I thought it might be interesting to start sharing some of my own personal Disney collections, hopefully some of you reading may have similar interests or collections, and if not o may introduce you to something new!

The first part of my collection I wanted to share is my Funko pops, these are a range of stylised toys/figures made by a company called funko. The brand makes a huge line of collectable figures that cover all kinds of pop culture, from film, Tv, books music as well as sports.

I first started collecting the figures in August 2013 having been introduced to them by a friend who has brought some back from the US, the style of the figure immediately struck a chord with me, and once I had seen the vast Disney range available I was hooked! Each figure is between 3 and 4 inches tall, though there are some "over sized" exceptions to this, and feature a typically over sized head and large eyes. Personally I find this style to be very cute, and I guess it reminded me a bit of anime and cartoon and this was a huge selling point for me.

To date I currently own around 93 Funko pops from the Disney range but there are even more out there that I have yet to add to my collection. Each pop typically retails between £8.99 and £19.99 brand new, depending on size and how limited the run, with special figures being released for comicon events throughout the year. They are becoming more widely available on the high street now and can often be seen in hmv, boots, Argos, game, smyths toys etc.

I use a monthly subscription service to add to my pop collection, www.popinabox.co.uk offers a unique service where you can have a mystery pop sent to you each month, or more than one if you want to build a larger collection quickly. The website allows you to create a list of the pops you already own, to ensure you don't get sent a duplicate, but also allows you to create a list of your likes and dislike so that you can Tailor your plan to only send you pops you want but still have the excitement of a mystery sub.

Below is a picture of the bulk of my collection, and then some close up shots of some of my favourite sets and individual pops.



This is what we effectionatley call the wall of pops! Currently I have chosen to keep my figures in box, it saves having to try and keep them clean and also protects them from getting knocked off the shelves! Going forward I'm looking to purchase two display cabinets so that I can unbox them and display them in a way that shows all of their detail.


My Peter Pan set is my absolute favourite set of pops, as both Peter and Hook are not currently in production I had these shipped from Australia!



Ursula is another pop that is currently not in production brand new and again came from Australia, her popularity as a character and the limited number in which she was produced means this figure holds quite a high re sale value.


In my nightmare before Christmas set I am lucky enough to have got the glow in the dark Jack and Sally set, I won these as a prize when I first started my collection and when I last checked the pair were selling 2nd hand for between £150 and £200!






A few more of my favourite pops and also my big hero 6 collection, I particularly like the over sized baymax's, I'm glad they chose to make these a larger pop as this makes them more true to character. This picture also shows the beginning of my cars collection, being my favourite Disney film this is a set I can't wait to finish, and I was able to get my hands on the limited dinoco blue lightning which was released at San Diego comicon and also the mint mater which was released at New York comicon.


The final set I wanted to share with you is the set I finished today which is Alice in wonderland, now there are a few different versions of Cheshire Cat, I have the dissapearing version from hot topic in the US, there is also a full colour chesh and a blue chesh, the latter one being a limited edition again from a previous San Diego comicon. They have now released a second set of Alice pops to run along side the live action movies, but I preferred the cartoon ones.
So that's my pop collection, do you collect? Do you have any rare pops and what's on your most wanted list? Drop me a comment I'd love to know!

If you visit the Disney parks often you may be aware of the world of pin trading, where collectors buy and swap pin badges at Disney parks that depict their favourite rides, hotels and characters. It's very popular and can become time consuming and costly, and this is in part due to the release of limited pins.

As well as being purchasable in the Disney parks, Disney store online now stock a small range of pins and April sees the introduction of 4 new limited edition pin sets! Here's a quick look at what's available.

Starting with the pins that were released on the 9th of the month, we have the Basil the great mouse detective pin, this is priced at £9 and has been released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film, it is limited to 1100 world wide.


The next release on the 9th was the Alice through the looking glass set, the commemorate the up coming film, I really like this set and think the presentation box makes the set even better, priced at £45 and limited to 1200, this is a really cool set and I think worth the price tag!

 

Next we have 2 further confirmed pin releases for April both on the 19th.

The first is an Esmeralda pin, from the hunchback of Notre Dame which will retail for £9, I particularly like this pin as Esmeralda merchaindise, and Hunchback merchaindise in general is limited, it's nice to see something a bit different being released! The pin is limited to a run of 300, so if you're looking to add this to your collection you'll have to be quick off the mark!

 
The final release for April 2016 is another set and this time it's Finding Dory, with the film scheduled for a summer 2016 release its no surprise to see the merchaindise starting to hit the shelves, what did surprise me a little though was how much the set focuses on the newer characters rather than the existing ones, I wouldn't be surprised if this set has a slower start in terms of sales but I am confident this will pick up once the film is in the cinemas. Again this is a limited run of 300 so I wouldn't hang around too long to place your order, the set is priced at £50.


So that's it for April pin releases in the UK, are you planning on getting any? Which set is your favourite and what else would you like to see this year?

It's recently celebrated it's 14th birthday on March 16th, having opened in 2002, 10 years after the main Disney park. It is instantly recognizable by its trademark earful tower which you can see from far away as you approach the park, the studios park is the home of film and boasts popular attractions like the Hollywood Tower of terror and as of this weekend is also the last remaining Disney park to host the lights camera action motor stunt show.

 However the park is much smaller than its sister park and many people feel there is not enough to see and do to make this a "full day park", so as we look forward to it's 15th birthday in 2017 i ask, is it time for a change? And more importantly, what do we want to see in Paris' Walt Disney Studios park?

The studios park is based around cinema and the production of film an animation and is split into four sections which each represent different areas of film production, it would be imperative that any changes or additions to the park fit into these themes. It would perhaps be sensible to discuss each area separately, taking into account its successes and its opportunities.

The first section of the park as you walk through the main entrance is the front lot, this is mostly shopping and services and has no rides, it includes the indoor walk way, studio one, which has the Walt Disney studios store, studio photo and the counter service restaurant en Coulisse. Quite often the front lot will hold a scheduled meet and greet with a classic Disney character (Often Mickey and Minnie) but other than this and shopping, there's not a huge deal on offer here, i would like to see the space used for more meet and greets, in the current "swing into spring" programme there's not a single meet and greet scheduled for the front lot, and I think this is a massive shame given the amount of space on offer! I will say however, the Walt Disney studios store is one of my favourite shops in the entire resort, it has a great range of items so is a must do on the final shopping day!

 
The next area of the park is the production courtyard, this area houses one of the most popular rides in the studios park, the Hollywood tower of terror, its also home to cinemagique, stitch live, play house Disney live, and the studio tram tour. This is one of the areas of the park that needs the most attention in my opinion, now there are 2 attractions in this area of the park that I haven't currently tried, so I cannot comment on those, but I do have some ideas for the attractions in this section that I have visited.

Firstly, the studio tram tour, this in my opinion is an attraction that is desperate for some TLC and attention, the ride feels incredibly dated especially the video that plays in the carriages, and it feels like it's lacking that touch of Disney Magic. I felt the few items to stop and see along the route weren't all that impressive other than the scene with the lorry and felt like a lot more could have been done with the space that has been allocated. With Disney now owning  the Star wars and Marvel IPs I would like to see these included in a future version of the tour, in addition rather than static displays I would like to see more interactive features added to the tour. I enjoyed seeing the Disney vehicles at the end of the tour, but felt they could have been displayed better, or made into more of a feature, I was also surprised not to see any of the cars from Pixar's Cars on display here as this would have been fitting. I'm pleased to say Studio tram tours is closing in the latter half of 2016 until mid 2017 for refurbishment and I can't wait to see what changes are made to this attraction to bring it back to life!

 
The other part of production courtyard which I would like to see changed is the use of the place des stars. This is the open paved space outside Stitch Live! and Playhouse Disney: Live on stage, this area used to have a small stage with a Paris themed back drop and was home to the Stars n cars parade which ran from 2009 to its closure, which I believe was in 2015. The parade saw Disney characters take to the street in themed cars, which would then meet at the Place Des Stars where characters would dismount a perform a show on the stage there, in later years the stage show and the majority of the cars were scrapped and this became more of a meet and greet format. Stars n Cars in my experience was always very popular and was a great chance to see some of the classic characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Daisy etc) in different film and production themed outfits, and who isn't a sucker for a costume change! I was lucky enough to see both versions of Stars n Cars, I only wish I'd got the show on video! It is certainly something I feel is distinctly missing from the studios park.

 
  


Now I'm not saying bring back Stars n Cars, although I would be perfectly happy to see it again! But I would like to see a new, fresh parade in Walt Disney studios, and think the place des stars is the perfect hub for this. Perhaps something Pixar themed would be appropriate as characters like Remy and Emile, Mike and Sully and the Incredibles to name a few do not appear in the parades currently on offer in the main park. I feel this would be a big draw for people to come across to the studios park and would go a long way towards making this a "full day park".

