Category Archives: Disney at Home

Indy Mickey – Flea Market Treasure

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Once again, it’s time for Saturdays with Nick!  Nick’s success at Disney treasure hunting is amazing and here’s the story of another great flea market adventure.  Don’t forget to check out Nick’s main hangout, Disney Musings.  Follow Nick on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

Flea Market Find: Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones

I picked this Mickey Mouse as Indiana Jones up at the flea market a few months ago for $5.

 
  
What’s Mickey looking for? This gold idol of himself, of course. Pssst, Mickey, it’s right behind you!
 I had no idea that this was actually part of a set, until I saw this in the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost in Disneyland.
 
Goofy as Indiana Mickey’s right hand man, Sallah.
This set sells for $19.95, so I guess I got a good deal on Mickey, but Goofy and the Ark are pretty cool too!
Mickey and I will be on the lookout for Goofy at the flea market. Raiders of the Lost Goofy.

DIY Disney Christmas Tree Topper

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RM-Christmas-Top-HatIt’s been long time since I’ve worked on a Disney craft project.  This one was not even planned, but happened mostly by accident.  Raymond and I were out supporting our local merchants on Small Business Saturday and we happened to be in a fantastic home décor and accessory store that always has the most amazing Christmas decorations!  We were there for just a quick stop to pick up a couple of ornaments for gifts and grab some extra ribbon and deco mesh (you can never have too much deco mesh, right?).

As we were making our way to the checkout counter, I stopped dead in my tracks, having spotted something unexpected and adorable!  I spied a small black felt top hat, decorated festively for the holidays.  As usual, I immediately said what I was thinking, “Hey!  I could put ears on this!” and Raymond, in his usual way, replied, “You could.”  Enough chitchat.  New item added to the armfuls we were carrying, we made for the cash register.

By the time we got home, I had formulated a plan for that little top hat’s transformation into a Disney-themed tree topper.  All I needed was to make use of Raymond’s mad skills with powerRM-Christmas-Ornament-Piece tools.  I handed him a large, sparkly, black shatter-proof ornament left over from the Halloween wreath project and told him to make me a couple of ears from it.  Because I love him, I did remember to yell, “Don’t forget protective eye wear!” as he headed outside to his shop.  I wish I could show and tell you exactly how Raymond managed to slice two perfect ears out of that one ornament, but I didn’t see what he did.  I will tell you it involved something called a die grinder, but I have no idea what that is or does.  If you decide to slice up a plastic ornament, I imagine a saw of some sort would also work.

Now, I knew that if I just glued those ears onto the hat, there would be a big gap between each ear, the hat, and the hat’s brim.  I was trying to figure out a way to fill that gap with some black sheet-foam that I had on hand, when Raymond solved the problem for me by cutting the foam into tear-drops that could be used to cover the RM-Christmas-Top-Hat-Ears-Reverseback of each ear and fill in that gap at the same time – I do love that man!  So, I fired up my new glue gun, which gets really super hot in a hurry, and proceeded to glue the backs onto each ear, then glue the ears carefully onto the hat, making sure the corner part of the teardrop filled in the gap between ear, hat, and brim.  I only sustained one glue-burn (on my right pinky), which is actually good – the injury count where hot glue and I are concerned is normally much higher.

So, making the tree topper proved much easier than getting it in a good position at the top of the tree!  I ended up making a spiral wire around the top of the tree to perch the hat securely on, then I used my old tree topper (sprays wired together to mimic Wishes fireworks) to add some festive touches around the hat.  The moral of this story?  Don’t be afraid to try!  When inspiration strikes, go for it.  The hat was $12.99 and for the investment, Raymond’s cutting skills, and one hot glue burn, we got a pretty awesome new Disney decoration for our tree.RM-Christmas-Top-Hat-Finished

Do you have a Disney holiday craft to share?  Let me know and I’ll put your project on our Facebook page!

Haunted Mansion Playset – Flea Market Treasures

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Today’s Saturdays with Nick article features my all time favorite of Nick’s many flea market finds.  As a huge Haunted Mansion fan, I confess I’m positively Goofy-hat-green with envy over this incredible discovery!

Haunted Mansion Playset – Flea Market Treasures

By Nick

Walking around the Columbus New Jersey Flea Market back in April, I stopped by a friend’s table to say hello, and saw this Haunted Mansion Monorail Playset.

I confess, I didn’t have a clue as to how much this set went for originally, or how much it was worth, but I of course asked how much. The Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

When she told me $5, I was very pleasantly surprised.

There are some fun accessories, including the Hitchhiking Ghosts.

Out of the box.

It opens from the back.

