Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) 
Questions About Dream Valley
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
History...| Q. | Where did you find all the MLP information contained on Dream Valley? |
| A. | I'll answer this question by first explaining that the information you read on Dream Valley wasn't 'found', but rather accumulated over the last two decades since I first began collecting My Little Pony in 1983. I kept nearly all my backcards, boxes, and other packaging, so that's how I still know all the ponies' names and much of the other info about them. As my collection grew, I kept details lists and inventories of the ponies and other items I had acquired to keep track of many of the related accessories such as brushes/combs (types, colors) and ribbon colors that I still use today. I keep track of the current line of ponies in a similar fashion, but much of the info goes straight onto Dream Valley. Some of the info is provided by other collectors (visitors to Dream Valley), mainly for MLP items I either did not have as a child or international items I never knew existed until recently. Everyone who has provided info that I have used on Dream Valley can find their name on the Site Credits page...thanks! |
| Q. | Where did you get all the MLP artwork (used in pony groups headers, etc.) on Dream Valley? What about the photos? |
| A. | As stated above, throughout my years of collection MLP, I kept almost all of my backcards, boxes, and booklets, and that's where most of the graphics are from. Some are also from MLP coloring books, puzzles, posters, and other official MLP merchandise, and have been somewhat customized for use on the site. All photos, unless otherwise noted, are from my personal MLP collection. Please see the question regarding downloading graphics... |
| Q. | Where did the name 'Dream Valley' come from? What about other terms used on this site (i.e. '[G1, G2, G3]', 'symbol', 'Cutie Mark', etc.)? |
| A. | The Dream Valley website was named after the little ponies home in the 80s, which was the central area of a larger region called Ponyland. Ponyland included several areas, each home to a variety of creatures, including other ponies, best explored on the 80s My Little Pony TV series, specials, and movie. Aside from Dream Valley, Ponyland included Flutter Valley (home of the Flutter Ponies), Royal Paradise (Princess Ponies), Grundleland (The Grundles), The Mushromp (the Moochick), the Black Mountains (the Witches), the Jewel Desert, etc. The ponies issued in 1997-2003 remained in Ponyland, as named in countries outside the U.S., but became Friendship Gardens here (1997-1999). Since then, the name 'Ponyland' was used for Ja-ru fakies, and abused by the otherwise acclaimed TV show Arthur, which may or may not have led to the newest name of the ponies' home: Ponyville (2003-present). D.W.'s Ponyland aside, collectors, check out the painfully accurate 10th season episode "World Girls". The 'G' terms were adapted from Transformers, as the second line was marketed as Generation 2, shorted by collectors as G2 (thanks ~LM~). G1, in My Little Pony refers to the original 1982-1995 ponies, G2 are 1997-2002, and G3 are the newest ponies (2003-present). It probably started on another MLP site and is now commonly used by collectors. I personally coined the term 'symbol' in reference to the picture on the pony's hips and/or sides, mainly because in the 80s, Hasbro never had an official term for the designs. It has been passed along and used by other collectors since first appearing on this site. In 1997, Hasbro's unflattering 'rump design' was sometimes used. In 2003, Hasbro began using the term 'Cutie Mark', however, it was uncertain whether it referred to the hip symbol or the new small heart on a pony's hoof until later in the series, when storybooks began referring to the very notable hip designs of the earliest G3 ponies. The grouping of G1 ponies referred to as Years 1-10 was also created for Dream Valley and is being used by collectors to refer to even the newest ponies to separate the yearly release of each line. For years I referred to these annual sets as 'editions' (which is why the file names of these pages are '2nd_edition_ponies.html, etc.'), but I decided that Year 2, 3, 4 etc. was easier to use. |
Technical...| Q. | Why did Dream Valley change servers/URLs? |
| A. | For several years, Dream Valley was run off of a server as a business site (because of its size). However, I was no longer able to afford the costs of "business" site, and had to move the site to a less expensive server (thanks to everyone who offered suggestions!). Many people offered to donate to Dream valley of help cover the costs of keeping it online (webspace, bandwidth), but so far, after much consideration, it is within my budget to keep the site up in the new server - thanks to everyone involved, your offers are greatly appreciated! If anything changes as far as the future of Dream Valley is concerned, it will be posted on the site. Of course, any purchases made through my Sale/Trade page, my homepage (Archie or Disney collectibles), or my Oak Branch Woods novels directly contributes to Dream Valley. The domain name (dreamvalley-mlp.com) was also changed after causing confusion for visitors to my other non-MLP sites that were run off of a My Little Pony-based URL. |
