Disney's "Hip Hop Noel"

It's "Hip Hop Noel", a video from one of Disney's Christmas "Sing-A-Long Songs" videos. I remember this song and video well, from my Disney Store days. This song would come on all the time- and sometimes people would sing along or even dance to it. Check it out- would you dance to this if you had to hear this song once every hour (for at least 3 hours)?

Trip to Disney Vacation Club's Newest Resort: Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Resort

Last weekend I went with my other half to Disneyland Resort's Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Resort. It was fun! We loved the room- we had a Studio. It was more homey than the rooms inside the main inn of the Grand Californian. We loved the views from the balcony, too, which you can see here. We were in back of the Brother Bear Challenge Trail, and we had a good view of the pool area. I am so glad that I joined Disney Vacation Club- it's the best!

Stitch "Maniac" Shirt from Walt Disney World

I love this shirt, which I bought a year ago at Walt Disney World, for several reasons. Number one: it looks cool as a shirt, without any words or design. I love the colors of it- the dark blue sleeves, and the lighter blue body. Number two: it says "maniac" on the front, which is kind of mysterious and rebellious. Number three: it has a cool picture of Stitch from "Lilo n' Stitch" on the back.

Cool Cards From Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"

These are a set of cards which depict characters from the upcoming Disney classic, "The Princess and the Frog", which will debut in theaters in a couple of weeks. My friend Brad got 2 sets of these cards at the D23 Expo in September, and traded a set to me for my extra copy of the premiere issue of the D23 Magazine. These cards are pretty colorful, don't you think? Princess Tiana, who you can see in one of these pictures, kind of resembles Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), in my opinion!

I have seen the first one-third of this movie, and I can tell you this: I can't wait to see the whole thing! What I saw was so good!

Retro Disneyland Salt and Pepper Shaker

Here is a Salt and Pepper Shaker from Disneyland. I got this 4 years ago from Disneyland. This set has a "retro" look, and was special merchandise celebrating Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. Aren't they cool?

If anyone would like to buy these from me, I would part with them for $100 plus shipping!

Original Abraham Lincoln from "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" at the D23 Expo

This is the original Abraham Lincoln from Walt Disney's "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln", which debuted at the New York World's Fair of 1964 and was later brought to Disneyland in 1966. Walt Disney Imagineering had a show area at the D23 Expo where they had some really cool stuff on display, including this section about Audio-Animatronics. There were also previews of the new Disney/Pixar "Cars" attraction, new additions to Hong Kong Disneyland, and the new Disney Vacation Club Resort in Hawaii, called the "Disney Resort at Ko Olina".

Some Photos of Cheryl Burke and Derek Hough from "Dancing With The Stars", taken at the D23 Expo

These are photos that I took at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, which took place in early September. This was a cool Disney Convention! At this part of the convention, ABC Television (which is a part of the Walt Disney Company) was showing previews of their upcoming TV shows. As part of the entertainment, Cheryl Burke and Derek Hough from "Dancing With The Stars" came out and danced for the crowd. Wow! I must say that it is much more exciting seeing them dancing live than it is on TV. Afterwards, both Cheryl and Derek signed autographs for the fans! The fans went crazy, and were really excited to see these stars. The only complaint that I ran across is that Disney really did not give all the fans who wanted autographs enough time to get them, not just from Cheryl and Derek, but for other artists as well. Overall, D23 was a cool idea, but they needed to keep certain areas open longer. Perhaps they can learn from their Theme Park experience, like at EPCOT, and open a certain part of the Expo floor earlier, and have the other section open later, and leave one section open throughout. Both of these photos copyright David Ransom.

Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland Miniature Pewter Set

This is a set of miniature pewter figures from Walt Disney's film, "Alice in Wonderland". This set was produced by excellent Disney artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily. It was sold online by Disneyshopping.com, and came with a Certificate of Authenticity. As you can see, there are 5 figures in the set.

Look at the details on these figures. They are so small, and yet so detailed! All of the characters are in fun poses, and this is one of my favorite things that I bought within the past couple of years. Pictured here are the Catepillar, Tweedle Dee and Dweedle Dum, the Cheshire Cat, and a photo of all the figures in the box they came in.

Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily are excellent are true Disneyphiles and have created some of the best Disney figures for consumers. They sculpted for the "Tiny Kingdom" series that was sold at The Disney Store, for example. These pewter figures pictured here are fun because of the details!

If anyone would like to purchase this from me, I am willing to part with this great set for $200 plus shipping.

D23 Haunted Mansion Button - Hitchhiking Ghosts

This is a button advertising the "D23 Expo" that took place in September of 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center. This button features the Hitchhiking Ghosts from the "Haunted Mansion" attraction at Disneyland. There were several D23 promotional buttons, but was a cool one for me to get (I got it at the D23 Studio Tour that I got in August). The D23 Expo was really cool, but I have a lot of suggestions for them if they want to make it better next year!

