The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (98 page)

There’s an impressive variety of hand-crafted crystal and hand-blown glass pieces within the small shop, beautifully arranged on shelves and counters all the way up to the high ceiling. 
When the sun shines through the windows and through the colorful vases, glasses, and figurines, splashing color everywhere, you almost feel as if you’re in a small chapel.

Keep your eyes peeled for
delicate little curiosities, like tiny animals and
Disney
characters, sold at price points under $10, so that even on a budget you can afford a classy and classic keepsake.

Service is courteous and attentive, and you can customize your pur
chase by having Cast Members engrave it; memorialize a special day or special event. Your wares are carefully wrapped and boxed but still, handle them with care. If you’re staying at a
Disneyland Resort
Hotel, have your purchases sent to your hotel.  If not, perhaps check them at the
Pioneer Mercantile
or
Newsstand
until you leave for the day.
Hidden Mickey:
  One of the shop’s three entrances has a colorful design embedded in the floor.  The apple and two plums are arranged in the likeness of
Mickey
’s head and ears.

La Mas
carade d’Orléans

[
FastView:
 
Large selection of pins and pin paraphernalia tucked away at the back of
New Orleans Square,
not far from the
Mint Julep Bar
.
]

Guests will find the tiny
La Mascarade d’Orléans
shop hidden away where
Orléans
and
Royal Streets
flow together.  Like many of the intriguing shops in this district, it has multiple, narrow entrances on different sides, and old-fashioned window panes through which the light flows, making wares inside the shop glimmer.

“Mascarade” is French for masquerade,
an appropriate theme for shop in a district replicating New Orleans, a city of mystery and masks in many senses.  New Orleans is famous for its
Mardi Gras
or “Fat Tuesday” celebrations, in which, traditionally, many city leaders and residents don elaborate masks that can include metallic colors, sequins, feathers, and beads.

In
Disney
’s 2003 live-action film
The Haunted Mansion
, based on the popular
Disneyland
attraction, a fancy 19
th
-century masquerade is the setting for a misfortune that launches the film’s tragic-comic plot.

When
La Mascarade d’Orléans
moved into this space in 1985, it specialized, not surprisingly, in the masquerade masks for which New Orleans is famous.

According to
Chris Strodder
’s
The Disneyland Encyclopedia
, in 1999
La Mascarade
became an antique outlet, selling not only antiques but candles and sundries as well.

In recent years
La Mascarade
became a
Disney pin
shop, and one of the best in the park.  Within its narrow walls Guests find an outstanding selection of
Disney
pins
and pin paraphernalia, not to mention the friendly and helpful Cast Members behind the counter.  Whatever pin you’re looking for, you’ll probably find it here, or Cast Members can direct you to another pin outlet in the park.

Price points range from basic pins for
about $7 up to expensive sets and collections.  There’s something here for every
Disney
pin
trader
and their friends and family, even the kids.  (When she was eight or nine, my niece bought me a
Princess Aurora
pin here using part of her allowance.  Needless to say, it’s the jewel of my
Disney pin
collection.)

Even though it no longer sells masks or antiques,
La Mascarade d’Orléans
remains a vital presence in
New Orleans Square
, a land of
trompe l’oeil
and masks, façades, and secret passages. 
Vive la mascarade
!

Le Bat En Rouge

[
FastView:
 
A treasury of spooky
Nightmare
merchandise, or a high-end ladies’ clothing boutique; goods rotate frequently.
]

The phrase “Le bat en rouge” literally translated from the French means “the bat (or stick) in red”, but the name is a reference to scary creatures like bats, and a play on “Baton Rouge,” one of Louisiana’s large cities.

In times past,
Guests couldn’t miss
Le Bat En Rouge
, with its stunning red exterior and gold trim, and over its door the gold-lettered, ragged black banner that so closely resembled a bat.  Located next to
Club 33
,
Le Bat
’s blazing red and gold colors were one reason Guests would overlook the recessed, much plainer club entrance.

T
his store was a must for fans of
Disney
’s 1993
The Nightmare Before Christmas
, one of
Tim Burton
’s masterpieces.  This tale–dark but suitable for older children–follows
Halloween Town
’s pumpkin king
Jack Skellington
as he stumbles toward an understanding of Christmas.

If you wanted a
Nightmare
pin, mug, blanket, T-shirt, sweatshirt, cap, doll, ring, book, pair of gloves–in short, if you wanted anything and everything to do with this film and its morbidly endearing characters, the appropriately spooky
Le Bat En Rouge
was your one-stop shop.

Then, i
n late summer of 2009, all of the
Nightmare
wares were moved down
Royal Street
and installed in the large eastern section of
Pieces of Eight
.

