Do any of you Disney-aholics out there go through withdrawals when you haven’t been to the park in a while? I know, I know, I went in October! So 4 months isn’t really long enough to be having withdrawal. For a normal person. But I’m a Disneyland Addict! I REALLY REALLY miss my favorite place. We normally go on a late February/early March trip, but since that’s right when I’m due, we had to cancel it this year. So I won’t be going back until fall! (yes, we’re already planning our unborn child’s first trip! big surprise!)
So – as a way to curb my withdrawal and enjoy a little Disney magic, I thought it’d be fun to share some memories from past trips that I never got around to writing about here on the blog.
On our last trip to Disneyland this past October, I made the mistake decision to buy my first Vinylmation. I’d never been very impressed or excited by Vinylmation in the past, but the Toy Story 3 series was just too darn cute! I REALLY wanted the Jessie, but Vinylmations come in blind packages, so what you get is a total surprise. There are 11 different characters and one mystery “chaser” in the Toy Story 3 series, so the odds of getting the exact one you want isn’t very likely.
But I decided to buy a Vinylmation and just see what happened. The cool thing is that they do Vinylmation trading in the parks now, so if I got one I totally hated, I could trade for something else until I finally got something I wanted to keep. It really was the trading aspect that made me decide to finally buy a Vinylmation.
So here I am in “Le Bat en Rouge” in New Orleans Square in Disneyland opening my very first Vinlymation (I actually don’t think they sell Vinlys in this location anymore, but they did back in October).
Here we go! Let’s see what I got . . .
Oh no WAY!!! Really??!
YES!! I GOT JESSIE!
I quickly realized that getting the exact character you want out of the entire 12 character set was both the fastest way to get HOOOKED on Vinylmation and also a fast track to less exciting, even somewhat disappointing Vinylmation purchases. But like I said, if I got one I really didn’t want, I’d trade around throughout the day until I found one I wanted. That’s actually how I got one of my favorite Vinyls, Buttercup from Toy Story 3. I found him in a trading box & about had a heart attack! I was so happy!!
(this is an iPhone photo from right after I actually traded for Buttercup in a trading box at California Adventure)
Vinylmation is a LOT of fun. And since that first initial Jessie purchase, we now have 15 Vinylmations. (YIPES. That’s a lot.) I had a lot of fun buying/trading in Disneyland and then again in Disney World too. I’ve bought 2 at the Disney Store here in Utah too. They aren’t quite as fun to buy as the experience of buying and trading them in the parks.
What is my favorite Vinlymation in my collection?? It’s HANDS DOWN this special Times Square Disney Store edition Lady Liberty Minnie that Josh got me for Christmas.
He won’t tell me how he got it (its only available in the Times Square Disney Store) but I LOVE that he went to the trouble of getting it for me. It’s by far the coolest and cutest Vinyl in my collection.
I have to say I feel a little better after writing this post. A little of my Disneyland withdrawal has been satisfied. At least for the next few hours, until I see one of those Let the Memories Begin commercials on TV. You know the ones I’m talking about. Where the parents tell the kids they are going to Disney World. I can’t help but get choked up EVERY SINGLE TIME I see them.
*sniffle* what?! I’m pregnant and the hormones are ragin’!
But anyway . . . there you have it. A fun Disneyland memory from our last trip to Disneyland and my newest Disney addiction. Do you guys collect Vinylmation? What was your best blind purchase and/or trade?? Do you have any other awesome/addicting collections?
I just LOVE Disneyland!!! We go once a year. In fact, we are going next Thursday for 3 days!!!!
Can you believe I haven't been to a Disney park in years, I'm talking since I was maybe 15. Yikes. Can you still talk to me? I have started talking to Ryan and when we are going to take Kinsey. I can't WAIT!!!!!!! I have no idea what these vinyl guys are, but I'm so interested. It sounds like someting I would get really hooked on. They are really cute! Are they expensive? Why were you so hesitent to get one??
