Saturday Six

Inside the SATURDAY SIX Tsum Tsum Obsession

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This week’s SATURDAY SIX takes a look at Tsum Tsums! Regular readers of our sister series – the Magic, the Memories and Merch! – know of our obsession with Tsum Tsums but may not realize exactly how deep it goes. Today we explain.

FOR THE UNINITIATED: Like pretty much all things that are next level bonkers, the Tsum Tsum craze started in Japan. Wikipedia – a source synonymous with always being 100% correct – says the name Tsum Tsum is derived from the Japanese verb Tsumu, which means “to stack.” These adorable plush toys are cylinder in shape, and can be easily stacked on top of each other. Like many Disney collectibles, there are exclusive ones that can be much harder to obtain than others. Today we are going to go over some of our favorite Tsums, starting with..

# 6 – Disney Cruise Line

Recently I listened to a great podcast that debated the merits of Disney Cruise Line vs Royal Caribbean, with TouringPlans’ own stat nerd Fred Hazelton on the side of DCL. As a person who has sailed on both Disney and Royal Caribbean ships, I think both are absolutely incredible experiences, each having some pros and cons.

For ME, where Disney Cruise Line blows Royal Caribbean out of the water – pardon the pun – is in character experiences, Castaway Cay, and merchandise. In fact, the DCL ships have pound for pound the best selection of quality Disney merchandise anywhere. One of the items they have are DCL Tsum Tsums that you can only get on the the ships: Mickey and Minnie Mouse in their sailing outfits, along with a greatly themed pirate Stitch.

Minnie, Stitch, and Mickey.
Side View.

# 5 – City Series

There are some Tsum Tsums that are only available in Disney Stores in specific cities around the world. It can be bit confusing for the average collector, because they also have “City Specific” Tsums that you can also order online at DisneyStore.com. For example, in the pictures below you’ll see two boxes of Mickey and Minnie Tsums representing Chicago and New York. The boxes you can get both at traditional Disney Stores in Chicago and New York, but you can also order online. However, the “I Love NY” Mickey and Minnie as the Statue of Liberty can only be bought in New York City. Sounds reasonable right? Of course not, which is why deep down every true Tsum Tsum collector is absolutely, certifiably 100% insane.

Chicago and New York.

The Chicago Set has Mickey themed to a hot dog (definitely with no ketchup) and Minnie as a deep dish pizza (like you could make this stuff up.) As for the New York box set, Mickey is literally a “big apple,” while Minnie is wearing her “I Love NY” shirt.

Chicago and New York.

Look how great the overall theming is. The boxes themselves are themed to a elevated subway car for Chicago and a city cab for New York.

Chicago and New York.

Living in Florida, I was able to get a hold of the NY Tsums thanks to Mannhatanites Len Testa and Laurel Stewart. For Chicago, a dedicated SAT SIX reader reached out to me. So now we just need readers in: Hawaii, Los Angeles, Canada, Ireland, Italy, London, Mexico, Paris, and Spain. If you live in Minnesota, we good.

# 4 – Tsum Tsum Subscription Box

In my lifetime there has been several cases of “found money” in areas that just didn’t exist before. When I was growing up, everyone had a reasonable phone bill, with the only out of the ordinary charges being “collect calls” and “1-900 numbers.” (I have a long story to tell one day where my parents received a large phone bill and were about to kill me thinking I had repeatedly called an “adult hotline.” They called the number and found out it was a Spider-man play-by-phone game that was advertised in Marvel comic books at the time. They may have been actually been more embarrassed for me finding out it was that.) Anyhoo, now families regularly have $100 monthly phone bills for each family member.

Subscription boxes are another phenomenon that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. You name the product, and someone out there is making a subscription box for it. Disney has put out several types of subscription boxes over the years, including a mysterious one for The Haunted Mansion that seemed like it was made by the creators of the TV show LOST.

The Tsum Tsum Subscription Box service has changed over the past two years. At first, each month a box would come featuring two exclusive Tsum Tsums, one large, and one mini. More recently the offerings have included three mini Tsums OR a set of six EVEN SMALLER TSUMS, which are called “micro” size.

Dumbo, Finding Dory, and Aristocats.
Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Lady & the Tramp.

I use the Tsum Tsum boxes as part of the Nuclear Meltdown Protocol. If – or should I say when – the kiddos start to lose their minds for whatever reason, I pull out a subscription box to open and all of sudden everything is ok again.

Burrito (with Gauchito), Pumbaa (with Timon in “dress in drag and do the hula), Stitch (with Experiment 626) and Beast (with Belle.)

