“Forever Let Us Hold Our Banners High! High! High! High!”

Jim Hill

15 years ago

Notice anything different about JHM lately? Particularly in
that banner space toward the top of the page?

That’s because JimHillMedia recently switched sponsors.
Where once Mouse Surplus held the top spot at this website, now Surplus Kingdom
rules the roost.

Confused yet? Wait. It gets worse. My name is Brian Ramsey.
And I’m the guy who used to own Mouse Surplus but who now owns & operates Surplus
Kingdom.

So what happened there? Well, do you remember what happened
with Walt Disney and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? It was a lot like that, actually.
Only instead of losing control of some cartoon bunny, I lost control of a Disney
collectibles business that I’d spent almost 10 years building up.

But that’s okay. Because – as Walt once said:

“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth
may be the best thing in the world for you.”

And every hard lesson mistake that I learned from losing
control of Mouse Surplus, I’ve now applied toward Surplus Kingdom. Which I’m
determined to build into the No. 1 Disneyana, Theme Park, Hotel and Resort
Surplus business out there.

Of course, one of the advantages that I have over my
competition is … Well, I’ve actually been doing this for almost a decade now.
And in that time, I’ve gotten to do some pretty amazing things at the Disney Parks
& Resorts. Including:

Visiting the Magic Kingdom after-hours to remove
fixtures from the Main Street Train Station & Tomorrowland’s Timekeeper
attraction for resale.

Liquidating thousands of rooms full of furniture
at WDW’s Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort, Wilderness Lodge, Caribbean
Beach and All-Star Music Resort. Not to mention the Disneyland Resort’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

Assisted in the liquidation of the prop department
at Walt Disney Studios.

Salvaged what was left of the subs from WDW’s late,
lamented “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” attraction for resale

Okay. I know. There are people out there don’t like and/or don’t
understand what I do. They just hate the idea that The Walt Disney Company is a
business that – like every business out there – periodically sells off and/or
gets rid of things it no longer needs or wants.

But me? I kind of think of Surplus Kingdom like the Island
of Misfit Toys. And my goal is to try & find new homes for all the stuff
that Mickey no longer needs or wants. Plus make a buck or two.

And I gotta tell you, given that I’m a Disneyana collector
myself, it’s sometime pretty tough to part with some of these items that I come
across.

Take – for instance –
the images that I’ve used to illustrate today’s article. They all come from
this series of laser discs that I recently purchased from Disney.

To be honest, there’s a little bit of everything in this
pile of discs. The finale film (i.e. the fourth revised version of this
compilation of classic clips circa April of 1999) for “The Great Movie Ride.”
Tokyo Disneyland’s version of “Captain Eo.” The pre-show & post-show loops
from Space Mountain (You know? Those short movies that used to play on the
overhead monitors as you walked through this Tomorrowland queue). Plus a disc
that used to be shown in DHS’s Studio Showcase which explained how the special
effects in “Mary Poppins” & “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” were produced.

So why did Disney let these truly cool little laser discs
go? A couple of reasons, actually.For
one thing, over the past several years, The Walt Disney Company has updated a
lot of the technology that it uses at its theme parks. Which means that – in most
cases – laser discs were replaced by digital files.

And then … Again quoting from Walt:

“(Insert
the name of your favorite Disney theme park here) will never be complete. It
will continue to grow as long as there is imagination in the world.”

Which means that the Mouse periodically changes out rides,
shows and attractions. Just so that the Guests always have something new to see
whenever they visit the Parks.

And that stuff that Disney casts off while it’s freshening
up an attraction or remodeling a resort … Well, that’s what I wind up with.
Which I then attempt to resell through Surplus Kingdom.

Again, over the past 10 years of doing this sort of work at
the Walt Disney World & Disneyland Resort, I’ve witnessed some
pretty amazing things. Not to mention acquiring some pretty snazzy items for my
own personal Disneyana collection.

In the weeks & months ahead, I hope to share some of
these stories with you. Not to mention showcasing various items from my own
Disneyana collection. All with the hope that you might then be compelled to head
on over the Surplus Kingdom website to see “What Will You Find?”

But that can wait ‘til my next JHM article. For now … I just
wanted to introduce myself as well as explain (for those of you who remember Brian
Ramsey from my old Mouse Surplus days) how I wound up over at Surplus Kingdom.

Beyond that … It’s a real banner day here at Surplus Kingdom.
K-E-Y ? Because we’re thrilled to be the new sponsor of JimHillMedia’s banner
space.