As a child, I loved playing with wooden blocks that my grandfather made by hand. I would stack them just to see how far I could get before they fell over. They were one of my favorite toys, and now my son plays with those same blocks on occasion. In this time of technological toy wonders that fill my children’s rooms, I think wood toys are some of the most classic toys around. Recently, Disney Theme Park Merchandise partnered with Melissa & Doug, a company who has made wood toys for 24 years, to create three unique items especially for Disney Parks. Cody Hampton, Associate Developer for toys and games, gave me some additional insight into the development.
“We’ve been working on the wood toys for about three years,” explained Cody. “Wood toys are nostalgic, so we thought they would complement our overall toy assortment very well.”
Disney Design Group artists Quynh Kimball and Mike Sullivan co-designed the artwork for the blocks. There are 30 blocks in a tray with wheels. Each block has a letter, number and a Disney Parks icon or character. The blocks can also be used to create a puzzle that matches a Mickey Mouse image printed on the block cart.
I like the stacking train designed by Quynh due to the long history that trains have played at Disney Parks (Cody said that was an intentional choice). I know the train is designed for kids, but I couldn’t resist playing with it while taking pictures (clearly, I had fun with the blocks too – some things never change).
One final item arriving in the coming months will be a Minnie Mouse magnetic dress up set. This kit has a wooden doll, a stand and 33 mix-and-match magnetic pieces. This time, Quynh worked with artist Cody Reynolds to design the interchangeable Disney princess dresses (which include Cinderella, Aurora, Belle and Tiana). Minnie Mouse also has a few outfits.
Look for these items at select locations at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. I recently found the blocks and stacking train at Once Upon A Toy located in the Downtown Disney Marketplace.
Do you recall your first toy?
Check out these other posts about toys at Disney Parks:
Comments
I notice that Figment is shown on one of the blocks in the Block Cart – 400006277695. Is Figment also pictured on the Train Set – 400006455475 ? Any other new Figment sightings? Thanks!!
oh great… there goes my pay check!!! we are going to Disney in November with my nephew Elliott for the first time. well his first time.. he will be 1 and a half… and i wont be able to resist.. GREAT!
Hello Steve,
First time on this blog, and not to repeat the last post, but am I curious as well to know where these toys were made/painted, as a concerned parent who would love to “ask Santa” to deliver these toys to my daughter on Christmas morning. Thanks in advance for you kind response.
@Elizabeth – I do have another option for you since I’m unsure at this time when/if the online store carry these items.
You can contact Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Merchandise Guest Services at 1-877-560-6477 or via email – merchandiseguestservices@disney.go.com
Reference the following item numbers:
Train – 400006455475
Block Cart – 400006277695
The Minnie Mouse dress up set won’t arrive until sometime during the fall.
@Nicole – You are welcome. Thank you for the kind words. I enjoy sharing these things via the Disney Parks Blog as I get just as exciting seeing these great things.
@Steve (great name!) & Jason – I spoke with our development team. They shared that Melissa and Doug is a US-based company, headquartered in Wilton, CT. They have been developing wooden toys for about 24 years (which is one reason why the toy team wanted to partner with them – long history of creating safe, quality products). These particular items I discussed are manufactured in China.
Are these toys made in the U.S.A.?
Very cool…may get a set of the blocks and of the train…looks like it would be a fun display item
Oh my! Love these! Disney is really pulling out some great new products! We just had our first granddaughter so all of these will be under the tree for her! Even though the Minnie Mouse dress up will have to go on the shelf( or her mom & I will be playing with it! ) it will be great collection piece. Steve, thanks so much for showing all of these great new things!
I think I’m going to be buying that train, even though it may be just for my own enjoyment. : )
I love these toys too, I hope you can gt them at the Disney store. I have baskets to make for a Relay for Life silent auction and these items would be real eye catchers!
I think these look great and encourage you to do more. Pop-guns, yo-yos, the whole bit. This is because wood toys like this are durable. They hold up. Sometimes you kinda wonder if things you buy will survive the trip home. These have a certain “quality” about them.
Love the blocks! Hope to pick them up during our trip out there next month. 🙂
I used to play with Tinker Toys for hours. I’m getting the wooden block. They are great!
I love the new wooden toys! I especially love the tiki room design on the wooden blocks and chip n dale on the blocks on the train set!
@Lisa – I’m glad you like them. I’m checking with the Disney Parks online store team to see if they will be carried online. More to come. And thank you for reading the blog!
@Jennifer – Yep, that was done on purpose. I heart the Enchanted Tiki Room!!
Oh my gosh, I LOVE the blocks! I have recently been looking for unique wooden alphabet blocks for our future child and these are PERFECT! I’ll be visiting WDW in November, but if I can’t wait until then, do you know if the blocks will be available online at the Disney Store? Thank you! I love your updates–you bring us Disney fans some of the coolest news!!!
Love the look of classic toys. Awwwww
I LOVE these toys! My fav is the Minnie dress up doll. So Cute! Hopefully my 4 year old isn’t too old for it. If so I will just have to play with it myself. 🙂
And I was just starting to think, “What should I get my daughter for her 2nd birthday and Christmas?” Thanks!
@Danielle – You’re welcome. I hope she has a wonderful birthday!
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