Checklist tweaks…and Pepsi??

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Todd

Hi folks…just a quick note to say that I am working on a couple minor tweaks to the checklist tool.

A couple users contacted me about the window size that the list resides in.  I had it set to a static size that did not resize to the content.  That has been fixed for the most part…but I am still working on getting the window (technically called an iFrame) to work smoothly with the Word Press format.

As far as Pepsi is concerned…I had no idea until entering the card text that Pepsi was the official sponsor of the Golden Horseshoe review back in the day.  And doing a very brief search on the web turned up this video.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNms4979ewI

 

More spark…more swing…gotta love it!

Please do not hesitate to contact me with other questions or critiques on the checklist.  All are welcome!

Until next time..

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New Checklist is Live!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Todd

00006_78676_frontAt long last, the new checklist tool is live for all to see and use!

To be sure, this is just the beginning, but you have to start somewhere.  Right now, the tool only has NT0001 thru NT0266 loaded into it, along with a few other random cards.  I  have my nephew helping me load card data though, so you should see the list grow steadily over the next few weeks…starting with all the cards in the Nickel Tour.

The new “Checklist” page has all the details, but this tool should make the hobby a lot more accessible for new collectors and allow the advanced collector a useful tool for cataloging their collection.

I am already keeping a list of a few changes I want to make to the tool…so please play around with it and let me know what you think can be made to work better.  If you want to have the ability to add records, please let me know.  I can set you up with an account in no time.

Until next time…

P.S.  That’s the front of the die cut 00006 78676 above if you were wondering…

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Trip Report Day 3 – A Few New Things

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Todd

cars_land_00007_13548Well, we had a great last day at the park on Saturday.  It was rather crowded, but we managed to get in and do most of the stuff we wanted to do early, so we didn’t wait in lines that were long at all for key attractions, and later in the day the Fastpass came to our rescue.  For my family, and any family really, I think the best approach to Disneyland/DCA is to go in the morning, take a break back at your hotel in the mid afternoon, and then go back to the park at night.  Seeing all the small kids wilt and melt down at 4PM when it is 85 degrees out and the lines are long…not pretty.

On the postcard front, there was not a whole lot new other than one thing that I was unaware of in Cars Land.  These perforated strips of four cards each are for sale for $4.95 at the store right next to the entrance to Radiator Springs Racers.  Looking on eBay…there they are…some being offered for $12.95 Buy-It-Now.  It’s a big sheet of uncut cards measuring 17.5 X 6 inches.    A pretty cool set of cards that comes in four varieties (I think…I saw two at the park and two other different sets on eBay).  The one I show here is 00007 13548.  It is sort of the modern version of a fold out book…but not folded.

Otherwise, the 2013 card is a very nice lenticular card.  This is one of my favorite series of cards as the quality of the design and production is rather high.  They don’t 00006_89248_2013logo_1come out with new cards very often, but they seem to put some effort into this series.  This card is 00006 89248.  Also…I found this magnetic World of Color card which I thought would be easy to find on eBay, but none are there at the moment.  It was $1.95 and is number 00006 79489.  If I am not mistaken I found it at Elias & Co. on Buena Vista Street.

00006_74489_World_of_Color_1So…there you have it.  I know I have been saying the check list tool is coming soon.  Sorry for the slight delay.  Truth be told I was totally whipped after the weekend and I want to finish entering all card data from NT0001 thru NT0266 (thru the A-Series) before I post it.  I am hoping I can finish that tonight.

Until next time…

 

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Town Square, Then and Now etc.

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Todd

The first day at Disneyland in SoCal is always a fun time after you’ve been away for a while.  Things are new again to some degree…and if you pay attention you see stuff that you may not have seen before.  On our first day at the park this stay (which was actually yesterday as I am a little behind) we got to experience a few new things, take a couple “then and now” photos relative to some postcards I brought along, and enjoy a fairly
relaxing day (aside from the ride on Tower of Terror…which while awesome, is not Lilly_Bellerelaxing!)

One thing I had read about prior to arriving was the Lilly Belle car on the Disneyland Railroad.  Since it was Thursday, getting a ticket was really easy, and we enjoyed learning about the history of the car.  It reminded me a little bit of “Murder on the Orient Express”…all wood paneling and plush furniture.

NT0029_nowWhile waiting for the train, I took this photo of the Town Square and Main Street.  It is as close as I could get to approximating NT0029…the earliest post card to look down Main Street.  Take a moment and check out all of the subtle and not-so-subtle differences in these images. One that I noticed that I thought was interesting (and super obvious) is the twin mule(?) drawn flat bed wagon in the foreground of NT0029.  For some reason, despite being NT0029right there in the front of the card, I had never really noticed this before.  I do not have the encyclopedic knowledge of the park that many of you do, so I don’t know when that element of the park stopped appearing.  Stay tuned for another “then and now” that I will share this weekend.

In the mean time, its time to get rested up for our last day at the park!

Until next time…

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Trip Report – Disneyland

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Todd

disney_main_gateWell, I am here with my kids at Disneyland so I thought I would give a quick run down of any interesting things related to our visit.  We arrived this afternoon and will go to the parks tomorrow thru Saturday.

One thing to start with are the crowds.  I am rather grateful that the school district my kids are in has Spring Break so late!  There are really not that many people here.  My kids and I walked through the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney, and it felt like a regular store at the mall we live near at home.  It was not a total mad house/wall to wall zoo!  Tomorrow the park is open 10AM to 8PM, and DCA is open 10AM to 9PM.  So, clearly, they aren’t expecting big numbers.  That said, tonight I looked on the Disneyland/DCA wait times app I have on my phone and Radiator Springs Racers was still an 85 minute wait!

On the postcard front, there is not much to talk about here.  The one rack that I am aware of at the World of Disney store had all the same stuff it had last October…with the exception of a 2013 card.  I’ll be picking up a few of those.  If I see any thing of interest in the parks, I will be sure to let you know.

I have a plan for a “then and now” series for a few cards that I brought with me on the trip.  I will blog tomorrow on that if I have any success.

Until next time…

P.S.  I am probably going to make the new checklist tool live in the next few days.  I currently have NT0001 thru NT0220 loaded into the tool.  It’s pretty cool…and I can’t wait to share it!

Posted in Disneyland | 2 Comments

The not-so-common Submarine Voyage card – NT1429

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Todd

NT1429Every once in a while when I buy a grab bag of cards on eBay, I get a card that I was not expecting.  This is one of the reasons I like to buy big lots of cards…especially if the price is really reasonable.  The most recent lot I purchased had about 60 cards…mostly very common cards and a few a little less so.  Included in the lot though NT1429_0001was this card, NT1429…Submarine Voyage.

If you have surfed eBay long enough, you will realize that this card is not that common. I’m not really sure why this one would be any less popular than, say, NT0440 , which is ridiculously common.  As a “sanity” check I just went to eBay and searched on “disneyland post card submarine” and about 90 cards showed up.  NT0440 is there in spades, as well as NT0443 and other more common ones with the submarine and monorail.  But this one is not there.  Maybe they just didn’t print that many…or maybe it was produced shortly before the ride shut down.  Your theories are welcome.

I would be curious if anyone else has actually tried to find this card.  What kind of luck did you have?

The checklist tool is super close to being to ready to post…stay tuned!

Until next time…

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Vision

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Todd

WDW_00156_15303_0001A few years ago my family and I were down at WDW and I found a series of cards labelled the “Art of Disney Theme Parks”. There are about 25-30 cards in this set…and in my particular case I have the recollection of finding them at EPCOT.  These are not rare, and for all I know they are still selling them at WDW.  They have an image area of about 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 with an embossed white border and an embossed Disney castle logo on the bottom.  They were meant to be framed, I think, and they would look pretty good if they were.

This particular card is pretty well done.  The title of the card is simply “Vision” with a quote by Disney, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”  It shows a semi-transparent image of Disney and the Cinderella castle in the back sitting on a desolate Florida lanscape.  Indeed, it is fair to say that while he did not see the completion of Disney World with his own eyes, he clearly had the vision that allowed him to see it before it even started.  I wonder how many people thought he was foolish to start Disneyland…or even WDW?  Many, I suspect.  I am not always a fan of some of those “inspirational” posters.  You know, the ones that have a nice photo and say “Courage” or “Perseverance” followed by a short saying. Some of them just seem kind of silly.  But Disney did have vision “in spades” as they say.  His vision is inspiring…to me at least.

The card number is 00156 15303.  Actual size is about 5X7.

Until next time…

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Checklist testers wanted!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Todd
wdcs32

I had to put an image in the blog! This is DD on Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #32 from 1943

Hello everyone.  Well, the work I have been doing over the last month or two to come up with a dynamic online checklist of Disney postcards is starting to come together.  But I could use your help!  If you are interested in testing the software with me, please let me know.  I want to get the opinion of the community, because this is ultimately your tool…something that will help a collector in their pursuits.

If you are interested, I can set you up with a user account that will allow you to edit and enter data in the list and basically get a sense for all the features of the checklist.  For those of you who are not interested in testing it…but just want to use it(!)…it should be live and on the site in about 10 days.  In the mean time…happy collecting!

Until next time…

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Tokyo Disneyland 25th Anniversary

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Todd

Disney_Tokyo_25_boxPerhaps you saw these cards for sale on eBay last week.  I did, and decided to bid on the lot.  I am glad I did, as the set has 31 cards in a cool tin with the original paper display stand from the point of sale.

The tin says “And the Dream Goes On…” on the cover, with the number 25 spelled out with images of the 31 cards in the set.  It has an original price tag of 2000 Yen on it…so, about $25  back in 2008…give or take.

The cards themselves celebrate the 25th Disney_Tokyo_25thanniversary not only of the park, but also of
DisneySea.  Apparently the concepts that were executed at DisneySea had been in the making for nearly 20 years by the time the park was opened in 2001.  Based on the Wikipedia entry, the park was potentially going to be built in Long Beach, California.  This didn’t happen though due to financial issues.  I am not quite sure why financial issues would cause the park to be built in Japan and not in the U.S.  Another site online says that Long Beach and Anaheim were actually competing to build a second Disney park in Southern California, and Disney_Tokyo_25th_0001Anaheim won the competition, which lead to Disney California Adventure.  I have to believe that there is more to this story…and that one of the readers of this blog can fill us in!

Anyway…back to the cards.  They are fairly basic with some interesting designs.  One note…the cards are all essentially identical on the back.  There are no numbers that differentiate one from another.  So…this really is something that goes as a set.

I look forward to blogging on more “exo-Disneyland” cards in the future…the possibilities are many!

Until next time…

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Server outage yesterday

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Todd

Perhaps you noticed yesterday, but the server for disneypostcards was down a good portion of the day.  If you tried to get on the site, it just sat there…doing nothing.  Oddly, after eight hours or so of outage, the website actually seems to be responding quicker now that it is back.

Anyway…sorry for the hassle.  If you think the site is too slow or is out please let me know.

Back on topic, I have some really cool cards I got the other day that I will blog on sometime in the next day or two.  They are from Disneyland Tokyo.

Until next time…

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