Day 1, Part 6 - Flat Brody takes a Pick-A-Number DISUnplugged Podcast Trip!!!

Day 1, Part 6 - Are these the only postcards they have?

Having been fed and watered, we had a renewed energy. World of Disney here we come!!!!

WoD is the mecca of Disney shopping AND you get a discount with your AP and/or Disney Visa!!! Doesn’t get much better than that.

But wait!!! Dad had made a request for pins to complete his collection. Neither of us really understood how a few pins would complete his collection but we said we would get him pins. But he only wanted limited edition pins.

My Dad has is a hobby collector similar to the hobbies themselves. He has had lots of them over the years - stamp collecting, coin collecting, beer can collecting, building electronics in the 70's, Civil War reenactments (thankfully this one never really lasted), collecting Department 56, growing orchids which required that he build a greenhouse half the size of my house, and the list goes on and on and on. It doesn’t take much to get him interested in a hobby. It just requires a tiny bit of interest and he is off and running. The Disney pin collecting - he doesn’t trade, only collects - started on our Disney Cruise last year.

So Mom and I stopped by Disney’s Pin Traders on our way to WoD to see what was available. We weren’t going to buy any pins there since we knew that we got a discount at WoD and that we would have several opportunities to buy pins the rest of the trip. We did find lots of pins we were interested in for Dad’s collection and for a few for ourselves.

Even Flat Brody got into pin trading. Although I wouldn’t actually buy him the Official Pin Trading Badge since it was sort of expensive - and I don’t wear a lanyard so what would actually be the point.

After doing our recognizance work at Disney’s Pin Traders, we felt free to do our own shopping at WoD. My little heart was all aflutter at just the thought at being in the Superstore of Disney where I even get a discount. It’s the little things in life that make life worth living.

But before we made it to WoD, we had to make a brief detour to the Ghiradelli shop to get our free sample. It was a peanut butter filled sample. Yummmmm!!!! The ice cream parlor was closed for renovations - which ruined my plans for some ice cream for dessert. Don’t worry, it was just God’s way of saying I didn’t need any ice cream and he was right.

Flat Brody about to enter mecca. (Isn't it pretty and twinkly.)


After taking 5 trips to WDW in 2007, there really were no souvenirs that I needed and I was trying to not spend too much money this trip. But I did need a new pair of Crocs. I had tried to get a new pair before I left on the trip but the Hallmark store on the Island didn’t have any good colors in my size. So I decided that it was time to get my first pair of Mickey Crocs.

Can I just say the WoD has a really crappy selection of Mickey Crocs - and Jibbitz for that matter. I’m sure they sell out of things quickly but you can find better selections at most other stores on property. It’s always been this way - not sure why. Guess it just one of those things that is a mystery.

After trying on several pairs I finally decided on the black Mickey Crocs with the red strap and put them in a hand basket. I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter since it was either the black ones or the white ones which remind me of nurse shoes - not the look I was going for.

We went over to look for a latte mug that Mom had chipped and wanted to replace. But alas it is no longer available. And we only bought it this past October. That Disney Merchandise Department - they are always changing things up.

We did find the rice krispy treats though. There weren’t any of the ones in fun shapes for the holidays since it was sort of in between holidays so we decided on the big bricks of rice krispy treats. Mom takes them back to the office for the staff. We decided several Mom and Me trips ago that people really don’t need knickknacks from a trip that they didn’t actually take - even if it was from Disney World - but that food was a very nice trip souvenir. It shows that you thought of them but you aren’t requiring them to use a pen with a crown and marabou cap on it.

I do wonder what ingredient they put in those big bricks of rice krispy treats to make them so soft and chewy and wonderful. I wish the ones I make at home were as good. Just another one of those mysteries of life.

Then on to the small selection of pins on display at WoD.

Have I mentioned that the store is especially busy tonight? People were just milling around and blocking the aisles with strollers. And worse yet they were blocking the pin display area. Very frustrating, indeed.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of jostling for position, there was a parting of the crowd and we took the opportunity to be on the front row of the pin display. We even found a few of the pins we were looking for from our recognizance mission and Mom found a pin for each of the grandchildren’s pin collection. So, we are off to a good start.

Now, off to find postcards for the grandchildren. I had remembered to bring stamps and the addresses were stored on my mobile phone. (We can never remember my sister’s zip code.) This should have been the easy part of our shopping excursion. But it wasn’t. There were probably only about 6 individual postcard and 3 postcard books to chose from. Hmmmmmmph.

Don’t people send postcards anymore? I have to assume with the selection available at WoD (and all over property) that people don’t . This is a shame because it was always very exciting as a child to get a postcard from my parents or grandparents. I even like to get them now. It is nice to know that people on trips take time out of their journey to remember you.

Back in the day when I was a CM we had about 50 different postcards to choose from. And I should know. It was my job to keep the rack in order and restocked. It was an enormous responsibility, I assure you.

Oh well, maybe it has something to do with the fact that postcards always show up after the trip taker has returned from the trip.

We picked out two postcards and decided to find another one tomorrow morning for my youngest nephew. Most of the postcards were of princesses and we didn’t think my 6 year old nephew would appreciate it if we sent him a postcard of Cinderella. The original plan was that Mom and I would both write on the postcards and drop them in the mail tomorrow. More on that later.

Since there were people and strollers everywhere it was difficult to tell who was in line to check out and who was just hanging out. But we finally found a cashier that didn’t have a line a mile long and paid for our loot. I think we saved about $20 with our WoD discount.

We took the long walk - about 1 minute - back to our car and easily found our way back to ASSp for our first night in the World. Don't be too impressed there really aren't any signs to follow from DTD to ASSp.

Next installment - Follow the Rules or Be a Rebel