Quiet No Longer ~ OH COME ON DESIGN TEAM ~ Mickey's Circus Missed It!

I am usually poking around the boards and read how most pin traders are wishing for DisneyStore.com pins, wishing for the LE 100's, and where did the mystery sets go! Actually I think we are wishing for any NEW pins period! But I just read in agreement and do not post. What will be will be, and those in charge of the Disney Pin Releases don't seem to care at all what is posted here, so why waste my time and energy in posting my thoughts as well?

And it is just against my nature to complain ~ I am easy going, not easily ruffled, and I don't like to be negative! I figure the pins will eventually show up again ~ besides, I don't want Disney to stop the pins altogether! But, I just can't believe this Mickey's Circus!

I did not go to the past event because I did not like the pins. So, I have really been looking forward to Mickey's Circus!! What could be designed with such a theme!! And with virtually no great releases in over a year (or perhaps longer), I thought Mickey's Circus would be spectacular! I really was excited to see what they came up with!

Upon first seeing the pins, I thought how cute they were and the designs are quite nice, But then I noticed how it is the same characters all over again ~ there is not a single pin I even want when I start looking at it from a collector's viewpoint.

So far we have:
5 Pins of Chip & Dale
3 Pins of Donald
5 Pins of Figment
4 Pins of Mickey
3 Pins of Minnie

1 pin of Bullseye and Jessie, Daisy, Dumbo, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket, Roger and Jessica, Pete, Timothy Mouse, Tinker Bell, Stitch.
Pete and Clarabelle Cow (really Design Team!! Really!!)
I am sorry, I truly mean no disrespect to Clarabelle Cow and Pete collectors ~ but truly, how many people want a Clarabelle Cow pin???

The Bullseye and Jessie Pin ~ how many versions of the same pose can you make!! Do you spend your time thinking of ways to reuse the same old style!! Can you not think of anything original??

The train is a nice touch with the characters on it ~ a nod to the more unknown/obscure characters ~ tho didn't Lion King just come out of the vault?? A pin with Simba anyone?

Fantastic Felines with Mickey and Figaro is well done, tho I am unsure of who the other cats are ~ perhaps someone collects them?

Do we not have 9 Princesses and 1 Hero of China? Most of those Princesses have some beautiful Horses right? What a missed opportunity on the equestrian set!! And how cute would our Beloved Princesses and Heroine be as tightrope walkers, and trapeze acts?? Oh the costumes they could have had!!
We actually will have another princess by the event! A Princess Merida pin would have been awesome! oh and ummmmm........ Rapunzel?? Why in the world is there not a Rapunzel pin? She could be doing an act herself with her hair!

The Villains collectors will be happy tho! That is a nice set to get! And the chasers will be fun to some and heart ache to others ~ but how fun to try and accomplish a set! :0)

I just see this event as another missed opportunity. I just can't believe how the People In Charge Of The Pins do not listen to the feedback of the People Who Buy The Pins ~ horrible missed opportunities for us because of the designs on their part because they turn a deaf ear!

So ~ this was called a Sneak Peak ~ hopefully there will be more unique pins ~ but if there are not ~ then they should make at least one more pin ~ A Pin of Walt as a Clown with a Very Sad Face! :0(

Really? That's sad. They need the characters that people actually want.

Generally I have to agree. While there are some creative pins, I don't see anything that would inspire me to sink down the $800+ in air fare to make the trip. And there are numerous missed opportunities.

Where is the mysterious gypsy fortune tellers for the side show - Emerelda did this in Hunchback of Notre Dame. Madame Leota from Haunted Mansion.
Both Gaston and Hercules could rival Donald for the traditional side show Strongman role
Rapunzel would be a fantastic Hair / ribbon dancer (a circus act)
Speaking of Rapunzle, she and Maximus would make a fantastic high diving horse act
Back at the side show, where is the tank full of genuine Mermaids - peter pan, ariel, 2000 leagues under the sea, and Small world.

You already commented on the trick riders. (Suitable roles for any of the traditional Disney princesses)

For our Lion / Tiger cage = take one VERY brave trainer (Timoth mouse) and face him off with Scar / Sher Khan / Sabor - Tarzan

In addition to the equine act, Mulan would be a natural for the tightrope walking - she did it during the movie. I can see Snow White, Aurora or Cinderella doing the small animal acts (in costumes themed for their supporting characters).

For lesser known characters, Slue Foot Sue could demonstrate trick roping, and fancy shooting (See Annie go get you gun). The girls from Aladdin, the triplets from Beauty and Beast, and maybe the "ugly" step sisters could make a nice train as elephant riders in suitable costumes.

Just need someone as a knife thrower, a fire eater, and volunteers for clowns and you have 3 rings full.

