We bought one of the very first ones in 2004 for ds. He loved it the whole time we were there. When we got home he played with it a few times and then it got lost in his toy box. I found it a few months ago, it had a melted lolly pop or hard candy on it. I cleaned it and it looked just like it did the day we bought it and ds has not put it down. It still works, I even bought some outfits off of ebay for his, then dd began playing with it and the sibling rivalry began! lol. I told dd that we would buy her one when we arrived at our hotel and she was ok with that. I bought her an outfit for hers and she wanted to put it on ds's pm, and again the fighting began. So I went ahead and bought her the pm with the tuxedo and it arrived yesterday! She loves it! Now ds wants one with the tuxedo, but I may wait and purchase the sorcerer pm for him when we get to WDW. It is a great investment for the kids. I think the outfits are great and it keeps the pm interesting to them longer. I called the resort we were staying in and they said that in October, there will be a Santa outfit sold for pm. I will definitely buy that outfit for both ds and dd's pm.
Pal Mickey is even great for the ride to WDW, he tells jokes and keeps the kids occupied during a long van ride or flight. HTH.