Thursday, January 05, 2023

The Souvenir Dungeon

It's been a while since we've visited the souvenir dungeon, so let's take the industrial elevator down to level 6 and take a look at a few vintage Disneyland souvenirs.

First up is this fairly rare Art Corner item - "Magic Mirror Movies", which is actually one of the early devices (known as a phenakistascope) that achieved the illusion of moving drawings (I wonder if this was from around the time Disneyland had the "Art of Animation" exhibit?). From Wikipedia: Arrayed radially around the disc's center is a series of pictures showing sequential phases of the animation. Small rectangular apertures are spaced evenly around the rim of the disc. The user would spin the disc and look through the moving slits at the images reflected in a mirror. The scanning of the slits across the reflected images keeps them from simply blurring together so that the user can see a rapid succession of images that appear to be a single moving picture.

This one features a loop of Pecos Bill from the 1948 animated feature, "Melody Time". The disk itself is just a bit smaller than a 33 1/3 LP; I know that there are other "Magic Mirror Movies" from the Art Corner. But I only have this one!


With Photoshop, I was able to make an animated gif so that you can see what the loop looked like! Pecos Bill is rootin' and tootin'. 


Next is an adult ticket to Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which was the first Audio-Animatronic attraction, debuting on June 23, 1963. The Tiki Room was owned and operated by WED Enterprises, and required a separate admission (in other words, your regular ticket book would not get you in). A mere 75 cents, no big deal - though it is the equivalent of over $7 in today's space bucks. I'm sure some people grumbled!


And finally, here's a neat "water-slide" decal that pre-dated the opening of Walt Disney World. The Walt Disney Archives posted something on Twitter a few months ago:  This sticker is among the earliest examples of Walt Disney World merchandise sold to guests. It was available for purchase at the Walt Disney World Preview Center beginning in 1970. Pretty cool!


I hope you have enjoyed your visit to the Souvenir Dungeon.

27 comments:

JB said...

Pecos Bill's horse makes me smile, seeing how he gallops with all his legs moving in unison.
I've always been fascinated by animation, and ways to achieve it. When I was a kid I sometimes made crude 'movies' on little note pads, and flipped through the pages. A little later I also made a zoetrope to view my creations. Later still, I made a couple of short stop-motion super-8mm movies using clay figures. The Pecos Bill disk (and your GIF) are my favorite items today.

If nothing else, the Tiki Room ticket certainly has a very exotic look to it. Jungle green! How long did they do the separate charge for the Enchanted Tiki Room? And when did they come to their senses and stop charging extra for it?

The WDW logo: OMG!!! The Earth has two giant black holes hovering nearby! The apocalypse is nigh! I've always liked that squared-off 'D' logo. It's one of the earliest things I remember seeing when I first heard about WDW being built.

These items were wayyy down in the 6th level of your Souvenir Dungeon? WHY? Surely they are first-level souvenirs! Thanks, Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Ooooh, these are all super nice! I can't pick a favorite!

I've never seen one of those Magic Mirror Movies discs. I have some souvenir "Flip Books" from Disneyland, which show various Disney characters cavorting, when you flip the pages. They are all personal souvenirs from childhood visits. At least one of them has "From the Art Corner" on the cover, but I know most of them don't, and those were definitely purchased after the Art Corner had closed.

Major, could your Enchanted Tiki Room ticket have possibly been purchased by only the 71st person to ever buy a ticket for the attraction? Maybe it's from opening day!

TokyoMagic! said...

Not to beat a dead horse....or hearse, but in regards to yesterday's GDB post, I found my catalog for the 2017 Knott's auction, with the listing for the white "children's hearse." I added a scan of the catalog page to my same link from yesterday's comment. Sorry about the partially blurred item description, but I didn't want to "squash" the spine on the auction catalog. It's funny that the description doesn't mention that it had been on display in the park every single day, for more than 30 years. It just says that it was a prop used for the park's famous "Halloween Haunt" events. But I guess that shouldn't surprise me. I went to the pre-auction viewing, and the guy from the auction house was telling people all sorts of false information about the individual items. Anyway, here is that link again, with the added auction photos:

Knott's Berry Farm Hearses

Chuck said...

When was the last time we visited the Souvenir Dungeon? Can't wait to see your Iron Maiden and the Pit of Despair. Man, was that a great concert!

I love the phenakistascope. Odd that they decided to animate Bill and Widowmaker moving from left to right, as right to left is a stronger composition for Western readers since we read from left to right (I realize when looking at the cardstock it looks like a right-to-left composition, but a phenakistascope image is viewed in a mirror). All glory and honor is due to you for building the animated GIF; I'm sure that had its challenges in lining up the scanned images correctly. And for the record, T prefer your animation as it is, going right to left.

