I grew up in So. Cal. all of an hour and a half away from the Happiest Place on Earth. We went several times a year, had season passes, and I even had my Grad Night there (best night EVER!).
When I moved to Utah to go to school, I missed my frequent visits, but was happy knowing that I could go when I went home during breaks.
Then the rest of my family decided to move up to Utah the next year.
Major sadness.
Luckily, that didn't stop the visits. My dad does a lot of business in Cali, so it wasn't too hard to figure out when he would have trips that would have extra days with nothing in them. Cue puppy dog eyes and I was packing up my suitcase, trading pins, and Mickey ears headband in no time.
One thing that I discovered early on (probably to the dismay of my parents) is that Disney makes things to be collectable. Literally everything that they make can be defined as a collectors item. You like snowglobes? Collectable. Trading Pins? Collectable. Shirts? Collectable. Sweatshirts? Collectable (don't believe me? My dad bought a new one almost every year and rarely got rid of the old one for at least three years.) Pens? Collectable. Plushies? Collectable. Dolls? Collectable. Ornaments? Collectable. Mickey Ears? Collectable. Need I go on?
When I was little, the cheaper things were enough to keep me happy. I love collecting things (drove - and still drives - my mom nuts). Disney + me = waaaaay too many options. So I had my pen collection, my plushy collection, my figurine collection, the start of my pin collection, and a few other things.
Then, as I got older, I discovered the more expensive collections. When I started decorating little Wesley's room, it was a no brainer at what the decor would be - the good 'ol happy mouse. It was then that I truly discovered Vinylmation.
(I don't have this one, but I want it!) So now Wesley has the start of Vinylmation collection.
Then they had the Princess Designer Dolls. Awesome collection - became an absolute nightmare halfway through.
I managed to get all of them, though it took a bit of patience and a lot of luck. My Ariel doll actually came from the UK. She was all sold out in the US and I would have had to pay around $400 to get her on Ebay (so not happening). She was still available on the Disney UK site, but the catch was that Disney UK doesn't ship to the US. Strange, but ok. As I'm trying to figure out how I am going to get Ariel from the UK to me, I remember that I had a friend from high school who had recently moved to the UK. Props for FB on this one because I shot off a message and the friend agrees to accept the shipment and then ship it on to me. I will love this friend forever and ever.
Then Disney decides to release 6 Villain Designer Dolls, which I got as well.
Disney did higher number count and hiked the price up a bit, probably thinking the demand would be the same as for the Princess Designer. It wasn't, and they actually ended up going on sale over Black Friday weekend (I was none too pleased with that, since I paid the higher price. Oh well, what to do).
Now I have a new thing that I really want to start collecting. It will probably fall into the "sweatshirt" collection category in the sense that I would only buy a new piece every couple of years. But at the price they are, I think that's completely okay.
I give you...
The Doone and Bourke Collection.
I. Want. This.
If you go and look at the Doone and Bourke bags available, they are pricey! If you want a bag for under $100, then you are going to be getting a very small bag - it's all wristlet bags at that price. Then you have the slightly larger bags in the $100-$200 range, and then it just keeps going uphill from there. The bag pictured above is $210 (and is currently in the #1 spot on the want list - if only the label wasn't covering Tink's face).
I met a lady over Thanksgiving weekend at Joanns who had a Doone and Bourke bag. Needless to say, we immediately began speaking Disney. She told me that the bags hold up really well - I think she had bought hers around three years ago. In her opinion, it was totally worth the money to get one because you really got a high quality and long lasting product (which you definitely want at that price).
So now there is the desire for yet another collection, on top of the many that are already there. I just wish I had more money to spend one the wonderful treasure of Disney. *sigh*
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