Can some explain vinylmation?

[Donald Ducks wife]

Can someone please explain to me what vinylmation is? I seen them in the parks last year and just noticed that Disney store is selling them now. Some are pretty cute, but I don't understand what they are, and what they are used for?

 

[zavandor]

They are collectible items. Or, in other terms, another way that Disney has invented to get your money.
They all have the shape of Mickey, but the deign is always different, there are hundreds different designs, I think.
Someone can be bought seeing the design, many other comes in series: you know that you'll get one of the character of the serie but you'll not know which one exactly until you open the box. And each serie has a super-rare secret one.

You can also buy a no-decor vinylmation to paint it as you like it. Or someone also use it to get signatures from characters, instead of an autograph book.

 

[torsie24]

They're just for buying.

Most you buy blind. Like trading cards or the Lego minifigs.

In WDW you can trade Vinylmations with CMs in shops. Highly doubt it's the case in DLRP seeing as on my trip some CMs refused me pin trades by making up their own rules.

 

[Ware Bears]

I don't 'get' them but I think I must be in the minority, they seem to be very popular!

 

[Mum to Belle]

I don't 'get' them but I think I must be in the minority, they seem to be very popular!

Me either Elaine!

 

[Vala]

In WDW you can trade Vinylmations with CMs in shops. Highly doubt it's the case in DLRP seeing as on my trip some CMs refused me pin trades by making up their own rules.

I've never trief, but I have seen those plastic boxes WDW and DLR use for trading in some Paris stores.

 

[Pumbaa7287]

Finally, a question I can answer instead of ask on this board! Hahaha

Vinylmation are collectible vinyl figures shaped like Mickey with a screen print on them to look like a well known disney character, attraction, park, film, special event logo, etc... There are over a dozen different series types, although the two that seem to be the most popular are the Urban and Park series. The 1st Park Series was a limited run, mainly to test to see if the figures would become popular. They exploded, and each set has had bigger and bigger amounts made, lowering the value of the later series.

For example, the rarest vinyl from Park 1, the Mickey balloon head chaser, sells for upwards of $600 on eBay, but there are some vinyls in Park 3 and 5 series that people have a hard time giving away.

Each main series has 12 figures in it, with a few exceptions. In these series, there are 11 normal figures and 1 'chaser' which is much more rare (The balloon mickey was the chaser for park series 1). In a full case of vinyls, there are 24 boxes, which include 2 of each regular design, 1 chaser, and 1 triplicate of a regular design chosen at random.

There are also Super Chasers. These are Chasers that don't appear in every box. For example, in the original Star Wars series, there was an Obi-Wan Kenobi chaser. Some people however, were shocked to find an all clear version called Ghost Obi-Wan. These sell now for almost as much as the Park 1 Balloon.

Trading in the parks can be fun for kids, and once in a while you'll see a chaser someone unwittingly traded in to the boxes, but for the most part as a collector I stay away from it for a couple reasons. One, the vinyls in the boxes have been handled a lot and may be damaged or have paint scuffs, and two, they usually don't have the collectible card that comes with them, although in later series, there are no cards, so it's become less of an issue.

The most fun part is collecting the designs that mean something to you and your family. My favorite vinyl is from a 9" series (the larger ones that retail for $45) of the Sci-Fi Dine-In, which is our favorite restaurant to visit in WDW. The front of the Mickey is the logo from the Restaurant, and the back features a car at a drive-in movie theater with a monster in it, fitting in with the drive-in and sci-fi themes of the restaurant. I wouldn't trade it for anything! (Well, maybe a million bucks, if anyone offered )

Hope that helped out, and didn't just confuse you more!

 

[Donald Ducks wife]

Thanks everyone, I don't think I will collect them. Think I will just go with my pin approach, if I like it, I will buy it. Lol

 

[torsie24]

Thanks everyone, I don't think I will collect them. Think I will just go with my pin approach, if I like it, I will buy it. Lol

That's exactly what I do. If it looks cute I get it.

They had small world themed keyring ones last month. Really cute. I love the keyring ones.

 

[tennisfan]

I don't 'get' them but I think I must be in the minority, they seem to be very popular!

I don't either Elaine, its got to be the one Disney item I won't spend my money on

 

[scribbleuk]

Is there any way of telling what figure is each box. For instance the Lego mini figures have different barcode patterns on each packet corresponding to the figure inside.

 

[torsie24]

Is there any way of telling what figure is each box. For instance the Lego mini figures have different barcode patterns on each packet corresponding to the figure inside.

Lego don't do the barcodes anymore.

But at least with Legos you can feel them a bit.

No way at all to tell with Vinylmation - they're bagged and boxed.

 

[Mrs Mickey]

My DD loves them (I don't really know why because I don't really get them either- but it's her money).
No you can't tell what's inside but every shop in DLP has a numbered black box (1 to 24 I think) and when you open your box if you don't like the one you have got or already have it (which seems to happen every time with my daughter) they let you chose 3 numbers from the box and they bring out the 3 figures and you can swap with one of them (well this is how it usually works but does slightly vary between CMs).
It's pretty much all my DD spent her money on this year.

 

[zavandor]

if I like it, I will buy it.

Unofrtunately most of the Vinylmation are sold in boxes and you don't know which one you'll get.
In all Alice's series (there are three) there is a Cheshire Cat one: I collect Cheshire Cats, but never bought a Vinylmation because the chances to get the one I'm interested are very low.

 

[scampbunny]

alot of the ones we saw were in open boxes so u knew what u were getting (nightmare before christmas series for instance) so they arent all blind boxes....

luckily my 2 wanted those anyhow!! also, others that were open for sure were the flags series and the cupcake series....

 

[ThBa]

For more research:

http://http://vinylnation.net/blog/released-series/

 

[Donald Ducks wife]

Ones I seen last year were in a box that you could see through. That was in the shop in the art of animation in the studios.

 

[DLPdaft]

There are lots of variations of Vinylmation at DLP. You can have keyrings (either in plastic so you can see which one you're getting, or in boxes where its lucky dip). You can have small boxed figures (again, either in plastic or in sealed boxes) with various themes, including luck, cuties, 20th anniversary, toy story, POTC, Nightmare before Christmas, Star Wars, flags of the world etc etc etc. Then there are larger ones you can add stuff to, like sticker face parts, bedazzle gems etc etc (all sold in the shops too). Lots of stationery items and the like as well.

Almost every shop at DLP sells some Vinylmation, theres a very good selection in both Harringtons and in the Pueblo Trading Post in the main park.

My DD bought a figure and stickers last year, I bought a 20th anniversary keyring set this year (because I liked the style of the Vinylmation ones better than any others in the parks).