Gabby and I went to Underground Atlanta today to check out the touring group of the 75 Years of InspEARation Mickey Statues. We rode MARTA down there. While it's not the Monorail, it got us there in plenty of time to enjoy all the activities.
The Mickey Statues are sitting out in the open with NO protection. At WDW in December, they were behind ropes and no one was allowed to touch them without a stern look from a CM. It was neat being able to touch them, but I was surprised that it seemed that the Mickey part was really a plastic/resin sort of material. I thought the whole thing was concrete.
We had a great time visiting the different booths. Suddath Van Lines was handing out tickets for drawings that were held at the Disney Radio AM590 stage every 30 minutes. We both got a ticket. The prize......a miniature figurine of the Suddath Van Lines Mickey Statue. It was so cute and they are not available for purchase, so we really wanted that little guy.
Home Depot was out there helping kids build Mickey Head Bookends. The Home Depot people were the worst! They were well staffed, but short on patience and NO PIXIE DUST! They were handing out the cutest 75 Years of InspEARation and Home Depot orange logo aprons that came complete with a PIN of the Mickey Mouse Coca Cola Delivery Man Statue!!! Gabby used to work for Home Depot and we wanted the apron and that pin. So, we asked nicely and were told that the pin was a limited edition and that they might give us one if we waited until 3 pm when the event was over, if they had any left. Begging for a pin alone was fruitless too. You had to have a kid with you to get the apron and pin.
Well, it was time to go to the stage for another Suddath ticket drawing. We went to the stage and got some freebie goodies for the Bert's Big Adventure kids from some of the vendors along the way. They awarded the prize to someone else, of course, we never win anything. lol
Then, we saw Mickey Mouse! We chased after Mickey Mouse as he made his way to the Mickey Statue that holds the Mickey Mouse School Bus Lunchbox. We got a picture of Mickey with his Statue. It was cool to see Mickey in Atlanta. The people at Underground for the most part had no clue what was going on. But, the kids that saw Mickey certainly tried to get their parents to pay attention.
So, it was time to go outside again. We walked over to World of Coca Cola and there was a great fella that used to be a WDW CM that works for Coca Cola now. John was handing out the pins! Yes, we got the Coca Cola Delivery Man pin afterall and even picked up a couple of extras for trading!!!! We love John. lol
It was time for another drawing after we spent some time in the World of Coca Cola store. So we headed back over to the stage. I won a gift package for knowing the answer to a trivia question that the Radio Disney lady asked. She asked for the names of all 3 WDW resort waterparks. I got a cd of patriotic music ala Disney style, a pen, and a pinback button. They drew for the little Suddath Statue, neither of us won it.
So, we walked around a bit more took more pictures. I traded the cd from the gift package with a kid, with her mom's permission, for the Home Depot logo and pin! And waited for one more drawing. Gabby got us both a Disney t-shirt for free from the Disney Radio folks just because she has a Thumper tattoo on her ankle. Needless to say, it's the only time I have seen any of her tattoos pay off. lol
So, it's drawing time again. And guess what folks, I won!!!!!
We are the proud owners of a Suddath Van Lines Mover Mickey Statue figurine. It's so stinkin' cute! We love it.
Ok, by this time, we had had enough. The weather was looking a bit threatening. The sky was really clouded over and we decided to call it a day. Only one problem...we really wanted to meet the special Disney guest that was supposed to appear. Al Konetzni, an official Disney Legend. The marketing master that made Disney into the merchadising giant that it is today. He was the father of the Disney school bus lunchbox and the Pez dispensers with Mickey. He was someone that I really wanted to meet.
We made our way through Underground Atlanta because it did start to rain just as we cleared the last part of the courtyard area. We were blessed with the chance to meet Al and his lovely wife Addie. They were so sweet. They have been married for 61 years and dated for 5 years before that. She was very proud of her husband and his contribution to Disney. He was very sweet and loved the chance to talk about Walt and the way it used to be. He showed us his beautiful 20 year Disney company ring and some of his artwork. We promised to send him copies of the pictures that we took and he said that he is going to mail us an original piece of Disney art in return! I am so glad that we had the chance to meet this man. He was a joy to speak with.
