In Search of River Country Souvenirs

River Country has long faded from the Walt Disney World landscape.  Now close to a decade removed from the resort, the old fashioned swimmin' hole has been largely forgotten in the wake of its newer water park siblings Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.  It also sadly suffers in regard to having produced very little in the way of lasting souvenirs or memorabilia.  In the few years that I actively visited the park in the late 1980s, very little was offered in the way of branded merchandise beyond t-shirts, beach towels and postcards.  The park never had a formal merchandise shop; cast-members typically manned a small souvenir cart just past the entrance.

My own personal River Country souvenir collection is rather pitiful to say the least.  Beyond a few postcards, all I possess is a rather mundane and unimaginative panel-style button.  Created to resemble a comic book cover, it features Goofy and poses the question, Who's Making a Big Splash?  If memory serves, the design was also featured on an oversize beach towel.  An eBay search turned up a pin with the same design, but with an Established 1976 caption across the bottom.

It seems apparent that River Country was the neglected child of Disney World branded merchandise.  Are there 2719 Hyperion readers who have any other River Country treasures squirreled away?  Let us know!

The Art Corner: "How to Draw Jiminy Cricket"

Thanks to Ken Storms for generously providing the images. Visit Ken online at:

Up next: How to Draw Donald Duck.

The Art Corner: "How to Draw Chip and Dale"

2719 Hyperion has happily gained some notoriety for its previous coverage of the Art Corner at Disneyland. In that regard, reader and animation art collector Ken Storms has sent us some terrific scans of a few of the How to Draw series of booklets that were once sold at the Art Corner.

First up, How to Draw Chip and Dale:

Thanks again to Ken Storms for generously providing the images. Visit Ken online at:
Up next: How to Draw Jiminy Cricket.

Souvenirs: The Star Wars Travel Postcards

These postcards from 2001 are among my favorite attraction-themed souvenirs. I misplaced them a few years ago, and was excited when they resurfaced during our recent housecleaning and remodeling projects. Star Wars has always been rooted in retro and so marrying the Star Tours attraction with the style of vintage travel posters made for some very dynamic and fun designs.

Souvenirs: The Story and Songs of the Orange Bird

Souvenirs: A Star Spangled Celebration

More and more traditional types of souvenirs seem to be fading from view in the many, many retail shops across Walt Disney World. There was a time when you could pretty much purchase a button themed to just about any attraction, resort or special festivity. Here are a few with a distinct Independence Day theme. I purchased them sometime in the late 1980s, early 1990s.

Souvenirs: The Magic of Disney Animation

Roy Disney's introduction to the magic of Disney animation souvenir brochure, circa 1989:

Welcome to Walt Disney Animation in Florida!

Can you imagine an American childhood without the magic moments of Disney animation? No Mickey Mouse...or Minnie. No sputtering, rasping Donald Duck, tossing and turning through a nightmarish night on an unruly mattress. No "Whistle While You Work." No epic, comic, cliff-hanging mouse-eyeview up a mammoth stairway to Cinderella's bedroom. Will they make it in time for her to try on the magic slipper?

Suspense, slapstick, imagination, heart, gentle humor and a happy ending—all are part of the tradition of Disney animation. Audiences of kids and grown-ups have delighted in sixty years of silliness and storytelling, sentimentality and terror. Dumbo flies. Snow White runs from the scary eyes in the forest. Lady and Tramp fall in love over a plate of spaghetti. Tito tries to hot-wire a limousine—instead, he hot-wires himself. Fairy godmothers appear on cue. Mickey Mouse leads a band, battles a giant, falls in love.

Disney animation provides a generous sprinkle of pixie dust. With it, you can fly up, up and away, over the rooftops of London to Never Land—or into the past, to darkened theaters, vivid images and the plaintive voices of kids asking, "Where's Bambi's mother?"

Disney animation pleases the eye and warms the heart. It makes you cry and it makes you laugh. As the foundation and wellspring of The Walt Disney Company, animation is celebrated in the Animation Building at the Disney-MGM Studios.

The Animation Building is a working studio. Inside, more than 80 artists and technicians are creating new animated films for theatrical and video release. A unique behind-the-scenes tour includes films starring animators—and animated characters—who tell the insiders' story of animation. Strolling through soundproof corridors, guests watch as animators bring classic Disney characters to life.

The magical world of animation is introduced by The Disney Animation Collection. The Collection, a changing exhibition of the best of animation art, is drawn from The Walt Disney Company Animation Research Library and the Walt Disney Archives. Some pieces are classics, and have appeared in museums and publications. Others have never before been seen by the public. The paintings and sketches, sculptures and drawings are more than just works of art ... they are basic to the lives of three generations of Americans.

The Collection begins at the point in the animation process when pen, paintbrush or crayon is first put to paper. A storyline has been crafted, the dialogue is in its final stages—enter the artists with concept sketches and paintings. Silly, scary, impressionistic or harshly detailed, these drawings provide inspiration for a scene, character or mood. Layout drawings indicate camera movements and serve as set designs. Next, detailed backgrounds are painted to provide characters with a house to live in, a forest to wander in or a corner pocket on a pool table, from a cricket's point of view.