Anyway, I like this button. Don't you?

Walt Disney Classic Collection- The Magic Mirror from Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

This is a limited edition sculpture of the Magic Mirror from Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". This mirror is number 1293 out of an edition of 5000 pieces. When my friend Bob who owns the store Fantasies Come True told me about this piece, I thought that I had to have it, because it seemed so unique. Once I got it out and displayed it a while, it was just OK. I mean, I like the sculpture, but the mirror wasn't doing it for me. Then, when taking THESE pictures, I discovered that, with proper lighting, this can be one heckuva cool piece! Don't you agree? Definitely would dress up Halloween pretty good!

Walt Disney Classic Collection- Ariel from "The Little Mermaid"

This is Ariel, from Disney's "The Little Mermaid", in a sculpture from the Walt Disney Classic Collection. This was a piece that came with your Membership in the Walt Disney Collector's society for Members in 1996. It was sculpted by Kent Melton. I really like the colors on Ariel here.

Walt Disney's The Three Caballeros on VHS

This is Walt Disney's classic film from 1945, "The Three Caballeros". This film combines live action with animation (in the Disney tradition), and is a sequel to Walt Disney's other classic film from 1943, "Saludos Amigos". In "The Three Caballeros", Donald Duck is reunited with his friend from Brazil, Jose Carioca. He is also introduced to Panchito, the rooster from Mexico. This is a fun film, and has one of the best performances from characters in animation with the song, "The Three Caballeros".

I have this movie on DVD also, but my VHS still works, and I will still play it! This is one of my favorite Disney films.

Peter Pan Flying Over London- Limited Edition Hand-Inked and Hand-Painted Cel by Disney Art Editions

This is a limited edition, hand-inked and hand-painted cel, of a scene from Walt Disney's "Peter Pan". It features Peter, Wendy, Michael, John, and Tinker Bell flying over London, heading to Never Land. This particular piece is number 491 out of an edition of 500. This was one of my favorite cels that I had seen from Disney Art Editions, but it was sold out. One day years ago, when I was still working at The Disney Store in the Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills Plaza, I happened to go to The Disney Store at the Westside Pavillion, where I was looking for something else. I happened across this piece hanging on the wall. "Where did that come from?", I asked, amazed that it was there in their store. "Somebody returned it yesterday", they said. "I want it", I said, plopping down my VISA credit card. The sales tag said $1,500, but I got a slight discount, so with the tax factored back in I still paid slightly under $1,500. This piece hung in my apartment in Hollywood, along with all the other nice framed pieces that I had, until I could no longer afford to live there. This piece sat in my storage for a while, until recently, when I took it out and hanged it on the wall in my current bedroom. Alas, we have placed a television on a wall mount, which was too close for me to be near this cel, so I took it off the wall, and it's going back into a safe place. It was fun having it out for a month, though. Look at the background of London- you can imagine yourself there! The colors on this thing are truly amazing. Taking the photo with flash really brought the colors out!

The Art of Walt Disney by Robert D. Field

This is a very old, and very collectible, book that I was so lucky to get. I got it for free, too. How? Well, my friend Clyde knew that I was a big fan of Disney, and he was living with an old former executive from United Artists who happened to have a large collection of art books. My friend saw this book and commented that I might love to have that book. He called me up and told me a little about it. I had never heard of it, and I wasn't looking for it for that reason (I have since found out that it is one of the top books about Disney animation to have, since it's the oldest one published on the subject!) I met Clyde's friend, who asked me if I had ever seen that book before. When I replied, "No, I haven't. Wow!", he told me, "You can have it". "What?" , I asked. I was really surprised. This book, it turns out, it from the third printing in 1947 (the first edition was printed in 1942, and the second in 1945). It was made and printed in Great Britain by Jarrold & Sons, Ltd., Norwich. This book talks about the process of animation, and specifically talks about the films that Walt Disney Productions had already produced at the time of the printing, including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Bambi", "Dumbo", "Pinocchio", and a few of the animated shorts. It also talks about the make-up of the Disney Studio at the time- its divisions. In simply skimming the book, I am so tempted to read it (in fact, I will, as soon as I finish the book that I'm reading by Whoopi Goldberg!)

Disneyland Records "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House"

This is the 1964 Disneyland Records album, "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House" (Disneyland Records DQ-1257). It's a recording of sound effects from not just a haunted house, but other fun sound effects, such as: "the very long fuse", "the dogs", "timber", "your pet cat", "shipwreck", "the unsafe bridge", "chinese water torture", "the bitrds", "the martian monsters", "screams and groans", "thunder, lighning and rain", "cat fight", "dogs", "a collection of creaks", "fuses and explosions", "a collection of crashes", "birds", "drips and splashes", and "things in space". I just added this record to my collection (someone threw away a whole bunch of records- I guess someone died, but anyway, this records was in there- what a find!) I just have to get a record player now and play this sucker!

