We have some news regarding the release of the Nightmare Before Christmas Collection coming up this Friday, September 10. As special courtesy to all of our Vinylmation™ collectors, the D-Street locations at both the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® Resorts will be opening at 8:00 a.m. We can’t wait to see everyone there! As a reminder, the limited edition Vinylmation™ Figures will be limited to two Figures, per style, per Guest, per day.

And now a quick update … for those Guests looking for the Vinylmation™ Toy Story series on the DisneyParks.com/Store today, we have a bit of unfortunate news that we just learned. The release of this series on-line has been delayed a week (darn that Lotso!!). It will now be released on September 15. We send our apologies for any confusion this may have caused

At the recent Vinylmation™ Showcase event, Donald Ferro showed several of the Vinylmation™ Flags figures. Once released, these figures will be in an open edition window box. The countries selected include those found in World Showcase at Epcot® plus Brazil.

 

Why Brazil? Contrary to popular Internet belief, Brazil is not planned to be a pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot® (though the rumors made us smile). The country was selected based on the fact that there are many Guests from Brazil that visit Disney Parks and Resorts. We felt this country would make a nice addition to the Flags series. The Flags box does not contain a line up of figures as there is always room for additional countries.

While this Disney Parks Blog article features mostly Disney pins, we love the first image. Perfect for the start of College Football season: It’s Game Time!

Today also marks the start of our look at some of the series we discussed at the Vinylmation™ Conversation during the Vinylmation™ Showcase event on August 29, 2010. We were thrilled to see so many fans in attendance and we were super excited to share some sneak previews of what you can expect in the next year. It may have seemed like a lot, but the releases will be spread out over a period of time. The ultimate goal is to give our fans lots of different choices (as everyone has something they like to collect).

 

First up is Vinylmation™ Celebrations. This will be an open window box series featuring a variety of things to celebrate. While you will be able to pick your favorite 3″ figures featuring a particular celebration, each box will contain one of three randomly selected Vinylmation, Jr. mystery figures. This concept is similar to the Vinylmation™ Sports series and Vinylmation™ – Oh Mickey! series released in April 2010.

Here is an image of the Graduate figure with the three junior figures.

 

And here is the Thank You figure with its three juniors.

 

Keen eyes will notice the logo above contains a few additional figures – Happy Birthday, Blue Ribbon – The Best, and the Mickey Mouse face one. Any guesses on the last one? Stay tuned….

The Vinylmation™ Team gave an extensive sneak preview of upcoming series planned for late 2010 and 2011. You can see logos and some artwork for those series on the Sneak Page. Look for addition updates and images from that Vinylmation™ Conversation later this week.

We also have some exciting news about upcoming releases planned for September 2010.

• Two Urban #4 – 9″ Figures by Mike Sullivan and Thomas Scott
• Vinylmation™ – The Nightmare Before Christmas 3″ and 9″ figures will be released on September 10, 2010. These will be released at both D-Streets in California and Florida.

Let’s begin with a Park Series #5 Preview of the whole set (excluding chaser, and a few 9in Figures)

Park Series #5 Three Inch Figure Poster

Park Series #5 Nine Inch Figure Poster

‘Retro’ Magic Kingdom 9 in

Tree of Life 9in

Mad Hatter and Dormouse 9in/3in Set

Park Series #5 Combo Pack featuring Sorcerer Mickey

Urban Series #5

Urban Series #5 Combo Pack

Urban Series #5 Poster

Holiday Series #2

Nightmare Before Christmas Series

Nightmare Before Christmas Series Poster

More Disneyland ‘55 Attraction Posters

Annual Passholder Orange Bird 3in Figure with Tin

2011 Marathon Vinylmation Figures

Disney Dream Maiden Voyage Set (Two 3in Figures, a Pin, and a Vinylmation Jr.)

Vinylmation Flag Series

Vinylmation Magnets

Onto the Vinylmation Conversation with Steven Miller

New Cast Member Tradeable Only Figures for WDW’s 40th Anniversary (Similar to Hidden Mickey Pins)

Disneyland Resort Silly Symphony Swing Annual Passholder Figure

Cutesters Too, Coming Soon

New Collectible Merchandise featuring Mickey Ear Hat, inspired by Urban Series #4 9in Figure (Blue Flames) will come with a 3in figure inspired by hat

DVC Member Exclusive featuing old DVC Logo

Celebration Series will be Open Windowed, and will feature Vinylmation Jrs (similar to Sports Series and Oh Mickey!)

