My Trip to the 2011 D23 Expo - TR Complete!

[kikiq]

These are FREAKIN’ Pez dispensers people! Get a grip!

Sure glad I didn't have more than a small sip of ice tea in my mouth when I read that. Was thinking the very exact thing

 

[StephaniexMarie]

That Four Characters painting is pretty cute, but I can't get over the Pez dispensers.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Yes, yes.. $700 for Pez dispensers might classify as a little OTT...but no one has asked the burning question........























...the really, really obvious burning question.....













......




















What were you and Fran going to do with that cannon???????

 

[nunzia]

We talked to some folks after the auction and were told that the people running the auction this year were very pushy and aggressive and in your face and made it an uncomfortable experience for many, with some bidders being pushed to bid higher than they maybe wanted. Did you notice this?

 

[franandaj]

Oh my, my, my......$700 for 2 Pez candy dispensers.....lol Of course the Swarovski crystals are pretty!!!

Only $10000 donated to UNICEF....that's actually a bit disappointing. Does Disney really need the proceeds from the auction???

Enjoy your time away....we'll be patiently waiting for your return!!!

I guess the crystals are valuable, but you'd think they could have thought of something a little less tacky to put them on. So much for enjoying my time away! We had a blowout or something just past the grapevine exit at 11PM last night. Not only did we sit by the side of the freeway for an hour waiting fir a tow truck, we never made it to our intended hotel. We're in a rental car right now and the damage to our car was minimal. It's waiting for us back in Bakersfield while we wrap up our business an hour North of there!

Good Times.

When the bid on the tour with Alice Davis was finally accepted did she aknowledge the bidder with a wave or anything?



I guess I'm going to have to be patient for your return, but I did enjoy seeing a few more items.

She was acknowledged during the bidding and gsve a wave to the crowd. After the auction she had a line of people wanting to talk to her and I assume get her autograph.

 

[Leshaface]

I guess the crystals are valuable, but you'd think they could have thought of something a little less tacky to put them on. So much for enjoying my time away! We had a blowout or something just past the grapevine exit at 11PM last night. Not only did we sit by the side of the freeway for an hour waiting fir a tow truck, we never made it to our intended hotel. We're in a rental car right now and the damage to our car was minimal. It's waiting for us back in Bakersfield while we wrap up our business an hour North of there!

Good Times.

OH NO!!! That's the ONE thing i'm always afraid of when traveling through the grapevine...i'm even more scared in the winter at nighttime.

 

[franandaj]

Sure glad I didn't have more than a small sip of ice tea in my mouth when I read that. Was thinking the very exact thing

That's funny! It just seemed so silly to me to put crystal heads on something made of plastic.

That Four Characters painting is pretty cute, but I can't get over the Pez dispensers.

Some of the art pieces were really nice, they just went up too high.

Yes, yes.. $700 for Pez dispensers might classify as a little OTT...but no one has asked the burning question........

...the really, really obvious burning question.....

......

What were you and Fran going to do with that cannon???????

Put it with the big figs of the Red Head, the Auctioneer, the Black Pearl, the Drunk Pirate sleeping with the pigs, the Skeleton Helmsman (we actually ended up with two of those as well as the Red Head), and the set of keys used as a prop in the first movie. . What else would we do with it?

We talked to some folks after the auction and were told that the people running the auction this year were very pushy and aggressive and in your face and made it an uncomfortable experience for many, with some bidders being pushed to bid higher than they maybe wanted. Did you notice this?

I haven't covered it yet here because the gentleman on our side of the room (and the other gentleman on the opposite side, as far as I could tell) were fairly polite towards the bidders. I'll have more in a couple items because I want to tell the stories in context. However, I think the word "thieves" could be considered an accurate description of the way that these individuals coerced folks to part with their money. However Fran disagrees with me and says that is how auctions are done, the people are there to spend money. It's not like they ate going to get a bargain at a Disney auction!

 

[franandaj]

OH NO!!! That's the ONE thing i'm always afraid of when traveling through the grapevine...i'm even more scared in the winter at nighttime.

With all the construction going on and the road all torn up something just whipped up under the car and damaged the tire as well as the wheel well covering. It's sort of just hanging there now.

 

[Happy 2 B Me]

My gosh having a tire blow out has been a long time fear of mine. I did have one of the inside dual tires blow out once. That was frightening. Even having another tire to drive to nearest place to get it fixed was not fun.

So glad I never had a front tire blow.

I have to say that grapevine makes me nervous-- going up -going down-- not sure why. Glad you got help pretty quick.

Now back to my lurking

Patty

Oh maybe so spendy as there was pez in the pez

 

[franandaj]

My gosh having a tire blow out has been a long time fear of mine. I did have one of the inside dual tires blow out once. That was frightening. Even having another tire to drive to nearest place to get it fixed was not fun.

So glad I never had a front tire blow.

