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.

D23 Charter Year Membership Certificate

This is the D23 Charter Year Membership Certificate for the D23 Community of Dinsey fans, available at Disneyshopping.com. This club is the official Disney Fans club, and this beautiful, colorful certificate comes with your membership. You get inside Disney information and historical Disney information as part of your membership to this magical club. They've held several fun events that I've attended. It's good that they have so many activities for members- nobody could possibly attend all of them!