If there was reason Disney cheaped out on the pins I would have fired them. Apparently Disney is losing its ideas. I wouldn't pay $800 for airfare to go and find out that all of the pins are repeat characters with no new ideas.

Here's a link:
http://cdn.dolimg.com/eventservices/pdf/merchandise_preview_catalog2012.pdf

JKrolak said:

Generally I have to agree. While there are some creative pins, I don't see anything that would inspire me to sink down the $800+ in air fare to make the trip. And there are numerous missed opportunities.

Where is the mysterious gypsy fortune tellers for the side show - Emerelda did this in Hunchback of Notre Dame. Madame Leota from Haunted Mansion.
Both Gaston and Hercules could rival Donald for the traditional side show Strongman role
Rapunzel would be a fantastic Hair / ribbon dancer (a circus act)
Speaking of Rapunzle, she and Maximus would make a fantastic high diving horse act
Back at the side show, where is the tank full of genuine Mermaids - peter pan, ariel, 2000 leagues under the sea, and Small world.

You already commented on the trick riders. (Suitable roles for any of the traditional Disney princesses)

For our Lion / Tiger cage = take one VERY brave trainer (Timoth mouse) and face him off with Scar / Sher Khan / Sabor - Tarzan

In addition to the equine act, Mulan would be a natural for the tightrope walking - she did it during the movie. I can see Snow White, Aurora or Cinderella doing the small animal acts (in costumes themed for their supporting characters).

For lesser known characters, Slue Foot Sue could demonstrate trick roping, and fancy shooting (See Annie go get you gun). The girls from Aladdin, the triplets from Beauty and Beast, and maybe the "ugly" step sisters could make a nice train as elephant riders in suitable costumes.

Just need someone as a knife thrower, a fire eater, and volunteers for clowns and you have 3 rings full.

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+1! I was thinking the exact same thing, and then some, about the designs and missed opportunities to cast soooo many characters in traditional circus roles. I only hope that since this is a *preview* that more is coming - but I'm not planning on holding my breath.

I was just noticing that they're giving credit to the Diseny Design group artists who came up with the pins - Alex Maher (all sets) and limted help from Quynh Kimball, Caley Hicks, Mike Sullivan, and John Henselmeier on 3 of the other sets.

Perhaps that's the root of the problem. Maybe what is needed here is a good infusion of imagination and inspiration as opposed to one person trying to design a whole pin line up on the circus theme. When you're brainstorming for the initial ideas, more input is good. You can then winnow it down to the best of the ideas for the pin sets.

I would also suggest a large dose of being willing to think outside of the box when it comes to costuming. The characters in the Sinister side show, should DRESS the part. Facilier and Stromboli can get away with it in their normal garb - they were already side show style performers. But a QUEEN does not
sell evil elixors, and as a crooked carnival barker Oogie Boggie needs a few accessories. Gaston needs the traditional strong man "Hercules lion pelt" costume. Kaa needs a victim for his "trust in me" routine.

The performing poster pins mostly work. Except you need the rest of the main Big 5 instead of the additions of Stitch, Figment, Chip/Dale to help make it sell.

The clowns are the most creative of the lot. Although traditionally the Ring Master is usually not a clown. With the most respect to the recent run of Ringling Bros who successuflly did use a clown Ringmaster in one of their 3 traveling shows. That was the exception which proved the rule.

Can't remember who said it, but what about A Bug's Life-they are a circus act and gives a fix for Pixar fans. Carl from Up selling balloons to kids.

have to agree. how many times are they going to do a pin of tinker bell tripped up/over something? She was a brat, not a clutz.

Couldn't agree with this post more!! We actually had planned on attending the Pin Event this year, until the preview came out. What a dissapointment!!! So, then you get those people who say, "I go more for the trading than for the actual pins being released." REALLY??? These people obviously live a lot closer to WDW than most. I agree with you all, by the time you factor in plane tickets; park admission; event admission; breakfast; dessert; etc.... It really adds up. And for what??

*Blinks*

Sorry, almost completely off topic here, but has anyone else noticed that they've put the Cheshire Cat in with the villains?

Though to contribute to the obscure character ideas, how about Grace Martin running a shooting gallery?

Carl as the balloon vendor! Yes!!!! I didn't think of that one. Nicely played! I swear if there is not a PT flea's circus I will burn down disneyworld, ha! All of it!

or carl making balloon animals...a balloon kevin!!!!! yes yes yes!!!

Sirsnoozit said:

Couldn't agree with this post more!! We actually had planned on attending the Pin Event this year, until the preview came out. What a dissapointment!!! So, then you get those people who say, "I go more for the trading than for the actual pins being released." REALLY??? These people obviously live a lot closer to WDW than most. I agree with you all, by the time you factor in plane tickets; park admission; event admission; breakfast; dessert; etc.... It really adds up. And for what??

