Mickey Memories
On the 18th of every month, leading up to Mickey’s 90th Birthday on November 18th, Shop Disney has been releasing the ‘Mickey Memories’ collection of 2018.
This collection has been the must-have for many an avid Disney collector, with a new Mickey plush, stackable mug, and 3-pin set being released each month. I’m from the UK, and I can absolutely confirm that the popularity of these items, particularly the plushes, has been huge.
Here is a look back on the collection so far, in honor of the 90th Anniversary of the Mouse himself!
The Designs
As you can see from the Mickey plushes above, each design is very bold and completely unique, taking us on a journey throughout the decades since Mickey first burst onto the scene in Steamboat Willie 90 years ago. The plushes, pins and mugs all share the same designs each month. Here’s an individual description of each design, taken from Shop Disney…
January – Taking inspiration from the black-and-white Steamboat Willie
February – Inspired by lavish Art Deco architecture of the 1920s
March – A very bright and colorful 1930s-inspired pattern
April – Inspired by the 1940s
May – Pastel colors and geometric patterns inspired by the Atomic Era of the 1950s
June – Inspired by the peace-loving movement of the 1960s, with denim and tie-dye
July – A 1970s corduroy effect
August – Inspired by the iconic glamour of the 1980s, black and gold and very shiny
September – Inspired by the Pop-Art trend of the 1990s
October – Inspired by the rise of technology during the millennium
November – Celebrating Mickey’s 90th anniversary, inspired by eco-friendly symbols
December – coming soon…. Diamond Mickey!
Shopping the Collection
The purchasing system of Mickey Memories is very strict, but very fair. It is both organized and efficient. Online, it’s one per guest, two per household, provided they are ordered under separate names. In store, it’s one plush per guest, going off a ticketing system. Ten guests are allowed in the store at a time. Security guards take photos of the lines to ensure no one jumps in (which wouldn’t be a horrible idea in the parks, either). In order to ensure ownership of a monthly Mickey, guests have been lining up from as early as 4 am outside their local Disney Store, creating a very magical (albeit sleepy) atmosphere. Some regular shoppers even ended up forging very specific friendships as they met up every month in the same spot to wait for hours in anticipation of cast members opening the doors.
Price-wise, completing the collection is quite an investment. The plush retails at $24.95 and the pin set and mug are $16.95 each. I’ll leave you to do the math on that one, but I mean if you’re buying one, you have to buy them all, right?
A Sell-Out Collection
Now this collection has been selling out FAST. If you don’t quite believe me and need some evidence of this, just go take a look on eBay for one of the plushes. I’ll wait.
A lovely cast member described to me that while the first plush sold out within two weeks, the next set basically sold out in two days, then it was two minutes, and now it’s a two-second kind of deal. This has been putting guests and cast members into a monthly frenzy, with it being a big commitment to ensure you get your hands on the item you’re after. While the whole collection has been limited, the quantities released were larger each month starting with the July release, in order to meet demand. Yet, the lines aren’t getting any shorter.
The 90th Anniversary
Of course, November brought along the Happy Birthday of the Mouse himself, and Disney Stores across the world have been celebrating this very special anniversary. In the UK, the first 90 customers who made a purchase received a special key, and some stores celebrated the doors opening with a big ‘Happy Birthday’ singalong, flags and ears. Cast members were wearing birthday buttons and the gold balloons everywhere made it feel very celebratory indeed.
The Final Installment
Don’t forget: Diamond Mickey – the twelfth and final release of the collection – is coming on MONDAY, DECEMBER 10TH – not the 18th as it has every other month. This is for the guests that are buying online to ensure delivery by Christmas. So set your alarm clocks, everyone – this one is the shiniest yet!
Will There Be More?
Whether Disney will bring out a similar monthly collection next year is still unknown. Whether guests can cope with the pressure of battling the sell-out frenzy for another twelve months is another question entirely. Rumor has it that maybe Minnie might get her year next year. After all, she’s turning 90 as well! What do you think? Would you like to see another collection? Did you complete this one? Please let us know about your experiences with Mickey Memories. We’d love to hear from you and hope you enjoyed this look-back!
All the information from this article was taken from Shop Disney, the very helpful cast members in UK Disney Stores, and from the wonderful Charlotte and Lee.
The stuff is cool but I don’t know if I could justify spending, what, $800 on stuffed animals, mugs, and pins? I don’t think I would have space for all those mugs even if I got rid of all my current ones, nor do I have room to display all those dolls. It’s a nicely made collection, but I’m surprised there are that many people rushing to buy them every month.
I asked a Disney Store employee here in the USA and she said they are announcing the new 2019 event on 12/8. All she would tell me is it’s called Worlds of Wisdom