Theme Park Scope

I want to start by admitting that I don’t usually get emotionally invested in T-shirt drops. A shirt is a shirt, right?

Then Disney introduced the second collection in the Disney | Bobby Kim collaboration, and suddenly I’m looking at Gargoyles artwork and feeling things I did not expect to feel on a Friday morning.

If this is the first you’re hearing about the collaboration, here’s the quick version. Disney | Bobby Kim is an ongoing Disney Store collection celebrating vintage-inspired Disney T-shirts, and it’s sold on DisneyStore.com. Bobby Kim is Disney’s VP and Global Creative Director, and the whole idea, in his own words, is that the collection “celebrates the legacy of the Disney T-shirt itself.” He also called the shirts keepsakes, which is exactly the kind of line that makes me want to buy one and then never wash it.

The first collection, Classics, already came and went. It kicked off with a Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey long sleeve tee in black that debuted at the D23 2026 Disney Style Around the World panel on August 15. The story behind it is great, by the way. It was inspired by a vintage shirt Bobby spotted in a shop window in Harajuku. That online sale was one day only, on August 17, while supplies lasted. The rest of Classics sold from August 20 through August 23, and it included an Oliver & Company tee in white, which was inspired by the first Disney animated film Bobby saw in theaters, a navy Little Mermaid tee drawing on the colorful style of 1980s Disney shirts, a Lady and the Tramp tee in ivory, a black Scar tee featuring Scar, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, and a white Mickey Mouse tee.

Which brings us to the new one. Collection 2 is called Baddies, and it’s eight villain-themed shirts timed for Halloween. It releases October 15 at 6 PM. Pacific, which is 9 PM ET, exclusively on DisneyStore.com. Disney Parks Blog doesn’t list prices for any of the shirts, so I can’t tell you what they’ll cost, and I’m not going to guess.

Here’s the full lineup, and I’m going to walk through it like a yearbook, because that’s how my brain works.

There’s a Baddies group shirt featuring villains from Alice in Wonderland and Snow White, including Maleficent and Cruella de Vil. Then there’s Gargoyles, a gothic vintage homage to the series that aired on The Disney Afternoon. (If you just whispered “oh my gosh” out loud, welcome, you’re my people.) Halloweentown centers on the jack-o’-lantern from the Disney Channel film, which feels like the most perfectly October shirt possible. Skeleton Mickey is a modernized Mickey design, and Bobby said it might be his favorite in the whole collection. Magica De Spell is inspired by a classic comic cover and features Scrooge McDuck’s rival. Donald Duck is based on the 1930s short Donald’s Better Self, which shows Donald as both an angel and a devil on the same shirt, and honestly, same, Donald. Jafar gets a red-and-black all-over print from Aladdin. And Vanessa is Ursula’s ballgown disguise from The Little Mermaid.

What I love most about this lineup is how deep the pull goes. It would have been easy to do the obvious villains and call it a day. Instead, you’ve got a nod to Gargoyles, a nod to Halloweentown, a vintage comic reference with Magica De Spell, and a 1930s Donald short. That’s a collection made by someone who really loves the long, weird history of Disney, and not just the greatest hits. It also tells me this is aimed at grown-up fans who remember these things, which is a very specific and very powerful audience. (Hi. It’s me. I’m the audience.)

One practical thing worth knowing. The first collection sold on a limited basis, and both the one-day Sorcerer’s Apprentice sale and the Classics run said “while supplies last.” The Baddies release is also exclusive to DisneyStore.com, so this isn’t the kind of thing you can count on wandering into a park shop to grab later. If the pattern from the first collection holds, I wouldn’t assume everything lasts, but I can’t say how fast any particular shirt will go, and Disney hasn’t said how many were made.

I’m into it, and not just because I’m a sucker for a villain. I think the best part of this collaboration is that it treats the Disney T-shirt like a piece of history, instead of just another piece of merchandise. A shirt can hold a memory in a way a mug or a keychain can’t. It’s the thing you wore on that trip, the thing you found at a thrift store, the thing that got you a compliment from a stranger.

If I had to choose, I’m torn between Gargoyles and Halloweentown, which is a very specific kind of problem to have. I’ll probably end up refreshing the page at 9 PM ET on the 15th like it’s a concert ticket drop, and I will not be ashamed of it.

Now I need to know where you land. Which of the eight is going into your cart first? Tell me in the comments, and if you’ve got a Villain shirt from a Disney trip years ago that you still wear to shreds, I want to hear about that too. And keep checking back with Theme Park Scope, because I’ll be sharing every Disney Store drop, collection update, and merchandise release I can find so you don’t miss your shot.