Donald Duck and the Ninja Turtles?

 

Autograph Book

What do Donald Duck and the Ninja Turtles have to do with each other?  Nothing, really.  Except that theirs are the only signatures you will find in this WDW autograph book.  Presumably, obtained during the martial arts reptiles' short stint in the early 90's at the then named, Disney-MGM Studios.

How Much Postage?

 

Ready to Mail Jigsaw Puzzle

With the mess that the USPS is going thru right now, I'm not sure I would trust this to make it to its destination but what a great souvenir.  I love the Big D logo curved on the front and in its traditional form on the back (mailing side).
There is no registered trademark on the logo and so I am assuming this piece is from the early '70's.  It still has the original price tag on the bottom of $1.50. (less than a nice postcard today)

$9 WDW T-shirt

 

15 Years Ringer T-shirt
1986

This '15 Years' ringer t-shirt still has its original price tag & wrapper.  Based on the CPI Inflation Calculator, this shirt, selling for $9 in 1986, should sell for $21.23 in 2020.  The current cost of a basic WDW tee on ShopDisney - $24.99.

Complete Your Back to School List

 

Main Street, USA eraser

Complete your back to school supply shopping list with these early WDW erasers.  Although it looks like a child drew the logo, the sketches are great!  My collection is missing just one of the lands.  Can you tell which one is missing in action?  It was probably used to erase a young child's doodle on their notebook... "I wish I was back at Disney."

Walt Disney World Sucrology

Dixie Crystals Sugar Packet

Apparently, people collect lots of interesting thing.  (Who am I to judge, right?)  But in looking for information about these items, I learned of Sucrology, "the hobby of collecting sugar sachets and/or packets."  Thank you, Wikipedia.


Here is a set of Dixie Crystals sugar packets, "The Official Sugar in Walt Disney World."  The set contains seven different packets.  Each packet has a photo from WDW on one side and the globe head logo on both.  I'm not sure when these packets were made but the images do contain the Walt Disney Productions copyright which I don't seem to find on the earlier 70's items.

The packets feature some great shots of The Magic Kingdom: The Hall of Presidents, Cinderella Castle, Rivers of America and Main Street USA, as well as The Contemporary Resort.  You can see another set of these on Flickr, posted by Sucrologist, Sugar Packet Chad.

Balloon Gift Shop Bag

Balloon Gift Shop Bag
1972

This is one of my favorite flea market finds.  It was in a bag of various Florida vacation items (maps, postcards etc.).  The lady was surprised when I told her I really only wanted the bag.
I love the 70's colors and the use of the globe head as balloons.

I was thrilled to find this receipt from the 'Vacation Kingdom' inside the bag dated June 17, 1972.  It appears the purchase was for 15 cents with a penny tax.  Postcards, maybe?
I really like the Big D logo on the receipt.

WDW Souvenir Catalog 1

Gift Catalog
1976

This is a 12 page catalog of Walt Disney World souvenirs...a collector's dream.  It contains several must-haves for my collection.  I love the 1970's brown globe-head pattern on the background of the order form.

The mail order form reads, "Prices good until December 31, 1976."  So I guess I won't try to send it in and expect these prices.
The items from my collection,"Blue Plate Special", are shown on the back page of the catalog.  I have yet to obtain either of the cups/saucers.

WDW Souvenir Catalog 2

Gift Catalog, pg 2
1976

Here is the apparel section of the gift catalog from 1976, pages 2-5.  I especially like the 'Mickey & Minnie Love Is T-shirt' selling for $2.25.  Unfortunately they only come in children's sizes.  But it is going on my must-have list.

Item 3A features an image that can also be found on a postcard.  3B has a cartoon drawing of Mickey & Goofy flying over a photo of Tomorrowland.  3J uses the very bland 'Cinderella Castle' logo. The adult sweatshirt sold for $7.

'The Walt Disney World Collegiate Collection' on page 5 doesn't have the WDW logo but they do have some groovy 70's images of Mickey playing baseball, Goofy playing football & basketball, and Donald playing golf while one of the nephews sprays him with a hose.

WDW Souvenir Catalog 3

Gift Catalog, pg 6
1976

Page 7 of this 1976 gift catalog has some great park souvenirs.  The Country Bear Jamboree record and the Super 8 home movies feature the Big D logo on their covers.  I still need to get my hands on those to add to my collection.

WDW Souvenir Catalog 4

Gift Catalog, pg 10
1976

These final pages of the 1976 gift catalog have some excellent logo items.  The Dinnerware, Thermo Assortment, and Carry-All Bag are all fairly common finds.  If you have any of these items or remember them from the 70's, please feel free to share your thoughts. 

Bowling Bag?

vinyl carry-all bag

A recent flea-market find was this unused bowling style bag.  The owner was away from his stand but his daughter let me have it for $5.00.  Deal!  I didn't tell her that in 1974 it retailed for $4.00.

Wanna See My Vacation Slides?

Pana-vue Slides, Pirates of the Caribbean
Set One, WDW-23

If you were born in the 1970's or earlier, you probably remember inviting people or being invited to a friend's home to see the slides of their vacation.  I imagine that these souvenirs were added in to make the experience even longer but at least to show some better images.  They are kind of like the stock photos you get now with your Memory Maker package.