Update on Disneyland Contact Info

Update on Disneyland's mail order contact information. They are no longer called "DelivEARS" but they do provide a service of offering mail order capability of Disneyland merchandise. Here is the new contact info:

Disneyland Merchandise Guest Services
Toll-Free Phone: 1-800-362-4533
e-mail: MerchandiseGuestServices@disney.go.com

This can include WDCC sculptures, Jim Shore, Gallery of Light, etc.

Surprise Retirement!

The Walt Disney Classics Collection is delighted to announce the surprise retirement of two beloved sculpture scenes - the charming Seven Dwarfs Mine Scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Bambi Winter Scene from Bambi.

The complete Mine Scene is retired, Grumpy and Doc (previously suspended in May, 2009) are being honored as a "dry retirement" (meaning stock is no longer available) and quantity on the remaining items is extremely limited!

The Dwarfs Mine Scene was released in August, 2004 and sculpted by Bruce Lau. The Bambi Winter Scene (Bambi, Thumper and Flower), sculpted by Kent Melton was released in November, 2005 and the Base was released in January, 2006.

Please contact your authorized dealer for availability.

Lyrics to 'Trick or Treat'

"Trick or Treat" is also the title for the great bouncy song in this cartoon written by Paul Smith. It is sung by the great "Mellomen" which included the voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft. I promise you will be singing this all evening and into tomorrow, once you hear it ]:)

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat for Halloween

Better give a treat that's good to eat

If you want to keep life serene

Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)

Trick or Treat (Trick or Treat)

Trick or Treat the whole night through

Little scalawags

With fiendish gags

Can make it tough on you

So when ghosts and goblins by the score

Ring the bell on your front door

Better not be stingy or

Your nightmares will come true

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat for Halloween

When the pumpkin shells

Cast evil spells

Your little white house turns green

Your little white house turns green

Your little white house turns green

Every post

Is a ghost

If you've got a witch's brew

And if you want your gate to circulate

Ho ho! We can do that too!

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat for Halloween

When ghosts and goblins by the score

Ring the bell on your front door

You'd better not be stingy or

Your nightmares will come true

So when ghosts and goblins by the score

Ring your bell or pound your door

Better not be stingy or

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This morning, one of my blog entries focused on my favorite Halloween short, Trick or Treat. You may notice, music is an integral part of the film, as the song “Trick or Treat” both opens and closes the cartoon, and is woven perfectly throughout. The cartoon was the first screen depiction of trick or treating and as a special treat, below is the animated short for your viewing pleasure (courtesy of YouTube.com).

So grab your favorite witch's brew and some candy treats and Enjoy!

Trick or Treat is a Donald Duck Cartoon ©Disney

Brewing Up Some Trouble for Halloween!

Today is the day when pumpkin shells cast evil spells and witches, ghosts and goblins by the score, who will be knocking at your front door!

It reminds me of my favorite Halloween shorts and unpacking each year, one of my favorite WDCC releases .. Trick or Treat!

The Walt Disney Classics Collection put everyone into the "Halloween Spirit" in Fall 2001 with the release from the 1952 animated short, "Trick or Treat," one of the most beloved and well-remembered of the Duck cartoons. Trick or Treat marked Witch Hazel's debut and the first screen depiction of trick or treating.

Huey, Dewey and Louie visit Donald's house for Hallowe'en, but Donald turns the tricks on them. Sorry to see that Donald Duck is playing tricks on his nephews, Witch Hazel sets out to help them have the happiest Halloween ever. And if the boys "Unca" Donald doesn't want to give out any treats, he better be aware the tricks Witch Hazel has brewing in her cauldron!

It was this moment that the Walt Disney Classics Collection depicted in their scene release which consisted of Donald's Nephews (dressed respectively as a ghost, witch and devil), Witch Hazel and a very detailed Cauldron Base where Witch Hazel begins to brew her potion. The complete scene was sculpted by Chris Peterson.

Witch Hazel's Spell: "Double double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Eye of needle, tongue of shoe, hand of clock that points at two... This is the real thing you know, right out of Shakespeare."

The 'Trick or Treat' Scene (Witch Hazel, Donald's Nephews and Cauldron Base) was honored with retirement on Friday, October 29, 2004. The Opening Title was NOT retired. Hopefully future releases from this short (specifically 'Unca' Donald and Witch Hazel's broom, Beelzebub) possible?