I've honestly never heard of Vinylmation, but they are cute! I get choked up when I see those Disney commercials, too. The music does it to me every time. It will be three years in May since we took our kids and we want to go back SO badly. Maybe next year!
Tiana and I were in the Disney Store a couple weeks ago and they were playing Park Music. We actually had to leave we were getting so "home sick!"
That is a totally cute story. The blind buy is why we haven't gotten any but T really likes them. Now that they have trading I may let her do it next time we go.
I totally feel your pain! And unfortunately, my husband does not share my love for Disney – so after months of bugging him to take us back with no success, I finally decided to invite my mom to join me and the kids instead. Only 4 months away, I'm so excited!
Thanks for the post – we just got back from an 11 day trip to Disney World YESTERDAY! And already the withdrawls have begun. We started our Vinylmation collection on our last trip in May and picked up some really cute ones. How cool that you got Jessie on your first try!!
Our cool story this trip – the Star Wars series came out about 2 weeks before we arrived. They only sell them at DT Disney – the "D-Street" store. So my 2 kids and I went in, each of us choose one box each and after paying, we opened our boxes. I didn't really care which one I got – I love Star Wars and would be thrilled with any of them. My 5 yr old son wanted Darth Vadar and my 11 yr old daughter wanted Princess Leia. I opened mine – Darth Vadar; my son – Luke Skywalker; my daughter – Obi Wan Kenobi. So my son was thrilled, my daughter disappointed. Then all of a sudden a little boy came up and asked me to trade my Darth Vadar for his Princess Leia! I told him I couldn't trade Darth but I would trade Obi-wan. He was thrilled with that and traded. So we were all happy. And then we learned that the Obi-Wan was the "mystery chaser" in the series. So the little boy got a very good trade!
Thanks for sharing your Vinylmation stories – they are so fun to collect and trade. Now I can't wait to scrap all our pictures using your adorable Disney-themed kits! 🙂
We are DEFINITELY having withdrawls too. It isn't helping that when we go to cali for Scotty's air force thing our passes will have expired the week before 🙁
we don't really talk about it because its too sad to think about 😛
Your post makes me want to start buying vinylmations though, too!
We are in withdrawal too. We had a HUGE trip in Oct (WDW and DisneyCruise!) and I am already day dreaming about going back and hoping there is some way to go again in May! LOL I didn't like the vinylmation at first, either, but they grow on you once you see one that you love! I didn't know you could trade them in the park…hmmm That Minnie is super cute!
Oh Britt! I love reading your blog (and buying your stuff, tee hee!) You have to remember that as much as you miss Disneyland that your first trip with that new baby girl will be the most magical trip you have and ever will take! Thank you for the info on the Vinylmation's because my DD is looking for something to start collecting next trip (October!!!), and I showed this to her! And don't feel bad about getting choked up, I cry EVERY time I see that commercial or what about the one when the parents tell the kids at the airport they are going to Disney! I am soooo not pregnant and I sob! Yes sob! Hang in there and rest while you can!
Lauri E.
Withdrawal, YES!!! We just took a 15 day Disney cruise followed by 2 days at Disneyland. But with no plans (yet) for another DL, WDW, or DCL trip we are all definitely feeling the let down.
We love Disney so much that it's hard for us to vacation anywhere else – I think the last time we took a real non-Disney vacation anywhere was our honeymoon 9 1/2 years ago. But we followed that with honeymoon, part 2 – a 7 day Disney cruise to make up for it.
We haven't gotten sucked into the vinylmation vortex, even though DS(6) asked several times to buy one – he doesn't know the collecting/trading aspect. And as cute as they are we just don't need to collect anything else. We've collected mountains of pins over the years, but what I find the most fun is picking out new ears each trip. I love searching out the new designs and choosing just the right one to wear around the park.
Talking of homesickness… after being stationed in SoCal for the past 18 mos, we will be moving in April and are taking our big "last fling" Disneyland vacation in a couple of weeks. (I may try to sneak in one more daytrip closer to our move, lol…) I'm already anticipating how much we will miss it once we move!! And already planning a huge DL "coffee table" book/scrapbook of memories of all our trips there! 🙂 Thanks for the heads up about the Vinyls… we look at them every time but so far have managed to resist!
