Recycling the Magic<\/a>, a shop packed with authentic Disney-park history, offers everything from props and furniture to clothing and rare memorabilia.<\/p>\nAnd if you arrive early enough, you might even catch owner Becky Usher pulling up in her prized 1966 Land Rover.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is because Walt Disney used this vehicle,\u201d she says proudly, pointing out that it\u2019s the same one Disney drove after purchasing swampland in Central Florida.<\/p>\n
Her passion isn\u2019t subtle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very obsessed with all things Disney,\u201d Usher admits with a smile.<\/p>\n
That obsession fills every inch of her shop, which she describes simply: \u201cAnd so, what we sell in here is memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the earliest pieces is a Snow White doll from the 1930s.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the most amazing thing about her is Walt Disney actually signed this doll,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
Ride remnants are especially popular with collectors.<\/p>\n
Holding a piece of park history, Usher notes, \u201cThis is first generation of Buzz Lightyear spin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not everything there will break your budget, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you can take home a nice outdoor patio chair for 50 bucks. And it was used at the Animal Kingdom Lodge,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Prices start at a single dollar, but some items are priceless \u2014 like her original Dumbo ride vehicle from Magic Kingdom\u2019s opening year.<\/p>\n
Usher\u2019s been offered $200,000 for it, but she\u2019s firm: \u201cI am not selling this Dumbo.<\/p>\n
This is my private collection, but I choose to bring it to the store. It\u2019s what I call eye candy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collectors come from around the world to experience the nostalgia including France, England and Australia.<\/p>\n
One of those fans is Lidianne Martins, who shops there several times a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing here is almost like being in a fantasy. Like in a movie kind of thing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s transformed her home into a personal Disney showcase because, as she puts it, \u201cKind of feels like you\u2019re bringing a bit of history home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly everything in the store passes through Usher\u2019s hands before landing on the shelves.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I genuinely don\u2019t ever know what\u2019s coming through that door,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
While Spectrum News 13 was there, a former Disney Imagineer walked in carrying an original 1971 monorail costume and a pirate animatronic head \u2014 an arrival Usher greeted with pure joy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Pirate Head, monorail costume. You know my life does not get any better than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a life \u2014 and a passion \u2014 she shares with anyone wanting to bring a little magic home.<\/p>\n
Recycling the Magic is located in Oakland, just west of Orlando on Colonial Drive.<\/p>\n
The store is open seven days a week and welcomes all visitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND, Fla. \u2014\u00a0If you\u2019re a Disney fanatic \u2014 or just hunting for a holiday gift unlike anything else…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[7150,1011,1013,274,28,7151,1190,1335,139,141,140,11881,135,278,20871,835],"class_list":["post-80963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-app-florida-on-a-tankful","tag-app-human-interest","tag-app-latest-human-interest-stories","tag-app-top-stories","tag-florida","tag-florida-on-a-tankful","tag-human-interest","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-randy-rauch","tag-tampa","tag-top-stories","tag-trip-on-a-tankful","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}