Future Demise of Disney Antenna Toppers?

[FoundNemoLostDori]

I am unsure of which board to post this on, but here it goes..........

Have any of you wondered or perhaps worried about a future without those friendly mickey antenna toppers waving to us in the breeze as we pass each other on the road? Perhaps I am too much of a disney fanatic.....or is it strange that I get a little thrill at seeing all the different kinds of toppers in the parking lot? I have been looking for a new car for a little while and as I've been studying the new models out, it suddenly dawned on me. What happened to all the stick antennas on the vehicles? I did a little googling and discovered that almost all have but disappeared and been replaced with "hidden" antennas. Wait a minute....sleeker appearance is great but...WHERE am I to put my antenna topper?!?! I started to take notice of just how many of these new antennas are on the road and am discovering how real of a "problem" it really is. (sigh) I guess we'll have to find new ways of displaying our toppers, (perhaps hanging from the mirror), but I will always miss my little way of connecting with the rest of you Disney fans by way of a simple pair of mickey ears. Am I the only one out there who's wondered about this? Please share your thoughts........

[nepean]

I don't have a regular antenae on my Impala, so I had to enlarge the hole in the topper and push it on the On-Star antenae. If I didn't have it I would spend a lot more time in parking lots looking for a silver Impala there are a million of them everywhere.

I also enjoy seeing other vehicles with the toppers. I often wonder if they are DIS members.

Linda

[supersuperwendy]

Oh man...I never thought about it! My husband is buying a new car on monday...does the 2010 toyota camry have one????

[vicki_c]

We have one stuck on a stick in a plant at our house. Neither of our cars (2005 and a 2001) have antennae!

[queenie82]

Well I must say the new "hidden" antennas are a million times better out on the freeway in terms of reception and given that is the point of an antenna I LOVE the new ones...
I never understood the idea of the topper given you paid money for something easily stolen. But to each their own.

[FoundNemoLostDori]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news Wendy, but the 2010 Camry does not. *sniff* I feel your pain.:sad:

[snow.white]

When I bought my SUV a couple of years ago I made sure it had an antenna. I love my antenna toppers and I enjoy changing them for every holiday or mood im in.

[lustergirl]

I am in need of a new topper. Will get one on my next trip.

[Tatalee]

My car doesn't have an antenna either - and I didn't even think about that while I was looking through images of the really cool toppers you can buy in the parks. I did see that you can also buy wooden or plastic antenna topper stands; does anyone know if you can actually buy those inside the park? I'd hate to have to miss out because of advances in technology :(

[kymom99]

Our 97 Camry didn't have an antenna, so I guess it has been some time since they utilyzed this technology. MHowever, my 99 Corolla had one of those slanted ones on the door. Now I have a Mazda that has a regular old antenna, but no topper!

[gilltrooper]

I'm a police officer and my patrol car has about five antenna's. So I'm in good shape as far as antenna real estate goes. I"m just not sure what my Chief would say about Mickey on a police car.

[siestakey]

Luckily, I have never had a topper stolen, and I have all the cute ones, Donald, Halloween ones, X-mas ones, basically all the holidays and my stand-by Sorcerer Mickey. Happily, my 2005 Sebring has an antenna, and I decorate proudly, but my daughter is antenna-less, so she decorates her pens. No one ever steals her pens! I have also seen the toppers displayed on top of the brake light box in the rear window. A little velcro button, and voila, hello Dissers:)

[Robo]

Well I must say the new "hidden" antennas are a million times better out on the freeway in terms of reception...


Maybe your previous experiences were with substandard radios.

A free-standing "stick antenna" will be much better at pulling in more distant AM/FM radio signals.

Its CHEAPER for the car makers to not have to install a stick antenna, so...
there ya go.

[stitchlovestink]

Well, actually my case is the reverse. My Pontiac transport van did not have an antenna, but my new Ford Flex has one in the back nice and high over the rear liftgate. I proudly displayed a sorcerer Mickey that was purchased for me by a friend when they were in WDW a few months ago. Sadly, less than a week after putting the topper on, Mickey lost one of his ears. :scared1: I took him off, as I did not want small children tramatized by see Mickey Mouse with only one ear. :lmao: I will get a new one though this fall.

I'm a police officer and my patrol car has about five antenna's. So I'm in good shape as far as antenna real estate goes. I"m just not sure what my Chief would say about Mickey on a police car.
How about could you put a Captain Mickey on there? That one 'sorta' looks like a police hat, maybe a little? LOL :rotfl2:

[queenie82]

Maybe your previous experiences were with substandard radios.

