D23 Expo Pixar Booth 2022 Exclusive Pins (Elemental & Woody from Toy Story)

 

Happy Monday, everyone! Here are a few D23 Expo 2022 exclusive pins that were given out at the Pixar booth (yes for free!) that I just wanted to quickly share and document here on the blog. First off, above are the two Elemental pins (Wade & Ember), promoting Pixar's next theatrical film Elemental (releasing June 16th, 2023). These were a little harder to get since I feel they were a bit more limited and went quickly, but I was lucky enough to obtain the very last Wade pin they had. As far as Ember, I missed out on her—BUT a huge thank you to my friend Josh (aka "Pixar Freak") who was nice enough to give me his! It was totally unnecessary, but incredibly kind nonetheless and I'm still so super grateful. It would have been weird to have one without the other, I will say! 

 

The Toy Story inspired Woody pin below was another freebie given out and I absolutely love the design of it. I'm not sure who the artist is behind any of these pins, but if you know, definitely shout it out down in the comment section.

 

Enjoy and have a great week!

 

Toy Story "To Infinity & Beyond" Fantasy Pin and MORE from Skaro Crafts

What a surprise! Just a couple days ago, I came home to such a fun and unexpected package from the U.K. —I hadn't ordered anything, so I literally had no idea what it could be. Lo and behold it ended up being this amazing and very generous box of goodies from Shannon McCarthy who runs the Etsy shop called Skaro Crafts (Instagram HERE)! Shannon creates some stellar pop culture designs (mostly Disney and Pixar inspired) and sells them through her shop on bookmarks, pins, stickers, art prints, badges, patches and more. I wasn't familiar with the shop previously, but now you can bet that it's saved under my favorites.

Here's what I received: five shiny/rainbow holographic stickers (Zurg, Remy, Baby Dory, Little Mikey and Bing Bong), two bookmarks (one pattern featuring the iconic Pixar ball and the other featuring Ernesto de la Cruz's guitar from Coco) and a glitter/enamel Toy Story Buzz Lightear jet pack "To Infinity and Beyond" fantasy pin & corresponding sticker! I could not be happier with these. Everything about each item here is quality made and very professionally done! Count me impressed. 

Here's a closer look at the Buzz Lightyear wings pin! Beautiful—I especially love the glitter aspect. Once again, this is as good as any officially produced Disney pin and has already earned a spot on my ever expanding Pixar pin board.

 

If you like what you see here, be sure to check out the Skaro Crafts Etsy shop for more and place an order! I'm sure Shannon would really appreciate the support and you'll be super happy adding any of her products to your collection. 

 

So what do you think? Which item is your favorite? Let me know down in the comments below and be sure to stay tuned right here weekly for more from my Pixar collection.

MORE Pixar in Pins Collection by "Through the Doors Store"

Hey everyone! I'm back once again with some more awesome Pixar inspired pins from the amazing "Through the Doors" store on Etsy! Tim, the shop owner, was kind enough to send me an additional selection of his fantasy pins to add to my collection and review for you all (a total surprise), so a huge thanks and shout-out to him! If you missed my original post, here's the breakdown of how his "Pixar in Pins" collection is organized:

Volume 1: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo
Volume 2: The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall·E and Up
Volume 3: Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University and Inside Out   

As you can see, there's a pin representing each Pixar film (released in chronological order) from Toy Story through Inside Out—all of which are brilliant original designs by Tim at "Tim Loves Disney"! Tim has also since come out with a Toy Story 4 inspired pin with a few more new designs coming out in the spring of this year. This time around he sent me his entire Volume 3 collection and his Up pin, as well as some neat Pixar quote cards he created! I could tell immediately upon opening the envelope that the pins and cards were packaged up and shipped with tons of care; I could really sense the love Tim put into each of the designs. He's obviously a big Pixar fan and takes great pride in his work.

Take a closer look at the pins I was sent down below! These are quality, hard enamel/metal pins and sell for $8.59 each. They're honestly as good as any official pin you could get at the Disney Parks and are now displayed proudly on my pin board! The shop is based in the UK, but they ship to the US as well.

