One of the things that's great about DisneySEA are the attraction posters...
I was planning a post like this one, but my friend Alain from Disney and More beat me to it. The attraction posters at Tokyo's second gate are fantastic. One of the few frustrating things at Tokyo DisneySEA that is hard to accept, is actually a cultural one.
Experiencing this park can be a mind numbing and wonderful experience. But if you're not Japanese, you'll have a hard time finding certain items that we take for advantage. If you try to find a baseball cap, a T-Shirt or say, a nice poster it's almost impossible to find. The things that I enjoy here at Disneyland or in most parks are not prized as much by Japanese. I struggled for days to try and find anything remotely like the shirts I have of attractions or just the park in general when I was there last time. There are plenty of souvenirs to buy, but these specific type of mementos were nowhere to be found.
Remember those three new posters for Disney California Adventure (which you'll be able to buy, btw)? The ones that reflect the old style of Disneyland attractions (which along with a few more will likely go on display under the Hyperion Bridge)? Well, like everything else, Tokyo DisneySEA has some amazing attraction posters to go with their amazing attractions.
But no posters.
None of these are for sale. Well, if you want to see them then head over to D and M and take a look at the lovely beauty that I'd love to have in a frame.
Hopefully the Oriental Land Company is reading this post...
11 comments:
I was seriously unenthused about not being able to buy the posters. The 20K and Journey ones want to be on my wall. I can hear them crying out for it. But no, not even Tokyo's Disney Gallery provided.
Right now, the Mark Twain Riverboat is the only attraction poster on my wall. If 20K, Journey and the original Space Mountain: From the Earth to the Moon posters were available, my collection would expand to four.
Going to Disney Sea in May, can't wait!
I've been told that the reason the attraction posters are not for sale is that in Japan, space is so limited for most people that they wouldn't think to put something like that on their wall. It kind of made sense, but they must put something up right? I mean, how can they justify cluttering up their houses with Hello Kitty but not decorating a wall with somehting from TDS, a place which they obviously enjoy? I think the answer may have been accurate, describing some Japanese cultural truism, but when explained, the logic of it kind of just fell apart.
FYI, there are reproductions of the Aquatopia poster floating out around there. I suspect the printer made some extras or something, because they pop up at Disney collectibles shows once in a while. The others were also released in a small format (roughly 8.5 x11) through one of TDL Resorts fan magazines. If I'm remembering correctly, each issue featured a poster as a celluloid type insert. Happy hunting everyone!
Tell me about it, I looked high and low for any kind of clothing or hats that said Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea's. I could only find a Disneyland Tokyo Hotel hat during my stay at the hotel.
Reminds me of those posters Lucasfilm did for all of the different Star Wars worlds.
Oh wait...
Maybe we should stop buying T-Shirts and Hats in America. I stopped buying them. I never wear them after I get home. I also own lots of posters that I never paste on the wall.
The Japanese have a limited amount of space to keep their stuff. You would wear a generic T-Shirt or cap instead of owning all sorts of branded Hats and Shirts. Although all this Hello Kitty stuff is all over the place, Disney isn't so much. It could be cultural bias for one over the other. Yet, I haven't seen any Hats or T-Shirts or Posters with Hello Kitty, but lots of other types of junk.
First of all the new DCA posters are not going under the hyperion bridge. They are going where the current Paradise Pier posters are, on the side of Ariels Grotto. Big Top Toys is going under the new bridge. Also I don't see why you are surprised they are selling the PP posters. Disneyland has been selling posters for years, ala the Submarine Voyage poster I have on my wall.
I hear ya. During my visit, looking for souvenirs was incredibly frustrating. The typical Japanese gift for family and friends after a vacation is candy, so there was plenty of boxes of candy. But things like books and posters were difficult to find. I managed to grab the Tokyo DisneySEA book in a store on Main Street, but that's about it.
I'm not sure if limited space is the problem. What do people do with all their Duffy dolls? I think it's just cultural.
I agree that limited space is not the issue. There is plenty of stuff to buy at Tokyo Disney, if you're into frumpy hats, toys, dinky cars, candy and confections, Duffys, stuffed animals, and so on. Right this moment I looked up from my laptop to the tin I bought decorated in Art Deco style and old Mickey Mouse cartoon posters from the 30's.
What they don't have are a lot of the same things at the American (and even French) Disneys. Sure they have pins, but they explicitly say no pin trading. They don't have posters, and for the life of me I could not find a pair of mouse ears! I made due with a Japanese-style rice bowl emblazoned with Mickey and Minnie as Daruma.
I was most annoyed by what I knew they used to have... Quite often, cool 20,000 Leagues items show up on Ebay that aren't sold at Disneysea anymore. But they did now how to market the beejeezuz out of Chandu from the Sinbad ride.
There are just different tastes.
When I was younger, I remember thinking that TDL had wonderful merchandise- I had seen select items, great postcard artwork from Country Bear Jamboree, Highly detailed Disney Fan Magazines, CD's for everything, and interesting merch for really obscure characters. My impression was that the Japanese "Got it". I don't know if something changed with their merch or with myself but I never see anything that remotely interests me from Japan anymore. Except all that Nautilus stuff from TDS of course.
One thing I've learned from the last decade or so, if Disney won't produce the kind of merchandise I want (quality & unique), create it myself. I've made my own souvenirs that are much more relevant than what Disney produces.
Too bad that it's so hard to get it produced for Disney or I'd make it available to other discerning park fans.
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