A free-standing "stick antenna" will be much better at pulling in more distant AM/FM radio signals.

Its CHEAPER for the car makers to not have to install a stick antenna, so...
there ya go.
Probably depends on the quality of the car and where the car is made
Our old aussie ford stick antenna is very good quality once put up enough but the new 09 Japanese made Subaru hidden antenna still beats it and doesn't need adjusting. We had AM miles and miles away from where it usually drops off.

As to the toppers...I like the idea of putting it on a pen!!
It would stop it playing to ol roll under whatever it is near game...and look nice :yay:

[AZMermaid]

I also sadly have no antennae. But, I am a teacher so I use them as pointers. I bought some dowels at Home Depot and made them the length I wanted them. Then I put the toppers on one end and voila! The kids love them and I get to see my toppers all the time!

[silmarg]

03 Yukon XL has an antenna! Its not a clunker... So I guess I will keep her.

[AshleyW]

My car doesn't have an antenna either - and I didn't even think about that while I was looking through images of the really cool toppers you can buy in the parks. I did see that you can also buy wooden or plastic antenna topper stands; does anyone know if you can actually buy those inside the park? I'd hate to have to miss out because of advances in technology :(

I saw some of those stands in May in the gift shop at the end of Test Track. :thumbsup2

[zackiedawg]

Fairly simple cure for those of you without antennas that want to display toppers:

Remember the old metal external cell phone antennas - the little short ones you could stick to the glass on your car? Well, they still sell them, both new and used. Usually well under $20. Super easy to install - they just stick to the glass wherever you want to put them. Easy to remove and cause no damage to the car. And can hold whatever topper you want.

(my car has no antenna either - just the little flat box shaped one on the back for satellite radio and gps).

[disneyfanUSA]

I put mine on my lock on the drivers side you can see it out the window!

[MariDisney]

I bought a new car (Chrysler Pacifica) a few months ago. When I brought it home, I had my seasonal mickey topper all ready to go. Imagine my horror when I realized the car has no antenna. So, now I have a giant collection of toppers and no where to put them.

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I was very upset when DH purchased our new vehicle without one. So he bore a hole through the topper and put a chain in it. It hangs from my rearview mirror. Crisis averted!:cool1:

[suz_cute]

This thread cracked me up when I first read the title, because I recently bought a new car, and while debating on which one to buy, I ruled one out because it had no antenna. My husband's subaru has no antenna, so he questioned why I cared that there was no antenna?! I simply stated that I NEEDED a place for my mickey ears antenna topper collection!! He insisted that I didn't pick my car, based upon this feature alone (and I didn't) BUT I did end up with a Ford Edge that HAS an antenna!!! Relief, that for at least another 5-7 years, I will have somewhere to display my new and old mickeys!!! I refuse to put the xmas ones out, because they always get stolen from parking lots at xmas time. Gotta love the xmas spirit of some people LOL Tis the season to steal apparently!! I now display those on my review mirror IN the car!!! I hope disney continues to make the toppers, despite the fact that fewer and fewer cars have external antennas these days!

[cassiez76]

my '07 saturn vue has an antenna, the '03 did too. i had the pink princess one and on my last visit to saturn...when it was still an actual saturn dealership :rolleyes:... they took my topper off and didn't give it to me or put it in my car. when i called they didn't have it. now i'm not letting my topper get near those people. grrr! i'll be getting a new topper on our next trip. it's sometimes hard to find my big ole green vue. i can't find it without the pink topper :laughing:

[Rhonna]

We hang ours from the rear view mirror. I don't want them stolen or worn out quickly from exposure to the weather.

[eeyorepixie]

Antenna toppers is at the top of my list, for souvies this trip!

In this case I am glad of having my old clunker Explorer it is now 10 years old. Everything is broken, except it runs. The longer it runs....no payment...no payment...Disney here we come!!! I am running this puppy to the ground!

This trip I am getting all the Holiday toppers:goodvibes. I am that chick with the rudolph nose and antlers...last Christmas, I realized to finish off the look I need my Mickey Rudolph topper.:lmao:

[pta-mom]

I don't have a regular antenae on my Impala, so I had to enlarge the hole in the topper and push it on the On-Star antenae. If I didn't have it I would spend a lot more time in parking lots looking for a silver Impala there are a million of them everywhere.

I also enjoy seeing other vehicles with the toppers. I often wonder if they are DIS members.

Linda

Hey Linda!!! I'm from Nepean too!!! Small World!! And yes, my beige Dodge Caravan has a fuzzy, pink "Animal" from the Muppets waving in the wind!!

