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Not Afraid
12-15-2002, 09:50 AM
I've admired/desired new soon-to-be-released Olszewski sculpture of Sleeping Beauty Castle for months. Yesterday was the long-awaited release date. My dear husband got up at the crack of dawn to stand in line and get my Christmas Present (insert heart pounding smilie here). I couldn't wait for Christmas to see it, of course, so I opened it last night.

WOW!

This is truly a thing of beauty. A perfect replica of the castle complete with the paintings just inside Fantasyland, swans, Aurora and Phillip hidden under one of the turrets, and special night time lighting that is stunning.

The detail is incredible. The squirrel rain gutters are visible, the coat of arms over the entrance is there and you can see the spike that marks the "center" of Disneyland.

Did I mention that the sculpture is only about 11" tall?

If nothing else, stop by Disneyana to see it. It is really magical.

Gemini Cricket
12-15-2002, 10:01 AM
Thanks for the info.

I'm going to clue in my Santa about your present. In case he's looking for that perfect gift for me. Haha.

:)

AVP
12-15-2002, 10:33 AM
Unfortunately, the initial shipment of Castles sold out yesterday, but more are on the way. Customers who ordered the castle after it sold out were told that the castle would be signed and shipped directly to them in about 4-6 weeks.

Recognizing that many people were planning to buy castles as Christmas gifts, Disneyland did something very very classy - they had full-color gift certificates printed, which you could give to the recipient to let them know that a castle was on the way for them. This was a VERY nice touch, and Robert Olszewski was happy to sign the gift certificates for us.

AVP

KarenW2
12-15-2002, 11:19 AM
I got to open MY Christmas present early yesterday as well! We originally planned to both go to the event yesterday, but Thursday, I woke up with a horrible cold that's still here and worse, so I stayed home, while he drove all the way up first thing in the morning! I sooo appreciate him for doing that!

He got there, got on line early and was able to bring one home! He said they were all previously signed, but if you wanted one PERSONALIZED by the artist, you had to stand in another line. When he got on the first line, he said it ran from the Disneyana Shop all the way down, around the corner and he got into it where the Showcase shop is/was. The line to get it signed, ran the other direction, from Disneyana all the way up and he got on it at the Market House! I really appreciate him doing this, because I can't stand in lines for very long, due to arthritis & back injury, but he was amazing! It took him over 3 hours to buy the piece and get it signed.

We set it up in my very large oak display cabinet with my Lladro figurines and had the "night" lights on when our friends came over last night for our Christmas party. They were equally amazed at the amount of detail involved.

What made this even better was the fact that we were able to use our PAP renewal 20% off discount to buy the castle!

Gemini Cricket
12-15-2002, 11:58 AM
Karen W2 and Ms. Not Afraid ~

Sayyyyyyyy, what's with opening presents early? Everyone knows you're supposed to open your presents Xmas morning under the tree in your pajamas (you know, the pj's with the feet and the doo doo flap in the back)....

:D

KarenW2
12-15-2002, 10:31 PM
Since my DH and I had already talked about it and I already knew that was what I was getting, it really didn't count. :D

I must say the mirrored back of my oak display cabinet really helps show off the detail in the castle piece! it's so nice!

When you mentioned opening presents in PJ's, GC, it really took me back! I remember how sweet my grandmother was (she's been gone too many years now, unfortunately) when I was a kid. It was a tradition that she would get me new "jammies" to wear on Christmas Eve! Definitely gave me sweet dreams, wearing those new flannel nightgowns or pajamas. I especially miss her at this time of year!

cstephens
12-15-2002, 10:49 PM
(Sorry, Karen, I know you've read this already.)

I thought everything actually went quite well. A friend came down from out of town for the release, and he wanted to get there early as we had no way to gauge what the turnout was going to be like. My husband and I ended up meeting him there at 6am (yes, that early - ZZZZzzzzzzzz), and there were about 4 people already waiting. Disney didn't set up a separate line though, so when at about 7am there were about 10 of us in line in front of one of the gates, regular people started showing up for the park opening at 8am. Once they opened the gates at 8am, we all made our way to Disneyana. When I caught up to my husband and our friend, they were about 10th or 15th in line, so we knew we'd be ok, with the 2 per person limit.

They started letting in the first people shortly after 8am. When you got to the front door, the CM asked how many you were purchasing and then gave you a voucher for each one you were purchasing. They then directed you to one of the cash registers, where you paid for your purchase. We brought the 20% renewal coupon and when I asked if they would accept it for the castle purchase, the CM said yes, so we were happy about that. After you paid for your purchase, you took the voucher and receipt and joined another line to collect your merchandise.

In the back section of Disneyana (about where the rotunda room is), they kept unpacking castles for people to inspect. The castles were sitting on the table, so you could pick one up, check to make sure everything was ok, and check that all the lights worked. They were already pre-signed by the artist, but you were told that you could return between 10am to 2pm if you wanted to meet him or have it personalized.

Once you found the castle you wanted, they put it back in the packing, including the special plaque, took your voucher and then you were done. We were out of Disneyana by about 8:30, and we were very happy with how quickly and smoothly everything went. We ended up spending quite a bit more of the day at the resort, having breakfast at Storyteller and seeing Aladdin. More info on those in more relevant threads!

We dropped by Disneyana later in the day, at about 3pm, and I asked a CM if there were any more castles left. She said no, that they'd sold out as they'd only had about 138 or so in hand to sell. She said they had about 300 more waiting on a ship, and others who purchased the castle were going to have theirs shipped to them, with no shipping cost. She said the next batch of castles was expected in March. She said that after the castle had sold out, some people started buying some of the other miniatures by the same artist and having him sign those.

Speaking of which, we noticed a few new miniatures today. There's a Maleficent piece that's quite pretty, where she's looming over the sleeping princess. We saw it in the morning and commented on how pretty it was. When we returned later in the afternoon, it had already been sold, so we apparently weren't the only ones to think it looked good. We also noticed later at Off the Page in DCA that there are two new Tink pieces from "Peter Pan", one with Tink stuck inside the glass cage and one with Tink struggling to get through the keyhole. Very cute.

Not Afraid
12-15-2002, 11:26 PM
Rather than copying the whole thread above, I just want to echo the beauty of the other Olszewski pieces. I get to live with them all day at Charming Shoppe and they are among my favorite pieces we have at the store. Give them a closer look when you see them, they are wonderful!