Inside Disney California Adventure Park (DCA). Front facade of the Carthay Circle Restaurant, decorated for the Diamond Celebration.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

OK, can someone at IT please fire Jessy, so I can stop collecting these dolls?!

Just like other collectors, I was expecting East59th collection, so these dolls came as a nice surprise! Ever since I started collecting these dolls I always whined how we never get preordered dolls fast, and have to wait, sometimes almost a year, for them to arrive. FINALLY, these dolls will be in our hands pretty fast, in a few weeks, they are already in production! Thank you IT! I have a feeling IT turned to their flagship, and it was about time.

Daydream Dasha d'Amboise - I will start with my favorite doll from the collection. Yes, this Dasha is everything! She has Modern Sensibility screening, which is my second favorite screening for Dasha, after Diva/Supermodel. She looks so soft and beautiful, I love the beauty mark and soft pink and blue eyeshadow. Her outfit is my favorite from the bunch. I believe Royal Treatment Vero had this lingerie in black, but this color looks even better. The shoes are TDF! The only thing I miss here is a nice crystal adorned necklace.

Just a Tease Mademoiselle Jolie - my second favorite doll. After Supermodel, I thought IT will avoid her for a long time. Fortunately, that is not the case, as this sculpt is one of my favorite and I like her character too! After so many years, we finally got original Mademoiselle Jolie. This doll has the same makeup color palette as the one from 2006. She even has the same hairstyle and the color of the hair. This time IT uses the legendary Scene Stealer screening. She is probably the best Mademoiselle Jolie ever. The only thing I miss here is nice long feather robe.

Vamp Agnes Von Weiss - is a killer! She has updated Exquise Adele hairstyle. Really love how she looks with long hair. I believe this is the first time they used light honey skintone for Agnes and she looks stunning. She has the same screening as Queen of Everything. However, I am not sure about the lips and eye color.

Dollface Adèle Makéda - at first glance I thought she looks too much like Faces of Adele 2.0. However, this one features brand new skintone - sunkissed skintone. Also, I think she has Something Sexy screening. I just love pink and soft blue eyeshadow. She has platinum hair and I think she will look amazing in person. Again, her outfit looks too simple, I would include some hairpiece or white fur.

Finally, Fetish Fatale Véronique Perrin. Vero 2.0 is my favorite sculpt, and Vero is one of my favorite characters. She really needed a makeover. Jessy passed on her in La Femme collection, so I was wondering what he has on his mind for her. I am not sure what to think, I get mixed signals. Something is wrong here. Maybe if she had less red outfit and tattoos, like a pinup girl, she would look better. I am not sure she will look as good in person.

To be honest, I expected more accessories, that is Jessy's thing. Still, it is all about faces in this collection and, really, all of them have flawless faces. Mademoiselle Jolie and Dasha got me excited the most, yet Agnes and Vero really look fresh and fierce. Adele is a beauty, which one is your favorite?

I was surprised and ecstatic to finally receive my Hot Toys TDKR Catwoman/Selina Kyle 1/6 scale figure, especially since I preordered her way back in February. being a huge Catwoman fan I can finally add her to my Catwoman figure/doll collection.

The entrance to Disney California Adventure Park (DCA).

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

Enchanted Chambers store in Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasyland. Fantasyland DL60 Quarter Press. Three different designs depicting various attractions in Fantasyland. The menu and instructions.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

The Ariel Eric Doll Set, #12 of 6000, in their display case, with the cardboard cover sleeve removed. Photographed using built-in camera flash.

My pre-ordered Ariel and Eric Doll Set, from the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection. It arrived on October 15, 2013, and I was thrilled to see that they are numbered #012 of 6000! It matches the number of the other doll sets in the pre-order, except that Snow White and the Prince is #4508 of 6000. There are some slight scratches on the gold nameplate and on the acrylic cover of the display case, but they are very minor, and don't diminish the look of the set. Ariel's head is posed a bit awkwardly, but I'll see if I can adjust it a bit without undoing any of the shipping restraints. There is also a loose thread hanging from the left sleeve of Ariel's blouse. Otherwise, Ariel and Eric look very beautiful, and in perfect shape. I'm so happy that I have them after failing to get them in the in-store raffle earlier in the day.

I'm not going to debox the dolls in this set, but I am going to take photos of it boxed, with the cover sleeve off, and with the clear acrylic cover off, to show off the dolls as much as possible without actually removing them from their factory restraints.

Ariel and Eric Doll Set

Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

US Disney Store

Release In-Store: October 15, 2013

Release Online: October 16, 2013 (at 12 AM PDT)

Sold Out Online: October 16, 2013 (by 12:15 AM)

Pre-ordered at the D23 Expo, August 9, 2013

Received October 15, 2013.

#12 of 6000

Product information from the US Disney Store website:

Ariel and Prince Eric Doll Set - Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

$129.95

Item No. 6070040900891P

Above the sea

The red-headed Ariel gets her wish to be out of the sea and with her handsome prince, Eric, in this pair of limited-edition dolls. Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection, they feature elegantly detailed costumes.

Magic in the details...

Please Note: Each Guest will be limited to ordering a maximum of one of this item per order.

As part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection this pair of Ariel and Prince Eric dolls were carefully crafted by artists inspired by Disney's 1989 movie The Little Mermaid. The Disney Princess and handsome Prince have been reimagined in exquisite detail with these limited edition dolls. Brought to life with thoughtful attention, they uniquely capture the essence of the fairytale couple, creating a one of a kind set that will be a treasured keepsake of collectors, Disney fans, and every princess at heart!

•Global Limited Editon of 6000

•Includes Certificate of Authenticity

•Ariel features her signature red curls tied back with a blue satin bow

•Rooted eyelashes

•Lacey off-shoulder neckline

•Satin and velvet bodice with embroidery and rhinestone accents

•Embroidered taffeta overlay with printed inset hemmed with lace trim at the bottom

•Prince Eric features billowy satin shirt with embroidered detailing

•Crimson sash, belt and matching boots

•Dolls sold in a special keepsake display case with intricate details on the base, including a golden plate with the name of Ariel and Eric

•Includes special Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Gift Bag

•Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

* Intended for adult collectors -- Not a child's toy.

