DREAMING DISNEY!

Magic, Magical Moments, and some harsh realities...

2011-08-21T19:31:00.002-05:00

I've been neglecting this blog again and for that I do apologize.

I've been in Walt Disney World now for a little over three months and a lot has happened in that time. I've met a lot of people, made some really good friends, and worn more costumes than I ever thought I would. The experience of the Disney College Program is one that I will never forget. I find that I've been fundamentally changed, not only in how I work, but in how I view guest service. I always understood that Disney holds their cast members to a higher standard than anyone else, but I never really took the time to think that it only takes a minimum of effort to go from McDonald's service to Disney service. I find myself now looking at every encounter with a service provider in terms of how they stack up against Disney's guest service and I know that I always will because now I completely understand that great guest service is not a chore, and providing service at a high level actually makes work that much more fun!

I've also developed a love for creating magical moments and I go out of my way on a daily basis to try to create those moments for my guests. Whether it's writing them a fast pass or giving a family a ride in their own private van to the park of their choice, there's nothing like giving a family a memory that will last a lifetime. I've also started doing chalk drawings at the bus stops I'm assigned to, but that's going to be a completely different post because there's a pretty good story that goes along with the drawings. Suffice it to say, though, that I'm getting quite a bit of positive attention because of those drawings, and anyone who is friends with me on Facebook has been able to watch them evolve over the last few months. With all of this positive stuff going on there has to be at least one negative. In actuality there's quite a bit of negative and it all comes in the form of misconceptions about the Disney College Program and what it actually is.

Before I move into this part of the post, please let me say that my opinion of Disney, and of Walt Disney World, has not been tarnished at all. What has changed, however, is my understanding of the inner workings of Disney as a company and exactly what it is that Disney does provide to its College Program participants. I use the word participants rather than cast members for a very specific reason. That reason is that we really are only barely cast members, our status listed as "Casual Limited." This is the lowest level of cast member in the Disney system, and as such, we are also in many ways considered to be second class citizens. The reality of the situation is that we are here to provide Disney with a way to staff their parks and resorts without having to pay overtime to their regular cast members. Because of this, many CPs are harassed and looked down upon by full-time cast members who are upset because they're losing their overtime to these "interns." On top of this, the chances for overtime for CPs in many roles are almost nonexistent, and the scheduled hours are often under those promised when we accepted our program invitations. Speaking from my own personal experience, making anything over 30 hours in a week is a struggle every week. This is not very helpful when you actually have real bills to pay, and many people in my role have second jobs outside of Disney just to make ends meet. Every day is a constant storm of checking the hub to see if extra shifts have opened up that don't require any special training, another thing that Disney fails to inform us of when we accept our invitations. You see, I was told in my interview that there would be constant opportunities to make extra hours, and my decision to participate in the program was largely based on that assumption. The truth of the matter is that you are only allowed to pick up extra shifts in areas that you are either trained for, or that do not require any training at all. As far as shifts that I'm trained for, all that I'm trained for is bus operations, and resort bus greeters only have one shift available, and that one goes from 6:45am to 12:45pm. Any additional hours have to come from Parade Audience Control shifts that are released by Magic Kingdom or Fantasmic shifts released by Hollywood Studios. The problem with this is that you never really get more than a day's notice that you'll be working, and normally you'll have only a few hours because the shifts release at odd times during the day. The end result is that it's a constant struggle, not only to get to 40 hours, but to actually get into overtime and make something that resembles a real paycheck because these shifts are not often released because Magic Kingdom wants to fill them with their own people. Outside of the work issues, there are also the "networking" opportunities that Disney says they provide for CPs.

Let me be straight before I continue. This is not intended to be a rant or just me blowing off steam. The intention here is to provide a very real view of what we go through on a daily basis from both a work and a networking perspective. I'm not being biased and I'm not exaggerating, just presenting things as they have shaken out for me over the past three months.

In terms of networking, Disney does not take an active approach at all. They told all of us that there would be ample opportunities to network with people who could be instrumental in the advancement of a career with Disney. This is just not true at all. If your major is hospitality or hotel management or something similar, then yes, there will be opportunities presented in the form of speaker series and other such presentations. If, however, your major area of study is outside of those, you can expect a whole bunch of nothing in terms of networking. As an art graduate I can tell you with complete confidence that you have to make your own opportunities. I have met people and I have gotten my work looked at, but this is all through my own work, basically cold-calling and talking to sketch artists and such while they work. This is not what I was expecting nor is it what was promised to me when I accepted my offer.

In the end, what I've found is that if you are a college student, not financially independent, and don't have any real bills or career aspirations with Disney beyond the end of your program, then this is most definitely the program for you. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world, especially not the guest interaction and the fun of working in Walt Disney World. If I was still 20 or 21 years old and living with mom and dad, I wouldn't have a complaint at all. As a 35 year-old with real bills and no financial assistance available to me, however, this program has been nothing but a daily struggle to keep my head above water, and I'm not 100% sure that i would have made the decision to come here if I had known exactly what to expect from this experience in terms of career opportunities and money. I know this post is going to come off as incredibly negative and anti-college program, but that's not how it is at all. I believe that the Disney College Program is a great idea, just not the right idea for me. As it stands, I'm going to see this through to January and then head home to Louisiana, hopefully to find a career as a teacher.

The Disney Whirlwind!

2011-05-27T17:53:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I've officially been in Florida for a week and a half. In that time I've checked in, gotten my apartment, met my roommates, gone through Traditions, completed my role training and passed my assessment, and spent some much needed time in the parks! All I can really say is that this experience so far is bordering on the surreal. I wake up every morning and put on my costume to spend my shift playing with kids...really, they're paying me to do this!?!?

There are so many things about this that just boggle my mind. I'll try to go through the experience so far one step at a time.

I checked in on May 18th at Vista Way Apartments, the original Disney College Program apartment complex. I had already met 3 of my roommates so we all showed up together to make sure we were placed in the same apartment. We were assigned to Chatham Square in a 3 bedroom apartment, which meant that we would be randomly assigned 2 more roommates. All I can say about my roommates is that they're the greatest group of guys I could have hoped to live with. Everyone is respectful of each other and they're all incredibly laid back. The apartment is great with the exception of the broken air conditioner (but that got fixed on the first day so it's all good). It's only about 10 minutes driving from the apartment to the front gates of Magic Kingdom also. We didn't actually get to move into the apartment until late afternoon on the 18th because almost as soon as we checked in and got our apartment we were sent directly to Walt Disney World Casting to get our roles and location assignments. I was assigned as a Resort Bus Greeter, which I am beginning to believe is one of the greatest jobs I could have hoped for. The casting experience was incredible, just being in the building and knowing that I was being processed in for a job with Disney was amazing!

Once we were done with casting we were able to move in and relax for a little while before our housing meeting. Truthfully the housing meeting was incredibly boring but I can see the necessity of it. We had the following day off so we decided to host a cookout at the pavilion by the pool. We were able to meet lots of new people and it was a really great time. None of us really were able to sleep that night because we were so excited. After our day off we attended Traditions. I can't really say very much about it except that it was an amazing thing and there were tears at a couple of points. The legacy of the Disney company is so incredible and I am proud to now be a part of it. It was at Traditions that we received our nametags...this was a moment I had waited for almost my entire life! I was officially and without a doubt a Disney Cast Member...is there anything better?!? I can't even begin to describe the feeling of putting that nametag on for the very first time, it was surreal, incredible, satisfying, just pick a word and it was exactly that!

I am going to end this post here before it becomes a novel, but I will be posting again soon to talk about my role and the training I did for it!

Until next time, may all your days be magical and may all your dreams come true!!!

Wow, just wow!!!

2011-05-19T07:06:00.003-05:00

Here I am at 8am the morning after my check-in for the Walt Disney World College Program...I'm settled into my apartment, have met all of my roommates, been through casting, and attended my housing meeting. The funny thing is I still have a hard time believing any of this is real! I'm actually a Disney Cast Member! How did this even happen?!?

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm extremely excited right now! Yesterday was one of the most incredible days of my life! I'll give you the shortened version of what went on yesterday, because to tell the entire story would take a pretty long time.

First, I met two of my roommates on May 17th, the day before we checked in. We knocked around Downtown Disney and Boardwalk until the dinner that was set up by some people on one of the Facebook groups. In all honesty, the dinner was kind of a bust...less than a third of the people who RSVP'd for the event actually showed up, and they weren't able to seat us all at one table, so it was like little groups of 4 sitting all over the place. On a positive note however, we were able to pick up a 4th roommate for our apartment.

May 18th was check-in day for me, and let me tell you, it was incredibly busy! Me and my roommates met at the front gate of Vista way at 7am and waited until they let us in. I won't go too much into the actual process (gotta leave some surprises) but I will say that if you want to room with a particular group of people, make sure you all show up together because one person from the group will be responsible for negotiating the apartment for everyone. I was responsible for negotiating the apartment for myself and my 3 other housemates, and it was a very easy process. I was able to get us exactly what we wanted, a 3 bedroom apartment at Chatham Square. We were assigned 2 other housemates randomly, but that was what we wanted anyway. All in all it was a very easy process.