One admission - I like the Tiki Room ticket. I wonder if those were redeemable for E Coupons later? And could you get in the attraction with one today?

Weird that they made decals specifically for water slides. I'd think that the application would be extremely limited, especially since River Country wouldn't open until 1976.

JB, I vaguely remember an issue of National Geographic World from around 1979-81 that included a punch-out zoetrope of Eadweard Muybridge's Horse in Motion. I thought that thing was so cool. Still do.

TM!, the hearse is cool, but I want that giant ice cream cone. How do they keep it from melting? And is it self-licking?

Chuck said...

BTW - I share Mr. T's preference for your right-to-left animation as well.

TokyoMagic! said...

Chuck, that giant ice cream cone could have been yours for the right price! Someone paid $717.00 for it!

Bu said...

Not sure if I want to read “self lickable” this early in the AM…just saying’. The Tiki Room ticket is quite the find intact and with a very low number. Not sure If I would be sharing it with mere mortals such as us. I did have a very nice interaction with a Tiki Room employee my last visit…the show had just started, and the doors were closed…she asked us if we wanted to go in anyway being that we missed the first 5 minutes. “Yes” the show is etched into my memory…I think my friend can catch up. I asked her if two theatres were running…not sure why I thought there were two theatres ‘Ala Bears…but maybe I am remembering this from WDW? Onto the water slide decal. I loved those things, and was jealous of the cars I saw with the Disneyland one on the back window…so I got one, and decades later donated it to a museum. Hopefully, it’s enjoyed. I can’t hold on to stuff anymore, I would love to have all of these items, but what do you do with them if you can’t eat them? I made a feeble attempt to find the old Preview Center on my last trip to Orlando…I also wanted to see the Roy Disney/Joe Fowler/Card Walker houses…which are really nothing glamourous…and I’m not sure if the people living in them understand the historic significance to Central Florida. The training Hotel off International drive is long gone- the Preview center is there, but occupied by some sports thing. All for next time :). Flip books were a huge thing…but always “too expensive” so I flipped my friends. I later got all the flip books when I started working…then later sold them/ gave them away, etc. Thanks for the morning musings Major.

Chuck said...

Bu, in my experience, flipping my friends usually resulted in the end of said friendship. ;-)

Anonymous said...

My favorite is good ol Pecos Bill- the disc and especially the GIF! Like Chuck, as a kid I made my own flip books. They usually involved rockets blowing stuff up (or at least that's one I can remember). I missed the boat on the other forms of animation- probably because I was building rockets to blow stuff up. Ok, actually blowing stuff up was NOT allowed, but the launch part was fun anyway.

I like the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Ticket! Actually the whole show is great in a nostalgic corny way that can't be duplicated now- so don't try. STOP IT!

I have a window cling sticker from EPCOT's first year, but I'm pretty sure the Preview Center's decal out-classes it by a mile. Besides, window clings are pretty useless now that everyone has tinted windows on their cars. Just can't see 'em, ya see?

Thanks to Level 6 for the treasures!

JG said...

Major, thanks for a peek at these treasures, and especially for the ride in the industrial elevator. You know those are not regulated for passenger use, I hope no one catches us.

The animation toy is definitely top drawer, and the way you made the free-standing animation so we can enjoy it is pretty sweet. Thank you!

Anything Tiki Room will get my attention, and ticket #71 is worth a second look. I vaguely remember having the separate admission, but couldn’t say how much or when it stopped. I don’t care how corny the show is, I love it and never miss attending, or getting a Dole Whip. I’m sure it will be eliminated some day, but there will always be recordings.

I guess I don’t feel the 70’s graphics the way others do, but it is a cool item. I still harbor a vague resentment for WDW since it siphoned money and effort away from Disneyland. I know I’m shallow and petty, but there it is. I hope the Junior Gorillas can forgive me.

I hope all are staying safe and dry in this extreme weather. We may go from drought to surplus in a couple of weeks.

JG

MIKE COZART said...

