POP! Mickey Mouse w/Mickey Bar Hot Topic Figure

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Dis-LEE

Funko POP! vinyl figures are becoming addictive. I’m obsessed! My latest acquisition is this Mickey Mouse with a Mickey Bar HOT TOPIC figure from the Mickey and Friends line. I hate that I have been sucked into the trap of wanting the exclusive stuff!

“HOT TOPIC is the destination for music and pop culture-inspired clothes and accessories, plus fashion apparel for girls and guys. How about Funko figures from your favorite characters? We have those, too. Hot Topic – totally obsessed for 25 years.” At least that’s how they describe themselves on the official website. Hmm. ‘Obsessed’. I think that word means what I think it means!

When I first saw this figure, I wasn’t immediately sold on it, although the red Mickey Bar exerted a strong pull against my Disney Park nostalgia. But when I saw it was a Hot Topic Exclusive, the deal was all but done.

What flavour would that be?

A Mickey (Premium Ice Cream) Bar is a chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar designed with the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. But as you might expect, it’s supposed to be brown. This one in Mickey’s vinyl hand is red. Is there red chocolate? Or is this some rare strawberry variant? I think it’s likely just meant to emulate the colour of a heart.

Image Credit: Fodor’s Travel

If you have a hankering for Mickey-shaped food items, be sure to click the link to Fodor’s Travel and enjoy their picks for the Top 13 Mickey-shaped foods to eat at the Parks.

Again, the packaging isn’t anything special, but I will keep the box as this is an exclusive release. But I will be displaying Mickey and his bar out of his box.

He’s tempted!

Mickey has collapsed from all of the ice cream bars he’s eaten. Been there. Done that.

If Mickey and candy are a match made in heaven for you, check out my Mickey Mouse Clubhouse candy fan. It’s in the shape of a helicopter and, yes, it’s filled with candy!

Posted in Animation, Characters, Collectibles, Exclusive, Figurines, Merchandise | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Disney Store Plastic Key ‘Disney Divisions’ Set

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Dis-LEE

This Disney Store exclusive plastic Key set featuring the Disney Divisions of business are fun little keepsakes. They are rather cheaply made and so very lightweight. But they feature some interesting design cues that we will explore shortly.

For a more solid version of this key merchandise, check out my Opening Ceremony Key from the Disney Rewards line, and the matching Key Pin.

And now to the set in question:

And what doors do these open, exactly?

Disney started with just one division. Itself, essentially. But acquisition quickly became the order of the company and other popular properties were brought into the House of Mouse.

Let’s look at the divisions as represented by these keys, one at a time, and share a little history for each:

Walt Disney Animation Studios

It was October 16th of 1923 when Walt Disney and his big brother Roy began a little company that would start with a mouse and end with a juggernaut. But it hasn’t really ended, has it? No, it keeps growing as it consumes IP after IP in a bid to become the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world. I think they may be there.

DESIGN CUES: The Disney ‘D’ is emblazoned with the iconic Sorcerer’s Hat from Fantasia. The shaft simply states the name of the division. The teeth of the key is the famous Disney Castle logo.

FUN FACTS: The aforementioned Sorcerer’s Hat was patterned after the Astrologer’s hats worn in the 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. The long pointy hat with crescent moons and stars on them simply represented the heavens as seen through telescopes by observers, and not the mystical, magical connotations they have today, and that is perpetuated by Disney.

What was the first acquisition to be immortalized with a plastic key?

Pixar Animation Studios

In was January 24th of 2006 when Pixar became a division of Disney. The deal cost Mickey 7.4 billion in stock but it was to be made back in spades as Pixar continued to crank out the Box Office hits.

DESIGN CUES: The Disney ‘D’ is emblazoned with the Pixar Ball. The shaft simply states the name of the division. The teeth of the key is the Luxor Lamp along with a smaller version of the Pixar Ball. Being upside down, I wonder if Luxor Jr’s electricity is running to his bulb?

FUN FACTS: Pixar began in 1979 as part of the Lucasfilm computer division, known as the Graphics Group, before its spin-off as a corporation in 1986, with funding from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. So Pixar began with Lucasfilm, separated from them, and then was reunited by Disney. Some friendships were just meant to be!

MARVEL

It was on December 31st of 2009 that Disney plonked down 4 billion dollars on the table to become just that much more super. Now some of the greatest super heroes of all time were swinging, punching, and kicking their way through the hallowed halls of Disney.

