The Frozen McDonald's Happy Meal Snowman Toy Gets Thawed, And The Frozen Snow Theme Park

Once Upon A Time, the release of a new Disney movie was a accompanied by a highly anticipated set of toys sold at McDonald's (or Burger King).  If the Disney film "Frozen" had been released back then, we'd probably see an Olaf the Snowman toy similar to this one.

Changes in marketing back in 2006 have made new additions to this popular subset of Disney collecting a thing of the past.

In 2000, Simon Marketing, Inc. posted this clever Snowman toy Classified Ad for a McDonald's Happy Meal Premium Designer.

Simon Marketing, Inc. created some great International McDonald's Happy Meal toys for Disney's The AristoCats and Disney's Lady and the Tramp.  (Check out the links to see them).

In recent years, Disney has partnered with Subway Restaurants to promote the newest films and TV shows.  They usually offer reusable lunch bags or things like WALL-E Digital Calorie Counters to collect.

UPDATE 12/6/13:  I saw Frozen on Thanksgiving Day and thought it was fantastic.  Especially amazing is the "Let It Go" sequence (sung by Idina Menzel) where Elsa finally unleashes her powers, creates her ice palace, lets down her hair, and transforms into the Snow Queen.  It was so good, it gave me chills. Elsa Rules!

And yes, Subway Restaurants have Frozen lunch bags to collect.

UPDATE 7/8/14:
In July of 2014, Elsa and Anna took Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida by storm with Frozen Summer Fun.  The new event includes shows, a parade, and an indoor ice skating rink.

I'm going to make a bold prediction here, and start a very plausible rumor:  I bet there's a good chance that we could see an indoor Frozen snow theme park attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida.  This sort of attraction idea is not new.  In fact, Dolly Parton planned a Snow and Water park for the former site of the Opryland theme park in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dolly Parton's water-snow park was announced on January 19, 2012:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Dolly Parton plans a water-snow park in Nashville, described as the first of its kind in the country, to join her other tourist attractions in East Tennessee.

The new $50 million venture, announced Thursday on Parton's 66th birthday, is a 114-acre park projected to open as early as summer 2014. It is not yet named.

It will join her Dollywood theme park and a water park in Pigeon Forge, about 190 miles away in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.

Sadly, Dolly Parton's snow and water park was never built.

However, given the popularity of the (up-charged) ice skating Frozen experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios, I think there's a good chance of Elsa stirring up an eternal (indoor) winter at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Hello Wizard Of Oz

Many years ago, when The Wizard of Oz aired on TV, it was a special event. These days, you can probably watch The Wizard of Oz on your phone while you are driving and eating an Egg McMuffin. I'm guessing that's what some people are doing in their cars when they nearly crash into me.

The classic Oz story by L. Frank Baum was turned into a famous MGM film in 1939.

The Wizard of Oz was not a popular movie when it debuted, but it gradually found an audience.

In 1986, the rights to The Wizard of Oz and many other films in the MGM library were purchased by Ted Turner.

Not long after that, all sorts of Wizard of Oz collectibles were available.

If you got The Disney Channel Magazine in the mail, you could see ads for Oz-some items.

Display a tiny, scary, apple-throwing tree figure with a tiny Auntie Em and a tiny Flying Monkey and a tiny "Oh-Wee-Oh" Guard on a custom shelf in your living room.

Ted Turner enjoyed airing The Wizard of Oz on his numerous channels over the years.

Note the Flying Monkey TCM logo. I think the Flying Monkeys are among the best movie henchmen ever. I was terrified and fascinated by monkeys as a kid, and it was no doubt due to these horrific, fun characters.

To quote that goofy little kid wearing goggles in the 1983 MGM movie "A Christmas Story" (which airs 24 hours on Turner's TBS station on Christmas Eve): "I like the Wizard of Oz!"

"A Christmas Story" was an MGM movie that featured Wizard of Oz characters and a special guest appearance by Mickey Mouse. This movie kind of predicts the future, since Mickey and the Oz characters would team up again in 1989 (in sunny Florida).

Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) and her little dog, too (Toto) get swept up in a Tornado and discover they aren't in Kansas anymore.