Sadly we went every year for six years (either to World or Land) and then we stopped and haven't been for going on 4 years !!! I am DYING !!! BUT hopefully we will be going end of this year !! Which will be my 2 year old first time and we will be taking a newborn !!! (Due in July). I CAN'T WAIT !!!!
Usually the withdrawls start for me the second I get to the airport to go home, lol! I was at Disney World in December and already *need* to go back! I also usually go late Feb/early March, but this is the first time since 2002 I can't go to spring training, so I won't be going to Disney either. 🙁 This is the first time in years that I have no idea when my next trip is (of course the first time I get Annual Passes is the first time I can't go during our normal time!)
One thing that helps with my Disney withdrawls is scrapping my trip! I get to relive it while choosing the pics and then more while scrapping it. Then when I look back on my layouts later, I get to relive it again. 😀
I was really hesitant to get vinyls too, I didn't need another collection/addicition. 😉 I collect pins, and spend way too much on that already, lol! I did get 2 on my last trip, one of the Toy Soldier for the Christmas Party (it's SO cute!) I also really wanted Buzz from the Toy Story set. I don't have your luck though, haha, and I didn't get him on my first try (got evil mr. porkchop.) I just got Buzz the other day from a friend, and was so excited! So now I have 3. I'm going to try really hard to not get into it, just maybe one a trip.
I TOTALLY know your withdrawl feeling, although it has been 6 years since I my last trip to Disneyland and 5 years since Disney World. I want to go to Disneyland this year, but my husband lost his job and we just can't afford it. So next year, with lots of prayers and total penny pinching, we are going to go. We know what we want to do, so that will help with knowing how much to save. Plus our twins will be 4 when we go, so they will have fun too (I know you can have fun at any age, but hubby doesn't think so).
I haven't bought any of the Vinylmations yet, but can totally see us trading them at the park when we go. We don't have a Disney Store near us (blessing or curse, can't quite decide) but our older 2 had a blast pin trading, so if it's anything like that, we are in trouble.
I totally get Disney withdrawl. We hadn't been for 5 years and then we went twice last year and I am trying to see if I can go again this year sometime…even if its only for a day or two by myself. I think the kids might get mad at that..hee hee. Plus the last 2 trips I think I have discovered Disney depression..the first week or two back home I am so bummed out and sad, but at least I seem to recover quickly ; )
I go through withdrawels to. Most recently, I bought the Epic Mickey game. It's amazing but it makes you want to go so badly! It has almost been a year since we've been *cries*. I collect most everything Mickey (our utensils/plates/glasses/towels/trivet/colander – all Mickey). I have tons of Disney statues, posters and knick knacks. We have a bunch of the pins too.
Oh! Also, when we flew to Florida about 5 years ago (my first time that far across the country) and we boarded the Disney bus to the Disney cruise, I cried like a baby when they played the Disney vacation video!
We just went in October too and I'm def. going through withdrawals! Hoping to go back this summer. But like others have said your first trip with your baby girl will be the most magical and memorable! We just had my sons first trip in October and it was a blast!
My husband started collecting vinylmations too just the toy story ones 🙂 Although I do love that Statue of Liberty Minnie! I mainly just collect pins for me and my son.
Oh Britt i feel your pain. We were just at D-land this past summer and we went to WDW in May (just the two of us – we "forgot" the kids) 🙂 I'm totally having withdraw, we were supposed to be at WDW THIS very week but had to cancel our plans due to lack of funds. 🙁
You will love taking the baby it's so fun (yes even when they are little) All our kiddos were at either the Land or World super young, one only 10 weeks old! 🙂
I've not gotten into the Vinylmation at all, but they are super cute! Now talk to me about Mickey ice cream bars or corn dogs and i won't admit how many i purchase in the course of one trip! 🙂
I'm going through major withdrawls. I haven't even been on property since last June. We took a year "off" to save money… it's been hard, I feel your pain!!