More Magic Kingdom Shop Windows, December 1983
After moving "part one" a bit, I am sharing the second installment of photos of shop windows from the Magic Kingdom, as taken by Lou Perry, and scanned and shared with us by his daughter, Sue B.
I don't believe that this figure was for sale, but... maybe? Mickey's wearing his famous costume from "The Band Concert", in which he bravely conducts a ragtag band during a tornado.
I had one or two glazed ceramic figurines of Mickey that looked almost exactly like the style seen here. Some vintage Disneyana appears to been display too, like those bisque (?) figures of the Dwarfs. Or maybe they're brand new!
Donald Duck appears to be singing, with his quacky voice, I can almost hear it!
Uh-oh, Minnie's standing beneath the mistletoe!
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is one of my favorite Mickey Mouse films (it's right up there with "The Brave Little Tailor"), so I'm always happy to see Mickey in his robe and pointy hat!
Music boxes! They're nice, but I'm glad I didn't start collecting those. Same with cookie jars.
Nothing says "Christmas" like a rat in an old-fashioned costume! Perhaps this was a shop that sold ceramic goods, though it's hard to be certain.
Mickey is popping and locking, he got into hip-hop street dancing before most people had even heard of it. He could do that thing where he spun around on his head, which was much harder to do with those ears.
And hey, it's another Christmas rat. But I admit that she's cute. Maybe I need more rats in my life!
THANK YOU SO MUCH to Lou and Sue! Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series.
13 comments:
Major-
"Minnie's standing beneath the mistletoe!"
That looks more like a forest of mistletoe-!
"Music boxes! They're nice, but I'm glad I didn't start collecting those. Same with cookie jars".
Thimbles, Major... thimbles-! The best.
Thanks again to Lou and Sue.
♫ "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?"♪
Maybe Donald took one of his "voice pills" and can sing like an opera star... for a little while... till the pill wears off. Then he sounds like Clarence Nash again.
Sorcerer Mickey is shown on the mountain top (in his dteam) where he commands the ocean and comets to do his bidding.
Looks like 'hip-hop Mickey' spun on his head once too often... he's missing an ear. (I know it's not really missing.)
The 'cute' Christmas rat is gnawing on her tail. Must be a nervous habit.
Really nice photos to document these displays; Lou Perry's stock-in-trade. Thanks Lou, Sue, and Moo. :-p
Those acrylic cases display figures were made to be sold by the WDW display department. They were sold in the Disneyanna Shop into the mid 1980’s. However WDW’s Disneyanna was in Fantasyland. Near the holidays the display figures were sometimes also sold in THE KINGS GALLERY … but those music boxes ( produced by Pridelines Ltd) look like they are on Main Street . The Market House is also shown here .
At some point I started accumulating books and collectors' guides about various nostalgic / historic stuff, those being way cheaper than the actual items. To have proof such things as a Marx playset of the movie Ben Hur existed (with partial stadium and tiny slave market) is sometimes just as good as having the actual thing. Likewise images from this blog, which go into my desktop / screensaver folder.
I will occasionally splurge on an artifact that's sufficiently cheap and personally significant, preferably out of box and a bit used so I'm comfortable actually enjoying it. Occasionally enjoy meals off a 1950s Mickey Mouse Club metal tray.
Looking at these, I’m moved to think of the enormous cost of designing and fabricating all these figures, and then, the perennial Christmas problem, where to store all this stuff for the other 11 months? Really quite a commitment.
Neither of us have been big collectors of “stuff”, although I am very attached to certain keepsake items, these are all artifacts of youth and precious by association with good times and loved ones. New Popcorn buckets, music boxes, and figurines have no hold over me.
Yesterday’s comments about the Disney Stores. There was one here years back, and we often shopped there on visits before we moved here to live. The kids loved it, of course, but it just faded out of importance as they grew up. The garish storefront is still intact in the mall, occupied by a local clothes shop, a memory of earlier good times.
Still grateful for Lou, Sue and the Major!
JG
Nanook, it is true, thimbles, especially the rare Wizard of Oz thimbles from the Franklin Mint… talk about valuable!
JB, I remember a Donald Duck short in which his voice changes (I forget why), he has a deep, pleasant mid-Atlantic accent, and is suave and romantic. Daisy flips! Of course it doesn’t last. Maybe that’s the cartoon you were referring to? “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” has always been one of my all-time favorite Disney cartoons, not exactly a hot take. I guess nervous rats gnaw on their tails - hey, I bit my nails for years (I’ve managed to stop that gross habit).
Mike Cozart, I’d love to know how much they were asking for those figures. $100? $500? More? I used to be fascinated by old-fashioned music boxes when I was a kid, but now I love nitro-burning funny cars!
DBenson, interesting about buying collector’s guides rather than the vintage stuff. I admit that I used to really love looking at guides for vintage Disneyana, knowing that I would never be able to afford a lot of the stuff, even if I could find it. So in a way it’s the same thing you were doing. I have books about Japanese tin robots (which I don’t collect), as well as vintage advertising figures (which I do collect, to some degree). I’ll be a Swanson’s TV dinner (Salisbury steak!) tastes better when eaten off of a Mickey Mouse Club tray!
