Today’s post brings my first ever Pandora Disney review, with a closer look at the new Cinderella’s Castle dangle and the Mickey & Minnie safety chain from the Disney Parks Spring 2015 collection! These are available only at Disney Parks locations in North America, or online from the US Disney store. These were my two favourites from the new collection – especially the safety chain, with its cute black and red enamel detailing!
In this review I’ll be taking an in-depth look at both charms individually and then offering some ideas as to how you might style them!
Also, FYI – I did order these to the UK from the Disney Store online, but the shipping charges were astronomical – and then I got customs charges – plus the shipping company charged me again for customs handling when the package actually got here. So I don’t think I’d do that again, lol.
Cinderella’s Castle
There were actually two new Castle designs released with the collection: Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and Cinderella’s Castle. However, the one I fell in love with was the Cinderella’s design on the right – it looks more elegant, and, for me, it’s more like the iconic Disney logo design! It also looks most like the Disney Land Paris castle, which I visited last summer, and this is a great charm to remember that.
The detailing is gorgeous, with all the details of the individual turrets and windows picked out. In style, it reminds me a lot of the National Icon series.
The other side of the Castle is slightly different in its detailing, as you can see here. The charm feels substantial, with a nice weight to it. The flip side to that is that it is quite big in person, however – a little on the chunky side. You do feel it when you’re wearing it.
The charm has ‘Walt Disney World’ written on the base, as I suppose technically it’s supposed to be a souvenir from that particular park. However, the script is pretty and it isn’t obtrusive enough to detract from the design.
In terms of styling, I’ll be wearing my Cinderella’s Castle with the effeverscent muranos from the Winter 2014 collection! I’m planning on adding the delightful Cinderella’s Pumpkin Coach to complement the Castle, and to add a touch more sparkle. I love the contrast between the clear pavé pieces and the darker muranos – they all glitter beautifully in the light, in their different ways.
One of the things I wanted to demonstrate with designs like this one is that many of these Disney pieces are wonderfully versatile, and you don’t need to construct a whole Disney-themed bracelet to make them work. The starry, midnight theme that characterises this design is perfect for Cinderella. :)
However, I also tried swapping it for one of the dangles my existing two-tone fairy-tale themed bracelet; it fits in beautifully with Pandora’s regular fairy-tale range. As it’s a plain silver charm, it’s pretty versatile and it suits any number of colours and styles.
This is one of the only bracelets that I have actually finished, and it’s one of my favourites. ^^ Cinderella’s Castle fits in with the other fairy-tale charms really nicely, and makes an especially great complement to the Happily Ever After castle charm (pictured on the left of the bracelet, next to the clip).
Minnie & Mickey Safety Chain
While I absolutely love Cinderella’s Castle, I was most excited to receive the Mickey & Minnie Safety Chain. It’s incredibly cute, and I’ve been desperate for a new safety chain design for some time. The last time Pandora released a new safety chain was Spring 2013 – so on the basis of that alone, I’m inclined to give this design a solid 10 out of 10. ;)
There’s also a similar safety chain with the regular Pandora Disney Spring 2015 collection, featuring cubic zirconia detailing instead of enamel. But I prefer this one, as I’m a big fan of enamel detailing when it’s done right – that little red bow is what makes this design for me. ^^ For me, it’s the more striking of the two designs.
It’s a shame that the only two new safety chain designs Pandora have produced in two years are North-American exclusive, but perhaps they’ll follow up with some regular safety chain designs too.
The finish is very glossy, and the contrast between the black and the silver looks gorgeous, accentuated by the pop of red from Minnie’s bow. It’s worth noting that the design is the same on both sides. :)
The only hesitation that I have is that it has a lot of branding on it – although written very small, and tucked along the sides of each part of the safety chain. All the Pandora Disney charms seem to have quite a bit more branding on them; I suppose this is due to Disney’s requirements.
It’s perfect worn in conjunction with the heart-clasp bracelet! This bracelet also features the silver Steady Heart clips which also go nicely with this safety chain.
This bracelet is home to all my Mickey and Minnie pieces, as they fit in nicely with the red and pink colour scheme I’ve chosen. This is obviously something of a work-in-progress right now, but I am going to eventually add red garnet cabochon spacers and maybe some white Fizzle muranos.
Conclusion
These two pieces were the ones I knew I had to have from the latest Disney Parks collection, and I’m very happy to have got hold of them – even if I did pay something of a premium, lol. They definitely did not disappoint in person, with the Cinderella’s Castle charm offering Pandora’s characteristic attention to detail, and the safety chain featuring a wonderfully cute use of enamel.