As a kid, I did not ever think that Dorothy's trip to Oz was all a dream, like season nine of the TV show "Dallas."

Dorothy lands in Munchkinland and is told to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Wizard of Oz so she can get home. She meets some characters along the way that remind her of people she knows back in Kansas.

On her bump-induced trip to Oz, Dorothy is joined by the Scarecrow (Dorothy's favorite), the Tin Man (not her favorite) and the Cowardly Lion (also not her favorite).

The Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Tin Man (Jack Haley) and Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) all need something from the Wizard, and they each have a song about what they want prepared for Dorothy.

Look, it's a King Kong watch! You know, the Wicked Witch of the West could have easily taken down Oz with a flying gorilla.

As Dorothy and her crew follow the Yellow Brick Road, they listen to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" album on their Smart Phones because it seems to be in sync with everything they are doing.

The Pink Floyd connection is apparently just a coincidence, and the joke from the band is that they were not inspired by The Wizard of Oz in any way, but they were inspired by the Julie Andrews movie "The Sound of Music."

On the Journey to Oz, Dorothy must deal with the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

Dorothy accidentally feeds the Witch after Midnight, shines bright light on the Witch, and then gets water on the Witch (causing the Witch to melt). Then an old Asian man grabs Gizmo the Mogwai and tells Dorothy that she is ready to see the great and powerful Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard is an imposing figure with a large, disembodied head.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Yep, the Wizard is all smoke and mirrors.

When it is time for Dorothy to return to Kansas, it is also time for some awkward moments. For starters, Dorothy tells the Scarecrow that she'll miss him the most. Yes, right in front of the Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. That's cold, Dorothy.

The Good Witch tells Dorothy that all she needs to do to get back home is to click her heels together and say "There's No Place Like Home." Say what?!?

Dorothy's response, "That would have been nice to know when I crash landed in Oz, b**ch!" was cut from the film.

The 1996 merger between Warner Brothers and Turner Entertainment resulted in characters like Superman and Batman rubbing elbows with characters from The Wizard of Oz at Warner Brothers Studio Stores across the world.

The arrival of the Wizard of Oz characters at the Warner Brothers Stores was like a breath of fresh air. Or a gust of wind. Or a tornado.

By the time the Warner Brothers Studios Stores were shut down in 2001, they were selling a mix of items that also included characters like Scooby Doo (a Hanna Barbera character that Warner Brothers also inherited in the Turner merger), Pokemon and (somehow) Sesame Street characters.

Many other studios have used Oz characters for movies and theme parks. There was also a TV show set in a prison.

In 2013, Disney releases Sam Raimi's "Oz: The Great and Powerful" starring James Franco. Disney also made a live action movie released in 1985 called "Return to Oz" (I saw this scary movie by myself as a kid in a movie theater and remember wishing that I had joined my dad and brother who were watching "The Goonies" next door).

Before Disney's "Return to Oz" there was Filmation's "Journey Back to Oz" in 1974.

"Journey Back to Oz" stars Liza Minnelli, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, and Danny Thomas. I've never seen the movie, but I played the record countless times.

This movie was made by Filmation, the same studio that created TV shows like "He-Man" and "She-Ra." I have to admit that I really like the Journey Back To Oz character designs, especially the Green Elephant.

As a kid in Birmingham, Alabama, I would often get to visit our local Oz record store (closed down long ago) which included a terrifying mechanical flying monkey.

For many years, Disney sold Book and Record (or Cassette Tape) sets, and one standard title was a Disney version of "The Story of The Wizard of Oz". In 1994, Disneyland Paris opened the Storybook Land Canal Boats (Le Pays des Contes de Fees) which featured the Disney Oz characters in the Emerald City.

In 1991, The Disney Channel aired a Wizard of Oz animated series, which was produced by the same studio that created shows like Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff.

In 1989, The Wizard of Oz came to life in The Great Movie Ride at the Disney MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) at Walt Disney World in Florida.

The Wicked Witch Audio Animatronics figure seen in The Great Movie Ride is one of the most lifelike robotic characters Disney has done.

A Wizard of Oz theme park was rumored for many years for a location in Kansas, but was never built. There was also a short-lived Land of Oz section at Universal Studios Japan (unrelated to the MGM movie).