After finishing up at Vista Way we were able to go to our apartment for about 30 minutes before we had to catch a bus over to casting. At casting we took care of all of our paperwork and got fingerprinted for our background checks. The whole process is incredibly streamlined and it doesn't feel like it takes nearly as long at it actually does. The good news...when you walk out of casting you will OFFICIALLY be a Disney Cast Member! You will also find out your location, date for Traditions, and the date and time of your first day of training.

Once the casting visit was over, we again headed back to our apartment. We had about a 2 hour break before our housing meeting at The Commons. The meeting itself lasted about 2 hours, and I highly recommend walking over instead of taking the bus as The Commons is literally right around the corner.

You might have noticed that nowhere in all of that did I mention food or a lunch break...there's a very good reason for that. We were so busy all day that my roommates and I were not able to stop for food until after 5pm. We did eventually make it to Subway before heading off to do our grocery shopping. We finally finished up with everything at around 8pm, at which time we all pretty much collapsed around the TV!

I'll update this later on and add more to it because there's really a lot more to say, but I just wanted to get my first impressions down while the memories are still fresh. It's going to be a great experience and I can't wait to meet everyone and create some really great memories!!!

Okay, So I couldn't wait...

2011-05-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

I still have 9 days until I leave for the Disney College Program, but I thought I would throw in a quick update on what's been going on.

For starters, my senior thesis exhibition is finally over! I had my reception on Tuesday of this week and my thesis defense on Wednesday morning. The thesis defense was brutal and I never want to do anything like that again, but the good news is I got an A! That means that all I have to do is finish up a couple of small assignments for one class, take a final next week, and I'm on my way! If anyone had told me three years ago that I would have my college degree and be on my way to my dream job with Disney, I would have called them a complete liar! I don't think I've ever worked so hard for anything in my life, but the rewards have been so great that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It's been an incredibly difficult, fun, and rewarding road to get here, and I can't wait to start on the next chapter!

Almost There!

2011-04-27T09:24:00.002-05:00

It's been quite a while since my last update, mainly because there really hasn't been anything new to tell...

The end is approaching, however, and I find myself with some very mixed feelings. I'll be done with school completely one week from today. I will also be checking in at Vista Way to get my apartment in WDW three weeks from today. I still can't believe that it's already been three years since I decided to go back to school...it really does feel like it was only yesterday! I'm happy to be finishing because it means that I did exactly what I told my family I was going to do, and that means a lot to me and to them. That's also where the mixed feelings come in, because in three weeks I will once again be leaving my family behind and not coming back. They know this and they're totally supportive and happy for me, but things are so much different now than they were all those years ago. Now I have two Goddaughters and two nephews who I love with all my heart, and the thought of not being able to watch them grow up is one that I don't relish. I know that I'm making the right decision for me and my life, it's just now starting to set in exactly how big of a decision this is. Thankfully though, I live in a family of Disney freaks so I know I'll be able to see them at least a few times a year.

Apart from that there's not much to report. I'm done writing my last paper of my college career, my senior thesis show is done and ready to hang, and I graduate in a little over 2 weeks. It's been a crazy and exciting ride and I can't wait, mixed feelings and all, to share the next chapters of it with my family and with you!

It will probably be a few weeks until my next update, but that update will be coming to you live from Walt Disney World!

Until then take care everyone and may all your days be magical!

The waiting continues...with a little bit of rejection

2011-03-14T09:25:00.006-05:00

And to be quite honest, it's really starting to suck!

In terms of my DCP experience there's not a whole lot to report unfortunately. I'm still counting down the days until I leave...64 and counting. Everything that I can possibly do before getting there has been done for weeks now, I just can't wait to get down to Walt Disney World to start living the dream!! There is, however, a little bit of news regarding school that I thought might be worth reporting.

First the good news...

last month I submitted 3 pieces of my artwork to a juried exhibition in Natchitoches, Louisiana. For those of you who aren't familiar with the idea of a juried show, it means that people submit work, and once all the work is in an outside judge is brought in to "prejudge" the show. This means that only a fraction of the work that is submitted will actually be accepted to the show. I'm happy to report that of the three drawings I submitted two of them were accepted, and these two drawings constitute two-thirds of the drawings accepted. also, the show committee has emailed my school and requested me by name to attend the reception this Friday, which usually means that either a first place or an award of some sort. I can only hope. I addition to this, I have also finished cutting most of the wood blocks for my senior thesis show. This is a huge weight off my mind and really lets me see the light at the end of the tunnel! All that's left now is to print all of the blocks and get ready to hang my show. I'm still trying to figure out how I finished almost a month and a half early!

So that's the good news, now for the bad...

My graduate school application to University of Iowa has officially been denied. I applied for admission for this fall in their drawing program and really felt good about the work that I submitted in my portfolio. However, I'm pretty sure that I would have declined the invitation if I had received it anyway since I've already accepted my invitation to the DCP. This makes it only slightly bad news for me. Disney is and always has been my dream job and I don't think even an invitation to attend the #1 printmaking school in the country could have stopped me from taking the opportunity I've been offered.

Anywho, that's about all I have for now. Hopefully next time there will be more to report!

I'm thinking I may go back to license plate postst for a little while...I've been missing doing them quite a little bit!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part...

2011-03-02T10:56:00.003-06:00

As I said in my last blog post I'm changing the face of this blog in order to document my experiences in the Walt Disney World College Program. There will still be the occasional post about license plates and such, but it's mostly going to be WDWCP from here on out. Now that we've got that straight, away we go!

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot to say so far...I know, what a let-down! So basically I'll give you a rundown of what's gone on so far.

So I attended a live presentation for the College Program at my school, Nicholls State University. It was great! Extremely entertaining and it got me very excited about trying it out, so much so that I went straight from the presentation to a computer to do the web based interview that night. I passed the web based interview with no problem and was advised to call to schedule my phone interview...whew, one step down and several more to go. Since it was after working hours I called the next morning, February 15th and scheduled my phone interview for February 17th after my last class so that I would have time to get home and settled in and prepared. Being the dork I am, I downloaded all of the job descriptions for all of the roles that I had selected on the role checklist. My interviewer was a little late in calling, but my interview started pretty close to on-time and...

Right away she asked the question that I had been dreading...do I have any visible tattoos or piercings. If anything was going to put a quick end to my dream of working for Disney it would be this, and I knew I had two choices: tell them the truth and take my chances or lie and risk being found out and possibly terminated later. I chose the truth. I told her about all of my tattoos since a lot of them are visible on my forearms and would need to be covered. She immediately put my mind at ease, telling me that it wouldn't be a deciding factor in whether I got in or not. With that out of the way and a HUGE sigh of relief we continued on to the rest of the interview, which from that point on went as smooth as silk. I was relaxed, happy, and smiling, and I know it came across in my voice. She asked me why I wanted to work for Disney and I happily told her that it had been my dream since I was a little kid. We then talked about the roles that I had selected and why I had selected them. My number one choice was transportation and the rest of the interview seemed to center mostly around that. She asked a lot of questions and we laughed and joked to the point where it felt more like an easy conversation than an interview. What was supposed to be a 15-20 minute interview lasted almost 45 minutes and it was very enjoyable. My interviewer was enthusiastic and so was I! So after the interview was over she told me that it would be 4-6 weeks before I would hear a response by email so I hung up and prepared myself for a long and nerve-wracking wait...Day 1, nothing, Day 2, nothing, Day 3, well, you get the picture.

To try and make the wait a little more bearable I started scouring facebook and found a group specifically for people who had applied to the Fall/Fall Advantage programs. Having applied for Fall Advantage I joined the group and started reading their discussion boards and replying to topics. I also found out via the group that people were waiting on average 3-4 weeks for a response. I was only on day 4 so I figured that I would be in for the same wait. Day 5, nothing, Day 6...yeah, Day 6. I was working in my studio at school, and as usual I had my laptop on playing music on Pandora. I looked up to skip a song and saw that I had new email in my inbox. I opened it up and saw that the sender was "Disney College Recruiting" and the email header said simply "Your Invitation." I'm only on Day 6, there's no way it could come that fast...my thoughts were all over the place as I clicked on the email. All I remember seeing was a big purple header and the word "Congratulations!" I think I only actually read the first two lines of the message, just enough to find out that after only 6 days I had been accepted to the program, and for my first choice role to boot!!! I had been accepted for Fall Advantage to work in transportation!!!

At that point I ran out of my studio like a madman, smiling from ear to ear! I rushed to call my mom because she was the only person who knew that I had applied...and she didn't answer her phone! I sent her a text message that said only "CALL ME!!!" She called me back and was ecstatic to hear the news. We set up a family dinner for that weekend so that I could tell the rest of my family. They were out of their minds with happiness when they found out. We had a great dinner and talked about the program and what I could expect. After the euphoria of the email and the fun of the family dinner reality quickly set in...it's still only February...I still have to wait three more months before I actually go to Florida to start the program!!!! Time to start waiting again!!!

