While I’ve been focusing on our recent Disneyland trip the last few weeks, subscription boxes have been piling up around the house. (Well, not so much piling up; we have been opening them.) So this week’s post is a marathon subscription box round-up.
First up: the latest Marvel Collector Corps box, featuring items from the recently-released film, Captain America: Civil War.
This may be one of the largest boxes from this subscription to date, easily rivaling, if not exceeding, the Guardians of the Galaxy box in size. I photographed it next to a bottle of Angry Orchard apple cider to give some sense of the scale.
As I write this, the past week has been a bit stressful. Fortunately, some of that stress was relieved by the arrival of a couple of subscription boxes, one of which was particularly exciting. So, let’s dive in!
The first item of bling listed on the card is the Royal Ring by the ironically-named Vegan Cat. This is a relatively big toy, but it’s the first one I found any of the cats playing with of their own volition out of this box.
The Safemade Fuzzy Fun Toy rattling balls got the cats’ attention. Gizmo, in particular, likes playing with balls that he can bat around. However, he really likes the ones he can pick up and carry in his mouth, and these may be a bit too big for that.
The handmade crown by LeKiwi didn’t elicit much of a response when we tossed it across the room. However, we’ve found that these sorts of toys do better when the cats stumble across them and start wrestling with them.
Same goes for the catnip Keep Calm pillow from Ocala. Personally, I’ve gotten tired of the “Keep Calm” meme, because it frustrates me that it’s everywhere, and I doubt most people spreading it, wearing it, whatever, have any idea of its origins in wartime Britain. But, you know, a catnip pillow toy is a catnip pillow toy. The cats aren’t going to read it, anyway.
Third in variations on a theme, we have a catnip Queen Bee from Safemade. Again, this has been left out to be discovered and mauled.
Finally, for some variety in the toys, we got a pair of Royal Mouse Slippers from Ocala. They’re at least a different shape and size than the catnip pillows, designed more for chewing. They’re light enough that Gizmo could carry them around, if he so chooses. And the card says that they’re good for cleaning the cats’ teeth, which is something they all need help with.
Finally, while the card said this box contained dental treats—which we are getting our cats used to—we actually got holistic natural feline treats from Bench & Field. While treats are always welcome—in small doses—we are focusing their treat-getting on dental treats right now. And, if these aren’t crunchy, Rumplestilskin probably won’t eat them anyway.
Individually, there are some cute pieces this month, and, as you can see here, Gizmo is definitely interested in the royal ring. (Apologies for the pillarboxed format. I wasn't thinking when I took the video and held my phone the wrong way.)
However, the abundance of catnip pillows, while adorable, isn’t really stirring my creative juices as far as writing about them.
Those creative juices were much more stimulated by the arrival of our first Ghost Post box from the Ghost Relations Department of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. This box is limited to three monthly boxes, and the number of subscribers was limited to 999. Reading the description, we were intrigued at the idea this this isn’t a typical subscription box full of collectibles.
“Each box is a chapter in an unfolding story that connects you directly to the ghosts of the Haunted Mansion. In the boxes, each item will have certain hidden qualities and secrets for you to discover, and each one will become a prop in your experience – revealing a little bit more of the story.” Each of the objects in the box is designed to interact with an iPhone app, and that all becomes part of the story.
It should be obvious from this blog that my wife and I are subscription box addicts, and we are also Disney addicts, particularly the attractions at the Disney Parks. I am really fascinated with the idea of stories based on the attractions, whether it’s the backstory to the Tower of Terror (and its connections to the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe in Disney’s California Adventure) or the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, or the Disney Kingdoms comics based on attractions like Figment/Journey Into Imagination or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. So, despite the high price tag, we went ahead and subscribed, in the brief window before they sold out.
The box itself is a beautiful design, very much in keeping with the Haunted Mansion theme.
Upon opening, we found a letter and a manila envelope glued to the inside of the lid, while a couple of objects—a teacup and a small figurine—were nestled in a protective cardboard insert.
