SFD 364: Sent with a Watch and Ashtray
Sent from Disneyland
This week on Sent from Disneyland, we dive beneath the surface with a 1961 postcard featuring Disneyland's Submarine Voyage, complete with the Nautilus emerging from Submarine Falls. The postcard message gives us a glimpse of a guest's first impressions of one of Disneyland's most futuristic attractions. The history segment takes us to 1987 and the opening of Star Tours, where I pull a commemorative Star Tours Inaugural Flight watch from my collection. We'll look at the unusual 60-hour opening weekend, the watch's design and original warranty, and the mystery of why it says only "January...
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SFD 363: Sent with a 50th Passport
Sent from Disneyland
Episode Description This week we travel back to 1965 and 1967 with two classic Disneyland postcards featuring the Main Street Railroad Station and Sleeping Beauty Castle. Along the way we read the messages home, uncover the weather and park attendance from each visit, and revisit the magic of Walt's original park. In this episode's history segment, we flip through a 2005 Disneyland Passport Guide created exclusively for Annual Passholders, exploring the excitement leading up to Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration. From the debut of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Block...
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SFD 362: Sent to Cal Expo
Sent from Disneyland
This week we explore two postcards spanning the Disneyland Resort's history—from a 2001 visit to the newly opened Disney California Adventure featuring Grizzly Peak, to a 1968 ride aboard the Becky Thatcher raft to Tom Sawyer Island. The history segment looks at the story behind the iconic Disney California Adventure "CALIFORNIA" letters, from their debut at the park entrance to their move to Cal Expo in Sacramento, where they continue to welcome visitors to the California State Fair. Plus, an incoming Postcrossing postcard from South Korea, thoughts on solo Disney park trips, and more...
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SFD 361: Sent from 92803
Sent from Disneyland
Was there ever an official Disneyland postmark? That's one of the questions I get asked most often, and in this episode I dive into the history behind Disneyland mail, unique ZIP code 92803, pictorial cancels, cachets, and whether mail was ever officially postmarked "Disneyland, CA." We begin with two 1985 postcards celebrating Disneyland's 30th Anniversary. The first features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs welcoming guests to New Fantasyland and bears the special EXPO '85 Anaheim pictorial cancel honoring 30 years of Disneyland magic. The second, mailed on Disneyland's official 30th...
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SFD 360: Sent from the Hot Seat
Sent from Disneyland
A pair of vintage Disneyland postcards leads to an unexpected detour into television history in this episode of Sent from Disneyland. A 1976 postcard featuring the Disneyland Railroad reveals that its sender attended one of the very first tapings of ABC's short-lived game show Hot Seat, prompting a look at the unusual lie-detector-based competition, why it struggled to find an audience, and how it was overshadowed by the debut of Family Feud. The second postcard, featuring the Mark Twain Riverboat cruising past Cascade Peak, continues the story with the rise and fall of Hot Seat—from its...
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SFD 359: Sent with a Bicentennial Map
Sent from Disneyland
Celebrate America's Bicentennial through the lens of Disneyland in this episode of Sent from Disneyland. We begin with a 1975 Jungle Cruise postcard featuring a skipper protecting guests from charging hippos, setting the stage for a look back at Disneyland's America on Parade celebration. From the park's 20th Anniversary logo to the iconic Spirit of '76 artwork featuring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, we explore three different Disneyland guide maps produced during the Bicentennial years and the patriotic artwork that became synonymous with the celebration. A second postcard, showing the Primeval...
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SFD 358: Sent with Quackers
Sent from Disneyland
Celebrate Donald Duck's 50th birthday with a trip back to Disneyland in 1984! This episode of Sent from Disneyland begins with a postcard mailed during the opening weekend of Donald's anniversary celebration, where the sender excitedly mentions attending Donald's birthday party. That message leads into the story of Disneyland's "Goin' Quackers" celebration, complete with a special ceremony in Town Square, appearances by Scrooge McDuck, Daisy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Ludwig Von Drake, and dozens of Disney characters, plus a birthday parade unlike any other in the park's history. A second vintage...
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SFD 357: Sent with an X
Sent from Disneyland
Set sail for New Orleans Square in this episode of Sent from Disneyland as we explore two postcards connected to one of Disneyland’s most beloved attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean. The first postcard, mailed in 1970, captures a panoramic view of New Orleans Square with the Pirates entrance, Royal Street storefronts, and the charming details that made the land feel like a living piece of old New Orleans. A note from a family vacationing across Southern California provides a glimpse into a classic road trip that included Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, the...
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SFD 356: Sent near Plaza Point
Sent from Disneyland
In this episode of Sent from Disneyland, we continue the Disneyland Mailbox Tour with a stop at one of the most overlooked locations on Main Street, U.S.A.—the mailbox outside Carefree Corner. A 1967 postcard showing guests gathered outside the Insurance Company of North America information center provides the perfect starting point to explore the history of this unique Main Street landmark. From complimentary souvenirs and travel assistance to its later lives as the Hospitality Center, Gibson Card Corner, Photo Supply, and today’s Plaza Point holiday shop, we trace more than six decades...
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SFD 355: Sent with Tru-Vue
Sent from Disneyland
This week on Sent from Disneyland, we set sail through Frontierland with two vintage postcards and a fascinating look at a forgotten piece of Disney history. Our first postcard, mailed in 1971, features the Mark Twain Riverboat steaming along the Rivers of America with the Matterhorn rising in the distance. A simple note to a friend captures a memorable day spent at Disneyland with family, while the postcard itself serves as a gateway into the history of the Tru-Vue Company. Long before View-Master became a household name, Tru-Vue was producing stereoscopic film viewers that brought...
info_outlineTravel through Disneyland history via three postcards from 1963, 1976, and 2026. From the Jungle Cruise and Adventureland’s original mailbox, to Main Street’s Emporium windows and the Disneyland Band, to a modern Space Mountain Postcrossing story—this episode blends park history, personal messages, and postal details into one nostalgic journey through time.
Below are some of the regulars on Art Throw Down, Follow all of them on Instagram anyway for great art and postcards in your Instagram feed: Hipstadufus, luluvision, jlynch9923, greenmosspaper, georgemailsart, state_of_the_funyun, RussRomano2021