Next we look at the back lot, home to the Rock n Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith, one of the parks two "thrill rides", the motor stunt show, and the entirely forgettable Armageddon. Now as I mentioned earlier, Paris is now the last remaining Disney park to host the motor stunt show, and this is one of my favourite shows at DLP, it attracts a wide audience range and is equally enjoyable on the 3rd of 4th visit as it was on the first! As a huge Pixar and Cars fan, I was also more than happy when a guest appearance from Lightening McQueen was added to the show. It's a great chance to see how motor stunts are filmed, but it's also enjoyable just to watch at face value. If you're lucky you may even get to participate, which I can imagine is an incredible holiday memory!

 
Rock n Roller Coaster is not my type of ride personally, but I have heard great things about it and its very popular, it is currently under a short refurbishment and I know many people are looking forward to it's re-opening. Opposite the Aerosmith ride is one of the few scheduled Meet n Greets on offer in the studios, Spider Man! Now I've yet to meet Spidey, but have heard nothing but good stories about his interaction with guests, I have also seen a few of the official Photo Pass pictures from this meet n great and the setting is brilliant and makes for some really special photos. Rumors have floated around in the last 12 months of Captain America replacing Spidey in this spot, I for one would prefer to see Captain America added to the line up rather than as a replacement, I think he would be equally popular and would be a great addition for Marvel Fans.

Now it's probably time to address the elephant in the room, which is no other than Armageddon, this is without a doubt my least favourite attraction at DLP, both parks included, now I haven't seen the film and this may be part of my dislike for this attraction, but I personally found it dated and found the humour to feel forced, I would like to see this replaced with a Marvel attraction, perhaps something featuring Iron Man or the full avengers cast, this would fit in well with the cinema theme of the park and would be very popular.

Finally for the back lot I would like to see it host some meet n greets, character meets are always very popular and the back lot has the space to accommodate this, it would be nice to see characters that don't appear in the main park as this gives guests a reason to visit both, and I would like to see photo pass photographers attend these meets to really increase the value of the photo pass plus.

The last area of the studios park is the Toon Studio and this is my favourite area of the park, the show in this area Animagique has recently finished, having run since the studios park opened in 2002, but fear not, its replacement; Mickey and the Magician opens this year on July 2nd and I for one can't wait to see it.

 
Toon studio appeals to me as I am a massive Pixar fan, but also because it includes all the things I am looking for most, there are 2 scheduled meet and greets, Buzz and friends and Mickey and friends, and more often than not a photo pass photographer is available at this location not to mention the back drops on these meet and greets are fantastic and provide some really nice photos! In addition to this the Toon studio has a hood level and mix of rides, and some of the best theming in the park, Crushes coaster is one of the parks most popular rides and can often see a 90 min and above queue at peak time, and could only be improved by a better management of the queue system, as often the single rider line is not operational. The flying carpets ride is very similar to that of Dumbo or Orbitron in the main park, but with the welcome addition of Robin Williams voice clips and often has a fairy short wait which is a bonus.

The Ratatouille and Toy story sections however are really the jewels in the crown as far as the Studios is concerned, toy story play land opened in 2010 and includes the toy soldier parachute drop, slinky dog's zig zag spin and RC racer, the first of these two rides are suitable for all ages and RC racer provides a thrill for some of the parks older guests, this area was designed to make guests feel like they had been shrunk to the size of a toy and features Kinex fencing, and giant fairy lights which look fantastic lit up in the evenings.

 
 The place des Remy is the newest area of the studios park and is based on the Pixar film Ratatouille, it includes a small shop which has a good variety of Parisian and Food themed items,  Bistro Chez Remy, a table service restaurant where you are shrunk down to the size of a rat and can sample foods cooked by Remy himself, and the incredibly popular Ratatouille ride, which opened in 2012. The ride is a cross between a on rails ride and a simulator, it is a dark ride which is trackless where you ride around in a rat and follow Remy and his family around Gusteau's restaurant as seen in the film, the ride is 3D and guests are provided with glasses to wear.

 
 The main thing I would like to see in the Toon studio area of the park in the near future is a meet and greet with Remy and Emile which could be held near Bistro Chez Remy. Although further in the future if the park were to expand I would personally like to see Cars land, or some of the rides from cars land in Disneyland California, brought over, and also a Bugs life attraction.

So that's the Walt Disney studios park, or my take on it at least. As much as I enjoy the time I spend in this park, and couldn't dream of visiting DLP and not going into the Studios park, I do feel like there's a lot of room for improvement and growth, and I am excited to see what is planned for the next few years!