Wherein you will find information on my growing collection of Disney Trading Pins, and the obsession that's directly proportional (plus, even) to the size of said collection.
Sometimes people look for conspiracies where there are none. Sometimes the conspiracies exist, based on misdirected truths. Sometimes the conspiracies are very real, but the evidence connecting the salient points only mock the person who just knows something isn't right, when viewed from a more grounded standing.
Oh, before I go further into this post, you should probably play the following on repeat until you are done reading:
We see references to the number three everywhere we look. It's a magic number, after all. Three signs of the Holy Trinity. Three rings in a circus. Three circles to draw...a mouse?
How could I have been so blind?
Well if one 3 is magical, then two of them would be twice as nice, right? Plussed, even. Here I present Walt Disney's own exclusive Club 33 - named after (according to the two stories) the address of the club (located at 33 Royal St. in New Orleans Square in Disneyland) or the 33 corporate sponsors of Disneyland when the club opened in 1966-67. You decide.
Let me offer up a different theory. Club 33 exists because Walt himself (along with Winston Churchill, John Adams, Buzz Aldrin, and a host of others, if you believe the list) was a 33rd Degree Mason. The highest of the order, and privy to all sorts of historical secrets, Walt probably designed both parks as giant maps to Masonic and Templar treasures.
And what better way to hide those secrets than with grinning cartoon mascots? Seriously, who would believe a person ranting about the secrets of the Founding Fathers, along with the true Grail Legends and location of the hidden Templar treasure, if he or she told you that everything was revealed by following the Hidden Mickeys at the Disney Resorts, or by analyzing the motions of the little audio-animatronic children on the It's A Small World ride, correlating them to astrological charts, and then discovering that the ultimate answer in in the chemical bonds of a Dole Whip?
This is how Disney discredits Dan Brown, Michael Baigent, and the History Channel in one fell swoop.
So what is the real truth? What am I trying to reveal in this article that is so urgent that I will stop at nothing to let the facts be known?
Well, the first thing of note is that the black and yellow pin in the first picture is from the Cast Lanyard Collection 4 from Walt Disney World. It was released in 2005 and contains a Hidden Mickey in the lower right of the circle.
The second is the pin below. It depicts a skull wearing a Mickey crown, with a Hidden Mickey at the bottom of the pin itself. It's from the Disneyland 2007 Hidden Mickey Lanyard Pirate Collection.
I took yesterday off from blogging, but today I was met with much in the way of pins. (SO MANY PINS...yet somehow, never enough.) I was happy with that, and found myself bouncing around the house at the new and shiny arrivals, but there was also another package. It contained...
MY D23 MEMBERSHIP KIT!
That's right. Back in the early part of September, my wife gave me the gift of a D23 membership (still getting a foothold on this Disney delirium, I had no idea what this was or what it meant), and I saw that the kit with official papers, a card, and a watch (more on that in a little bit) would be arriving in 3-4 weeks, so rather than marking days on the calendar, I started reading about the D23 Club, what it means to be a member, and what I can and can't do with the bestowed privileges (that part is an experiment in progress).
The club is designated as D23 in commemoration of the year (1923) when Disney opened up his animation studio in Hollywood. Members get a card (shown at the bottom of the photo above), a certificate signed by both Robert A. Iger (President and CEO of the Walt Disney Company) AND Mickey Mouse (though between you and me, I think the first signature may have been forged), and watch.
The watch itself is very interesting, as the face depicts Mickey as a bandleader (I've heard something similar in a song somewhere), and the only positions that are marked with numbers are the 2 and the 3.
Get it?
Pretty cool, huh? But (I say to you, adjusting my plaid blazer, polka dotted bow tie, and tipping my straw hat) that's not all!
You see, being D23 member isn't just about being able to show off a watch and a club card to people in order to see how many different types of shrugs have been developed by people, or to have even those closest to you smile and nod in hopes of mollifying one's Disney-related madness*. It also allows you to receive invitations to events that regular Guests (and if you like any aspect of Disney, you're far from regular) cannot attend, as well as being able to buy merchandise exclusive to D23 members.
Yes. In addition to being able to attend special events, my D23 membership allows me to empty my wallet in ways no one else can!
Of course there are exclusive pins!
