1956 Disneyland Autograph Book
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GUEST:
In the first year of Disneyland's opening, there was a contest in the "Detroit Times," and it was in the comics section, and you were to name a monkey. And there was a caption of it, "As much fun as a barrel full of monkeys." So we called him "Phillip McFun Barrel," and it won.
APPRAISER:
(laughing)
GUEST:
And we won a trip to Disneyland in its first year of opening. And the studios, lunch with the Mouseketeers, and meeting Mr. Disney. And, of course, the park. It was a great fun time.
APPRAISER:
Well, now you have this great photograph of you and all these other winners. Now, which one are you?
GUEST:
I'm the one laughing at the end.
APPRAISER:
So over on the very end is you. Now, were all these other, like, children winners?
GUEST:
Yes. They were from Maryland and Wisconsin and Massachusetts, and one from Texas.
APPRAISER:
Now, did they all have to name the monkey, also?
GUEST:
They named him different names.
APPRAISER:
Who had the best name?
GUEST:
I think I did.
APPRAISER:
(laughing) Well, you brought in this wonderful autograph book. And in the autograph book, you have the Mouseketeers. You have various voice actors from the Disney Studios. But you have one in particular.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Walt Disney.
GUEST:
Yes. That's the best of all. He helped in the tour of the studios. And we got to go in and see the animators. And, of course, at that time, it was something you never even knew about, how they made the cartoons. Just really amazing. When I look back at it, it was one of those things you're not quite sure was real.
APPRAISER:
So this was a really amazing moment in the history of the Disney company. They had just opened an amazing theme park. They were putting out such amazing films. And in this autograph book, you have a lot of different signatures, but the most valuable one is Walt Disney's autograph. And for an authentic Walt Disney, an insurance value on that would be around $1,500 to $2,000. And the rest of the signatures are around $500 to $1,000.
GUEST:
Great, just wonderful. Oh, that's so nice. That's really nice to hear. And it has such great memories with it, thank you.
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