Rare 1954 Disneyland Prospectus Packet Sells For $10,600 At Auction

A rare original 1954 Disneyland prospectus was sold last week at a Van Eaton auction for $10,600, five times the original estimate. The item, a 14-page book of documents and images used to educate potential investors as to what they might expect at the park when it opened the following year, was just one of many unique lots for sale at Remembering Disneyland, a highly-anticipated auction of over 800 rare and original pieces chronicling the history of Disneyland. The original estimate for the prospectus was between $1,000 and $2,000.

Auction description: (Disneyland, 1954) An extremely rare prospectus packet for Disneyland, dated September 3, 1954. The prospectus, titled "The Disneyland Story", was used to educate potential investors as to what they might expect at the park when it opened the following year. The document includes overviews of the lands in the park as well as early descriptions of some of the planned attractions of the park, including some that would never get made. The packet comes in a binder marked "Disneyland" in the lower-right corner. The binder contains (26) 8"x 10" black and white photos of concept art, maps, and various scenes which help to convey the descriptions found in the document. This prospectus packet provides an incredibly rare and seldom seen glimpse into Walt Disney's vision for his park almost a year before it opened. The 14-page document is in good condition with a few pages loose from the staple in the top-left corner. The last page has a torn portion along the left-edge. The binder is in fair condition with some separation along the spine, cover-wear, and a torn bottom-right corner. The photos are in very good condition with minor wear. Most of the photos have Disney's numbering and date codes stamped on the reverse."

Most of the renderings included in this 1954 packet are known in their color version but they are some which are less known, starting by this rendering of Fantasyland when it was still planned to include the Monster whale flume ride.


Below some renderings showing Fantasyland rides vehicles as well as rides that never existed or in different versions.





Next, some 1954 renderings for the Jungle Cruise ride.









Below, some renderings showing Frontierland as envisioned in 1954.




Next, some rare 1954 renderings for Tomorrowland entrance...


...and Flight to the Moon.


The file also included some great 1954 maps for the lands or attractions, like this one for Tomorrowland, at that time still called "World of Tomorrow".


Or this one for Main Street U.S.A with indications of the shops.

Or this next one showing the Peter Pan's Flight ride.


And this one too for the full park and parking lot spaces.

The prospectus also included pictures of Disneyland model, as a model was already done in 1954.

Last but not least, the file also included a 14 pages description text describing how will be Disneyland Anaheim. You can read the full 14 description pages titled "The Disneyland Story" at the item auction page HERE but there is a page 6 about a "Recreation land" that never was which i post here. Click on the pic to enlarge it.

All pictures: copyright Disney, Van Euton Galleries