Photo by Jason Greene

Ron's Miniature Shop
751 W. Colonial Drive, 407-841-9333

WE SAID THEN: Need an Oriental rug that will fit in your wallet? How about a ficus tree as tall as your finger? Or a pizza the size of a quarter? Actually, "need" doesn't describe the fascination some people have for the tiny goods available at Ron's. If you want to see a little girl's eyes light up – even the tomboy types – take her to Ron's and turn her loose in the museum section up front, where dozens of dollhouses and shadowboxes are crammed together. There's a Chinese pagoda, a Victorian theater (with yawning audience, actors changing backstage, and a tiny Phantom abducting a tiny Christine in the cellar) and my personal favorite, a spooky-ooky Addams Family mansion. Those for whom shadowboxing does not involve jabs or fancy footwork can find everything they need to create, God-like, a minute replica of the real world – from furniture and figurines (OK, dolls) all the way down to bitty little newspapers and replica Roseville vases. Imagine the sick possibilities: a dinky re-creation of Marilyn Monroe's death scene, complete with little Pucci scarf, itsy box of hair dye, tiny vodka bottle and a spill of microscopic pills.

WE SAY NOW: This shop is still Polly Pockets' dream mall, where you can find anything from a tiny pink pig for 25 cents or a Barbie-sized mansion for $1,700, pre-assembled. We're glad some things never change.

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