If you’re planning a visit to Disneyland Resort for Halloween, then you might have a chance to purchase the most sought-after merchandise items this season.
Since Sept.15, when the Disneyland Resort started its Halloween season, visitors have rushed to the nearest popcorn stand for an opportunity to buy a glow in the dark Oogie Boogie and/or Mickey Pumpkin popcorn bucket. The Mickey popcorn bucket is only available at Disneyland. The Oogie Boogie at Disney California Adventure.
On the days the popcorn buckets are available, lines form – with many reportedly waiting 30 minutes for the Oogie Boogie – and by the early afternoon on most days they’re gone. Shipments have come off and on through the past couple of weeks. Cast members who sell the popcorn don’t know when more are coming. Disney is tight-lipped about if and when more shipments are arriving.
A Disney official said the buckets are only available until Oct. 31.
As of Thursday, Oct. 12, the items are sold out.
The Oogie Boogie and Mickey popcorn buckets are just the latest themed merchandise that’s struck a chord with visitors purchasing one as a fun Halloween park souvenir, collectors who enjoy the design, and re-sellers looking to profit.
The 16-ounce popcorn buckets retail for $15 with popcorn but on the secondary market on sites such as eBay, the popular Halloween containers have sold for as much as $100. Currently, the Mickey Pumpkin buckets are reselling in the $20 to $40 range. The Oogie Boogie go for $25 to $70.
We spoke to Karlos Siqueiros, a concept manager for food and beverage at Disneyland Resort, and asked how they came up with these designs and their thoughts on the items being re-sold at a higher price.
Q. Give us some background. Tell us about the Disneyland food and beverage concept team and how they come up with designs.
A. We pretty much started developing this team about 17 years ago. Initially, the park sold popcorn in regular buckets but we wanted to be part of the celebration and the story of our lands and parks. We wanted to make themed art.
We started out with funny gags. We had one popcorn bucket of Jack, Sally, and Zero posing as the hitchhiking ghosts. We had one of Lock, Shock and Barrel in a cemetery scene and gave them busts.
Our real big break came about six years ago when we designed a glow-in-the-dark Ghost Mickey. That just took off. There were lines down Main Street, U.S.A. just to purchase it and that opened up the doors for everything else.
Q. What are some of the most popular popcorn bucket designs your team has created?
A. We had a Vampire Mickey a couple Halloween seasons ago. There’s the Cinderella Carriage for the 60th anniversary. Dumbo is my favorite. During Christmas time, we’ve had a Santa Mickey and two versions of an Elf Mickey. We’ve also created the cup-shaped as a poison apple, Beauty and the Beast rose sipper and more.
Q. Why did your team this Halloween season choose Oogie Boogie?
A. It was an easy no-brainer. Everyone knows who Oogie Boogie is from “Nightmare Before Christmas”. The first thing we think about when coming up with a design is if it has a vessel to accommodate the popcorn. It wasn’t a problem here. He’s a giant sack filled with bugs so he had a body shape perfect for the vessel. We were playing with different designs and poses until we came up with this.
And it’s glow in the dark.
Q. What were some of the other concepts and designs your team was thinking about this year?
A. We were thinking of Jack Skellington maybe in a coffin or Sally. We were thinking of what could Sally be leaning on or sitting to have the volume to accommodate the popcorn. We also thought about the Mayor. His head would spin.
Part of our methodology when creating something like this is what is its life outside after the popcorn is gone? Is it going to sit on the shelf or hold Legos? What is it going to do afterward? We want to create something useful.
Q. Are you surprised by how much some of these items sell for on the secondary market?
A. We’ve joked about it, ‘If we can make it on eBay then we’ve made it.’
This is the highest compliment we receive, to know that people like this that much. So we take it as a compliment.
But to be fair for our guests we’ve had to limit these to one per person or else we won’t have enough for people to last the season. There have been times where we don’t make it through the season.
Q. Christmas and the holiday season is coming up. What new or interesting designs should visitors expect?
A. I can’t give away too much. They should expect Mickey in some kind of ugly sweater.
We are also creating a neat series of straws for Pixar Fest.