| Q. | I can't download pictures from your site! What's wrong? |
| A. | Most browsers allow you to download graphics from websites. The only one I know of that does NOT allow you to download and save pictures is America Online. If you are using AOL's browser to view Dream Valley, you will not be able to download pictures. I suggest using a different browser such as Netscape Navigator 3.0 (or above) or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 (or above). However, as many of my newer pictures were custom created by me, I ask that you do not download them and use them for your own sites. Many pages have been locked out to prevent downloading. |
Info & Updates...| Q. | Dream Valley is missing some international ponies that I know exist. Why? |
| A. | Due to the endless number if pony variations that have been discovered over the years as well as being based in the United States, I don't have the resources to provide a complete listing of all international ponies. This is why Dream Valley is asking for help in partnering with other MLP sites that specialize in international ponies and offer multiple sources of information. Requests for international pages, as well as other themed sites, are posted on various pages throughout Dream Valley. Thanks to those who have submitted pictures, info (also always welcome!), and links already! Due to recent outside disputes over the accuracy of Dream Valley's International pages and to avoid further confusion, this section will now only feature a partial listing including first-hand photos and descriptions only featuring ponies and other MLP items from my personal collection and related confirmed information. Read more... |
| Q. | New ponies just appeared in stores. When will your site be updated? What about the rest of the site? |
| A. | Every day, I receive e-mails containing valuable information about the latest ponies, store exclusives, and unusual U.S. and non-U.S. MLP items. This is a great help in adding to my own collection as well as keeping Dream Valley up-to-date so other collectors can do the same. Thank you to everyone who has contributed...this F.A.Q. is NOT directed toward those visitors who have helped keep me informed or have written to me with comments or questions regarding My Little Pony. Actually, this issue is not so much a question as it is a demand, which I personally find unnecessary and also quite rude. These short, one line e-mails often come bearing no information about any specific new MLP items and are presumably from individuals who are unaware of the time and effort it takes to maintain a 270+ page (1,000+ graphics) website such as Dream Valley. In short, I do not need to be reminded when to update and the time it takes to respond to one of these messages could be better used to work on the site. And as many of you have probably noticed, Hasbro is releasing ponies at an alarming rate with the number of ponies issued in a year rivaling amounts available in stories during Year 4 (1986), 6 (1988), and 7 (1989), which were the biggest years for My Little Pony. But like most collectors, I cannot afford to run out an buy an entire set of new ponies the second they hit the shelves, preferring to wait for a sale or even a clearance, which sometimes means only a few ponies per set will be featured on Dream Valley at a time. Even for the most experienced collector, it can be difficult
to keep up with the releases, let alone the updates. If you do not find what you are looking for on Dream Valley, please try another My Little Pony site, as my site is a member if a very large community of MLP resources (it was never my intent to BE the entire community). Dream Valley is in NO WAY in competition with any of these other sites! Dream Valley is a privilege for both me and other collectors; please do not abuse it. Note: As of October 2006, the G3 pages (including ponies, accessories, other items, checklists) will no longer be updated, as I just cannot keep up with the amount of ponies currently being issued. These pages will remain online however, and will not affect the rest of the site. Minor updates will be made to otherwise completed G1 pages as needed, at my own discretion, including Ponies & Friends, Pony Wear & Accessories, Special Mail Offers, MLP Commercials (G1 only), Pony Identification (G1 only), Combs & Ribbons, and site-related pages including F.A.Q., Price Campaign, Webring, Want List, Trade List. These updates may or may not be listed on the What's New page, or only on those individual pages. Info for these pages is always welcome! Other than G3, the following pages will not be updated until further notice: G2 Ponies and International Ponies. Info for these pages is welcome, but will not be posted anytime soon. |
Features...| Q. | Is there a section on "Dream Valley" where I can post my want list and or sale/trade list? |
| A. | No, there is no section to post such lists. But a good place to post your personal MLP ads is the My Little Pony Trading Post. |
