Company D, Part II

Well, apparently wishes do come true!  I found out last week about a Friends & Family day at the property control parking lot sale.  We got there bright and early and even though a lot of the really cool finds were gone by Sunday, we did see a few things which caught our eye.  

This large "Mechanical Kingdoms" sign was made of metal and hung over the Gallery on Main Street.  For just $25, I did contemplate buying it...as I did with many an item that day.

On the left is a two-piece item which cost $35.  Not sure where it came from, but wouldn't that have made an adorable facade for a playhouse?  It's a good 6-8 feet tall assembled.  

On the top right are two commodes from Club 33.  Yes, you read that right.  Those are the old toilet seats from the men's room from before the remodel.  Yours for the low price of $20 each.  I couldn't bear to use those toilets on my visit to the Club, but you bet I took pictures of it, lol!  I'm really after the dishes, so if anyone hears of them coming up for sale, let me know!

What I really came for was the fabric.  I have a little hoarding problem when it comes to fabric.  Okay, a big problem.  Rolls and rolls of fabric like those pictured could be had for as little as $1.  The choir robe was $5 and you could fill up a large brown shopping bag with as many ornaments as you could fit into it for $4. I picked them up to wire together into a swag for work.  I also picked up some odds and ends like postcards, luggage tags and cookie boxes (for all that holiday baking) for pennies.  

Now wouldn't you know, I left that bag when I went to load up my car.  After spending the whole day playing at the parks, I realized that I left it behind.  I called first thing the next morning and was surprised to hear back from them that they had the bag and would be holding it for me.  I picked it up this evening!  Truly, things rarely get lost at Disney that can't be reunited with their owners.  I once lost a camera and didn't even realize it for at least a week.  When I called, they were able to locate it in their computer system based on my description!  Always check with guest services when you lose something that can be identified!  

Anyway, I am so glad I have awesome Disney cast member friends who don't mind me spending all my money on random tchotchkes!  I don't even mind all the tsk-tsk'ing.  ;p

Company D

One of the great perks of being a castmember or a friend of a castmember is getting to shop at Company D.  

For those that don't know, Company D is the off-site Team Center for Disney's "castmembers" (employees).  There, you can take care of some of your castmember business, buy groceries, or (and this is why non-castmembers like to go) buy discounted parks merchandise.  From the street, it looks like any other warehouse.  Once inside, it looks like any other warehouse, but filled with treasures untold!

Certain things are meant to be purchased solely by castmembers.  Strangely, this includes the grocery items like bread or bananas.  However, they do have some cool merchandise like special lanyards or clothing.  If you want to purchase those things, bring cash because the castmember will have to buy them for you.  This is basically true of the right front portion of the "store."  Also, these are usually priced as marked.  

The rest of the store is pretty much 50% off or more and as long as the castmember is there to show ID or you have a pass (they occasionally get "friends and family" passes), you can buy what you want, cash and credit cards accepted, no checks.  The left side usually has the latest merchandise, from clothing to pins and even Vinylmations.  If you're lucky, they may even have manager's specials in place where they take an additional percentage off the already discounted price.  

Now, here's where you get down and dirty with your cheap self!  In the back is the "warehouse."  This is where you'll find the older items or one-offs.  Boxes and boxes of things that cost as little as a quarter.  I've gotten earhats for $1.  Why would I want a D23 earhat when I didn't even go to D23?  Silly, you just peel off that logo and add your own for a custom number!  Many things are still 50% off, but you can find some real gems in here, even items that are still being sold at full price in the parks.  

If you are a castmember, then you probably already know about "the cage," aka "property control."  Inside the warehouse is a separate section that is surrounded by chain link fence.  In the cage are items that are either "damaged" merchandise or from non-merch departments at deeeeeep discounts!  On my latest visit, I spotted the huge Jack Skellington head that used to hang in the Haunted Mansion stretching room at Christmas, Club 33 tables and chairs, and tons of pieces of costuming from the Entertainment dept.  Not all of the items in this area are necessarily for sale, some are up for auction or being held for some other reason, like there is sometimes a parking lot sale.  Friends have bought etched headboards and armoires ($100) from the hotels and I have even seen mini-fridges for $10.  I personally own a bedspread from the Disneyland Hotel ($8), an embossed leather binder from the Grand Californian ($2), and my latest acquisition...this lamp from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ($15)!  

Unfortunately, you have to have a Disney-issued ID to even set foot in the cage.  I wandered in the first time I went, not knowing I wasn't allowed, oops!  I just gave my friend the money to buy what I'd picked out, but on future trips, could only look in longingly from the outside.  It's hard to pick out goodies when you can't go in and you feel bad having your friend trot merchandise over to you, saying "This?"  Lol!  So of course, what this means is that I need to get a part-time gig at Disneyland, just for the property control shopping!