Someone, at some time, must have written the definitive statement on the difference between a collector and an accumulator. One is a high-toned caretaker of the rare and valuable. The other is a feckless acquirer who stops just short of being a hoarder.
As one who has collected (accumulated?) a lot of Disneyland ephemera over the years, I fall squarely somewhere between. I don’t keep everything, but I have managed to keep a lot.
Among the things to which I cannot say “No” are Disneyland guide maps. These free printed brochures have been available since the opening year of the Happiest Place on Earth, 1955. They have gone by a variety of names and have had varying degrees of information inside. The earliest guides were simple tri-folds. By the mid-1990s, they were virtual booklets, weighing in at as many as 24 pages.
What is the allure? Obviously, they are useful while one is touring the park (or parks, these days). But beyond that, why keep them?
For me, there is a two-fold attraction. On the purely practical side, one can consult an old guide map to confirm the location of an attraction or the date and time of a parade. Notes and guidelines are a snapshot of where we were as a society. The 1956 guide includes banking service, noting that Disneyland “maintains service at their Main Street location every day Disneyland is open, including Saturday and Sunday.” This was during an era when “banker’s hours” did not include weekends. The 1994 souvenir guidebook has an entire page devoted to “Healthier Foods,” including the helpful admonition, “At Disneyland, you’ll find something to please your palate and your conscience!”
There is also an emotional attachment. The guide that was carried during a visit to Disneyland is a tangible connection to a memorable day. What you did, what you saw, who you were with— all this may be embodied in a simple little brochure. Even a marked-up copy has its own value to the owner or later custodian.
I still have my very first Disneyland guide, which I carried with me on my very first visit in July of 1972. I also have my latest guide map, which I picked up just this week. In this era of interactive devices and constantly updated apps, Disneyland remains committed to providing these tangible reminders of a recent visit. For that, I am thankful.
