I have purchased plenty of Disney products in my life, and have done a slew of Disney Hauls this past year. This haul is different from my previous shopping experiences though, and it might be my favorite. The story behind this begins probably close to three years ago now. My mom, looking for something for a project she was working on, went into a thrift shop in town. I curmudgeonly waited in the car, not feeling up to joining her. When she came back out though, she had something truly magical for me in her hands; a perfect condition Disneyland tea cup.
Knowing what a big Disney fan I am, especially of more classic and retro designs, the image on the cup was absolute perfection to me. Together, we also have quite a few tea cups and saucers, so this was an amazing addition to our little collection. I thought it was such an amazing find (at only $1.50!) that I am still shocked about to this day. It has become my “special” cup that I am very protective of. Whenever I need a little bit of joy or long to go to Disneyland, I use it as a way to feel a bit of that Disney pixie dust. When I see other Disney mugs or cups, I now always tell my mom “it can’t beat that teacup you found!”.
I couldn’t really manage to ever find when this cup was originally sold, but I would be very interested to find out. It certainly has a vintage look to it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is terribly old. The fact that it was made in Japan may signal that it is on the older side, since that isn’t as commonly found on teacups anymore. I have other old teacups that I was given or bought from a charity shop in town, and quite a few were made in Japan as well. When I see cups in the stores today, they are usually made in China. The logo on the bottom also looks much more dated than the current Disney Parks designs.
The graphic on the teacup is a pretty design of the Sleeping Beauty Castle that can be found at Disneyland. There is gold trim along the rim of the cup and down the handle as well as on the saucer. “Disneyland” is also nicely printed in gold, and most of all, the gold has held up well and isn’t disappearing or slowly rubbing off. This means it was very underused, or, hopefully, pretty good quality. The shape of the cup is also nice, and holds a small serving of tea.
Since the discovery of this cup, I have had it in my mind to go looking for Disney items, but just haven’t managed to get myself to do it. It made me think that old Disney Parks merchandise or other old Disney treasures could easily be out there, especially given how so many people visit the parks in their lifetime and buy Disney items for their children. Finally, I took the time on a recent weekend to track down any finds, and it ended up being a very successful shopping trip!
This collection of items came from going to only two thrift stores, which I think was a pretty big score considering there could have very easily been nothing of interest that day.
The first item I found was this set of drinking glasses. I found them on a low shelf, and couldn’t believe it at first that I had found something very Disney. I bent down to pick one up, and knew they were an exciting find. I quickly saw that they looked to be from McDonalds and that they were in great condition. As I looked at the next glass, I saw that they represented the four Disney World parks. After I brought them home, I looked them up it appears that they came from 2002 during a “100 Years of Magic” promotion. There were only four designs available, so it was pretty awesome to find the complete set. The glasses are very sturdy and I really like the different color combos that they each have. They are also filled with a variety of characters and various facts about Disney characters or attractions in the park that the glass corresponds to (some being a bit outdated, but that just makes them vintage now:) ) Each mug was priced at $1.99.
Hollywood Studios (which would have been MGM Studios when this was released) featuring the now extinct Sorcerer's Hat.
Animal Kingdom, with the Tree of Life at the center.
Epcot, with the symbolic Spaceship Earth.
…and finally Magic Kingdom with the towering Cinderella Castle!
My second find at that same shop was a Disney jug. I thought it looked quite cool alongside the drinking glasses, and again, was in great condition. It only features Mickey, Minnie, and Donald (Poor Goofy and Daisy!), but I like how simple the graphics are. I often wish that Disney sold more basic things like this, that weren’t full of lame text or sometimes odd takes on classic characters. There isn’t any information on the jug about where it came from, except for a standard copyright symbol alongside the Disney name. I always keep a glass jug filled with water in the fridge, so I think I will eventually be using this for that. This was priced at $3.99.
At my second thrift shop I first found this Bambi Little Golden Book for $1. I have seen this book currently in the stores, but it looked to be in close to perfect condition, so I figured for a dollar, it was a good deal. The drawings are beautiful and you can’t go wrong with a classic story like Bambi (as sad as it is at times).
Finally, and maybe the biggest shock of all, was finding this Max and Goofy toy! Now, this may look pretty lame to some, but this was beyond perfect for me. Max and Goofy are a duo that meant so much to me as a kid. A Goofy Movie was also my favorite movie for so many years (and is still in my top favorites). The silly thing is, I know I had this toy as a child, and I possibly do still in my old toy box that is packed away, but I couldn’t pass up getting it. It originally comes from Burger King during a Kid’s Club toy collection featuring “Goofy and Max’s Adventures.” Considering it is from the early 90s, it is in very good condition. It always thought it was a bath toy, because it is quite squishy and also has a hole in Goofy’s hat where water can squirt out. I was so excited to find this, and I think it was strangely meant for me. The toy was just sitting on a ledge of the small toy section of the thrift shop, with no price tag. I brought it up to purchase, and the worker told me it probably came out of a Zip Lock bag of toys. She gave it to me for 99 cents, but I thought it was so odd how it was just waiting there for me to find it.
After everything got a good wash in the sink, I was pretty thrilled with what I came away with. I would like to continually see if I can come upon other treasures like this and am hoping to start a plan of cycling through the different thrift stores in town. You never know what you can find, and when that perfect item will be dropped off from someone and waiting to find a new home.
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