Keepsakes and Collectables

Disney has set the standard for mementos. No matter what you collect it seems that Disney can sell it to you from spoons to original art. For each trip we go on, the MountainEars have an agenda when the time comes to hit the shops and scope out souvenirs. Both Danny and I each like to find a Vinylmation and pin to remember our trip. There is normally no rhyme or reason to the ones we pick. Additionally, we each have a third thing we collect that are more suited to our individual tastes.

For our August 2012 Disneyland Resort trip we decided to take advantage of being annual passholders and each picked up a passholder exclusive DLR Vinylmation. Danny got one that was themed after Goofy’s Sky School and I got the other which was themed after the Silly Symphony Swings. Since these were in clear boxes we decided to also get some mystery Vinylmations, too. This trip, in honor of Cars Land opening and getting to see the Cars-wrapped monorails, I decided to get a monorail Vinylmation. I opened my box to find Flo and could not be happier. I love her character and the awesome aqua she is colored. Danny picked a box from the Animation 2 series which revealed our very first mystery chaser figure. For this series, the figure was of the Headless Horseman and does not follow the traditional shape of the Mickey Vinylmation figurine. While I am sure there are many out there who do not like this figure we were pleased to get it seeing as how we have never picked a mystery figure before.

For our pins we decided to get limited editions. Danny selected a beautiful pin that had glass doors that swing open to reveal the Story Tellers statue in the revamped Disney California Adventure. I selected a cute pin with Chip and Dale in outerspace that contained a small globe with a piece of the original Tomorrowland pavers inside. Overall, we were both pleased with our picks and adding them to our collection.

The one other thing I love to collect and appeals to the frugal and practical side of me is postcards. My love for postcards is not exclusive to Disney. No matter where I travel I try to purchase a few postcards to send out and a few to keep for myself. I love postcards because they are typically on the inexpensive end, are easy to store away when needed and have great imagery that captures the spirit of wherever I have visited.

 

While I am not one to “collect” autographs for myself, I do like to make it a point to get a few postcards for characters to sign and send away to family and friends. I find this to be a great way to share some Disney magic! Sometimes I will just get one or two signatures on a card and sometimes I will collect signatures on theme like getting as many princesses as will fit on a card. Warning: princesses like to take up a lot of room; if you decide to get more than a few and want to send it out you may need to put the postcard in an envelope before sending

 Aside from pins and Vinylmation, Danny does like to collect autographs, especially when he is at WDW. He likes to get a new autograph book for each trip and get as many characters to sign his book. This is a tradition he has kept since childhood and while I do not necessarily like to wait in line to meet everyone the look on his face when gets his book signed is priceless and worth it! I think this is a great way to get a “free” souvenir and bragging rights.

 Having a few go-to collectables is a great way for us to remember our trips and have a little bit of home away from home when we cannot get to the parks. We are slowly but surely incorporating Disney into our home décor and are looking forward to making a pin mural and fun display of the Vinylmations. No need to buy other knick-knacks and trinkets when we already have ones we love. In future posts I hope to not only document all of our Vinylmations and pins but also how we have incorporated them into our home décor.

 jmi

Why we’re MountainEars! A view through my Mickey (or maybe soon to be Oswald) Ears!

So Jaime has posted a lot about us as MountainEars and I would like to expand on that post, to give you my views on our Disney Parks experience! 

I wanted to specifically post on the MountainEar name!  Mountains within the Disney Parks, and within our lives, are pretty significant and historical from a few different viewpoints.  First, Mountains within the Disney Park’s are pretty much everywhere and cannot be avoided.  There are the California Mountains – such as Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland Park to Grizzly Peak at Disney California Adventure and the Mountains at Walt Disney World in Florida, such as Expedition Everest.  And, we cannot avoid the obvious duplicate (but also infamous) Mountains – such as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, etc… While theses my seem like “duplicates” to many, the discerning Disney fan understands that each mountain has its own special appeal and no two are exactly alike. 

Secondly, Mountains within our lives are also pretty significant.  The obvious is for Danny, as he was born and raised within the State of Colorado, which is home to the Rocky Mountains.  The Chicago Skylines, which Jaime likes to call “urban mountains”, housed Jaime until she moved to Colorado for college where she and Danny met.  They still live in Colorado, and fell in love in Colorado, but they would agree that their love was solidified at Disneyland on Matterhorn Mountain, while laughing at nothing but life, love, peace and happiness. 

Now, while Danny and Jaime are landlocked from Disney Parks, living in Colorado, they sill love to find ways to adventure to Disney!  Their future goals are to travel to an abroad Disney Park, such as Disneyland Paris or Tokyo Disney Sea, stay at all the Walt Disney World hotels at least once and show their puppa – Rocco, the most love he can have!  They have accomplished one of those goals – with loving Rocco and, as Walt Disney would say, “Keep(ing) moving forward” to the rest of their goals. 