So now here I am, 76 days away from May 17th, the day that I leave Louisiana to start a new life in Florida, and I'm going out of my mind!!! As if I didn't think about Disney enough already, now I spend large chunks of every day on the CP website, reading everything I can about the program, chatting with fellow CP cast members on skype, and wishing that the semester would hurry up and end so that I can graduate from college and get on the road! Oh well, we can't have it all, or can we?

I'm 76 days from fulfilling a lifelong dream, I graduate in May with my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and I'm going to work for Disney!!! Nah, I really couldn't ask for anything more than that!

Until next time, keep moving forward, because for me there's no turning back!!!

Time to change things up...

2011-02-17T23:29:00.003-06:00

So I've been trying to figure out what to do with this blog since my license plate collecting has been kind of stagnant for the last few years due to the lack of cash that comes with being a broke art school student...

And then today I got the best email I've had in a loooong time. I am officially accepted to the Walt Disney World College Program, Fall Advantage 2011! I can't wait to get done with school and get to Florida to start on the program!

So I'm going to change this blog from license plate collecting to a journal of sorts of my experiences in the WDW College Program. I figure it's a good use for this space that would otherwise go to waste!

First Official New Post!!!

2010-07-17T10:13:00.004-05:00

Okay, so now that I've resurrected this old friend of mine, what do I do with it?

I've been considering this question all week trying to figure out what I should do for my first "real" post. As I said in what I'm now calling "the rock bottom post," I'm not going to restrict myself to license plates anymore. There will still be license plates spotlighted, but I've realized that it's really hard to consistently come up with good posts centered around them. So, in the spirit of diversification I would like to share a book that I purchased in December of 2009 during a WDW vacation with my mom:

I came across this one in the Animation Gallery and was immediately drawn to it. It's quite a small book, weighing in at only 160 pages, but the wealth of information held within those pages is immense! It is essentially written from the point of view of individuals from all walks of the Disney creative process from imagineers to lawyers, and everybody in-between. They talk about their individual creative processes as well as providing information to help you to get your own mind working more freely. I devoured this book on the first night that I had it and have made it a permanent fixture in what I call my sketch bag (I'll actually have a post on that at some point) because it's so great for when my ideas aren't running at full strength.

This book really has changed the way that I approach projects and the way that I communicate my own ideas to others, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in the imagineering process from the point of view of the imagineers. I hope everyone's having a terrific weekend and I'll be back soon with another post!

Oh yeah, and as a bonus for this week I thought I would share the painting I did for my Goddaughter, Gracie, for her birthday. She's turning 6 and is already a huge Disney freak, so I did a painting based off of some of the artwork I'd seen around Bay Lake Tower. Hope you like it!

Till next time I wish you all the best and thanks for stopping by!!!

Ryan C.

Hard Choices and BIG Changes

2010-07-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

So it's been almost two and a half years since the last time I posted anything of any substance on this blog. So much has happened over the last few years, but I figured I would go ahead and answer the question that I got asked many, many times during the all-too-early demise (or at the very least falling into a coma) of this blog: why did I decide to let it go?

The simplest and most direct answer I can give to that question is that two and a half years ago I was barely even alive. I was working in a career that I absolutely hated and that made me so miserable that I literally felt hopeless to the point of some really bad thoughts. I would get up, go to work, attempt to look like I was doing something for 8 hours, and then go home and just sit on the couch all night. This was my life for the better part of 12 years and it finally started to get to me. The worst part about the whole thing is that my father, when he was still alive, was so proud of me for making it in the IT industry that I really felt like I could never leave for fear of disappointing him, which was something that I always seemed to have a knack for when I was younger. I stayed in the IT industry after his death, and it was also sometime after his death that I created this blog, partly as a way to remember the experiences that I shared with him, but also to provide me with an escape from the misery of my day-to-day life. The only real hitch in the plan was that when I would get home I never felt like doing anything...such is the case when one feels that their life is completely pointless and hopeless.

The last post on this blog was in March of 2008. This was the time when things really started to fall down around me. I lost my job, mostly through my own lack of performance, found a new and more laborious job, and generally fell even deeper into the hole that I had sunk into. In terms of all things Disney, a passion of mine since I was a kid, that was just about wrenched out of me as well. I really felt that there was nothing in my life worth existing for, and I am sure that there are many people out there who would agree with I say that that is not at all a good place to be. This went on until July of 2008, and to be exact, July 3rd, 2008. That's actually when this story takes a turn, not just for the better, but for the absolute best that I could have hoped for.

In the last few years I have come to realize that the morning of July 3rd, 2008 was probably the most pivotal moment in my life since my decision to join the Navy in 1995 because as much as I may not have wanted to admit it, I believe that two things happened at that moment that left me with the biggest decision of my life. I truly feel that in that moment I actually considered ending my own life for the first time ever. It was about 5:00 in the morning and I was getting ready for work, showering and shaving just like every other day. I remember stopping right in the middle of my shave and just staring at myself in the mirror. I stood there for I don't know how long before I realized that this was the first time I had actually looked at my own reflection in a very long time, and I really didn't like what I saw. The person that I saw was just a shadow, and I realized in that moment that I wasn't even really living, but just floating along through the days. I stood there, face half shaved, and I just stared at myself and hated what I saw. This wasn't my father's son, the strong person he had raised was gone and had been replaced by someone who hated everything about himself. To this day I really don't know what possessed me to do what I did next, because before I even realized what I was doing I had my cell phone in my hand and was calling my boss. I told him that my work truck was outside the office, all my work gear was in it, and the keys were on the front seat. He asked my why I was telling him this and I told him because I wasn't coming back and just hung up. I already had a plan and I honestly didn't even realize it at the time.

I got dressed, drove to Starbucks and got a cup of coffee. I sat, not really thinking about anything, just sitting until 9 or 10 in the morning. I think I probably drank 3 or 4 white mochas while I was there. Eventually I left and started driving, and at this point I felt like I was on autopilot. Before I knew it, it was noon and I had re-enrolled myself full-time in college. Here I was, 32 years old and going back to college after a 12 year layoff. By the following Monday I had been accepted, done all my financial aid paperwork, started my GI Bill, and gotten myself a schedule. Just one problem remained...it was now the beginning of July and I had no money to get me through until my GI Bill started in September. Somehow I made it through thanks to my family and friends, and now here we are two years later.

In the last 2 years I have gone from miserable computer technician to absolutely ecstatic art student. I went back to college as an art major with concentrations in painting, drawing, and printmaking, and a minor in art history. I graduate in May of 2011 with my BFA, something I had completely given up on. In going back to school I have made myself more broke than I have ever been in my life, but I'm also happier than I have ever been. My family comments on it every time they see me and they support my decision 100%. It is my hope and dream, as far-fetched as it may sound, to someday work for Disney after I graduate. As such, I am preparing myself for a move immediately after graduation. I have never been so hopeful about my life and my future, and I honestly never thought that I would be going through a complete life reboot at 34.

I feel like I've been given a new lease on life, and as such feel like I should give this blog a new lease as well.

This time, however, there will be no promises that I don't intend to keep and no guarantees beyond this: I'm going to start making entries again. I don't know when they'll be or what they'll be about. You may get a post on license plates or you may just get a sample of the artwork I've been producing, who knows? All I know is that for the first time in a very long time I am truly optimistic about life, and that optimism is something that I want to share with as many people as possible!

Thank you also to all those people who have been so supportive of me over these last few years, I couldn't have made it without you!!!

Here's to a bright future,

Ryan C.

In the Beginning (Take 2)...

2008-03-29T12:06:00.005-05:00

When I started this blog, one of my first posts was about the 1971 Walt Disney World license plates and how they basically started license plate production for Disney. I have also mentioned how they were among the first license plates that we purchased once we found that they were available on ebay. These, however, were not the first plates that I bought for my collection. In all truth, I was dragged into Disney license plate collecting kicking and screaming. My brother and father had been collecting them for years, replacing the coffee mug collection with license plates. At the time of my discharge from the U.S. Navy in 2001 I moved back home to be with my family. This was when I discovered just how fanatical dad and Shaun (my younger brother) were about these license plates. Honestly, I had no interest whatsoever in beginning a collection, I figured they had more than enough for all of us. What I did want, though, was a license plate to put on the front of my car. I had seen it in my brother's collection and thought it was really cool. He informed me that they were no longer available in the parks and that I would have to try to find one on ebay. I would like to tell you that it was some high dollar and really rare plate, but that's not the case. The license plate I wanted was this one:

I loved the design of it, the color, the layout, basically everything about it. It also incorporated two of my favorite things in all of WDW, the monorail and Epcot. It didn't take too much looking to locate one of these plates, and if my memory serves me correctly it didn't cost me much more than 8 or 10 dollars with shipping. For a very long time that was the only license plate I owned and I was quite happy that way. The following summer, though, we went back to WDW on a big family vacation. During our wanderings we kept coming across rack after rack of license plates (apparently this was a big time for production). Dad and Shaun would grab theirs and automatically they would turn to me and tell me that I needed to pick one up too. Before I knew what was going on I had reluctantly bought 7-10 new license plates. I think I came back from that trip with 12 license plates total. Once we were back home I realized that I had inadvertently laid the groundwork for a collection of my own, so I figured I would go ahead and start looking more seriously at the auctions and start doing some research. From that point on it almost became like a competition to see who could acquire the most license plates the fastest. I really got my dad mad at me when I beat him out for this little beauty:

What he didn't know, though, was that in the same auction I had been going after another plate as well:

My dad never did get the blue and white 1971 plate, but the person that was running the auction sent me three of the all blue misprints, which I gave a copy of to both dad and Shaun. Before I knew it I had amassed a collection of about 100-125 plates, many of them hard to find, such as this one:

Although it was almost like a competition between the three of us, Disney license plate collecting actually brought the three of us closer together. We would sort the collections, catalog them, try to find out what we were missing, and surf auctions together. I still have that beat up Epcot license plate (it spent 4 years on the front of my car), but I also bought another one to add to the collection. I can't imagine my life now without my collection, it's brought me so much joy and really gave me a great way to bond with my father and brother. For Disney it all started with a mouse, but for me it all started with a license plate.