DESIGN CUES: The Disney ‘D’ is emblazoned with black and white images of some of Marvel’s most famous characters. The shaft has images of the iconic logos for many of the same characters. The teeth of the key is the word ‘MARVEL’ with the New York skyline underneath.

FUN FACTS: What’s in a name? It took Marvel a while to settle on a name for it’s comic book empire. The company was started in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics. By 1951 it had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The MARVEL era began in 1961. And that’s the name that stuck, True Believer!

Lucasfilm Ltd.

It was October 30th of 2012 when Disney traveled to a galaxy far, far away and paid 4.05 billion Galactic Credits to find the franchise they had been looking for.

DESIGN CUES: The Disney ‘D’ is emblazoned with a close-up view of the Death Star complete with a tiny TIE Fighter. The shaft has images of the iconic emblems of the Empire and the Rebel Alliance along with the faces of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. A nice father/son spotlight! The teeth of the key is the division name on a square block.

FUN FACTS: While in the Star Wars universe, TIE stands for Twin Ion Engine, George Lucas gave the starfighter the name ‘TIE’ simply because he thought that they looked like bow ties.

Each key has the same Copyright Mark

Did you know that Disney owns half the world? Here is a very incomplete list of the properties that Disney has acquired over the years, often without anyone even noticing:

Touchstone Pictures (1988)

Hollywood Records (1990)

Miramax Films (1993)

ABC Network (1995)

ESPN (1996)

Muppets Studios (2004)

Hulu (2009)

A&E (Partially) (2012)

National Geographic (2017)

20th Century Fox Studios (2019)

The History Channel (2019)

And dozens and dozens more. For a more comprehensive look at this subject, check out the very thorough article over on Pirates & Princesses entitled Who Does Disney Own Anyway? They have a very cool and almost incomprehensible pictorial chart. You know you want to see that!

Posted in Animation, Collectibles, Disney Store, Exclusive, Marvel, Merchandise, Movies, Pixar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mattel’s Mickey Mouse Barbie Doll w/Accessories

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Dis-LEE

I was surprised to see this Mickey Mouse Barbie doll by Mattel on a local selling site recently. The price was only $25.00 CAN so I didn’t haggle. The seller was hoping it would go to a Disney Collector so that it would stay in the box and be preserved. I assured her that this is the way I treat all of my female action figures (or FAFs). They’re not dolls.

For more on that distinction, the post entitled Disney-themed Barbie Doll ‘Action Figures’ will educate you on the true nature of this plastic mold shaped like a little woman. Again. Not a doll.

This version of a Disney Barbie was released in 2004. It comes with the obligatory Disney-themed accessories. In this case though, instead of Mickey-shaped balloons or Theme Park shopping bags, she has fashion accessories and clothing that we might buy from a local Walmart.

Back and Side of Packaging

The blurb on the back of the box tells us a bit about Mickey himself before it gives a very brief mention to Barbie and her wardrobe. Apparently she is wearing a ‘kicky’, vintage t-shirt. Is that a thing? She also carries a retro Disney-style handbag.

And for you, there is a Mickey Mouse head keychain with fluffy fringe. Yes, it’s for you!

Top and Bottom of Packaging

I love the vintage collage that wraps around the packaging! The bottom of the box tells us that Barbie herself was made in Indonesia by Mattel. That’s why it’s swell, don’t ya know.

The next images will give you a close-up look at Barbie’s fashion choices:

Accessories

Did you notice that the hat matches the skirt?

I hope you’ve enjoyed your look at another of my FAFs. Not a doll. Female Action Figure.

Not. A. Doll. I’m glad we were able to clear that up.

Posted in Characters, Collectibles, Dolls, Fashion, Promotions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pixar’s Toy Story 4 Candy-filled Plastic Egg

Posted on May 6, 2022 by Dis-LEE

I’ll admit that I’m not a sequel lover. I believe Disney has dragged Pixar down into what I affectionally call ‘Sequel Hell’. Whereas Walt Disney said that ‘you can’t top pigs with pigs’, modern Disney the Corporation said ‘of course a fourth Toy Story movie is a good idea!’ In my opinion, it wasn’t.

But this Toy Story 4 candy-filled plastic egg, although not the most original idea (Kinder Surprise, anyone?), at least is filled with some yummy candy. And your little one will have a plastic keepsake to store their stuff in after the filling is gone.

Let’s have a look:

Unopened

Bo Peep gets another chance to shine both in the movie and on this packaging. But once you open the plastic egg, she disappears. Kind of like Toy Story 3.