I purchased that WDW pre opening waterslide many years ago from Dave Smith - founder of the Disney Archives. Back in the day when Disney collector’s Conventions were still a thing … in the evenings the showroom dealers and conventioneers would do ROOM HOPPING …. They would open up their hotel rooms and sell things a day or two before the BIG final day show and sale. There would be a reception room in a suite room hoppers could go to for snacks and drinks and socialized as view a easel with listings of what floors and rooms were open … often a short description of what the dealer specializes in … “movie posters and press kits” …. “Disneyland Tickets”…. “Animation Art” etc etc. one year Dave Smith has a room - selling some great stuff. Was it HIS? Did it belong to the Disney Archives?? …. Seems like a conflict of interests . But I made several purchases …. And in a time when the internet was non-existent or new … seeing a stack of WDW PREOPENING preview center decals unused was pretty exciting! I also bought a EPCOT HORIZONS marketing guide and a 1969 WDW HALL OF PRESIDENTS-LIBERTY SQUARE investor search presentation book …. The Hall of Presidents show is called “One Nation Under God”

I hade discovered that ALL the Walt Disney World preview center produced merchandise was also sold at Disneyland and The Disneyland Hotel ….. including a preview pictorial guidebook, concept art/models postcards , concept art/models slide sets , a bumper sticker , and the water slide decal from major’s collection …. TWO WDW preview center items were NOT sold at Disneyland: a green and a blue Florida WDW souvenir license plate and a deck of playing cards with the Herbert Ryman Cinderella Castle concept on the card backs.

In the mid 1980’s Disneyland again sold merchandise from other Disney parks : in a section of the Premiere Shop in Tomorrowland for a short period of time you could purchase popular souvenir items from Walt Disney World , Epcot Center , and even Tokyo Disneyland. Several of my Tokyo Disneyland pictorial guides and postcard folders came from Disneyland California!

Chuck : you could NOT use the Tiki Room Ticket nor could you get any money value back on it. In the mid 1990’s the Disney company made press statements / industry announcements and displayed signs at Disneyland & Walt Disney World that after a specific date the Disney company would no longer issue face value refunds for unused Disney park tickets or coupons. With the exceptions of complete ticket books with admission stubs still attached or other one day admission tickets could still be exchanged for a single day admission .

Arcades & shooting galleries are not included.

Love the Tiki Room ticket Major! I have a purple version as well as several different complimentary Tiki Room tickets for United Airline Stewardesses and flight crews to visit The Enchanted Tiki Room.

Stefano said...

My animation bible was Preston Blair's ANIMATION: HOW TO DRAW ANIMATED CARTOONS. It was published in the 1940s but still on sale in art shops in the 1970s. There was a strutting showgirl posed in stages over two pages, pretty racy Tex Avery style bump and grind. A friend and I embellished her with typically pre-teen lack of respect. We would never work for Disney!

Nanook said...

Major-
Hey - I've got one of those Pecos Bill 'Magic Mirror Movies'. Love the gif-!

Thanks, Major.

"Lou and Sue" said...

These are wonderful souvenirs, but I especially love your animated gif, Major. Just wondering, as the disc 'instructions' aren't clear...how do you hold the disc to spin it? Was there a "handle thingy"? Did you just stick a pencil in the middle and spin it? I've never seen these before.

Major, you've 'upped' your game today. Now you have to re-animate your avatar, some how. I miss seeing the moon wink.

Thank you, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

JB, I believe that Ward Kimball was responsible for the Pecos Bill animation. Ward was pretty great! I used to make little flip books on the edges of cheap paperback books (and NOT my dad’s collection of rare first edition novels! Never!), often involving a little man running toward the edge, falling, and exploding when he hit the ground. Oscar worthy! Don’t worry about the black circles above the Urf, they are there to keep the sun from burning us. They were put up by NASA back in the late 1960s. I know that the 6th level sounds like it isn’t great, but it is where the soft-serve ice cream machine is, so I go there a lot.

TokyoMagic!, I’ve seen a few other Magic Mirror discs, and wish I’d bought them. I think the only reason I got the one I have is because it didn’t go for a sky-high price. I think I shared pictures of some of those flip books you mentioned, you can get Art Corner versions, and then later versions that do not mention the Art Corner. I of course am crazy, and made a point to get the Art Corner versions. As for ticket numbers, I don’t really understand the significance, but I have the feeling that my ticket is not from opening day!

TokyoMagic!, I think that if you were a true GDB fan, you would rob a bank if I asked you to. Or at least squash your Knott’s catalog. I’ve noticed that MANY large auction houses omit interesting details about some of their items - details that might result in higher bids. I recently helped a fellow sell some posters through Heritage Auctions, and told him that their descriptions were cursory at best. They changed them after I told him what they should say!

