photo by Jim Hill
See, this is the kind of thing that I would whole-heartedly support introducing into the “new vision” for Downtown Disney – a make your own Muppet shop!
The Muppet Whatnot Workshop is a new partnership between Disney and the legendary toystore FAO Schwarz that allows folks to design their very own Muppet, which will then be built right before their very eyes so they can take their creation home with them! Right now the feature can only be found at the company’s flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York City, however their website boasts that by February 2009 you’ll be able to design your Muppet online and have it shipped to you as well.
The only real barrier I see to this is the price – according to that same website, the “kit” that you can order by mail runs $130 which is significantly higher than the $10 – $20 that your average Build-a-Bear creation will cost you. That said, clearly by checking out the photos that Jim Hill recently took in the store, these dolls are considerably more complex than any bear or dino that the kids would build in your local mall. The price may be out of range for the kiddie crowd who just wants something to chew on in between rides, but for a true Muppet fanatic like myself, how cool is this?!