Haunted Mansion by Olszeski

I'm posting this in honor of Halloween. This piece is a miniature of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, by master artist Robert Olszewski. This particular piece was part of special merchandise celebrating Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. Mr. Olszewski is creating everything at Disneyland in miniature. His work is really quite amazing! He's a nice guy, and really enthusiastic about his creations and he should be. If you didn't know better, you might think this is a picture of the real Haunted Mansion!

One Reason That I Do This Blog

Today something happened which brought it home to me the fact that my collectibles will not last forever, nor will I. That is why I'm taking pictures of my Magical Collection- because they can be gone in an instant. Today my 5 year old nephew came to visit. He was rolling on the floor, and then he stood up and bumped into the table that was holding this piece, "Dancing Partners" by the Walt Disney Classics Colletion. The whole glass tabletop almost fell over, but the piece went right over onto the carpet and it broke into 4 pieces. One other piece was damaged as well, though not as much as this one. I love this piece and thought about photographing it, even today before it was broken. It's still nice-looking, right? Well, I'll have to buy a new one someday when I can afford it. Lesson learned: keep these fragile things more out of reach of children, and, moreover, I need to prepare for earthquakes (I'm in California). I went out tonight and bought some putty to hold my sculptures in place so that they won't be lost so easily.

Disneyland Salt and Pepper Shaker Set

Here is a Salt and Pepper Shaker from Disneyland. I got this 2 years ago from Disneyland. This set has a "retro" look, and was special merchandise celebrating Disneyland's 50th Anniversary.

Marc Davis Signature Series Watch - Tinkerbell

Marc Davis was a Disney animator and artist extraordinaire. This watch depicts Tinkerbell from Walt Disney's classic, "Peter Pan". Tinkerbell was designed and animated by Marc for the film. This watch was part of a limited edition of 5,000. It is numbered, number 2659. On the back it says, "Commemorating 60 years of outstanding contributions to the magical world of Disney".

Jackson's Victory Tour Program

Like him or hate him now, you have to agree that, at least at one time, Michael Jackson truly created and delivered magic. This Tour Program is from the Jacksons " Victory Tour" in the mid-1980's, was when Michael was nearing the height of his superstardom. This is the tour that was sponsored by Pepsi- the one where Michael and his brothers were filming a Pepsi commercial and his hair caught on fire from the fireworks. Still, Michael survived and went on to do the tour. It was a great show! An earthquake happened during the show on the night I went.

Edible Pirate Decoration

This is an edible pirate coin-like decoration that came with a dessert that I had at the Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. I saved this decoration because I thought it was too cool-looking to eat. As you may know, the Blue Bayou Restaurant is an indoor restaurant with a great view of the loading area and Bayou of the Disneyland attraction, "Pirates of the Caribbean". Boats from the attraction glide past dining onlookers. Great atmosphere. There is usually a waiting list to get in. Reservations suggested.

Walt Disney Imagineering 50th Anniversary Disneyland Paris Pin

This pin is part of a set of 12 Pins, each commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) and each celebrating one of the eleven Theme Parks designed and built by the Company and the Disney Cruise Line. This pin specifically celebrates Disneyland Paris. Of course, Disneyland in California was the first Theme Park that WDI built ( and the first Theme Park ANYONE ever built). Originally called WED Enterprises (for Walter Elias Disney) and wholly-owned by Walt Disney when it began, Walt Disney Imagineering was renamed in 1986 shortly after Walt Disney Productions (the Corporation) was renamed The Walt Disney Company.

"Take Life A Little Easier" Rodney Allen Rippy Record with Jacket

This is the 45 record hit single, "Take Life A Little Easier", from child star Rodney Allen Rippy. He made it big from doing a TV commercial for the "Jack in the Box" hamburger chain, back in 1973. I got this signed record jacket and record back in '73 at "The Wherehouse" record store on Crenshaw Blvd. and Rodeo Road in Los Angeles (this particular store closed over 20 years ago). I remember Mr. Rippy, who was about 5 years old that summer, handing out autographed little scraps of paper that day while people bought his record. It was cool to see a real star in person (he was the first star I'd ever seen in person)! This record was put out by Bell Records, a division of Cobumbia Pictures Industries, Inc., and is Bell records #45403. The other single on the record is "World of Love".

"Kiss Me" Bird

This little red bird is cute holding a little sign that says "Kiss Me". I bought it at Department 56 about 2 years ago, as a gift for my main squeeze, for Valentine's day. There is no visible name on this bird to give credit here to its maker, unfortunately.