The bare necessities

•Plastic / polyester

•Ariel: 11 1/2'' H

•Prince Eric: 12'' H

•Imported

Main Street Crystal Arts Shop. Diamond Celebration Crystal Icon, small size (3 inch), $40.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

Photos of my Anna and Elsa juice glasses and glass mugs by Arribas. I purchased them at the Crystal Arts shop on Main Street in Disneyland. They are identical in design and price to the ones available online at DisneyStore.com, except that these have the Disneyland logo rather than the Walt Disney World logo. The 6 oz juice glasses are $8.50 each, and the 10 oz mugs are $12.50 each. The etchings are well done, these drink-ware have thick bases, and are surprising heavy. A negative is that the mugs have a pronounced mold line down the middle of the handles, and all around to the other side. Also, next to some of the other Arribas glass drink-ware on display at the Crystal Arts shop, these items are a little plain. Some of the other glasses have full color artwork, and embedded jewels. But I think they are very pretty, and well worth the price.

Depending on the lighting, the etchings show up as either negative or positive images of Anna and Elsa. When back-lit, the etchings turn dark, and look like normal images of the Frozen sisters. When front-lit, the etchings turn bright, and look like negative images of the characters. In some of these photos, I've placed the glassware in front of images from the lithograph set that come with preordering the Frozen Blu-ray/DVD combo from the Disney Store.

Diamond Celebration pin bag in 20th Century Music Company store on Main Street.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

Thanks for enduring the Tropicalia Spam. LOL. Now just waiting for this year's "spring" collection to start shipping before the end of the year, sign up for W Club renewal and then start the whole preordering process again next year. I miss convention. Can't wait for L.A. next year.

XXXO

People call it the “crown jewel” of the Oregon State Parks system, and once you visit, you know why. Silver Falls State Park is the kind of standout scenic treasure that puts Oregon firmly onto the national—and international—stage. Its beauty, boundless recreational opportunities and historic presence keep it there. Nestled in the foothills of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, less than an hour east of the state capital of Salem, Oregon, the sprawling 9,200 acre property is the largest state park in Oregon, and one of the most popular.

Waterfalls: Where else can you walk behind a waterfall? Check out the famous South Falls and see what a 177-foot curtain of water looks like from behind. It’s part of the Trail of Ten Falls, a spectacular, nationally recognized hiking trail that weaves through a dense forested landscape. The trail passes a series of breathtaking waterfalls along a rocky canyon, and descends to a winding creek at the forest floor. This 7.2 mile loop is considered to be a moderate hike, with an overall elevation change of 800 feet. Several connecting trails with separate access points make shorter routes. For everyone’s safety— absolutely no pets.

Boots, bikes, paws, hooves: The park offers more than 25 miles of backcountry trails for mountain biking, hiking or horseback riding. The trails are lined with lush vegetation and remnants of old-growth forests. Wildlife is abundant. Bears and cougars live in the more remote park areas.

Daytime activities: The South Falls Day-use area has spacious lawns, barbecue stands, picnic shelters, tables, a playground, horseshoe pits, an off lead area for dogs, and a charming creek. Ever since the opening day in 1933, visitors have been using these grounds for potlucks, family reunions and weddings, all within a short walk to view the famous 177-foot South Falls.

Overnight: The main campground has tent sites, RV spots and cabins. Bring your horse and stay in the horse campground. If you need an area for many people, the park also has group tent and RV camps, dormitory-style bunkhouses (each Ranch sleeps 75) and the historic Youth Camp for up to 250 campers.

The Silver Falls Lodge and Conference Center offers a variety of amenities for all visitors to the park. Relax and enjoy comfortable lodging within the wooded setting, or feast at the many catered specialty events. Enjoy a preordered meal at the historic dining hall or order a box lunch to take on a hike or to your campsite. They also specialize in hosting special events! For more information please visit silverfallslodge.com or call 866-575-8875.

I had preordered each of the new wave of Fashionista dolls sight unseen on Amazon. My orders now have photos of them all! A couple of them are also on Barbie.com and I have noticed that those names don't match the Amazon names. Here are the photos for your enjoyment!

Update 5/27/2018: On her Way! She is also in stock and can be ordered!

The World Street Photography photo book 2015 can be preordered at: photobooks.gallery/en/

Share if you like!

World-Street Photography 2015 contains 170 awesome and juried photographs that represent the work of both professional and aspiring street photographers from around the world. These photos were selected from the 7,735 photos uploaded by 1095 photographers.

All our proceeds from this book will be donated to the Ashalayam (House of Hope) charity organization. Ashalayam provides education, safety, protection, and shelter to the street children of Kolkata/Calcutta, India.

Hardcover, 232 pages, 170 photos from 105 photographers, includes a reportage about the Ashalayam organisation in Kalkota made by Anirban Mukhopadhay and Soumya Shankar Ghosal and texts from almost all photographers. Cover photo Rudy Boyer. Intro Lauren Rautenbach, Editing Bailey Cooper, Design Eva Maria Kroder, Corrections Harm Poelman, Jo Williams, Francisco Marty. Jury Alfredo Brandl (professional photographer), Marcello Hernandez (professional photographer), Ralf Suerbaum (Kunsthalle Hamburg). Organisation Gido Carper. Publishing house Gudberg Nerger Verlag.

The four doll sets, with slipcovers on.

Photos of my preordered Designer Fairytale doll sets, that I received today. They came in a large square box weighing 20 pounds, with the individual doll sets in their own boxes. The four gift bags were in the same shipping box, tightly squeezed in the side. The carton number is 408, but the actual edition number for all four sets is 410 of 6000. All the dolls are in excellent condition, but there are small imperfections in a couple of the nameplates. These dolls I will leave untouched in mint condition, as I will debox the ones I've gotten from the store raffles.

The Limited Edition Ariel and Eric Doll Set, #12 of 6000, in their display case, with the clear acrylic cover removed. None of the factory restraints have been removed, but I have cleaned up Ariel's face a bit, and cut off a loose thread from her blouse. Photographed using built-in camera flash.

My pre-ordered Ariel and Eric Doll Set, from the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection. It arrived on October 15, 2013, and I was thrilled to see that they are numbered #012 of 6000! It matches the number of the other doll sets in the pre-order, except that Snow White and the Prince is #4508 of 6000. There are some slight scratches on the gold nameplate and on the acrylic cover of the display case, but they are very minor, and don't diminish the look of the set. Ariel's head is posed a bit awkwardly, but I'll see if I can adjust it a bit without undoing any of the shipping restraints. There is also a loose thread hanging from the left sleeve of Ariel's blouse. Otherwise, Ariel and Eric look very beautiful, and in perfect shape. I'm so happy that I have them after failing to get them in the in-store raffle earlier in the day.

I'm not going to debox the dolls in this set, but I am going to take photos of it boxed, with the cover sleeve off, and with the clear acrylic cover off, to show off the dolls as much as possible without actually removing them from their factory restraints.

Ariel and Eric Doll Set

Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

US Disney Store

Release In-Store: October 15, 2013

Release Online: October 16, 2013 (at 12 AM PDT)

Sold Out Online: October 16, 2013 (by 12:15 AM)

Pre-ordered at the D23 Expo, August 9, 2013

Received October 15, 2013.

#12 of 6000

Product information from the US Disney Store website:

Ariel and Prince Eric Doll Set - Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

$129.95

Item No. 6070040900891P

Above the sea

The red-headed Ariel gets her wish to be out of the sea and with her handsome prince, Eric, in this pair of limited-edition dolls. Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection, they feature elegantly detailed costumes.

Magic in the details...

Please Note: Each Guest will be limited to ordering a maximum of one of this item per order.

As part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection this pair of Ariel and Prince Eric dolls were carefully crafted by artists inspired by Disney's 1989 movie The Little Mermaid. The Disney Princess and handsome Prince have been reimagined in exquisite detail with these limited edition dolls. Brought to life with thoughtful attention, they uniquely capture the essence of the fairytale couple, creating a one of a kind set that will be a treasured keepsake of collectors, Disney fans, and every princess at heart!

•Global Limited Editon of 6000

•Includes Certificate of Authenticity

•Ariel features her signature red curls tied back with a blue satin bow

•Rooted eyelashes

•Lacey off-shoulder neckline

•Satin and velvet bodice with embroidery and rhinestone accents

•Embroidered taffeta overlay with printed inset hemmed with lace trim at the bottom

•Prince Eric features billowy satin shirt with embroidered detailing

•Crimson sash, belt and matching boots

•Dolls sold in a special keepsake display case with intricate details on the base, including a golden plate with the name of Ariel and Eric

•Includes special Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Gift Bag

•Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

* Intended for adult collectors -- Not a child's toy.

The bare necessities

•Plastic / polyester

•Ariel: 11 1/2'' H

•Prince Eric: 12'' H

•Imported

BOX DATE: 2015

MANUFACTURER: M.G.A.

PERSONAL FUN FACT: When MGA relaunched Bratz in 2015, they put out an exclusive pair of boots. I thought this was a super cute way to commemorate the Bratz comeback. After all, they are notorious for their enormous, snap on feet. The 2015 dollies in particular have the BIGGEST shoes of all the Bratz generations. These boots were originally only available if you preordered some of the dolls from the Toys 'R' Us website. However, later on TRU sold off their leftovers regularly on the website. I'll admit, I mostly got them when they were 50% off because I am a Bratz shoe/clothes hoarder. Plus, I had thought about pre-ordering a 2015 Bratz doll just to get these back in July 2015. I knew I was going to end up with a 2015 Bratz doll, so why not take the opportunity to get a special pair of shoes too? I ended up deciding to go in store the day the Bratz were relaunched, which is why I never placed a preorder. I honestly didn't think much about these boots, until I opened them up in November 2015. First of all, they were wrapped up like a present, which was so adorable. This reminds me fondly of how L.O.L. Surprise and O.M.G.s are currently packaged. Second of all, when I first held these boots, they blew my mind. They are seriously the most gorgeous, yet subtle pair of Bratz shoes I have ever seen. They are this beautiful golden color with bronze details, and GLITTER!!! This photograph doesn't do them any justice whatsoever, but trust me they are the most precious pair of Bratz shoes. Plus, I like that they are neutral toned because they will match most any outfit! Currently they are modeled on one of my Head Gamez Jade dolls who dons a gold fringe shirt!

Finally! Got the body from HLJ yesterday. I preordered it ages ago. When I was in Japan I saw them and I thought, oh well I preordered already so I might as well wait. And then I waited for 3 months! @_@ HLJ, why are so slowwwwww~

The body feels solid and heavy. Articulation is yes and no. Yes, because it is still jointed. No, because the joints are pretty much confined to turning clockwise or anticlockwise, and for this sitting pose, you don't want to turn the joints in an awkward way, so you are confined to certain pose only.

I almost feel like this Pure Neemo body is Azone's way to compete with Volks' Custom Figure Kit. VCFK is of course more sophisticated in a way, that it requires drilling and sanding. But they are both made of sturdy material (vs. lighter plasticky body), and they are more like "figures" rather than "dolls".

She is wearing Licca clothes. Her bottom seems to be bigger than Licca body, so pulling up the pants is a challenge. Of course, this sitting pose is not helping neither.

Nevertheless, I still think it is a cute body!

Sleeping Beauty Castle with the final Diamond Celebration decorations. From Fantasyland.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

Main Street - Showcase Store. Main Diamond Celebration sign above merchandise shelves.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

La Vie en Bleu Elyse Jolie™

Premiere Doll from the JWU LLC 10th Anniversary Collection

SUPERMODEL Convention Attendee Exclusive

...featuring new smoother "soft touch" finish.