Photo from Wally Boag's Table at the 2009 "Be Our Guest Dinner"

This picture was take at my friend Cinde's annual "Be Our Guest Dinner", which took place at Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel last month, with several Disney legends in attendance. I sat at Disney legend Wally Boag's table. Wally worked in vaudeville for a long time, starred in a few films, and was personally chosen by Walt Disney to star in "The Golden Horseshoe Review" at Disneyland, which ran from 1955 til 1985 (I believe, which made it the longest running stage show ever). Wally also starred in several Disney films. Wally told us a few stories about his career, and kept us all entertained. Wally's still got it, let me tell you! (Wally is the one wearing the white cap in the photo.)

Michael Jackson and The Jacksons Victory Tour Program

Whether or not you liked him or hated him during his lifetime, you must admit that Michael Jackson truly created and delivered magic. This Tour Program is from the Jacksons " Victory Tour" in the mid-1980's, was when Michael was nearing the height of his superstardom. This is the tour that was sponsored by Pepsi- the one where Michael and his brothers were filming a Pepsi commercial and his hair caught on fire from the fireworks. Still, Michael survived and went on to do the tour. It was a great show! An earthquake happened during the show on the night I went. I still have this Victory Tour Program from the show, which I saw that the Los Angeles Coliseum. I also remember that singer George Michael was walking to his seat for the show, and so many fans crowded around him that security had to take him off somewhere. Anyway, Michael was so good in that show! It was the one and only time that I ever got to see Michael perform live.

If you would like to purchase this item, I will part with it for $150.

Do You Like Disney Music? Have Some Fun With These Songs

Listed here are some classic songs from Disney that are available in iTunes. You can preview them for free by clicking on the buttons below. This one is from "Walt Disney Records Archive Collection- Volume 1", which provides a really cool selection of songs from classic Disney movies.









Also available is the "Walt Disney Records Archive Collection- Volume 2", with more classic Disney tunes sung by contemporary artists:









This last one that I'll list today is from an album entitled, "Musical Highlights From The Mickey Mouse Club TV Show". It has original music from the classic TV show, "The Mickey Mouse Club". I actually have this old Disneyland record on vinyl, and I believe I've even shown it on this blog before! Anyway, preview it here:



Leave comments on whether or not you like this!

Eeyore (from Disney's "Winnie The Pooh") Plush Character

This is a plush Eeyore from Disney's version of "Winnie The Pooh" (which was created by A.A. Milne). I think I received this 2 years ago at a my friend Cinde's annual "Be Our Guest" dinner at Disneyland. Notice how blue he is (in color and in mood), and notice the ribbon tied around his tail! Look how sad his eyes are!

Photo of Disneyland's Main Street at Dusk

This is a photograph that I took at Disneyland. It depicts Main Street at Disneyland, U.S.A. at dusk. The Park is really pretty at night- that's when you get ready for the nighttime parade, and fireworks! And don't forget to have dinner, too, and dessert later!

Disneyland's "America Sings"

This is a video of the former Disneyland Attraction, "America Sings", which debuted in 1974 at Disneyland in Tomorrowland (this replaced the "Carousel of Progress", which went to Walt Disney World in Florida). This was a really cool attraction at Disneyland- I liked it a lot. Check it out!

Disneyland Resort's "Storyteller's Cafe" Button with Chip and Dale

This is a button from the Storyteller's Cafe at Disney's Grand Californian Resort and Spa. As you can see, the button features Walt Disney's Chip and Dale dancing in the woods. Of course, the Storyteller's Cafe logo is on the button.

"America the Beautiful" Circle Vision 360 Music

The musical soundtrack to the film, "America the Beautiful", the Circle Vision 360 film that used to be at Disneyland from the late sixties til the early eighties, can be found on this fantastic album from Disney: "A Musical History of Disneyland". This music, typical of music in any Disney venture, really can set some atmosphere. I'm listening to this music as I type this now! The music is from regions all over the United States. If you've seen this movie a zillion times, like I did when I was a teenager, you can't help but have visions of what's going on as you listen to it. This particular track in the set is almost 18 minutes long! This music set is one of the best that I have in my fantastic, magical collection of Disneyana!