JG, they stored all the stuff in Rolly Crump’s garage. He wasn’t happy about it, but sometimes you just have to put up with it. You are lucky to not be a collector, it really is a weird compulsion. I have SO much stuff that I enjoy, but that has no real value, even to collectors. A complete set of pinback buttons, even if they’re not that old, makes me happy. I might be insane. I’ve always wondered about the demise of Disney stores, since there are so many rabid fans, and new ones are hatched all the time. Were they just mismanaged? Did the economy take a turn?
I remember those "maquette" type figures in Disneyana and I PINED to have one...the Maleficent one was particularly impressive. Thinking back now...after a few moves in life...it would probably have been sold...or more my style: just given away...to a more worthy owner. I do have a lot of stuff...but it's time to cull the herd...some things in boxes haven't seen the light of day for (literally) decades...I have my favorite "silly" things...like a statue of Snoopy that I want to gild before the year is out. Who doesn't like Snoopy? These photos I'm sure are very rare, as is probably the products now. The country mousies are cute....but I don't particularly "get" that aesthetic...looks pretty grandma...and why is there a mouse surrounded by garlic roasters and garlic keepers? There was a "roasted garlic" phase in the early 90's....it is tasty for sure. And to be clear....mice, rats, rabbits...and possibly every other critter than gets into my yard HATES garlic...and even being near it....so I grow it around borders and whatnot...keeping the wildlife out of more precious items...and...it works! AND....I have garlic that lasts me until the next harvest in July. Easy to grow and little to no maintenance. Just FYI. Thanks Lou and Sue and Major, for more delightful photos!
MAJOR: …. In the 1983-1985 period the plain Mickey Mouse ( I remember one with him holding a Mickey film strip ) , the Minnie holding flowers were 550.00 each. There was a JIMINY Cricket in a glass dome that was 425.00 …. A really nice Maleficent that was 775.00 …. A Pinocchio that was 575.00 .. I’ve never seen that Band Leader Mickey before . I remember the Sorcerer Mickey and the Donald Duck but I don’t recall the price. There was also a Goofy figure that was a smaller scale than the other figures .
The DISNEYANNA SHOP also sold a Disney display department 20,000 Leagues Nautilus submarine it was 225.00 …. ( this was available into the 1990’s and was later produced from the molds by an outside vendor when the display department stopped producing items for Disneyanna .
There were also 3 different Pirates of the Caribbean maquettes each selling for 225.00 over at Pieces of Eight. I bought my first pirate maquette in 1986 and it was one of the last two ( the same character) as the CM mentioned they just didn’t receive them anymore …..I purchased a Nautilus sub in 1988.
One thing about these display department items is that they might have some available they were not always available and would kinda randomly be in the shops and vary on each park visit … so it’s surprising to see such a assortment at once in Lou’s pictures. Another thing in regards to the prices : the price points probably seem reasonable today but back then they were some of the most expensive Disney items being sold in the parks … but as a kid in junior high school in the very early 1980’s I remember studying these collectibles like museum items in the Disneyanna Shop. In more recent years I was able to get the other two Pirate maquettes , a Jiminy cricket, and a Pinocchio . A friend of mine has the Maleificent figure - it’s impressive. On a final note : the Disney company has made several articulated Pinocchio figures/ marionettes … but not a one looks as precise and accurate as the one made by the Disney Park Display Department.
Major, yes. That's the Donald Duck cartoon I was referring to. Can't remember the name though.
I remember in the 90's I saw figures like these for sale in Disneyland I saw a Pinocchio for sale for 400.00. I was interested in. but couldn't buy it.
Mrs. Chuck has just told me that Country Mice were very much in vogue in 1983, so that explains the non-Disney rodentia. She just showed me this then-popular book published in 1983: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1021180918/country-mice-etc-soft-sculpture-animals?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details
Seeing and hearing about all of these collectibles that were available at the time makes my mouth water. I want a Nautilus so bad I can taste it. Oh, wait - that’s just a penny. Need to stop trying to be the change I want to make.
^ I was having trouble figuring out what "Katy Cobweb" was. Then it occurred to me... she's a dust mop!
When I originally scanned these, I didn't look closely. Now, I am, and I see a number of items that my parents must've purchased on this trip, that were in my dad's collection. (It was always so convenient to have your purchases shipped home, as Disney would do all the wrapping and shipping work, and not charge sales tax -- for out-of-state shipments -- which then 'covered' the cost of the shipping fees.)
Those dwarf statues are what Disney called "Cameonyx." They look like marble or soapstone, but aren't. If you go on eBay and google "Cameonyx," you'll see lots of items that were sold in Disneyland and WDW, during the 1980s -- including those dwarfs [and Snow White]. I ended up with two sets of them (long story).
In the 6th picture, those aren't music boxes, but [cast iron?] banks. You put the coin in their hands [and pull a lever or something - I don't remember] and the coin gets 'thrown' forward into the bank opening. They came in wooden boxes. Google 'Pride Lines Mickey Mouse Mechanical Bank.'
I remember seeing a Maleficent statue in Disney MGM Studios in the 90s, for sale - that I loved and wanted, but was too expensive. It was so well made and detailed, and stood about 2 feet tall, inside of a case. I wonder if it was the same as what you, Bu and Mike, were commenting about.
Speaking of [vintage] TV dinners, remember HOW HOT[!!!!] the cherry compote would get - compared to the rest of the meal?!?!? OUCH!
I'm glad you enjoyed these images. :o)
Thanks, Major.
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