Opened

The plastic egg pops open easily and clips back together with very little pressure. Your little one could handle it on their own with no problems. It’s filled with many packets of two different kinds of candy.

First:

Bunny and Ducky are the featured characters on the jelly bean packets. Frankford Candy provides the tiny multi-coloured sugar bombs, er… I mean, the jelly beans.

Second:

Frankford also provides the Tangy Candy. Woody and Buzz Lightyear were chosen to represent this rather chalk-like substance… er, candy. But again I wonder: Why not Bo Peep? Toy Story 4 was supposed to be about her journey from Andy’s sister’s room to where she was found by the rest of the toys. But she is not prominently featured inside the product at all. I think she needs a better agent!

To Creepy, and Beyond!

The plastic egg is 5 1/2″ high and 4 1/2 ” thick. It can be stood up vertically or horizontally due to a flat spot at the bottom (under the characters feet) and at the back.

But I have to ask: What’s with Buzz and Woody’s eyes? And where’s Buzz’s helmet? So many questions, so few answers.

For more fun with jelly beans, check out these earlier posts featuring Jelly Belly bags of candy with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on the front and this one with Dory. Yummy yummy!

Posted in Animation, Characters, Food, Merchandise, Movies, Pixar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lion King Special Edition Collector’s DVD Gift Set

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Dis-LEE

For awhile, Disney was playing a game with movie collectors. First they would release a regular DVD version of the movie. This would have one disc and not many extras. Keep in mind, this was before the days of Blu-ray. Then they would release a two-disc Platinum Edition DVD with tons of extras. But wait, they weren’t done yet!

Then came, in this case, the Lion King Special Edition Collector’s DVD Gift Set (2003)! Behold the unparalleled glory of the set you should have waited for:

Box Cover Sleeve

Decorative and exclusive packaging? Check. Platinum Edition DVD that you already have? Check. Hardcover book? Check. Limited Edition lithographs in paper frames? Check. Yet another Disney product you can’t live without? Double check!

It’s not often that a person will admit he’s an idiot, so enjoy it while you can. Yes, I was sucked into this ‘gotta-have-it’ craze along with too many other Disney fans! But in my case, it wasn’t just once, but three times. I also have the Cinderella and Aladdin sets.

Contents of Platinum Edition DVD

Joking aside, these gift sets are wonderful. The Platinum Edition DVD has many nice extras and reflects a time when Disney didn’t know that we’d buy their movies even if they released them with no extras and at twice the price. These were the times when Disney was trying to impress us with content! Remember those days?

When’s the last time you got a hardcover book with your movie? These gift sets came with a 160-page book that covered the movie in two parts: A making-of story and the highlights of the movie told in storybook form.

And then came the tastiest bait to hook you and reel you in! The set of nine lithographic print reproductions of original portrait drawings of your favorite characters from the movie in question. In this case, again, we have The Lion King cast:

Fish have the good sense to struggle and put up a fight when a fisherman tries to reel them in. Disney fans? We just open our mouths, swallow the bait, and enjoy the ride!

Are these gift sets worth it? I believe you’ll be thankful they caught you!

Posted in Animation, Artwork, Books, Characters, Collectibles, Movies, Special Edition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photo Spot: Cows Wrestle at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Dis-LEE

For a photographer, being at the right place at the right time is awesome! That was the case when I saw two cows wrestle at Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Who you shovin’?

Knowing that I am likely the only person to have this shot is satisfying. Animals don’t usually cooperate when the camera comes out, so when you can catch them in some natural behavior, it’s a blessing!

I took this picture in 2007. And may I just say: Look at their skin! Is that smooth and silky, or what?

Posted in Attractions, Nature, Photo Spot, Photography, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World, Zoos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Top 5 Ways on How to Become a Successful VLOGGER

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Dis-LEE

So what does a struggling old-school Blogger know about becoming a successful new fangled Vlogger? Plenty! I follow many of the most popular channels of the Disney variety along with many other well liked and reviewed Vlogs and have noticed a few things about why they have attracted so many followers.

Most of the Vlogs I follow focus on Disney content, obviously. But I also follow two science vlogs, one history vlog, three travel vlogs, and two cruising vlogs, amoung others. And although they cover totally different themes, they have something in common: They all follow the Top 5 ways I’m sharing in this post.