While the Castle is quite a versatile charm, my instinct was to fit the black and red enamel safety chain with my other Mickey & Minnie pieces. While the use of enamel is really very cute, I feel like it is very obviously ‘Disney’ and probably works best on a design that features other Disney pieces. In contrast, I was happy to mix my Castle in with designs that focused on the fairy-tales. I associate it less with the Disney parks and more with the films, with Cinderella.
Going forward, I have more Pandora Disney reviews planned, but I’m waiting for my promo items to clear customs. I’m particularly excited to see Eeyore and the Frozen muranos in person! :D
Have you bought any of the Disney Parks collection, or is it on your wish list? Do you have any Disney-themed bracelets?
The castle is beautiful!!!! I would like it and the safety chain too, but the other one.
I have Eeyore: you will see how cute he is! :)
It is really lovely! :D I’m also tempted to get the cubic zirconia Disney safety chain – if only because I am desperately in need of more safety chains haha.
I am actually so excited for Eeyore to arrive!! He’s the Disney character I most wanted them to do, so I’m thrilled that they’ve done him already. <3
I love my Spaceship Earth park exclusive charm. I’ve got another couple of purchases planned but am now thinking how fab the safety chain would look on my heart clasp bracelet!
Definitely – either of the Disney safety chains would look great with the heart clasp!
Still waiting on my Pooh and Eeyore to come in.
I love the castle. Very pretty and detailed. How much of a drop does it have? Some Pandora pieces have so little drop that it’s hardly noticeable, while others seem huge in comparison.
Hope they come in soon! I’m rsther impatiently waiting for Eeyore too haha.
It’s quite a big charm – it hangs low compared to a lot of others, if that’s what you mean :) it’s comparable to the national icon series, if you have any of those charms.
Those are both gorgeous! I am not a real big fan of the safety chain available at the Pandora stores so I am really hoping to score the Muckey & Minnie chain in the future. I have a Disney bracelet started with Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat, Sleeping Beauty’s castle, the 2015 Disney Parks blue enamel charm, Minnie’s cupcake, and the Mickey icon dangle.
I have a ridiculous wish list but I keep trying to remind myself this is a 10 year deal between Disney and Pandora. That said, I plan to add the safety chain, Cinderella’s castle, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Spaceship Earth and one of the Disneyland 60th Anniversary charms.
Oh, I completely forgot. I also have the Cinderella heart. So pretty!
The Cinderella charms are especially gorgeous! I stuck with the Castle and the Coach for now, but I was very tempted by the heart too. <3
I definitely prefer the enamel version, as Minnie’s bow is much more obvious – I hadn’t even noticed it on the cubic zirconia version! I do still like the other though and I’m slightly tempted just because I need more safety chains haha.
Your bracelet design and plans sound great, really fun and very Disney! :D the cupcake is probably my favourite Mickey/Minnie design, it’s so cute!
I’ve just bought off of ebay from in the UK the Mickey all around spacer.
Awesome, I have that one too – it’s very cute!
I have just recieved it in the post today and I love it, It’s so cute and will look great.
Bet you can’t wait for the rest of your disney charms to arrive. I’m interested to see some more pictures of them and to see what you think of them.
I would like to eventually get some more of the disney charms, I’m just trying to pick them up, off of people in the UK on ebay.
Yay, I’m glad you like it! It just adds that extra bit of sparkle, and the little Mickey heads are very cute.
The rest of my Disney pieces arrived today and I’m so thrilled! They truly are gorgeous – every single one of them. Can’t wait to review them! :D
I am so desperate to get a disney murano! My bracelet currently is silver and white with the ladybird charm, so I’m unsure of which colour to get. I love the cinderella murano (blue is my favourite colour and the cinderella one is such a dreamy shade), but then I wonder if it won’t look nice with the ladybird and if I should go for Anna’s murano since it is a pretty and bright shade of pink. I’d appreciate any advice! I love the look of the safety chain in your review, I wish Disney Pandora was sold worldwide <3
Ooh I understand your dilemma, I had a tough time choosing too lol. The Ladybird’s colour is actually quite subtle and I don’t think it would clash too much if you wanted to mix the Cinderella murano in there :) especially as the Cinderella murano is quite a subtle pastel shade. Plus it would look great with your white pieces! The pink murano would undoubtedly look great as well (I love that bright pink too!) but if the Cinderella is what you really want, I’d go for it!
Hopefully the licensing issues are sorted and the Disney charms make it out worldwide at some point in the future. All these customs fees are really taking their toll haha.
