Shopping Bags of the Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland Resorts

Below are some pictures of just a few of the shopping bags that have been used in the Disneyland Resort, followed by bags from Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.

2018

From April 13th to September 3rd, 2018 when Disney was doing their Pixar Fest promotion, these are the bags that were used. The front and back are the same.

2012 -2021

This bag has been in circulation for quite some time. It has been used in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, once Pixar Fest was over, in 2018, and 2019-2021.

The reverse is similar but not the same.

2015-2016

Here's a look at the bag that was used for the Diamond Celebration (60th Anniversary) which ran from 2015 to 2016.

This is what the reverse looks like.

2009, 2011

This is one of my favorite bags, used in 2011.

And here's a look at the reverse.

2006

Disney started it's "Where Dreams Come True" campaign in 2006 and although I don't have a sales receipt to go along with this bag, I assume it is from that time frame.

And here's the reverse.

2005 

Here's a bag from the 50th Anniversary in 2005. They were made in various sizes but the large one I have measures 20"x23.5". The reverse is the same as the front.

ca2003

Not sure on the exact dates. The fact that Ca Adventure appears on it, dates it post-2001.

1998-2000

This bag was used for a couple of years. It is the same on the front and back.

1994-1996

This bag was used from 1994 through 1996. A very similar one with the "Disneyland" type down the side was used in the next couple of years after this. The front and back are the same. Various sizes were made and the ones I have measure 6"x9", 12"x14", and 15"x18".

ca. 1995

This paper bag measures 17"x24". I have a picture of this bag on the same table as the one above so I know it was used in the mid 1990's.

1990

Here's a bag from 1990 and the 35th Anniversary of Disneyland. Various sizes were made. The bags I have measure 6.25"x9" and 8.5"x11.5". The reverse is the same as the front.

ca 1989

I'm not sure of the exact year this bag was used but judging by Splash Mountain being featured with Star Tours nearby, I'm guessing it was used just after they were both open in 1989 (Star Tours opened in 1987). The bags I have measure 14.75"x17.75" and 6.25"x9.25". The reverse is the same as the front.

1986

On this bag is written "The Walt Disney Company" with a copyright date of 1986 signaling that it was used in the latter part of 1986 since the Disney changed from "Productions" to "Company" on February 6th) Measures 5.75"x9"

Here's the reverse.

ca 1979-1986

This bag was used sometime between 1979 (Thunder Mountain appears on the bag) and 1986 (Walt Disney Productions is printed on the bag) It measures 14.5"x18".

Here's the reverse.

1977

This bag was offered in 1977 (according to the receipt I have) although I'm sure it ran for more years than that. Unlike the plastic versions of today, this bag is made of paper. There were a few different sizes of this bag including 5.5"x7.5"; 8.5"x11"; 11.5"x15"; 5"x17.5"; and 17"x24", and there were also  blue and white versions of it pictured below:

This is the long, skinny 5"x17.5" bag.

This is the white version. The pattern on the bag make the picture look blurry, but this is actually what the bags look like. 

1977

This paper bag was used at the Hallmark Card Shop on Main Street and measures 7"x10"

This is the reverse.

Unknown (ca. 1987-1994)

Not sure what year this is from. They vary in size but the two I have measure 8.5"x11" and 25.5"x26.5".

Here's the reverse.

Walt Disney World

1991

This plastic bag was used in conjunction with Disney World's 20th Anniversary in 1991. They were made in various sizes and the ones I have measure 20"x24", 8.5"x11", and 5.5"x7.75". The reverse is the same as the front.

This paper bag was used in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. Similar in design to the plastic version, this paper bag have the green, yellow, and purple mickey ears on both sides with the logo and writing on the front. Made in various sizes, the ones I have measure 9.25"x5" and 13.5"x7".

1986

This paper bag was offered in August 1986 (and I'm sure it was offered for more years than that).

1977

This paper bag was offered in Walt Disney World in 1977. The opposite side is identicle and it came in at least 2 sizes, 5.5"x7.5" and 11.5"x15"

1975-1977

This paper bag measures 7.5"x10.5" but I assume it came in various sizes. The date of use is based on the facts that Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village opened March 22, 1975, and was changed to Walt Disney World Village in 1977. The reverse is the same as the front.

Unknown (ca. 1982-1989)

This paper bag measures 17"x24"

Unknown (ca. 1971-1985)

This is the front side of the paper bag used at the Hallmark Shop in Walt Disney World. It measures about 7"x10"

This is the back side of the same bag from above.

Unknown (ca. 1971-1989)

This Walt Disney World paper bag measures 8.5"x11" (but I assume it came in other sizes as well).

Here's a look at the reverse.

Unknown (ca. 1971-1989)

This paper bag measures 7"x10" and the reverse is the same as the front.

Tokyo Disneyland

ca 1983

This paper bag measures about 8.25" x 11.75" and is the same on the front and back.

1988

This bag was used for the 5th Anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland in 1988. I assume they were made in various sizes but the one I have measures 8.25"x11.75". The reverse is the same as the front.

2014

This plastic bag was released for Easter at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. It measures 9"x11.75"

Here's the reverse from the Easter bag.

This is the plastic Halloween bag for 2014. It measures 9"x11.75".

This the the reverse of the 2014 Halloween bag. It is almost identical to the Easter bag, but there are differences in the text. The image looks to be identical.

                                   

                                         

Unknown

Although the exact date isn't known, "Walt Disney Company" is written on the bag indicating that it was used after 1986. Measures 6.5"x13". The pattern is the same on the front and the back.

Unknown

The date of this bag is unknown but it is post 1986 ("Walt Disney Company" on the bag) and it measures 12"x19". The reverse is the same as the front.

To be continued...

Disneyland True Short Stories: Snow White's Grotto

Snow White's Grotto is a charming little area located just to the East of Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was opened April 9, 1961 - just about 6 years after Disneyland opened. The Grotto includes sculptures of Snow White, the seven dwarfs, and some woodland creatures displayed around a waterfall. In front of the waterfall is a wishing well that plays the "I'm Wishing" song from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Here's where the story starts. Originally when the Grotto was first made, the audio of the song, "I'm Wishing" was taken directly from the movie, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." During its refurbishment in 1991, Disney decided to re-record the audio to give it a crisper, cleaner sound. Unfortunately at this time Adriana Caselotti, who originally voiced Snow White and sang the "I'm Wishing" song in the movie, was 75 years old and, as we all know, as singer's age, they are usually unable to hit the same notes they were able to hit when they were younger.

Disney decided to have Mrs. Caselotti come in to record as a sort of courtesy and out of respect to her, but believed that ultimately they would have to get someone else to use for the new version of the recording. After a few takes in which Mrs. Caselotti struggled to hit the notes, they took a break and Mrs. Caselotti overheard a conversation which confirmed her fears - that her re-recording didn't sound very good. After hearing this, she looked up and said, "Walt, if you're up there, please help me find Snow White's voice." 

She went back in to try one last time to re-record "I'm Wishing" and was able to hit every note perfectly just as she had done in 1937 for the actual movie some 54 years earlier. As a result, her voice can still be heard today in the wishing well at Snow White's Grotto.  

Reservations for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - A Star Wars Story

I typically don't blog about things like this but, then again, when have reservations ever been required to enter a certain Land in Disneyland?

I booked my family's Summer Disneyland trip back in January for June 21st through the 24th because this was the weekend most Disney experts concluded that Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge would open based on many factors, most notably Annual Passholder block out dates. Well, as we know now, the experts were wrong, as Disney announced the opening date for the new land as May 31st, 2019. Disney also announced that reservations would be required for Star Wars: Galaxy's edge from May 31st through June 23rd, meaning that for the first three days of our trip if we want to see Galaxy's Edge, we would need a reservation.

Information at first about the reservation process was very vague. We were told that more information on how to make reservations would be available on the Disney website on May 2nd at 8:00 am (Pacific Time) and that the reservation process would begin two hours later at 10:00 am on that same website.

I got more and more excited as May 2nd approached, not really knowing exactly what to expect but knowing that I had to get a reservation for our family. Both my wife, Liz, and I made sure our Disney accounts were current and up to date so we wouldn't have any problems when reservation time came.

I was scheduled to work on May 2nd so I knew I would have to be somewhere where I had internet access and could check my phone. One thing I should mention is that I had a feeling that there might be so many people trying to book reservations that the server would crash. Well, I'll say now that fortunately that didn't happen but what did happen was that I was welcomed with a page that told me, "Due to high demand, you are currently waiting to visit Disneyland.com."

And this was just for the information on how to book my reservation 2 hours later! I knew I would have to be ready right at 10:00! Once the information page loaded, it really didn't give us any new information that we didn't already know.

Here's a screen shot of the information that was provided...

...and here's the second page of information.

We learned that each reservation could only be made for up to 6 people. Since there are 7 people in our family going to Disneyland, that meant that both Liz and I would have to make reservations. The chances of both of us getting through didn't seem very likely.

Our plan was to have Liz on the computer at home and me on my phone at work 15 minutes before reservations became available just to insure we didn't miss anything. As the time drew closer to make the reservations, I decided I would take an early lunch and run home to hop on our second computer just in case I couldn't get good internet reception at work.

I got home about a quarter to 10:00 and we set up our computers and logged into our Disney accounts. We had our phones on the Disney webpage as well to maximize our chances of getting through. The wepage informed us that we "were currently waiting for an opportunity to make a reservation at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge."

Here's a close up of what our computer screen looked like.

As the reservation time neared, our anticipation grew and grew. When the clock struck 10:00, we were both on the edge of our seats and ready to go. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then 15...20...25. Still no change on our webpage. We could see that Disney was updating their system every so often as our page would refresh. At 10:28 my computer screen changed and asked me to log in to my account, which I had already had done when I first got home.

At first, I was a little annoyed thinking that I had just been bumped from my place in line to get through to the reservation process. But after I had logged in, I was taken to a page to select the day and time I wanted to make my reservations for! This was it! After almost 30 minutes of waiting (which seems quite a bit longer than that when you are just sitting there looking at your computer screen) we got in!

I was surprised to see that all the reservation times overlapped each other by an hour - for example 8:00am-noon, 11:00am-3:00pm, 2:00pm-6:00pm, 5:00pm-9:00pm, 8:00pm-Midnight. I selected our day and time and then added 5 other members of our family to my reservation. That was it. I had done all I could do, now we had to wait all over again for Liz to be able to make another reservation for her. I then printed out the page and logged off, and then back in under Liz's account.

I had to head back to work so Liz manned both of our computers and her phone, hoping to get in to make one more reservation. At 10:55 my computer came up again and she was able to make the last reservation. We found it odd that both reservation opportunities came up on my computer even though her computer and phone should have been "in line" before my computer came up the second time. As a side note, every singe reservation to Galaxy's Edge from May 31st to June 23 was taken within 2 hours!

With all 7 of us headed for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge on the 21st of June, the next exciting question we will face is: will we be able to get into Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge on the 24th - the first day reservations aren't required....