Category: Disneyana

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Pirates Vinylmation

I’m not the biggest fan of Vinylmation, but I love this set that Disney has just come out with!

Most Pirate merchandise Disney puts out is based on the films these days, so it is really refreshing to see a line of figures based on Pirates from the attraction.  Yes there is a Jack Sparrow, but at least he’s in a barrel to make him unique to the animatronic figure in the ride.  My favorite of these Vinylmation figures has to be the Pooped Pirate.  See below:

source: www.vinylmationworld.com

 

Let’s hope more Attraction based Pirates of the Caribbean collectibles come out in the future!

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One Man’s Trash….

…is another man’s treasure!  Such a true statement…

A while back, I went to a garage sale in the San Fernando Valley.  I was looking through a shoebox filled with old Christmas ornaments and something caught my eye.  A plastic bag holding a few ornaments looked awfully familiar.  I reached in the box, pulled out the bag, and I then realized why it looked so familiar.  It was a classic 1980s Disneyland bag!  I remember those bags so well from the park in the good old days!  They have so many great park images on it from Pirates of the Caribbean to the Haunted Mansion!  I took the bag that no doubt would have been thrown in the trash after the sale and it now sits in my Disneyland collection.

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This Is Just Incredible

1962 Park Map

I love park maps.  During the 50th and even a few years after, there was a influx of great park maps.  I would always eagerly await and collect these new maps as they came out.  Then they did the “Year of a Million Dreams” promotion and the park maps took a turn for the worse.  And there’s nothing terribly wrong with them but they almost never change and when they do, none of the designs are as good or creative as they were during the “Happiest Homecoming” celebration.

Then we have these classic park maps.  These are maps of a park that many of us Disneyland bloggers never got to see.  Sure, there are pictures and even old film strips from those early years but these hand-drawn park maps have a level of detail and care that you just don’t see anymore.

I could look at this all day — and I probably will.  But I thought I would share this park map from 1962 posted by Flickr user Wishbook who has a ton of other great park maps.  Check him out!

1962 Park Map
1962 Park Map

CLICK HERE to see a high-res version of the park map and download it as well!

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Captain EO Holy Grail

Sure you may have the glove, or the little red leather jacket, or perhaps even a decent moonwalk, but let me ask you this, do you own an LED Captain EO Disneyland visor?  I’m guessing that you probably don’t, not because you aren’t the biggest Michael Jackson fan of all time, the kind of fan who pretends to know all the thriller dance moves, but because this item has become a rarity in the Michael Jackson and Captain EO collectible market. Let me for a moment reflect on why I think that is.  

Apologies in advance for all the questions; I enjoy a certain rapport with my readers, but have you ever in all of your days at Disneyland spotted amongst the crowds of Disney park-goers someone wearing this piece of sparkling Disney imperfection? The answer is probably no, that is unless you’ve actually had the rare opportunity to catch my blinking head in the park, and the reason for this is immediately apparent for anyone who has ever witnessed or worn this piece of Disneyana.

The problem has to do with the fact that the LED lights are powered by a 9-volt battery.  Yes you heard that correct, a 9-volt battery strapped to the side of your head just in front of your left ear by your temple.  The battery hangs loosely inside of an elastic loop and batteries can get hot, hot enough to burn the side of your Michael Jackson loving face.  Sometimes the price to pay for hip retro fashion is a nasty 9-volt battery burn, lucky me.

Note: The black electrical tape pictured is strictly to compensate for elastic wear and tear.

 

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The Leprechauns of Disneyland

I would like to thank Tim Ray Hodges, the previous owner of Walt Disney’s Little Man of Disneyland, for providing me with the means to review this quirky and odd look at Disneyland’s initial construction.

With that said, did you know that the orange groves of Anaheim were once populated by leprechauns?  Mickey, Donald, and Goofy somehow forgot to ask this dwindling population for the right to tear down their houses and homes in order to build the many wonders of the Magic Kingdom.  If this were true, which I’m sure it is, they could have at least covered it up a little better, by maybe not publishing a children’s story about the leprechaun culling of 1955.  This fact angers leprechaun Patrick Begorra, who eventually allows the animated trio to continue with the construction of Disneyland if he can reside in a home of his choosing within the park.  Who would have thought leprechauns to be such pushovers?  The book concludes with challenging readers to locate Patrick’s home on their next visit.  For those of you thinking this plot synopsis is fabricated in anyway, believe me, sadly and awesomely it is not.

The weird nature of the story itself is a major selling point, especially for collectors who like children’s books that are a little too strange and messed up for their intended readers.  For pure Disneyland fans the book has some great illustrations of the park’s construction, from mainstreet and the castle, to New Orleans Square and the Jungle Cruise.  If you spot this Golden Book nestled in a stack at your local used bookstore, take my advice and pick it up, you wont be disappointed.

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If The Shoe Fits Play It

In 1965 Parker Brothers and the Walt Disney Company teamed up to produce a lovely board game adaptation of the classic Disney animated film Cinderella. Recommended for children 5 to 10, but still enjoyed by bloggers of a more sophisticated age, the game allows 2 and upwards of 4 players to compete for the role of Cinderella.  The first player to navigate the game board, successfully fit the glass slipper, and reach the castle is declared Cinderella and the winner of the game.

Like many Disney board games of the time, the Cinderella Game uses cards to propel players throughout game play.  These cards, known as Cinderella cards, feature iconic characters and locations signature to the film, like Gus, Drisella, and the Clock Tower.  Each of these cards contains specific instructions for moving players either forward or backward on the game board. Once players reach the end of Cinderella’s journey they are forced to draw one of five colored slipper cards in hopes of matching that card with the corresponding color of their playing piece.  If a match is made, the player with the match has won the game, and if not, the player is forced to move back several spaces to an illustrated pumpkin where they must try again.

The game requires no strategy whatsoever, but is still fun to play for kids and grownups alike because of the wonderful and retro 60’s artwork printed on the board, the box, and Cinderella cards.  Overall this game is a must have for Cinderella fans, and find it while you can, because this edition with original art is becoming more and more scarce.

-David Brown
Contributing Writer