Until now, there had been no merchandise for sale for this new game. Players are yearning for those last cards (#61-70) that were available for a few tantalizing days in the preview, but never since then. Rumors that Disney may sell those cards amounted to nothing. There was no merch at all. It was as if the popularity of the game had taken Disney by surprise. Uncharacteristically, they had nothing to sell.
So fans took matters into their own hands. A few enterprising souls bought card holders such as are common for games like Magic: The Gathering, and then realized that displaying cards in a group had extra advantages, since the SotMK portals could read several (six? eight? they never say exactly) cards all at once.
Since Disney wasn't selling anything, everyone rushed out to Wal-Mart and comic book stores to buy the folders. The proprietors must have been perplexed by the sudden interest--it must have been hundreds of people looking for them all at once.
Disney's late entry to this field of holders/binders for the cards is the only merch for sale, and it still isn't branded to the game. But it will be useful. It holds 90 cards, more than enough for the game. Best of all, it's got a neoprene type exterior and a full plastic layer below that, so when the whole thing is zipped up (another trick those Wal-Mart folders don't have), then the whole thing becomes much more water-resistant. Sounds pretty good, especially when you remember that the SotMK cards are very easily damaged by rain.
Unfortunately, the Disney binder costs $50, quite a bit more than the small ($8) or larger ($12) folders you can get from Wal-Mart or online. The cheaper ones won't have Mickey shapes on them, they won't have a zipper, and they won't be water-resistant, though, so that's the choice you as a customer will have to make.
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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.
