Tag Archives: Jiminy Cricket

A ‘Trip to Disneyland Game’ by Somerville

I have quite a collection of Disney games. With the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland I thought it might be nice to take a closer look at one game that features that iconic park, namely:

Made in Canada by Somerville Limited

This is a very simple game. It can be played by 2 or 3 players. Let’s have a look at the game pieces:

Still on the original card

Note that the wild card is called a Master Card and, of course, it is Walt Disney! I was delighted to find that this game had not even been used, which boosts its value as a collectible. Now let’s see the game board:

    

That’s one long game board!

Each player puts his pawn on the start area under one of the three lanes and draws 6 cards. The player will stay in this lane throughout the game. The first player spins and moves the amount of spaces indicated. To advance, the player must have a card that matches the character on the space he occupies. If not, they draw a card. If they still do not have the character, play moves to the next player.

There are free spaces and wild cards to help things along. The game ends when someone arrives at Disneyland! Unfortunately, not the real one.

Which color do you want? (I want red)

The game can be won in 19 moves plus however many missed turns a player may get. Again, not the most difficult game in the world, but that’s why it is for ages 6-10.

It is likely that this game is from the 1970’s or 80’s based on the artwork.

FUN FACT: This game was manufactured in London, ON which is under 2 hours away from where I currently live! Well, it’s a fun fact for me.

Collectibles, Disneyland, Games
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Disney Commuter Assistance Cast Member Booklet

I love finding odd little pieces of Disney ephemera. The find is especially good when it involves Cast Member booklets or documentation. I don’t remember where I got this particular piece, although eBay is a likely source.

This helpful booklet is 6″ x 9 1/4″ in size and broken down into five main sections. The purpose is to encourage new (and presumably existing) Cast Members to consider the benefits and conveniences of a better commute strategy.

The inside front cover has a message from Walt Disney about conservation:

Jiminy Cricket introduces Disney’s Environmentality on the first page, although the words contained therein are attributed to Kris McNamara, who was the Vice President of the Corporate Environmental Policy division of The Walt Disney Company at the time.

A team of transit planning specialists were available (and I can only assume they still are, if this program is still operative today) to help Cast Members plan their commutes to and from work each shift period. Let’s look at the five avenues available:

This particular booklet is obviously for Cast Members of the Disneyland Resort, but similar ones must have been, or are, available for Cast Members working at Walt Disney World and perhaps other Parks worldwide.

Disney had (has?) a program to reward Cast Members who are involved in clean air commute activity. Enrolled Cast Members received two points for every day of reported clean air commuting. Two points equaled one US dollar. Amounts could be carried over to subsequent years, but when redeemed, the money would be added to the Cast Members pay check (with taxes deducted). Or Cast Members could opt for a gift card, but tax deductions would still apply.

Tucked into the back of the booklet is a supplemental pamphlet called Disneyland Resort Guidelines and Enrollment, which contains all of the rules and eligibilities. A nice touch is the rear pocket it is tucked into:

Transportation is a reoccurring theme throughout the booklet

So would you like to enroll? Just use this handy Disney Commuter Assistance Enrollment Card, and let Jiminy be your guide!

And as Kris McNamara concludes in her introduction entitled Disney’s Environmentality, and I quote: “Thank you for choosing to make a difference!”

Books, Cast Members, Ephemera
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Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia – Jiminy Cricket!

Image ©The Walt Disney Co.

Image ©The Walt Disney Co.

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia!  Along with Jodi from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse, Heidi from Heidi’s Head, and Jenn from Disney Babies Blog, I’m Mike from My Dreams of Disney here to share a special bit of Disney Trivia!

This month the questions all come courtesy of my daughter Sophie, and our resource is the excellent book Disney Trivia from the Vault by Mr. Dave Smith.  If you like our trivia and want to purchase your own copy of the book, you can do so by clicking on the link!  It’s a great read!

Today’s Trivia is written in from Kathy in Wheeling, IL , who asks:

In what movie or short did Jiminy Cricket teach us how to spell “encyclopedia”?

Jiminy Cricket’s Encyclopedia was a separate little cartoon that appeared a number of times on the Mickey Mouse Club television show beginning in 1956.

Now, for a little fun, take a look at the cartoon that Kathy was referring to! It’s a short little ditty, do you remember this from your childhood?

Thank you for stopping by today, but don’t forget to check out the rest of the entries this week! Just click on the links below, and have a Disney Day!

Magical Mouse Schoolhouse

Disney Babies Blog

Heidi’s Head

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Bloggers, My Dreams of Disney, Tiggerific Tuesday Trivia
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Mickey Mouse Club Push’em Car (Laundry Cart)

But just what is a PUSH’EM CAR?