The stairs swing out revealing more of the interior.

A  lot from the ride is represented including the floating instruments and the dining room.

The organ, floating candelabra, and portrait gallery.
The library,  the changing portrait of Master Gracey, and a view of the cemetery from above.
The accessories in addition to the Hitchiking Ghosts include the creepy chair, clock, and Madame Leota’s crystal ball.
If all that awesomeness wasn’t enough, it also has flashing lights and sound!
video
All in all, a really great collectible and one of my best ever flea market finds.

Thoughts on the Disney Fan Community

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Castle-PictureIt’s that time of year.  You know, when even the least warm and fuzzy among us are prone to some sort of sappy sentimantality.  I’ll cry during a Hallmark commercial, so I’m especially susceptible to all the nostalgic and happy feelings brought on by the holiday season.  I’m a little more patient (or I should say, I’m actually a little patient), I try my best to slow down and enjoy each sweet and precious moment with friends and family, and I reflect more on where I’ve been and where I’d like to go (in both figurative and litteral ways).  Which, of course, brought me to today’s topic.

Thoughts on the Disney Fan Community

1. Our common love draws us close. It’s been well over a year now since I started writing articles for Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos, since I started my own blog, and since I began to truly participate in the Disney Fan Community. Prior to that, I mainly listened to Disney podcasts and read an occasional interesting-sounding blog article. I didn’t know what I was missing. My passion for Disney is generally little-understood by my friends and coworkers, but those podcast hosts and bloggers? They speak my language. I’ve always enjoyed Magic Kingdom / Cinderella Castlehearing and reading about people who “get” why I love Disney so much. Then I realized that you can, through the wonders of social media, engage with these people on a (somewhat) personal level and before I knew it, I had a new group of friends! Some from as far away as Great Britain, Australia, The Netherlands and Japan, New Jersey even!

2. In 140 characters or less. Twitter is probably my favorite place to “hang out” with other Disney fans. The hosts of all my favorite podcasts engage listeners via Twitter and within the confines of that limited number of words, entertaining discussions are taking place all the time. I’m incredibly humbled and appreciative of the number of my own Twitter (and Facebook) followers that regularly read my blog and make comments to me about an article I’ve written or question I’ve posed. If you’ve ever met me, you’ll have noticed that I say what I think. If there’s a Disney food, movie, attraction, resort or lumberjack show I don’t like, I’ll say so. It doesn’t mean for a nanosecond that I don’t love Disney – I can love Epcot's Iconic Spaceship Earthsomething in spite of its imperfections and I cannot pretend to agree with or like every individual part that makes up the whole. Lots of Tweeps seem to feel the same way and are accepting of my tendency to voice my opinions (which are many).

3. An ever expanding circle of friends. What wonderful friends I’ve made! Real ones. Friends I’ve met face to face. Friends who I’ve been fortunate to get to know as people, not just as a podcast host, blogger or Twitter handle. Generous, caring, lovely people who have shared life’s ups and downs with me while we’ve supported, cheered, and picked each other up along the way. I love you guys!

4. Lively discussions and debates are the best! Nothing delights me more than a good exchange of thoughts and ideas. Especially from differing points of view. Honestly, my very favorite podcasts are the ones that cause me to yell at my car stereo – sometimes in outrage, sometimes in support. I’ve been super fortunate to have been invited to make a guest IMG_2862“appearance” on several of the podcasts I enjoy and when you gather around the old Skype to talk Disney, the most fun comes from what we don’t agree on rather than what we do.

5. Trolls, nitwits, and stranger danger still exist – Fortunately, the vast majority of Disney fans that congregate to share their passion on social media are kind. But not all people are there for the same reason – sadly, some people only come to complain or create drama (or worse). A word of caution if you’re just joining in on the fun: Open Facebook groups appear to be the most fraught with potential danger – especially the ones with moderators that seem to thrive on the sensationalism and accompanying drama of some of the posts and comments. Occasionally, those situations rapidly decline into what amounts to nothing but a demonstration of how childish and intolerant people can be – that is not a part of the Disney fan community I understand or wish to be a part of. It’s easy to avoid, luckily.

Ready for Toy Story Midway ManiaSo, during this season of being thankful and remembering what peace on Earth and goodwill towards humankind is all about, I wanted to take a minute to tell you how much you mean to me. For every Facebook “like” and comment, for every Tweet, retweet and message of support, for every email, and every shout-out, I’m grateful for the chance to join along with you in our shared love for Disney.

From our family to yours:  Wishing you all a very safe, happy, and peaceful holiday season.

And may you get every present on your Disney wish list…Lisa