Disneyland Guide- Fall-Winter 1972-73

I love this Disneyland Guide from Fall-Winter of 1972-73, featuring the Country Bear Jamboree. I used to keep these guides and use them to plan the order of riding the rides for my future trips to Disneyland. It lists all the attractions, restaurants, and services. I liked these books, and I have collected a few of them (they don't make them anymore- instead they have a folded informational map now).

Back in those days, I thought that Disneyland was the coolest invention ever. I still do.

Stock Certificate for The Walt Disney Company

This is a stock certificate for The Walt Disney Company. It's very colorful, isn't it?

Disney is well-known for its beautiful certificate. In fact, there are at least 2 companies that have a business of selling people just one share of Disney, with the certificate in a frame.

Disney has a long history of having owners of only one share. A few years ago, if you only owned one share of stock, you and everyone in your party could attend the Shareholder's meetings, and receive a free Theme Park ticket (to Disneyland or Walt Disney World). Disney began to limit the number of free tickets that they gave out at those meetings, and eventually they eliminated them (because, they argued at the time, that the price of a share of stock was less than the price of a share of Disney. Never mind that you took time off work and traveled all that way to spend a few hours with the Disney Executives! Well, don't get me started!)

Over the years, I have always managed to at least own one share of Disney- thanks to keeping this Disney Stock Certificate on-hand.

Beautiful Maleficent Watch by Marc Davis

This watch featuring Maleficent and her pet raven Diablo was part of a series of watches called the "Marc Davis Signature Series". The other watches in the series were Tinker Bell and Cruella de Vil. All of these characters were designed by Marc Davis, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" (Walt's name for his top animators who had been working for him for years).

This watch is quite stunning, and immediately draws attention to the wearer. It is also numbered, and came in a wooden box that has Marc Davis' signature etched on it. Happy are those who find this watch!

Disneyland Forever Music CD

This is a Disneyland Forever CD that I made at Disneyland a few years ago- 1998 to be exact. When I discovered that Disneyland had a machine where you could choose music and audio tracks for many (then) current rides and attractions, I immediately became excited! I made and bought 10 CD's, right there on the spot (each CD cost $20 to make and buy, and you got to choose the tracks and the order, so that each CD was potentially unique. You even got to name who the CD was "by". I made mine say "by David Ransom", or "by Mickey", for example. Anyway, I still have all the CD's except one (which was stolen a few years back, when a neighborhood crackhead broke into my car and stole a bunch of CD's). Oh, well- you should never become so attached to things that if you lose them that you lose your happiness! That CD was mostly of Pirates of the Caribbean music, and I have most (if not all) of that on another CD that Disneyland released later, so it's all good!

The Disney Store 2004 Challenge Watch

This is The Disney Store's 2004 Challenge Watch, given only to the Cast Members of Store #471 in Baldwin Hills, California in 2004. I was one of the winning Cast Members. Our store recorded more sales over goal for the Disney video, "The Return of Jafar" (the sequel to "Aladdin"), than any other Disney Store! How did we do it? Teamwork, hard work and heavy promotion! We saw our goals, and they looked do-able, so we doubled them, and then doubled them again. The result? We were 424% over the goal that the Company set for us by the time the 6 weeks were over! We also won a jacket that matched the design on the watch, and a party at the now-defunct Ed Debevick's in Restaurant Row in Beverly Hills (a fifties -style diner). Believe me, our little "Disney Store in the Hood" was very proud of our accomplishments, and the Company took notice. Sadly, the economic downturn has claimed that Disney Store- just as the Store was going to close to open an even larger Disney Store in Baldwin Hills, Disney decided to not open the new store! Store #471 is now gone, and it is missed! There is a new, nice little Disney Store now at the Fox Hills Mall, which is really cute (I went there a couple of days ago- really nice), but I wish that Baldwin Hills could have its own Disney Store again! Oh, well!

This watch is really cool. I have not worn it much- it is still as new as the day I got it!

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Miniature by Olszewski

Look at the Sleeping Beauty Castle in this photo. Looks nice, right? Well, it's not the one at Disneyland- not exactly, anyway. It's a miniature replica from master miniaturist Robert Olszewski. I bought one of these as soon as I saw it- it's a no-brainer. It lights up, too- and even shows a great night-time treatment of the castle, like at Disneyland!

