Once Upon a Toy-discount?

[Letsbgoofy]

I have heard so much about this store, but is it actually owned by Disney? Can we get a discount?

 

[Sorcerer]

Gosh, I hope so...I'm counting on picking up a FEW things next time I visit! I saw some awesome pics of some things there...WDW Monopoly, Disney Clue, Wilderness Lodge Lincoln Logs (by far my favorite toy as a child!) I can't wait to spend a few hours in there!

 

[EngrDaisy]

Once Upon a Toy is a Disney owned store, and we do get our regular merchandise discount there. I have used mine there several times already. I bought Mr. Potato Head last night. Yay!

 

[rcostello1]

I don't know who owns what, I assume it's a partnership kind of thing cause the store just OOOOZES Disney.

I was there 2 days after it opened and got my 35%. Here are some details...

Plan to spend HOURS here I didn't have enough hours so I restricted myself and my sister to Mr. Potato Head. I made 1 and she made 3. That in itself could've been an hour or more, I dunno...there are so many choices it's mind boggling.

Mr. Potato Head (MPH) - $12 (before discount) a box. The deal is you can fit whatever you want inside MPH, on MPH, in the MPH box so long as it all fits in the box and the box closes properly. They have **the** absolute COOLEST stuff for MPH. They have a Sorcerer Mickey hat, Mickey ears hat, WDW sandals, a tea cup instead of feet (purple and cute!!!), Mickey ear glasses, Mickey balloon, Mickey ear ice cream (one bite missing), an autograph book with Mickey's signature...need I go on? Of course they have all the usual parts - eyes (many, many kinds) ears, noses (many), arms, other hats, parts and accessories.

These babies are a steal for gifts when you consider 35% off. I could have spent all day there but we needed to move on! Here are some tips though...I took all the pieces I wanted and had them in my bag ("shopping basket") then I went to a corner to perform spatial-relations surgery: take the back off of MPH and stuff all the little things in him! They after you get all the little things in him you have to arrange the hat and feet (or teacup) so you can get everything to fit in the box. I was able to fit in the feet (sandals) and the teacup and 2 or 3 hats.

I have no idea what the "normal" MPH comes with or how much it costs but this has to be way more fun. To help visualize how it works...when you walk in the door there is this display....a bunch of tubes more or less with MPH parts in them. A giant MPH at the top and "real" MPHs all made with the different parts going around the big giant one. Of course there is a horde of people making their own MPHs...some of which were very kind (and I in return) assisting in getting the various parts for our masterpieces.

OK, so can you see where I spent most of my time? As my sister built her 3 MPHs, I went on to explore the rest of the store.

To summarize (cause I didn't have enough time to explore as I wanted) they have more $12 build-it-yourself / fit-in-the-box for lincoln logs and tinker toys. I'm sure I could've been there forever too but decided to save that for the next trip. In between one spot and another I found play doh. They have cool Disney play doh stuff. There were these cute little things (non-Disney) that cost only $2 each...we bought a bunch cause they were cute and are fun for adults to play with too! I found them at Target for $1.49 so I didn't really pay more after my discount (thank goodness!).

They have all the monorail stuff you can imagine plus all the rides and roller coaster stuff from DCA. They have a Grand. Fl. and a Poly to go with the monorail...they have it all setup so you can see, it's really cool.

I think it's supposed to be setup like a girl's room and a boy's room but I didn't pay much attention, I was just checking out all the product. They have tons of doll stuff and accessories. I bought a doll chaise lounge (mickey head fabric)...it's for my dog (a chihuahua).

For those of you that ship stuff (I ship almost everything back except clothes) they have the best "invention" in this store. They have kiosks where you can put in your shipping info and print out labels. While this might not sound exciting to everyone, for those of us that ship a lot this is a godsend. The kiosk doesn't do a good job of explaining itself so I asked a cast member how it works. Basically you just pick what kind of shipping you want, key in the send to (and send from if different) info and poof it prints out labels. No more writing on 50 million forms 20 times to ship your stuff. The CM at the register said they were the first on property to have the system. I hope they expand it to the bigger stores...like WoD, Days of Xmas, and Mouse Gear. The machine prints 3 labels and will print a 2nd set if you want it to (if you have a "large" order - one that might not fit in a single box.

So I've rambled on enough...go forth and multiply, I mean build Mr. Potato Heads!

 

[eeyore0062]

Wow, sounds great!!! Can't wait to check out the accessories and clothes for "My Disney Girl".

 

[pixiechick]

WOW!! I'm almost down to single digits until this trip and really getting excited. We will have to plan a stop here. The shipping labels sound like a great idea too!

 

[Sorcerer]

Holy cow! Previous descriptions did not do this place justice...can't wait to check out the MPH stuff!! Wow wow wow....now to find a way to schedule in a few hours at this store. Where's my spreadsheet?

 

[rcostello1]

Ah, a spreadsheet...someone after my own heart....

 

[maleficent1959]

I was at the store on Saturday, and DH and I agreed that it was an incredible store. We spent two hours there with a toddler, so you know it was good! DH kept saying "OMG, this is so cool! If you guys had this merchandise you'd be making bank, etc. etc."

Visually is is really impressive. You just have to go see it. I'm sure we missed stuff.

We did buy the Haunted Mansion and the Haunted Mansion version of Clue. A few Baby Einstein things and a couple other gifts. We'll definitely be going back there.

 

[JonetteA]

What is the disney bear? Is there a place in Once Upon a Toy where you can make a bear?

 

[EngrDaisy]

Disney Bear is a teddy bear sold exclusively at Once Upon a Toy. There are five different colored bears: mint, light gray, dark gray, light brown, and dark brown. They are come with their own special story, but I think the story is the same for every bear. The story comes in a plastic pocket tag attached to the bear's ear. It can be removed. The bears have the signature tri-circle Mickey icon on their foot paws and also somewhere on the back, sort of like Care Bears. They are very soft and cuddly, they have a very nice texture.

I would be much more excited if you could actually build your own bear there, but the Disney Bears are nice anyway. I still want to go to the Build-A-Bear at Downtown Disney, Disneyland someday.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

This sounds like a whole day project. I can't wait to make my MPH! Thanks for the great information.

 

[kidslvdizny]

Wow I can't wait to go . my kids are a little old for MPH but, if we can dress him up like mickey I might have to break down. Where to fit it in???? we will I',m sure.

kidslvdizny 3 weeks to go YaY!!!!
hows that for a countdown timer??

 

[doombuggy]

The shipping label kiosk sounds like a great idea!