FILE PHOTO: The entrance to Walt Disney studios is seen in Burbank, California, U.S. August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Los Angeles gallery is preparing to auction more than 1,500 rare items from Disneyland and Walt Disney World, dating back to the theme park’s founding in the 1950s.
Mike Van Eaton, co-owner of Van Eaton Galleries, said on Monday that the auction traces the history of the famed park, featuring items such as the original 1953 prospectus that Walt Disney used to pitch to financiers ahead of the park’s 1955 opening in southern California, an original map of Disneyland, and other signage.
There will also be familiar characters up for sale, including animatronic birds from the Enchanted Tiki Room, a bronze statue of Mickey Mouse, and an “It’s a Small World” animatronic doll.
The animatronic birds are estimated to sell between $80,000 and $100,000, while the doll is estimated to sell for between $15,000 and $20,000.
A Star Jets original attraction vehicle is expected to sell for $10,000 to $15,000. The Walt Disney-signed opening day guidebook is estimated to sell somewhere between $7,000 and $9,000.
The History of Disneyland and Walt Disney World auction will be held in Los Angeles over two days starting on Dec. 7.
Reporting by Reuters Television; Editing by Leslie Adler