So without further ado, let’s look at the Top 5 Ways on how to become a successful Vlogger:

WAY NUMBER FIVE

THEME

So what are you passionate about? Disleelandia may seem to be a Disney-themed blog due to the amount I share from that IP, but in actual fact it covers a wider variety of subjects. Anything related to popular (or POP) culture is fair fodder for a post here! Likewise with Vlogs: Pick a theme and specialize in that, while providing variety within the genre.

Whatever you choose, be exclusive and thorough. Your audience needs to know what to expect when they click on your latest video. It’s okay to have a main theme but with complimentary side themes. But don’t stray too far off course! If you claim to be all about makeup tutorials and then post a video on dog training, it will likely confuse and annoy regular visitors to your channel.

WAY NUMBER FOUR

INTRO / OUTRO

Recognition is key to a successful Vlog. What is an intro or an outro? These are video montages (like title credits in a television sitcom), statements, or catchphrases, that appear in front of and/or at the end of every one of your videos. Here are a few examples of Vloggers who do the best introductions:

The Carpetbagger: “We are live at (mentions geographical area), more specifically, at (mentions exact location).” After this orientation statement, he says “Please, follow me!” This is usually followed by a 30-second animated title sequence.

Adam the Woo: “Join me. Shall you?” This follows a preamble that includes a brief overview of where he will be going in the video to follow.

The History Guy: After a brief introduction about the topic of the day, he opines: “It’s history… worth remembering!” This is genius because it tells the viewer why they are watching.

Paging Mr. Morrow: After a brief ramble about where he is and what he will be doing in the video, he smiles at the camera and says: “Anywho’s, let’s go do this!”

Now let’s look at some interesting outros, or conclusions to videos. Adam the Woo simply says “The Vlog… is over!” Others, like Jackie from Super Enthused, use a visual montage that reviews the content of her video along with her signature “Stay enthused!” ending tagline.

No matter how you choose to craft your signature intro line or outro montage, make it fun but brief, and it will be sure to be memorable!

WAY NUMBER THREE

SHTICK

How are you going to stand out? There are many ways, but perhaps Chris from Provost Park Pass is one of the best examples of doing so in multiple ways. First, he has a distinctive personal look. He is always wearing a dress shirt with a tie, but he pairs them with blue jeans and running shoes. And his shirt is usually untucked. Oh, Chris! Also, he tells incredibly bad puns. Everywhere. All of the time!

Justin Scarred (more on him with Number Two) is also easily identified by the wearing of his signature ‘R’ baseball cap and black and white striped t-shirt. He also tells jokes but adds impressions to his repertoire.

In a field that is cluttered with anyone and everyone with a camera, it doesn’t hurt to stand out from the crowd, even by being a little bit weird!

WAY NUMBER TWO

BRANDING

It isn’t enough to just produce great content if you want to make a living as a Vlogger. That said, some long-timers have started to do do, abandoning the merchandise element of the business. But for the most part, and for most of todays Vloggers, a little extra income never hurts!

If companies like McDonald’s sees the value of having even their trash blowing around on the streets providing advertising, having a viewer walking around with your brand plastered all over them can only help with the clicks and views.

Perhaps the most prolific amoung the Vloggers for branding through merchandise is Justin Scarred from Randomland. From plush to stickers, hats to pins, this guy knows how to outfit his Mob! And he does custom art pieces too. Way to branch out there, buddy!

Just don’t tell Julio, or he’ll want a cut!

WAY NUMBER ONE

PERSONALITY

The best way to stand out from the ever-growing crowd and attract a following is to play off your personality. Viewers will either connect with you or they won’t, so this is the one Way that is impossible to contrive. If the advice ‘be yourself’ ever applied, it’s to Vlogging!

And that’s why this Way to become a Vlogger captures the Number One spot. A natural, amiable, fun personality will attract viewers who are looking to live vicariously through other like-minded people.

CONCLUSION

So that’s the Top 5 Ways to become a successful Vlogger. But how can you become a happy Vlogger, and sustain your output over many years? Many have experienced burn out because of trying to build their channel two fast. It’s best to let it grow naturally and over time. So don’t quit your day job just yet!

And don’t get to caught up in the numbers, clicks, views, and all of the other qualifiers we use to measure Internet success. Most people will view and move on, so these statistics rarely provide a true picture of how your Vlog is doing. Not getting any comments? Again, this is normal. Most viewers follow multiple channels and split their precious time between them. So not everyone will take the few minutes necessary to engage with you. But it doesn’t mean they don’t like you!