Finally, we had to go on home. We rode MARTA back to the car and came on home. We are both pooped, but I had to share the details of my day. If any of you folks are in the Atlanta area, go down to Underground tomorrow! They will be doing it all again, or so I understand. Al and Addie will be there too. If you love Disney, you need to stop and thank him!!! Chat with him and let him know that you appreciate the man that is an official Disney Legend! Maggie
The Mickey Statues are sitting out in the open with NO protection. At WDW in December, they were behind ropes and no one was allowed to touch them without a stern look from a CM. It was neat being able to touch them, but I was surprised that it seemed that the Mickey part was really a plastic/resin sort of material. I thought the whole thing was concrete.
We had a great time visiting the different booths. Suddath Van Lines was handing out tickets for drawings that were held at the Disney Radio AM590 stage every 30 minutes. We both got a ticket. The prize......a miniature figurine of the Suddath Van Lines Mickey Statue. It was so cute and they are not available for purchase, so we really wanted that little guy.
Home Depot was out there helping kids build Mickey Head Bookends. The Home Depot people were the worst! They were well staffed, but short on patience and NO PIXIE DUST! They were handing out the cutest 75 Years of InspEARation and Home Depot orange logo aprons that came complete with a PIN of the Mickey Mouse Coca Cola Delivery Man Statue!!! Gabby used to work for Home Depot and we wanted the apron and that pin. So, we asked nicely and were told that the pin was a limited edition and that they might give us one if we waited until 3 pm when the event was over, if they had any left. Begging for a pin alone was fruitless too. You had to have a kid with you to get the apron and pin.
Well, it was time to go to the stage for another Suddath ticket drawing. We went to the stage and got some freebie goodies for the Bert's Big Adventure kids from some of the vendors along the way. They awarded the prize to someone else, of course, we never win anything. lol
Then, we saw Mickey Mouse! We chased after Mickey Mouse as he made his way to the Mickey Statue that holds the Mickey Mouse School Bus Lunchbox. We got a picture of Mickey with his Statue. It was cool to see Mickey in Atlanta. The people at Underground for the most part had no clue what was going on. But, the kids that saw Mickey certainly tried to get their parents to pay attention.
So, it was time to go outside again. We walked over to World of Coca Cola and there was a great fella that used to be a WDW CM that works for Coca Cola now. John was handing out the pins! Yes, we got the Coca Cola Delivery Man pin afterall and even picked up a couple of extras for trading!!!! We love John. lol
It was time for another drawing after we spent some time in the World of Coca Cola store. So we headed back over to the stage. I won a gift package for knowing the answer to a trivia question that the Radio Disney lady asked. She asked for the names of all 3 WDW resort waterparks. I got a cd of patriotic music ala Disney style, a pen, and a pinback button. They drew for the little Suddath Statue, neither of us won it.
So, we walked around a bit more took more pictures. I traded the cd from the gift package with a kid, with her mom's permission, for the Home Depot logo and pin! And waited for one more drawing. Gabby got us both a Disney t-shirt for free from the Disney Radio folks just because she has a Thumper tattoo on her ankle. Needless to say, it's the only time I have seen any of her tattoos pay off. lol
So, it's drawing time again. And guess what folks, I won!!!!!
We are the proud owners of a Suddath Van Lines Mover Mickey Statue figurine. It's so stinkin' cute! We love it.
Ok, by this time, we had had enough. The weather was looking a bit threatening. The sky was really clouded over and we decided to call it a day. Only one problem...we really wanted to meet the special Disney guest that was supposed to appear. Al Konetzni, an official Disney Legend. The marketing master that made Disney into the merchadising giant that it is today. He was the father of the Disney school bus lunchbox and the Pez dispensers with Mickey. He was someone that I really wanted to meet.
We made our way through Underground Atlanta because it did start to rain just as we cleared the last part of the courtyard area. We were blessed with the chance to meet Al and his lovely wife Addie. They were so sweet. They have been married for 61 years and dated for 5 years before that. She was very proud of her husband and his contribution to Disney. He was very sweet and loved the chance to talk about Walt and the way it used to be. He showed us his beautiful 20 year Disney company ring and some of his artwork. We promised to send him copies of the pictures that we took and he said that he is going to mail us an original piece of Disney art in return! I am so glad that we had the chance to meet this man. He was a joy to speak with.
Finally, we had to go on home. We rode MARTA back to the car and came on home. We are both pooped, but I had to share the details of my day. If any of you folks are in the Atlanta area, go down to Underground tomorrow! They will be doing it all again, or so I understand. Al and Addie will be there too. If you love Disney, you need to stop and thank him!!! Chat with him and let him know that you appreciate the man that is an official Disney Legend! Maggie