Peace,

DJS

Pre-Trip Report, August 2012

In four days from now Danny and I will be merrily on our way to Disneyland for a quick summer trip. With Cars Land officially opened and the recently completed refurbishment of the Matterhorn we figured this would be a perfect late-summer getaway before school starts back up and the opportunity to go dwindles away.

Our travel style is usually very laid back, especially in the 'land. What is there to rush for... what is there to rush to? Don't get me wrong, WDW is great, but at Disneyland you don't need to worry about all your precious ADRs and fighting the crowds to get across the cavernous park for the next show time. Disneyland is compact, efficient and casual. You can sit down, relax and people watch and don't feel like you are missing out. With that said, our trip will be casual. We have two dining reservations but will otherwise go where the pixie dust will take us.

Day 1: We arrive on Tuesday around 10 where we will pick up our rental car and check into the hotel (offsite) before heading over to Disneyland. The first thing we plan to do is head straight to the Matterhorn Mountain! Well... maybe we will get a churro first. We are so excited to see the new snow on the mountain, check out the queue, and see what they have done to the bobsleds. I loved the old bobsleds! Were they awkward? Totally. That was part of the beauty of them.

Later in the evening we will be going to Cafe Orleans in New Orleans Square (first time) to try their much raved about Pomme Frites and Beignets. While we would certainly be content eating apps and dessert I don't think our tummies will be. I guess we will have to see during the wrap-up report about what we did for an entree.

That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is our official itinerary for day one of our trip. Everything else will unfold naturally. Sure there are things we are excited to do, ride or see but nothing is a "must-do" per say. I am pumped to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad since it was down in the World on our last trip. Danny needs to get a churro and a Mickey ice cream bar before the trip is over.

Day 2: We have Early Morning Hours (EMH) in Disney California Adventure thanks to our annual passes. First thing in the morning means we get to hit Cars Land before the rush of the general public. I know I can safely say for the both of us that we are so excited to see the details that have been ingrained in this new land, ride on the new rides and get to try new foods, especially the ones that come in cones! After we get our fill of Cars we will hop around DCA at our leisure. Before our day at DCA is over, however, we do have one more thing we are REALLY looking forward to: reservations at the Carthay Circle Restaurant! We have been drooling over the menu since it was released and are excited to try the Sriracha Duck Wings, among others! Rumor has it that we may even get to see the fireworks with our dinner if we play our cards right.

Since we have the easy ability to hop we may go back to Disneyland for a while while the morning rush hits DCA and then go back to Adventure after lunch when the crowds start to thin out for their midday siestas.

Day 3: Once again we have EMH but this time for Dinseyland. This will be our chance to really make sure we get to ride all of our favorites without stressing about lines. Once the public starts to get overwhelming we may go back to DCA for a change of pace. That will be determined while we are there. It is just so nice knowing that it would be perfectly reasonable to do so, unlike at WDW where hopping requires taking about an hour out of your day to get to your next destination.

Sadly, this is where our trip ends and we go back to reality. Our flight is for 6pm out of John Wayne so we will probably need to leave around 3 to return our rental car and get through security. Since we knew it would be a quick trip we both decided we will only pack what can fit into a backpack to not have to worry about checking luggage.

I can't wait to do a wrap-up about our trip with lots of pictures and details! In coming posts we hope to chronicle some our past trips, too!

jmi

Welcome to our Adventure!

We are The MountainEars...

This our take on everything Disney!

Yep, we are those people. Those people that like to talk about Disney, can't wait to plan their next trip to the parks, and are even willing to decorate their house with Disney.

We are not ashamed.

A little about us first. We are pictured above, on left is Danny who has spent his life loving Disney and has been many times as a child and young adult. On the right is Jaime who, while a life-long fan of Disney, experienced her first park in October 2009.

Since our fist visit together in 2009 we have crossed the country bouncing between Disneyland and Disney World five times. In the coming year we have five more trips planned - 2 at Disneyland and 3 at Disney World.

Danny and Jaime met in 2006 while attending school at the University of Northern Colorado. Prior to deciding that they were in L-O-V-E they worked together as resident assistants and had the opportunity to travel the country attending student leadership conferences. Little did they know that their love of traveling and eventual love for each other would eventually lead them to become Premier Annual Pass holders in the Walt Disney Company.

When not visiting the Disneyland Resorts or Walt Disney World Resorts, Jaime and Danny can be found reading about Disney, listening to podcasts about Disney, watching movies made by Disney, working out to get ready for a RunDisney event, and most importantly, planning their next trip to Disney!

We hope this blog can be a great outlet between trips to keep the magic alive and hopefully serve as a resource for those who are either equally obsessed or just planning a little getaway to visit Mickey!

The picture above is from May 2012 when we attended the Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot.