At Tokyo Disneyland, I Found a New Collecting Obsession

We person too overmuch Disney stuff. In our home, 1 full country is specifically dedicated to Disney posters and memorabilia. In different rooms, we person shelves dedicated to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, Robin Hood, Toy Story, and more. It’s excessively much. And so, erstwhile yet making that bucket database travel to Japan to sojourn Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea we knew we had to instrumentality it casual with the buying.

But past I saw it.

Leaving DisneySea’s Indiana Jones ride (which is conscionable similar the Disneyland ride, except Crystal Skull themed), I noticed they were selling a tiny, Matchbox-sized replica of the thrust vehicle. I had to person it. It was small, themed to thing I love, and hyper-specific. That was the key. This wasn’t conscionable immoderate Indiana Jones-themed shirt, it was the thrust conveyance from this ride. I scooped it up.

A fewer rides later, I realized the astonishing Frozen thrust I conscionable exited besides had a mini-ride vehicle. And the Peter Pan ride. And astatine the extremity of the day, I was carrying 8 caller thrust vehicles successful my backpack. The adjacent day, astatine Tokyo Disneyland, the buying continued, and by the extremity of our trip, I’d purchased 12 vehicles, astatine a outgo of astir $15 apiece.

All the thrust vehicles we bought. – io9

(On the apical level, you’ve got, from near to right, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast, Frozen and Peter Pan, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Jungle Cruise. On the bottom, you’ve got Soarin’, the edifice Monorail and Aquatopia, Happy Ride with Baymax, and Toy Story Mania.)

The vehicles are made by a institution called Tomica and they’ve been teaming up with Disney since, according to Wiki, 2001. So it’s not similar I’m the archetypal idiosyncratic to observe these. They’ve been astir for literal decades. But the size, exclusively, and specificity conscionable spoke to me. Plus, due to the fact that of their size, I knew that I could beauteous easy find places for them to show successful our very, precise Disney-filled home.

But I had to acceptable limits. An important portion of my buying was being selective. I wasn’t buying everything. I was buying vehicles for rides I really rode and truly liked. And portion I surely bought a lot, successful 1 of the stores astatine Tokyo Disneyland, determination was a show with what appeared to beryllium each conveyance presently available. There were mode much than 12.

All of the Tokyo Disney Ride Vehicles astatine the resort. – io9

You whitethorn announcement 1 celebrated thrust conveyance that’s not successful there: the Starcruiser from Star Tours. When I started buying these, 1 of my archetypal thoughts was, “Is determination 1 for Star Tours?” I past checked each astir the thrust and parkland but no, determination wasn’t. At slightest not now. I aboriginal recovered retired determination were out-of-print vehicles for Star Tours that, maybe, I’d acquisition astatine a aboriginal date.

But, that aboriginal day astir happened overmuch sooner. Later connected our Japan trip, I recovered myself successful a geek mecca called Nakano Broadway. A fewer minutes extracurricular of Tokyo, this four-story promenade is filled with each mode of geek merchandise and you could walk days getting mislaid successful its stores. At 1 point, I walked into a store and saw what I believed was the Star Tours thrust conveyance I was after. This 1 looked a small different, though, and had a motion adjacent to it that said thing astir “330.” I asked the worker for much information.

Turns out, this peculiar portion wasn’t 330 yen, nor was it 3300 yen. It was 330,000 yen, the U.S. equivalent to astir $2,300. According to a translation of the sign, it was immoderate discontinued mentation of the conveyance and, clearly, precise uncommon and valuable. “Do you inactive privation it?” she asked. The answer, of course, was yes, but I couldn’t spend it, truthful I said “No, convey you.” She past took the motion and wrote connected it, making it clearer what the portion cost.

That was the moment, though. In the 2 minutes earlier realizing however costly that portion was, but besides knowing it was going to beryllium much costly than the ones successful the park, I was ready. If it had been $200 oregon something, I would’ve pulled the trigger. I was connected vacation! I wanted Star Tours for my collection! Of course, I didn’t bargain it, but I did recognize I had officially added mini thrust vehicles to my agelong database of collecting obsessions.

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