One of my all time favorite Tsum Tsums came from the Subscription service, and it is this Ralph and Felix that came in a plush arcade cabinet.

Wreck-It Ralph and Felix.
Wreck-It Ralph.

As you can seen below, the more recent Tsum Tsum “boxes” have been character sets. They come with a card identifying who they are. Here is the Princess and the Frog set along with a Dr. Facilier I got at the Disney Outlet Store.

Princess and the Frog.

The next set comes from the bonkers Disney short Runaway Brain. A cult classic, this Academy Award nominated short has spawned several pieces of merchandise you’ll almost never see inside a Disney-run store.

Runaway Brain Tsums in front of a Runaway Brain vinyl figure.
Runaway Brain Tsums.

If I had my druthers, we would only have the mini sized Tsums in our collection, but here are some of the micro sized ones that came in subscription boxes.

Mulan.

Oliver and Company.

Oliver and Company.

# 3 – Disney Parks

When it comes to “every day Tsums,” the vast majority of my collection comes from the Disney Outlet Stores. Once you start paying 99 cents (and often with a BOGO or Buy Two Get One Free deal) its hard to go back to the standard retail price of $5.95. However, there are certain Tsums that get released that I purchase at full price because I don’t want to risk them NOT making it to the Outlet. Almost all of these full price purchases are for Disney Park Tsums.

I’m a sucker for just about anything Tower of Terror related, so when I saw Goofy and Peg Leg Pete in ToT bell hop uniforms, I knew I was going to buy them.

Tower of Terror Tsums. There’s also a Donald and Daisy in the set but I liked the “old timey” Minnie and Mickey more..

These Haunted Mansion Tsums actually made it to the Outlet.

Haunted Mansion.

Splash Mountain is one of our family’s favorite attractions, so getting Brer Bear, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit was a no-brainer. Brer Possum and the Buzzard were Outlet finds.

Splash Mountain.

These Adventureland Tsums made it to the Outlet, but I bought the Little Orange Bird full price the day it came out because, c’mon, it’s the Little Orange Bird. I would probably consider the Enchanted Tiki Room one of my personal six favorite WDW attractions, and possibly the Jungle Cruise as well, so this set was a home run for me.

Adventureland Tsums including Jungle Cruise Skipper and Rhino, Orange Bird, and Tiki Birds with Tiki God.

Here’s the Pirates of the Caribbean Tsums with another one of my Top 6 All Timers, the Jailer Dog.

Pirates of the Caribbean.

Some of the selections from the Fantasyland set, including a hideous looking Tea Cup, a character from its a small world, a carrousel horse, and MR. TOAD.

Fnatasyland.

This set was first released in the Bonjour! Village Gifts shop in New Fantasyland next to Gaston’s Tavern. It’s the Beauty & the Beast Human Again set. The carrying case is the footstool that the dog turns into thanks to the curse. Inside are the “human” versions of all the major characters, including the dog.

Beauty & the Beast.
Beauty & the Beast.
Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Babette the French Maid.
Belle, Prince Adam, and Chip.

# 2 – Camping Tsums

As a person growing up seeing the Junior Woodchucks on the Disney Afternoon, there was no way I wasn’t getting this incredible camping set. Not only did it have a tent, but each of the characters was wearing an themed outfit AND came with mini sleeping bags. Chip is dressed like s’more, Pluto as if a bear is eating him, Goofy as a lumberjack, and Dale as a Junior Woodchuck/boy scout.

Camping set.
Camping Set.
Awwwwww.

TIME TO GO TO FORT WILDERNESS!!

1-10 on the CUTENESS SCALE? 1,000,000

# 1 – International Parks

As many Tsum Tsums that we have over here in America (spoiler alert: WAY TOO MANY) they have much more over at the Asia parks. The ones I was interested in the most were found in Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. These were Albert, from the Mystic Manor attraction, and Duffy the Bear’s friends Shellie May and Gelatoni. Getting these only came from shamelessly begging world travelers like TouringPlans’ own Daisy Lauren and Julia Mascardo. Abstract concepts like “pride” and “dignity” are fine and all that, but I’ll take these Tsums thank you very much.

Albert, Shellie May, and Gelatoni.

HONORABLE MENTION: Christmas Tsums

We are a Christmas family, and the month of December is filled with non-stop Christmas movies and decorations. There have been many holiday themed Tsums released over the years, including a set based Mickey’s A Christmas Carol and giant advent calendars. While 1-800-GOT-JUNK may disagree, you can never have too many Christmas Themed Tsum Tsums.