Cruisin'...

2008-03-18T14:18:00.004-05:00

One of the things that I have always wanted to do but have never been able to is to take a Disney cruise. The ships look absolutely beautiful, exuding both the flair of Disney and the traditional look of early cruise liners. Having watched all of the different specials on the Travel Channel and various other networks, I am just chomping at the bit to set sail on one of these magnificent vessels. I can only imagine what it must be like to board one of the ships and get underway to the various ports of call, and to eventually arrive at Castaway Cay. The idea of Castaway Cay itself makes the trip so appealing. Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity yet to enjoy one of these cruises, but I do have a selection of DCL license plates to tide me over until that day. Enjoy!!!

Wants and Needs...

2008-03-09T10:58:00.008-05:00

When I started collecting Disney License Plates, I had absolutely no idea just what was out there. My dad had been buying license plates in the parks, but we didn't know that the history and offerings ran so much deeper than the merchandise racks of the Disney theme parks. We didn't know anything of variants, cmo plates, commemoratives, or anything else related to Disney license plates. When we discovered ebay and the wealth of offerings therein, it opened up a whole new world to us. We also discovered Steve Garner's site and realized that we were really missing out on a whole load of license plates that we never even knew existed. It was there that we learned of the 1971 blue and green plates and all of their variations and errors. We also learned what variants are and that cast member only plates were really cool.

While we have been collecting plates for a very long time, like every collector there are plates that we just haven't been able to get our hands on. In this post I am going to focus on the license plates that I have been looking for to add to my collection. These are mainly license plates that I haven't seen anywhere but on Steve's site. If anyone has any good information about where I can get these license plates, feel free to let me know, I would be very appreciative.

Now this, of course, is my absolute favorites list, and I know that the odds of me getting my hands on these particular plates are pretty slim if at all. I'm also well aware that these are some of the more expensive plates out there. These plates would be a great addition to any collection, and I truly hope some day to add them to mine.

Have a great Disney week!!!!

The Disney Vacation Club

2008-03-04T17:29:00.004-06:00

My brother actually gave me the idea for this week's post, so I want to thank him because I was really stumped about what to post. I also apologize for being a little late with this one, lots of family stuff going on lately.

Anywho, my brother called me up on Sunday to go to the park with him and his family (that meant that I would get to spend some quality time with my Goddaughter, Gracie). I jumped out of the house and headed on down to the park. It what then that my brother told me that he and his wife had just bought into the Disney Vacation Club with the Animal Kingdom Lodge as their home resort. Admittedly, as much as I love Disney, I have no real knowledge of the DVC and what a membership entails. Needless to say for those DVC veterans out there, I was ready to buy one of my own when he got done telling me all about it.

So, in honor of my brother and his new DVC membership, I want to give you an assortment of DVC license plates for this week. Unfortunately they all look pretty much the same so I'll throw in a few extras at the end just for a little change of pace!

I also want to give a big thanks to Steve Garner for helping me out with scans for the blog after I lost all of mine. Thank You Steve, you've been a tremendous help!

Three from Tokyo...

2008-02-24T10:27:00.004-06:00

Disney really went all out when they decided to expand their offerings overseas, not just with the parks but with their license plates as well. While I have never had the opportunity to visit any of the properties other than Walt Disney World, I am optimistic that I will have the chance one day to visit all of them. In the meantime, however, we do have these wonderful license plates to tide us over. A different manufacturing process was used for these plates that I think allowed them to include a lot more detail than a lot of the plates that came before these. They actually appear to be a two piece plate with the front wrapped around a backer plate, a process not seen before in the plates produced for the U.S. parks. It could also just be a laminate, but I'm not about to take one of them apart to find out!!! This also has not been seen before for Paris, either. I am not really sure of the reasoning behind this...maybe they used a different manufacturer for the Tokyo plates. Disney has done laminated plates before, specifically the 100 year blue license plate, which I am including at the end of this post. We found that out after one of them sat on a car for about a year and it started peeling. Whatever the case may be these are really beautiful plates and make a great addition to any collection.

This is laminated plate that I was talking about:

A quick update on Jordan this week...

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support! Jordan is doing much better and has recovered his ability to swallow which means he is again able to eat regular food, although not in large quantities. He is also able to speak to some degree, mostly single words, but there is the occasional sentence in there. He asked for a brownie the other day, his first real sentence since his surgery. He is also due to start chemo and radiation in the next week or so. This will sap all of his strength, this much I remember from my father's battle with cancer, so please keep praying for Jordan and his family during this really rough time. Things are definitely getting better and the little guy is fighting, but there is a long road ahead for them!

Thank you all and I hope you have a wonderful Disney Week!!!!

Round Pegs in Square Holes...

2008-02-16T15:06:00.004-06:00

One of the things that we can always be sure of when it comes to Disney is that they love to do things differently. While I have seen nonstandard license plates occasionally in my day to day driving experiences, I really didn't know what to think when Disney started churning out these oval shaped plates. To the best of my knowledge (which is suspect more often than not), Disney has not released any nonstandard plates to the general public, which means that once again the cast members get all the fun. There have been several of these oval shaped plates issued, all cast member only, covering subjects from anniversaries to charitable causes, as well as the first one listed here, which is basically a license plate recreation of a cast member name tag.

But the fun doesn't end there...nay nay I say. Disney also went ahead and issued variant plates among all this oval shaped goodness. The first one below isn't so much a variant because it was released concurrently with the tan one above, maybe because they wanted to give CMs a little variety or something. The second Disney Hand one is most definitely a variant, and I believe that there is another variant of it out there, but I don't own one and don't have a scan of one so you'll just have to take my word for it.

I really enjoy it when Disney shakes things up a little bit and throws a curveball out there. It keeps us collectors on our toes and gives us some good variety in our collections (and makes us spend a lot more money in the process). Till next time I hope you all have a terrific week, keep those prayers for Jordan going, they are definitely helping, and I want to wish you all a wonderful Disney Day!

Explanations, Apologies, and a need for prayer...

2008-02-11T19:08:00.000-06:00

There are many, many reasons why I have neglected this blog for the last couple of months. I would like to take this chance to apologize to those of you who had been regular visitors for my lack of attention. My intention was never to let this remain dormant and neglected. The last few months have not been very kind to me and my family. As many of you may remember, I started a new job in early November. While I have been very happy in my new job, I have been faced with work hours that I never could have expected. These increased hours often put me getting home very late and leave me in not exactly the best frame of mind to blog. On top of that I also have lost my desktop machine, which had all of my scans of my license plates and other Disney items, so I'm currently trying to rebuild the collection of scans. These things mainly took place in December shortly after my last post. By far though, the most trying event has to do with my nephew Jordan. Jordan is 4 years old and was diagnosed last month with a cancerous brain tumor. He has had surgery to remove the tumor, which was at the base of his brain. He is currently still in the hospital and was recently transferred to Children's Hospital in New Orleans to continue his treatment, which will include chemotherapy and radiation. I would ask anyone who still visits here from time to time, please keep Jordan and his family in your prayers. As my brother told us in email last week, "things are looking up, but they're still looking uphill." I thank you all in advance for your prayers and consideration.

I would also like to address the state of this blog and it's future, both short and long-term. For the time being I will start adding new blog posts on every Saturday, so there will be at least one update per week. As things level out I hope to be able to increase to twice weekly updates. I cannot keep up with the pace that I set in the beginning, I no longer have that kind of time on my hands. I will, however, do what I can to resurrect this blog before it goes the way of the dodo. I wish you all the best and I hope to be able to report on happier subjects in my next update.

Time Capsule...

2007-12-09T11:16:00.000-06:00

No license plates today, sorry. What I do have, though, is a time capsule of sorts. When my dad had surgery to remove the brain tumor that ultimately took his life, we were all anxious for him to be able to come home and be with his family again. We all were very excited when that day finally came. As a welcome home present for my dad, we put together this collage made with different items from his many trips to Walt Disney World (more than 50 trips in all) and gave it to him the day he came home. He was very excited to have it, and it now hangs in my own house above my fireplace. I'll give you the the list of items starting with the top left and working around clockwise.