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I was one of the people saying this, because the trading is fantastic. The trading boards that Disney puts up have AMAZING pins on them. Every pin I pulled was an AP, PP, or LE. Most of the APand PP pins were LE's. In total I pulled more than 70 pins. It is truly a unique experience. Not sure why this is an absurd thought, whether I live close to WDW or not. I would never pay
$105 to attend an event to strictly buy expensive pins. That seems absurd to me. I feel I get more than my money's worth out of this event, whether I like the pins being offered or not. I'm not over the moon about the pins myself, but I definitely like this year better than last. I do think there is a wider selection of characters. I also think the Mickey's Circus poster should have been a big clue as to what pins were going to be offered. I'm really not surprised it is mainly the Fab 4.

So, I agree that they could have been more creative with the characters they used, but I don't agree that the event isn't worth it if you don't like the pins.

Allow me to bring up an old thread I posted 2 years ago.

http://disneypinforum.com/showthread.php?984-Re-using-pin-artwork

It shows just how often pin artwork is reused. It's an old problem that seems to grow slowly every year. Go take a look!

katpogo said:

I would never pay $105 to attend an event to strictly buy expensive pins.

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I agree with that whole heartedly, especially when you factor in the cost of attending from outside FL. There are other ways to get the events pins including sponsoring a trusted friend or asking others to get you pins.

Although I have yet to attend an event, I would imagine half the fun is in meeting people, making friends and having lotsa trades with each other and the boards at those events. Sadly, this fun comes at a steep price tag, but it might be well worth it for some of us.

I would have liked to see Rapunzel as a ventriloquist!!!!!

Years ago Disneyland use to have a "focus group" that they brought together to "bounce ideas off of" and often times many of the groups "ideas" became reality (events, products, foods).

I really think they should bring this concept back to life. Bring pin people into the process and hear what they have to say, after all how bad can it be, right.

I was on the DLR "advisory committee" and mentioned to Timm (at that time) that there were never enough Villains pins being designed and offered. The next year there were a set of Villain calendar pins and I got an e-mail from Timm asking if I was "now happy"!!

Mike S.

On a podcast from last year, interviewing Alex Maher, he mentioned the pin team is 3 people. And I think they do both parks. They outsource a lot of the design work now, because the internal team is so small and that he spends a lot of his time approving work from outside vendors. I'm not sure that's what he had in mind when becoming a Disney design artist. Also, in the podcast while he mentions that while he does all characters, some people lean a certain way: Princesses, classic, etc. And I think even though Alex says he does a lot of characters, if you look at the work he's done, it's a lot of Mickey. I'm sure it's the thing he can do well, fast.

Before last year's pins came out, my parents talked to Alex and he was swamped with the amount of work he had to do, and I'm sure this year is no different; if not worse. One guy can only be expected to do so much. If people want to direct their frustration somewhere, I would look towards the management who decides how large the Disney Design Group should be, how large the pin team should be, etc. The same people who seem to think that there is no need to have a "pin manager" anymore, or keep the website updated and all that.

And all pin sets whatever happened to individaual pins which is what I want for trade purposes! All thats going to happen is whilst I might bid for more than one on the rsp I willend up returning them if I get more than one this is disappointing they had sets galore left over last time you would think they would learn from this

Jaqui

Some of the Sinister Sideshow pins are cool. Gaston as Strongman, Big Bad Wolf as a balloon artist, Disappearing Cheshire Cat, Evil Queen Evil Elixirs, etc. I kinda like the Tink peanut pin too. Clown pins are creepy.

I like the idea of a focus group. We are all supporters of Disney who happened to get into collecting pins, so Disney is not utilizing a great resource that they have in us. I don't think that anyone here wants to slam Disney, but they should make an opportunity to build a bridge to the pin trading/collecting community. Does anyone have a phone #/email/addy of someone we could contact and make some suggestions? I for one am willing to put a bug in the Mousie's ear.

Well, there was good and bad about the 'ol focus groups...they did get together and give input and were also given previews of products. However, multiple members that were selected for the Disneyland group -went and had the pins faked right after. Which is one of the reasons that Disney canceled the group. Previewing the merchandise proved to be a leak....

Can't say I blame Disney for pulling back on that one.... one bad apple....

TiggerNut said:

Well, there was good and bad about the 'ol focus groups...they did get together and give input and were also given previews of products. However, multiple members that were selected for the Disneyland group -went and had the pins faked right after. Which is one of the reasons that Disney canceled the group. Previewing the merchandise proved to be a leak....

Can't say I blame Disney for pulling back on that one.... one bad apple....

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My response to that is to replace the people who were the leak. Just because one or more of the participants proved unethical does not invalidate the idea. And as for that, the "leak" could just as easily been one of Disney team members wanting to make a little "extra" on the side.