[MissMet]

My last car did not have a stick antenna, so I searched the internet for a replacement.

Here's what I found:
http://www.laughingplacestore.com/Category-RC-306.asp

It's not as good as the traditional route but it's better than nothing. :)

[DisneyFed]

Not a problem on my new F150!!!

[Linda Farrell]

My only requirements for a new car are an antenna and a drink holder for my much loved Dunkin. However, this most recent car does NOT have an antenna. I went to Michael's and bought a rectangle of styrofoam, some material to cover it, and kabob sticks. Put it all together and you have a homemade antenna topper holder!!

To compensate for the lack of antenna, I now have 2 Disney car magnets on the back--Tink and the Fab Six (includes Daisy). But it's not as easy to find my car at the mall as it used to be.

[WeLoveLilo05]

We have a stitch topper (love it! can always find my car) and I got my sis a Mickey dressed as Jack Sparrow when we went in May....she has yet to put it on her car and she DOES have an antenna.

[grumpysmrs]

:mad: We bought my ex a grumpy topper and it was stolen within a week. My Passat has an antenna and is always "dressed":rotfl::rotfl:

[DJ Disney Kid]

Its all about liscense plate covers now! Get with the 80's, would you?! :thumbsup2

[mattkrass]

Maybe your previous experiences were with substandard radios.

A free-standing "stick antenna" will be much better at pulling in more distant AM/FM radio signals.

Its CHEAPER for the car makers to not have to install a stick antenna, so...
there ya go.

I'm a Computer Engineer and a ham radio operator, and I still don't understand antenna physics. The best I can say is from my RF Engineer friends mouth:

"Antenna physics are just plain weird. Stuff that shouldn't work somehow works much better than the obvious designs"

So it is possible the new antennas work much better, and since they have to built specially in to the car frame, they're probably not cheaper.

Antennas are weird :)

[rbenn81]

I'm a police officer and my patrol car has about five antenna's. So I'm in good shape as far as antenna real estate goes. I"m just not sure what my Chief would say about Mickey on a police car.

If your chief is anything like mine brother, mickey will not be going on patrol anytime soon. I had one of the toppers from a fast food restraunt on one of the antennae on my crown vic and was at the pd. Sarge came in and said go get that thing off your car before the chief sees that. Have you lost your mind? Guess he didn't find any humor in it like i did. :confused3 Luckily my pov has an antennae so we're good for now. My two kids yell Mickey ears whenever they see one, either driving down the road or in a parking lot.

[disnut8]

I never understood the idea of the topper given you paid money for something easily stolen. But to each their own.

I've had my antenna topper for over three years and it's never been stolen. It's a bright pink Piglet and it makes it VERY easy to pick out my black car.

I remember growing up, just about everyone had something flying from their antenna so they could find their cars.

[bratmomma]

I only had one topper stolen, once, and I have been using them for several years.

Luckily, I have an old hunk of junk and it has an antenna! LOL

[hollieplus2]

I feel your pain, last year we bought a 4Runner. We couldn't make it to disney that year but we did make it to FL to see some family. I went to the disney outlet and bought 6-8 antenna toppers. When I walked out to my car and realized there was no antenna I actually cried a little bit. I was so dissappointed I made my DH go back in and return all of them. :sad1: My next car WILL have an antenna.

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Theme Parks Community board. :)

[jtopp]

I'm a police officer and my patrol car has about five antenna's. So I'm in good shape as far as antenna real estate goes. I"m just not sure what my Chief would say about Mickey on a police car.

My company has a vehicle that is used on the airfield at PHL, with a topper on it. You can tell the departures to Orlando by the kids waving to that crew on the vehicle (or maybe waving to Mickey!)

[DeblovesPoohbear]

I am an Oakland Raiders fan and for Mothers Day this year, my boys got me
a Raider Mickey Antena Topper~I love him!! :goodvibes

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Just hot glue a disc magnet onto the back of the topper and stick it to the back of your car near the license plate-like where you see everyone with the ribbon magnets do it.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing "flattened" "antenna toppers" with magnets on the back for the metal parts of cars soon enough...

[ortholablady]

I saw this idea on here a while back. A couple others said they do this too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/ortholablady/DSC00248.jpg

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

In Georgia it's illegal to hang stuff from your rearview mirror as it interferes with your line of sight. My coworker was stopped for speeding, and got an extra $50 tacked onto a $118 speeding ticket for having crap hanging from her rearview mirror (beads, in her case).