Chuck, I call my home the “pit of despair”, but that’s another story. I never really thought about the right-to-left versus left-to-right controversy that is ripping this country apart. Can’t we all just get along? Making the animated GIF was fun, I just used the shadow on the ground as my “tether”. I think I’ll hand somebody my Tiki Room ticket the next time I go to the park; “Sure, you can get right in with this, sir!”. Why is that cast member rubbing his hands together and cackling? You needed decals for water slides so that the brain-eating amoeba can’t get in.

Chuck, anything Mr. T likes is OK with me.

TokyoMagic!, I need a variety of giant food items. Randy’s Donuts, look out!

Bu, yes, the less mention of licking, the better. My guess is that batches of Tiki Room tickets were printed. Did they start with a new batch each morning? No idea. I would have waited for the Tiki Room show to start, who wants to miss the first five minutes? That’s half the show! I hope the employee told you that “yes”, they were running both theaters, and that PeeWee’s bike was in the basement. Wow, what museum got your decal?? Everybody should give all of their spare collectibles to me, and also their spare currency and Beanie Babies. I had heard that Roy Disney had a house on the Florida property, but did not know that it was still there. You’d think that it would have been torn down and replaced with something big and ugly.

Major Pepperidge said...

Chuck, this is why you need more Judo friends.

Stu29573, funny, I guess boys just like stuff to blow up, since my “flip books” generally involved explosions. And rockets, though you got way more involved and actually built cool flying rockets! I just drew endless bad pictures of Saturn V rockets (and space capsules, the Mercury/Gemini style). I love the Tiki Room too, the corny jokes, and the classic Disney chorus music. Hey, EPCOT was pretty neat in the early years. Sadly it has changed for the worse, but hang on to your sticker.

JG, my industrial elevator is pure luxury, I even have pleasant scents piped in. “Do I smell blueberry muffins baking??”. I’m glad you liked the animated GIF (hard G, I don’t care what anybody says). I did not see the Tiki Room until tickets were a thing of the past, but it must have been quite a thing to actually have to buy a separate coupon just for that show. I know what you mean about the graphics on that decal, but it’s more about the historical significance in this case. And I do admit to having a soft spot for the D with the mouse-eared globe.

Mike Cozart, wow, you bought one from Dave Smith?? I remember my buddy Mr. X used to go “room hopping”, and he got some of his best stuff that way. I never did it. I can only imagine what Dave Smith would have. Like you said, did he “appropriate” some of that stuff? It’s possible that the archives couldn’t keep everything and would have thrown some things out. In that case it’s better that it eventually wound up in the hands of a collector who loved it. Just a theory of course. Gosh, reading your comment makes me wish for a time machine so that I could have done room hopping!! I actually have photos of Disneyland souvenir stands where you can clearly see the preview pictorial guidebook for WDW, and it does not surprise me that other items were sold in Disneyland too. Just get the word out there! I have a friend who used an unused vintage ticket book to get into the park (this was years ago, maybe in the early 1990s, and I thought he was nuts. Just buy a ticket! He seemed pretty proud of himself though. I wish I had some other examples of the Tiki Room ticket, but they are surprisingly scarce, since I assume that many thousands were sold.

Stefano, I am familiar with Preston Blair’s wonderful book. Have you seen the images of the original version that used Bugs Bunny and “Red” instead of similar-but-generic versions? You can find scans online, I’d love to get a copy of that version. And hey, boys will be boys, I’m sure you aren’t the only one to “improve” your book!

Nanook, do you have any other Magic Mirror Movies discs?

Nanook said...

Major-
I'm afraid that's the only Magic Mirror Movie disc in my collection.

And speaking of giving 'stuff' to museums... at one time I had three, unused, Holidayland name tags. Stacia ended up with one of them, and the Disney Archive, the 3rd - as it didn't have one at the time. (If memory serves - that was late 80's - early 90's).

Melissa said...

Maj, the rainbow text on "Enchanted Tiki Room" made me irrationally happy, so I want you to know that the effort wan't wasted! And my coonskin cap is off to all gifmakers, because I suck so badly at it, and your Pecos Bill animation also brightened my day. Makes me think of those paperback kids' books that had a flip animation built into the bottom corner of each page.

I guess I'm just the right age, but all the logos, graphics, and typefaces from early MK through early EPCOT are just deeply satisfying. It's probably for the best that I can't afford any of the anniversary merchandise that's being sold right now, because it would be too tempting. I had a WDW candy dish (it might have been intended as an ashtray) from the early 1970s that I got for a dollar in a secondhand store, but it came up missing during my last move. The base color was that perfect shade of turquoise.