Occupation Set will be similar to Celebraiton Set, as each occupation’s 3 Inch figure will have a possibility of 3 Vinylmation Jrs that will come with them.

New Sushi Series Coming Soon, Similar to Condiment Set

The Disney Afternoon Series is Coming Soon, Steven previewed the Chip and Dale Rescue Ranger Twin Pack (similar to Wall-E/EVE Set released in beginning of year)

Disney Animation Series #1 will feature classic Disney Characters, some popular, some obscure, heres a preview of Dodger, the Fairy Godmother (she comes with a wand), and Mushu

Urban Series #6 Preview

A new ‘nerd inspired’ set featuring classic Disney Characters, they will come with accessories, like the glasses with Chip and Dale

In other news, Muppet Series #2 will be coming out, and will feature more Muppet Characters (sadly no pictures as camera died). As well as a preview of Park Series #6, we dont have the pictures from presentation, but we do have pictures of actual figures that were released in case after Vinylmation Conversation.

This picture shows Park Series #6 Preview (Monstro and Disneyland Paris’ Space Mountain), Cutesters Too (the three children in back dressed up), and Urban Series #6 (Zipper and Thumb)

Park Series #5 Preview, Coming October 2010

More International Flag Figures were added

More Holiday Series #2 Series Previewed, Coming Fall 2010

Open Boxed Nightmare Before Christmas Figures, Coming October 2010

Urban Series #5 Preview, Coming November 2010

Very Cool Urban Series #5 Tea Kettle

Star Wars Series, Coming Fall 2010

New 3-D Pins of Vinylmation Figures, Coming December 2010/January 2011

9in Monorail Poster from Disneyland ‘55 Series, LE 555, to be released in Disneyland Resort. Five figures to be released, 2 the first month, 1 the second month, and 2 more the final month (October, November, December 2010)

Special 40th Anniversary of WDW Open Edition Figures, Coming 2011

Stay Tuned for tomorrow, as it is the actual Vinylmation Event, and we will surely have some great previews. I heard a rumor that a little Orange Bird might come for a visit.

First, we have a preview of an upcoming, Open Edition, Open Windowed Series of Flags

Holiday Series #2 Preview, the Halloween 9in is said to be out before Halloween, and the Snowman 9in is a 9in/3in Set with the 9in Snow Scene, and the 3in Snow Girl

Toy Story Series (Featuring 9in Zurg, 9in Little Green Man, and 9in/3in Set of Bo Peep and Sheep)

Park Series #5 Preview

Urban Series #5 Preview

Pin Preview of Urban Series #5

Special Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary Figures

Upcoming Miscellaneous Figures Coming Soon (DVC Exclusive, Disneyland Attraction Poster, and others)

Finally, we have a preview of the upcoming Nightmare Before Christmas Figures (in pins, will have figure pictures tomorrow). We learned that the set will not be blindboxed, and instead, be Open Windowed. For more news on upcoming pins to be released be sure to check out the Disney Pincast.

As you know, Vinylmation™ is the newest subdivision in Trade City, USA. As with all new subdivisions, there are bound to be delays in construction. Unfortunately, due to situations beyond our control, we are experiencing a delay in the arrival of one of our newest neighbors.

The Vinylmation™ Figure Set, Item #2 – two Vinylmation™ 3-inch figures and one limited edition pin is delayed at this time. We expect the Figures to arrive on or around September 23, 2010.

We understand that this is a frustrating situation, and we have a couple of options to offer for registered Event Guests: we can ship the pre-paid merchandise completely free of charge, or if you prefer, we will refund the merchandise in full and remove the item from your order.

At the event, please visit a Cast Member at the Event Information Table with any questions.

Please note that due to preparations for the event, the Event Services team will be unable to respond to inquiries about this item prior to the start of the event. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to seeing you trading around town!

What is your favorite animal? I think that is a question that everyone has been asked at least once in their life. With that question in mind, we created a new Vinylmation series called “The Animal Kingdom.” The series will be released on August 27 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. I spoke with Dan Howard, the Disney Design Group artist behind this series, about its evolution.