To put it in a nutshell, the most successful Bloggers and Vloggers do what they do because they love it and it brings them great pleasure to share. If there is a response, that’s the icing on the cake! Can you have your cake and eat it too? No. But you can bake a cake and know that others will enjoy it, whether they say ‘Thank you!’ with a like or a comment, or not.

Posted in Celebrities, Lists, Merchandise, Opinion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Disney’s Pin Trading Orange Bird Pins

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Dis-LEE

I won’t bore you with a long drawn out explanation of who the Orange Bird is, but if you’re interested in a bit of his history, you can check out my earlier post here. But this post is more for the love of the little bird made of a particular fruit. Can you guess which one?

Disney has been reintroducing the Orange Bird to guests for some years now and he has taken over the hearts of one and all! I recently found this collection of Orange Bird pins on a local selling site and just couldn’t resist.

10-Pin Collection

Disney Pin Trading is the buying and trading of collectible pins featuring Disney characters, attractions, icons, events and other elements. The practice is a hobby officially supported and promoted by Disney. Unlike Vinylmations for example, this trading platform has stood the test of time. Each guest may only trade two pins with the same cast member in one day. But the list of rules doesn’t stop there! Thank goodness I never got too involved in the trading aspect of these pins, because I hate having to memorize rules to have fun.

One thing that has greatly lowered the fun of Pin Trading is the release of cheap package pins (which no one wants) that are purchased and then traded for more expensive pins at the Parks. So, many times I would find that Cast Members didn’t have anything worth trading. Yup, some found a loop hole that saved them money while ruining the experience for everyone else!

But I digress! Time to think Orange Thoughts (whatever they are) and meet the Orange Bird:

The Original Angry Bird

The pin above is probably the only time I’ve ever seen him depicted as angry (2018). Usually he is an ambassador of happiness and sunshine!

EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival – 2020

I was happy to get this exclusive Festival pin as I don’t think many people got to actually attend the 2020 event due to the Pandemic.

The three pins above are unique and a bit weird. Why is Orange Bird wearing a flight suit (2008) while carrying a dole whip? The pin in the top right corner is likely a Tsum Tsum (2018) release. The pin in the bottom right corner is nice because he is wearing a set of Mickey Ears (2010)!

Pin Set: 1 Through 5 (See collective image above for order)

I didn’t realize when I bought these pins that five of them were part of a set, released in sequence. The back of each pin identifies them as a Hidden Mickey set and are numbered one through five. Look carefully, each one has a Hidden Mickey ‘birth mark’. I can’t make out a date as the official stamp is too small to read.

The Orange Bird has fluttered down and landed on many different types of merchandise. Do you like hats? Then check out this post entitled Disney-themed Baseball Caps for an ‘I Love Doll Whip’ Orange Bird version, amoung others.

Posted in Characters, Merchandise, Pin trading, Pins, Souvenirs, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins Demo Track Soundtrack

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Dis-LEE

Why do once what you can do, or I don’t know… dozens of times? Disney is at it again with 10 songs from the Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins Soundtrack, but with a twist. This time, it’s filled with what could only be considered Demo Tracks! Or maybe just re-recordings?

Richard and Robert Sherman wrote the memorable music from this 1964 classic. Hosts of others have redone, re-sung, re-released, and just plain rehashed each and every track! I own several versions of the soundtrack myself, and you can find them on this blog by typing ‘Mary Poppins’ into the ‘Search’ box.

But before you do, let’s have a look at the cover art for this release:

I collect these vinyl creations almost entirely for the cover art on the sleeves. I have the original soundtrack digitally remastered on CD so don’t need these scratchy versions to listen to! It’s also fun to see how many versions I can find.

Just to nit pick a bit: The children aren’t wearing the right colours of clothing compared to the film. And Mary Poppins doesn’t appear inside the Carousel, controlling it, during this scene. She is actually riding a horse as well. And where’s Bert? But I do believe the penguins are wearing the proper screen-used attire.

And now a request for all of you vinyl buyers out there: Please don’t write your name in permanent pen on the cover sleeve and the album labels! This reduces the value and mares the artwork. Shame on you, Ms. Sterling!

Poppin Good Collage

Sometimes you can find some wonderful artwork on these old vinyl record covers. Like the collage above. Filled with scenes depicting the original actors in their iconic roles, it just doesn’t get any better than that!

Now it’s time to play a few tracks from the album so that you can compare them to the versions you know so well. These are either demo tracks or just re-recordings. Why re-recordings would be released by Disney the same year as the original soundtrack is a bit of a mystery though. While I might buy a new take on the familiar some time after the original release, I don’t think many would do so the same day!