I have to say that grapevine makes me nervous-- going up -going down-- not sure why. Glad you got help pretty quick.

Now back to my lurking

Patty

Oh maybe so spendy as there was pez in the pez

It was scary, but luckily everything went fine. I'm mostly the passenger, but when I drive I stop at the bottom of the hill, or take over once we're down the other side. I don't like driving such a steep grade!

And the pez dispensers, they had a disclaimer in the auction program (candy not included).

 

[nunzia]

It was scary, but luckily everything went fine. I'm mostly the passenger, but when I drive I stop at the bottom of the hill, or take over once we're down the other side. I don't like driving such a steep grade!

And the pez dispensers, they had a disclaimer in the auction program (candy not included).

LOL!!! Well..THAT should have made the selling price much lower!
My DD had a bowout and flipped..scary indeed...her friend from Vegas was visiting and had to wear a neck brace for awhile, but nothing serious, luckily...bet her folks thought bieng in the middle of nowhere was safer than Vegas..not so much.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That's funny! It just seemed so silly to me to put crystal heads on something made of plastic.



Some of the art pieces were really nice, they just went up too high.



Put it with the big figs of the Red Head, the Auctioneer, the Black Pearl, the Drunk Pirate sleeping with the pigs, the Skeleton Helmsman (we actually ended up with two of those as well as the Red Head), and the set of keys used as a prop in the first movie. . What else would we do with it?

Of course! So obvious now! Silly me!

 

[tksbaskets]

LOL I am really enjoying this thread. I thought I was extravagant when I bought a DCL Alaska sweat shirt that I really didn't need.

I'll go to bed grinning about the Pez Dispensers!

TK

 

[Hawleys]

Yes, yes.. $700 for Pez dispensers might classify as a little OTT...but no one has asked the burning question........


...the really, really obvious burning question.....

......

What were you and Fran going to do with that cannon???????

Put it with the big figs of the Red Head, the Auctioneer, the Black Pearl, the Drunk Pirate sleeping with the pigs, the Skeleton Helmsman (we actually ended up with two of those as well as the Red Head), and the set of keys used as a prop in the first movie. . What else would we do with it?

Haha! I laughed out loud over this little exchange. And PrincessInOz, I was thinking exactly the same question when I read the cannon post. I see a Pirate-themed bedroom in the future. Just what you need in your bedroom, A, strange men! (JK, of course).

I work for a non-profit foundation and we hold several auctions a year. It is the auctioneer's job to encourage people to spend money, whether it is a charity auction or not. A good auctioneer gets people to raise the paddle and hopefully, have fun doing it. High pressure tactics are the norm. At our events, if there are two high bidders competing for a single item and the bidding has stalled, the auctioneer will sometimes miraculously find a second, duplicate item and offer it to BOTH bidders. Moral of the story, if you can't afford it, don't raise your paddle!

Blowouts are scary. Glad you two were safe.

 

[DizneyDogs]

Put it with the big figs of the Red Head, the Auctioneer, the Black Pearl, the Drunk Pirate sleeping with the pigs, the Skeleton Helmsman (we actually ended up with two of those as well as the Red Head), and the set of keys used as a prop in the first movie. . What else would we do with it?

Sounds reasonable to me! I am enjoying reading your report and esp the auction recap! I have those big figs too! Except I didn't know there was one of the Drunk Pirate sleeping with the pigs - do you have a picture?

 

[DizNee Luver]

Oh man, sorry to hear about the car issues.......scary stuff!! Hopefully it won't cost an arm & a leg to fix....yikes!!!!

I agree....the crystals are beautiful & do have value....but PEZ dispensers....really???? ugh..........

 

[bangzoom6877]

So sorry about the car issues...that is scary. I hope you are doing all right, and can still enjoy the holiday weekend.

 

[franandaj]

LOL!!! Well..THAT should have made the selling price much lower!
My DD had a bowout and flipped..scary indeed...her friend from Vegas was visiting and had to wear a neck brace for awhile, but nothing serious, luckily...bet her folks thought bieng in the middle of nowhere was safer than Vegas..not so much.

Thank god we made it to the side of the road safely. I hope that your DD's friend recovered OK.

Of course! So obvious now! Silly me!

Of course! Doesn't everyone have a Pirates display in their Dining Room?

Haha! I laughed out loud over this little exchange. And PrincessInOz, I was thinking exactly the same question when I read the cannon post. I see a Pirate-themed bedroom in the future. Just what you need in your bedroom, A, strange men! (JK, of course).

I work for a non-profit foundation and we hold several auctions a year. It is the auctioneer's job to encourage people to spend money, whether it is a charity auction or not. A good auctioneer gets people to raise the paddle and hopefully, have fun doing it. High pressure tactics are the norm. At our events, if there are two high bidders competing for a single item and the bidding has stalled, the auctioneer will sometimes miraculously find a second, duplicate item and offer it to BOTH bidders. Moral of the story, if you can't afford it, don't raise your paddle!