TM! Thanks for the updated link to the Knott's hearse pictures! It's a shame we can't see those particular models in person anymore. Seeing their loved ones go out in that kind of style must have been a comfort to many families.

Mike, those Disney collectors' conventions sound wild! I wish somebody had been around to make a documentary.

"funny, I guess boys just like stuff to blow up"

Blowed 'em up real good!

DBenson said...

Did they print anything on the flip side of Pecos Bill? If not, a little disappointed they didn't spend a few more cents to make it a double feature.

Have faint memories of the Art Center. A Grecian urn with figures in different poses, spinning on its pedestal, and a little screen showing pencil roughs of Happy the dwarf dancing. Now I realize those were featured in the Disneyland TV show, "The Story of the Animated Drawing". The show may well have featured a phenakistascope; Uncle Walt demonstrates various devices but I'm too lazy to dig out the DVD just now.

The Silly Symphonies Sunday comic strip included animated discs for a stretch in the 30s. You were supposed to mount the newsprint on cardboard.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I remember that you gave those Holidayland tags away… I guess the collector in me can’t help thinking about how much money they would be worth!

Melissa, I’m glad you liked the colorful lettering! I am not terribly experienced with making gifs, but it’s a fun thing to play around with. I think at least one of the Frank and Ollie books has flip animation in the lower corner - it might be “Too Funny For Words”, which unfortunately is probably the least interesting of their books. I never thought that Disney short subjects were that funny, to be honest. It was the Warner Bros. shorts that were so hilarious. That being said, I still have a lot of love for Disney short cartoons. I’m sorry you lost your WDW candy dish, based on your description I think there was a Disneyland version too. Ha ha, poor Meryl Streep!

DBenson, NO, the flip side of the Magic Mirror Movie disc is blank. Maybe it would have been distracting to have graphics on the front while trying to see the animation through the slots? Yeah, probably not, they just cheaped out. I have no memories of the Art Corner, though it’s possible I went inside when I was a very young child. It sold so many amazing souvenirs that are mostly rare and valuable today, including all those animation cells. I think you are right, Walt demonstrates a phenakistascope on that TV episode. And yes, they made those animated discs for the old newspaper “Silly Symphonies”!

Major Pepperidge said...

Lou and Sue, interesting, I had to go back and look at the instructions, it’s surprising that they don’t suggest anything to spin the disc on. I would think that a small nail, or maybe a paperclip would work. I wish I could have my winking avatar, but Blogger changes the animated gif into a png file for some annoying reason!

MIKE COZART said...

Yeah … seeing Dave Smith from the archives selling rare stuff in a hotel room at a Disney collectors show room hopping nite was one of those odd/weird things …. Like one year Disney News set up a table at a NFFC Disney show and sale ( National Fantasy Fan Club) they were not even in the main exhibit hall but a smaller overflow room. But the editor Anne Oakley and some writers and other staff was there “selling” subscriptions to Disney News …. And back issues. They didn’t know the back issues were going to be so popular so they didn’t bring much . So they said mail us the list of issues you want and quantities you want. They handed me a price list with 4 ranges of prices. I asked … “ oh how do we know which issues are available ?” And they said … we have back issues of every issue …. But we are getting low on the first edition…. So I went home and made a list of issues I needed better copies of or was missing … mailed a check …. And in two weeks a box arrived with everything I ordered all vintage …. But all looked like they had JUST BEEN PRINTED!! They were perfect and had been in storage for many many decades.

Several years later I got a phone call from someone at Disney News asking if I ever reviewed those issues … (???) I responded yes …. Like 3 years ago. They said Disney News had been sold and they were clearing out all their old magazine offices and they found my order and a check … ( it had never been cashed) but since it was a Disney Credit Union check they had already checked to make sure it could still be cashed … ( it could) they just wanted to make sure I received my issues……

Anonymous said...

Major, you are right, as usual. "GIF" is pronounced with a hard "G" since it is short for "Graphic", also a hard "G".

I cannot understand how this is even a debate.

No one says jraphic, not even a jraffe.

JG

Chuck said...

Trying to think up some sort of absurdist comment linking GIF and Jif and Peter Pan and Skippy and Annette, but I’m just too tired. Long day, and the bed is calling. Maybe the peanut gallery can finish the thought for me.

G’night, g’rillas!

"Lou and Sue" said...

Chuck, I bet Melissa with put something together within 15 minutes of reading your comment.

JG said...

Chuck, don’t spread yourself too thin, you’ll go nuts.

JG

Melissa said...

I’d have to jam them all into a spreadsheet, but I’m too much of a goober to manage it.