A collection of more than 1,500 Disney items will be auctioned later this month – with everything from a poster to a theme park ride vehicle up for grabs.
The goods are owned by Joel Magee, a collector of vintage goods, whose treasure trove is made up of 6,000 items amassed over 30 years. It forms the largest privately owned collection of Disney Parks memorabilia in the world and includes the usual posters, costumes and souvenirs, plus other rare finds.
A free exhibition, organised by the Van Eaton Galleries, is taking place at the Burbank Town Centre Mall in California, where the items being auctioned are on display until July 16. Bidding starts on July 17 for three days.
The Disney auction features several quirky items in a range of prices, including a rare admission ticket from the 1950s for $100; and a vintage vehicle from the Peter Pan's Flight ride, for $50,000.
The digital catalogue has 544 pages with pictures and detailed descriptions of the items going up for auction, as well as estimated price ranges.
For example, the description for a vehicle from the 1977 Space Mountain ride reads: “This futuristic rocket ship vehicle retains its original vehicle designation number '4', show quality-enhancing glow-in-the-dark side panels and is among the most sought-after original Park artefacts from Tomorrowland."
The dimensions are also detailed, as well as the condition of the item, and it's estimated to fetch $8,000-$10,000.
There are also costumes in the collection, including a Maleficent headpiece and the kit from the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride used at Disneyland Resort in 2005.
Magee is known as America's "toy scout” for his penchant for collecting vintage toys. Aside from his Disneyland collection, he also collects Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels cars and Star Wars action figures. He runs an eBay store where he sells a number of items, from old board games to other toy collectibles.
Magee said he watched The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series every week as a child, but had never been to Disneyland nor thought of being a toy collector. Then he met a man selling Disneyland artefacts that changed everything.
“At the time, I couldn’t afford too much. I bought a couple of pieces, but that’s where it all began,” he told AP.
American actor John Stamos posted a video of his visit to the exhibition on TikTok. In the clip, he goes around showcasing many of the items while saying “got it” or “need it”.
Those in the UAE who are interested in items can visit the Van Eaton Galleries' website for online bidding.