#IntegrityToys #SUPERMODEL #JasonWu

LE 375-380

Preordered 10/24/2016

Arrived 2/27/2017

Main Street Crystal Arts Shop. Diamond Celebration Crystal Icon, small size (3 inch), $40. Price label.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

I had preordered each of the new wave of Fashionista dolls sight unseen on Amazon. My orders now have photos of them all! A couple of them are also on Barbie.com and I have noticed that those names don't match the Amazon names. Here are the photos for your enjoyment!

Update 5/27/2018: On her Way! She is also in stock and can be ordered!

Sign over the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The Dream Suite is above it, on the second floor of the building.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

White House photo by Eric Draper taken at Father Joe's Mercy Centre orphanage/school/AIDS hospice.

AIDS-infected, orphaned and full of confidence. Look at his eyes, not the least bit intimidated by the so-called "most powerful man in the free world."

This is how kids grow up when they are shown love and care.

"Motivate a child, open the door for them even a little bit," Father Joe says frequently, "and they WILL motivate themselves."

Two minutes into a six-minute CNN report on Bangkok's Father Joe Maier and President Bush's visit last week to his orphanage/school/AIDS hospice, etc., Fr. Joe does something very uncharacteristic. He blatantly advertises my book; might as well have tattooed The Gospel of Father Joe on his forehead. Anyone who has read even a little bit of the book understands. It has nothing to do with money or profits. Anyhow, check it out on www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/08/06/rivers.thai.ai..., if you can spare a few minutes.

Also, Fr. Joe and I spoke the morning after Bush's visit and I filed the following story for Gannett's wire. In case you're curious about how things went with Fr. Joe and Dubya, here 'tis (unedited):

HEADLINE: Limo, Secret Service, snipers, police, Bush descend on a Thai charity

BYLINE: Greg Barrett

COPY: President Bush arrived in Bangkok's largest slum yesterday morning seven minutes early and in a black armored stretch Cadillac. Protected by a 40-car motorcade, some 200 Thai police, the Secret Service and its rooftop military snipers, the presidential limo parked in a closed-off white tent pitched near the end of a slum street.

A single flap opened onto the grounds of the Rev. Joseph H. Maier's Mercy Centre charity, a perennial slum oasis blooming with hundreds of happy orphans and HIV-infected kids.

"He walked up and said 'Howdy' or something like that," recalled the 69-year-old American Catholic priest known in Thailand as Father Joe. "He was very gracious, very pleasant, very, uhm, how do you say … country. More of a rough diamond than, say, a British diplomat."

British diplomats and Thai royalty have often visited the charity famous for its 30 slum preschools, orphanages, adult and children AIDS hospices and the irreverent Father Joe, a native of Longview, Washington who has lived for thirty-five years among the poorest of the poor in Bangkok's squalid slums.

Bush and Eric G. John, the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, toured the Mercy with Father Joe and Mercy's director Usanee Janngeon, a Thai woman and London-trained nurse. Janngeon is as pleasant as Father Joe can be blunt, and she had flown back early from the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City for Bush's visit.

Together they toured Mercy's art and graphics classes, its orphanages and schools, where Bush was entertained by Mercy's award-winning Thai dancers and schoolchildren songs. In the adult AIDS ward, where emaciated victims lay in adult-sized diapers, Bush waved off the latex gloves and surgical masks that the White House had preordered. Instead, he leaned in unprotected to shake hands and hug Mercy's frail patients.

"That was totally cool," Father Joe said. "I might not agree with all of his politics, but that was way cool."

Afterward, Bush asked Janngeon, "How much does it cost to run this place? How much (money) do you need?"

Janngeon answered $3.4 million each year. "And to be completely honest with you," she continued, "we don't have enough money."

Father Joe said Bush talked to them about the $48 million global AIDS relief package that he'd signed into law one week earlier, then asked, "So how can we help?"

When Janngeon hesitated, Bush jumped in. "This is your chance," he told her. "You better tell me now."

As Father Joe recounted this conversation during a phone interview Thursday evening from Thailand, he groaned. A scrawl on the local TV news had reported that President Bush offered the Mercy Centre, also known as the Human Development Foundation, 114 million Thai baht, the equivalent of $3.4 million.

Later, after Father Joe had corrected the erroneous report, he explained. "President Bush only offered to look into helping us. No money, nothing - nothing - was promised."

In the past the Mercy Centre has received grant money from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

During his 45-minute visit Bush told Father Joe he respected the work of "faith-based" charities, such as Mercy. Father Joe explained that while Mercy's founders, he and Macau-born Sister Maria Chantavarodom, were Christians, Mercy was ecumenical in its faith. Most of its students, patients, staff and its director, Janngeon, are like 95 percent of Thailand's residents. They are Theravada Buddhists.

However, Janngeon politely explained to Bush, she, too, is faith-based.

"I believe in the children. I believe in the power of goodness. I believe in tomorrow."

--

Greg Barrett is the author of a 2008 nonfiction book about Father Joe Maier named The Gospel of Father Joe: Revolutions and Revelations in the Slums of Bangkok. More about Father Joe and the Mercy Centre can be found at www.thegospeloffatherjoe.com and the Mercy Centre's website.

Factory shipping label. Cart #408.

Photos of my preordered Designer Fairytale doll sets, that I received today. They came in a large square box weighing 20 pounds, with the individual doll sets in their own boxes. The four gift bags were in the same shipping box, tightly squeezed in the side. The carton number is 408, but the actual edition number for all four sets is 410 of 6000. All the dolls are in excellent condition, but there are small imperfections in a couple of the nameplates. These dolls I will leave untouched in mint condition, as I will debox the ones I've gotten from the store raffles.

Wanted to start from the best... Jessy did it again, four gorgeous dolls! Although there were only four of them, I think they are simply perfect.

