What Does Disney Do With Removed Ride Items?

[Arnold Simba]

What does Disney do with removed ride items? I'm thinking specifically of my beloved Pirate Parrot which used to greet visitors outside POTC. When I was told that Disney was going to remove it, I first petitioned Guest Relations (wrong dept?) to reconsider. After being told that the decision was final, I even made an offer to buy the parrot! No deal. When Horizons was set to close, I asked an Epcot manager (someone in a position of authority) if I could buy the "cat lapping milk" at Horizons. He laughed, said he understood where I was coming from, but stated that it was Disney policy NOT to sell animatronics. Since then, I've always wondered what Disney did with their removed ride items, such as the animatronics or signs/props/etc. from "World Of Motion", "Horizons", "Journey Into Imagination", "Mr. Toad' Wild Ride", "20,000 Leagues", "The Skyways" items, the rifles from "Fort Sam Clemens." Where Is My Parrot???? lol lol :confused:

[buzznwoodysmom]

I thought I read that the parrot was placed somewhere else on property???? Maybe in the "pirate" room at the World of Disney Store in DTD???? I'm not sure, but hopefully someone who knows for sure will come along.

I have seen attraction, as well as resort, items on ebay in the past. I don't think I've ever noticed any animatronics, but I have seen signs, ride vehicles, furniture, and other items on ebay.

[HMFan]

There is a company, also with an Ebay store, that sells some great stuff. I have a few former park items, including my favorite: A porthole from 20,000 leagues! (Wow, is it heavy).

Not sure if terms of Intercot allow me to mention them....message me if you wish.

[DizneyRox]

I think most of the "good" stuff goes to employees, or is recycled in other places. eBay was a popular destination around the time TDS was going through massive store closings.

[Aurora]

There is a store on eBay called Mouse Surplus that has a bunch of old Disney related paraphernalia -- I have no idea how they get their stuff, but some of it sells for a pretty penny. Right now there is a door to a TTA vehicle for sale for about $800. (It's just the sliding door; I'm not sure who would want it, but there you go.)

I've also seen photos online of sort-of "dumping grounds" on Disney property that just hold old props until they get around to either recycling them or disposing of them.

I'm sure Disney has warehouses of the more valuable items.

[BrerGnat]

They recycle a lot of the props and animatronics into other attractions in the various Disney parks. Often, they just do a simple costume change and place the animatronics into an existing attraction without anyone noticing.

As an example, some animatronics from World of Motion ended up in Pirates of the Caribbean!

Also, many of the animals in Splash Mountain came from an old attraction called America Sings.

This is commonly what happens to the more elaborate stuff.

Signs and stuff end up all over the place. There used to be a TON of old signage inside the Comedy Warehouse on Pleasure Island going back to the 70's.

[MickeysBestPal]

There are many former attraction items to be seen:

-in the prop warehouse area of the Backstage Tour.

-in the queue to (and during the ride of) Journey Into Imagination.

-on the walls of the Mouse Gear shop in Epcot.

[Mogie]

Im not sure if its still there, but I remember a couple years ago you could go onto Google Maps overlooking the Parks, and behind Fantasy land there was an empty lot where you could still see some of the 20,000 leagues under the sea submarines lying on the ground. I think the Magic Kingdom boats were also in that lot. Almost like a scrap, or junk yard.

I think a lot of stuff ends up like that. Maybe there is a massive warehouse somewhere with parts that Disney wants to keep for history or for future use, but im guessing that would be very expensive to maintain.

Most of these things end up getting worn out, beat up or just phased out and probably just destroyed or recycled.

[kemps@wdw]

Your "pirate parrot", aka Peg-leg Pete, can be found alongside his "hairy leg pirate buddy,:pirate: as you glide thru the burning village! As for the other retired merchandise, I believe "Mouse Surplus" has quite a selection.

[Main Street Jim]

I think most of the "good" stuff goes to employees.Don't I wish...LOL...

We don't get to "buy used stuff from closed attractions". :( Otherwise, I'd have already had that $10,000 Horizons ride vehicle...

There's a place southwest of Orlando (near Haines City) that buys up some of the old Disney ride stuff. It's called "MouseSurplus". Google it - you'll find their Web site ;)

**EDIT**: Just read some stuff regarding MouseSurplus and Surplus Kingdom. Seems both have currently inactive Web sites, and not sure what happened :shrug:

[Tink#64]

MouseSurplus has some cool items! :thumbsup: A few years ago I bought a mirror from that site that came from CSR, it hangs in my living room & I just love it! (another cool thing was that it was shipped to me wrapped in a comforter from ASSp's!) :cool: So cool that I have a mirror that once hung in a WDW resort! :D

[DizneyRox]

By Employees, I don't mean front line CMs... That would never happen...

[TheVBs]

It's cool to hear that they reuse some of these items!

I have a framed print that used to hang in on of the DL resorts. It's two raccoons backing away from a skunk on a log. Makes me smile every time I look at it. :) I'm pretty sure I got that directly from Disney when they used to have their own eBay sales. It came with a COA.

[WDWdriver]

There are several lots behind the parks containing old materials, including the occasional ride vehicle or prop. Interesting to see when driving by, but they are not for sale - at least not to me. :(

[Diznee4Me]

MouseSurplus has some cool items! :thumbsup: A few years ago I bought a mirror from that site that came from CSR, it hangs in my living room & I just love it! (another cool thing was that it was shipped to me wrapped in a comforter from ASSp's!) :cool: So cool that I have a mirror that once hung in a WDW resort! :D

We also bought a mirror from that site that came from CSR and we also hung it on our living room! :D But ours was wrapped in a CSR comforter. It is neat to know it came from our favorite resort.

[Aurora]

**EDIT**: Just read some stuff regarding MouseSurplus and Surplus Kingdom. Seems both have currently inactive Web sites, and not sure what happened :shrug:

The second Google link for MouseSurplus is a good one. Or go on eBay, go down to the bottom of the page and click on Stores, then type in MouseSurplus in the search box and it will come up.

[brivers222]

I always figured they just had an accidental "meltdown" like that featured in the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka...

[Kenny1113]

Along theses lines, I would love to know what they do with the retired holiday decorations. I would love to be able to pick some of these up!

[Tink#64]

We also bought a mirror from that site that came from CSR and we also hung it on our living room! :D But ours was wrapped in a CSR comforter. It is neat to know it came from our favorite resort.

Diznee4Me, how cool is that? My guess is we have the same mirror! I love it, just having that little bit of WDW in our house makes smile! :D