I'll be there Sept 14th-22nd, so may be able to grab one the day before I leave, when they first put them out.I want the large duffel, large backpack, at least one makeup bag, and a mini hipster. Just not sure if I want the black or the pink. Uh Oh, I'm doing carry on only though. Oh well, they fold pretty flat and if I run out of space, I may wind up leaving some clothes down there.
I just got back from WDW late last night. I was at the World of Disney early Saturday (Sept 21st) for the Disney Vera Bradley release. They had it very organized. They had a queue roped off that started on the side of the store then went around toward the back, entered by the jewelry room and then went into the women's dept where they had huge stacks of the VB bags on big tables the CMs handed you your items from. While in the queue everyone was wristbanded (to prevent line saving/cutting). The CMs walked the line showing some of the items and explained that there would be a limit of one per item for each person (A CM later explained that they were placing a limit of one item per person as long as supplies lasted for Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday the limit would be raised to two of each item per person.) The CMs also passed out a flyer showing each item and pens, telling people to mark the items they wanted. When you got to the end of the queue they cut off your wristband and when a CM was free you were allowed to approach a long narrow table that was in front of the table of VB bags. You handed a CM your marked list and they picked the items up from the large stacks and handed them to you in a basket. (You were not allowed near the table that held all the bags.) They were not rushing you through and gave you plenty of time to examine each item in your basket. If you weren't happy with the placement of the Mickeys/Minnies they had no problem finding you one with better placement. You were then walked by a CM into the next room to a cashier.
They were honoring the AP and the Disney Visa discounts. Some people weren't real happy with the no more than one of each item per person arguing that they wanted to buy for family and friends. They were told that they could go out and then come back through the line then. I arrived around 6:45am and the line was about two hours long. I originally picked up the large duffel, Vera tote, and wristlet in black plus a mini hipster in pink. I had originally wanted the backpack instead of the Vera tote, but the backpack was the small one and too small for my use so I switched to the tote instead. After eating breakfast at WGP Express, I decided I wanted another mini hipster in black and cosmetic bag in pink, so went back. I went back about 10:00am and the line at that time was less than five minutes and they still had all the items in stock. With my AP discount I spent $391.08, but got a large duffel, Vera tote, wristlet, large cosmetic bag, and two mini hipsters, so after tax saved about $40.00. I was happy. I was expecting pushing, shoving, arguing, and just general bad crowd behavior, but Disney had it so organized it was very pleasant with a bunch of VB fans laughing and encouraging each other. Every one I saw was buying multiple items and walking out with huge bags.
Barbara Baekgaard was there in the jewelry room posing for photos and autographing some cute Vera Bradley cards. There was a separate line for her. She would not autograph the bags saying the autograph would bleed when the bags were washed.
After breakfast I went back over there around 10:00am to pick up another mini hipster in black and a cosmetic bag in pink. While I was in there, I showed the CM the pink mini hipster with the chopped off heads and asked if I could exchange it. She was really nice and looked through them until she found one with the characters perfectly placed not only on the front flap, but also on the back. If I had gotten home with the first one I had, I would not have been happy. No where on it could you see the full Mickey/Minnie characters.
The black mini hipster she handed me I wasn't real thrilled with the placement either, so the CM searched until she found the best they had. While she was looking, I noticed the lady next to me was also returning one she had got earlier that morning for one with better placement. So I agree. I don't think I would chance ordering one online. I would want to check the character placement to make sure they showed up well and didn't have their heads cut off.
). I carried the tote to work last night and had a plastic container with watermelon in it. When I got to work and reached in to get the watermelon out to put in the fridge here at work, I found the lid had come off and watermelon juice (and watermelon) was all in the bottom of my bag. It was soaked. The papers I had in there were ruined, but I took the bag home yesterday morning, washed it, and it looks good as new. I'm soooo glad I got the black pattern and that Vera washes so well.