Afterglow Lilith Blair was a centerpiece at the NuFace luncheon. We do not see blonde Lilith often, and after Great Pretender, I can not remember if there was one. For some reason, she reminds me on Smoke Screen Dania. I know there is no clear connection... :) sometimes I have strange associations. I read most collectors do not like her eyebrows, but I do, they make her look out of this world. The dress is also very interested, I like artistic constructions. If it was long with high slit, I think it would look better though. Back to her face, I love those piercing green eyes and soft lips. She is gorgeous. All dolls from this collection come with new sculpt of hands. They have long nails, and they make her look even more evil, if that is possible. She does look like a witch a bit with them :)

Public Adoration Eden Blair was a gift at the luncheon. It was worth attending the convention solely for this doll! OMG I was floored when I saw her photos. She is PERFECTION! Jessy became my favorite designer just because of her. I hunted her down immediately, had to have her in my collection. GP Eugenia is probably one of my favorite FR dolls and the one I never had. This Eden is a perfect replacement and then some. She is a perfect interpretation of a grail doll. Those eyes, every time I see her I am on a heaven ❤️ Jessy or some fellow collectors mentioned that her outfit is inspired by one of the looks Alexis (Joan Collins) had in Dynasty. She looks very luxe with that turquoise jewelry. My only complain would be the shoes, they look pretty boring, although I do like the color.

Optic Illusion Giselle Diefendorf was an instant grail. Everyone guessed she would be inspired by the legendary Optic Verve Agnes. Unlike Eden, I do not think this one is on par with the OV. It has nothing to do with the design, in fact, I like the outfit. But, I do not think Giselle's sculpt is as beautiful. Her lips are thin and somehow plain. OV has those details in the corner of the lips and they make huge difference. So, I am not sold on her face. Still, I think she is a beautiful doll and she fits the theme nicely, OV is indeed a very unique and special doll, it is hard to beat her.

Last, but not least, Fabulous Life Rayna Ahmadi. She was offered to all Wclub members. IMO she is an epitome of the theme. I am always interested in dolls with short hair, we do not see them that often. The hairstyle looks great with that Alexander McQueen outfit. IMO this is one of the best interpretations of original outfits. It looks even better in this scale. It comes with removable big bow that can be attached on the back and on the shoulders. Now, the jewelry. She and Eden have the best jewelry of all convention dolls. She comes with two necklaces adorned with blood red crystals, coordinated earrings with scull motives and a purse. She even has crystals on her shoes. Now, this is luxe! This Rayna has the same screening as the upgrade doll, guess we all expected that. She looks very lush and beautiful. I can not explain how happy I am I preordered her. She is my second favorite, after Eden.

Overall, I think this is an iconic collection. IMO these girls contributed to the convention a lot and were the stars of the show. Well done Jessy, hands down!❤️❤️❤️

I got this figure from preordering Lego Marvel Superheroes and let me just say, it is a great figure! It's has great front, back and leg printing and a incredible helmet! The only problem I have is the shoulder gun because it doesn't look like one, but that was the same problem with the older one so I wasn't surprised that they didn't fix it . If you like Lego Marvel Superheroes then you need this figure to add to your collection, so I'll give it a 9.5/10!

I've had a couple people ask me recently about a new pullip family photo so I made a new collage up. Yep, I have a lot of pullips but they are all very precious to me, I've been collecting for several years now and work very hard to be able to afford them.

I currently own 242 Pullips, 72 Dals, 20 Taeyangs, 12 Byuls, 2 Isuls and 2 Namus

Not pictured: NRFB Miku and baity baits.

Preordered: Pullip Banshee & Pullip Yomi

Will be buying Pullip Pink Romantic Alice as soon as my paycheck hits.

My pre-ordered full set of the 2015 Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Heroes and Villains dolls arrived after a delay on November 6, 2015. I had ordered them at the D23 Expo on August 14, 2015. I got the low edition number of 65 of 6000. They came in perfect condition, and I think most if not all the dolls are better than the ones I bought separately (which I have deboxed or will debox). By the way, I got 5 gift bags in this shipment, and got another 5 in a separate shipment. So like most people who pre-ordered the full collection, I am getting twice as many bags as I should have.

Here are my first photos of the set, taken with flash. They were taken in front of my KidKraft Snowflake Mansion. I will later take photos of my deboxed Designer dolls next to these dolls, which I will leave boxed. But before I do that I will have to debox the Rapunzel and Mother Gothel set and the Snow Queen Elsa and Hans set.

My pre-ordered Snow White and Hag Doll Set. The slipcover has been removed and placed next to the dolls in their unopened display case.

My pre-ordered full set of the 2015 Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Heroes and Villains dolls arrived after a delay on November 6, 2015. I had ordered them at the D23 Expo on August 14, 2015. They are all edition number of 65 of 6000. They came in perfect condition, and I think most if not all the dolls are better than the ones I bought separately (which I have deboxed or will debox). By the way, I got 5 gift bags in this shipment, and got another 5 in a separate shipment. So like most people who pre-ordered the full collection, I am getting twice as many bags as I should have.

Here are my first photos of the set, taken with flash. They were taken in front of my KidKraft Snowflake Mansion. I will later take photos of my deboxed Designer dolls next to these dolls, which I will leave boxed. But before I do that I will have to debox the Rapunzel and Mother Gothel set and the Snow Queen Elsa and Hans set.

'Wandering Dreams' Framed Cel, with postcard and pin. Protective wrapping removed. Postcard reproduction of the artwork, signed by the artists.

I just picked up my preordered copy of the Sleeping Beauty 'Wandering Dreams' framed cel, with postcard and pin, from Disneyana on Main Street. I had ordered it on January 1, 2016, and got it on January 31, 2016, which is sooner than the estimated 6-8 weeks. It is by Disneyland Ink & Paint. The cel is LE 1000 (not individually numbered), and the pin is LE 600. The cel features a midrange image of Briar Rose and Prince Phillip holding hands, with Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background. The pin has a different pose of Phillip and Briar Rose in reversed positions, with a heart symbol between them, and the castle in the background. So it would be appropriate as a Valentine's Day pin. The frame has an antiqued silver finish, with 'D', heart and crown symbols in a repeating pattern. The contents are protected by clear plexiglass in the front. The backing is heavy cardboard, and there is a wire hanger in the back.