Blowouts are scary. Glad you two were safe.

That's good to know about the auctions. They DEFINITELY encouraged people to spend money, and as we get towards the end, there were definitely some people having a lot of fun!

Sounds reasonable to me! I am enjoying reading your report and esp the auction recap! I have those big figs too! Except I didn't know there was one of the Drunk Pirate sleeping with the pigs - do you have a picture?

I don't have a picture of the drunk pirate figure, we need to get another shelf put into the case pictured above to fit him in. But the canon would have fit nicely on top.

Oh man, sorry to hear about the car issues.......scary stuff!! Hopefully it won't cost an arm & a leg to fix....yikes!!!!

I agree....the crystals are beautiful & do have value....but PEZ dispensers....really???? ugh..........

On the car we have $1000 deductible. Hopefully Tuesday we'll get an appointment to start getting it fixed.

So sorry about the car issues...that is scary. I hope you are doing all right, and can still enjoy the holiday weekend.

We're definitely going to enjoy the holiday weekend. We're going to Disneyland tomorrow!

 

[franandaj]

Sorry I haven’t been around. I needed a few days to recover after the lack of sleep from the trip, blowout and stress. Plus we had to accomplish things in our daily lives! Fancy that! I’ll try and see if I can wrap up the Auction in this report!

So this lot (#20) marks halfway through the auction. After the Pez dispensers, we were really figuring out that there were some people with lots of disposable income, and they probably wanted the stuff way more than we did. So we continue our auction with another of David Garibaldi’s paintings. Most likely Dumbo, he went for $5,200.

Lot #21 was a nice painting called “A Pinch of Power” by Greg McCullough. This was obviously the original, and they were selling prints of this one down in the Dream Store. Estimated value was $6,000-7,000, but it only ended up selling for $3,000. Still too rich for me!

Lot #22 was this ugly Vinylmation Table. I say ugly because I don’t understand the appeal of Vinylmation, but I suppose for someone who does, it’s a dream! The estimated value was $3,000-6,000 and it sold right at $3,000.

Lot #23 was a tour of the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank California with Becky Cline (Director) and Rob Klein (Manager). Lunch is included in the Executive Dining Room. The suggested value on this was $5,000 and it sold for $6,000.

Lot #24 was where I was completely blown away. The item was a painting and the lot was entitled from “Dream to Reality on Canvas”. The picture had not yet been painted and the artist Noah would do it to the high bidder’s specifications. Noah is known worldwide for his privately commissioned works. This artpiece will be created based on the bidder’s favorite Disney Character, dreams, memories and will include Easter Eggs with family names, birthdates, anniversaries, all customized to your family and specifications.

One thing to note, at the auction there were several families there with disabled children, spouses or other family members, and it seemed that many of them were hell bent on getting whatever that family member desired. This painting started off pretty much right at $10,000 or if not it shot right up there. The bidding escalated with two such families. Sitting right in front of me was a young boy (about 18-20) who used a wheel chair. At the end of the same row, was a man who was purchasing things for his wife. The bidding escalated between these two, and seemed to stall at around $16,000.

Now you remember I mentioned earlier that there was a woman “working” the audience (she was one of the Auctioneer’s assistants). I couldn’t hear what she was saying when she was on the opposite side of the room, but since the competing bidders were on my side of the room, she came over to “work” the boy in front of me. His dad kept giving him the nod like, “Whatever you want son, we have the money.” And he was thinking seriously about placing that bid for $17,000, when the assistant got right in his face and blurted out, “The money will be gone someday, but the painting will be there forever!”

He did place the bid for $17,000! Then the auctioneer had tried this tactic before, he looked to the other bidder and said, “Sir, I think we can head this off right now. If you give me a bid for $20,000, I think that will stop the bidding and the picture will be yours.” The man took him up on the offer and the painting sold for $20,000. But wait there’s more! Noah was actually sitting in the audience. He walked up to the auctioneer and whispered in his ear.

“We have an offer!” shouted the Auctioneer. “Noah has offered to make you a second copy of the picture for your high bid of $18,000!” Now if you were following, the highest that the boy bid was $17,000. I saw the family sort of shaking their heads, and they mentioned their highest bid was only $17,000, so he gave it to them for that.

I have to run out and do a few more errands, but I’ll be back today and catch up on a few more items.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I don't get the appeal of the vinylmation either......I think they're ugly!! I hate getting in line at a register that does the trading....I had one item, cash in hand & the family in front of me traded one in, opened it, trade it, opened it, etc for 10 mins while I waited.....it's like going to the express line at the checkout with someone with a full cart!!

Holy cow...that painting & the assistant egging those bidders. Must be nice to have $20000 just laying around to spend willy-nilly. I will never be one of those people (heavy sigh). I think it's great the artist was willing to do a 2nd painting but wowsers!!!!

$1000 deductible on the car....ouch!!! Hopefully this won't cost that much!!