The Disney Store Challenge 1995 Jeans Jacket

This is a jeans jacket that all of the Cast Members at The Disney Store #471 in Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills Plaza won for its 1995 Challenge. We won this nice, very unique jacket featuring Disney's "Fab Five" because our store did extremely well in the "sales over goal" category (which the Company set for us). Our store was #9 of all Disney Stores in the Company in sales over goal for the movie, "The Lion King" on VHS home video. How did we do it? We REALLY encouraged everyone to buy the video, and we talked to everyone who would listen. We also did extremely well in other video sales challenges. You know what? That store (where I worked for 4 years) is closed now- an apparent victim of the economy- although, to be fair, down in the same mall, there's a large new space that's blocked off that says, "Coming Soon- The Disney Store".

Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store Napkin

This is a nice napkin from Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store, located in Hollywood, CA next door to the El Capitain Theater. I had a banana split there about a month ago, and it was delicious! They have sandwiches (like BLT) and lots of choices of ice cream. There are celebrity photos and autographs on the wall. They also sell tons of Disney merchandise! This was an extra napkin that I decided to take home because I liked it.

Walt Disney Company's Annual Report 2008

This is The Walt Disney Company's Annual Report for 2008. This is the first hard-copy of the Annual Report that I've had in a few years- Disney encourages people to receive this report online. However, it's a pretty cool book to have, so I made a special request to get the real book sent to me. I like the pictures.

Disney had a pretty good year in 2008 financially, despite the recession. This book highlights Disney's businesses, and has pictures of Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, and, of course, Disney characters at Disney's theme parks. Disney also owns ABC Television, ESPN, Pixar, and a few other businesses as well.

Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort

This is the outside of the front of Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort at Walt Disney World in Florida. This Resort is also home to another Resort, the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge, which is a Disney Vacation Club Resort. Check in for both Resorts is at the main reception area of the Wilderness Lodge. This is my favorite Resort at Walt Disney World- it's so beautiful. The Villas are way better than staying at the Inn- the rooms are bigger, even in a Studio accommodation. It's such a woodsy feeling when you stay at this Resort. You can take the free buses that they have to any of the Disney theme parks, or you can use their boat service to go to the Magic Kingdom or to any of the other nearby Resort Hotels (Contemporary Resort or the Fort Wilderness Campground). Behind this Resort is a lake and a very cool pool area, which has waterfalls, whirlpools, and even an geyser -"Old Unfaithful".

Photograph of the Snow White Grotto at Disneyland

This is a photograph of the Snow White Grotto at Disneyland. The Grotto is located on the right side of the Sleeping Beauty Castle (if looking at the Sleeping Beauty Castle from Main Street). The statues were given to Walt Disney years ago as a gift, and he decided to put them in the park. There was one challenge- the dwarfs and Snow White were made the same size. When the statues were installed, they placed Snow White higher up, and used "forced perspective" to make it seem like she was higher up than she really is. You can also hear Snow White singing, "I'm Wishing" every few minutes (and you can hear her echo in the Wishing Well, which sits just across from the Grotto).

Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom Club Junior Passport to Disneyland

This is a Junior Passport to Disneyland, circa 1979. This Passport was a 1-day pass into Disneyland, and included unlimited use of all Disneyland adventures and attractions (expect the shooting galleries). This type of pass was available for purchase to members of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom Club. The Passport was good for use only on the day it was stamped (your Passport got stamped as you entered Disneyland by a ticket taker).

Disneyland Family Fun Night Ticket from 1978

This is a ticket to "Family Fun Night" at Disneyland. This ticket was for CBS employees. Notice that this event was held on February 11, 1978, and that it lasted from 8:30PM til 1:30AM. This ticket was from the era when Disneyland had ticket books. However, when Disneyland closed down for special "Family Fun Nights", you only needed one of these event tickets to ride all the attractions. Notice that the price on this ticket is $5.75- really cheap by today's standards.