The simple 1939 movie made without flashy special effects is still the one most people think of when you talk about the Wizard of Oz.

Conquer your childhood fears and cuddle up with an evil Flying Monkey.

Have you ever asked yourself, "What Would the Wizard Drive?" Well, wonder no more!

Dorothy is ready to stop walking and do some Off-Yellow-Brick-Roading.

Disney's Monsters, Inc. Door Vault Roller Coaster: The Toy

The door vault sequence from PIXAR's 2001 film "Monsters, Inc." is just screaming to be made into a Disney theme park attraction.

When the movie debuted, Hasbro made an Electronic Monsters, Inc. Factory toy.

The Factory play set incorporates the door "roller coaster" and "show scenes" from the movie.

Hasbro did a nice job translating the basic idea of the Factory into a mass-market toy.

It probably would have been too expensive to make this a functioning multi-car coaster toy.

Disney hasn't built a Monsters, Inc. roller coaster yet, but it's no secret that one has been in the works for Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida (near Toy Story Midway Mania).

I'm sure many Walt Disney World visitors would welcome what would most likely be a tame, inverted coaster-style dark ride experience for Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Hopefully this ride would feature show scenes with animatronic monsters.

Yes, I bet it would be really popular if the characters interacted with riders in some way.

There are currently three Monsters, Inc. attractions at Disney theme parks, but none of them feature a ride on the door vault track.

At the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, the California Adventure Park features a dark ride called "Monsters, Inc.: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!" This opened in 2006, and replaced the "Superstar Limo" Hollywood dark ride.

In 2007, the "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor" Comedy Club opened in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida (replacing the theater that used to house the TimeKeeper attraction). The interactive stage show uses real-time digital animated characters.

In 2009, Tokyo Disneyland opened "Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek" in Tomorrowland (replacing the theater that housed a show called "Meet the World"). This ride is similar to the Monsters, Inc. attraction in California, but it is on a larger scale and incorporates an interactive game of flashlight tag.

With the upcoming Monsters, Inc. prequel, it seems like the Door Vault coaster has a good chance of getting built.

I have no doubt that a Door Vault ride could be one of the most popular attractions in Florida.

The Monsters, Inc. world features some great characters and settings.

In comparison to other PIXAR properties like Toy Story and Cars, Monsters Inc. has sort of been off of the radar for a while. Writing this made me remember how much fun these monsters are.

Hasbro also made some Monsters, Inc. toys with animatronic features.

Sulley's mouth moves! Not too shabby.

Remote control Mike has an animated mouth and eye.

If Hasbro could make a toy version of this, imagine what could be done with a Door Vault ride.

It's time to go back in time and see some more Monsters, Inc. stuff from when the movie debuted.

It's a one eyed monster. It requires a battery. There's a joke there somewhere. And it is a clock. Yes, I wrote "clock."

Before Hasbro launched its popular Disney Theme Park Collector Packs mini figures, they released a Monsters, Inc. set. I love this collection, because it features some very obscure characters, like Flint (voiced by Bonnie Hunt).

Note that the Newscaster figure only has arms. In the movie, the character was behind a desk, so the model did not have legs!

One of these things is not like the other.

The pillow eventually had the eyelash feature dropped. Maybe it just looked too creepy, even for a monster.

McDonald's did a Monsters, Inc. Happy Meal in 2001.

Some Happy Meals get boxes and some get bags. All feature games.

The large toys have glow in the dark features.

Boo's door lights up, too.

Hasbro also made a Play-Doh set.

Give George Sanderson some wild hair, then cut it all off.

Re-create the moment in the film when Mike swallowed a flashlight with this Paper Lamp.

Mike is used to having others walk all over him, so he doesn't mind being a Throw Rug.

Sid from Toy Story was consulted on some toy ideas for Monsters, Inc.

If the Door Vault ride happens at Walt Disney World, there should be a store nearby selling Build Your Own Monsters like these!

The Beanie craze was in full force in 2001.

I think these are the best plush toys I've seen of Mike and Sulley.

What would a snow globe of the Door Vault scene look like? This!