Walt Disney Resorts Facial Soap

This is a box of Facial Soap from the Walt Disiney Resorts, circa 2004. I got this when I stayed at a Walt Disney World Resort in Florida (the soap that they give you now is different, and the packaging is not as cute). When you stayed at one of the Resort Hotels, you also got some Bath Soap, Shampoo, Conditioner and Lotion, all with the same Mickey Mouse design. Of course, while you were on vacation, you never wanted to use all that stuff- so you saved it and brought it home....and maybe used it later.

Toy Story 2 Mug

This is a Toy Story 2 Mug, which I bought at The Disney Store. The movie "Toy Story 2" was a sequel to the blockbuster Disney/Pixar release, "Toy Story". This sequel actually out-earned the first movie at the box office. Ironically, "Toy Story 2" was originally going to be released as a direct-to-video movie, but the producers felt that it was SO GOOD that it could stand on its own as a feature. They were right! This mug features the characters: Bo Peep, Rex, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bullseye, Hamm, Jessie and the Prospector.

Lenox Treasures - Dopey Treasure Box

This is a "Lenox Treasures" brand "Dopey Treasure Box", made by Lenox. It's a very nice and beautiful box, and made a great gift. My good friend Cinde Castro told me about it, and we went to the "World of Disney" store at Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA to buy this and a couple of other boxes (they also had a box for Snow White and one for Winnie the Pooh, which were also fantastic). This box is really beautiful, plussed with sparkling jewels and plated with real gold. I purchased this in December of 2005. I also bought another one for a Christmas gift. Dopey is from the 1937 Walt Disney classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Peanuts' Linus Van Pelt Bank circa 1970

This is a rare Peanut's Linus Bank, circa 1970. It's a ceramic bank of great quality, about 12 inches high. I got it for Christmas in 1969. Charles Schulz created and produced the Peanuts comic strip. Peanuts characters are copyrighted by United Feature Syndicate.

I am willing to part with this extremely rare Linus bank for $200 plus shipping.

Walt Disney Classic Collection Belle - "Bookish Beauty"

This is the 2005 Membership Sculpture for the Walt Disney Collector's Society (also known as WDCC by collectors!). It was your gift with your paid membership to the Walt Disney Collector's Society. Notice the detail on the book that Belle is holding! Belle is the heroine from the 1991 Walt Disney animated classic, "Beauty and the Beast". She was voiced by Paige O'Hara in the film.

Stamps: The Art of Disney - Magic

This is "The Art of Disney - Magic" sheet of U.S. Postage Stamps, released by the U.S. Postal Service recently. I was sending some tax returns at the Post Office yesterday when I noticed the clerk had these new stamps. There are 4 different styles of stamps on the sheet, and 20 stamps total on the sheet. These stamps are beautiful and frameable. They also make for stylish postage!

Welcome to My Magical Collection!

I have collected a lot of things over my lifetime: coins, stamps, bottle caps, Disney watches, Disney guides, Disney tickets, comic books, books about Disney, Disney artwork, Disney videos, Disney CD's, Disney records, Disney toys, and other things Disney. I don't live in a big home, so most of my "collections" are housed in different locations. I have often thought, "What if I could set up all of my collections all over my home, and invite lots of people over to see it. That way, people would get enjoyment out of seeing my collection, and I would be glad to share my things with more people. I saw a lady on TV who had a big collection, and she set up a museum of Salt and Pepper shakers. She charged admission, and that place was really popular. Would I do that with my home? Well, no time soon, anyway. But then I had an idea.

I decided that I would go through my collections, and photograph and document everything. That's right, everything that I have that's in my collection. Most of what I collect is Disney stuff, as you can tell from above. Disney is a big part of my life- I've worked for Disney, I've been listening to Disney soundtracks ever since my Dad bought a "Disney's Merriest Songs" Disneyland Record from the Gulf Gas Station on Crenshaw near the 10 freeway back in 1969 (and my Mom used an order form to enroll in a Disneyland Record Club, where they sent records regularly by mail).

A lot of people collect things, but they never really remember what they have until they go through everything. Well, I'm going to go through everything I have. I'm going to document it all here on this blog. I'm excited because I will find things that I forgot that I have. Some things that I have are rare- nobody else that I know or know of has them.

Tune in every day (I hope to have at least 3 posts per day). I will elaborate some facts about all the items that I post here. Some day I will have a big Mansion and I will have my collection set up so that people can come over and see my things in person, but for now I just want to share them with you here on my blog!