Let's take a look at a typical day in the life of a D23 member, to give you an idea of the awesomeness that is experienced:
You wake up and spring from bed, still wearing your Eeyore footy-pajamas with the tail tacked to the partially-buttoned butt flap. As you rub the sleep from your eyes, a host of woodland animals fly in through your open window (because that's the kind of safety you feel, being a D23 member), and begin cleaning your house, preparing breakfast, and dressing you for the day ahead. You bound to the door, throw it open and greet the Sun with a wink (if only because it's polite enough to wink back at you, knowingly). Marching down the street, you sing a happy tune. If you stop, a passerby will pick up where you left off, or a bird will chirp the refrain back to you. Heck, you can even cross in the middle of a busy intersection and the cars will all honk in chorus to your jaunty little song. People shower you with attention and give you exclusive deals at stores. Every day is like your birthday, winning the lottery, and being anointed King Ralph** rolled into one!
Then you really wake up. Well, you don't really wake up so much as learn about Newtonian Physics the hard way when you realize that the song you heard was really your snooze alarm going off for the seventh time, and you rolled too far in the opposite direction of the clock on your nightstand and abruptly met with the floor. Struggling to your feet, you slip once again on what may have been a bag of Doritos or one of the many Disney vacation planning guides scattered all over your bedroom floor. People on the street don't so much sing with you as much as they yell at you, because you're trying to make it to the corner store for a cup of coffee and your somnambulation is causing you to get right in the path of oncoming joggers, cyclists, and dogs who are more than happy to ensnare you in the leashes by which they are leading their owners. The cars honking at the intersection? That really happens, and it actually does sound musical if you stand still long enough while you get your bearings. You cannot (and this is important to note) pay for coffee, energy drinks, or beer with your D23 membership - nor is a card depicting Chip and/or Dale considered legal identification at most convenience stores, bars, or gun ranges.
However, go into a Disney park, Disney store (I'm sure there's one at a mall near you), and most Disney-related areas and flash your D23 card - and you will be given glimpses and opportunities to get things that no one (save for other D23 members) else can have! Pins. Film cels. Events. Tours. Pins. Books. Ornaments. Statues. Did I mention pins?
These are the advantages of being a D23 cardholder. It's for those few who appreciate Disney...in a very mature way.*** No jumping around. No getting giddy and squealing like an overly excited man-child. This is serious and official stuff.
Right?
* There is no mollification. Not successfully, anyway. Once afflicted, a person will forever have Disney Madness, and start seeing Hidden Mickeys in clouds, bowls of cereal, and (so help me) even bank statements.
** I have never seen this movie. I just assume (hopefully) that it's about a man who, because he witnessed something to do with Roseanne Barr in the late-80s, was granted royalty status and all the Burger King meals he could eat, as reparation for his suffering.
I'm sure everyone has memorable firsts - a kiss, a home run, talking one's way out of a traffic ticket - but today I'm going to tell you about my first Disney pin, and how I came to be a fanatic. For those of you who are more visually oriented, and would rather not read through my mental meanderings, you can scroll down and look at the picture. For those of you who like stories, lazy verbal rides, or want to humor me while you plan your intervention, please read on...
I grew up in a household that didn't really care for Disney. It's not that Walt or his legacy were despised by my family, it's that what Disney offered wasn't considered up to snuff. Sure, I saw a few Disney features - heck, when my folks got a VCR, I rented all sorts of Disney movies! Being ten years old, and having the best taste in fantasy of adventure of anyone inside my own mind, I indulged in Disney greats such as Condorman, The Three Caballeros, and The Devil and Max Devlin.
So, given the available options...
...my outlook may have been a bit skewed...
I was about seventeen when I first watched Fantasia, and later studied Disney as the disgruntled, anti-corporate, retail manager I was - which, if I'm being completely honest, was just me crying sour grapes at never having gotten the chance to be the "It's A Small World" conformist who got to go to a Disney theme park as a child.
There were a bunch of other things that happened as well (I'm fairly certain, anyway), but I'm trying to stick to the relevant points of why I am now obsessed with The Mouse, and why I get silly each time I have new pins to catalog and organize in my personal collection.
Last January, I decided to treat myself to a gaming console. For the past few years, I'd relegated my personal gaming to my computer, or with friends who had the latest and greatest of hardware, but all I wanted was a Wii. Graphics and processing are all well and good, but I just wanted to have fun, and that's something Nintendo has always been able to offer me.