 

What do you all think? What's your favorite design? If you like what you see, be sure to place an order on Etsy HERE and follow "Through the Doors" on Instagram HERE for future updates! One last big thank you to Tim for surprising me and sending these my way. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

Random Assortment of Pixar Pins!

 

Hey all! So you may know that I'm not an avid Disney pin collector, but I do get a few here and there that stand out to me and I do have a modest pin board where I display my favorite Pixar pins that I've purchased over the years. With that said though, I'll never pass up a pin that's free or gifted! A few weeks ago, a couple friends/fellow cast members of mine offered me some spare Pixar pins from their collections and I couldn't say no. It's actually a pretty awesome little group of pins with some real standouts! A big thanks to them for hooking me up. 

Now since I'm not a pin expert, I don't know many details on these here— but through a little research, I was able to find out some:

• The sketch pad drawings of Nemo and McQueen are from the Walt Disney World 2014 Hidden Mickey Character Sketch Pads series 
• The Gerald, Jack-Jack, Mama Imelda buttons + the Sadness "MOOD" pin are from a 2019 Oh My Disney Jacket pin set from ShopDisney 
• The Buzz and Woody Vinylmation pins are from THIS set that was available at Walt Disney World (not sure the year)

The rest I'm not totally sure about, so I could use your help! If you know any additional info on any of the rest, be sure to let me know down in the comments and I'll update the post. 

Thanks for dropping by the blog! See ya real soon 

Small Fry Buzz Lightyear & Duke Caboom Key Fantasy Pins + Sticker

Hey everyone! A few weeks back, I received a surprise package in the mail from the U.K. featuring these two Toy Story inspired "fantasy pins" (fan-made/unofficial) designed and sold by a couple folks I know from Instagram. The Toy Story Toons: Small Fry Buzz Lightyear pin was designed by [IG account name] @Buzz_We_Are_Your_Parents and the Toy Story 4 Duke Caboom key pin (based on the Disney Store collectible keys) with Duke Caboom sticker was a collaborative project between @Flanamation and @Buzz_We_Are_Your_Parents. A big thanks to both these awesome fellow Disney·Pixar fans for hooking me up! 

 

Both of these pins so well done—I can tell they were designed with a lot of love by fans who care (they understand the magic is in the details). They're honestly as good of quality as any pin you'd pick up from the Disney Parks, BoxLunch or anywhere else officially licensed pins are sold. The Duke sticker is awesome as well! If you're interested in picking up either of these for your collection, be sure to send a direct message to @Buzz_We_Are_Your_Parents and/or @Flanamation on Instagram.

 

I’m currently displaying these on my modest Disney pin board alongside all my favorite officially licensed pins; and you'd never know the difference. I'm impressed! What do you think? Thinking about picking either of these up? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

Monsters University: Disney Parks Exclusive Limited Edition "Opening Day 2013" Dangle Pin

Check out this scare-riffic Monsters University "Opening Day 2013" dangle style pin—a Disney Parks exclusive, limited edition of 2,000! This commemorative pin was released on June 21st, 2013 (the day MU arrived in theaters). My good friend Gabby was nice enough to gift this to me recently and I was SO excited when I saw how cool it is. I'm not a huge pin collector, so it wasn't on my radar to track down or anything all these years later, but man am I happy to have it now as part of my collection. It went right on my Pixar pin board and looks fantastic.

I love the character art here (which ended up being on many MU products at the time), designed by the amazing Eric Tan at Disney Consumer Products. He's one of my absolute favorites! All the characters on this pin— Mike Wazowski, Sulley, Don, Art, Squishy and Randall— are adorably stylized.

What are your thoughts? Do you have this pin in your Disney/Pixar pin collection? If you're wanting to snag it, you can find it very easily on eBay for almost nothing these days. Let me know any comments or questions you might have down below and stay tuned for more right here on the blog daily!