1. Mickey Mouse Drink Coaster - I have no idea where we got those
2. Animal Kingdom Lodge Privacy Hanger - Dad had a habit of taking those home with him
3. Disney Dollars - These are from the very first run of Disney Dollars
4. Pioneer Hall Paper - Picked this up at the Hoop De Doo Musical Review
5. 25 Year Pin/Sticker - Handout during 25th Anniversary Celebration
6. Annual Passes - These are the old style that had a photo and were laminated - pre bioscan
7. 100 Year Napkin - Pretty self explanatory
8. Polynesian Village Resort IDs - Late 80s and Early 90s, before card key IDs
9. EPCOT Center Bumper Sticker - One that managed to not make it onto a car
10. Caribbean Beach Resort Flier - These were placed in the rooms
11. Main Street Electrical Parade Sticker
12. 4-Day Pass - These are from 1987/88
13. 4-Day Pass - These are from 1990
14. EPCOT Center Guide Book - Vintage, that's all I can say
15. Parking Tickets - From a few off property vacations
16. Year 2000 Pass
17. Magic Kingdom Park Guide
18. Various Admission Tickets
19. 100 Year Celebration Annual Pass
20. Various Room Keys - From the early 90s to present
21. Disney/MGM Studios Park Guide
22. Osborn Family Lights Special Effect Glasses
23. Disney Transportation Guide - For interpreting those goofy flags that were on the buses
24. Spectromagic Sticker
25. MGM Bumper Sticker
26. Old Style Resort Room Key - From the Polynesian Village Resort

All of these items are very special to us, reminding us just how much dad loved Disney and what it did to bring our family closer together. During this holiday season I truly hope you and your family can experience just a little bit of the closeness that Disney has brought to my family. Happy Holidays and Have a Great Disney Day!!!

Then and Now...

2007-12-08T01:46:00.000-06:00

Not too long ago I was talking with one of my friends about their upcoming trip to WDW. They told me that they were trying to decide where to stay and that they were having trouble deciding on a resort. During the conversation, this friend said that they were considering Dixie Landings because they had stayed there once before and enjoyed it. I said "yeah, Riverside is a really cool resort." They had no idea what I was talking about and thought that I had gotten myself confused. I then had to explain to them about the combining of Port Orleans French Quarter and Dixie Landings into one single resort, and the subsequent renaming of Dixie Landings to Port Orleans Riverside.

Disney has not restricted their name changing prerogative to that singular resort, having refurbished and changed the names of some others such as Saratoga Springs, the Polynesian Resort, and Shades of Green. I just thought that I would share a couple of the license plates that were issued with the original name of this particular resort. These are a little hard to find now, so if you run across them for a reasonable price I suggest picking them up.

The First Three...and the three that didn't make it...

2007-11-29T09:07:00.000-06:00

As it stands right now there are almost 20 resorts at Walt Disney World, and that's only if you don't count all of the Vacation Club Villas that are available to guests. It wasn't always that way though. When Walt Disney World opened in 1971 there were only three resorts to choose from. The Polynesian Village Resort, Contemporary Resort, and Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground were completed in time for the grand opening, and for quite some time they were the only on-site option for guests to the Florida property.

Most people know the basic time line of development for other resorts at WDW, and many can quote verbatim opening dates and the exact year that Disney started differentiating between Deluxe, Moderate, and Value resorts. What many people don't know, however, is that there were resorts that were already planned, locations picked out, and plans drawn up, that were never built. These resorts were to have amazing theming and access to the monorail. As a matter of fact, if you look at early pictures of the property around Seven Seas Lagoon you can see the square of land that was already developed for Disney's Asian Resort.

This was to be the first of the monorail line expansion resorts, but plans for it were canceled. This resort was even featured in Walt Disney World literature available in the early 1970s. There was a resort built on the site that was planned for this resort. The Grand Floridian, opened in 1988, occupies the land originally developed for The Asian Resort.

The second resort that was scrapped was Disney's Venetian Resort.

This resort was to be built between the Contemporary Resort and the Transportation and Ticket Center on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon. It was to be themed after Venice, Italy, and was to be connected to the monorail line. This project was scrapped and enjoyed a short rebirth during the 80s and 90s when the concept for the Mediterranean Resort was developed. This was also scrapped although land had been cleared for its development.

The third resort was the Persian Resort.

This resort was to be built not on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon, but on Bay Lake. Early concept drawings of it had a monorail spur line running from the resort to Tomorrowland. This resort was also scrapped.

Although these resorts never came to be, they have become a part of Disney Lore and a very serious point of speculation and discussion by many Disney fans. I will leave you with an aerial view of the area surrounding Seven Seas Lagoon from the early 70s. See if you can pick out where these resorts were supposed to go.

Till next time, have a great Disney day!!!!!

The Other Side of the World...

2007-11-20T23:03:00.000-06:00

One of the things that I have learned in my license plate collecting is this: The bigger the resort, the more license plates. Where Walt Disney World has had literally hundreds of license plates produced for it, there have been but a fraction of that number that have been produced for the park that started it all, Disneyland in California. This week I have decided to leave Walt Disney World for a little while and share some of my Disneyland license plates. These are not all, but rather just a sampling of what can be found for WDW's older but smaller sibling.

The last one was actually sent to me as a free bonus for an auction that I won on ebay, so I can't really complain about the condition. Till next time have a great Disney day!!!

Diamonds in the Rough...

2007-11-10T21:26:00.000-06:00

In a previous post I talked about mistakes that have been made with some of the license plates that have made their way into the hands of the general public. The most notable ones have been the mistakes that were made on the 1970 WDW pre-opening license plates:

These are just two of the error plates that made their way into circulation. There are others such as the green mis-cut, which has no white printing and is a little longer than the plate above with the edge of another plate attached to it. There is also a double plate that has been found as well as several other mis-cuts. Steve Garner has some great pictures of these errors on his website if you would like to see them.

The main subject of this post, however, is a little gem that was discovered by my younger brother while searching for license plates on one of his WDW vacations. We have developed the habit of looking through literally every single license plate on every rack we come across just in case there are any variants in the pile. It was during one of these searches that my brother ran across this plate:

For the sake of comparison, here is what it's supposed to look like:

The error on my brother's plate, although pretty obvious, is made all the more interesting when it's observed first-hand. Not only is there an error on the Mickey, but all of the black print on the license plate is shifted over to the left. This being an aluminum plate, all of the lettering is raised when the plate is stamped, and the lettering for the word "STUDIOS" is shifted in such a manner that the lettering itself sits on the flat of the plate while the raised sections remain blank. In my opinion this plate is truly a rare find in that it's one of those errors that's just a glitch in the printing process that may not have been duplicated more than a couple of times, making this license plate a true "Diamond in the Rough."

Now, as a bonus for making everyone wait so long for a new post, I want to share another Disney MGM Studios license plate. This was a cast member only issue many years ago. The special thing about this license plate is not that it was only issued to cast members, but that it was also issued with a letter from Dick Nunis thanking them for all of their hard work. This is not by any means the norm with Disney license plates, cast member or otherwise. Normally they are simply issued en masse to the public or the cast members or to the appropriate group in the case of opening team and other exclusive commemorative plates. This plate is one of the true gems of my collection as I was able to not only acquire the plate but also the original copy of the letter that was issued with it:

I truly hope you enjoyed this post and I hope that I can get back to a somewhat regular posting schedule again very soon. Till next time, Have a wonderful Disney day!!!

Crazy Times and Good News...

2007-11-06T19:25:00.000-06:00

To all the readers of this blog, I once again apologize for an extended down period. As the title says, there have been some crazy times going on lately that have had to take precedence over my updates here. The first bit of news is that my younger sister recently gave birth to a new daughter. She's absolutely beautiful and both mother and daughter are doing great, so I think she'll be ready soon to begin her indoctrination into the world of Disney! The second piece of news is that I have been in the process of transitioning from my old job to a new one. As some of you know I used to work for a library system as Technology Manager. I thought I was doing a good job, at least that's what my immediate supervisor said, but it turns out that other people in positions of power had very different ideas. Whatever the circumstances were (to be truthful I really don't know the whole story), the Acting Director (you read that right, he's not even a permanent fixture) decided that it would be a good idea to contract out the entire technology department thinking he could do it for less than my salary (good luck there). Rather than wait around to be fired I decided to accept an offer from a company that had been after me for some time. I am now working again as a marine electronics technician, and I'm convinced I should have made this move a lot sooner. So for the last few weeks I have been trying to prepare to leave the library and make the move back to ships. I think I'll send the library a thank you note for getting me a raise and a better job! There have also been some other happenings, but I won't get into them here. I will be getting back to my regular posting ASAP and I promise the next post will be a good one!

Even Cast Members Get Left Out...

2007-10-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

As I've posted here before, there have been many license plates that are produced specifically for cast members. These license plates are not available to the public except through auction sites like ebay, and sometimes through more esoteric channels (a friend of a friend of a friend knows a guy...). Some of these license plates are very highly sought after and the prices of these plates have soared into the hundreds of dollars on very regular occasions.