Underneath that insert, we found a few more flat objects:
a cardboard kit that assembled into a housing for your “phantom radio,” which is the iPhone app,
And a deck of cards featuring characters and images from the Haunted Mansion.
Inside the manila envelope, we found several more artifacts: a copy of the Grim Gazette (a newspaper from the spirit realm),
An instruction card detailing how to get and sign into the phantom radio app (along with some in-story history),
An invitation to the wedding of Constance Hatchaway Harper Banks—a name familiar to fans of the Haunted Mansion—and the Marquis de Doome,
And a broom advertisement with some mysterious holes punched and burned into it.
And this is the point at which I have to explain how I have decided to write about this box. So much of the fun comes from discovering how things work and the messages that are revealed, I don’t want to spoil things too much. Maybe in a few months, when we have all the boxes and the story is completed, I’ll post a more detailed description showing all the tricks. For now, I’m going to talk about them in more general terms.
If you look at the letter from the Ghost Relations Department, it says, “Most mortals find spirit writing easiest to read when the paper is dampened with water.” This was one of our first clues that there was more to this box than just scanning the items with our iPhones and listening to audio clips. Sure enough, when we dampened the paper with water, hidden messages appeared directing us to do different things with the objects.
For example, the wedding invitation played one message when we pointed the Phantom Radio at it. However, a clue about the cold led us to put the invitation in the freezer briefly, and this was the result:
When we scanned the death notice that it had transformed into, we got an entirely different message.
The teacup and figurine were similarly multi-purposed. While they both played audio clips when scanned, the teacup also interacted with another object to reveal another hidden message. The broom ad also paired up with another object to reveal yet another secret. And when both the figurine and iPhone were inserted into the cardboard Phantom Radio, the figurine acted as a tuner.
One final cool wrinkle is that the phantom radio app will apparently play messages or reveal clues or something at specific locations in Disneyland. We will be going to Disneyland soon, so I will report on this feature once we see how it works.
According to the web site, this whole thing isn’t without its bugs. For example, some people have reported having trouble getting the phantom radio to work in the Disneyland park. Others have reported that their phantom radio played clips associated with objects in next month’s box, instead of the correct clips for this month’s objects. (We had one instance of that ourselves.) The Disney Store has promised an update of the app to correct those issues, so hopefully that’ll all be worked out.
Overall, this has already turned out to be a really fun box to play with. We went through everything once, and I already want to go and try to read and listen to everything again to try to put all the clues together. For us, the experience has been well worth the money, and we’re really looking forward to the next two boxes. Knowing that this had such limited availability is a plus, because it makes us feel as if we are part of a special club.
I’ll talk about future installments of the Ghost Post as we receive them. Then, at some future date, when it won’t matter if someone comes across this blog by Googling “Haunted Mansion Ghost Post,” I’ll go into more detail about all the secrets in the box. In the meantime, I hope you understand why I am reluctant to spill the beans.
My wife and I aren't the only ones in the house who receive subscription boxes. Our cats also have their own subscription to the Kitnip Box, a monthly box full of cat toys and treats. (Okay, technically, the subscription is in Rumplestilskin's name, but all three cats share the spoils.) Since my subscription box round-up post turned out to be pretty popular, I thought you folks might be interested in what came in this month's Kitnip box.
Open opening, you can see that everything is packaged nicely in tissue paper, with a nice card summing up this month's theme.
On the back of the card, we get a detailed list of this month's box contents.
Once we've broken the seal on the wrapping, you can see the treasure trove that is this month's haul. Normally, by the time I've gotten this far, Morticia has scented whatever catnip toys are in the box and has jumped up on the table to see what's what. This month, for whatever reason, she decided to let me look through the box on my own. (At least at first.)
The first toy out of the box was the Multipet Cat Toy. These little catnip pouches look like wrapped candies, which our cats always pounce upon when we have them in the house. To be honest, I'm not sure what makes these "multipet," except maybe the fact that there are two of them in the pack? The cats didn't get immediately excited by these, but the next day, I found that one had been carried or knocked across the room.