The snow globe "Plays If I Can't Have You." Is that the song by the Bee Gees, or the version of the song by Yvonne Elliman? I think somebody made a mistake, and it actually plays the song "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.

Hasbro and Disney joined forces for Disney's Wild Racers, a 2002 line of die cast cars sold in retail chains across the country. Mike and Sulley were featured in the second wave of the series.
Sulley's car is the "Scary Screamster" or the "Scary Screamer" (I guess they couldn't decide on one name). These cars were eventually re-launched as "Disney Racers" exclusively at the Disney theme parks (without Hasbro, and without names for the cars and without vanity plates).

Monsters, Inc. characters were often featured on merchandise as hand-drawn characters.

I love the 2D designs for the characters, and I always thought there should have been a Monsters, Inc. animated series.

The 2D designs were sometimes used for 3D products, too.

The Denim Plush Sulley is one of the most unique Monsters, Inc. items I've seen.

Kellogg's and Disney teamed up to promote Disney theme parks not long after Monsters, Inc. debuted.

These great Bendy figures of Mike (Billy Crystal), Celia (Jennifer Tilly), Sulley (John Goodman) and Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) could be found in boxes of Kellogg's cereal.

Kellogg's also released a line of cloth plush toys.

Sulley was featured in a Disney Parks "What will you celebrate?" Kellogg's promotion.

Monsters, Inc. characters could be found at the Block Party Bash Parade at Disney's California Adventure, which was later relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida.

I got to see this fun Parade (with its animated doors) in November of 2009 at Walt Disney World.

This lively event featured animatronic props and characters.

This was also the place to see some seldom-seen monsters like George Sanderson and Needleman.

Mike and Sulley also made an appearance in PIXAR's Cars.

With a Cars land opening at California Adventure, I wonder if Mike and Sulley could appear there. Or, if Florida gets a version of Cars Land (maybe they could call it World of Cars in Florida) near the proposed Door Vault coaster, could the Monster Truck version of Sulley and Mike appear there?

The Yeti from Monsters, Inc. was also in Cars (as part of a joke about how actor John Ratzenberger voices a character in every PIXAR film). I love the snow cone Yeti logo seen here.

It would be pretty funny if the Yeti appeared in a Cars Land spoof of the Matterhorn at Disneyland or a World of Cars spoof of Expedition Everest at Walt Disney World.

There has to be a Yeti Snow Cone snack location!

*Update on September 7, 2013:

The rumor these days is that a Door Vault Roller Coaster could show up in a Monstropolis for Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California.

The 2013 hit "Monsters University" prequel introduced a college campus full of new characters to the Monsters, Inc. world, including Greek Council President Claire Wheeler (voiced by Aubrey Plaza, from one of my favorite shows, "Parks and Recreation") and Chip Goff from Roar Omega Roar.

Assisting Claire is Greek Council Vice President Brock Pearson (voiced by Tyler Labine, from the TV show "Reaper").  Most of the monsters in the MU Fraternities and Sororities all look wildly different, with the exception of Britney Davis and the gals of Python Nu Kappa all looking essentially the same.

Did you know that MU has operated a campus in Atlanta, Georgia since 1981?  There, you'll find Brock's distant relative, Big Bertha (a Coach) and a couple cheerleaders who are no doubt Python Nu Kappas.

For some Southern Fried Fun, be sure to check out Monsters, M.I.A.: Six Flags Over Georgia's Monster Mansion And The Big Monster on Campus.

UPDATE:  On October 5, 2013 I finally saw Monsters University.  It was playing at the dollar movie theater, and every single seat was taken!  I was not too sure what I'd think about this being a sequel that is a prequel, but I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the film.  Monsters University is my favorite Pixar movie.

MU is my favorite because it is incredibly fun and well-written.

I love all the characters in Monsters University.  I thought the group of Oozma Kappa monsters (and Mrs. Squibbles) were especially funny.

I've had my eye on the Monster Minis by Spin Master (sold at Walmart) for a while now, and after finally seeing the movie, I had to get them!

I hope to see more of Mike and Sulley.  Maybe someday we'll see "Monsters High School," "Monsters Daycare", "Monsters Retirement Center" and "Monsters Rehab."