| Q. | Does Dream Valley have a banner which I can use on my MLP site/homepage to link back to your site? |
| A. | Yes, Dream Valley now has a banner for use in linking back to the site (under Miscellaneous). Links to Dream Valley are always appreciated (you need not even ask), banner or not. Thanks to everyone who have already linked to my site. |
| Q. | Does Dream Valley have tips on cleaning ponies? Or de-frizzing their hair? |
| A. |
 
I don't find many ponies at yard sales or flea markets in my area, so I don't really know how to deal with ponies with severe damage. For light marks like ink marks, I use nail polish remover (be careful as it may melt certain plastics). I have also been told by several collectors that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser removes marks well. For general cleaning (surface dirt, regular dusting), I recommend Method Cleaning Wipes (as oppose to sprays/paper towel). They are made from natural, soft biodegradable fibers, infused with non-toxic cleaner (and never tested on animals!!), so they are safe for ponies. As with all cleaners, go gently over eyes and symbols and I would not use them on glitter or flocked (i.e. So Soft) ponies. Method Cleaning Wipes come in pleasing scents including French Lavender, Pink Grapefruit, Cucumber, etc. (I wouldn't use these on scented ponies though). You can find Method Cleaning Wipes (and all Method products) mainly in Target stores (while you're there buying all those Target Exclusive Ponies!!)For hair, wash AND condition your pony's hair. The conditioner softens their hair. For more info, please check the MLP Ring of Rainbows for other MLP sites that specialize in pony care. Here are some useful tips provided by Cky:
Just recently I came across and bought a pony I found at a local flea market and she was pretty dirty, but at the same time in very good condition. In fact, after I cleaned her up, she hardly looks like she has been played with. When I first brought her home, I took some regular hand soap and water on a clean toothbrush and carefully scrubbed the dirt off, careful not to scrub her symbol or get very much water around her neck line (where it joins her body). The dirt came right off in a matter of seconds. For her symbol, I simply took damp tissue and lightly went over the dirt. My advice is to be very careful about washing a pony’s symbol. I had a pony once that accidentally got in some water and the symbol smeared and half of it came off when I tried drying her off! I do not recommend using anything other than a damp cloth on a pony’s symbol when cleaning it! When you do clean it with a damp cloth, be sure and clean it lightly and carefully. Don’t bear down on it unless you have to. If you see any paint start to come off or smear, stop and do not clean it.
For the frazzled hair, I took a regular hairbrush (not the comb kind) and went through the tail and mane really good and fluffed it up. After that I soaked both the tail and mane down with water (for this just run running water over it. Be careful and not get water too close to where the mane and tail connects to the pony’s body. Be sure and place your fingers at this point to so that it makes a stopping point. Careful and don't get water on her symbol!), then I took a brush that’s like a comb (or you can use a comb) and got out the tangles and rats and the frizz. I waited until the hair dried well then I took the regular brush again and fluffed it out more. Keep on brushing it until you get it as fluffed out as possible or get it the way you like or want. If the hair is still frazzled or badly frazzled (to begin with), keep on working with it. If you have to, repeat the wetting and comb process.
Bingo! Afterwards I had a used pony that looked brand new! The method of washing the tail and mane brought a new shine and glimmer to it, of which it did not have before.
This pony, of which I used this method on was lightly dirty. For badly dingy ponies, you can try this method as well and see what happens. I do know that toothpaste is good for cleaning ponies too. I used this method on one of my other ponies that was highly dirty and it worked pretty well. You just have to scrub harder and longer, depending on how dirty your pony is.
From Natalie: I find that if you use a
little cream cleaner (the kind without bleach) on a Q-tip you can get
off even the most stubborn dirt with some gentle rubbing, though don't
use it on the symbols. Also, you can rub a little fabric conditioner
onto the ends of very frizzy hair and comb through gently. This will
remove most of the tangles and knots. Just leave it to dry and it'll be
like new.
From Annie: Just carefully pop the heads off, if you can, and spray a few sprays of "Fantastik" cleaner inside and a few drops of water, and give em a shake. Then just turn the pony upside down and watch the mildew and mold disappear. Make sure you rinse them out really well, especially if you are giving them to a child to play with. Also, I've used "Softscrub" cleaner on my ponies to clean the stains and dirt off the outside. Baby shampoo works really well in their hair as well. I wouldn't recommend using a blow dryer on their hair though, it might be disastrous.