Next came the catnip beer bottle. Sadly, this is the perfect toy for our household, allowing our cats to imitate the behavior of their humans. (Kidding! We're not that heavy drinkers. Honest.) In general, Rumplestilskin seems to prefer these slightly larger toys, because he is able to grab hold of them and wrestle with them.
The next toy was the Feather Tickler Cat Toy. This one immediately held Gizmo's attention. He's a sucker for cat dancers. This one is basically a short wand with some feathers at the end of it. He found it fascinating. However, the wand is actually a little shorter than his reach, so at one point, while swiping at it, he clawed at my hand by accident. If we are going to play with this toy, I will definitely need to pay attention to make sure I don't get caught again. (It looks like the ribbon wrapped around the stick is just decorative, but I may need to reexamine it more closely to see if it's actually a ribbon to dangle the feathers off of.)
Following the feather tickler came the catnip chocolate bar. Again, as with the beer bottle, it may be a mistake letting our cats play with toys that so closely resemble things we eat and drink on a regular basis, but it's cute.
I thought Gizmo would really be interested in the Mouse in Ball toy. He chases after it when I throw it, but I expected it to hold his attention longer than it has to date. Maybe he plays with it more when nobody is watching it, or maybe it's just a little too big for him.
As I unpacked, Gizmo did show some interest in the Mint Ring, a chew toy ostensibly designed to freshen the cats' breath. I've not seen anyone chewing on it yet, though. I may need to get a bit proactive when it comes to playing with it, and see if they are more likely to chew on it if I'm helping them wrestle with it.
Finally, we got a bag of natural beef lung cat treats. We haven't opened this one up yet. My prediction is that Gizmo and Morticia will gobble them up, and Rumplestilskin will sniff at them and walk away. Obviously, I can't evaluate their flavor, but Gizmo and Morticia show no discrimination whatsoever when it comes to food, and Rumplestilskin tends not to like soft foods. So I'm more interested in the fact that they are supposedly all natural.
Overall, I thought this month's selection of toys were a lot of fun. As usual, some toys hold our cats' attention more than others, but there's always enough successes every month to justify continuing to get the box. If nothing else, Rumplestilskin got to relax with a cold beer, and that makes it all worth it.
I also received the new Marvel Collectors Corps box this week, featuring Deadpool. If I’m honest, Deadpool isn’t a character I’ve ever really connected with. But getting a subscription box means taking a chance, and while he may not be a favorite, I still got some cool stuff.
As usual, as soon as I opened the box, I saw this month’s collectible patch and pin. I wear the pins on my ID badge lanyard at work, and it makes me smile when kids recognize the characters when they see them.
I haven’t done anything with any of the patches yet. Maybe I need to buy some kind of plain sweatshirt or jacket to sew them onto.
The next item to be revealed was this month’s t-shirt. As with the Smuggler’s Bounty, I get a kick out of these shirts featuring the Funko Pop versions of the characters. This is another cute one to add to the collection.
Next came the first issue of the latest Deadpool series, with an exclusive Collectors Corps cover. So adorable!
Speaking of adorable, I also received a push Deadpool Mopeez. It’s got a Collectors Corps tag on it, so I assume this is a Collectors Corps exclusive color scheme.
After that came the exclusive Deadpool Dorbz toy, featuring Cowboy Deadpool.
Finally, came this month’s exclusive Funko Pop, a leaping Deadpool. While I may not love the character, I love the leaping pose and transparent stand he’s on. It makes a nice change from the standard Pop pose.
The next Collectors Corps theme is Civil War, and I’m looking forward to that more than I was the Deadpool box. Still, I got some nice toys and a nice pin, and by subscribing to Collectors Corps for a year in advance, I knew I wasn’t always going to get all my favorite characters. I’m still happy to have these, and maybe this issue of Deadpool will be the one to win me over. Who knows?
