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.