VinylMania: January 2011

Friday, January 21, 2011

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Sci-Fi Dine In Vinylmation

Although released back on May 14th, 2010, I take a moment to discuss one of my favorite Vinylmation designs: Sci-Fi Dine In!

Being that I'm here on the west coast I sometimes can't truly grasp where some of the designs come from; being that the core Vinylmation art team from the Disney Design Group all reside in Florida. I feel it's hard for me to fully appreciate some pieces because I have never experienced the attraction that inspired the design.

With that being said, I have always liked the Sci-Fi Dine In Vinylmation purely on the fact that I am a Sci-Fi fan! I love the color scheme, and anything involving space and/or spaceships has my attention!

Jump forward to 2011, on my recent visit to the Walt Disney World resort, more specifically Disney's Hollywood Studios I had the absolute pleasure of dining at the Sci-Fi Dine In. And I was in awe by the atmosphere that the restaurant offers.

For those who haven't been to the Sci-Fi Dine In restaurant let me quote the Walt Disney World website:

"Like a night at the old drive-ins, servers at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant bring food to vintage '50s "convertible" tables as you watch '50s and '60s sci-fi and monster flicks on the big screen.

Dine at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater under a nighttime sky filled with twinkling stars, while glow-in-the-dark ice cubes swirl in drinks. It's all part of the otherworldly ambiance that's hard to beat."

From the three pictures above you can definitely see where most of the elements of the Vinylmation design came from including the color, the stars, the space ship, the font, and the car. With the exception of what's playing on the movie screen. A Martian of some sorts. A Green Martian Mastermind to be exact.

Originally broadcast on the television show "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color", aired on December 4th, 1957, on an episode originally entitled "Disneyland" Mars & Beyond; our Martian friend makes his appearance, as seen in the cartoon short below.

And it all makes sense. After visiting the Sci-Fi Dine In I feel that much more connected to the Vinylmation. As I stated earlier, in my opinion, I don't think you can fully appreciate a design unless you have personally experienced the attraction first hand that inspired it!

Sci-Fi Dine In restaurant is very, very cool! And I would strongly recommend anyone visiting the park to check it out!

I leave you with a picture of Disney Design Group artist, Mark Seppala's custom "Green Mastermind" Vinylmation originally unveiled at the official Grand Opening of D-Street at the Downtown Disney West Side in Florida on April 16th, 2010.

And for those who have spare change in their pockets ($3,500 to be exact) you can own this one-of-a-kind custom!

---> Mark Seppala's Green Mastermind Vinylmation Custom on eBay <---

Enjoy Sci-Fi fans~

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Hong Kong Connection

The staff here at VinylMania take our jobs very, very seriously. Some a little more than others. With that being said, we are proud to introduce our long time friend and newest member to the VinylMania family: Wee Haggis! Born and raised in Scotland, and currently residing in Australia; Haggis is our international corespondent. He has been charged with the daunting task of acquiring the newest Vinylmation exclusives hailing all the way from Hong Kong! That's right, we have gone international!

Good luck Haggis! Failure is not an option! Haha! Keep us posted!