The Disney Store Challenge 1994 Exclusive Watch

This is a rare, exclusive and very nice watch that I received when I was working at The Disney Store in the Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills Mall in Los Angeles back in 1994. All of the Cast Members at our store won the watch because our team made 424% of the goal set by the Company for sales of the video, "The Return of Jafar", which was the direct-to-video sequel to Disney's "Aladdin" animated feature. We worked very hard at our store to promote this video by simply spreading awareness. With some creativity and ingenuity (and the free poster that you got when you purchased the video, along with the $5 gift certificate), we created excitement for our store guests. All the while, our excellent Store Managers (including Ted, Maricela, David and Stephanie) set our goal high from the start, and made us believe that we could do it! We finished Number 1 in the Disney Store 1994 Challenge for "The Return of Jafar"! The fruits of our labor: this watch, featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, all in a 50's cool convertible car. Wow! In addition, each Cast Member also got an excellent jacket with this same design (to be seen on this blog at a later date) and a party at the now-defunct Ed Debevick's diner in Beverly Hills! Our Store, Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills #471, got a plaque saying that we were #1! Those were the good 'ole days at The Disney Store!

If you would like to purchase this extremely rare Disney watch, I am willing to part with it for $700 plus shipping.

D23 Pin "Up All Night"

This is the pin that was given to D23 guests at their special screening of the Disney/Pixar movie "Up" at the El Capitain Theater in Hollywood, California. The screening was held on the eve of the film's national release. The film was shown in 3-D, and all guests were able to get a free popcorn and a free drink. This was a fun night, and this pin commemorates it! The film was great. This event was the first official event for members of D23. In addition to the pin, all the guests who attended also received a balloon upon their exit. It was a colorful bunch of people crossing the street with their balloons after the film was over!

D23 Disney Archives Tour Sold Out In Less Than 2 Minutes

I am a member of D23, the Official Community of Disney Fans. I just tried to register for the tour of the Disney Studio and the Archives, and I was unable to make a reservation (I was able to get on the waiting list, though). I swear, in less than 2 minutes, the waiting list filled up for both dates that they had available! Unbelieveable! I hope that I can get in for one of the two dates on the wait list....They should have more than just those 2 dates!

Carnation Cafe Photos

These are photos from the "Carnation Cafe" at Disneyland. I like to eat at Carnation Cafe, especially for breakfast. It's outdoors, it's old-fashioned, and it's the perfect place to have breakfast at Disneyland (their lunch is pretty good, too). As a matter of fact, I think that it's the only place inside Disneyland Park that has a breakfast menu. Carnation used to be a big Ice Cream company with sponsorship at Disneyland. Today you don't see any Carnation products anywhere- but Disneyland still uses the name for this cafe. The red and white colors used in the cafe were the signature colors for the old ice cream company.

GAF Talking View Master Reels of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins

This is a set of GAF Talking View Master Reels for Walt Disney's classic feature film, "Mary Poppins". This was a Christmas present that Santa Claus brought to our home around 1972. Mary Poppins is my favorite Disney movie (and my favorite movie of all movies, for that matter). I don't really remember looking at these particular reels very much, but I'd probably enjoy them more now (I'm thinking about buying myself a Talking View Master).

Michael Jackson's Pinocchio Display Created by Walt Disney World Display

This is a display of a scene from "Pinocchio", created by Walt Disney World Display for Michael Jackson. This unique work of art, which is owned by pop singer Michael Jackson, was on display at the Julien's Auctions display of Michael Jackson's things from Neverland Ranch. I had heard about this display, and I'm glad that I got to see it last week. In this scene, like in Walt Disney's classic animated feature, "Pinocchio", the Blue Fairy comes and grants Gepetto's wish. She says, "Little puppet made of pine, wake! The gift of life is thine!", and all of a sudden, there's a bunch of sparkling lights around Pinocchio, and he starts to move and blink. Jiminy Cricket then says, "And look! There's Michael! Gosh, what they can't do these days!", as a little puppet of Michael Jackson also comes to life (in the "Smooth Criminal" suit and hat) and moonwalks. This display comes complete with music, lights, great scenery, character voices-it's like the displays that you see in the windows at The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, only better. To start the show, you have to push this blue button on the controls. I'm so glad that Michael Jackson called the auction off, because I'd hate for him to lose his cool Disney stuff!

D23 Charter Year Membership Certificate

This is the D23 Charter Year Membership Certificate for the D23 Community of Dinsey fans, available at Disneyshopping.com. This club is the official Disney Fans club, and this beautiful certificate comes with your membership. You get inside Disney information and historical Disney information as part of your membership to this magical club. I also got a poster for signing up early with the club- (but I haven't opened the poster yet, so I don't know what it is- I will post it here after I get it framed!). This new D23 club is even sponsoring a convention at Disneyland Resort in September- check out www.disney.com/D23 for details.

Disneyland Golden Autographs Book

This is a Disneyland Golden Autographs Book, sold during Disneyland's golden anniversary. Books like these are sold at Disneyland so that children and children-at-heart can get the autographs of their favorite Disney characters while they're at Disneyland. I use this particular book to get the autographs of celebrities that I meet around town (I live in Los Angeles, and only recently started using this book for celebrity autographs). Notice that Disney's "Fab Five" are featured on the cover- Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.