Thanks a lot for your reply Ellie. :) I’m so excited for you when your muranos arrive. I love looking at photos other people have posted of their Disney muranos, I have seen some great ones on instagram lately and the glow in the dark effect is so shimmery and pretty (my first impression was that I thought it may look a bit tacky, but it really seems to look beautiful). I looked at your review of the ladybird again and saw your photo of it with the ladybird murano, so maybe the Cinderella one will look nice since I’m not adding in any other colours. Thank you for the advice!
Thanks – I should have them by Friday, I am so over-excited lol. I was also concerned about the glow-in-the-dark effect being a bit cheap/luminous, but the live shots really have made it look beautiful – I think someone compared the effect to fireflies at night, which does sound pretty. It will be very interesting to test them out in person! <3
Yes I was just looking at the ladybird today and comparing it to the blue butterfly murano – and I'm increasingly convinced that the Cinderella murano would look lovely with it! The Ladybird's colour is really subtle, more pink-y, and it looks great with purples and blues i think.
Sorry that was meant to say butterfly murano… I am crazy about the new cute ladybird if you haven’t noticed. :P
I’m crazy about him too, so I’m right there with you haha! It was my first Spring purchase, it’s just so cute <3
Love your review. The castle looks amazing definitely a favorite of mine. Are you reviewing the Cinderella coach and any of the Disney muranos. I’m interested in your thoughts of the glow in the dark muranos lol.
Thanks Linda! <3 Yes, I'll definitely be reviewing all my Disney pieces, I can't wait for them to arrive. I'm very curious myself to know what the glow-in-the-dark effect is like! My tracking says that they're in customs now so hopefully it won't be long. The wait is killing me slightly haha!
I have ordered the parks exclusive bracelet along with the Cinderella Castle charm for my 2 daughters ages 22 & 13, as well as 1 for myself. We are visiting Disney World in June. I plan to give them the bracelets as soon as we arrive with the 1 charm to commemorate our trip. While we are there they we will be able collect the other charms that are available building their individual bracelets while making awesome memories.
That sounds great, what a lovely way to remember your trip! Lucky girls :) The Cinderella Castle charm is definitely the perfect charm to represent Disney, good choice!
Ellie, I got this safety chain with a help from a friend. It’s so lovely! Sad to hear about you incurring all the nasty costs from customs. You should have sought help from a friend!
Yes it’s gorgeous! Haha I definitely will go the unofficial route next time. It was quite early in the morning when the Disney Store updated and I was a bit over-excited and just went for it lol. It definitely was not cost-effective at all! ;)
Thank you for such an extensive review. I love Disney but Pooh bear is my favourite though. The Mickey and Minnie safety chain is so adorable though. I have been checking spontaneously the Disney Store website but it is not listed. Thought of purchasing it for a red and black travel themed bracelet which I have yet to start. Talk about planning ahead. Haha.
Unsure of which charm to get to remember Hong Kong by…. it is only the first Disneyland that I brought my child to, I think your idea of the Cinderella castle resembling the Disneyland logo is an awesome idea! I might get this castle instead of Pooh. Hmmmm…..
Looking forward to your reviews of the glowy Disney muranos. So excited!
Eeyore is the Disney charm I most wanted them to do – but Pooh and Tigger are close seconds! ^^ The cute Disney animals are the ones I’d most like to see made into charms haha, although the princess beads are beautiful, too.
The castle is really beautiful in its detailing – I would definitely pick it as the perfect charm to commemorate a trip to Disney land or just to represent your love of Disney in general. <3
I'm very excited too haha! I've just had a ping to say that they will be out for delivery tomorrow. Yaaaay! I'm actually away until Friday but I'm excited just knowing that they'll be there, lol.
Did you get my email with my picture of my Disney bracelet? Can you post it here please if you did thanks Ellie
Hey Carla, no I didn’t! :( The email addy is mora0pandora@gmail.com – or you can message the pic to me on Facebook. I’d love to post it!
That’s the e mail I sent it to, never mind I have messaged you it on Facebook thanks Ellie
Here it is! And it’s beautiful! ^^
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I love those Minnie muranos!
And here’s another shot from Carla of the new Disney Parks Pandora packaging <3
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Thanks for the reviews! I love the Cinderella mixed in with the Fairytale theme. I really want to do a Disney themed bracelet. I have one with the standard charms from several years ago! I really want to do a Princess themed one for my daughter. She’s turnkng 16 in October. I may start it and add a couple each month. Then she will have a bracelet started. I hope that we can go to Disney World for her birthday. I look forward to seeing your other pieces!!
