Ears or Not?

Leslie-

    Ear hats are one of the most iconic Disney souvenirs.  With the variety of ears to choose from, you’re bound to find a pair that is perfect for you.  My favorite ear hat shop is The Chapeau Hat Shoppe in the Magic Kingdom, located on Main Street U.S.A.  I prefer the ear headbands because they are more comfortable than the traditional ears with chin straps, but the traditional ears are just as adorable.  Most ears can be embroidered with a name and/or date for an additional cost.  Do you remember your first pair of ears?

Kayla

     Despite my recent obsession with vinylmations, my original collectible item when visiting the Disney Parks has always been…Mickey Ears! Nothing is more prominently Disney so I was pumped to find out that they would be releasing new sets of ears each month for their promotion this year, they are all so creative! My favorite pair that I own are the ears that I purchased in 2010, “It all started with a mouse” ears. I really enjoy the fun animation design. One pair, 2011 graduation ears, I actually received as a high school graduation gift from my parents! I love seeing kids and adults running around the parks in their ears, it just adds to the fun. However, since I’m protective of my treasures, I keep my ears safe in the hotel room for display at home. Some may say they are expensive, but at about $15 a piece, it’s much cheaper than some merchandise and a tradition I will definitely continue. What about you?

Darleen

 

They're iconic. They bring back special memories... and if you're a Disney fan, especially from childhood, you probably have at least one in your souvenir collection... You guessed it, EARS! Whether you love them or not, or wear them or not, you know you're at Disney when you see EARS! This year has been declared the "Year of the Ear" and Disney is bringing us some special types of ears including Limited Releases each month and even "ear covers" to change the look of your basic pair of ears without buying and storing several different pairs of EARS!  

My favorite memory involving ears revolves around my nieces' and nephew's first haircuts. You see, on Main Street USA there is a working Barber Shop next to the Emporium. When you get your child's first haircut here, (as my nieces and nephew all did) your child will get a special "My First Haircut" pair of ears included to memorialize the occasion!  These are "classic" black Mickey EARS with "My First Haircut" embroidered on the back. Not only can you get your child's first haircut there, but your older prince or princess can get a special hairdo with colored mousse in the shape of a Mickey head or maybe a special "updo" sprinkled with tons of Pixie Dust. But I digress, we're talking EARS here!  

My other special memory with EARS are my "Bride" EARS that I wore during my wedding rehearsal. I wore them quite often on my Disney Honeymoon (ok I'm dating myself, but the term Disneymoon didn't exist then! :)  ) I kept them on display for a long time afterwards. My favorite recent addition to the offerings of ears are called MousekeEars. They are a "mini" version of several different classic EAR styles that can be worn in several ways including as a hair clip!  There have been so many creative styles of EARS through the years and many have even been represented on one of Disney's other recent collectible "craze's"... the tradeable pin. Here are a few things from my EAR collection. I'm looking forward to adding a few new pieces to it this year! So where do you "weigh in" on this discussion? Let us know!