There are times when being a cast member isn't even enough. Disney has, on numerous occasions, gone even deeper and separated specific groups of cast members from the rest. These specific groups have, much to their good fortune, been the recipients of some very hard to find license plates. Who are these cast member groups? What makes them so special?

The groups that I am speaking of are the Opening Teams. Cast members who are in some way associated with the opening of a new resort, attraction, or even a park. Disney has established a history of producing Opening Team license plates which are distributed only to these cast members. This means a limited number are produced and distributed, oftentimes making these license plates more valuable than even other cast member plates. If you are a collector and you have to good fortune to run across one of these for a decent price, buy it, they don't show up very often.

Both sides of the story...

2007-10-20T10:09:00.000-05:00

When Mickey's Philharmagic opened, It was anything but a normal 3-D show. It stands to reason then that the license plate associated with it should be anything but a normal license plate.

This marks the first time that Disney has continued the artwork onto the back side (using a backside) of the license plate. I truly hope they continue to try new things with these plates.

Early Variation...

2007-10-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

As I've said before, Disney developed the habit of producing variant license plates very early on. Many of these variations have no real rhyme or reason as to why they were made except to put more plates on the market. Disney has no official standpoint on these variants, and since they're listed as general merchandise there is no completely accurate way to track them.

There is, however, at least one variant plate that was produced, whether intentionally or not, with some purpose behind it:

This license plate, which was produced for our nation's bicentennial, was produced with two different backing colors as well as variations in the red on the front of the plate. The red backed plate uses the same color red on the front while the aluminum backed plate is more of a pinkish shade on the front.

Unlike other variants, the differences in these two plates were because they were produced for two different parks. While I haven't been able to find out for sure which is which, I have been able to find that one plate was produced for Walt Disney World and one was for Disneyland in California. Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure based on what I've found that the red back was issued in Florida. So far this is the only instance I have been able to find where a color variation can be used to denote the park of issue.

Outside the Parks...

2007-10-14T10:43:00.001-05:00

When it comes to collecting Disney license plates, as with any other aspect of Disneyana, sometimes we have to look outside the parks to find our collectibles. When Disney started producing their license plates they didn't restrict themselves to only plates that pertained to their theme parks. Some plates were made to commemorate special events in the history of our nation:

Other plates were made to spotlight some of our favorite classic Disney characters:

Still others were made to remind us of some of our favorite types of characters:

One thing is for sure. No matter what the subject matter Disney does a terrific job of reminding us that the parks and resorts are not the only stars in the Disney galaxy!

SSSSmokin'...

2007-10-13T10:57:00.000-05:00

If talk of tobacco use bothers you then you may want to skip this post and check back in a couple of days.

Remember when one could actually buy cigarettes right on Main Street U.S.A.? Prior to its closing in 1985, and its subsequent move across the street to a tiny corner of the Smucker's store, there was actually an entire store right on Main Street devoted almost completely to the sale of tobacco products. It was called "Tobacconist." I wasn't old enough to buy cigarettes then, but I do remember walking through the shop more than once when it was open. I did, however, buy cigarettes at the new location across the street after it moved (I wasn't actually old enough at the time, but they didn't seem too worried about seeing an ID). One of the other things that I remember was the sight of people walking around freely in Walt Disney World lighting up everywhere. Let me also say that as a smoker I never did much approve of this practice. I always tried to get off to the side where my smoking wouldn't bother anyone, but it was nice to not have to walk a country mile just to find a place to have a quick smoke.

Anyway, enough about the reminiscing and talking about touchy subjects. The whole reason for this entry is that I was looking through the old collection again and ran across these:

These used to be widely available all across Walt Disney World, and each matchbook design was specific to where it was available. I'm sure I have plenty more hanging around somewhere but I just need to find them. The cool thing is that all four of these have never had a match used out of them, and they're still in great shape. I really believe that these are a part of Disney history that many people would like to forget about, but it did happen, and now we have some great pieces of Disneyana to show for it.

Round and Round...

2007-10-10T09:18:00.001-05:00

Who says a license plate has to be a rectangle? Apparently Disney doesn't feel that way, as they have released a number of oval shaped license plates. Unfortunately these license plates have not been made available to the general public for sale, but they can be found on ebay pretty regularly. These oddly shaped plates have shown up to commemorate a number of different events, and at least one was made to resemble a Disney Cast Member name tag (look at the bottom of the page!). I really think these are some of the most original license plates that Disney has produced, and I'm really hoping that they produce more of them. Once again, these are not all of the oval plates I own; I actually have plans for posts involving some of the others.

This is definitely one of those instances where Cast Members have been treated to a nice little bonus that us run of the mill Disney Nuts missed out on!

It's been a while...

2007-10-07T21:48:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated the blog. I've been in the process of moving and have been without access for a little while, but things are back up and running now. The good news is that you, my wonderful audience, get a whole load of license plates on this one!

Disney has been producing yearly license plates for some time now. I believe they started this during the millennium celebration and have continued it each year since. I have not posted up all of my license plates, but a selection to sort of whet the appetite. Some of these may show up again later in variant discussions or just a random post.

I would also like to ask if there is anything specific that you would like to see, please let me know! I'm always up for anything, it doesn't have to be just about license plates!

World of Motion Reborn

2007-09-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

The ceremonial last ride of World of Motion in 1996 marked the beginning of what amounted not to a dramatic 2 year refurb, but instead to a complete rebirth of one of EPCOT Center's original attractions. Test Track, due to many different issues during its construction, missed 2 opening dates, and finally opened to the public on December 19, 1998. I can remember many trips during the construction where we would see ride vehicles screaming around the exterior track but no one being allowed in. There was a lot of speculation about what the experience would be and when it would finally open. As an "EPCOT Center purist," I can't say that I was totally disappointed, but I was not 100% happy with World of Motion's replacement. Rather than the whimsical history of transportation that was both fun and informational, and also a great nap spot for my dad, we were now transported inside of GM's proving grounds to experience the rigors of automobile testing. Although they tried to keep the mood somewhat light hearted, I more often find the interior stark and kind of slapped together. Long waits and even longer downtimes might have had something to do with the overall experience, as well as the industrial look of the queue area which just seems to lack the normal level of imagination seen in other attraction queues. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy this attraction, but I often wax nostalgic about the predecessor of this technological marvel. One of the really good things about the change to the attraction was that it sparked a pretty good number of license plates. There was a cast member plate:

The public, however, was not left out this time around, and we were graced with several license plates fit for public consumption:

There have been several other license plates issued since this first run was produced, and I will cover those in another post. I would also like to reiterate that I think this is a fine attraction, I just happen to be one of those people who is a sucker for the "vintage" attractions.

Grim Grinning License Plates...

2007-09-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Haunted Mansion is one of the most beloved attractions in all of the Disney Parks. It has been given several different appearances. It is an antebellum mansion in Disneyland, The Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris, Gothic Revival in Walt Disney World, and modified holiday versions depending on the time of year. As varied as the incarnations of the attraction are the license plates that have been produced for it. It's bad enough when you have to track down one or two variant plates, but I guess someone got bored and decided to have a little fun with us license plate collectors. We didn't get just one or two, but seven variations based on a single license plate design. These differences cover everything from different border designs and backing colors to front background coloration. Some have a white back, some have a bare aluminum back. Some have white backing on the front and some have bare aluminum. There are also differences in the weathering patterns on the lettering. I have put up front shots of all of the different versions. If you would like scans of the backs, I have them and can send them as needed. My brother and I had some interesting days in the parks combing through racks of plates to try to find all of these variations. The only one that was purchased on ebay was the plastic souvenir handout version.

Next time we go back to Epcot to check out what became of World of Motion!

For Dad...

2007-09-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Timmy Lee Crochet ~ 9/23/1955 – 1/23/2004

Today’s post is going to be a little different, as today is the birthday of the man who got me started collecting Disney license plates. My father, Timmy Crochet, first started collecting Disney license plates because, as he liked to put it, “they take up a lot less room than coffee mugs.” He had been collecting Disney coffee mugs for many years and they were starting to overtake all of the available shelf space in my parents’ house. He saw the license plates as a much more feasible option. For a long time he only bought what he could find in the parks during the course of his trips. When I moved back home after the end of my enlistment in the Navy in 2001, things really started to get interesting. I got my dad to upgrade his internet connection and my brother introduced him to ebay. When he saw what was available in the auctions he never looked back, and before we knew it there were license plates arriving virtually every day. It was during this time that I joined him in the collecting craze, my brother having already established a large collection of his own. For the next couple of years it was bidding wars and nearly hourly checks of ebay for new license plates.

This all came to a crashing halt in July of 2003. My dad started suffering from severe headaches, and a MRI revealed that he had brain cancer. The outlook was grim, as the doctors basically told us that we should start saying our goodbyes. On November 23, 2003, my dad made his last trip to Walt Disney World, a trip that no one in my family will soon forget. It was on that trip that my dad found out that he was going to be a grandfather for the first time, and it was also the last time he walked, making a heavily assisted stroll over a bridge outside of Innoventions. On January 23, 2004 my father died, succumbing at last to the brain cancer. After the funeral we needed to decide what the fate of his license plate collection would be. At that time his collection was well over 300 license plates and they were all on display. It was decided that we would number each one and that my brother, sister, and I would draw numbers in turn, each taking the license plate that matched the number drawn. It was in this way that we divided up the collection evenly between my siblings and me.

My brother and I have continued our collections, and now our total combined collection is somewhere around 450-550 license plates. It wouldn’t have happened, though, if it weren’t for our dad. He was the biggest Disney Nut we knew. Dad loved everything about Disney and what it stands for. I really believe that more than most people “he got it.” I was so happy and proud to be able to see my dad make that last trip to WDW, as were my mother, brother, and sister. Mom and I took a trip to WDW in June of 2004, in part as a memorial to my dad. We cried watching Wishes from O’hana, we remembered all of his favorite places, and I bought more license plates. In the 28 years I had with my dad he instilled many values and taught me so many lessons about life. What he also gave me was a love of Disney, not just the license plates but what Disney stands for. Disney is an ideal, a belief that there is a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Just a Dream Away. Disney is about family and about bringing families together in a magical place, whether that place is one of their parks or your own living room. I believe that my dad, on many different levels, embodied what is best about the Disney Spirit, and what he gave us will live on through me, my brother, my sister, and all of their children.

Below is an excerpt from an article that ran in our local newspaper in November of 2003. The article was written to spotlight some of the biggest Disney fans in our area in celebration of Mickey Mouse's birthday. After the article I have put a picture of the license plate that to me is the single most special license plate in my entire collection. Read the article and I’m sure you will be able to figure out which license plate it is.

November 16, 2003

Mickey Mania

by JAIME LUGIBIHL DISHMAN
The Courier

When he debuted on Nov. 18, 1928, he was just a little mouse. His sketchy, black and white image jerked across the screen in "Steamboat Willie." Now, 75 years later and after thousands of animations, Mickey Mouse is the icon of animation and imagination -the little mouse who started it all. His 75th birthday is Tuesday, and some local Mickey Mouse fanatics have already started to celebrate. Tim Crochet, 48, has bought two of the 75th anniversary license plates celebrating Mickey’s birthday. "One of them is on the truck, and one is on the wall," Tim said. When Tim talks about his wall, he is referring to the inside of his garage, where every bit of available space is covered with more than 300 license plates. Some celebrate Mickey, other commemorate different Disney events. Tim and his wife, April, have been Mickey fans since 1979, when they went on their first trip to Disney World. Since then, they have been on 43 trips to Disney World and have spent about 390 days inside the park. "What made me enjoy it was to see the joy that he (Mickey Mouse) brought to all of the kids," Tim said. "I just fell in love with him and that is how it all got started." Tim and April’s Houma house is covered in Mickey memorabilia. Not a single room has escaped the fanaticism. In the kitchen, pictures of Disney World are proudly displayed. The living room is covered with paraphernalia, and Tim and April agree they like it that way. "When he started to fall in love with Mickey, I was fine with it," April said. "He can put his decorations wherever he wants." Tim and April plan to take a seven-day trip to Disney World during Thanksgiving week. But this trip has special significance for the couple. It marks their 44th trip to the Florida park, and since Tim recently had surgery to remove a cancerous brain tumor in July, it really means a lot to both of them to be able to go. "The doctors told me they didn’t recommend it, but I don’t care. I am going," Tim said. Friends helped the couple pay for the trip, since Tim had to quit his pharmacist job after being diagnosed with cancer. Although Tim will not be able to ride many of the rides, he said he is looking forward to just enjoying the serenity and memories the park brings to him. "This is really going to mean a lot for us," April said. Tim uses Mickey Mouse as a source of strength. A license plate decorates the back of his wheelchair, and he said he thought of Mickey Mouse and Disney World when he was going through radiation treatments. "People say, 'Boy, if only you had all of the money you spent at Disney,’ " April said. "But we say no. We have a treasure chest of memories and you can’t trade that. It has been a place of great joy."

In case you didn't catch it in the article, this is the license plate that was on the back of my dad's wheelchair throughout his battle with cancer. It is by far the most special plate that I own, and one that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

This is a picture of me, my younger brother, and my dad (in that order) on Main Street U.S.A. in June of 2001. I really wish the Three Amigos could take just one more picture together.

Happy Birthday Dad. We Miss You and We Love You.

(updated) Welcome to the Wonderful World of Motion...

2007-09-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, one of the few Future World attractions was the transportation based World of Motion. This attraction, sponsored by General Motors and housed in The Transportation Pavilion, presented a history of transportation from the days of foot power all the way through futuristic methods such as the Lean Machine. The attraction was basically broken into two parts: the ride-through attraction and the TransCenter, which was presented in a walk-through format.

What set this attraction apart from its Future World counterparts was its approach to the subject matter. Unlike other EPCOT Center attractions, World of Motion was "the funny one," opting for a fun and whimsical approach over the more serious, sometimes even stern approach taken by its counterparts. The ride scenes, designed by Marc Davis, presented what would have otherwise been very serious fare in a most entertaining tongue in cheek fashion. Among the jokes were the invention of the wheel, used chariot sales (including a hidden Mickey), and Leonardo da Vinci ignoring a rather perturbed Mona Lisa so he could instead design flying machines. Also included was an effect somewhat akin to the hitchhiking ghosts at the Magic Kingdom, only this time the entire ride vehicle was made to look like a streamlined futuristic car.

Once your ride was over you were invited to explore the TransCenter, the walking part of the attraction. This part of the attraction was accessible both via the ride and through an exterior entrance, so you didn't necessarily have to ride to experience this part of the attraction. Numerous static and dynamic displays were included in this section as well as some "mini-attractions" like The Bird and the Robot and The Water Powered Engine. Among the static displays was a futuristic looking car, a magnetic powered train, several prototype GM designs, and various GM production vehicles.

World of Motion was in operation until January 2, 1996, when the ceremonial last ride was taken. The attraction underwent a major overhaul, reopening as Test Track on December 19, 1998.

So you're probably asking yourself, since this is a Disney License Plate Blog, is there a license plate involved somewhere in all of this? As a matter of fact there is, and as far as I've been able to find, it's a pretty rare one.

I don't know a great deal about this license plate (I'm sure you're getting used to hearing that by now), but from the information that I've been able to find it was issued only to GM employees and cast members who were involved with the construction and opening of the World of Motion attraction. To date I have only run across two of these, one on ebay, which cost me very dearly to purchase, and the other as a part of Steve Garner's collection. I know there have got to be more out there, so if anyone has one or has better or more accurate information about it please let me know and I will update appropriately.

I want to thank Steve Garner for the following information. In an email this morning he shared with me the information that he has on this plate.

"Discovered on e-Bay January 2003. Seller states that it belonged to a family member who oversaw the setup of the World Of Motion exhibit when Epcot opened. World Of Motion was a pavilion in Future World and opened October 1, 1982. The attraction was a ride through the history of the automobile. It was closed January 2, 1996 and was replaced by the Test Track attraction that opened in 1998.

A June 2005 e-Bay seller notes that the plate was only available to General Motors Public Relations staff and as a gift to the original test and adjust team with Epcot maintenance."

Judging by this it would seem that the plate is even more rare than I originally thought given the limited distribution.

Steve also gave the auction history from ebay, and it appears that I kind of got the short end on the auction block. I bought the second one that had shown up and paid the second highest auction amount for any of the ten auctions. One thing I can say for sure though is if I had it to do all over again, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Where to Stay????

2007-09-19T13:31:00.000-05:00

When planning a trip to Walt Disney World, one of the hardest choices for many people is what Disney resort hotel to stay at during their trip. For many, many years, the number one choice for my family was the Polynesian Village Resort (now Disney's Polynesian Resort). We stayed there numerous times and had a terrific time on each and every trip.

When Disney introduced their moderate level hotels we took a chance and tried out the Caribbean Beach Resort. We weren't disappointed at all. The theming was terrific, very subtle in some cases and not so subtle in others. We had many stays at the Caribbean and had a terrific time on each vacation.

We have also stayed at other Disney resorts and have not had a bad experience on any of these trips. We have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter, Coronado Springs, and other members of my family have stayed at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, All Star Resort, and Pop Century, and all have had a great time.

There is one thing that I have personally noticed, having visited all of the resorts on WDW property, whether it be for a vacation stay or just in the process of exploring the grounds. The level of theming changes almost exponentially as you move from one lodging level to the next. I find that the theming at the Deluxe level is a lot more subtle and that it gets a little more "cartoony" as you move from level to level, as evidenced by the completely over-the-top statues at the All Star and Pop Century resorts.

These differences, however, are not reflected in the license plates that are produced for the resorts. These license plates, whether they be for a Deluxe, Moderate, or Value resort, all exhibit the same level of detail and whimsy.

There are, of course, the obvious differences that come from placing the characters in the setting or period of the particular resort, but that is pretty much where the differences end. In my humble opinion, this is one area where Disney makes no distinction whatsoever between the levels of their resorts, delivering excellent looking plates for all of their resorts.

EPCOT Turns 10...

