My Dreams of Disney

Exploring Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond!

WDW 25th Anniversary Guide & T-shirt

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I love finding unusual items for my collection, and when I saw this Special Edition release for the 25th Anniversary of Walt Disney World, I just had to have it:

12″ x 12″ Presentation Box

One Anniversary Guide and T-shirt (medium)

This is from perhaps one of the most vilified promotions in WDW history. It included the hated Birthday Cake Castle, as pictured on the cover of the Anniversary Guide.

1971-1996

I for one wish I could have seen the Birthday Cake Castle in person, if for no other reason than to say ‘I was there!’ ‘I saw it!’ But my trips to WDW would bracket this promotion.

Let’s have a look at the contents of the Anniversary Guide. As we do, I’ll point out the new attractions that were offered for this promotion:

New: Hunchback of Notre Dame – A Musical Adventure

New: Remember the Magic Parade / ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter

New: Ellen DeGeneres Universe of Energy / Honey I Shrunk the Audience

I hear that as of 2016, the Honey I Shrunk the Audience attraction will be discontinued. Not perhaps the worse news?

I’d also like to mention that Epcot had some new Streetmosphere acts in the form of Stilt Birds and Moving Statues for 1996.

New: Toy Story Parade

New: Blizzard Beach

It’s also interesting to note that at this time, 1996, WDW had three water parks, as River Country was still in operation. Discovery Island was also open and the two attractions were advertised as two great places to be visited in one day.

New: Planet Hollywood

Old: The Disney Village Marketplace

Character Dining chart and map

WDW Maps: Three Parks (no Animal Kingdom yet)

Back Cover

I hope you can take the time to enlarge the above pictures and enjoy a look into the past of WDW as it was found in 1996!

But this great box set also contained a very nice t-shirt with the promotional logo and a special surprise on the back:

Autographs from four Big Celebs!

         

Mickey Inc. Made in the USA

I haven’t worn this t-shirt (it wouldn’t fit anyway!) instead choosing to leave it with the set. I enjoy opening it up from time to time for a look into the past of my favorite Disney park!

Walt Disney’s Cinderella Special Edition DVD Gift Set

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I’d like to start by saying that the promises of Blu-ray have been overstated and under-realized. The claim of better picture quality and sound along with increased storage capacity were supposed to bring a whole new world to home entertainment.

The reality has been a marginal increase in presentation quality and, in most cases, less extras than we previously enjoyed on DVD. Much less if you compare today’s Blu-ray releases with yesterday’s Platinum 2-disc DVD Editions! And as you will see in this post, there simply is no comparison when you look at the Collector’s DVD Gift Sets:

Cinderella Collector’s DVD Gift Set

  • 2-disc Special Edition DVD (Platinum Edition)
  • 8 Exclusive Character Portraits
  • Collector Book
  • Film Frame from the movie

I have three of these Disney collectible DVD sets and I continue to be amazed at the value they yield. Let’s start with the Platinum Edition DVD:

Remember when the DVD case came in a cardboard sleeve with an opening cover? Remember that once you opened the DVD, you found a booklet inside describing what was on the discs, with navigational flow charts? Remember when ‘hours of extras’ meant hours of extras, not just 2 hours, if you were lucky? Then you remember the Platinum series of DVD’s!

The gift sets gave you this version of the DVD along with exclusive extras, like:

    

A Dream Come True ‘making of’ Storybook

As you can see from the picture above right, the illustrations in this publication are amazing! You’ll also find behind-the-scenes pictures and stories of production.

Next, this set has something truly special:

Film Frame: Cinderella on the staircase

But wait, that’s not all! You also get:

 

 

 

 

8 Exclusive Character Portraits by:

Ollie Johnston and Andre Deja

This set sold for upwards of $50.00 CAN when it first came out, and they are hard to find today, even on eBay. And when you do, the price is usually quite high. I’m glad I picked this up when I did!

So the next time you hear a commercial extolling the virtues of Blu-ray, remember this post, and the great Platinum DVD and Collector’s Gift Sets of yesterday.

Special Edition SCOTT RIGGS Nascar #10 Die Cast Car

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The movie Cars by Pixar came out in 2006, and if scientists studied the matter, I’m sure they’d find some correlation between the number of stars in the sky and the number of die-cast models of the movie’s characters. Seriously.

And I have purchased my fair share.

But not this many!

So now in a world where every extra automobile in the cast has his own ‘action figure’ on the market, it becomes increasingly hard to find a model that stands out as unique.

But I may have done so:

Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971)

It’s not uncommon to link a Disney character with Nascar or other sporting industries. I have a larger Nascar model car sporting Daisy Duck. But you have to admit: a better marketing match than Cars and Nascar you will never find! This promotion was produced in 2005.

I’m always impressed with the level of detail they are able to add to such small models! But now let’s compare Scott’s actual car with the replica I just purchased:

Actual

Die cast model

Close enough. Sporting Lightning McQueen and The King on the hood is a nice touch, but represents the only indication of Cars imagery on the model.

I haven’t taken the car out of the packaging yet. As the packaging is damaged (with the Hot Wheels stocking hook missing) is it still worth more packaged than loose?

I’ll probably unpack it and park it next to my Lightning McQueen model. Maybe they’ll race!

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Disclaimer

My Dreams of Disney is a Disney Fan Blog, and is not in any way affiliated with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney, or the Walt Disney Company. In it's purest form, My Dreams of Disney is a site showcasing the love I and my family have for Walt Disney's creative genius and the legacy he has left behind. If it weren't for Walt Disney, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other Disney parks spread across the world, and this site would not exist. Click to view our Privacy Policy.

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