Walt Disney’s Disneyland map realises $708,000

Walt Disney’s original concept map for Disneyland realised $708,000 in a sale at Van Eaton Galleries over the weekend.

Disney drew it up with friend and animator Herb Ryman over the course of a frantic weekend in September 1953, so that it could be shown to executives at the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on the Monday.

Disney map Eaton

The map shows the proposed layout of the theme park

ABC was so impressed by Disney’s vision that it immediately got on board.

Work began on the park the following year.

In the meantime, the map was inked and used in promotional material. It’s annotated with Disney’s own notes.

In 1955, Disney gave the map to an employee who kept it for a number of years before selling it on to the consigner during the 1970s.

Mike Van Eaton, co-owner of Van Eaton Galleries, commented before the sale: “That an artifact like this, which is so deeply rooted in the creation of Disneyland, still exists today is astonishing.

“With the discovery of this piece, we have an item that Walt Disney created during a 48 hour period of hard work and imaginative genius, which succeeded in getting him the funding he needed to build one of the most successful endeavors of his career, and which he continued to personally use throughout the entire building stages of Disneyland.

“Without this map, there would likely not be a Disneyland today.”

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