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies- A Companion To The Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman

This is the book, "Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies - A Companion To The Classic Cartoon Series" by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman. This book was printed in limited supply a few years ago. I managed to buy this at the Disneyana Fan Club's July Convention about 2 years ago. This is an invaluable book, and discusses all of Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies" Cartoons. This book has great photos.

Disneyland Park Guide for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary in 2005

Here is the Disneyland Park Guide which was given to guests who visited Disneyland on its 50th Anniversary, on July 17, 2005. I actually worked at Disneyland that day, only I was working backstage, but I still was able to visit on that day when I got off work.

Shown here is the outside cover of the foldout guide, as well as part of the inside. They really made the inside retro- it was a reproduction of the information that 1955 visitors to Disneyland. I really enjoy looking at historical Disneyland memorabilia.

The Disney Store Trivia Competition Pin

This is one of my four Disney Store Trivia Competition Pins that I won while I worked at The Disney Store #471 in the Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills Shopping Center in Los Angeles, CA, from 1993-1997. I won the pins by winning the in-store trivia competition each year at my store location. I got to compete in the Regional Disney Store Trivia Competition for the Los Angeles area 4 years in a row. In one of those years, I came in first place for our region. However, I failed to place in the top 10 contestants around the U.S. and Canada, and therefore I didn't get to compete in the finals at Disneyland.

There's a new trivia competition coming up for Disney's Official Fan Club, D23. I might enter that contest, although if it is anything like the Disney Store's trivia competition, it will require an unreal, crazy amount of study in order to win. I don't know if I'm up for that right now!

Disneyland Passport circa 1980

This is a Disneyland Passport (which is what they used to call the unlimited use tickets back in the days when Disneyland still sold ticket books). This was the best ticket that you could get at the time, because you could ride all the rides without tearing tickets out of your ticket book. This Passport is not to be confused with an Annual Pass, which became popular later on. This Passport was available for purchase by members of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom Club (which was a benefit that some employers offered to their employees).

I love the look of the old Disneyland tickets- they were works of art, all by themselves.

Walt Disney's It's A Small World CD

This is a Compact Disc of Walt Disney's "It's A Small World". This CD is from Disneyland Records, and was originally released as an LP Record back in 1964. This soundtrack features music directly from the attraction, which made its debut at the New York World's Fair in 1964 before being moved to Disneyland permanently in 1966.

On this CD, the narrator tells you what you are seeing as you sail along. Then you hear a sampling of the music of the area that you are passing on this imaginary boat ride.

I bought this CD at Disneyland, when they had a machine that allowed you to choose which CD you wanted, and then they would custom-burn your CD while you waited. They really should bring that back!

The Evil Queen at Disneyland

This is a photo of The Evil Queen (from Snow White) in Fantasyland at Disneyland. I took this picture about 2 years ago, and I just ran across it and I think it's a great photo. Here the Evil Queen is really in character (aren't the characters at Disneyland great?), and nobody does evil better than this woman!

Netflix Now Has 3 Great Disney Documentaries

If you like documentaries about the Walt Disney Company, I have 3 great ones to suggest that you watch with Netflix. The first one is "Waking Sleeping Beauty", which shows how a management change at Disney which brought in Michael Eisner, Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg brought about a financial and creative turnaround at the Company. This movie is available on DVD only.

The next two movies- "Walt and El Grupo" and "The Boys-The Sherman Brothers' Story", are available to watch instantly on your computer (or on your TV, connected to your Playstation 3 or your Wii).

"Walt and El Grupo" is a documentary about what happened when Walt Disney went to South America, along with several artists, on a goodwill tour for America. This movie is in my Instant Queue on Netflix, but I haven't watched it yet (but I will soon!).

"The Boys- The Sherman Brothers Story" is a documentary about the highly-successful Sherman Brothers, whose pop hits have rocked America (and Disney) for decades now. This documentary is fascinating, and I truly enjoyed it.

If you don't have Netflix yet, it's the best thing you could get if you like movies. It's inexpensive, and you can plan your moviewatching! There's a banner for Netflix on this page, and you can sign up for a 2-week free trial by clicking that banner.

The Walrus and the Carpenter Pewter Sculptures from Disney's Alice in Wonderland

This is a pewter miniature sculpture of "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from Disney's "Alice in Wonderland". This very small piece is so detailed- you can even see one of the little oysters! This piece was designed (along with 4 other pieces that came in the set) by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily, who make some of the best Disney merchandise around!