Pixar in Pins Collection by "Through the Doors Store"

How great are these Pixar inspired pins from the amazing "Through the Doors" store on Etsy?? Tim, the shop owner, was nice enough to reach out to me and send me a few to add to my collection and review for ya'll, so a huge thanks and shout-out to him! Here's the breakdown of how his "Pixar in Pins" collection is organized:

Volume 1: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo
Volume 2: The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall·E and Up
Volume 3 (coming fall 2020): Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University and Inside Out

As you can see, there's a pin representing each Pixar film (released in chronological order) with more to come I'm sure—all of which are brilliant original designs by Tim at "Tim Loves Disney"! I was sent the Toy Story and Monsters Inc. pins from Volume 1, as well as the Wall·E one from Volume 2. I could tell immediately upon opening the envelope that the pins were packaged up and shipped with tons of care and I could really sense the love Tim put into each of the designs. He obviously takes pride in his work.

Take a closer look at the pins I was sent down below! These are quality, hard enamel/metal pins and sell for $7.06. They're honestly as good as any official pin you could get at the Disney Parks! The shop is based in the UK, but they ship to the US as well.

TOY STORY (1995)

 

MONSTERS INC. (2001)

WALL·E (2008)

And the backs....

What do you all think? What's your favorite design? If you like what you see, be sure to place an order on Etsy HERE and follow "Through the Doors" on Instagram HERE for future updates! One last big thank you to Tim for reaching out and sending these my way. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

Follow me on Instagram @danthepixarfan

Cars: Dinoco T-Shirt and Limited Edition Pin (Pixar Studio Store Exclusives)

Ka-Chow!! Disney·Pixar's Cars, the original classic (yes I totally consider it an instant animated classic despite popular opinion), was released in theaters on this day in 2006! To celebrate the film's 14th anniversary, I'm taking a look at some really cool Pixar Studio Store exclusive items sent to me a little while back by my friends over at PixarPost.com! They were nice enough to pick these up for me during one of their visits to Pixar.

First up, there's this amazing men's heather blue team Dinoco t-shirt with the iconic Dinoco oil company logo front and center. How do I look in "Dinoco Blue"? ;) The shirt is very lightweight, super soft and has an athletic fit—everything I look for in a shirt! I absolutely love it. Pixar Studio Store tees rarely disappoint, if ever. As usual, "Pixar Animation Studios Emeryville, CA" is printed on the upper back of the tee. Original retail price was $16.00.

Then there's this super neat, very clean Dinoco pin (which also uses the logo)—Limited Edition of only 400 made! Very, very cool. These do show up on eBay every now and then, so be sure to check current listings HERE if you're interested in adding this one to your Disney/Pixar pin collection!

What are you thoughts on the shirt and the pin? What about the film? Are you a fan of the Cars franchise? You know I am! Let me know your Cars memories down below. I'd love to reminisce with you!

Fun Fact: My first date with my wife was seeing Cars in the theater back in 2006! So yah, we've been together for 14 years now which is absolutely crazy. It feels like just yesterday!

Follow me on Instagram @danthepixarfan

Disney Parks Collection Luxo Jr. Pin Set

There have been a few pins featuring Luxo Jr. and the iconic Pixar ball released over the years (even one as recently as last December), but this one here is the latest and greatest! I don't have many pins in my collection, but I do try to get as many from the Pixar Shorts as I can (and any others that I feel are extra cool/especially unique). When I saw this hit the Disney Parks (as well as briefly on ShopDisney.com) earlier this year, I knew it was a must have! I've been wanting this duo of Pixar icons as pins for a while now, so I'm thrilled to have gotten this set before the parks closed down. A big thanks to my friend Paulina for helping me out!

This is an authentic "Pin Trading" Disney Parks Collection pin set. I was actually surprised and delighted to see (once I received it) that the ball and lamp were actually two separate pins! I thought that was really cool. Retail price was $15.99

Here they are displayed on my pin board—looking so good!

This set has since sold out on ShopDisney, but you can still currently find plenty of listings on eBay if you're looking to add these pins to your collection. 10/10 recommend!

Let me know your thoughts or any questions you might have in the comment section below.

Pixar Tsum Tsum Collectible Mystery Pins— PAGE UPDATE

Today while my wife was cleaning out the car, she happened to find this Baby Dory Tsum Tsum pin (part of the Pixar Tsum Tsum Collectible Mystery Pins collection)! I unfortunately don't remember who gave this to me or when...in fact, I don't remember ever having this as all. But hey—I have it now so that's what matters! I'll be adding this as a page update on my original post, which you can check out HERE to learn all about this fun assortment.

Toy Story: BoxLunch Exclusive Ducky & Babyface Enamel Pins (by Loungefly)

Don't worry, these pins aren't cannibals. Your other pins are safe! Check out these brand new BoxLunch exclusive Toy Story enamel pins by Loungefly—Ducky and Babyface, two of the most iconic mutant toys seen in Sid's room. Leave it to BoxLunch to release (yet again) such a unique set of items based on characters we never see in merchandise! As mentioned before, I'm not a big pin collector; but once in a while some pins come out that are just too good to pass up...like these here! They were a must have.

First off, let's take a closer look at Ducky (no, not Ducky from Toy Story 4). He looks amazing and it's so cool to have him in pin form! The only other piece of Ducky merch I have is a figure from THIS 2001 gift pack. I believe that was the first and last time anything Ducky related was ever released— until now. Crazy! The pin measures 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" in size and retails for $8.90.

DUCKY

Next up is Babyface, the first of Sid's mutant toys we meet and arguably the most memorable. This design just sticks in your head forever! Though this character has seen its fair amount of merch over the years, I'm pretty sure this is the first ever officially licensed pin. It looks great! The pin measures about 2" wide and also retails for $8.90.

BABYFACE

Here's just a quick peek at the backs of the pins.

Both of these pins are on sale right now for 25% off (or $6.67 each). Get them while you can at this awesome price and before they sell out! You won't want to miss them for your collection. You can purchase Ducky online HERE and Babyface HERE.

Shout-out to Loungefly for doing such a solid job with these. Now here's the big question though; will the rest of Sid's mutant toys get this same pin treatment? I feel like they HAVE to release the rest of them now! Shout out your thoughts below. Would you love to see pins made of the remaining mutants?

Toy Story 2: Al's Toy Barn Mug & Jumbo Pin (ShopDisney)

“Available at all Al's Toy Barn outlets in the Tri-county area.”

Al's Toy Barn got some love out of nowhere earlier this year! The Disney Store (and ShopDisney) released an exclusive range of products surrounding the iconic fictitious toy store from the Toy Story films (most prominent in Toy Story 2), Al's Toy Barn. As seen here, I purchased the mug and the jumbo pin, but there was also a "staff" t-shirt, a tote bag and a pen (included in the Pixar Business Pen Set which I reviewed HERE). Let's take a closer look at what I got! 

First off, we have an Al's Toy Barn mug featuring the instantly recognizable logo (at least to us Disney/Pixar fans) and signature deep "barn red" color. Simple, but I love it! You can totally imagine the store staff having one of these cups and sipping their morning coffee from it in the Toy Story world. For me, I'll be using it to house my Pixar Business Pen Set and will be displaying it on my office desk at work come tomorrow! Finally gonna get some Pixar represented there.

Details:

• Dishwasher and microwave safe
• Ceramic
• 3 3/4'' H x 3 1/2'' Diameter (5'' W at handle)
• Holds 12 oz.
• Retail Price  $12.95

The second item I'm reviewing here is this Al's Toy Barn "Jumbo Pin"! This is another fun and super unique item inspired by what Al McWhiggin's name tag may have looked like while working there at the store. Such a brilliant idea! And for a pin, this thing is pretty big (it certainly earns the "jumbo" name). I'm not a big pin collector, but this was a real standout to me. And let me tell you, I just put it up on my Pixar pin board and it looks awesome. Highly recommend!

Details:

• Metal / enamel
• Enameled cloisonne  
•  Goldtone finish
• Mickey icon pinbacks
• 2'' H x 3 1/4'' W
• Retail Price $14.95 

As a long time fan of Toy Story (but especially Toy Story 2), these are some amazing items to have as part of my collection. I didn't really have much for Al's Toy Barn up until now. And honestly looking back, I should have gone for the shirt and tote bag too— but oh well! I would have totally gone for them if only these things really were just a buck, buck, buck. They're definitely not cheap, cheap, cheap.  

The last item out of these still in stock on the website is the mug, so get it HERE while it's still around! Let me know all your thoughts down below. Have you picked up anything from this assortment?

Toy Story: "A Toy Will Follow You Home" Haunted Mansion Mashup Pin (Disney Parks)

BEWARE OF HITCHHIKING TOYS! Are you a fan of Toy Story? And what about the Haunted Mansion? If so, then I have the mashup of the year for you. Check out this Toy Story / Haunted Mansion inspired pin— released at Disney World and Disneyland just last month!

You all know I love Toy Story (that's just stating the obvious at this point), but did you know the Haunted Mansion is one of my all time Disney attractions due to its rich history and storytelling? Well needless to say, this mashup is SO ME and there was no way I could resist it. It's such a creative and cute idea; something I never would have thought of, but it totally works.

During our trip to WDW last week, I originally saw the design on a mug (seen below, which also has a Pirates of the Caribbean mashup on the other side of it), but I honestly wasn't so keen on the idea of getting another mug (I have so many at this point and space was limited flying home). I really wanted the design in my collection though. Imagine my excitement when I found out it was also on a pin! Perfect. Tiny and affordable (retail is $9.99, silver category) and I still get to take home the design. Plus I always like to come home from a Disney trip with at least one pin that stands out to me, but none were really grabbing my attention until this one. Also it's Halloween time, so it was a super festive one to get.   

Now they need to release the Pirates of the Caribbean design as a pin! Another one of my all time favorite attractions.

This is, of course, an official Disney Parks pin trading release with the traditional Mickey backing. I picked it up at Pin Traders in Disney Springs, but you can also find it all over the parks as well (it's even currently in the Orlando airport Disney Store; saw it there on our way home). Remember though that it's in the "Theme Parks and Resorts" section, not "Pixar". It took me a while to figure that one out. 

"Beware!" it says with Mr. Potato Head, Woody and a Pizza Planet Alien posing as the ride's iconic  hitchhiking ghosts. "A Toy Will Follow You Home." Totally brilliant!

Additionally, blog reader Matthew just brought it to my attention that there are three number nines in the background. I saw them, but how did I not piece it together? It's a fun little Easter egg referencing the 999 ghosts that live in the mansion. Nice catch Matt!

Have you grabbed this for your collection yet? If you're a fan of these two things like I am, I can't recommend picking this up enough. Such a unique little item. Get it before it's gone! If you won't be visiting any of the Disney Parks any time soon, you can always snag it on eBay HERE using this direct link to current listings. 

Let me know YOUR thoughts down below! 

Cars Land 2018 "Limited Release" Buzz & Woody Pin Set

Released July 15th, this amazing exclusive Cars Land Buzz and Woody pin set is available right now at Disney California Adventure as a limited release! A big thanks to my friend Paulina (heartdisney) for picking this up for me recently at, I believe, the "Knick's Knacks" shop at the entrance of Pixar Pier. Retail is $19.99.

Buzz and Woody, of course, appeared in car form during the end credits of the original Cars (one of my favorite moments; "Toy Car Story"—watch the clip HERE). And during the past few months of Pixar Fest at DCA, they have stood by the entrance of Cars Land to greet guests! How incredibly cool is that?! I so wish I could be there.  

Like I always say, I'm not much of a Disney pin collector—but sometimes there's a set too cool and unique to pass up! This was one of them. Plus I like anything "limited release" (not sure how many pieces this set is limited to though).

I couldn't be happier with this purchase! Could they release more of these sets based on the other Pixar car spoofs like Monster Trucks, Inc., and A Bug's life? Count me in if they do! Let me know your thoughts down below. Were you able to snag these pins for your collection? If not, you can always check current eBay listings HERE.

Toy Story Land Logo Pin (BoxLunch Exclusive)

Sorry for the delay in getting this post up! This was suppose to be up days ago but I was dealing with a flu that kept getting worse. I'm totally recovered now though, so thanks for your patience. Let's get right to it...

Just last month, a very special collaboration took place as Disney Theme Parks Merchandising and BoxLunch Gifts combined forces to release a series of official pin trading Toy Story Land grand opening commemorative pins– a "limited release" collection sold exclusively at BoxLunch! The pins hit stores first at the Altamonte, FL mall on June 23rd (hit stores nationwide shortly thereafter) and became available online just a couple weeks back on July 4th.

There are seven pins total in this series: Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Slinky, Rex, Pizza Planet Aliens, Jessie and, of course, this logo one here. See the whole collection in THIS PHOTO. Retail for each is $10.90. Two traditional Disney Parks Mickey pin backings are included.

Needless to say I'm sure, but these things sold out FAST. You might still have luck in stores at your local BoxLunch (I know there were a couple of the characters left at the one I went to in MD last week), but chances are slim so definitely call ahead. Check out THIS DIRECT LINK to current eBay listings if you missed them.

I wasn't planning on getting any of these pins, but I just found this logo one too cool to pass up and couldn't resist! A big thanks to my good friend, and fellow Disney/Star Wars/ Pixar fan, Jen Marie, for snagging this for me and sending it over. If you're any kind of Star Wars fan, be sure to give her a follow (blog HERE, Instagram HERE, Twitter HERE) for quality, uplifting Star Wars content (news, fashion, collectibles and more). She has an awesome community with lots of positivity towards the franchise and its future.

Lastly, and this is totally unrelated to these BoxLunch pins, but related to Toy Story Land, I wanted to spread the word about this Disney Store exclusive Toy Story Land postcard! Today (Saturday, July 21) and next Saturday (July 28th) you can get this for free by participating in the 3:00pm Toy Story Land event. It's pretty cool—and who doesn't love free Disney Store handouts? Be sure to call your local store to make sure they're participating in the event and still have these in stock.

FREE Toy Story Land Disney Store Postcard

Looking forward reading your thoughts down below! Message me with any questions or comments you might have and be sure to stay tuned for more from my Pixar collection.

Incredibles 2: Disneyland Promotional Button (Pixar Fest 2018)

Remember that time when Pixar Fest was happening at Disneyland and I couldn't be there? I know, such a bummer. Luckily I have some AMAZING and thoughtful friends who help me feel like I'm there by periodically sending me over some exclusive goodies! Once again, I have my friend and fellow Disney fan Paulina (Twitter @HeartDisney10) to thank for sending me this Incredibles 2 opening day promotional button! These were given out on the film's release day (June 15th) to guests visiting either of the Disneyland Resort parks. You'll also notice that the button is in celebration of Pixar Fest as well! So cool—I feel lucky to have this. Gotta love free Disneyland handouts.

Each button is about 2 7/8" in diameter and features a condensed version of the film's action packed theatrical poster as the image. I love it!

Like this button wasn't enough, I was also sent some of the newly designed Disneyland and California Adventure park maps showcasing the brand new Pixar Pier and Pixar Fest. As a park map collector (who else save theirs from each Disney trip?), I very much appreciated this. 

If you'd like one of these buttons for your collection, be sure to head over to eBay using this direct link to current listings while there are still tons of people selling them. The average price right now ranges around $3- $5.

So what are your thoughts? Were you able to pick this button up there at one of the parks? What's your Pixar Fest experience been like so far? Let me know in the comments below!

As a side note, today I celebrated 5 YEARS of danthepixarfan.com! I can't believe I've been writing daily posts here for that long (it's crazy to say it's been half a decade). Thank you to all who visit and read my content regularly... the support means so much and keeps me going! Here's to another year. 🎉

You can read my full celebration post on Instagram HERE

Final side note: I was just reviewing what I posted on LAST year on this day and it was ALSO a Disneyland exclusive release day promo button (the Cars 3 one)! I guess it's a new tradition to celebrate my blog's birthday by posting about a Disneyland button. I just found that too funny not to share—what are the chances?!