My "Pin Event" Trip

Gosh, it feels as if it has only been a few weeks since I last ended my report on my Mini Grand Tour. In any case, I'm about to leave very early tomorrow morning to fly off to WDW for an 9-day vacation.

There are two special items on this trip. First, on Tuesday morning, we will be doing the 2-hour Segway tour at Epcot. Thanks to everyone who had reported on this, we have decided to do this, so we are really looking forward to it.

Then starting on the 8th and running through till the 10th, it's the annual, largest pin event at WDW, to be held at the World Showplace in Epcot. This year's theme is "It All Started With ... Walt!" This will be the 2nd pin event that we are attending, so this time, we won't be so "ga ga" over the whole thing, and won't make the same mistakes that we did last year. We are already ensured of receiving several Random Selection pins when we get there, and can't wait to see all the goodies that we will get as part of attending this event. BTW, the event will be open to the public on Sunday the 10th at 11:00 am.

Anyway, as with the Mini Grand Tour report, I'll try to make daily reports with pictures whenever I can.

I just know that I won't be able to sleep tonight.....

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Welp, the first of my video editing product from this trip has appeared online. This is the Welcome Medley, or more commonly referred to as the Trolley song. As you watch this, keep in mind that it was a hot, muggy day where your sweat just simply clinged to you. So there's an extra appreciation for these cast members who perform under such conditions.

Welcome Medley

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

OK, Disney just pulled a fast one on me!

Still in the middle of editing the video for this trip, and I was editing our footage of Illuminations. If you've looked at my video of Wishes and an earlier version of Illuminations, you'd know that we like to replace the live sound with the actual music for those shows.

We videotaped Illuminations again on this trip, because our earlier version was taped last year in Sept. when the inferno barge was out of commission. As usual, I replaced the live sound with the actual music. Getting them to synchronize is usually the most tedious part of the whole thing, especially for Illuminations since it uses two different tunes.

Things were going very well during video editing until the very end! The part where the song goes "We go on........." and the sky turns bright with a flood of fireworks.... whoa! They added about 3 seconds to it! The horns section that gets repeated 4 times in the original soundtrack is repeated FIVE times in the version we taped! So the fireworks went on 3 seconds too long. So my video is in synched with the actual music all through Illuminations up to the last 20 seconds of the show and then BAM. It goes out of synch!

I'm disappointed! While I do have tools to edit the original music to try to add an additional repeatition of the horns, this may not turn out as well and will take a lot of time to do. Drat!

I wonder how many people actually realize that Illuminations as it is now is 3 seconds longer than it was before? Not that it is a bad thing, mind you. It only causes problems for people like me.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

All of our stuff that we had shipped from WDW have arrived (hooray!). So more than a week after we got back, we are STILL sorting through all the crap .... er ... I mean memorabilia that we got from this trip. This is not counting the pins yet, since we have yet to catalog and put them in the pin albums. That will probably take several weekends to complete.

One of the things we ended up hunting for at The Magic Kingdom was, strangely enough, Donald rubber duckies! Yup, you heard it correctly. We originally found one at the "Firehouse" right out front by Town Square. The cast member then told us that there are a few more of different types of Donalds all over MK. Since one of us collects Donalds, we started hunting for them. It took approximately 2 days worth of hunting to find a total of 6. I don't even know if these are all there is. So if any of you happen to notice Donald rubber duckies that are not in this collection, I would definitely appreciate you telling me what it is, and where you found it.

These are the 6 Donald rubber duckies that we found:

From left to right Socerrer Donald (at Philharmagic store), Fireman Donald (at Firestation store in Town Square), Splash Mountain Donald (at the Brer Rabbit store in front of Splash Mountain), Pirate Donald (at the pirates merchandise in the Emporium - don't ask them at the Pirates of the Caribbean gift store, they don't even know this exist), Uncle Sam Donald (at a store in Liberty Square), and finally, Donald in a Doom Buggy (at Madame Leota's cart out side of Haunted Mansion).

So we were almost doing a scavenger hunt, but without any clues, hunting for these Donalds. I believe they are only found at MK, and nowhere else. But again, if anyone found anything additional than what we have here, please let me know.

Zz.

 

[Nemo14]

All of our stuff that we had shipped from WDW have arrived (hooray!). So more than a week after we got back, we are STILL sorting through all the crap .... er ... I mean memorabilia that we got from this trip. This is not counting the pins yet, since we have yet to catalog and put them in the pin albums. That will probably take several weekends to complete.

One of the things we ended up hunting for at The Magic Kingdom was, strangely enough, Donald rubber duckies! Yup, you heard it correctly. We originally found one at the "Firehouse" right out front by Town Square. The cast member then told us that there are a few more of different types of Donalds all over MK. Since one of us collects Donalds, we started hunting for them. It took approximately 2 days worth of hunting to find a total of 6. I don't even know if these are all there is. So if any of you happen to notice Donald rubber duckies that are not in this collection, I would definitely appreciate you telling me what it is, and where you found it.