Christmas.
Oswald and Baymax.
Pascal, Simba, and Figaro the cat.
The dalmatian is eating a gingerbread man!!!!

AND THE REST…

Marvel.
Star Wars.
Love some of the details on the Star Wars Tsums including Grand Moff Tarkin’s ranking, Anakin Skywalker’s rat tail, and Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber.
Toy Story.
Linguini was at the Disney Outlet Stores, but I had to get Remy as Ratatouille one of my favorite Pixar films. The scene with Bing Bong in Inside Out also one of my emotional faves.
Big Hero Six.
Had to get these Tangled and Frozen Tsums for the princess in our family.
Cinderella.
The Classics including Stitch, Pink Stitch, Duffy the Bear, Dumbo, Mickey and Donald Duck.
Dumbo carrying case.
Dumbo set.
Snow White village.
Snow White and the seven dwarfs. These were in micro size, but it was on sale.
IT NEVER ENDS.

There are still plenty more Tsums in our collection not pictured, such as characters from Zootopia, 101 Dalmatians, and others simply because I can’t find them. They may be lost to The Hoard. For more info on Tsum Tsums I would recommend the comprehensive website Tsum Tsum Central and the @DisneyTsum account on Twitter for day-to-day updates on what is happening in the Tsum Universe worldwide.

So there you have it: Inside the SATURDAY SIX TSUM TSUM OBSESSION! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out The Magic, The Memories, and Merch! articles, or, for your listening pleasure, check out the E-Ticket Report podcast. You can also follow Your Humble Author on Twitter (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:

The Six BEST Souvenirs at Walt Disney World

The Best RESORT SPECIFIC Merchandise at WDW

The Six Most Unusual Souvenirs in EPCOT’s World Showcase

6 Great Souvenirs from the Universal Orlando Resort

6 Pieces of Disney Merchandise That Don’t Exists (But Totally Should)

Disney Merchandise We Really Want to See!

Special Thanks to our spirit animal Brandon Glover, Minnesota’s second favorite son @Dizwire, crazy cat lady – and our Fearless Leader – Laurel Stewart, and blogger to the stars Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Be sure to also check out Brandon on The Park Blogger podcast with goofballs co-hosts Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHyde , while fellow Potterheads may enjoy Meg’s work on the Central Florida Slug Club.

FINAL PLUG! Did you know The 2018 Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando has a special edition of the SATURDAY SIX in it? Finally, someone came up with an actual reason to read a book. ORDER this baby now!

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9 thoughts on “Inside the SATURDAY SIX Tsum Tsum Obsession

  • You have a very tolerant family! Where do you put all of them (and the rest of the Disney junk, I mean souvenirs?????

    Reply
  • You have an amazing collection. Thank you for sharing it with us 😀

    Reply
  • Is that Intervention show still on A&E?

    I love tsum tsums. Any idea how many you actually have?

    Reply
    • The US Census would be an easier undertaking because another thing not pictured is all the doubles I have because I’d forget which Tsums were in the collection when at the Disney Outlet Store. Must have at least 4 Baloo the Bears (and I mean 4 of the cartoon Jungle Book version AND 4 of the live action movie version).

      Reply
  • Pink Stitch is named Angel. My daughter bought her as a plush a few years ago. We had mostly avoided the Tsum Tsums until we went on a cruise last summer and my kids got several as Fish Extender gifts — I have to admit they are pretty cute!

    Reply
    • The term “pink Stitch” is more of an injoke for my friends and long-time readers. Several years ago I did my first “live tweeting” from the Disney Parks on the @Touringplans Twitter account. I was at Magic Kingdom and tweeted seeing the “pink Stitch” plush in a Tomorrowland gift shop. Got enough grief from that tweet that it ended up being the LAST time I live tweeted from the Disney Parks.

      Reply
  • Am I the only person in the world that just doesn’t get tsum tsums? I think they are awful! However, Derek, as I’ve said before, I love your garden.

    Reply
    • I don’t get them either, Ruth. They’re super-pricey (once you start collecting a bunch), most are indistinguishable from each other (who is that one supposed to be?), and like all collections they’re bound to go the way of the Beanie Baby or Cabbage Patch Dolls – something you spent a fortune on and now takes up too much room in the house and you can’t even give away, much less sell on eBay to fund your retirement.

      Reply
  • My daughter loves the rubber versions of tsum tsums instead of the stuffed ones!

    Reply

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