Disneyland Goodies

My fellow Disney collecting buddy, Mike, just returned from Disneyland and brought me a bunch of goodies.

In addition to several single postcards, he also returned with a new postcard folder (seen above). This "new" collection of cards is really a disappointment. And, I use the term "new" loosely as several of the pictures included are several years old. First off, we get a picture of Fantasmic that was taken in 1992 - this picture was part of the original press package and actually includes details that aren't even part of the attraction. There's also a picture of Space Mountain that was taken before it was repainted white in 2005. Disneyland has also produced several fantastic firework shows, but we just get this nice boring shot. And, with the current trend in Disney postcards to leave people out of the pictures just makes the Park look lonesome and empty. It's not difficult to produce excellent looking postcards. Disney has some very talented photographers on staff. It's just that the people behind the real photo postcards must have no interest in publishing accurate, artistic or current images.

Next up, is the book "Disneyland Through The Decades" (hardback 160 pgs - also seen above). Looking at Disneyland since its beginning is not a new theme. The author, Jeff Kurtti, even points out in the forward that this subject has been covered many, many times. Just off the top of my head I can think of several books such as Randy Bright's brilliant "Disneyland: The Inside Story", "Disneyland: The Nickel Tour" (which is probably still the gold standard on Disneyland history books) and the official "Disneyland: Then, Now and Forever". While "Through The Decades" is an entertaining book, it's not exactly ground-breaking.

I'm still waiting for someone to produce a photographic before and after book.

3D PC

In 1966, Disney produced a very small series of oversized 3D postcards. There were only four different cards in this series. There was a character shot aboard the Omnibus outside City Hall, the obligatory shot in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, a rather odd shot from the Monorail and the posed shot above taken in Frontierland. While the other three cards feature famous Disney characters (and two of the cards include a Tour Guide), this Frontierland card features models trying to set the mood from a bygone era.

I've had the other three cards for quite a long time. It wasn't until recently that I finally tracked down the missing fourth card. And, it wasn't until I had it in hand that I noticed the plants in the foreground are fake. Most likely dragged over from the Flower Mart on Main St.

While putting this postcard away, I decided it was time for a recount. It had been about six months since the last time I counted my postcards. I've now got 1220 postcards! Good thing they're pretty easy to store.