Disneyland Hotel Retro Greetings Card by Shag

This is one of four Disneyland Hotel Retro Greetings Cards that were created with designs by popular artist Shag. These cards were created for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. The styling shown here is reminiscent of some of the old Disneyland attractions posters. Notice the lady sitting by the pool, with her cocktail next to her, and the kids coming down the slide in the background, and Tinker Bell flying above. Of course, there's that famous "Disneyland Hotel" logo.

Disneyland Ticket Book Covers

These are some Disneyland ticket book back covers from years ago. Notice the prices on the ticket books. Disneyland used to sell and use "Ticket Books", which contained tickets that you used to go on individual rides. In later years, the "Passport" was developed, which were one-day unlimited tickets that let you ride all the rides with no tickets. Don't there ticket books look cool?

D23 Charter Year 2009 Pin - The Walt Disney Company 2009 Annual Meeting Exclusive

This is the first pin from D23- the new official fan club of The Walt Disney Company. This new club launched on March 10, 2009, and information about it officially debuted at The Walt Disney Company's Annual Shareholders Meeting, which was held in Oakland, California at the Paramount Theater. Bob Iger, CEO and President of The Walt Disney Company, revealed the new club to the world at the meeting. Shareholders had the opportunity to sign up for the new club online at the meeting, and were given this official Charter Year 2009 Pin that you see here. This pin was exclusively given to shareholders who attended the meeting (I took Amtrak from Los Angeles to Oakland on Monday, March 9, in order to attend this meeting. I had an awesome trip!) By the way, the meeting was great, and Disney is a great company to invest in!

Framed Picture of Grumpy from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

This is a framed picture of Grumpy from Walt Disney's classic animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". This picture, which is watercolor on canvas, was produced by a company called Artisto, Inc. and is part of a set of all 7 dwarfs plus Snow White. It was produced in 1938 and was licensed by Walt Disney Productions.

Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp Mug

This is a mug based on the Walt Disney classic film, "Lady and the Tramp". This mug is cool, because it features all of the dogs in the film which had speaking parts- they all have such personality- and, of course, Lady's puppies. Even Nutsy, the dog who took the walk to his doom at the dog pound, is featured here- somehow, he made it! This mug is great- look at the colors! Also featured are the siamese cats, Si and Am. Notice the Christmas gift box, the carpet, and the wallpaper in the details here.

Disneyland Records "Disney's Merriest Songs" LP Record 1968

This is the Disneyland Records album, "Disney's Merriest Songs", a long-playing vinyl record from 1968. This was the very first Disneyland Records record that my parents bought me. I remember when my Dad bought it, and I remember where- at a Gulf gas station, that used to be right off the 10 freeway exit at Crenshaw Blvd (there's now a car wash where that gas station used to be, and there are NO Gulf gas stations in Los Angeles anymore!) This album had inside (I'm sure) a postcard that allowed you to join a club where records would come in the mail automatically and you would pay for them- that's how I got such a large collection of Disneyland Records records when I was a kid. I was 4 years old when I got this one- the one that started the Disney madness for me.




This particular album in the picture was something that I bought a few months ago on Ebay. Although it's an old album, this one is unopened and in mint condition ( man, the things you can find on Ebay!) I still have the original record album that my Dad bought, too- but it has a lot of scratches on it.

This album is cool because it has songs from all kinds of Disney movies- some from soundtracks, others are Disney songs sung by contemporary artists of the time. As you can see from the photo of the back of the album cover, you can see some of the stars featured- Julie Andrews, Louis Armstrong, Phil Harris, Burl Ives, Mary Martin, Louis Prima, Dick Van Dyke, and Ed Wynn. I'm going to buy a record player soon, and relive some warm, melodic memories that only vinyl records can offer!

Walt Disney World's 15th Anniversary Commemorative Button

This is a button celebrating Walt Disney World's 15th Anniversary. I got this button from some friends of mine, Eric and Barbara Roque,who collect a whole lot of Disney stuff, and who had so much that they were giving stuff away, so this is one of the cool things that I got. Walt Disney World has a very interesting history- it's something that Walt Disney himself was involved in planning, and something that he really looked forward to building and operating.

Mickey Mouse Day Planner

This is a Mickey Mouse Day Planner,which I bought at The Disney Store years ago. It's nice.