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VIDEO: The Lost Walt Disney Footage Rediscovered at Rare Auction

Once thought to be lost forever, rare film footage featuring Walt Disney and the Mouseketeers has been rediscovered at auction, and you can see it for yourself at home!

The previously lost piece is now part of a lineup for Heritage Auctions’ latest bidding war, which will host one-of-a-kind items from the collection of Disney artists Jody Dailey and Kevin Kidney. Of course, the auctioneering company specializes in high-priced Disneyana sales, such as last year’s record-breaking auction, which found new happy haunts for rare Disney collectibles to the tune of $2.2 million total!

Park vehicles, lost footage of Walt among Disney artifacts up for auction
Credit: KTLA

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Now, Heritage Auctions will once again sell unique and hard-to-come-by artifacts from the animation studio and Southern California theme park mogul’s exalted history, just in time for its 100th anniversary. From March 25-26, The Art of Disneyland: From Stagecoaches to Monorails… and More! will compile 857 different pieces of Disney memorabilia, such as original concept artwork, Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle blueprints, a bench from Main Street, U.S.A. at the Disneyland Resort, and multiple production prototypes.

True to its name, the Heritage auction will also include coveted pieces from the defunct Disney theme parks past, such as an original Tomorrowland Skyway gondola, Walt Disney’s own frontier-era stagecoach, and a 1984 Walt Disney World Resort monorail cabin! Plus, the cabin doors are still in operation, all the original windows remain, and its eight rows of seating offer the perfect view of all the original signage inside.

Park vehicles, lost footage of Walt among Disney artifacts up for auction
Credit: KTLA

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However, the crème de la crème (à la Edgar) has to be Dailey and Kidney’s 1955 film reel, which contains footage of Walt and his Mouseketeer group christening the Disneyland Express “Snow White” bus line. Although Disney historians once thought the rare clip to be gone forever, its reappearance at this auction is a true piece of Disney magic!

As described by Heritage Auctions:

The film reel comes in a lightweight metal canister, and the film is in ‘Very Good’ playable condition. The film includes a DVD with a professionally transferred digital copy of its footage.

Park vehicles, lost footage of Walt among Disney artifacts up for auction
Credit: KTLA

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Like Heritage’s Director of Animation Art, Jim Lentz, says, “If Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, this surely will be the happiest auction on earth.” If any of these pieces interest you, you can view them online or from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. starting March 20, 2023, at the auction house’s 9478 West Olympic Blvd location.

Furthermore, the in-person bidding begins Saturday, March 25, in Beverly Hills, with the online auction commencing on the 26.

Spencer Johnette

Spencer is a lifelong lover of theme parks, princesses, and Disney history that recently relocated to Northern California. She completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA, where she was the founder and first president of the campus Disney Club. A former Cast Member still mourning the loss of the Disney Store, she now haunts the Walt Disney Family Museum halls and shares her opinions with anyone who will listen @gothelsflower.

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