After several years of popping into
Le Bat En Rouge
to check on the latest
Nightmare
gear, I found it disconcerting to step into its suddenly airy, almost bright premises and see shelves and racks of high-end
Disney
-themed clothing and accessories.  Don’t get me wrong; I love
Disney
clothes.  But it was jarring to see sunny merchandise in a store called
Le Bat En Rouge
, with its lurid red-and-black exterior.

The extremely courteous and
helpful Cast Member staffing
Le Bat En Rouge
that morning explained to me that the
Nightmare
wares were moved to
Pieces of Eight
because there’s more room there.  Unquestionably, in its digs at the northeastern end of
Pieces of Eight
(eventually rechristened
Port Royal Curios and Curiosities
), the
Nightmare
merchandise had more room to spread out and to be displayed to advantage, and was paired with
Haunted Mansion
merchandise, which was abundant in the wake of the
Haunted Mansion
’s 40
th
anniversary.

And
indisputably, the themes of
Nightmare
and the
Haunted Mansion
(greed, riches, monsters, madness, ghosts, and skeletons) are compatible with the
Pirates
theme, which is handy, since
Pirates of the Caribbean
merchandise continued to be sold next door in the compacted
Pieces of Eight
shop.

Le Bat En Rouge
received a lovely wood, stained glass, and wrought iron sign in 2010.  Even in early 2011, it continued to vend high-end
Disney
clothing and accessories within its creepy walls.

But t
his is a location that’s reinvented itself in the past.  It never stays the same for long.  Before
Le Bat En Rouge
moved here in 2006, for example, this space was occupied by
La Boutique de Noël
, a pretty Christmas shop.

And
I was very,
very
happy to report that by summer 2011,
Le Bat En Rouge
had re-invented itself once more–it was selling
Nightmare
and
Jack Skellington
merchandise again.  The delightfully creepy premises of
Le Bat En Rouge
were once more the haunt of
Jack
,
Sally
,
Scary Teddy
–all the
Nightmare
gang.

But–
what’s this?  By early 2013,
Le Bat En Rouge
was once again a boutique for women’s fancy clothing.  The
Nightmare
wares were once more stocked at
Port Royal Curios and Curiosities
.

And–
what’s this?  In March 2013, all the
Nightmare
merch was back at
Le Bat En Rouge
, and the high-end women’s
Disney
clothing and accessories were back at
Port Royal Curios and Curiosities
.  This stayed constant through the spring and summer.

Then, in September 2013, the merchandise switched shops
again
(that’s a lot of movement during one year!).  As Halloween approached,
Nightmare
wares returned to
Port Royal Curios and Curiosities
and
Le Bat En Rouge
became a high-fashion haven once more.

So, what
on earth gives with the constant back-and-forth of the merchandise between the two shops?  An intrepid research assistant (aka my awesome sister) confirmed with a Cast Member in March 2013 that the merchandise is swapped at least once a year, generally around Halloween when they’re highlighting scary items.

So, for now
Minnie
and high-fashion fans, set your sonar for
Le Bat En Rouge
, presently a cavern of high-end
Minnie
tees, jackets, pj’s, purses, and accessories, probably the most extensive
Minnie
collection I’ve ever seen in the park in one place.  For now
Jack
and
Sally
are back at
Port Royal Curios and Curiosities
, but they may be back at
Le Bat En Rouge
in the blink of an eye.

See what’s for sale
at
Le Bat En Rouge
when
you
visit.  Happy shopping!

L’Ornement
Magique

[
FastView:
  Disney
ornaments from the modest to the expensive.  A treat even if you’re just browsing, though the narrow space is a mite claustrophobic.
]

It’s Christmas all year long at
L’Ornement Magique
, which replaced
Le Gourmet
at the intersection of
Orleans
and
Royal Street
in 1998.  Shops come and go over the years in
New Orleans Square
, or move, or re-imagine themselves, but in keeping with the district, they’re always dedicated to the finer things.

L’Ornement Magique
sells expensive-but-worth-every-penny-if-you-can-afford-it holiday ornaments and tree-toppers, each one a little masterpiece and some with
Disney
themes.

The
original draw was designer
Christopher Radko
’s imaginative work.  Another fine craftsman attracted, like the
Arribas Brothers
, to
New Orleans Square
’s enchanting venue,
Radko
uses European glass and old-fashioned techniques to craft his ornaments, which are then gorgeously hand-painted.  The ornaments are lovely and highly collectible.  Guests visited
L’Ornement Magique
to treat themselves or someone special to a
Radko
decoration.

Having spent the formative years of my childhood in Germany, I have an affection for traditional European Christmas decorations.  One glance awakens in me a deep affinity, rooted in Christmases when I was three and four years old and our family had a
tannenbaum
(Christmas tree, or, literally fir tree) decorated with delicate, richly colored glass and metal ornaments