As with a lot of pieces, it looks even better in person. The cel has a 3D-effect being floated over the background. Aurora as Briar Rose has such a loving expression. The painting of the cel is flawless. The ornate silver frame is well matched with the blue matting, and is appropriate for commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Disneyland Resort.

Boy is it a relief to finally get Bruiser. Feels like a whole year since I preordered the figure.

Still gonna collect more Cybermen figures.

I received this last week and have watched it only a few times. The menu loop is beautiful, and the special features are worth watching. However, I hope the US release has a little more.

Yesterday I also preordered both LE steelbooks exclusive to Korea. I hope there aren't any other exclusive bluray releases.

My pre-ordered Rapunzel and Mother Gothel Doll Set. The slipcover has been removed and placed next to the dolls in their unopened display case.

My pre-ordered full set of the 2015 Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Heroes and Villains dolls arrived after a delay on November 6, 2015. I had ordered them at the D23 Expo on August 14, 2015. They are all edition number of 65 of 6000. They came in perfect condition, and I think most if not all the dolls are better than the ones I bought separately (which I have deboxed or will debox). By the way, I got 5 gift bags in this shipment, and got another 5 in a separate shipment. So like most people who pre-ordered the full collection, I am getting twice as many bags as I should have.

Here are my first photos of the set, taken with flash. They were taken in front of my KidKraft Snowflake Mansion. I will later take photos of my deboxed Designer dolls next to these dolls, which I will leave boxed. But before I do that I will have to debox the Rapunzel and Mother Gothel set and the Snow Queen Elsa and Hans set.

Sleeping Beauty Castle with the final Diamond Celebration decorations. From Fantasyland.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

North end of Main Street, passing the statue of Walt and Mickey, with the Castle still lit up as daylight was getting brighter.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

My pre-ordered Snow Queen Elsa and Hans Doll Set. The slipcover has been removed to reveal the dolls in their display case.

My pre-ordered full set of the 2015 Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Heroes and Villains dolls arrived after a delay on November 6, 2015. I had ordered them at the D23 Expo on August 14, 2015. They are all edition number of 65 of 6000. They came in perfect condition, and I think most if not all the dolls are better than the ones I bought separately (which I have deboxed or will debox). By the way, I got 5 gift bags in this shipment, and got another 5 in a separate shipment. So like most people who pre-ordered the full collection, I am getting twice as many bags as I should have.

Here are my first photos of the set, taken with flash. They were taken in front of my KidKraft Snowflake Mansion. I will later take photos of my deboxed Designer dolls next to these dolls, which I will leave boxed. But before I do that I will have to debox the Rapunzel and Mother Gothel set and the Snow Queen Elsa and Hans set.

My pre-ordered Ariel and Eric Doll Set, from the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection. It arrived today, and I was thrilled to see that they are numbered #012 of 6000! It matches the number of the other doll sets in the pre-order, except that Snow White and the Prince is #4508 of 6000. There are some slight scratches on the gold nameplate and on the acrylic cover of the display case, but they are very minor, and don't diminish the look of the set. Ariel's head is posed a bit awkwardly, but I'll see if I can adjust it a bit without undoing any of the shipping restraints. There is also a loose thread hanging from the left sleeve of Ariel's blouse. Otherwise, Ariel and Eric look very beautiful, and in perfect shape. I'm so happy that I have them today after failing to get them in the in-store raffle earlier in the day.

Ariel and Eric Doll Set

Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

US Disney Store

In Store Release: Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Online Release: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 (at 12 AM PDT)

Pre-ordered at the D23 Expo, August 9, 2013

Received October 15, 2013.

#12 of 6000

UK Disney Store product information:

Released online and in-store in Europe: October 15, 2013

The fifth and final release of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

The Little Mermaid and Prince Eric Limited Edition Dolls

UK Disney Store

£100.00

Item No. 411047169023P

From under the sea to a blossoming romance on dry shores, relive the enchanting story from Disney classic, The Little Mermaid with our exquisite Limited Edition dolls. An ideal gift for Disney fans and collectors.

Magic in the details...

•Disney Fairytale gift bag included with each doll

•Set of 2 dolls

•Ariel and Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid

•Limited edition of 6000

•Only one purchase per guest on day of release

•Please note: Limit of two purchases per household

•Includes Certificate of Authenticity

•Posable bodies

•The Little Mermaid wears a luxurious blue satin dress with gold flourishes of embroidery

•Rooted eyelashes and cascading red hair

•Prince Eric wears white satin shirt and black boots

•H38 x W19 x D19cm approx

•Arrives in luxury presentation box

•Designed by Disney Store Artists

•Part of the Disney Fairytale Designer Collection

•Created for Disney Store

Sleeping Beauty Castle with the final Diamond Celebration decorations. From Main Street.

I went with a fellow Disney collector to the 24-Event that kicked off the official Disneyland Resort 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration. It started on May 22, 2015 at 6 am and ended on May 23, 2015. However, we were only in DLR on May 22 until about 10 pm, being in the Parks for about 16 of the 24 hours.

We left the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at about 2:15 am, walked through Downtown Disney District and arrived at the security checkpoint for DLR at 2:30. The line was relatively short and quick, so we felt pretty good that were there early enough to get in near the head of the line. However, this was quickly dispelled when we saw how many people were in the entrance plaza between Disneyland Park and Disney California Park (also called the Esplanade). Rather than being allowed to line up in front of Disneyland Park, we were escorted to the other side of the plaza, to the shuttle bus area. There were many thousands of people there, in multiple long lines that stretched the length of the shuttle parking area. It reminded me of the lines outside the Anaheim Convention Center for the D23 event that I attended in August 2013. There was a Japanese TV crew roaming the lines broadcasting images of the crowd. At about 4 am, the lines started moving, and we finally entered the park at exactly 5 am.

We entered Main Street, waiting for the start of the celebrations at 6 am. Some stores were already open. In particular, there were very long lines formed to enter the Main Street Emporium. Only the south doors were open, trying to make the entry more orderly. It turned out that the people in line were trying to get the 24-hr exclusive merchandise, especially the LE pin of Dopey. We decided to wait by the flag pole at the center of the Main Street south plaza, which afforded us a good view of the Castle. The US and California flags were raised at sunrise, about 5:30 am.

They kicked off the celebrations at 5:55 am with a short burst of fireworks, followed by Disney movie music. The first song was A Dream is Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella. The crowd on Main Street was then allowed entry into the other Park attractions, and we slowly started moving down Main Street. An overhead camera on a long boom recorded the crowd as it passed by. We passed close to the Castle, and turned into Tomorrowland. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My friend got more than 750,000. I got more than a million, but my score wasn't recorded, so I didn't get on the leader board. We wanted to get something to eat next, but every place that served real food had very, very long lines. So we settled on getting pretzels and slurpees. There was a piano player playing ragtime music as we ate. Later he left and a piano tuner came and started tuning the piano, which I've never seen before at Disneyland.

We visited some of the shops on Main Street, and noticed that many of the items that were available exclusively at the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event (May 20-21 at the Disneyland Hotel) were now being sold to the general public. At the Crystal Arts shop, we saw the same diamond shaped glass paperweight that we got at the event. Except that there was no dates etched on the surface. We were surprised that they also had two larger sizes of the diamond, one about twice as large (6 inches) and another about twice that again (12 inches). The small 3 inch diamond was $40, the medium $250 and the large was $2150. They are all very impressive in person, and the large one is massive. It is also limited edition. The one displayed in the front window of the store was labeled 1/60, which I didn't notice until I looked at the photos that I took.

We then did several more rides, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. Above the entrance to the Pirates ride is a sign for the Dream Suite, which used to be the Disney Gallery, before it was moved to Main Street, next to Disneyana. One of the prizes in a sweepstakes being run during the Diamond Celebration is a stay at the Dream Suite.

We then split up. I did some more rides, including a second go at Buzz Lightyear. This time my score was recorded, and I got the #5 high score of the day. My favorite place to eat at Disneyland, Plaza Inn, had a very, very long line waiting outside. So instead I ate lunch at the Pizza Port, which had a short and quickly moving line. They had an Avengers inspired menu of desserts. Next store, there was an exhibit for the currently running Tomorrowland movie. I also did some rides in Fantasyland that I have not done in a long time. Snow White's Scary Adventures was great fun. I touched the golden apple at the entrance to the ride, which generated cackling and evil words from the Old Hag. Next was Alice in Wonderland, which has new very nice animated sequences that integrated nicely with the animatronics. The ride wait time was posted as 60 minutes, but it only took me 30 minutes to get on the ride.

I started browsing the 60th Anniversary merchandise in various shops on Main Street. The Showcase shop was entirely devoted to 60th merchandise. Since some fellow collectors were asking about the rotating castle diamond shaped globe, I took a good look at it and took photos. Unfortunately, none of them had working batteries, so I couldn't see the castle rotating or lit up. Next I went to Disneyana, where they had many of the items that were offered during the Diamond Celebration Merchandise Event that I attended on May 20, including most of the limited edition items. They also had the $28,000 crystal slipper that was the grand prize of the Diamond Celebration Sweepstakes. It didn't look as impressive as I was expecting. It didn't help that it was all alone in a large glass case, without any identifying or promo placards. In the Ink & Paint booth there was a framed copy of the Diamond Celebration Tink Cel, with signed postcard and pin. I had preordered a copy of this exact same item, but the pin wasn't ready in time, so it will be shipped to me later. It is called "The Happiest Place on Earth", is limited to 1000 copies, and has a hand drawn Cel of Tinker Bell floating above a stylized map of Disneyland. The Tinker Bell pin is LE 750.

Next I entered Disney California Adventure Park (DCA), to meet up with my friend for dinner at 5:30 pm. I passed Carthay Circle Restaurant, which is extensively decorated for the Diamond Celebration, as the DCA counterpart to Disneyland Park's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The dessert for dinner consisted of four different small individual desserts.

Then at 7:30 we lined up to get a good spot for the World of Color show. It started at 9 pm, and lasted about 22 minutes. It was entirely redone, with Neal Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse as the hosts. It was funny seeing the giant Mickey face on the ferris wheel being replaced by a screen, then the same image Mickey being projected onto it. The show was really entertaining. I liked the selection of movies that were presented. Snow White and Frozen had the most time allotted. They played almost the entire "Let It Go" scene, which looked and sounded great. The crowd cheered loudly when a brief glimpse of BH6 appeared. They also showed brief clips of Wreck-It Ralph, and had an image of the live action Cinderella in her ball gown that flashed on the water screen for a second or two. Then they had brief images from some popular DL attractions. Finally they had Walt Disney speaking a final message, which was very touching. I would say that this version is much better than the previous version. Neal Patrick Harris was a great choice as the host.

We then viewed the DL fireworks from just inside the entrance to DCA. We then split up again. I was disappointed that DL was at capacity, so they wouldn't allow me back inside. I had wanted to see the new Paint the Night, which is an updated version of the old Electrical Light Parade, which was one of my favorites when it was still being performed in DL and DCA. I am looking forward to seeing it in the near future. So I went back to my hotel room, and rested up. I only did 16 hours of the 24 hour event, but I felt very good about what I did experience.

My pre-ordered Snow Queen Elsa and Hans Doll Set. The slipcover has been removed and placed next to the dolls in their unopened display case.

My pre-ordered full set of the 2015 Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Heroes and Villains dolls arrived after a delay on November 6, 2015. I had ordered them at the D23 Expo on August 14, 2015. They are all edition number of 65 of 6000. They came in perfect condition, and I think most if not all the dolls are better than the ones I bought separately (which I have deboxed or will debox). By the way, I got 5 gift bags in this shipment, and got another 5 in a separate shipment. So like most people who pre-ordered the full collection, I am getting twice as many bags as I should have.