Either way, this first track is a fun take by Richard Sherman himself on I Love to Laugh, originally sung by Ed Wynn:

I Love to Laugh – Richard Sherman

Next, we have Marni Nixon standing in for Julie Andrews on Feed the Birds. She does a competent job but isn’t quite on par with the practically perfect Nanny we know and love. Listen for the spoken introduction, meant to represent the words of Jane Darwell, the old Bird Lady on the steps of Saint Paul’s:

Feed the Birds – Marni Nixon

Lastly, we have Bill Lee stepping in to fill the shoes of Dick Van Dyke in a slightly less British-sounding version of Step in Time:

Step in Time – Bill Lee

Did you miss Van Dyke’s thicker Cockney accent?

Of note are these two images of Mary Poppins. The black and white version on the left looks quite like Andrews. The colour version on the right is a stylized drawing that captures the iconic pose of the enigmatic Nanny in flight. It’s awesome that Mary forms and dots the ‘i’ in her own name!

Back of Album Cover

The back cover of the sleeve gives us lyrics to four of the more popular tunes from the soundtrack. I think the red brolly is a nice touch between the Side One and Side Two listings!

FUN FACTS: In North America, we call that red thingy an umbrella. In Europe, it is more commonly called a brolly. But did you know that some call it a bumbershoot? Bumbershoot is formed by combining an alteration of the word umbrella with an alteration of the word parachute.

Posted in Artwork, Characters, Movies, Music, Records, Soundtracks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LIFE Magazine from Oct. 1971 – Disney World Opens

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Dis-LEE

Before Walt Disney World opened in 1971 it was very much up in the air as to whether it would be a good thing for Florida. It seems strange now, but especially the residents of Kissimmee were of the opinion that Disney coming to their State was going to bring the End of Times in conjunction with the Zombie Apocalypse! Yup. They were freaked out. I have a copy of a vintage LOOK! magazine that describes the panic in vivid detail. But that is a post for another time.

This post will share a brighter view of the second coming of the Mouse:

Disneyland had been a great success for Walt Disney and so a second Park was planned. This one was to be bigger and arguably better, with all of the space needed for the dreams and imagination contained in the Disney company.

The contents of this LIFE magazine didn’t say much about the article within:

Table of Contents

27,400 acres is a lot of land. But to this day, it still hasn’t been completely filled up with Disney Magic! So we can only assume there is much more to come.

But let’s get into what the uncredited writer had to say about the newly opened Walt Disney World:

Pages 1 & 2

The opening 2-page spread compares Disneyland attractions to their counterparts in Walt Disney World. Verbiage like ‘hokey’ and ‘nonsense’ are used to describe the new Park. Some attention is also given to the size of the property and the reasoning behind such an acquisition of land.

Under the picture of Mickey leading the band, it is stated that an ‘undersized employee who specializes in the part’ of Mickey leads a gaggle of Disney characters. Undersized? I think they prefer diminutive.

Pages 3 & 4

The next 2-page spread shows a gorgeous aerial view of the Magic Kingdom. Some nice things are said about the amenities before the writer starts to share some of the negative buzz about the entertainment enterprise. Apparently, some worry that prices will rise, traffic jams will occur, unbridled development will forever change the landscape, and that relatives will come in out of nowhere to visit! Oh, the horror!

Next, the environment and water quality of the region have concern expressed for them.

I guess Kissimmee wasn’t the only community having conniptions!

Pages 5 & 6

The final 2-page spread has many wonderful images of characters and attractions, some now extinct, giving a nostalgic look back. The article also states that Disney had grossed a whopping 167 million dollars in 1970. They make ten times that with one movie release today!

Page 7

The last page of the article leads us out of the Park with the ever-gloomy but hilarious Crooner, Big Al. Other shows are mentioned with some sarcastic overtones, but apparently, the writer liked the Country Bear Jamboree!

And I hope you’ve liked this look back to a simpler time when Walt Disney World was smaller, more accessible, and definitely more affordable!

For more vintage Disney in print, check out my copy of The Windsor Star featuring the 50th Anniversary of Mickey Mouse, complete with merchandise. Or take a look at some of the covers from vintage issues of the Disney Magazine. Don’t forget that these old magazines used to have some of the best advertisements featuring some of your favorite Disney characters! I have a nice post featuring some of these pages ripped from old periodicals featuring Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp.

Posted in Attractions, Ephemera, History, Magazines, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment