Lionel Mickey Mouse 90th Anniversary train set

Weird thing is nowhere on the train does it say 90th....

This same set is in the Lionel catalog released on-line (I think) earlier this week.

I noticed a few days ago when looking something else up on shopdisney.com that the Disney Christmas set from 2 (?) years ago was shown.  Turns out there is a bunch of the recent Lionel Disney offerings on Disneyshopping.com!  If it means some people see it and may be interested who might never be in a train store, I guess that's a very good thing! 

I'm not a fan of the ears either, but since they are not firmly affixed, I may go for the set.  As I mentioned in the "2018 Volume 2" thread, I would have liked this and the add-on cars/ billboard set better if they actually showed the "90 years" somewhere rather than just the generic wording.  I'm guessing that's either Lionel marketing or Disney driven so it's not linked directly to 2018, but I wouldn't think Disney since they generally do not have any  problem whatsoever with selling stuff with anniversary years on it. (60 years for DL, 45 for Magic Kingdom, etc).

The Steam Trains tour is quite an experience, I'd agree!  I would guess it will possibly/probably be going on hiatus for a while starting early next year when they temporarily shut down the railroad while they renovate the track over near the new Tron attraction they are building near Space Mountain.  (no formal duration was announced, but I'm pretty sure the announcement of the train being under renovation in early 2019 is formal). 

Supposedly there will be opportunities to get some good photos with at least one of the trains at Main Street Station during that time, similar to what they did at Disneyland in CA when the train was closed for around a year and a half while they routed the track around the new Star Wars land they are building behind Frontierland and Critter Country out there.

I drifted a bit from your original topic.

-Dave

This set is due out late November, early December. 

We are a Disney family.  Well, I love trains and my wife and daughters love Disney.   I too did the Steam Engine Backshop tour.  It was really cool.  I would have been a prespective buyer of a 90th anniversary train, but this offering doesn't do it for me.  I would be all in on scale replicas of Walt E Disney or Lilly Belle engines (with Mickey and friends as the crew of course!) and really excited about a scale Main Street Station.  There is so much potential for Disney train products but this set falls way short.

Ive got this one. Like it way better...  Should do this in O gauge......

This set isn't pleasing to the eye for me.  Very ordinary and just does nothing for me.  Especially the locomotive styling.   I do like their recent Disney Christmas set, however.

towdog posted:

This set isn't pleasing to the eye for me.  Very ordinary and just does nothing for me.  Especially the locomotive styling.   I do like their recent Disney Christmas set, however.

Quite the opposite impression for me, love the black, white, and yellow patterns, I ordered this set plus the two additional pieces of rolling stock. Ears included, this little scout engine will be pulling a few of my politically incorrect customized moonshine, military history, hot chick rolling stock.

Fun is the name of the game when running toy trains, enjoy.

They are even doing Mickey hockey T-shirts.

T4TT posted:

We are a Disney family.  Well, I love trains and my wife and daughters love Disney.   I too did the Steam Engine Backshop tour.  It was really cool.  I would have been a prespective buyer of a 90th anniversary train, but this offering doesn't do it for me.  I would be all in on scale replicas of Walt E Disney or Lilly Belle engines (with Mickey and friends as the crew of course!) and really excited about a scale Main Street Station.  There is so much potential for Disney train products but this set falls way short.

I couldn’t agree more.  So much potential that is missed. While the cars are eye-catching, the engine is a disappointment. I too would be all in on a scale Walter E Disney set with the excursion cars.  MTH took a run at it with their ‘Disney-styled’ 4-6-0 a several years back but too much red tape kept it from becoming a reality. That said, our family has the Holiday to Remember set and we really enjoy it running around the Christmas tree.  Now, if Lionel would only make add-on excursion cars...

If Lionel would make a Disneyland passenger set to mimic the real thing, it would surely be a hit. Go figure.

Not a fan of the engine, but oh how I wish that the chase gondola had been a separate sale item.

Janet Mattern (TCA and LCCA member)

Janet Mattern posted:

Not a fan of the engine, but oh how I wish that the chase gondola had been a separate sale item.

Janet Mattern (TCA and LCCA member)

Lots of times dealers may break up such sets IF they feel they will be able to sell the other components also with not too much effort.  I suspect the gondola may be available from some dealer separately, but I'd also suspect you will need to pay a bit more for it than a stand alone chase gondola, as it's probably the "prize" of the set that most people would want.  (though I do admit I find it a bit odd.  while having all the representations of Mickey for show is an interesting display of his history, it does seem odd for four versions of the same character to follow one another around the gondola)

It can't hurt to inquire with your favorite dealer(s) to see if they are willing to break up a set, just be prepared that they may ask for a premium for this car if they are willing to do so.

-Dave 

I wouldn't hold your breath much for Disney to release any replicas of their actual equipment.   It's sad really but I can somehow see why they wont.  The Disney Train Fan is a rather unique beast that is difficult to feed.  But with that said, why wait for the likes of Disney or Lionel to make something you can do yourself.  Grab one of the Mickeys Christmas sets and a little spray paint and get making your own sets

C.K. Holliday anyone?  https://photos.app.goo.gl/zsBa5CDwUuogpSMq2

How about the E.P. Ripley?  https://photos.app.goo.gl/1M31iVxRgWVEbVCW2

Walts Lilly Belle?  https://photos.app.goo.gl/cRPyKjVXUvafXLus8

Some of the rolling stock:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/Jnqhi9t7zZEX6iuy9 and https://photos.app.goo.gl/oaAkBHaYEcYijySX6

Frankly, I think Lionel has gone overboard with all the Disney stuff. 

