2/17: Clubbed & Pinned

[Al Lutz]

Kevin on what's coming and going at Orlando's Downtown Disney. Discuss it here!

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[71jason]

Cheesecake Factory pulled out of DQ a while ago, last Summer as I recall. The fourth floor location has had a curtain up ever since, with no signs of life behind it. I wouldn't count on it getting refurbed any time soon.

You can hire some of the entertainers from the Adventurers Club, and even see some of the old shows...it just jacks the cost up even more.

Instead of a Mickey pin, my friend and I got Chip n Dale as Rescue Rangers (also in an airplane like Minnie and Mickey). Shows how dated the give-away pins must be. The bonus 10% off coupon was nice, tho, made it worth the trip.

[KevinYee]

Good correction on the Adv Club entertainers! The Cheesecake Factory exit I had noticed for some months but never got around to writing it up. There's a lot like that. I snap a photo of it, but the weekly update usually has a "theme" and if the photo doesn't fit the theme, it falls through the cracks. The CF was one such item, I guess.

We didn't use our 10% off coupon. There isn't that much we want/need right now. I don't know what I'm going to use my $75 birthday card on!!

[sir clinksalot]

Interesting article Kevin. I agree on this part now that you mention it:

It occurred to me that pins are some of the most creative, most park-specific merchandise you can find nowadays. The stuff that they sell which is NOT pins is generic, geared for the widest audience possible, and frankly usually pretty bland. The stuff they make FOR pins is the opposite: niche market, rife with inside jokes, and specific to the attractions. I'm so far resisting the itch to jump deeper into this hobby (it would cost a complete FORTUNE to think about buying all the pins for even one attraction, let alone all of the rides), but that itch is getting more insistent all the time.

As somebody who's not really into the pins, I really wish they'd have other merchandise specific to the attractions.

[aimster]

Back in 2000-2001, the Mickey's Groove shop on the West Side used to sell some pretty cool items. I liked going in there back then. Now it's a waste of space with all the Hannah Montana & HSM crap in there.

Oh and that stage by Fulton's has been there for a long time. It's been there since at least 2000. It's usually covered with planters & such so it's never been too noticeable.

[ti2gr]

The Art of Disney store was not expanded as indicated in the article. The "Memories" has always been there and was just recently cut in half to make way for the Design-A-Tee shop.

The PhotoPass kiosk has also been there for close to three years, and so has the Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique, which in your article made it sound as if it just opened recently. The Downtown Disney Boutique was the first and it's popularity spawned the one in the Magic Kingdom and the soon to open in Disneyland.

The stage near Fultons is also not very new at all, it's been there for years as was the Mickey's Groove shop. The merchandise in Mickey's Groove changes periodically. At one time it sold a lot of kitchen items, another time Pirate merchandise now it sells the HSM and Hannah Montana stuff. With the change of seasons, it will probably change it's merchandise lineup again.

You did miss that the shop called Summer Sands (the clothing store that was connected to Team Disney and Guest Relations and across the way from the pin shop) has closed and will be replaced in Spring 2009 by a new shop.

After reading your article, it does appear to me that you obviously don't get to Downtown Disney much.

[RenMan]

Originally Posted by sir clinksalot

As somebody who's not really into the pins, I really wish they'd have other merchandise specific to the attractions.

Amen to that! They should have park- and ride-specific merchandise that you can't get anywhere else in the world. Obviously you can't stop folks from reselling things on eBay, but they should have things that you can't get without physically going to the parks to buy it. And of course, it would be wonderful if the merchandise could be thematically appropriate to shop/land that it's in.

[KevinYee]

Originally Posted by ti2gr

After reading your article, it does appear to me that you obviously don't get to Downtown Disney much.

Yup, that's quite true. The stage I was uncertain of, and the Mickey's Groove store I verified was not new. I did miss the shop you mentioned, though.

As for PhotoPass, it's not that the location is new, but that it just had a redesign.

[Young at Heart]

Ah, the Friday the 13th at the Haunted Mansion lenticulars! Oh I soooo wanted to fly out from CA and strip pin traders bare.... especially as I collect Constance, the hatchet bride.

But, we have the Opin house pin festival coming up this summer at DLR, with lots of nice Mansion pins...so I'm sure I'll trade for them somehow.

[jagass]

Hope to see more interesting articles here...Thanks guys...

[Ride Warrior]

The Design-a-tee is an activity I'd love to do! Hope that DLR will get one of these in the future.

[Young at Heart]

Amen, Road Warrior. After all, there are a lot of spaces opening up in DLR's DTD. I'd love to see a custom T shirt store.

Disney makes a lot of cool t-shirt designs but they mostly seem to be for the juniors and kids. We grown up girls want them too! There was a GORGEOUS shirt at WOD in DLR's DTD, an allover cherry blossom design and the carousel. It nearly broke my heart when I realized it was a juniors design.

[Ride Warrior]

Originally Posted by Young at Heart

Amen, Road Warrior. After all, there are a lot of spaces opening up in DLR's DTD. I'd love to see a custom T shirt store.

Disney makes a lot of cool t-shirt designs but they mostly seem to be for the juniors and kids. We grown up girls want them too! There was a GORGEOUS shirt at WOD in DLR's DTD, an allover cherry blossom design and the carousel. It nearly broke my heart when I realized it was a juniors design.

Perhaps we should each remember to make the suggestion at guest relations upon our next visits, young at Heart.

[MarkTwain]

I hope those Adventure's Club rumors are true! Sadly the club closed just before I was able to visit after my 18th birthday. It would make sense to reopen the already-existing club, since DD is having so much trouble finding tenants for PI.

[flotsam_mike]

^
PI seems to have lost a lot of energy since closing the clubs. THis article reaffirms the fact that I no longer have a reason to visit here when most of the merch they sell can be found in the parks.