An upcoming auction featuring hundreds of Disneyland items expected to fetch as much as $70,000 apiece will give hard-core Disney fans a chance to add a part of the Anaheim theme park’s history to their personal memorabilia collections.
Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks will hold the Disneyland 65th anniversary auction on Aug. 15 and 16.
The 376-page catalog for the two-day auction contains more than 1,100 items designed to make Disneyana collectors drool — with everything from ride vehicles to animatronic figures to cast member attire.
“Disneyland: The First 65 Years” auction items will be on public exhibition from Saturday, July 25 to Aug. 14 at the Sherman Oaks gallery at 13613 Ventura Blvd.
We’ve collected the 10 most expensive Disneyland items in the auction to help you refine your shopping list before the bidding starts. The top 10 list is ranked by estimated auction house prices.
1) Silver Banjo Barbecue Entrance Sign
Estimate: $50,000-$70,000
The 58-inch-tall, banjo-shaped sign hung over the entrance of film and television star Don DeFore’s Frontierland restaurant from 1957 to 1962.
The original lighted sign with hand-painted lettering and a metal body was displayed in DeFore’s home for years after the Disneyland restaurant closed.
2) Silver Banjo Barbecue Menu Sign
Estimate: $50,000-$70,000
The 44-by-29-inch hand-painted sign listed the menu options outside the Silver Banjo Barbecue restaurant.
The menu sign also retired to DeFore’s home after its Disneyland days.
3) Space Mountain Attraction Vehicle
Estimate: $50,000-$60,000
The 10-foot-long Space Mountain ride vehicle is from the opening year of the Tomorrowland attraction.
The coaster train has minor wear from use, but has been restored to museum quality, according to the auction catalog.
The vehicle still has the original speakers and working audio.
4) Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough Concept Art
Estimate: $15,000-$20,000
A 10-by-20-inch gouache watercolor was created in 1957 as concept art for the walkthrough dioramas planned for the interior of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The signed painting was created by Eyvind Earle, a background artist for Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” animated film.
5) Main Street U.S.A. Scale Model
Estimate: $15,000-$20,000
The 72-by-35-inch Z-scale 1/220th scale model was created by miniaturist artist Robert Olszewski.
Built between 2002 and 2012, the model comes with two Main Street Electrical Parade sets.
6) Tomorrowland Concept Drawing
Estimate: $10,000-$20,000
The Tomorrowland concept art by Imagineer Bruce Bushman was shown by Walt Disney on the first episode of the “Disneyland” television show in 1954 as an example of what to expect at the soon-to-open theme park.
The 22-by-29-inch conte crayon and charcoal drawing on thin art paper has some discoloration, yellowing and wavy creases.
Despite the condition, the Tomorrowland drawing is a “museum quality artifact of Disneyland history,” according to the auction catalog.
7) Rocket Rods Loading Sign
Estimate: $16,000-$18,000
The original 19-by-39-inch double-sided metal sign reminded riders to wear their seat belts and other safety instructions.
The warning sign is an “incredible relic” of the short-lived 1998 “cult” Tomorrowland ride, according to the auction catalog.
8) Haunted Mansion Tombstone Prop
Estimate: $8,000-$12,000
The extremely rare 1969 original tombstone prop sat in the exterior queue area of the Haunted Mansion before being removed in the 1970s.
The 43-by-28-inch painted fiberglass tombstone pays respect to Phineas Pock, one of the five singing busts in the graveyard scene inside the attraction.
9) Big Thunder Mountain Attraction Poster
Estimate: $8,000-$10,000
The inaugural run of the 44-by-31-inch hand silk-screened poster announced the soon-to-be open Frontierland attraction.
The poster promoted a June 1979 opening date even though Big Thunder Mountain didn’t open until September of that year due to delays.
10) PeopleMover or Monorail Attraction Poster
Estimate: $8,000-$10,000
The 54-by-36-inch hand silk-screened attraction poster with shimmering metallic grey paint bills the 1961 Disneyland Monorail as the “first in America.”
Got an extra $10,000 to spare? You can pick up an original 1967 PeopleMover attraction poster to go alongside the Monorail one for about the same price.