Earlier this morning, I featured my Halloween Lilo & Stitch display. Pictured at right, is my Trick or Treat set up. I picked up the terra-cotta pumpkin a number of years ago (can't recall the store) and the candelabra and candles last year at Walmart ($10.00 for the candelabra and thirty-five cents each for the candles). Click on picture for a larger view.

A Fun Halloween Display!

Halloween Display featuring Halloween Lilo & Stitch

Next to Christmas, Halloween is my favorite holiday, not to mention Fall being one of my favorite times of the year. First weekend in October, got out the Halloween decorations and always look forward to the WDCC Halloween releases that I only display seasonally.

My Halloween display featuring 'Witch' Lilo and 'Vampire' Stitch (both a 2005 Open Edition release still currently available), sculpted by Patrick Romandy-Simmons has been a display in process, seeking the right items to flesh out the scene and was finally able to complete last year.

I purchased both sculptures in 2005 and wasn't until two years ago, I finally started to find the items I had in mind. It was then, I found the tombstones at Target ($1.99 each). They had various sayings/styles but chose the two I did, since they were fitting of the sculptures. Last year, I found the metal haunted house at Walmart ($7.00).

Once I had the pieces arranged on the shelf, used some fall leaves we had in a box to pull the pieces together and give that outside, cemetery feel to the scene. Very pleased in how it turned it out. Click on each picture for a larger view.

History of the Haunted Mansion

Back when Anaheim was a sleepy town filled with orange groves, Walt envisioned a haunted mansion for the "Mickey Mouse Park" he planned to build near his California film studio. When that small park morphed into the larger Disneyland in the mid-1950s, a haunted house concept remained part of the plans, but never made it past the drawing boards.

According to Marty Sklar, vice chairman and principal creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, the Haunted Mansion spawned many ideas and went through a number of revisions during its long gestation period. Like the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Disney creative team initially designed the attraction as a walk-through experience. The plans included an old sea captain's seaside manor and a more unsettling "Bloodmere Manor" concept with some bloody shenanigans. The Headless Horseman even galloped his way into one of the plotlines.

The treatments piled up, and a slew of Imagineers developed a gaggle of illusions and effects through the years. When the project finally got the green light in the late 1960's (it opened in 1969), Sklar said that the story was in danger of getting lost amid the effects. Since Imagineering rule number one is that the storytelling is paramount, it was up to Imagineer X. Atencio to cobble together a coherent story.

"There was a sign I created in 1963 that keyed the whole thing," Sklar explains. After Walt came back from a trip to London, Sklar asked him what he was doing overseas. "He said that he was searching old mansions and manor houses for ghosts that didn't want to retire." Even though there was no consensus about the attraction, Walt went ahead and had the exterior of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion built in 1962. Inspired by Walt, Sklar created a large help wanted sign inviting ghosts that wanted to continue practicing their trade in active retirement at the mansion to send their resumes to the "Ghost Relations Dept." The sign hung for many years in front of the empty building. "When X. Atencio started working on the project," Sklar says, "the sign became the thread of the Haunted Mansion."

Even with Atencio's focus, Sklar says that there were many different ideas about what the Haunted Mansion should be. The attraction was the first major theme park project developed after Walt died, and without his final say, many of the Imagineers clashed over its direction. "Marc Davis and Claude Coats polarized attitudes," Sklar explains. Davis, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" of animation, wanted a lighter tone, while background artist Coats pushed for a scarier attraction. "In the end, Marc's cartoony attitude carried the day," says Sklar. "And he probably pushed it in the right direction."

Still, some of Coats' surreal, spookier backgrounds remain evident in the early scenes of the ride. Some of the other Imagineers who lent their ideas to the Haunted Mansion project through the years and whose touch can be seen in the final version include:

• Rolly Crump-- An artist and magic aficionado. His love of stage magic and illusions inspired effects such as the "Pepper's Ghost" trick used in the Grand Hall and hitchhiking ghosts scenes.
• Yale Gracey-- A mechanical genius and animator, Sklar says that he was a tinkerer who loved to play around with technology. Gracey and Crump developed the "Leota effect" that brings Madame Leota to life in the Seance Room.
• Walt Disney-- While Walt passed away before work began in earnest on the interior of the attraction, he played a major role in guiding the project along. One of his most important contributions was his insistence, despite the protests of most other Imagineers, that the exterior of the building remain pristine so as not to disrupt his beloved Disneyland. According to Sklar, Walt said, "Don't worry about it. We'll take care of the outside; the ghosts will take care of the inside."

The attraction opened at the Magic Kingdom in 1971, Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, Disneyland Paris as Phantom Manor in 1992. For each of these parks, the Haunted Mansion is an original attraction.

The Haunted Mansion was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, opening in 1971. This attraction (pictured at left) was developed at the same time as the Disneyland version, resulting in a very similar experience to the Disneyland version, though the slightly larger show building allowed the addition of several new scenes. The attraction was placed in Liberty Square, a small land that was a tribute to colonial America, as the Magic Kingdom did not have a New Orleans Square. Thus, the Mansion was given a Dutch Gothic Revival style based on older northeastern mansions, particularly those in older areas of Pennsylvania and in the Hudson River Valley region of New York.

At Tokyo Disneyland the Mansion was placed in Fantasyland and was a near complete clone of the Magic Kingdom version. The only exterior differences from the Magic Kingdom are two bronze griffin statues guarding the main gates, as well as the left bottom and top windows being both smashed open, and the top having some velvet curtains hanging out. The narration is in Japanese.

At Disneyland Paris, the attraction goes by a different name, Phantom Manor (pictured at right).

Courtesy of YouTube.com is a two-part clip on the History of the Haunted Mansion below:

Part I




Part II



Disney's Haunted Mansion Attraction is ©Disney

Disney's Halloween Treat!

While surfing the net, I came across mention of a Disney Halloween Special entitled Disney's Halloween Treat. This classic TV Special first aired Halloween October 31, 1982 and was shown every year after that up until 1995 (which is ironic since that’s when Disney bought ABC).

Originally it was hosted by a talking Jack O’ Lantern and was the unusual length of 47 minutes (a little over an hour if you count the commercials). Around 1990 the special was edited and several pieces clipped in order to fit a 30 minute time slot. The Jack O’Lantern host was also replaced by the Magic Mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Below is a sample of some of the shorts and tidbits that were included in the special:

“Pluto’s Nightmare” - “Pluto’s Judgment Day” – Pluto (1935)
“Cat Nap Pluto” – Pluto & Figaro (1948)
“Puss Cafe” – Pluto, Milton & Richard (1950)
“Lonesome Ghosts” – Mickey, Donald, & Goofy (1937)
“Donald Duck and the Gorilla” – Donald, Nephews & Ajax (1944)
“Trick or Treat” - Donald & Nephews (1952)
“The Old Mill” – Silly Symphonies (1937)
“Malifacent the Dragon” – “Sleeping Beauty” (1959)
“The Blue Fairy” – “Pinnochio” (1940)
“Wizard’s Duel” – “The Sword in the Stone” (1963)
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1958)
“The Wicked Witch” – “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)
“The Bomb” – “Peter Pan” (1953)
“Two Bad Cats” – “Lady and The Tramp” (1955)
“The Butler” – “Aristocats” (1970)
“Cruella DeVil” – “101 Dalmatians” (1961)
“Night on Bald Mountain” – “Fantasia” (1940)
“Skeleton Dance” (colorized, used as background for end credits) – Silly Symphonies (1929)

The original cut of “Halloween Treat” starring the Jack O’Lantern host was released on VHS around 1984 but has been out of print ever since. The copies are few and exceedingly rare.

Below is the intro of Disney's Halloween Treat (courtesy of YouTube.com):


Disney's Halloween Treat is ©Disney

Magical Heigh Ho! Signing Event Party with Patrick Romandy-Simmons

Mark your Calendars! November 7th, Gallery of the Lakes is hosting a Magical, Whistling Heigh Ho! Signing Event Party.

This Magical Storybook Weekend celebrates Disney's #1 masterpiece, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, still the studios most celebrated and asked for release, featuring Patrick Romandy-Simmons.

Patrick, who sculpted the very first Signature release "Soup's On!" will be on hand to sign the latest Signature Series release "Heigh-Ho! Heigh Ho! It's Home From Work We Go!" featuring the Seven Dwarfs (Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy and Dopey).

Patrick will be signing all his sculpture work for the Walt Disney Classics Collection. For a complete listing of Patrick's Walt Disney Classics Collection releases and his bio, please visit his Sculptor Listing page.

Itinerary for Saturday, November 07, 2008
1:00-5:00pm

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Signing Party
• "Villain Debut" Maleficent ("Evil Eruption") and Evil Queen ("Now Begins Thy Magic Spell")
  
• Special Presentation-Gallery Lounge
• Silent Auction
  

5:30pm Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dinner & Cocktail Reception

Fourth Quarter Preview

Preview the recently announced Fourth Quarter in addition to Maleficent (Transformation):

• Belle & Beast, Babette, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts & Chip from Beauty and the Beast
• Millweed Ballerinas from Fantasia
• Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog
  

Gallery of the Lakes is located in Rock Hill, NY 12775
Please RSVP (800) 692-3087

Maleficent (Transformation) has Sold Out!

The Walt Disney Classics Collection 50th Anniversary sculpture Maleficent (as a Dragon): Evil Eruption has Sold Out! The sculpture has not only sold out to retailers but also before it has begun shipping!

Plussed with glass and pewter, this magnificent piece, one of the most unusual and elaborate sculptures ever crafted by the Walt Disney Classics Collection, captures every fearsome detail of Maleficent’s terrifying transformation, reflecting the sublime artistry of Walt Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty.

The Dragon's wing span is 10" wide and the height of the Dragon and Clouds is 7". The majority of sculpture is porcelain (Dragon at top, Clouds on top and bottom, etc.). There's a connection point at the top and bottom of the glass that is resin, the Maleficent sculpture inside the glass is resin. The glass used is smooth and tinted green but there are vertical striations air-brushed onto the surface as a special effect.

Maleficent's Transformation, a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 500 was sculpted by Ruben Procopio.

A great companion piece to Maleficent (Transformation) is Prince Phillip, a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 1,000, sculpted by Dusty Horner. Valiant is the 3rd release in the Heroes & Heroines Series.

Prince Phillip has not sold out, limited quantities are still available.

Please contact your Authorized WDCC Dealer and/or the Walt Disney Theme Parks for availability.

BIG, BIG Breaking News-It's a Small World Series Retirement!

BIG, BIG Breaking News Today!!

The Walt Disney Classics Collection has just announced the Series Retirement of Disney's it's a small world. All sculptures and ornaments have been retired, no new releases are planned and in-stock pieces are available while supplies last (many of these there is less than 100 units in inventory).

As a part of this MAJOR retirement, it is also announced Hawaii's ("Aloha") dry retirement!

For the first time, a special incentive program to retailers and collectors in conjunction with this surprise announcement where participating retailers will offer the pieces to collectors at "Celebration Pricing" in time for the holidays. Also included are the remaining inventory of Small World Spain and Belgium (previously retired in May, 2007) in the program. The only active piece not included in the revised pricing is Small World Peru (the final release in the series which just started shipping last month).

Please check with your authorized dealer for availability.

Prince Phillip & Maleficent Revisited

Mistress of All Evil sees her terrible plot unravel as valiant Prince Phillip approaches King Stefan’s castle. Furious, Maleficent blocks Phillip’s path and, in a massive explosion, transmogrifies into a horrifyingdragon.

Plussed with glass and pewter, this magnificent piece, one of the most unusual and elaborate sculptures ever crafted by the Walt Disney Classics Collection, captures every fearsome detail of Maleficent’s terrifying transformation, reflecting the sublime artistry of Walt Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty.

Maleficent's Transformation, a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 500 was sculpted by Ruben Procopio. This marks the Dragon's second appearance in the collection. Prince Phillip, a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 1,000, sculpted by Dusty Horner is the 3rd release in the Heroes & Heroines Series.

The Dragon's wing span is 10" wide and the height of the Dragon and Clouds is 7". The majority of sculpture is porcelain (Dragon at top, Clouds on top and bottom, etc.). There's a connection point at the top and bottom of the glass that is resin, the Maleficent sculpture inside the glass is resin. The glass used is smooth and tinted green but there are vertical striations air-brushed onto the surface as a special effect.

Special Note: This blog update contains updated images of Prince Phillip and Maleficent photographed together.