“This series has been in development for a very long time,” explained Dan. “I started work on it in August 2008, long before Vinylmation was first introduced to Guests. The idea was to sprinkle a couple of animals through each collection. It was Randy Noble who suggested this be an entire series.”

The first animals Dan designed were the zebra and the tiger. The giraffe came much later. In the early days of Vinylmation, accessories were discussed but never implemented. It wasn’t until the emu’s neck accessory from the Have a Laugh series that accessories began to be added to figures.

The series also started as a limited release mystery series. The giraffe would have been the mystery chaser. We changed the series to an open window box to allow Guests to select their favorite animals.

I asked Dan if he had a favorite figure.

“I’d have to say the tiger is my favorite,” continued Dan. “When designing this series, I wanted to push the boundaries of design and feature some really cool graphics. I also like the lion as my son is a fan of ‘The Lion King.’”

In this series, you may notice that the bottom of each figure has a unique signature from Dan. We also added a description for the series – Animals Series 1. This description will be something new added to future Vinylmation figures which will help Guests and Cast Members identify the various figures.

“I created unique signatures for each of the animals,” said Dan. “I don’t take myself too seriously. I’m having fun with design, and I wanted to make the signatures a fun little detail for Guests to discover. When I sign figures in person, I typically sign ‘Dan,’ so it made sense to continue that trend on these figures.”

Dan also added a feature that Guests have come to love at Disney Parks – Hidden Mickeys. Look carefully on each figure and you will see them like the photo below.

I think my favorite figure is the polar bear. It is the mascot of my university, and I like a certain television show about an island. Now I will ask you that popular question: What is your favorite animal?

We are happy to present the itinerary for the upcoming Trade City, USA – Vinylmation™ Showcase event. There are a lot of great activities planned, so you’re probably going to want to start mapping out your day now.

Click HERE to download the intinerary.

A couple of notes about what to expect.

Trading Activities
We currently have planned six trading activities – three mystery 24 boxes, two open trade boxes and one more open/mystery trade.

• Mystery 24 Box – There will be three stations featuring the Mystery 24 boxes. There will be two boxes per station – Box A and Box B. This means there will be 48 different numbers for Guests to select. There will only be one trade per visit to the station which means that Guests can select a number from either Box A or Box B (but not both).
• Open Trade – There will be two stations with open trade boxes. There will be a total of 48 figures per station presented in Vinylmation™ Trays (see, they are useful). Guests will have one minute to chose one figure from either Box A or Box B.
• Open / Mystery Trade – We are looking at one final opportunity that will be a combination of open and mystery trading.

Due to popular demand, we will introduce Vinylmation, Jr. trading into the mix. This may become an open or mystery trading activity depending upon the interest. We haven’t introduced it to everyday trading yet as we were waiting for a few more series to be released. Yet, we know there are fans who would like to trade for either Series #1 and Series #2.

Passholder Exclusive Figure Featuring Mr. Toad
Quick update on the Passholder Exclusive Figure featuring Mr. Toad. To confirm, the release date for this figure will be Sunday, August 29 at the D-Street locations on the West and East Coasts. This figure will also be available at the Vinylmation™ Showcase Event at Epcot® on Sunday (makes it easier for all of the Passholders attending the event). Remember, a valid Annual Pass must be presented in order to purchase this figure.

Creation Station
From 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., a Creation Station hosted by Disney Design Group Artists will be held. If you attended the opening of D-Street in Florida, you may recall seeing this station. Basically, a Guest purchase a blank figure and an artist will be on hand to help she or he create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The following artists have been confirmed for the station: Quynh Kimball, Adrienne Draude, Casey Jones and Lisa Badeen.

Autograph Session with Disney Design Group
An autograph session with Disney Design Group artists will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The following artists have been confirmed for the session: Thomas Scott, Eric Caszatt, Dan Howard and Lisa Badeen. There may be additional artists that will join the session based on availability. By now, you have probably seen the Silent Auction lots. Yes, the one-of-a-kind figures are THAT awesome. Look for some wallpaper images coming to Vinylmation.com later this week (for all those who won’t be bidding on the items).

Early Registration
Guests attending the Vinylmation™ Showcase Event can pick up their product and event credentials on Thursday, August 26 between 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Convention Center.