disney Design Group is located in Florida. The Disney Theme Park Merchandise headquarters is a non-descript building at Walt Disney World Resort, but inside the building is where the magic takes place. Merchandise, artwork, visual designs, store concepts and more are created by teams of merchandise Cast Members. Disney Design Group creates the merchandise artwork for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line and more. It’s pretty inspirational (okay – it’s down right awesome) to walk through their area and see artwork for upcoming merchandise items (by the way, the Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary merchandise looks fantastic – but that’s another story).

At the recent Artist Party at D-Street on July 11, we featured Randy Noble, Dan Howard, Tyler Dumas, and Monty Maldovan. It was a big success and a lot of fun (pictured above is Monty showing off his favorite figure he designed, Kermit the Frog). The July 25 party is the sequel to the July 11 party. For those who have never attended an Artist Party, it is an opportunity to meet the artists behind favorite your Vinylmation figures. The artists will also sign autographs, so please bring whatever Vinylmation figures you would like (even the previously purchased ones). Just remember there may be a limit to autographs (to keep it fair for all Guests).

Also, don’t forget to sign the “I Was There” Vinylmation. Above is a photo of the “I Was There” Vinylmation from the July 11 party, which will be displayed in D-Street. I hope to see you there.

The Park #4 combo pack featuring the Plane Crazy Mickey Mouse will be released at D-Street at the Disneyland® Resort on July 16. Speaking of Vinylmation™ Park, here is a look at some figures from the Park #5 collection:

 

 

 

Announcing three new Vinylmation™ releases this Friday, June 25 at the Walt Disney World® Resort! First we have the Vinylmation™ Jr Series #2, which made its Disneyland® Resort premiere just last week. Second is the Vinylmation™ Condiment set, which will also be released at Disneyland® Resort on June 25. Finally, we have the debut of a brand new Vinylmation™ figure, Plane Crazy Mickey Mouse:

 

This figure will sold exclusively in a combo pack with a randomly selected Vinylmation™ Park #4 series.

All of the new releases will be found at D-Street at Downtown Disney West Side on June 25. For those who are purchasing the Vinylmation™ Condiment set, note that as this is a limited edition item there will be a purchase limit of two (2) sets per Guest, per day.

I love Disneyland! My wife and I spent our honeymoon there, and I’ve visited the Resort nearly every year since the start of the new Millennium. There is something so special about the place where Walt Disney walked. That is probably why I’m excited about the new Vinylmation figures inspired by the 55th Anniversary of Disneyland Resort which we are calling “Vinylmation ’55.” I recently spoke with Susan Foy from Disney Design Group about the first two figures from this series – a 9” plus 3” set celebrating the 55th Anniversary of The Mickey Mouse Club (a television show that also made its debut in 1955).

“I started work on the figures in March 2009,” explained Susan. “I remember watching the original series as a child. The first concept I had was a tribute to the Days of the Week which evolved to the little girl and little boy Mouseketeer figures. I watched the show intro many times and remember seeing their cute faces on the curtains.”

Susan was first hired to work on designing merchandise for the opening of Disney California Adventure in 2001. She also created many outstanding designs for the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland Resort in 2005 (has it really been five year since then?). It only seemed natural to have her work on these first two figures for the nostalgic Vinylmation ’55 collection.

Susan shared that the girl and boy were originally going to be the 9” figures. Funny thing is the girl kind of reminds me of fellow Disney Parks blogger Michelle Harker (but don’t tell her I said that). The Mouseketeer kids eventually became 3” figures after the idea of creating a combo set was suggested by Donald Ferro, developer for Vinylmation.

“With the new combo set in mind, I wanted icons from the show that Guests would remember and would complement the young Mouseketeers,” continued Susan. “I liked the randomness of the Mousegetar. My husband is a musician so maybe that is why I chose that one. I also wanted to feature a character, so band leader Mickey Mouse seemed like a great choice. He is the leader of the club after all! ”

The original design for the Band Leader Mickey Mouse did not contain the baton and plume. Those features were added much later in the design process. Of all the figures we’ve created, the Band Leader Mickey is one of my ultimate favorites. The detail, design and overall look are striking to see in person.

Referencing her original design concept, I asked Susan if she had a favorite day of the week. Some of you may recall each day on the show had a different theme.

“Certainly not Mondays,” laughed Susan. “Fridays are always great but I also like Tuesdays.”

These two figures will be released exclusively at D-Street in Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort. Each set has an edition size of 555. Stay tuned to http://www.Vinylmation.com for a release date and look for more figures coming from the Vinylmation ’55 collection this year.

Well, you said and we listened! Mark your calendars this coming Summer for some opportunities to meet the talented artists behind many of your favorite Vinylmation® Figures. These events, and a few others, will take place at D-Street in Downtown Disney® District at the Disneyland® Resort.

June 26 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. – ACME Animation Art Show with Special Guest Artist Steven J. Daily

July 11 from 11: a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Vinylmation™ Signing with Disney Design Group Artists Dan Howard, Monty Maldovan and Randy Noble

July 25 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Vinylmation™ Signing with Disney Design Group Artists Thomas Scott, Eric Caszatt and Lin Shih

August 7 from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – “Tail Gate Party” Trunk Show

August 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Vinylmation™ Signing with Special Guest Artist Noah

August 21 (time to be determined) – Vinylmation™ Signing

September 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Vinylmation™ Signing with Disney Design Group Artist Casey Jones.

And we have to say this …. all information is subject to change without notice. But we’ll keep you advised if anything changes. For now, save the dates!

Mark your calendars Vinylmation™ Fans on the West Coast. On May 22, Quinn Shurian, 2010 Disneyland® Resort Ambassador, will be trading Vinylmation™ Figures at D-Street located in the Downtown Disney® District. He will be trading from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., so please stop by and say “Hello.”

We also invite you to check out some new wallpaper images we added to the “Fun” section. While there, look further down to see some new Avatars/Icons. The one-of-a-kind images were taken by Steven before the opening of D-Street in Florida back in mid-April. Several of these figures have sold out so we thought some of you may enjoy having these images (since only one person in the world has the actual figure – and congratulations to those lucky individuals!).

Happy Downloading!

Also, Official Vinylmation Site previewed several figures that will be released in the future, including a future Annual Passholder Exclusive, the Florida Orange Bird, and a figure from Park Series #5, Dad from Carousel of Progress.