Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Traveling With Disney!

It's winter. It's cold. It's dark. And I'm thinking Summer Road Trip!!!

This week I have an item for you that I've had for a while, but it still brings a smile to my face. It's the Wonderful World of Disney Magazine (presented by Gulf Service Stations) This book was the perfect companion for a road trip to Disneyland (or other places, since it featured different American locations). It was chock full of stories, puzzles, jokes, and (let's face it) Disney advertisements (which we loved).

Now this particular edition (volume one, number four, 1970) focuses on the newly opened Haunted Mansion! It even has a section on America's Haunted Houses as a tie in! So here is a small sample from this fantastic magazine!

The cover has a great illustration of our favorite haunt!

If you read through the contents you will see there is a lot of fun stuff in here!

Ooooooohhhhhh.....Spooky!

I love the skeletons from "Skeleton Dance" dancing across the page...

A little plug for a certain tv show...

Comics? Sure, we've got that!

I'm not sure if the "Monster of the Month" was an ongoing thing, but I think this is a weird choice.

Recruiting the little ones for a ink and paint career?

Even Goofy shorts get a nod here!

Everybody sing along!

And a movie plug!

I like this ad. It just seems happy to me!

How early 1970's can you get? About as much as this back cover!
So there is your taste. There is actually much more. I like the idea of having this in the car as my family made the long trip to Disneyland. The only problem is that I can't read in the car. I get sick as a dog. Still, maybe I could have read it in the motel room on the stops on the way. Anyway, it's a good dream!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Some Minty Fresh Hot Wheels!

Years ago, a vintage toy store opened up a few miles from my house. The owner bought a ton of carded, unopened Hot Wheels dating from the mid 1970's to the mid 1980's. Since he knew I was a "Hot Wheels guy" he asked me to price them. With my Tomart's guide in hand, I went through the several hundred cars and deemed their worth.

In appreciation, the owner gave me eight cars whose packages had become damaged, and that he didn't want to bother with selling (remember he had a few hundred mint packages). Unfortunately now, almost twenty years later, the shop is no longer there. However I still have my "blister pull" mint cars. And here they are...

1978 A-OK

1979 Auburn 852

1980 T-Totaller

1981 Kenworth Steering Rig

1982 Old Number 5

1982 Stutz Blackhawk

1983 Classic Packard
1983 '67 Camaro

Now although my true interest with Hot Wheels lies in the years 1968 through 1972, these still have an honored place in my collection since I can honestly say that none have ever been played with. You just are not going to find better examples of these cars. Therefore, they spend their days safely behind glass.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!