Here are my first photos of the set, taken with flash. They were taken in front of my KidKraft Snowflake Mansion. I will later take photos of my deboxed Designer dolls next to these dolls, which I will leave boxed. But before I do that I will have to debox the Rapunzel and Mother Gothel set and the Snow Queen Elsa and Hans set.

My pre-ordered Snow Queen Elsa and Hans Doll Set. The slipcover has been removed and placed next to the dolls in their unopened display case.

My pre-ordered full set of the 2015 Disney Fairytale Designer Collection Heroes and Villains dolls arrived after a delay on November 6, 2015. I had ordered them at the D23 Expo on August 14, 2015. They are all edition number of 65 of 6000. They came in perfect condition, and I think most if not all the dolls are better than the ones I bought separately (which I have deboxed or will debox). By the way, I got 5 gift bags in this shipment, and got another 5 in a separate shipment. So like most people who pre-ordered the full collection, I am getting twice as many bags as I should have.

Here are my first photos of the set, taken with flash. They were taken in front of my KidKraft Snowflake Mansion. I will later take photos of my deboxed Designer dolls next to these dolls, which I will leave boxed. But before I do that I will have to debox the Rapunzel and Mother Gothel set and the Snow Queen Elsa and Hans set.

I'm impressed with the accessories that come with the DiD MI6 agent, and the fact that it was hitting a $100 price point is about right (given prices sthese days). It's not a perfect headsculpt for Daniel Craig, but it is quite good anyway.

I'm really very impressed with everything on the FGC Steampunk figure, though. The outfit and accessories are terrific, as would be expected from their past efforts, but the new body is solidly built and very nice. I was thinking of taking this outfit off to transfer it and the head to a Phicen figure, but I think I'm going to leave it instead. There'll be more torture testing of the FGC body when I get the ones I preordered.

When I saw her offer from IT, I preordered her in seconds, I was so excited to have her in my collection. I have always regretted not getting Noveau Regime and I wanted this one. Then she came home, and I was--OMG! I have to sell her. That hair looked horrid.

The holiday months were on us so I put her aside. Last week I took her out and started rearranging her hair. She slowly became likeable. I still don't LOVE her, but I don't know if I still want to sell her.

preordered

People call it the “crown jewel” of the Oregon State Parks system, and once you visit, you know why. Silver Falls State Park is the kind of standout scenic treasure that puts Oregon firmly onto the national—and international—stage. Its beauty, boundless recreational opportunities and historic presence keep it there. Nestled in the foothills of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, less than an hour east of the state capital of Salem, Oregon, the sprawling 9,200 acre property is the largest state park in Oregon, and one of the most popular.

Waterfalls: Where else can you walk behind a waterfall? Check out the famous South Falls and see what a 177-foot curtain of water looks like from behind. It’s part of the Trail of Ten Falls, a spectacular, nationally recognized hiking trail that weaves through a dense forested landscape. The trail passes a series of breathtaking waterfalls along a rocky canyon, and descends to a winding creek at the forest floor. This 7.2 mile loop is considered to be a moderate hike, with an overall elevation change of 800 feet. Several connecting trails with separate access points make shorter routes. For everyone’s safety— absolutely no pets.

Boots, bikes, paws, hooves: The park offers more than 25 miles of backcountry trails for mountain biking, hiking or horseback riding. The trails are lined with lush vegetation and remnants of old-growth forests. Wildlife is abundant. Bears and cougars live in the more remote park areas.

Daytime activities: The South Falls Day-use area has spacious lawns, barbecue stands, picnic shelters, tables, a playground, horseshoe pits, an off lead area for dogs, and a charming creek. Ever since the opening day in 1933, visitors have been using these grounds for potlucks, family reunions and weddings, all within a short walk to view the famous 177-foot South Falls.

Overnight: The main campground has tent sites, RV spots and cabins. Bring your horse and stay in the horse campground. If you need an area for many people, the park also has group tent and RV camps, dormitory-style bunkhouses (each Ranch sleeps 75) and the historic Youth Camp for up to 250 campers.

The Silver Falls Lodge and Conference Center offers a variety of amenities for all visitors to the park. Relax and enjoy comfortable lodging within the wooded setting, or feast at the many catered specialty events. Enjoy a preordered meal at the historic dining hall or order a box lunch to take on a hike or to your campsite. They also specialize in hosting special events! For more information please visit silverfallslodge.com or call 866-575-8875.

I preordered an Integrity Toys Homme body on their direct store and decided to buy their Dynamite Girls "Black" body cuz hey it was half price (IT said they would receive the body late Jan but I’ve heard nothing yet). From what I saw online A Tone was usually IT’s second or third most dark skin tone so I hoped I could articulate one of my painted body dolls.

Unfortunately, it’s nowhere near the skin tone of my vintage Live Action Christie.

It’s closer to the Grace/Kara skin tone (Afra and light black) but it’s a lot less orange.

In the end I chose to put my late 70s/early 80s Malibu Christie on here since she has the same issue with being too grey for modern dolls. My Pink N’ Pretty Christie from 1981 is the exact same skin tone so I guess IT (light) A-tone would match the 80s AA mattel dolls.

Boy Next Door arrived! I said I was done with Adonis Dolls but ended up getting Moonshine Jungle David when he came out but after him, I said I was really done. The quality vs price is not there with these and they all arrive to me with a squished face. I know I can boil the head to reshape it but I shouldn't have to.

Anywho, I was won over with the promise of a new body and Louis Vuitton inspired BEAR ON THE VARSITY JACKET won me over. The Thom Browne inspired bag helped too as I have been wanting IT to do a doggie bag for years and years now but a duck is okay for now.

This doll is advertised as a gift set but he's not? He's just a dressed doll. IT released an actual giftset around this time that I preordered that costs the same and Weekender Lukas REALLY is a gift set so not sure why they used that word. Plus the head's going to need to be boiled....*sigh* Anywho, he is really cute and I can't wait to give the jacket to Misaki or Thiago. <3

I preordered this back in January & finally got it 2 days ago. Just starting to get familiar with it. #new #camera #Fujifilm #X100s