Tsum Tsum: Taking Disney By Storm!

For anyone that is a fan of the local Disney Store in the mall, you’ve probably run across a new little plush toy that is slowly growing in popularity. The tsum tsum is a plush figure that comes in a variety of sizes and Disney characters. While at first these seem like a regular plush in a unique style, it’s likely the start of something much bigger within the Disney universe of collectibles. As Vinylmation trading comes to a close at the Disney Parks after 6 years of fun, many traders wish they could go back to the very early days of those collectibles to get the figures they needed, and this seems like an early opportunity here for a new collectible.

Started in Japan, tsum tsum means stack stack, which is why the figures are elongated and have a flatter “stomach” area, as they are designed in sort of a pill shape, in order to be stacked on top of each other. While the reality of that is a bit more difficult than the concept, it does add a cute touch to the product as they can be arranged in a neat pyramid shape; and the more larger tsums you buy the more design options for your display come available. The larger (and largest) tsums are only available in classic characters right now, while the more collectible figures are the small 4 inch figures. It’s also interesting to note that in true Japanese fashion these toys also serve a function; the bellies of these figures are made with a screen cleaning cloth material, so you can use them to clean off phone and tablet screens!

The figures, which have a touch of stylistic Japanese cuteness, are directly lifted from the hit app also named tsum tsum, which took Japan by storm, and is now slowly rolling into the USA. The app is a fastpaced game that combines a bit of Tetris and a bit of Candy Crush, but somehow seems fresh and new. While at first glance it might seem a bit pedestrian in design, it’s actually a deep game that revolves around collecting multiple tsums and leveling them in order to get a higher score and coins to purchase (you guessed it) MORE Tsums. It’s a great strategy for a game as you can use it as a quick game to pass the time while waiting for appointments (or the line at Space Mountain) or you can let it engulf your every waking moment as you franctically are collecting coins to buy a new tsum or upgrade an existing one. The game is regularly updated, and features tsum tsums from movies like Big Hero 6, Tangled, Toy Story, and of course Disney’s coolest money making machine Frozen, along with a host of classic Disney characters like Mikey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, etc. Trust me if you’re a Disney fan, there’s a character in here for you. Each character behaves differently in game too, so your play style might match one of the tsums more than another, and most likely it’s the one you’re going to be saving your coins to try to get! Yet, nothing is guaranteed as the purchase of a tsum tsum in game is random, as you are given a blind box to open and hope for the best! (It’s important to note that while purchasing coins with REAL money is an option it’s not required for even the highest level of play.)

However, in the stores the characters are on display for you to pick and choose at your heart’s desire. MANY tsum tsums in the stores are not available in the game (and a few vice versa), meaning it’s quite impossible to match your digital collection with your plush collection. There are also no benefits to buying a tsum tsum in real life in the game; no code to enter exists and no way to enhance the game with the real life plush figures, but that would probably an interesting and welcome addition if Disney decided to go that route in the future.

Instead though, Disney in the USA is releasing a new set of Tsums on the first Tuesday of each month, and thus far have been a part of a specific movie (though that’s set to change soon, more on that a bit later.) So the tsum tsum wall at your local Disney Store quietly grew; starting with sets from movies like Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, 101 Dalmations, Cinderella and starting next month; Frozen.

Now here is where things get interesting for the collector; checking your local store is not likely to yield all of these designs, despite the fact that none of these toys are listed as Limited. Still, the Snow White set has all but disappeared, with remaining toys going on clearance, and clearance at Disney store USUALLY means “these are not coming back into stock, ever.”

So that means we have a potential situation for a collectible. Our research into this has to be taken with a grain of salt as no official statements have been made by Disney, but we do have a source that claims once these products are sold out they will not be back in stock, (normally listed as Limited Release in the Disney terminology). Furthermore the same has indicated that there may be the first USA Limited EDITION tsum tsums soon, with easter tsums being limited. We don’t know which characters or in which way they’ll sell these tsum tsums, but if they truly are the first limited edition tsums, expect their value to skyrocket. There have been at least 2 Japanese LE sets, and one Paris only limited set, and all of them have seen healthy ebay sales.

With any new collection there are moments of make it or break it, but Disney is one of the best at massaging these types of collectibles, and while I wouldn’t expect them to make a giant (albeit apparently temporary) splash like Vinylmation did, I do think there are going to be some heavy duty collectors who will be after these.

For those traveling to the Disney Parks, don’t forget to check out World of Disney in California or Once Upon a Toy in Florida, both in the Downtown Disney districts. Recently one source was able to find Snow White at the store (as the Disney Parks releases are later after the same release in the Disney Store), and many people such as annual passholders have discounts they can use at the Disney Parks they cannot use at the store (the price is .95 cents higher for a single tsum, but the parks had them on sale 3 for $15 which is the regular Disney Store price.)

Also be on the lookout for OTHER Tsum Tsum merchandise as the Japanese Disney Stores have had everything from selfie sticks to iphone 6 cases, and the US Disney parks have announced a set of collectible Disney pins releasing in the park this week and if you can’t wait the next trip to the Disney Store or Parks, the online store has some tsums and other cool merchandise for sale as well at: http://www.DisneyStore.com/TsumTsum.

The pictures are the tsums available at the Once Upon a Store in Walt Disney World Downtown Disney district!

Happy collecting!