Disney Hollywood Studios Glass from McDonald's (gift from Michael Jackson)

This Disney Hollywood Studios Glass from McDonald's was a personal gift to me from pop star Michael Jackson, back in 2002. Michael knew that I loved Disney like he did, and in that way we were "alike". Michael and I almost shared a trip to Walt Disney World back in June of 2001, but he became sick (and hospitalized) about a week before we were scheduled to meet down there. I went anyway, but he lamented that he was unable to go. Anyway, this is one of several small gifts that he gave me during the time that he was in communication with a certain member of my family.

Limited Edition Marc Davis Tinker Bell Watch

This is a limited edition Marc Davis series Tinker Bell watch, which I bought at The Disney Store in Baldwin Hills, CA a few years ago. Marc Davis designed Tinker Bell based on model and actress Margaret Kerry (who happens to be a friend of mine!) This watch, which was one of 5,000 made, depicts Tinker Bell beautifully, and has a nice, shiny dark blue face surrounding her. This watch is truly "stunning" to behold.

Just Renewed my D23 Membership

I just renewed my Membership to D23, Disney's Official Fan Club. Why am I a member of D23? Because it's a way to get the opportunity to participate in a few fun Disney-related things, and things that are official functions of the Walt Disney Company. I have been a member of D23 since day one of its launch!

I'm also a member of the Disneyana Fan Club (which was known as the National Fantasy Fan Club, until recently), which has been around since 1984 and was started by and is currently run by Disney fans. They have a big Convention in July every year, and they hold it just down the street from Disneyland. I'm going to their Convention this year, too!

This is the song, "Quack, Quack, Quack, Donald Duck", sung by Jimmie Dodd of the "Mickey Mouse Club". I like to listen to this song over and over, because it puts me in a good mood! Speaking of good moods, I went to Disneyland last night, which inspired me to post more from my collection and add them to this blog. I even bought something last night- I'll do a post on that soon!

A Window on Main Street

This is one of the windows on Main Street at Disneyland. I took this photo a while back. Notice Mickey, Donald and Goofy as Band Members standing on a Bandstand. The cool thing about Main Street at Disneyland and Walt Disney World is that they always change the displays in the windows, to keep it interesting.

Cinderella, The Prince, and Mice at Disneyland

This is Cinderella, The Prince, and a couple of Mice at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. I took this photograph. They all seem to be plotting their next move. The photo was taken in The Plaza near Plaza Gardens.

Clarabelle Cow from Walt Disney Classic Collection

This is Clarabelle Cow in a scene from the Walt Disney classic short, "Symphony Hour" featuring Clarabelle Cow playing the violin. This was a great series put out by Walt Disney Classics Collection- one of their first big series. I got this piece from a huge Walt Disney Company employee sale over ten years ago- and she's still looking good! Other characters in the series are Pete, Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. I don't have all the pieces- I had Mickey Mouse, but alas, I sold him a while back (to help pay some bills). Oh, well, you can't have everything, right? (or if you do, you need a huge place to STORE everything, and that's just crazy and expensive). I've learned to enjoy my Disney things by pulling some things out of the closet and displaying them for my guests (while putting other things back away or selling them).

"Food Rocks" from The Land at EPCOT

This is "Food Rocks" from The Land Pavillion at EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World. In listening to the music of this attraction, you will see what kind of music was popular at the time this attraction was created. Ton Loc is "Fud Rapper", and you'll see a fish that definitely sounds and looks like Cher in her "Mermaids" movie days. I really like "Pita Gabriel". Is that really Little Richard's voice in this attraction? This attraction is now gone, but it was fun while it lasted.

The Haunted Mansion sculpture by Robert Olszewski

This is a sculpture of The Haunted Mansion by Robert Olszewski. I bought this at Disneyland a few years ago, and it is quite amazingly detailed. It also has a light treatment- flick a switch and you see what the Mansion looks like at night.

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion has a unique exterior look compared to the Haunted Mansions found at other Disney theme parks around the world (in Florida, Tokyo, Paris, etc.). This sculpture is a replica of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, which was the first Haunted Mansion built by Disney. The Haunted Mansion exterior building appeared at Disneyland first in 1963, and opened as an attraction in 1969.

During the winter holidays, Disneyland changes the exterior and show of The Haunted Mansion. Starting in November, the Mansion becomes "Haunted Mansion Holiday" and features the characters from Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas".

Robert Olszewski has a Disneyland Collection where he is in the process of sculpting every single attraction (and building) inside of Disneyland in Anaheim. He has an amazing collection, which can be seen at his website, www.olszewskistudios.com.