2014 Merchandise Kicks Off a New Year at Disney Parks Around the World

The start of a New Year marks the arrival of new merchandise at Disney Parks. The “Dated 2014” merchandise (that is what we call merchandise that contains a particular date) is some of our most popular merchandise we carry at Disney Parks. You may recall getting a first look at the artwork for this program back in October with the arrival of the amazing 2014 Disney Parks attraction poster calendar. After taking a closer look at the style guide created for the dated program, I found a few different styles you will see in the New Year.

Work on the 2014 style guide actually began in mid-2012. A talented team of character artists and graphic designers from Disney Design Group collaborated on this year’s artwork. They include several familiar faces I’ve previously interviewed for the Disney Parks Blog such as Doug Strayer, Patty Landing, Tyler Dumas, Mike Sullivan, Tim Whalen, Casey Jones and Dave Keefer. I asked Doug Strayer, Creative Director with Disney Design Group, about some details found in this year’s designs.

“We have two distinct styles this year,” explained Doug. “One design features Disney characters with Disney Park icons. We created versions of that design for our Disney Parks around the world. This means that a Guest visiting Disneyland Paris may find artwork that is similar to something found at Disney Parks in the United States.”
Doug explained how upcoming anniversaries also inspired some of the artwork.

“We considered some important anniversaries that will be celebrated in 2014 at Disney Parks when creating the art. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of “it’s a small world,” the team created a Mary Blair-inspired “lifestyle” design. We also incorporated the Earful Tower, the original park icon for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, to recognize the upcoming 25th anniversary in May.”

The dated artwork will be found on a variety of items including apparel, ear hats, Vinylmation, Disney pins, Duffy the Disney Bear, drinkware, holiday ornaments and much more. I recently spotted several of these items at World of Disney in Downtown Disney Marketplace at Walt Disney World Resort.

You can also find a boutique shop on the Disney Parks online store that contains an assortment of these items from Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.

2014 Merchandise Kicks Off a New Year at Disney Parks Around the World by Steven Miller: Originally posted on the Disney Parks Blog