Welcome back Guest Author Amy Gagliardi with a fun article on Disney World 40th Anniversary Kitchen Dinnerware, still available at several shops in Disney World. What a great way to bring a little Disney back home with you!

From Chef Hunnel’s elegant and award winning meals at Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table to a simple cup of French Pressed Kona coffee at the Polynesian’s Kona Cafe, Walt Disney World visitors are surrounded by great tasting and visually appealing options. Much of the food experience is visual and what we see enhances our perception of how food tastes.

I am continually in the market for ways to bring the Disney Dining experience to my home. Those subtle and not so subtle reminders of where I am dreaming to be can help ease the transition period between one trip and the next. On a recent trip my son Peter scouted out a Santa and Mrs. Claus Mickey and Minnie salt and pepper shaker set for our holiday table.

And while he and my daughter Lily were perusing the Art of Disney Gift Shop at Epcot, they came upon the very popular Shag  Disney designer dishes and glassware celebrating the Walt Disney World 40th anniversary.

Dinner Plates By Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily

These packaged plates come in a boxed set of four.

Many are familiar with artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily. Known separately and as a collaborative team they have worked on multiple Disney-related projects and have received national acclaim for their design of items celebrating the Disneyland 50th anniversary.

Their collaboration on these plates renders each colorful plate an artwork in itself, which takes inspiration from a 1970’s Walt Disney World preview map.

Plate one, above, offers a view of a founding father, a bandleader Mickey, a can-can dancing girl, a musician, and a police officer. Each vignette occupies its own section of the plate with bright buildings and landmarks acting as backdrops to each character. Notice the red interior of the dancer’s skirt with a matching pink and red version of the Eiffel Tower behind her, and the Disney Skyway with gondolas running behind the castle.

Plate two is a less busy, but classic, view of the Magic kingdom. The central depiction of the Main Street Train Station and Ferry Boat bring to mind familiar and welcoming aspects of the Magic Kingdom.

Plate three combines staples of both Frontierland and Adventureland. On this plate you will view one of the Country Bears sitting peacefully and strumming on his guitar, the tree house, and a brightly beaked Tiki bird. This plate provides a bucolic memory of how these early lands might have felt.

The ever kinetic movement and streamline design of Tomorrowland is represented in plate four.

From the 2 cars side by side readying for a grand prix race to the train circling the park, from the WEDway PeopleMover to the Monorail running around the plate edges, the representation of movement towards the future can be witnessed here.

The Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily 40th Anniversary plates are square and measure 8.5 by 8.5 in. with an interior flat area of approximately 6 by 6 in.

The cost is $45 for a set of 4 plates. In the event you are interested in purchasing this box set, the SKU number is: 40002962472. These plates might be available through Disney’s Merchandise Guest Services department (877-560-6477).

Disney Drinkware by Shag

Equally colorful and no less fanciful in design are the individually sold 40th anniversary glasses designed by Josh Agle, otherwise know as Shag (last two letters of his first and first two letters of his last name create the nickname Shag). With his ingenious spin on retro inspired art, Shag is a natural to have designed this old fashioned glassware to celebrate WDW’s 40th.

While each glass shares the same depiction of the castle and a lavender toned inscription of the Magic Kingdom on one side, each manifests an individual representation of a different land on the opposing side. Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland and Adventureland have their lands inscribed in bright orange lettering and each glass presents colorful illustrations of their land juxtaposed against the translucency of the glass.

The word Tomorrowland is nestled within the symbol for the atom while illustrations on this glass include 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, a gondola, and the Grand Prix Raceway.

The Fantasyland glass shows a smiling girl wearing classic Mickey Ears, a Flying Dumbo and a Carousel while the phrases “Mad Tea Party”, “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” and “Snow White’s Scary Adventures” are written out and enclosed in a colorful background that accentuates the lettering.

With visions of Swiss Family Tree Houses amid a large tree, the Adventureland glass remains thematically in sync. From the Hippo in the Nile (or “denial” as many of us recall of the old standby script from the Jungle Cruise ride) to other Jungle Cruise depictions, the Adventureland message is clear.

We complete this quadruple offering with the Frontierland glass. The lovely Steamboat and a Native American teepee flank the Frontierland name while a boy sporting classic Mickey Ears shines above.

Here’s a quick video describing Shag’s work!

The cost of each glass is $9.95 and the SKU number is: 0000284478. Each glass measures approximately 4 in. high and are 3 in. in diameter. These too might be available through Disney’s Merchandise Guest Services department (877-560-6477).

The WDW 40th anniversary plates and glasses have brought color to our table and to our lives. It has been a nice way to brighten up the post trip and awaiting the next trip interval.

Are these Disney goodies on your wish list? Let us know in the comments below!