Here's an interesting theme parkeology discovery from Mickey's Toontown Fair at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.When Mickey's Birthdayland opened in 1988, among the embellishments to Mickey's house was a traditional mailbox painted and adorned in a distinct Mickey style. When the area evolved in Toontown Fair a number of years later, the designs and architecture became much more toonier, and the original mailbox made way for a more stylized replacement.
So what did Mickey do with his old mailbox? The next time you walk through the mouse's garage, take a careful look around and you'll soon discover the answer.
Too bad. I like the old version.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering: Why would Mickey Mouse have a mailbox that's in the shape of himself? A little vain, no?
ReplyDeleteExactly!
ReplyDeleteAnd it doesn't have functionality, the ears cover the flag. And there's also the fact that Mickey's face is embarassingly off-model.
And I thought I was the only Disney geek that saw that on the shelf! :)
ReplyDeleteNice work as always, Jeff!!!
I completely agree with the first three comments.
ReplyDeleteThe new "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" has similar sensibilities with the clubhouse actually looking like random parts of Mickey's body. It seems like they're trying to cater to that audience.
I absolutely HATE this type of thinking! Are the people who create these things fans of animation or not? Those decisions are the worst!
I got a kick out of seeing the "Tartan Jug" insulated container up on the shelf in Mickey's garage. My folks always brought one of those along on all of the station wagon family vacations in the 1960s. Way cool!
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I never saw the old mailbox (my first visit was in 1994 and we never really strayed in that part of the park until we had kids) but I love the Mickey shaped one.
I wonder if the change was due to the "discovery" of Mickey's Toontown at Disneyland. I visited in 1996 and remember seeing the mailbox for Mickey (and the one for Minnie) and loved the detail.
I think it is appropriate for Mickey to have a Mickey shaped mailbox. This is Disney World!
But I am glad that they kept the old one.
Always so much to see; and with the crowds upon crowds every day at Disneyland, it gets harder to catch all the details. Thanks for taking the time to post this!
ReplyDelete