Once the set is in place, the focus shifts to the characters. Animation drawings are produced by animators— "actors with a pencil" —who come equipped with rampant imaginations and plenty of technical know-how. Character movement springs from long days at the drawing table, fierce story sessions and plenty of foolishness (like the eager assistant who demonstrated how Pluto ought to eat—by getting down on all fours and dining from a dog dish). How do you animate a hat brim? Grab that three-dimensional study model on the desk. Turn it. Twist it. Draw it. Or take advantage of technology and computerize it—everything becomes a tool for getting the best movement to express a character's emotion.

Finally, after perhaps years of work, a single frame of animation is ready for the camera. A set-up—inked and painted animation cels laid over a background—has been honed and perfected, checked, assembled and charted. Special effects have been added. One twenty-fourth of a second of glory is committed to film—then captured on the wall of the Disney Animation Building for you to wonder at and admire.

Six decades of Disney animation have left posterity with surprisingly few examples of artwork. Paper is fragile; pastel rubs off. And in the early years, cels were reused for economy (remember "The Dip" in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Now collectors' items, pieces of Disney animation art evoke childhood memories and weave together a rich tapestry of fairy tales, children's books, original stories and pure movement and motion.

From Steamboat Willie to The Little Mermaid, with over a hundred Dalmatians, a few handsome princes and various woodland beasts thrown in, Disney animation has been synonymous with quality, innovation, and fun. This proud tradition, celebrated in the Disney Animation Collection, continues in the Animation Building at the Disney-MGM Studios.

The current Disney Animation attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios is but a very faint shadow of what was easily one of the premiere attractions of Walt Disney World. The shuttering of the Florida studio was certainly one of the saddest moments in the histories of both Walt Disney World and Disney Animation.

Souvenirs: Pennant Magic and Adventure

Five years separated these pennants that celebrated Disneyland anniversaries. I was a big fan of the Disneyland 35 Years of Magic motif from 1990 with its bright colors and non-traditional castle design logo. The Fab Five plus Daisy appeared on the pennant design that was equally colorful and attractive.

Five years later, the 40 Years of Adventures theme took a more spartan design approach. Tying into the debut of the Indiana Jones Adventure, the logo borrowed both font and pose from Indy-based materials.

Souvenirs: A Star Wars-Disney Shuffle

Some of the most creative and fun Disney theme park merchandise of late has been the Star Tours line featuring Disney character incarnations of popular Star Wars figures. While most of the attention has been focused on the large scale "big figs," other products have been quietly appearing.

This particular item is in my opinion, an instant classic. This dual deck set of playing cards features a Sith deck and a Jedi deck. The casting of Chip and Dale as Ewoks is simply ingenious.

Souvenirs: The Return of a Classic

On my last few visits to Walt Disney World, I have noticed the return of a particular souvenir, both classic and iconic. The Mickey ears balloon has been around since 1971 and its image has decorated everything from store bags to promotional graphics. But in my mind, its most famous incarnation was the balloon-within-balloon souvenir that was a Main Street staple throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. When I saw them rising again above the Magic Kingdom on a visit last fall, I was instantly and sentimentally transported back to 1973 and an image of my younger sister, then six years old, with a most precious item securely tied to her wrist.

Souvenirs: Toontown Memories

Continuing our celebration today of the 15th Anniversary of Mickey's Toontown at Disneyland, here are a few fun souvenirs from that land's earliest days. Transportation is one of Toontown's key themes so a license plate is an especially appropriate souvenir.


The Toontown Trolley in many ways became the icon of the area, as demonstrated by its placement on these two different styles of buttons. In an interesting contrast, the smaller panel style button seemed to pay homage to Toontown's roots in Who Framed Roger Rabbit with its smiling sun and various animated objects, while the larger round button was a bit less looney and featured Gadget along with Chip 'n Dale in their Rescue Rangers incarnations.

Souvenirs: Pleasure Island Memories

Souvenir buttons of bygone days.

This collection of buttons dates from the inaugural days of Pleasure Island back in the spring of 1989. While both Comedy Warehouse and Adventurers Club have survived the past two decades, Avigators Supply and the Neon Armadillo have sadly faded into Walt Disney World obscura.

Avigators Supply was easily one of my most favorite shopping experiences in Walt Disney World. A companion store of sorts to the Adventurers Club, it was a very cool aviation themed establishment that was reminiscent of Banana Republic in its pre-Gap days.

A 1990 edition of the Birnbaum guide provided this description of the Neon Armadillo, PI's original country music venue:

"Once a greenhouse for exotic plants collected during Pleasure's endless world travels, the Neon Armadillo now features live country & western music nightly. Southwestern decor is highlighted by a wonderful brass chandelier in the shape of a spur and inlaid wood tabletops decorated in Navajo blanket patterns. In keeping with the Southwestern theme, two fajitas bars offer freshly made chicken, beef, or seafood fajitas. Specialty drinks, beer, and wine are also served."