These are the 6 Donald rubber duckies that we found:

From left to right Socerrer Donald (at Philharmagic store), Fireman Donald (at Firestation store in Town Square), Splash Mountain Donald (at the Brer Rabbit store in front of Splash Mountain), Pirate Donald (at the pirates merchandise in the Emporium - don't ask them at the Pirates of the Caribbean gift store, they don't even know this exist), Uncle Sam Donald (at a store in Liberty Square), and finally, Donald in a Doom Buggy (at Madame Leota's cart out side of Haunted Mansion).

So we were almost doing a scavenger hunt, but without any clues, hunting for these Donalds. I believe they are only found at MK, and nowhere else. But again, if anyone found anything additional than what we have here, please let me know.

Zz.

I love those Donald's! I'll have to look for them when I go!

 

[ZapperZ]

I love those Donald's! I'll have to look for them when I go!

Hope you find all of them. The Pirate Donald was running very low when we were there, understandably. It is also the cutest one - there is the word "pirate" that is supposed to be a tattoo on Donald's left arm.

Just promise me that you'll let me know if you find any additional Donald that I don't have.

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

This was our breakfast at Cape May at the Beach Club.

The food was OK, but the characters were a lot of fun! Here, Minnie decided to join us at our table.

When she heard that two of our friends are late, she then scribbled a message for the two of them.

We videotaped this. The video is now online.

You're Late!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

More videos from this trip.

We videotaped Thunder Mountain Railroad (and its queue line) at Disneyland during out Mini Grand Tour trip. We thought it was better themed, and maybe even a little bit longer than the one at The Magic Kingdom.

Well now you can compare those two (at least the ride part). On this last trip, taped Thunder Mountain Railroad at The Magic Kingdom. We didn't tape the queue line, I'm afraid, because it isn't as memorable.

Thunder Mountain Railroad at MK.

Zz.

 

[DisneyMarg]

The "Trolley Song" video was great! Did you put in the music, or was that one live? And, did they do this when the park opened, or later in the day? I had no idea they actually performed that. I've heard it on the speaker system and have it on the CD, but didn't know they also perform it with the trolley. How cool!!

Great Great Great report. I've always wondered what the attraction with pins was, and your report explained it well and showed how exciting it can be. But I think I'll take your advice and "just say no...."

 

[ZapperZ]

The "Trolley Song" video was great! Did you put in the music, or was that one live? And, did they do this when the park opened, or later in the day? I had no idea they actually performed that. I've heard it on the speaker system and have it on the CD, but didn't know they also perform it with the trolley. How cool!!

It was the actual live sound. I was originally thinking of replacing that with the same track from one of the Disney CDs that I have. Unfortunately, the music is not quite identical with what they were performing to. There were parts of the music that was edited out, or shortened. Using that track would have caused it to go out of synch with the video. So what you get is the actual live sound that we videotaped.

It is the same problem that I had with the recent taping of Illuminations. They added just 3 seconds to the music at the very end, but that's enough to throw the ending out of synch! <grumble> I'm still trying to see if I can edit the music smoothly enough so that I can still use the actual music instead of the live sound.

Great Great Great report. I've always wondered what the attraction with pins was, and your report explained it well and showed how exciting it can be. But I think I'll take your advice and "just say no...."

Thank you. Like I said, if you haven't started, you might not want to. It can be quite addictive, and expensive once you get on it. However, from my point of view, I'm paying for the "entertainment" and memory values. I would not have made some of the friends and some of the best times had it not been for my pin collecting hobby. Still, I would not hesitate to seriously caution people who are thinking of getting into it.

 

[ZapperZ]

We then did a lot of other attractions while Cinderelabration was going on. We did Snow White, Pooh, Teacups, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and finallly, Jungle Cruise. A big tip of the hat to Luisa, our Jungle Cruise skipper. She was wonderful. Not only did she do the standard spiel, but she ad libbed enough to make it interesting. It was one of the most enjoyable Jungle Cruise in a while (after having 2 bad ones the last two times given by the SAME cast member who had as much enthusiasm for it as a pet rock).

We videotaped this particular Jungle Cruise ride. So you can see (and hear) Luisa in action. Like I said, she was terrfic and did her spiel (and ad lib) with enthusiasm. Hope she can keep it up.

Jungle Cruise

This is also very appropriate since they just announced that Jungle Cruise will be the next Disney attraction to be made into a movie. I hope they don't make this into a straightforward adventure movie, but rather something light-hearted with all those puns included (can we hope that they include the back side of water?).

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...N21260690_RTRIDST_0_FILM-DISNEY-JUNGLE-DC.XML

Zz.

 

[IneedaWDWfix]

Pin trading question

Great photos....looks and sounds like that you had a tremendous experience and trip!! Obviously, you are a pin trader. I have a pin question. My daughter has a small, albeit treasured, collection. She has several pins from the Disney Store, too. Can these store pins be traded with cast members?

 

[ZapperZ]

Great photos....looks and sounds like that you had a tremendous experience and trip!! Obviously, you are a pin trader. I have a pin question. My daughter has a small, albeit treasured, collection. She has several pins from the Disney Store, too. Can these store pins be traded with cast members?

Absolutely. Those are considered as legal Disney pins, not fake. So they can certainly be traded, not only with cast member, but also with other pin collectors. I certainly would trade with her.



Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

More videos from this trip. This is the Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh at the Magic Kingdom.

If you read my Mini Grand Tour report, you'd noticed that, for some reason, I thought the one at Disneyland was better than this. Now I wish I had videotaped that one so we can make some visual comparison. Oh well....

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Ok.. this is probably the last video from this trip that I will edit and upload. This is the Disney Dreams Come True parade, the "new" 3 o'clock parade at the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, if you don't look closely enough, you'd think this is the old Share A Dream Come True parade but with no snowglobes. The music for this new parade is also not as memorable as the last one.

I think Disney should have just kept it with the old name and call this a minor revamp. For us Disney regulars, when you give something a new name (such as from Alien Encounter to Stitch Great Adventure), we kinda expect something really new, and not just a rehab of an old one. So to me, this parade is kinda disappointing.

Zz.

 

[IneedaWDWfix]

Absolutely. Those are considered as legal Disney pins, not fake. So they can certainly be traded, not only with cast member, but also with other pin collectors. I certainly would trade with her.



Zz.

WOW!! You're a fast poster!!! Thanks for the great news about the Disney Store pins.....my daughter has several and she wants to "upgrade" for something else!! We'll be in WDW this Friday---anticipation is growing. In fact, my daughter (8 1/2 years old) was up this morning, 09/25, and 4:30 AM (UGH!!) :snore: to see if it was Friday yet!! We just had the weekend and she wants it to be Friday already---- :lookaroun don't tell her, but I wish it was Friday, too!!! Once again, THANK YOU for the reply and news!!:sohappy:

 

[ZapperZ]

WOW!! You're a fast poster!!! Thanks for the great news about the Disney Store pins.....my daughter has several and she wants to "upgrade" for something else!! We'll be in WDW this Friday---anticipation is growing. In fact, my daughter (8 1/2 years old) was up this morning, 09/25, and 4:30 AM (UGH!!) :snore: to see if it was Friday yet!! We just had the weekend and she wants it to be Friday already---- :lookaroun don't tell her, but I wish it was Friday, too!!! Once again, THANK YOU for the reply and news!!:sohappy:

I wish it was Friday too and I wish I was going with you. Alas, after our 4 trips to WDW this year, we will be cutting back to only 2 next year. It will feel a tremendous letdown.

Good luck to your daughter with her pin trading upgrade. Now, if she finds ANY of these cast lanyard pins, she may want to get them. I will trade with her the limited edition pins from this last pin event for these cast lanyard pins that I've been looking for:

(must be the RED background on Mickey's signature)

So if she gets any or all of these, I want first dibs on trading!

Hint: if you are staying at a Disney resort, if you are up early in the morning for breakfast, go to the gift store or the lobby at the resort and scan the lanyards the cast members are wearing. Often, they have good ones early in the day before other guests have had the chance to go through them. And since she's young enough, she can also trade with cast members wearing the green lanyards, which us adults cannot trade with.

Good luck, and have fun!

Zz.

 

[IneedaWDWfix]

I wish it was Friday too and I wish I was going with you. Alas, after our 4 trips to WDW this year, we will be cutting back to only 2 next year. It will feel a tremendous letdown.

Good luck to your daughter with her pin trading upgrade. Now, if she finds ANY of these cast lanyard pins, she may want to get them. I will trade with her the limited edition pins from this last pin event for these cast lanyard pins that I've been looking for:

(must be the RED background on Mickey's signature)

So if she gets any or all of these, I want first dibs on trading!

Hint: if you are staying at a Disney resort, if you are up early in the morning for breakfast, go to the gift store or the lobby at the resort and scan the lanyards the cast members are wearing. Often, they have good ones early in the day before other guests have had the chance to go through them. And since she's young enough, she can also trade with cast members wearing the green lanyards, which us adults cannot trade with.

Good luck, and have fun!

Zz.

Will definitely follow your advice on checking out the CM's early---she really wants a Lumpy (Pooh and Roo's Heffalump friend from the movie) pin. We were at WDW last year and had no luck. We've tried ebay, but I don't trust the one from overseas. I printed your pin wishes and, hopefully, I can be of some assistance, though I like the Donald pin myself----I'm a BIG Donald fan. We will be in the MK early on Saturday and in EPCOT early on Sunday. Any ideas which CM's to keep an eye out for?

 

[ZapperZ]

Will definitely follow your advice on checking out the CM's early---she really wants a Lumpy (Pooh and Roo's Heffalump friend from the movie) pin. We were at WDW last year and had no luck. We've tried ebay, but I don't trust the one from overseas. I printed your pin wishes and, hopefully, I can be of some assistance, though I like the Donald pin myself----I'm a BIG Donald fan. We will be in the MK early on Saturday and in EPCOT early on Sunday. Any ideas which CM's to keep an eye out for?

You're a Donald fan also? Whoa, so are we! Did you notice the Donald rubber duckies picture that I posted? We went on a hunt for those. Promise me that if you find one that we do not have, you let me know? They seem to all be at the Magic Kingdom as far as we know.

As far as pins are concerned, you should not miss getting this Donald pin as part of their 35 magical Milestone series (don't even bother getting the whole series, it's ridiculous):

It's one of my most favorite pin.

If you or your daughter ever find that cast lanyard Donald pin that I showed earlier, she would have found one of the most difficult pin from one of the most difficult series to get, at least for me. So I'm letting the cat out of the bag here. Note that Disney is rereleasing almost all the cast lanyard pins a second time around. However, the newer version of such pins have the mickey's head on it (see example from the Chip 'n Dale, and Mickey pins that I showed). The Donald pin does not have it because it is one of the earlier cast lanyard pins. So the one that is most sought after is this pin that does not have the Mickey head sillhouette.

Darn! This is getting complicated, isn't it?

Now as to which cast members to approach at the parks, that I don't quite know. I'd say try everyone you see. There's nothing wrong with asking to look - all of them are used to it. The cast lanyards that I often found to be productive, however, are the ones at the Disney resort, especially the ones at a DVC resort. For some reason, the cast members at DVC resorts tend to wear lanyards that have quite a number of collectable pins, including many cast lanyard pins. So whenever I'm staying at Saratoga Springs or Old Key West, the first thing in the morning that I do before we head out to the parks is to go to the gift store and look at the lanyards the cast members are wearing. I often find that they have at a pin or two that I want.

Just two more days, isn't it?

Zz.

 

[IneedaWDWfix]

You're a Donald fan also? Whoa, so are we! Did you notice the Donald rubber duckies picture that I posted? We went on a hunt for those. Promise me that if you find one that we do not have, you let me know? They seem to all be at the Magic Kingdom as far as we know.

As far as pins are concerned, you should not miss getting this Donald pin as part of their 35 magical Milestone series (don't even bother getting the whole series, it's ridiculous):

It's one of my most favorite pin.

If you or your daughter ever find that cast lanyard Donald pin that I showed earlier, she would have found one of the most difficult pin from one of the most difficult series to get, at least for me. So I'm letting the cat out of the bag here. Note that Disney is rereleasing almost all the cast lanyard pins a second time around. However, the newer version of such pins have the mickey's head on it (see example from the Chip 'n Dale, and Mickey pins that I showed). The Donald pin does not have it because it is one of the earlier cast lanyard pins. So the one that is most sought after is this pin that does not have the Mickey head sillhouette.

Darn! This is getting complicated, isn't it?

Now as to which cast members to approach at the parks, that I don't quite know. I'd say try everyone you see. There's nothing wrong with asking to look - all of them are used to it. The cast lanyards that I often found to be productive, however, are the ones at the Disney resort, especially the ones at a DVC resort. For some reason, the cast members at DVC resorts tend to wear lanyards that have quite a number of collectable pins, including many cast lanyard pins. So whenever I'm staying at Saratoga Springs or Old Key West, the first thing in the morning that I do before we head out to the parks is to go to the gift store and look at the lanyards the cast members are wearing. I often find that they have at a pin or two that I want.

Just two more days, isn't it?

Zz.

Double Z, I think that I may have gotten in over my head with you!! :veryconfu Just joking!!!! You are DEFINITELY hooked on these pins, huh??!! I will definitely look around for those pins for you. My daughter isn't a pin chaser---she just likes the looks of certain ones and such.

By the way, I am doing the Segway tour, too. As long as the weather is good, it looks like I will have a fun time----great pics!!

Take care----I will let you know how we "scored" when we arrive home!! And many, many THANKS again!!

 

[figment1985]

I did the segway tour also, Lamont was one of our trainers too. He was really funny and the tour guide, Michael called my fiancee and I, Speed Racer & Trixie. lol!

You have great pictures. I want whatever camera you have.