1/31 SHAG Visits the Magic Kingdom, Chilean Miners, Walt Disney World Construction Update

February 1, 2011 Denise

Hi everyone!

Yesterday was an absolutely incredible day! For the first time ever, Josh Agle, the artist known as SHAG (I am a big fan of his work) signed his new 40th anniversary lithograph at the Uptown Jewelers on Main Street. And the rescued Chilean miners were part of a pre-parade, receiving a key to the Magic Kingdom in a short ceremony.

Remember to check out our video of the Magic, Memories and You! show! And thank you to our newest advertiser, Garden Grocer! Garden Grocer is a terrific service that delivers groceries to the resorts (so you don't have to leave to go shopping!)

We got to the Magic Kingdom a little later than I'd originally set out for, I wasn't sure how long the line for SHAG would be. While SHAG is predominately thought of as a West coast artist, I figured there would be quite a following here as well. We got in a short line just over an hour away from his signing, and the line formed pretty quickly behind us. The signing wasn't heavily publicized, but I was thrilled to see so many people show up to see him! We were told that he may be here a few more times this year for different pieces of artwork, and I hope that is the case. We brought other pieces of artwork we owned of his in case he'd sign, and he did. He's a very nice man and laughs a lot!

Arriving at the Magic Kingdom:

The way Disney sold the artwork went very smoothly. A cast member would take someone's place in line so that the guest could buy the artwork, and then the next person was able to go. By the time SHAG arrived, a lot of the guests in line had already purchased their items.

We really enjoyed our hour waiting in line. A couple of guests had been on the Disney Dream Maiden Voyage and they talked about the merchandise situation, it sounds like it was crazy! They had also gotten to meet SHAG on the cruise, he'd been signing his new Disney Cruise Line artwork. We almost had bought a couple of his lithos when on the Christening Cruise, now I wish we had! (but we've been talking about taking a Disney Dream cruise for fun later this year, so we may have the opportunity again).

You'll see the Dapper Dans in the background in the first couple of photos, they sang "Grim Grinning Ghosts" for SHAG, it was absolutely delightful and I was able to capture a minute of it on video: