The Pirates of the Caribbean In My House

Yesterday I briefly mentioned my Disneyland collection. I have in the past posted pictures of some of the cooler things I have in my collection, and I figured since I just happened to have some pictures with me of my latest acquisition, I might as well post those for you...

You might remember this post in which I posted pictures of my Olszewski sculpture of Disneyland’s, The Haunted Mansion. Robert Olszewski is apparently sculpting every building at Disneyland, and I want them. They come mounted on a nice piece of wood, but can be removed and put together like one gigantic 3D puzzle. So far I have the Jungle River Cruise, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the Haunted Mansion, and just after Christmas I bought The Pirates of the Caribbean with money I received from some of my generous relatives. This picture is of the front of the sculpture.

This is a close up of the entrance to the attraction. I just can't get over the detail Olszewski is able to bring to such a small scale. This shot from above the sculpture shows the patio that is hidden in the Disney Gallery, which sits above the attraction's entrance. This whole area up here was going to be an apartment for Walt Disney and his family, but he died before it was completed, and it remained empty for years. After a while the apartment was converted into a gallery of sorts, and is now called The Disney Gallery. The gallery is filled with Disneyland related artwork, such as lithographs, art books, and sculptures such as this one. I make it a point to drop by the gallery whenever I am at the park. Part of the sculpture is removable, and allows a view inside the entry to the Disney Gallery. This close up of that area shows that the entrance to the gallery has been set up to resemble how it would have looked as Walt's apartment. A close up of the patio. As with all the sculptures, this one lights up. Here is a close up of the entrance of the attraction. It's almost like being there! The patio area with the lights on. This is the best shot I have showing most of the sculpture with the lights on. The Haunted Mansion sculpture had these same sort of inserts that go into the back of the sculpture. They are miniature dioramas of scenes from the ride. Here's what the diorama looks like when lit.

And the other diorama, also lit.

The same diorama, but from a different angle.

So there ya go, another wonderful item from my small Disneyland museum. While I like the newer things such as the Olszewski sculptures, I also enjoy the older collectibles that I have. In fact, I prefer them. For me, Disneyland isn't what it once was. When I would go during the sixties with my parents, and even on into the seventies and eighties as a young adult, you could easily see the strong influence of Walt Disney. It was his hand that made the park so unique, and so, well, magical. Today the park just doesn't feel the same to me, and I guess I try to recapture some of that old nostalgia for myself by preserving items in my collection that hark back to that golden era of the park's history.

Next time I will share with you some of that older stuff.

Posted by Jeff at January 26, 2007 3:14 PM