Korkis Korner: The Birth of Disney Fandom Part 3: The Disney Fanzines

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The Birth of Disney Fandom Part 3: The Disney Fanzines by Jim Korkis

Jim takes a look through the pages of Disney fan history.

Read it here!

[schnebs]

Good article, Jim - it's interesting to hear how folks who were devoted Disney fans pursued their passion before there was an Internet.

One question as far as the Disney-owned magazines: When I was growing up, I'd always look forward to picking up copies of a magazine called Disneyland Vacationland when my Dad and I visited Sea World (we lived in San Diego way back then). I seem to remember that the magazine had articles about stuff that was going on at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, as well as other travel destinations. What was the story behind Vacationland?

[Jim Korkis]

Good article, Jim - it's interesting to hear how folks who were devoted Disney fans pursued their passion before there was an Internet.

One question as far as the Disney-owned magazines: When I was growing up, I'd always look forward to picking up copies of a magazine called Disneyland Vacationland when my Dad and I visited Sea World (we lived in San Diego way back then). I seem to remember that the magazine had articles about stuff that was going on at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, as well as other travel destinations. What was the story behind Vacationland?

Glad you liked the article and thanks for asking about Vacationland. I only had so much space and I didn't include Vacationaland because it often re-used the same covers and the same or similar articles from DISNEY NEWS and the magazine was primarily just an advertising vehicle.

Vacationland was primarily a free magazine available in the hotels near Disneyland and later Walt Disney World. For the first six issues, it was called Disneyland Holiday, possibly to associate it with the Holidayland part of Disneyland. Vacationland was the brainchild of Disney legend Marty Sklar. The first issue appeared Spring 1957. The magazine was published quarterly by Disney to theme in with the different seasons. (Later it was published just three times a year.)

Vacationland didnt just promote Disney venues but also other nearby tourist attractions from Cypress Gardens to Knotts Beery Farm. By calling it Vacationland, these other entertainment venues were more eager to advertise their tourist locations. (The idea was to promote the area as a vacation destination so tourists would extend their stay because there was so much to do.) When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, a companion publication also called Vacationland focusing on the Central Florida area was also published.

The last known issue was published Summer 1984.

Dan Goodsell has scanned all the covers of the magazine from his collection at this site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6058594...etail/?page=10

[danyoung]

Thanks for this article, Jim. I had just discovered Persistence of Vision maybe 3 issues before it stopped. And I have all of the E Ticket magazines from around 15 on, and the previous ones on CD-ROM. There is another magazine that you didn't mention - Tales of the Laughing Place, available from laughingplace.com. It's really a beautiful looking magazine, although I think the authors sometimes emphasize style over substance. They publish maybe 2 or 3 times a year - well worth a look!