Fans who love Disney will soon be able to take home more than just a small object from the gift shop. They will get a chance to buy the real thing at an auction later this month.
Joel Magee has been building his collection of more than 6,000 Disney objects for 30 years. They include costumes, rare posters, and life-size vehicles from rides like Dumbo and Peter Pan.
He is now ready to share some of it with the public at a large building in Burbank, California. Fans can hear birds singing in the Enchanted Tiki Room or listen to the ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride. They are among the 1,500 objects up for sale.
“I’m one of those guys — go big or go home. And if you don’t have the biggest, then it ain’t the best,” Magee told The Associated Press. His collection is believed to be the largest individually owned Disneyland or Disney Park collection in the world.
Magee said he watched The Wonderful World of Disney on television every week as a child, but had never visited the park. He said he never thought about collecting until he was at a toy show where he met a man selling Disneyland objects and got started.
“At the time, I couldn’t afford too much. I bought a couple of pieces, but that’s where it all began,” Magee said. “In my travels… I meet people all over the country and for the last 25 years, they’ve just been bringing me all their stuff and here it is today.”
The objects for sale are as small as a trading card and as large as a 1917 Model T vehicle from Disneyland’s Original Main Street. Magee said that Walt Disney, the founder of the Disney company, created the vehicle himself.
Mike Van Eaton is the co-owner of Van Eaton Galleries, which is running the auction. He said among the most sought-after objects are those from the Haunted Mansion ride. Sought-after objects include paintings and a “doom buggy” – the vehicle visitors ride on.
“Joel also has one of the most amazing Disney attraction poster collections in the world. He has every attraction poster ever in the park. And those are also going to do very well,” Van Eaton said.
There are objects for every price point, with some starting as low as $50 – but most go way up from there.
Van Eaton said an object like the Dumbo ride vehicle may go for $200,000 to $300,000. He also said there are waste containers from the park that may go for $5,000 or $6,000, and posters that could reach $50,000 to $60,000.
The objects can be found at the Burbank Town Center Mall and will be available to look at through July 16. The auction will be held July 17 through 19.
I’m Gregory Stachel.