2007-09-17T11:33:00.000-05:00

In keeping with the widespread talk about Epcot's 25th anniversary, I'd like to take a look back at the last major celebration the park and the some of the license plates issued during that time. EPCOT Center (that name was so much better than just Epcot) turned 10 in 1992. As I remember it there really wasn't a huge celebration like the ones that were held to commemorate the anniversaries of the WDW Resort as a whole. We were, however, given more license plates to add to the collection. In my case I have one from general merchandise and one cast member only plate:

The plate above was available to the general public, but I did not buy it during the celebration. This is yet another of my ebay finds, this one being a lot more affordable and not nearly as heavily contested as some other plates.

The second plate is the cast member only issue for the celebration. Once again, this is an ebay find. I first ran across this plate on Steve Garner's Site and instantly had to get one for myself. This one actually came to me through my father (I will explain more about this later), who had purchased the plate on ebay. I think this license plate really does a great job of capturing the feel of the original EPCOT Center. It's not a flashy plate, and I really think the beauty of this plate lies in its simplicity of design. I also love the way they incorporated the original EPCOT Center type for all of the text.

There are other anniversary plates out there, and I will update as I am able to acquire them. Till next time, PARTY ON! EPCOT 25 is right around the corner!

Cast Members Get All the Best Stuff!

2007-09-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

By far some of the best looking license plates I have seen are those reserved for cast members, especially the anniversary plates. They also make for some pretty hard searching when the general public tries to get their hands on them.

You'll notice quite often that I come up short on the history department where it applies to many of my license plates. The reason for this is that Disney does not keep any records on their license plates. They're considered general merchandise and are not tracked beyond the identification numbers on each different plate. I wish there was more that I could tell you about these but there really isn't much that I know about them beyond that they were cast member only issues for the 20th and 25th anniversaries.

Of course the general public got their own plates for these celebrations, but in my opinion they pale in comparison to the cast only ones.

All this talk of anniversaries and parties has gotten me looking through my collection for all of the anniversary stuff I have. In the next installment I'll be showing some of the stranger stuff that I happened to acquire during the anniversary celebrations.

Thanks Jeff!

2007-09-11T20:25:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Jeff Pepper over at 2719 Hyperion, I got motivated today to take a look at my collection to find out if I had any Disney bumper stickers. Admittedly I have never personally bought a single bumper sticker on any of my trips to WDW, but my father did, and when he passed away in 2004 I inherited many of the bumper stickers he had purchased. I found them all tucked away neatly in a drawer where they had been for probably the last three years. Thanks, Jeff, for motivating me to rediscover a part of my own collection that I didn't even know I had! I've put them all in this one post because I just think they look good all together, just the way I inherited them.

Everyone Loves a Party!

2007-09-10T23:03:00.000-05:00

Especially when they're giving out a prize every fifteen seconds. The 15th Anniversary celebration at Walt Disney World was the first big anniversary celebration thrown at the Florida property. To commemorate the celebration, we get to add yet another license plate to the collection:

As I remember it this celebration was huge! There were parades, special shows, and of course the prize giveaways. Every fifteen seconds during the 15th Anniversary festivities someone coming through the gate won a prize, and I was lucky enough to be one of the winners!

I was 11 years old during that trip and I thought it was just about the greatest thing in the world that I had won one of the prizes. I've never really gotten into trading or collecting Disney pins, but this is definitely one pin that I will never let go.

The 15th Anniversary celebration was really a sight to see, and being one of the winners was an experience that will stay with me forever. I truly believe that this celebration was a demonstration of Disney at its absolute best and it set the bar for every celebration that came after it.

Oops!...

2007-09-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid collecting baseball cards, one of my favorite things was trying to locate error cards (anyone remember Billy Ripken?). I found out about error license plates very early on in my collecting endeavors. Of all the error plates, and there really aren't that many out there that I've seen, by far the hardest for me to locate were two of the 1970 WDW pre-opening error plates. I have no idea how these mistakes were made, nor how they got into circulation, but I feel very lucky to have been able to acquire both of them.

I managed to find both of these on ebay about 4 years ago, and they were both the subject of pretty heavily contested bidding right up until the last second. I can't attest to the actual rarity of these license plates, but I can say that I really haven't seen very many of them in my search for new plates. There is another error plate that I am still on the hunt for, but I've only seen it once, and that is a mis-cut that has part of two plates on the same plate. Once again, if anyone has seen one or knows where I can get one, please let me know!

I'm now going to shift a little and start listing plates park by park at the rate of probably 2 to 3 a day or every other day, so keep an eye on the blog and let me know if there's anything in particular that you'd like to see!

It's Nahtazu!

2007-09-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

As I round out my first week of posting, so too do we round out the list of Walt Disney World theme parks. The fourth park to join the WDW family, Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998. Featuring the beautifully constructed Tree of Life and "free roaming" animals on the Kilimanjaro Safari, this park gave visitors a whole new experience never seen before in Walt Disney World.

Unfortunately for license plate collectors, we were to receive an experience that we had grown all too familiar with...another variant plate. This one is one of the most subtle variations that I have ever seen on a Disney license plate. The background color is just a shade darker on the variant plate. Whether this was done by mistake or intentionally I do not know. Surprisingly enough I never even realized that I had both plates until I started scanning them for this blog.

I have to admit that I was very happy that I already had both of them. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to try to explain to a potential seller on ebay exactly what I was looking for.

That rounds out the pre-opening plates for the four Walt Disney World parks. From this point on we'll be taking a look at the rest of my collection and possibly exploring a little bit of Disney history through these license plates. It's been a fun first week, and I really want to thank all of the people who have contacted me and helped me to get some exposure for the new blog. I hope you all have a wonderful Disney weekend!

We Need Another Park...

2007-09-06T09:05:00.001-05:00

Born from a design by Marty Sklar and Randy Bright for an attraction at EPCOT Center we have the first park built under then CEO Michael Eisner (please don't shoot me for saying that name). Disney MGM Studios evolved from an idea for an EPCOT pavilion dedicated to the movies. A decision was made to build an entire park rather than just a single pavilion, and of course we also got another license plate to go along with it.

This plate was available both to the public and to the press prior to the opening of Disney MGM Studios. Of course, it also had to be a variant plate. This license plate was released with both a bare aluminum back and a white back.

Over the years there have been numerous other license plates issued for the park, some bearing the Disney MGM name and logo, and others labeled "The Walt Disney Studios." My suspicion on this is that the Disney MGM plates refer to the park in its entirety while the Walt Disney Studios plates refer only to the parts of the park that were specific Disney entities. This is only speculation on my part, but I can't really think of or find any other information that gives a clear cut reason for the difference.

In our next installment we meet a whole new species of theme park!

Continuing the Trend

2007-09-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you have 47 square miles of land and just one park? Build more parks of course. When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, only the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort, and Fort Wilderness were open, so expansion was the order of the day. For many years this expansion included resorts, shopping, and a water park, but no new theme parks. When plans were finally announced for EPCOT Center, the second park at WDW, of course they couldn't help but release another license plate to add to the collection:

The interesting thing about this license plate is that is also part of a trend that has become the bane of all hard-core Disney license plate collectors: variants. Over the years there have been a number of variant plates, and this one was among the first. This plate was released with both a bare aluminum back and a white painted back.

This variation makes buying at auction somewhat difficult because the color of the back is almost never listed.

I am not 100% sure of when this next license plate was released, but from what I have been able to dig up it was released after EPCOT Center was opened. Disney also didn't wait a very long time to produce another variant plate:

This and the EPCOT Center pre-opening license plate are among the favorites in my collection, they just look so darned cool. The variation on this plate was a lot less obvious than the previous one and took almost a decade to surface. The one in my collection is from the original run of plates. This license plate also introduces us to something that I will discuss in another blog, identification numbers. This plate has an identification number in the bottom most left hand corner, just below the stripe. The second run had an identification number in the corner and a Disney copyright directly under the "D" in "world." These second run plates were produced in 1997 and may have been a cast member only issue. I am still searching for one of these second run plates, so if anyone knows where I can find one, please let me know.

In our next installment we will take a look at the next member of the Walt Disney World family!

In the Beginning...

2007-09-04T14:47:00.001-05:00

We'll start the license plate talk where it began, at least for me. Since the majority of my collection is centered around Walt Disney World, we'll start with the start of the Florida property, and so I give you license plate the first.

The story on where this plate came from has been debated, but I'll relate it as accurately as I can. Disney released this plate to announce the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, and as I understand it they sold this plate at the WDW Preview Center. It subsequently had to be pulled from the shelves because it apparently was a little too close to the actual Florida 1970-71 license plate.

The blue background plate was removed and was replaced with a revised plate with a green background, which managed to remain in production.

I was able to find both of these plates on ebay. It was one heck of a bidding war!

2007-09-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to start a Disney Blog for a long time, but I could never figure out what I could do that would be at least a little bit original. Finally I settled on the one aspect of Disney Collecting that has been the most fun and rewarding...Disney License Plates. I'm going to focus mainly on license plates that reside in my personal collection and the collections of other family members, with occasional forays into the collections of other people. I will also include some other items in my collection from time to time. Mainly I just want to have fun and share my love of Disney with other Disney fans.