ONE | TWO

It still looks like a Doombuggy to me! - Promotional art © Disney

8) Haunted Mansion Doombuggy Sculpture featuring Jack, Sally and Zero $95

This limited-edition sculpture features Jack, Sally & Zero as they are carried away by a Haunted Mansion doombuggy. Limited to an edition size of 500, RSP

Trust me, you really wish you could read this - Promotional art © Disney

9) Twas' the Nightmare Before Christmas Ghost Poem (Framed) $200

This commemorative piece comes complete on parchment paper and is framed with a special matte, which includes the Nightmare Before Christmas Logo. Limited to an edition size of 75. This piece will also be signed by the illustrator. RSP

10) Nightmare Before Christmas Group Portrait $4,000
Original Art by Eric Robison.

This one-of- a- kind piece features characters from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas as they come together in a family style group portrait. This frightful piece comes alive with an array of vibrant colors, which only Eric can create. Dimension 46x36 RSP

11) Nightmare Before Christmas Group Portrait $125

This limited- edition lithograph has been reproduced from Eric's original and features characters from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas as they come together in a family style group portrait. Limited to an edition size of 150 this haunting piece is sure to spread the spirit of Halloween to all. Dimension 34x27 RSP

Promotional art © Disney

12) Nightmare Before Christmas Watch $65

This commemorative watch features the Haunted Mansion, with Jack and Sally in their doombuggy as the second hand. This exclusive watch is limited to an edition size of 200. RSP

13) Black Leather Jacket with Event Logo $400

This limited- edition black leather Jacket features Jack Skellington (embroidered on the back and front left chest) as he spreads the spirit of Christmas over the Haunted Mansion. This Jacket also includes a "Jack Skellington" zipper pull and features a debossed panel on the inside lining. Limited to an edition size of 100. Available in Med, Large, X-Large and XX-Large. RSP

Look closely at this painting of the mansion... you'll see it again - Promotional art © Disney

14) Boxed Translucent Haunted Mansion Pin $50

This limited- edition pin features a translucent stained glass image of the Haunted Mansion as it appears in the new attraction. This commemorative piece is limited to an edition size of 150. RSP

Promotional art © Disney

15) Sandy Claws in Sleight Glow-In The-Dark Sweatshirt $30

This exclusive event sweatshirt features Sandy Claws and his sleigh along with Zero as they fly high above the Haunted Mansion spreading holiday cheer. This glow- in- the-dark sweatshirt also includes the event date below the back neckline. Available in Med, Large, X-Large and XX-Large. RSP

Promotional art © Disney

16) Sand Claws Glow-In-The-Dark T-shirt $18

This event exclusive silk-screened T-shirt features "Evil Sandy Bag" and glow-in-the-dark ghosts. T-shirt comes complete with the event date silk screened on the sleeve. Available in Med, Large, X-Large and XX-Large. RSP

17) Jack Skellington Marionette $500 (Not Pictured)
By Bob Baker

This haunting Jack Skellington marionette is sure to complete any Nightmare Before Christmas collection. Delivery will be 16 weeks after the event. RSP

18) Zero Marionette $400 (Not Pictured)
By Bob Baker

This limited-edition marionette, features Jack's faithful companion Zero. Delivery will be 16 weeks after the event. RSP

OK, so what's this Random Selection Process? It's a neat little system that Walt Disney World and Disneyland use to offer limited- edition merchandise to event customers. Each guest will mail in a form, listing the items they want to buy, in order of their preference. So, if you want the leather jacket more than anything else, you would list that as item number 1, and so on. Your requests are then fed into the RSP computer. If 500 people have asked to buy that jacket, but only 100 jackets are available, the computer will randomly choose 100 people. When you arrive at the event, you will be given a list of the items the computer selected you to purchase.

Unlike previous events, you will now be required to purchase all of the items you are selected for. In fact, your card will have already been charged when you get to the event. At previous events, some guests would ask for everything, and wait to see what the computer selected for them. They would then pick and choose among those items, and often decide not to buy some of them. This resulted in a lot of unsold merchandise at earlier events - you can still pick up some items from the Villains Enchanted Evening at the Disneyana shop, almost a year later.

Unfortunately, this is going to put a damper on some guest's shopping, and force them to really decide on one or two items they must have. Someone who would be happy with EITHER of the charger plates, and can only afford to buy one, is going to have to choose between them. Otherwise, they risk being selected, and required, to buy both. Two items, the Jack Skellington and Zero marionettes, have not even been pictured in the catalog. A guest who asks for either of these items will be buying them sight-unseen.

There have been a number of comments on various message boards about the very low edition sizes for some items, as well as the high prices. Given the amount of unsold merchandise that had to be destroyed after the DCA event, it seems the buyers have decided to be conservative with the merchandise for this event. The seven $50-or-less items include three different pin-and-ornament sets, two more event pins, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt. Many of the items are $200, $300, $400 and more. At the same time, there are two items in the lot that I think are great deals. The event watch with the doombuggy second hand is a fantastic price, at just $65, for such a low edition size. The $95 doombuggy sculpture, which has Jack, Sally and Zero, is really reasonably priced.

Assuming every Limited Edition item is sold, and that each attendee buys both a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, the average guest is going to walk out of that event with less that $350 in purchases. Many Nightmare collectors are going to find that they still have money left to spend. But that's not to say that there won't be something else for them to buy. There is always the "second chance" sale before the event, where items that we not assigned during the random selection process will be available for purchase.

The core T-shirt logo - Promotional art © Disney

In addition, two locations in New Orleans Square will be offering Haunted Mansion Holiday "core" merchandise, starting the morning of October 3rd. The core merchandise will include shirts, sweatshirts, and Yes, Virginia, there will be a CD. In fact, there will be two CDs released this winter. The first will have the entire new Haunted Mansion Holiday soundtrack on it. The other will include the music from Believe!... In Holiday Magic, as well as "it's a small world holiday" and the new LuminAria show from DCA.

Even the foods group is getting into the spirit, with a selection of desserts themed to the holiday. - Promotional art © Disney

For those who have not yet received their packets, don't despair. The deadline to return your RSP forms has been extended until September 25th.

If you couldn't get a ticket, MousePlanet will have you covered. Be sure to check back on October 4th for complete coverage of the event, including the first look at the new attraction. 15 more days - I can hardly wait. See you there!

BACK

Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix is the super-shopper behind MouseShoppe, your personal and unofficial shopping service for the Disneyland Resort, and the owner of CharmingShoppe, a Disney collectibles store located in Anaheim.

In addition to scouring the park to find you the latest and greatest merchandise, she keeps you updated on all of the merchandise events happening in the parks.

If you want to talk to her about this column, merchandise, or events, contact her here.

Visit our other shopping service, MouseMemories.com.

Don't forget to take a gander at our Disney CD and book selections available from

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