I saw this in a small town antique shop years ago. It’s approximately 16″ x 24″ and the artwork is painted onto a masonite-type board. It has eight holes drilled around the edges and displays the Walt Disney Productions trademark, which dates it before 1987.

I didn’t know if it was an advertising board that would have been displayed in a store to sell some kind of pedal car, or if a Push’em Car was something that appeared on the original Mickey Mouse Club television show. The price was a little high, but I was able to get it down a little, but I still feel I paid too much. But it looked cool, so I took a chance.

Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose when you take a chance on something like this, and this time… I lost!

After researching on the Internet, I found that a Push’em Car was a mobile toy chest. It had two of these boards, one on each long side, and two other boards half the length on the ends, creating a rectangle-shaped box on wheels. The boards were screwed onto metal framing. It stood 22″ high at the top of the handles:

This was offered for auction with a starting bid of $25.00 in 2008

Final sale price not known, but estimated value is between $50 – $125.00

So as I only have one of the boards, it is pretty much valueless except for curiosity sake.

Why should I have known better? First, if it were an advertisement for a toy or pedal car, the product would have been pictured on the board. Second, no sign board would be affixed to a wall in a store with eight screws, thus damaging the wall for what would probably be a temporary promotion. I’m a more seasoned collector now, and I can truthfully say that making mistakes like this one has made me a more successful buyer!

That said… I love this board! I have it hanging in my solarium where I can look at it every morning while I drink my coffee. So not a complete fail, I guess.

Advertising, Artwork
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Wordless Wednesday – Disney Parades!

Daisy rides tall on top of the Fire Engine in the Disney Family Fun Day Parade!

Daisy rides tall on top of the Fire Engine in the Disney Family Fun Day Parade!

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s Wordless Wednesday post!  I would like to thank my friend Deb from Focused on the Magic for hosting this great series, I’ve been absent the past two weeks as things caught up with me, but today, I’m back and ready to enjoy this week’s series of posts!  The theme this week is Parades!  There are some great Disney parades out there, and I thought I would start with one that we saw way back on June 18, 2008 — nearly six years ago!  What I really like about the Main Street Family Fun Day Parade is that you get a great shot of the Fire Engine, and even better shots of Daisy Duck, that sassy duck that you don’t see that often in the parks!  Here’s another shot of her that I think you’ll enjoy as well!

Daisy Duck waves to the crowd in the Family Fun Day Parade!

Daisy Duck waves to the crowd in the Family Fun Day Parade!

Of course, in my opinion, nothing compares to this parade — the Main Street Electrical Parade!  I know that some of you love it, and some of you don’t, but for me, it is my favorite!

The Main Street Electrical Parade is incredible with it's improved lighting!

The Main Street Electrical Parade is incredible with it’s improved lighting!

I’m having a memory cramp and can’t remember what the name of this parade is, so if you know, please let me know in the comments.  What I do know, though, is that it had some great floats and characters to take pictures of!

Goofy enjoys the parade with the rest of us!

Goofy enjoys the parade with the rest of us!

Jessie from Toy Story fame is enjoying her part in the parade!

Jessie from Toy Story fame is enjoying her part in the parade!

For me, I think my favorite character is Minnie Mouse — and this picture of her was taken from the parade that we going by the Liberty Tree Tavern right after we finished lunch there.  It was Disney Magic at it’s finest, and I was fortunate to be able to get the picture!

Minnie Mouse waves to the crowd by the Liberty Tree Tavern

Minnie Mouse waves to the crowd by the Liberty Tree Tavern

In a seldom seen character shot, Jiminy Cricket was holding balloons as he marched along Main Street, U.S.A., as part of the procession of champions for the 40th Anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World!  It was great fun to see him and the other characters!

Jiminy Cricket walks in the Champions Parade for the 40th Anniversary of WDW!

Jiminy Cricket walks in the Champions Parade for the 40th Anniversary of WDW!

Last, but certainly not least by any stretch, I’m sharing a picture with you from the Pixar Pals Parade over at Disney’s California Adventure Park.  I can’t believe it’s already been seven months since we were at Disneyland!  The time has flown by way too fast, but at least we are fast approaching our next trip in June!

Sully beats to his own drum in this Pixar Pals Parade!

Sully beats to his own drum in this Pixar Pals Parade!

Thank you everyone for stopping by this week and visiting with me!  Now, please click on the button below and check out the rest of the great entries for this week, and thanks again for stopping by!

Focused on the Magic

Bloggers, Disney In Pictures, My Dreams of Disney, Walt Disney World, Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop
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