Welcome back to Disney Stuff. Following up on last month’s Disney toy vehicles article, I recently acquired a great addition to that collection. I found, bid, and won a set of gold millennium vehicles. These were produced in the year 2000 for Walt Disney World’s celebration of the millennium. A set of five, there is one vehicle for each park. First is the monorail, representing Epcot. Then there is a great old taxicab from Disney MGM Studios, the Main Street U.S.A. fire truck, and my favorite; the safari vehicle from Kilimanjaro Safaris. All four are painted gold. The fifth vehicle is a die cast 2000 character logo on wheels. It’s a unique addition to my collection and one I haven’t seen come up for sale that often.
Four out of the five gold millennium vehicles. Shiny. Photo By Chris Barry.
This month I’d like to talk about a collection that I’ve been working hard to complete, and one I get a tremendous amount of joy out of; my collection of Disney News and Disney Magazines. Walt and his creations have graced the cover of every magazine from Look to Popular Mechanics. I’ve come across several magazines that peaked my interest; for example, my copy of Life from 1971 with the opening of Walt Disney World on the cover:
A classic cover: opening day at Walt Disney World. I wish I was there! Copyright © Time Inc.
I also have a nice collection of Eyes and Ears, the official Walt Disney World cast member magazine. They come up for sale on eBay once in a while and it’s always worth checking out for a different perspective on the inside happenings of the company.
A fairly recent copy of Eyes and Ears. Copyright © Disney.
However, it’s Disney News and Disney Magazine that I get the most out of, as I’m sure many Disney fans out there do. I signed on for a Disney Magazine subscription pretty late in its existence and immediately set out on a mission to have the complete series. Once that was complete, I was, of course, led to its predecessor, Disney News. That has been a harder chore, as Disney News began publishing in 1965. All things said and done, there are 159 issues. I’m working my way backwards from the 1990’s, slowly.
What could be better for a Disney fan than a dose of our favorite pastime arriving in the mail? Just when you had a growing need for a Mouse “fix”, the magazine would arrive chockfull of all things Disney. Stories about rides and attractions, interviews with Imagineers, reviews of new films, visits to the resorts, and teases of whatever was up and coming on the Disney horizon filled the pages. In between vacations to the parks, Disney Magazine kept you informed and featured some truly great eye candy to keep you satiated until your next visit.
There’s nothing we Disney fans love more than actually experiencing Walt Disney World or Disneyland firsthand. It would seem that a close second would be reading and learning as much as we can about our favorite entity. From a historical perspective, collecting the older Disney News magazines has taught me a whole lot about the history of the company, parks, and films I love so much. Disney News began in winter 1965/66 as a free benefit for members of The Magic Kingdom Club. They later began charging for the magazine. In 1994, they changed the name to The Disney Magazine, and in 1996 changed formats and dropped the “The.” Sadly, the company ceased production in 2005.
What a pleasure to read what they had in mind while designing Space Mountain here in this issue from 1977:
Disney News cover: imagine discovering Space Mountain all over again. Copyright © Disney.
How about this issue, where you could check out the new Port Orleans Resort, one of my favorite places to stay in the “World.”
Some cool characters that you can’t meet anymore on the cover of Disney News. Copyright © Disney.
How often do you see Cinderella Castle in Tokyo covered in snow?
Disney News features Disneyland Tokyo: just like February in Orlando. Copyright © Disney.
This 1992 issue touts the arrival of Aladdin to the big screen:
Aladdin on the cover plus a great interview with Roy Disney in this issue. Copyright © Disney.
An issue close to my heart is this one from 1990, featuring my hero and first “boss”, Jim Henson. The article states that as they went to press, Jim tragically passed away. It’s a sentimental read, a promising article of unfulfilled collaborations to come.
Jim Henson and his most famous creation. One can only wonder… what if…? Copyright © Disney.
Later issues of Disney Magazine introduced readers to Animal Kingdom, before they got a chance to see this wonderful place in person…
This handsome devil welcomes you to Disney’s newest park in an issue featuring Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Copyright © Disney.
… laid out the plans for the 100 years of Magic celebration at Walt Disney World…
The DisneySea concept drawings in this issue are fantastic. Some day, I have to make it there. Copyright © Disney.
… and toured you around “Walt Disney’s Hollywood”, showing you where the old Mousetro lived, worked and dined.
Read about the “new” thrill ride, Test Track. Copyright © Disney.
All good things come to an end of course and I’ll never forget getting this notice attached to my Summer 2005 issue.
Bummer! The end of the road for Disney Magazine. Copyright © Disney.
It’s sort of ironic that I’m writing this article in the medium that I am, cyberspace, because it’s the digital realm that, according to the publishers, sounded the death knell for the magazine. More and more readers, they said, were turning to the Internet and its many websites, both official and unofficial, for their Disney information. While that may or not be completely true, I believed then, and still believe now, that there was and still is room for both. There is something irreplaceable about holding the physical magazine in your hands, appreciating the great artwork, writing, and design as you thumb through it in your favorite reading spot. I loved losing track of when the next issue was going to arrive and being surprised when I found it in the mailbox.
Sure, by the time that they printed an issue, websites like this one, and many others, had already them scooped on hot news. That doesn’t mean that the interviews with Disney Legends, the Ask Dave column, the profiles of the resorts, the recipes from your favorite Disney restaurants, and the classy production values weren’t enough to keep it going strong after 40 years. I truly wish they gave it more of a chance to compete with cyberspace. Maybe they’ll surprise me and reintroduce it someday.
In the meantime, you can still find plenty of issues for sale on eBay, as well as various other sites. The newer issues can usually be found for under $10. I’ve done very well with multiple issue lots on eBay. I think I paid around $40 for a lot of 15 issues; that’s a pretty good deal. It’s the earlier versions that run into the double-digit range, peaking at around $65 for an issue from 1966. I haven’t seen the first issue for sale from the winter of 1965/66, so I can’t comment on price for this rare one. I’m guessing it is getting close to $100, though.
An excellent resource for keeping track of the entire series as you collect is Tim’s Disney News Archive at www.disneynewsarchive.com. An unofficial site, Tim owns the entire collection and has posted clear scans of each cover along with its production date and he is working on issue summaries. Tim’s collection is not for sale, but his site is a great resource for anyone looking to collect Disney magazines.
So…go on out there and get yourself some copies of Disney News and Disney Magazine. They are predominantly inexpensive collectables that will truly expand any Disney fan’s knowledge and appreciation of… what else… Disney Stuff.
Keep your comments coming and I’ll see you next month with even more of our favorite Disney Stuff.
