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Welcome to my Disneyland paper collecting journey.
My collection began over 30
years ago, shortly after I met my wife. She was an avid Disney fan and had love
for animals, especially dogs. So, it was natural that she collect “Pluto.” I
saw how much fun she and other members of our family were having, so I wanted to
begin collecting something having to do with Disney. I wanted something unusual
and interesting to me. So, I decided I would collect Disneyland information
guides.
 This is the first 1955 Disneyland "pictorial" guide.
There was one guide that came out prior to this when Disneyland
first opened. They wanted to have it available when the
park opened. So it had hand rendered drawings of the
attractions in stead of pictures, as many of the attractions
were not completed when the guide had to go to print. This
guide went out later in 1955, after they were able to provide
pictures of the finished attractions. The guide was
reprinted in 2005 for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.
(You can tell the difference by the copyright on the front cover
of the 1955 and the bar code on the rear cover of the 2005.)
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The first Disneyland Guide/Map that was handed out when you
entered Disneyland was sponsored by Bank of America. As
you can see, it has artist rendered drawings of attractions just
like the first Pictorial guide. Again, this was because
the attractions were not completed before the Guide/Maps had to
be printed. |
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As you can see in the photos to the left, The
larger guide/map was updated with an increase in the number of
California Bank of America branches: "Now more than 600
branches" |
As I started to research Disneyland guides, I realized that
there were many different kinds. There were Annual pictorial guides, there were
informational guides and maps that were given out at the park when you came in,
and there were professionally written guides.
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There are many different Disneyland Guides published each
year. Some of the more popular guides include Birnbaum's,
Fodor's, and Zagat's guides to Disneyland and The Unofficial
Guide to Disneyland by Bob Sehlinger. These have a lot of
information about the parks for novices getting ready for a trip
to the park. It is a good tool for Disneyphiles who would
like to learn more and just maybe learn something they did not
know.
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I found that there were also commercially sponsored guides used to advertise
discounts, products and services. I enjoyed seeing the changes in the park year
after year. The pictures were fantastic. I also enjoyed looking at the Disney
art on the covers as well as inside. I was hooked.
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The Magic Kingdom Club was created in 1957 as a
marketing/advertising tool for Disneyland to attract large
corporations and the military to Disneyland. It offered
discounts and other benefits including a magazine called Disney
News. The Magic Kingdom Club was officially stopped in
2000 and the last discounts and related benefits were accepted
until December 31, 2000. The membership guides had
valuable information and maps of Disneyland as well as
descriptions of the discounts and benefits you could receive.
The Magic Kingdom Club was offered to the military and many
corporations. Members would receive a membership card and
could use it to receive discounts and benefits. The Magic
kingdom Club was a free offer. It was replaced by the
Disney Club, which was a pay-for discount club. This offer has
also ended.
Collecting Disney paper has had many advantages for me. Through hunting
and research I have learned much about the park. The more research I did,
the more I wanted to know. I started with just guides, but then as I
learned more and saw what Disney had created, I wanted more. The
creativity and artistry that go into paper items, that you would normally take
for granted, are amazing.
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Disneyland tickets are some of the most interesting items. Through the
years Disney has changed their ticketing media tremendously. Below I have
shared some of the first tickets and their story, as well as samples of more
current ticketing media. Through the years Disneyland has used their
tickets not only for admission but the tickets are used as advertising for
special events including corporate event and, of course, Disneyland events.
Tickets have been used for corporate events, for Disney
anniversaries, and ride introductions (commemorative tickets).
Above is a Disneyland ticket book from the 70's.
When Disneyland first opened in July 1955, there were no ticket
books. Guests paid a general admission fee to get in and then paid to
ride each ride individually. Disneyland began to sell ticket books
later in 1955. There were 3 tickets “A,” “B,” or “C” The best
rides required a “C” ticket. The following year 1956, Disneyland
introduced the "D" ticket. In 1959 the Big 10 ticket book was
introduced including the "E" ticket. The "E" ticket was used for
the best rides and worked its way down to the "A" ticket, for the
smaller, less popular rides. The ticket book provided one “A”
ticket, one “B” ticket, two “C” tickets, three “D” tickets, and three
“E” tickets.
The ticket book to the left consisted of 1 - A, 1 - B, 2 - C, 3 - D, and
3 - E tickets, as well as the General Admission Ticket.
I have just touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Disneyland Paper
collecting. What I outlined here are just a few of the many areas of
collecting. There are many other paper items that one could collect.
There are advertising brochures, one sheet ads, and general Disneyland
information pieces. There are Postcards, Books, parking tickets,
magazines, menus and placemats and stamps. Each could constitute a very
large collection on their own. If you have any questions about Disneyland
paper collecting, please contact me at
Disney Paper Collecting
John Komlos
john@finddisney.com
www.finddisney.com
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disneygeek.com
