Where All The Lights Are Bright

[singing] Doooowwwn Toooowwn!

Disney, that is.

I haven't had as much time as I'd like to write Epbot posts lately, but I thought I'd at least share the pics I took a few weeks ago at the Downtown Disney Vinylmation store. This statue here? Look closely; it's made up of all VM toys. (And if you're not familiar, Vinylmation is Disney's take on vinyl toys: they're all shaped like Mickey, but come in hundreds of different collectible designs.)

I was much more interested in the store itself than the merchandise, though. Check out this antique register, which tops a display cabinet:

[swoon]

WANT MUCHLY.

And this edgy industrial chandelier:

If it were about a quarter of the size, it'd go great in my dining room. :)

This white lion statue on a high shelf caught my eye:

See the green sparkles on his chest? They were shimmering and moving ever so slightly, and I was sure they must be embedded fiber optics. (For the record: I am easily distracted by "sparklies." I would walk zombie-like through oncoming traffic just to stare at a bowl of glitter. Fiber optics, therefore, rank reeeally high on the "lure Jen into traffic" scale.)

Eventually we figured out the lights were actually coming from a small spotlight under the statue:

I wish I knew how it achieved that cool twinkling constellation effect, though. Then I'd cover my entire office with them. (BWHAHAHAA!)

Oh, and here's the promised "hidden Cake Wreck" I mentioned a few posts back: once you're in the VM store, look in the left-hand display window. There you'll see this *awesome* Rocketeer VM:

Be sure to admire it from all angles:

Once you're done with that, look down:

See the pink VM doll, facing outside?

If you'd like, you can even exit the store and look in at it:

For some reason it has a Band-Aid on its face.

Now, look closely at the toy's left shoulder:

See the little cake tattoo drawn there, with the intertwined initials JMY in it? I did that! (I tried to be subtle, since I figured it would be obnoxious to advertise Cake Wrecks on it - although I guess the "Disney Every Day" people didn't have such qualms.)

John and I participated in the online VM scavenger hunt earlier this year, and all the "winners" got to sign the toy. The hunt was über cool: online clues led us all over Disney property, filling in answers which, when decoded, spelled out a time, location, and password. When we showed up at the finish line with 50 or so other people, we each got a free VM blind-box toy, some stickers, and the chance to sign Pinky there.

Ok, time for more eye candy!

This is the ceiling of TrenD, another new-ish shop in Downtown Disney, stocked with urban style women's clothing and accessories. It's actually pretty cool stuff, but once again I think the store design is even better than the merchandise.

Here's another shot, with the colors toned down:

I think I like this version better. The pastels are so sweet, like a candy shop.

Another cool shelf dressing:

Yep, they already had Christmas decor up.

Love the gals in retro business attire, though:

While there, I also spotted this fantastic art book which is now on my Christmas list:

(click the pic to go to the Amazon page)

These aren't your typical Disney princesses, though: they're various artists' re-imaginings of them. Which are GORGEOUS.

I found a book review over on Parka Blogs that included this great flip-through:

I think I'd like to frame prints of about 90% of this book. Awesome.

And one final beauty shot of the House of Blues:

Preeetty.

So, what's your favorite eye candy shot this week, guys? Share your links in the comments!