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed them! A princess theme sounds great – you could do a really beautiful mix of the new Disney princess charms and the existing Pandora fairy-tale range, which has some really wonderful pieces. I love the Happily Ever After castle charm; it goes particularly well with the whole Disney style. <3
Thanks for commenting Elizabeth <3 The rest of my Disney pieces should be with me by Friday, I am ridiculously over-excited haha!
Hi there!
Would like to ask isit possible if you can provide the link for this two charms? :)
Hi! How do you mean? I got mine from the Disney Parks store online. This is the link:
http://www.disneystore.com/pandora/mn/1025021/
They are out of stock right now, so they’re not showing up there currently. Hope that helps though :)
Your new safety chain is lovely! I hope they make more safety chains like this, but without Disney. It’s a shame that Pandora’s selection of safety chains is so minimal.
Thank you :D I’m also hoping for more safety chains – it’s a shame that they’ve created two new designs which aren’t available to everyone. Although, having said that, I’d quite like one for the Pandora Rose collection, haha.
Ooh, some Rose safety chains would be splendid! :D
Wouldn’t they just! ^^ My Rose bracelet clasp doesn’t close quite right so I should probably get one for it anyway, haha.
I love the safety chain the castle is nice to but it looks a very large charm.
The castle is rather big – it hangs much lower than most Pandora dangles. The prettiness of the detailing outweighs that for me though ^^
‘In style, it reminds me a lot of the National Icon series.’
Could u link me what is National Icon series? Thanks.
It’s this set of travel pendants:
http://unforgettablemomentspandora.tumblr.com/post/26554470518/national-icons-destination-charms-by-pandora
They were released back in 2012 :)
I loved this collection! Sadly is has sold out:*( do u think disney store online will restock? I’m desperate for some other pieces!
I’m sure they will restock eventually – they’re just a little inconsistent as to when they do. :) Have you tried looking on the Facebook selling pages? You should be able to get some of the Parks collection there if you don’t want to wait!
Hi All,
The Disney Store online has several Pandora items restocked including the bracelet, park specific charms, and safety chain. The Epcot charm sold out while I was online. Hope that helps some of you,
Nicole
Thanks for the update Nicole! :)
Thanks so much for letting me know about the restock! I went on at 7am and the only thing I wanted was sold out! Haha. May I ask how you knew when the restock was going to be? I’ll be looking out for the future! Thanks again Nicole!
I signed up for an alert on NowInStock.net for the Disney bracelet and Mickey/Minnie Kissing Heart. They sent an email this morning (around 6 am cst) that the bracelet was in stock. If you join Pandora’s Tribe on Facebook, there a couple of ladies who will help you obtain the Disney charms from the parks. Just in case you would rather pay them the extra $5 to pick it up for you.
UPDATE! THANK YOU SO MUCH! After having a terrible night then a sad morning finding out the sorcerers hat being the charm I REALLY wanted was sold out I was SO BUMMED! As I stare at my computer screen the out of stock changed to add to bag!! I clicked and it added to my bag!! I screamed lol so excited!! Even if it says out of stock try adding it! By some stroke of luck sometimes it will let you! Thanks again!!!
That’s awesome!! The sorcerer hat is lovely! It is one of my favorites.
Thank you so much for your review of the safety chain! I was able to order the safety chain last week and it arrived yesterday. I love it!!
Yay, you’re very welcome! It’s a very cute piece!
Hi! I love your review and pictures :). I absolutely looove the enamel Disney Parks safety chain and agree with everyone above that it’s better than the Pandora store version!
I just checked the Disney store site and I didn’t see it :(. Has it been discontinued or should I just keep checking to see if they restock?
Thanks! :D
Hi Victoria! Thank you – I much prefer the enamel safety chain, too, the little red bow is just adorable! <3
It's not discontinued but it looks like it's currently out of stock. The Disney Store does restock pretty regularly (although it's a bit random as to when they do), so it's worth checking in with it.
This is the link to the safety chain itself, if you want to keep a tab on that one particularly:
http://www.disneystore.com/mickey-and-minnie-mouse-safety-chain-by-pandora/mp/1374846/1010210/
Hope that helps! :)
How much was the charges for having it shipped, 20% VAT plus duty of 2.5%??
Im trying to work it out, so Id be grateful if you could get back to me…dont want to be stung
Erm it was a while ago so I’m not sure, sorry! Do you mean the customs charges once it got to the UK? I think it was about another £20 at least – there was the 20% VAT on the whole bill from the Disney Store and then the shipping company whacked another admin charge on top of whatever customs had charged me, and made me pay at my door before they’d hand it over, lol.
Hello,
I was hoping you could tell me if the safety chain is a clip-on or screw-on version?
Thanks!
Hi Christie, this safety chain is screw-on! :)