Magic Kingdom Club Christmas Catalog - 1984

In the days before The Disney Store or The Disney Catalog, there was The Disney Family Showcase catalog from the Magic Kingdom Club. I received this catalog in the mail in 1984 and never received another one after that, so it may be the only time that Disney did something like this under that name. I had a subscription to Disney News Magazine at the time, so I'm assuming that is how I got on their mailing list.

There are more than 30 pages, but I've scanned each and every one of them and included them below. Some of the photos in the catalog were taken at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Epcot Center.

The intro talks about Walt and his "Family of Corporate Participants" that helped finance the construction of Disneyland.

See's candy at $6.00 a pound! Wow! Today See's candy is over $19.00 a pound and the price goes up every year after the holidays, like clockwork.

The photo below is from Disneyland's "Festival Japan" parade, which makes me wonder what ever happened to Festival Japan, Viva Mexico Days, and Canada Days at Disneyland?

Epcot Center's Germany Pavilion is pictured on the page below. I had no idea that Goebel manufactured Hummel figurines. I thought Hummels were made by a company named Hummel.

The page below includes a picture taken at Epcot's Italy Pavilion. Epcot would have only been 2 years old at the time this catalog came out.

Only $65 for a Disneyland adult Annual Pass! This was before there were different "levels" of annual passes, so every pass was a "premium" pass. Passes had only been available for a year and a half at this point. Wikipedia (and many other sites) state that the first annual passes were offered to the public in 1984. I have my very first annual pass and it is dated June 20, 1983. I guess it is possible that they were only available to Magic Kingdom Club members that first year since these sites are specifically stating "to the public". However the sites I have been on that supposedly have comprehensive info about annual passes and the prices over the years, fail to mention that they were available in 1983....even if it was something that wasn't offered to the "general" public. I remember they first became available shortly after the New Fantasyland opened in May of 1983. The cost of an adult annual pass at that time was $60.

Disney gift certificates were available, but Disney Dollars would not debut until 1987.

This was the only item that I ordered from the catalog. A Disneyland attraction poster for only $12.50! I still have mine rolled up in the original shipping tube....I never did anything with it. I wonder what it would sell for today?

My brother and I both had Mickey Mouse watches when we were kids. As a matter of fact, we still have them. I remember the girl that sat next to me in 4th grade used to gripe at me about the ticking of my Mickey Mouse watch being too loud!

Arribas Brothers opened their first shop at Disneyland in 1967. Today they have two locations in the park, one on Main St. and the other in New Orleans Square. There used to be a Fantasyland location (inside the Castle) and another over at the Disneyland Hotel. That location was demolished five years ago along with the hotel waterfalls. :-(

The Pendleton Shop (pictured below) was located in Disneyland's Frontierland from opening day in 1955 until 1990.

Disc cameras took horrible, "grainy" photos. I'm glad I never bought one!

I believe that's Betty Taylor in the Golden Horseshoe photo (wearing the black dress). She performed in the Golden Horseshoe Revue from 1956 until 1986!

Who knew that slide projectors were so expensive back in the day?

I have Mickey's Christmas Carol on video and it's still in that same gift box shown on the lower right. I've gotten rid of most of my Disney videos, but I've kept that particular one because it was a gift from my dad.

The Disney Channel had just debuted one year earlier. Only $5.95 for a Disney T-shirt? I don't think you can get a T-shirt at Disneyland today for less than $30.

I wonder who would answer if you called the number below? Don't do it! I'm willing to bet that it's no longer a Disney number.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little shopping trip back to 1984! Happy Holidays to you all!

A Vintage Disneyland Trip Report from 1982 - Part 2

This is a continuation of my last post , which was a vintage Disneyland trip report from November of 1982. During that visit, my friend Tonya and I rode the Skyway to get a sneak peak at the new construction (and sadly, the demolition) of Fantasyland. The Skyway at that point was "round trip." That meant they weren't letting guests off at the Fantsyland station. When the Skyway gondolas entered the station, you had to stay inside the vehicle and the cast members would push you around the curved section of track and back onto the cable in order to send you back over to Tomorrowland.

The view at this time was spectacular....or horrific, depending on your outlook. I really didn't have too much of a problem with the "New Fantasyland," EXCEPT for the fact that Captain Hook's Pirate Ship and Skull Rock had to be sacrificed in the process. I think they both should have stayed at any cost and that Dumbo could have been relocated somewhere else. After all, Dumbo was originally supposed to be relocated to where Videopolis/The Fantasyland Theater ended up being built. It was going to be part of a "Dumbo/Circus" themed area that would have been an entirely new land for the park. But as usual, plans change when it comes to future attractions at the Magic Kingdom.

Oh, but I digress. Let's begin our 1982 round trip excursion on the Skyway! You won't see any aerial shots of Tomorrowland here. This is back in the days of film, so I saved every remaining shot I had for the Fantasyland portion of the ride. First up, is a view of the Alice In Wonderland attraction. It would not be opening in 1983 with the rest of the New Fantasyland. It's reopening would have to wait one more year.

Sniff, sniff.....bye, bye Pirate Ship!

Bye, bye Skull Rock....okay, now I'm just getting mad all over again!

The west wing of the castle was shut down for rehab first (just after the Christmas season of 1981/82), while Mr. Toad and Peter Pan remained open. That's why the Snow White & Pinocchio side of Fantasyland is so much further along in these next two photos. I remember that the east wing's construction went much faster....it would be completed by May of 1983. Again, these photos were taken in November of 1982.

Here's a pic of the Village Haus Restaurant under construction. Big Thunder Mountain used to tower over Fantasyland....at least until the pine trees grew taller.

I have many more photos of the New Fantasyland construction. Some were taken earlier than this visit and some later. During that time period, we always had to ride the Skyway to check on the construction progress. I will post more of these construction photos in the future!

The Zombie of Pixie Hollow

Last weekend, I flew to Phoenix for Father's Day and a family reunion. While on the airplane, I noticed the following ad in the "Sky Mall" magazine and couldn't help but think how great this would look strategically placed somewhere within Pixie Hollow at Disneyland. Or how about in Minnie's garden in Toontown? Sick, huh? Okay, so I was bored on the airplane and my mind was wandering. By the way, this was my first "non-Disney" trip in over two years.
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Here are a few other items from the catalog. Perfect ideas for converting you own home or garden into......
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The haunted forest from Snow White's Scary Adventures.
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The Jungle Cruise
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The Enchanted Tiki Room
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Pixie Hollow (or a tribute to Light Magic....Ugh!)

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I wish to thank Sky Mall for helping to pass the time on my flight! (I better not mention that the flight to Phoenix is only an hour and fifteen minutes!)