Along with this console, I decided to order one game - Epic Mickey. I'd casually glossed over articles about the game before it was fully into production, and even a few humor sites that poked fun at how much "darker and more serious" this game would be compared to other offerings featuring Mickey Mouse. When I saw the first in-depth video of the game - how you could wander around the theme park, see detailed attractions, and even old animation clips - I knew I needed this game.
I used to spend Friday nights relaxing with glass of wine (or more) and playing Epic Mickey. I loved the colors, the tone, the detail, playing not only through park attractions but old animation clips as well, and the in-game movies reminded me very much of things I'd seen as a kid in school (Donald Duck In Mathemagic Land comes to mind)!
I don't care if you think you've outgrown it, watch it anyway - from an adult's perspective.
Well, work and winter (I lived in the frozen north at the time) started to take precedence, and I never really got past the second or third stage of the game. As a matter of fact, I didn't really put much time aside for any leisure activities.
Hitting the fast-forward button, a bunch of things took place. My work life is less hectic. Wine still tastes good on Fridays. Most importantly though, I've moved to a warmer climate to be with my wife and revel in our adventures and idiosyncratic life. This is where my personal Disney obsession picks up...
My gateway drug of choice!
One day, she happened upon me playing Epic Mickey and decided to watch. What follows is a paraphrasing of the conversation that took place:
My wife: What did you just find?
Me: A bunch of E-tickets. They're like money in this game.
My wife: You know, they don't have E-tickets anymore.
Me: They don't?
My wife: Nope. What's that?
Me: Oh, I just found a gold pin. They're just things you collect in the game...
My wife: Just like at the real parks!
My controller: Thud (that's the sound it made when I let it fall to the floor so I could hear more)
Finding out about pins opened up a whole new string of questions. This was followed by my beloved telling me tales of having family gatherings and birthdays at Club 33 - which only brought about more questions. I was suddenly a kid asking "Why?" and "What's that?" at the mention of every little thing.
Being a patient and smart (and beautiful - being married to an editor has its advantages) woman, she gathered books for me to read and documentaries to watch. Suddenly, this entity known as Disney started to seem not only like one of the smartest corporations, but like the most magical thing one could experience in this reality - let me scratch that - Disney is its own magical reality, and one I am embracing fully.
The worst part about this obsession is that, unlike many kids and adults who consider it "just another vacation" or something everyone does, I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A DISNEY PARK IN MY LIFE!
There. I said it. I have perceived the Disneyland and Disney World experiences as much as a spoon perceives the taste of food.
NOTE: We're planning a trip to Disney World for next year, and saving every penny to have a blast!
But it's not like I'm only dipping my toe into the crazy pool of Disney magic. And my wife, being smart, patient (did I mention beautiful and an excellent proofreader?), and an enabler (partly because I think it amuses her to see me bouncing through the house and giggling maniacally at everything related to Disney) only encourages my lunacy. As such (and not by my doing), I am now a D23 member, and (this is where the ride nears the destination, folks) the owner of hundreds of Disney Trading Pins!
"It's a good start," says my wife, who has been very methodical in encouraging my madness.
She scouts out pins by the lots, or by individual coolness (it's a subjective, but very accurate scale), and when I go to get the mail, I find packages filled with little gleaming pins to catalog and research. She looks at them with me, and tells me what is rare and what ones people are looking for out of my collection, and then she leaves me be to my research. (It should be noted that "research," as defined by this blog involves smiling and laughing like a kid who just had to eat his way out of being trapped in a candy store and marveling at the shiny, colorful pins as if tearing open a plain brown envelope was like Dave Bowman going to Jupiter and beyond the infinite.)
So, without further tangents, here is my first pin:
Fun is very serious business!
It's a Minnie Mouse skull & crossbones pin! According to PinPics.com (one of the places I cross-reference when researching my pins), this was issued in 2009 to the public at park locations. The original price was $12.95 (USD) and that there was a Mickey Mouse pin of similar design. I've yet to get that one, but the above pin will always be my first (though I have so many yet to post here).
But that's why this blog exists. I figure if I post (at least) one pin a day here, along with what information I can find on it, I'll have enough content for a few years (until next week's shipment arrives).
If you find that any of the information is incorrect on my pins, or if you have additional info, please tell me! This is a brand new world to me, and any help is appreciated!
Most importantly, if you see any pins on this blog and you want to trade, let me know! You can reach me at d.pintrader@gmail.com (clever, eh?), and even if I don't respond immediately, I do respond to each and every message I get.
