For many baby boomers such as myself, comic books were a staple of childhood summertimes. Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald in Vacationland, published in 1961, celebrated the fun and joys of summer vacation. The book's title story featured a major character mash-up set in a Wicked Witch-created amusement park called "Vacationland." Featured in the story were Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge, Goofy, both sets of nephews, Gyro Gearloose, Grandma Duck, Gladstone, the Wicked Witch, Big Bad Wolf and Captain Hook.Other stories featured additional odd but inspired teamups. Goofy and Gyro go time traveling; Mickey helps the Seven Dwarfs solve their Diamond Mine Dilemma; and Chip 'n' Dale investigate Brer Rabbit's Bad Habit; Huey, Dewey, Louie and April, May and June help Gepetto test toys. And no Disney Dell Giant would be complete without a ample selection of activity pages. Here are a few fun samples:
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteAre there any similarities to Vacationalnd and The Happiest Place on Earth?
Knowing the time period, I am surprised that Disney wasn't pushing Disneyland.
It was pretty similar but the context of the story did not allow a direct Disneyland tie-in.
ReplyDeleteThere still had been a fair number of direct Disneyland referenced tie-in comics throughout that time period.
Wasn't there an RV park called Vacationland right next to the Disneyland Hotel? I believe they tore it down in 1997 for the construction of the Mickey and Friends parking garage.
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