My Christmas present arrived yesterday. It's a Disneyland Records display unit. I am not 100% sure what it was used for, but it looks like it would have held Disney albums, Disney 45's and tapes. I'm also not sure of the exact year this is from, but I would guess its from the late 70's or early 80's.
This item was destined to belong to me. I saw it first over a year ago at a local antique mall. The price tag was $150 and at the time I just didn't have the cash. I thought about it a lot over the next few months, so I decided to go back and have another look. To my disappointment, the booth that the Disney display unit had been in, was now empty. My chance to purchase it was gone. Fast forward about a year and on a day out thrift shop hunting, I came upon a new antique mall about an hour away from home. After wandering around the mall for a while, I found a both cluttered with junk, and in the back was the Disney Display unit. I don't know for certain, but it must be the same one, as its not the sort of item you find very often. Again this time, I was a little short on cash, so once again, I left without purchasing it. But this time, I just kept thinking about it. I had to own it and add it to my collection to display my favorite Disneyland albums. When my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I thought for a second, and then told her I wanted this Disney display unit I had seen and that if she would go in on the purchase cost with me, that would be the perfect gift. She agreed, so I quickly did some hunting on the internet for the mall's phone number and called to see if it was still there. And luckily for me it was, so I had them put a hold on it for me. We went in the next day and the plan was to dismantle it and put the pieces into my wife's car (a large LeSabre). The problem is, after 20 or 30 minutes to trying to take it apart, we came to realize it wasn't going to be dismantled without destroying it. Undaunted, I asked if there was any way to have it delivered. I was told that her usual delivery guys charged about $40 for local deliveries and more depending of the distance - so this was going to be way to much cash! She said see had a tenant in the mall who lived out my way and that may be able to deliver the item for me. So with that I paid for it and headed home with a bug smile on my face. A few days went by and I didn't hear anything, so I called the shop to see what was up. The lady told me that she had not been able to contact the person she had told me about, but that one of her business associates was coming out to my area on the weekend and that for $20 they would bring it out for me! Hurray! So, at noon on Saturday, my Disney Display until showed up and after spending a day in the front entrance of the house, I finally got around to cleaning it up tonight. It looked like it had about 20 years of dust and dirt on it, so it took a while, but it looks great. I can't wait to clear a spot in my room and bring it up and then fill it with Disney records. I'll be sure to post another picture once its in its out of the hallway and it its new home.