That said, there must be a market for it or they wouldn’t keep making it. 

And I say this as a Disneyland Annual Pass Holder who is going there tomorrow.

It seems to me that  Lionel’s “Traditional Line” has largely turned into a cross-branded one when you look at how much of it is tied to some trademarked entity.

New regular traditional Lionel items are becoming  fewer and fewer. I have switched to O scale offerings out of lack of other choices. (Not that I dislike the O scale stuff at all anyway.)

Dave Warburton posted:

Frankly, I think Lionel has gone overboard with all the Disney stuff. 

............

 

Possibly true for the amount of rolling stock and starter sets.  There are ups and downs.  For a long time, there was nothing, and when asked Lionel would say the licensing costs/process was too much to make it worth it.  Once they go to the trouble, I can't fault them for offering a lot of items if it helps spread the costs of the licensing deal across many offered items.

The one area LONG overdue is a stand alone engine that is capable of pulling a long string of these cars.  The starter set engines are fine for their set and maybe an add-on or two, but they really can't generally pull a lot.

The last separate sale engine I believe was the EP-5 from around 1992 (I might be off by a year or 2, but it's on the order of 25 years ago at this point).  There have been a whole bunch of cars with nothing to pull them since the series most people consider to "go with" the EP-5.

-Dave

Janet Mattern posted:

Not a fan of the engine, but oh how I wish that the chase gondola had been a separate sale item.

Janet Mattern (TCA and LCCA member)

You are spot on, I would prefer their 0-8-0 stream engine to be included in this set.

T4TT posted:

We are a Disney family.  Well, I love trains and my wife and daughters love Disney.   I too did the Steam Engine Backshop tour.  It was really cool.  I would have been a prespective buyer of a 90th anniversary train, but this offering doesn't do it for me.  I would be all in on scale replicas of Walt E Disney or Lilly Belle engines (with Mickey and friends as the crew of course!) and really excited about a scale Main Street Station.  There is so much potential for Disney train products but this set falls way short.

Yes!  

The Disney Store has added a new exclusive (I'll guess not available your favorite train store) boxcar for the set, and it actually has "90 Years" on it.  

Disney Store Limited Edition Boxcar

Also, I know it's been brought up on the forum before, but for those who want a Walter E. Disney O gauge engine, the RailKing 4-6-0 is based on the WED engine at Walt Disney world.  MTH has never made it with the WED name and WDW logo, but they came extremely close a couple of times.  Google image search for either RailKing 4-6-0 George Washington (30-1590) or Great American Circus (30-1585).  They both even have the correct waterfall image on the headlight.

Thanks for the tip on the boxcar - It’s a nice looking car.  

I purchased the Great American Circus 4-6-0 and I could see that the tender was originally painted as a Disney engine and repainted as the circus engine.  It’s too bad that it was never released as a Disney engine. I was able to place a sticker over the circus logo which is close enough for me.

Action Jaxon posted:

Thanks for the tip on the boxcar - It’s a nice looking car.  

I purchased the Great American Circus 4-6-0 and I could see that the tender was originally painted as a Disney engine and repainted as the circus engine.  It’s too bad that it was never released as a Disney engine. I was able to place a sticker over the circus logo which is close enough for me.

I purchased one of the "George Washington" engines with the plan to do the same thing you've done.  I haven't made the change yet, but I think I've got a decent image of the tender side and cab side.  Will probably just print them on the "thick" sticky sheets (the ones made to make sure what is under them doesn't show through - Avery calls it "TrueBlock").  I just need the time to get them sized correctly, etc.

I also bought a Rio Grande version of the 4-6-0 on a good sale with the intention of repainting it to the "Roger E. Broggie".  The engine is basically the same as the WED, but with a different stack and paint scheme.  I can live with the different stack as I'm not talented enough to make a new one.  Hopefully disassembly and repainting won't be too hard -- just finding time is the hard part.

Thanks for the heads up.. I read this before I when to bed last night and ordered one to go with the set and aquarium car, I have on order. I know the grandkids will love it. The Mrs. said I should add  a third loop on the Christmas layout next year for this set. YES!

It would have  been nice if they had used a  stronger engine, maybe even done LC+.

I just bought the MTH American Circus last month to pull all my other Disney stock.  I had been looking at it at my local train store for about three years. I finally pulled the trigger. I don't see anything closer coming along. Plan to label it once I get some good photos. That will have to wait till WED goes back. I'm still hoping Bachmann upsizes there Jackson Sharp open excursion cars someday!

Mark

Dave Warburton posted:

Frankly, I think Lionel has gone overboard with all the Disney stuff. 

That said, there must be a market for it or they wouldn’t keep making it. 

 

 

The one thing I think they are sorely missing out on however is utilizing the Disney partnership to make a few star wars themed items.  Arguably the most successful marketing brand in the last 50 years, almost anything Star wars sells.  I am not totally sure what the power would look like, maybe a play on the Batman/Phantom engines, but gray flat cars with X-wing/Tie fighter loads and a work caboose with a repulsor cannon of some kind instead of a searchlight seems like a solid win.