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| Q. | Does Dream Valley have any advice for restoring badly-damaged ponies? What about re-hairing/customizing (old or new) ponies? |
| A. | On Dream Valley, there are no tips for restoring and/or customizing ponies (3-dimensional art has never been my area of expertise). However, if you are looking to restore, re-hair, or customize a pony, please visit the following sites:
-Matching and re-rooting pony hair: Baby Sea Shimmer's MLP/Restoredoll Hair Color Matching Guide Have a great site for restoring or customizing ponies? Please e-mail me! Thanks! |
| Q. | Does Dream Valley have a My Little Pony mailing list that I can join? |
| A. | There are several My Little Pony Mailing lists online, however, none are run off of Dream Valley. Please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/ and search for "My Little Pony." Lists include themes such as MLP collecting, buy/sell/trade, fan fiction, role playing, 80's toys, other MLP-related interests, and more. One of the earliest active groups (since 1998), ironically, is called Dream Valley (moderated by Gusty) @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DreamValley/ |
| Q. | Is it okay if I use some of the graphics on your site for my MLP or home page? |
| A. | As mentioned in the previous question, many of my graphics are now being protected from downloading because they are custom graphics, and I wish them to remain unique to Dream Valley. For now, it is still okay to download some of the older graphics; I just ask that you do not link directly to these images; please copy them onto your own server. But like others, please be aware of older customs (i.e. Baby Moondancer holding the envelope in her mouth), and please do not copy. |
| Q. | Can you send me the MLP theme MIDI file on the mane page? |
| A. | You can direct any questions about the MLP midi to its creator Simonne Clay @ mlp_rainbow_dash@yahoo.co.uk. |
| Q. | Can you please send me some MLP files, pictures/graphics, lists, movies, videos, mpegs, etc....? |
| A. | I am not sure what is meant by "please send me some" of the items listed above, as I often receive these requests in short, single sentence e-mails. To answer the question, no. It is not within my ability to send MLP videos or other recordings via e-mail or otherwise in any format. Photos and other MLP graphics on the site are for online use only, many of which are protected from downloading by a "do not copy" safeguard (see above question). I am not in the business of providing downloadable files (custom graphics or otherwise) for public use; this service may be available on other MLP sites - please check the MLP Ring of Rainbows. Printable (mainly G1) MLP checklists (text only) are available here. Many visitors have had the courtesy to ask permission before printing any other Dream Valley's other content for personal (non-profit) use by emailing me, which is greatly appreciated. |
| Q. | I'm doing a school project on My Little Pony/The 1980s. Can I use some of Dream Valley's information and pictures? |
| A. | The information on Dream Valley is general knowledge (such as pony descriptions or commercial text), so it is not exclusive to my site. However, I do ask that you credit Dream Valley (Kimberly Shriner) in your project and that you do not use direct quotations from the site, unless noted (this should be obvious using any kind of research material). I do not wish my photographs to be copied as stated in an earlier question, as they are pictures of ponies from my personal collection. Any other graphics guarded by a 'do not copy' lock out may also not be used. |
What Happened To...?| Q. | What happened to your pages featuring MLP plushies, puzzles, and clocks? |
| A. | These pages were removed during the transition to Dream Valley's new server, originally for lack of web space/bandwidth. However, as I now have the space, they may be returning in the future, but the photos will be retaken, as they were too small and poor quality. Note that this section will feature only MLP items from my personal collection. Thanks for your patience! |
| Q. | What happened to your My Little Pony chat? If there are no plans to bring Dream Valley's chat back, where can I find another MLP chat? |
| A. | The chat was removed on August 3, 1999 because I had received several complaints about people using it for discussions other than My Little Pony. It was also being abused and used for adult conversations and violent role-playing. I had warnings stating that the chat would be taken down if it was abused, and they were ignored. If you are looking another My Little Pony chat, there are others online, however, I don't know the direct URL's to any of them. Please check the MLP Ring of Rainbows |
| Q. | I remember when Dream Valley featured a "Song of the Week". Will that feature ever be online again? Can you send me some of the song files? |
| A. | This feature was removed because the various media players used caused slow loading and malfunctions of some visitors' computers and simply because I did not have the time to change the songs on schedule. Also, the large files took up too much webspace and some people were downloading them for their own use without my permission. After the feature was removed, Baby Lofty's Song Site offered to host the archived songs; the: site: has recently reopened and there are several songs and commercials now available for listening/download in .ra format. Unfortunately, I no longer have any of the MLP songs/commercials that were once used myself because my old computer crashed and all the files (including the corresponding HTML pages and screen shots) that were currently not on an online server were lost. |
 | If you've read over all these questions, and still haven't found the answer(s) |
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