If there is one thing that most represents the global might of the Disney Empire, it is...The Ears.
The original Mickey Mouse ears were created as an accessory for Mickey Mouse Club cast members by Disney artist/writer and adult Mouseketeer Roy Williams in 1955, and quickly became a top-selling souvenir at Disney World in Florida following its 1971 opening.
At the consumer level, the Mickey ears have been eclipsed by the Minnie headband. Originally just featuring Minnie’s iconic bow, the headband has since become an asexual branding platform, as likely to be worn by Disney Dad as Disney Mom.
The headband is a universal currency of franchise display, supporting every possible iconography: glamourized, astrocized, glitterized, robotized, Avengercized, Rebellionized, there is nothing that can't be attached to a headband in symbolic form.
Surprisingly, there's one place in Disneyland where you can't buy either the ears or the headband: Galaxy's Edge - for the simple reason that Disney has decided to make Black Spire Outpost as close to an alien spaceport as possible, including restricting the kinds of merchandise that are up for sale.
The good news is, that means that we can hopefully avoid this scenario ever happening in Black Spire Outpost:
It's one thing to have Kylo Ren stalking the streets, but I draw the line at Darth Goofy.
- Sid
