I was going to wait for another four weeks to post a new shirt concept but I had to get this out there because it's been on my mind for the last few days.
When Disney announced the "Glow with the Show" merchandise I was rather upset by the news, but this soon dissolved into shear happiness. Why was I upset? You see, when I'm not looking for fonts, designing shirts or collecting retro theme park merchandise, I'm sketching away ideas in a little journal...a kind of blue sky journal. One of my ideas was to incorporate sound-activated LEDs in the balloons sold nightly throughout the parks. Those balloons would then be synchronized to the nightly entertainment extravaganzas. I shared this idea with one of my fellow Disney dreamer friends and we thought of a new show to incorporate the technology. When I saw the official "Glow with the Show" Mickey ears, I was blown away! Mickey ears make much more sense. Not only are they a MUST for most Disney theme parkers, but they also have a higher price point and make better keepsakes than a simple balloon. After watching the YouTube videos of the new technology synched along with the World of Color, I was simply blown away. Talk about interactivity with guests!
Now if I know Disney—and I do—I know those mad men of merchandising are dreaming and scheming other ways to use this concept with other theme park merchandise. It's pretty much a no-brainer to say that t-shirts MUST be on their product line lists! LED light-up shirts have been around for ages—I remember going to one of my first parties (read: a rave) back in 1998. One of the DJs was sporting one and all the little kandy kids were flipping out over it. Over time, they became more and more available to mainstream audiences and the price point has since lowered. In fact, the company I work for is working on some LED shirts right now for a big event next week. However, the one thing these shirts appear to lack is that they aren't really programmed to music...not like Disney can do!
When turning this idea around in my head, I imagined Epcot seemed the most likely place where Disney World theme park merchandise would debut this new offering. That’s when it hit me: a Designerland reader shared with me an old logo from Illuminations under the notion that I should recreate the design. I thought to combine the new "Glow with the Show" technology along with this old logo. Now if only they would show the original IllumiNations for the 30th anniversary and sell a shirt like this, I would be in Disney Dork heaven.
