By the co-author of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020, the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series ever.

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A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Disneyana



By Dave Shute

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE FIRST DISNEYANA AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

By Jim Korkis

Two west coast Disney fan organizations, the Mouse Club and the National Fantasy Fan Club (now called the Disneyana Fan Club) held three day Disney conventions in Anaheim, California for many years beginning in 1982. Several hundred fans from around the country attended.

The popularity (and the financial rewards) of those conventions did not go unnoticed by the Disney Company. In September 24-27, 1992, Disney held its first Disneyana convention at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort in Orlando.

“Welcome to our First ‘Official’ Disneyana Convention. Now, we know this is not the ‘first’ Disneyana Convention, but as Walt Disney once said, ‘There is no new idea in the world we live in…What you do is take a good one and improve on it’. So, we try to do that,” smiled Chairman of Walt Disney Attractions Dick Nunis in his welcoming speech. Later, in a special presentation, he reminisced about his career using audio and video clips of Walt Disney as well as the building of Walt Disney World.

The Disneyana convention was a major production with over 800 people and an elaborate attendee package (including a watch and a special pewter medallion sculpted by Marc Delle of the Disneyana Convention logo) as well as limited edition merchandise for sale that quickly sold out early.

Thursday evening was an Ice Cream Social at the Contemporary with original Mouseketeers Bobby Burgess, Sharon Baird and Sherri Albertoni autographing photographs at a façade of the Mouseketeer Clubhouse.

Friday had Dick Nunis (Chairman of Walt Disney Attractions) driving up with Mickey Mouse in the LiMOUSEine. Guests attended the official opening ceremony in the Fantasia Ballroom. Jack Wagner, the voice of Disney, was the emcee, reminding guests there was no photography or videotaping because “this special performance is for your eyes only”.

The speakers included landscaper Bill Evans, Max Howard (Director of Disney Feature Animation Florida), Bo Boyd (President of Disney Consumer Products) and Ester Ewert of Disney Art Editions among others.

The afternoon had a Limited Edition Sale and Artist Signing, a Disneyana Fair selling signs and props, a Disney Business Group Presentation (with displays by everyone from The Disney Channel to Disney Vacation Club to Disney Classics Collection), and a Disneyana trade show with independent dealers. The day finished with a Disneyana auction where an original individual Dumbo ride vehicle from Disneyland sold for $16,000.

On Saturday, Dave Smith and Robert Tieman were delivered to the convention in an armored truck for their presentation of thirty treasures of the Walt Disney Archives. In my opinion, both Dave and Robert should have counted as part of those treasures.

Imagineer Tony Baxter talked about Euro Disneyland and Admiral Joe Fowler enthralled the crowd even though he was in his 90s. That afternoon, the general public was allowed to join the conventioneers at various fairs and trade shows to spend their money. However, only the conventioneers got to attend that night’s banquet that finished with The Kids of the Kingdom performing “The Best of Disney.”

The 1993 convention was held in Anaheim, California. The Disneyana conventions hosted by Disney ended in 2003 and there is still speculation about the reasons for its demise. One Disney leader pointed out that while the convention made a healthy profit, it did not make an “obscene profit,” meaning that the time, labor, and resources could be re-allocated to something like pins and generate more income with less effort for the Disney Company.

Today the D23 Expo event begun in September 2009 has taken the place of these popular conventions.

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Thanks, Jim! My bud Steve Bell (of Military Disney Tips) and I are thinking about attending the Dayton, Ohio Disneyana!

And come back next Friday for even more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Things You Never You Never Knew, which reprints much material first written for this site, and The Vault of Walt: Volume 4, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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