Well, it's good to be home again. I had a nice time with the family.
At the Disney-MGM Studios, they had a nice little walk-though museum-type exhibit showcasing various things from the Disney archives. Although I doubt my brother or sister cared for it much, it was neat seeing Walt's office, the multiplane camera, the little models of the theme park attractions, early Mickey and Silly Symphonies merchandise, the special Oscar he got for "Snow White", and things like that.
And, of course, brought home a bunch of cartoon goodies.
-- A doll of Mickey as Steamboat Willie (in black & white).
-- Dolls of Mickey and Minnie based on the first Mickey dolls (the one Bob Clampett designed, perhaps?)
-- Bean bag dolls of Mickey and pals as they appeared in 1930s cartoons:
Mickey from "The Band Concert"
Minnie from "Blue Rhythm"
Goofy from "Magician Mickey"
Donald from "Orphan's Benefit"
Well, Donald's tag said "Orphan's Benefit", but the graphic showed him stomping his foot and playing his flute from "The Band Concert". The tags of the dolls seemed to suggest there was also a Pluto in the set, but I never saw one during my entire stay.
-- As a Muppet fan, I couldn't resist buying a doll of the Swedish Chef at the Muppet 3-D attraction at MGM. In my past visits, I have managed to pick up dolls of such supporting Muppet players as Beaker, Scooter, Statler and Waldorf, and Animal. This was the first time I ever saw the Chef.
-- At the Virgin Megastore I found a copy of the video
Harveytoons Presents: "To Boo Or Not to Boo". The selection of Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry videos was rather pathetic. In a little music store in the airport, I found the Front Row Entertainment public domain
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Friends DVD which features "The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives" and "Gift Wrapped". Haven't watched them yet, though.
-- Also, at the Virgin store, I found a Spike Jones CD I didn't have. I also picked up a couple Disney CDs, and a Christmas CD of Dixieland music. You can tell the rotation in my CD player is a little unusual.
-- Hmm... what else? Uh, a t-shirt showing Donald through the years. And a postcard showing many Disney stars gathered around a "100 Years" birthday cake. It was only $1.00 (the postcard, not the shirt) making it the cheapest thing I bought down there. I liked how they included some of the more obscure characters on it (Ranger Woodlore, Ludwig Von Drake, Mister Toad). Maybe I will scan it sometime.
I did a whole bunch of stuff, but I probably have already bored you guys to death. So, that's enough for tonight.
Oh yes, while I didn't meet Mickey in person... I did meet Tigger and Baloo the Bear.
-Jon