The term "Disneyana," as researched by Tomart (publisher of Disneyana Update Magazine), dates back to the late 1960's/1970's when it was used in Malcom Willits' Collector's Book Store mail order catalog to categorize Disney merchandise.  It has been since used as a descriptor of all things Disney, including its art and memorabilia from the 1930's to the present day.  This provides a wide demographic for products which fall under this term, and thus, many use the term "vintage disneyana" to arbitrarily separate older (usually pre-1968) Disney collectibles from the more recent.  

The term disneyana caught on and in 1974, Cecil Munsey published a book on Walt Disney collectibles entitled "Disneyana."  This was followed by Disney opening the first "Disneyana Shop" at Disneyland in Anaheim, California on January 9, 1976.  At that time, the shop sold all disneyana merchandise, including vintage collectibles purchased through secondary buyers.  As an aside, the shop did eventually close in March of 1986.  A renovated Disneyana Shop on Main Street USA reopened in May of 1998, selling park-exclusive and limited edition merchandise.  Vintage disneyana products were no longer sold.  

In 1979, twelve "disneyana collectors" gathered in Anaheim, California and decided to form a club to share their appreciation of Walt Disney and his legacy.  The club was called "The Mouse Club."  The leaders of the group, Ed and Elaine Levin, had operated a disneyana shop from their home called the "Nickelodeon"  and began publishing a newsletter in 1980.   The Mouse Club had wanted to use Mickey Mouse in their logo, but Disney would not allow it.  As a comical compromise, legendary Disney animator Ward Kimball provided the club with his own rendition of Mickey Mouse with a bag over his head, for use in their logo (pictured below). The growth of "disneyana collectors" expanded after Munsey's 1974 Disneyana book continued to gain more exposure, and the Levin's felt it was time for a larger gathering.  In August 1982, the Mouse Club made history, hosting the first ever unofficial "Disneyana Convention."   It was held at the Jolly Roger Inn, which is still to this day across the street from Disneyland.   

The one day show-and-sale was believed to be the largest collection of Disney memorabilia and merchandise ever assembled in one place for that time.  The convention also attracted some of the most prominent guests in the field, including legendary Disney animators Ward Kimball, Ollie Johnston, and Frank Thomas, archivist Dave Smith, Clarence "Ducky" Nash (original voice of Donald Duck), and others.  This convention set the model of what was to be many future conventions, including the elements of a show and sale, auction, and informal seminars on various disneyana topics.  However, As the Mouse Club continued to grow, fourteen of its prominent members had differing opinions about the future direction of the club.  They decided to spin off their own club in 1984, called the National Fantasy Fan Club (NFFC). 
Though demonstrating a more imagineering slant, the NFFC's stated purpose of "promoting, encouraging, and stimulating the hobby of collecting and enjoying disneyana", was very similar to that of the Mouse Club (their current logo is pictured at right).  Nevertheless, the NFFC had great success with their biannual conventions, held in Anaheim, California.  Their conventions used a familiarly successful format with special guests, seminars, and a show-and-sale.   Much of their growth can be traced back to their development of "local chapters" throughout the US and around the world.  These chapters were comprised of smaller, member-run groups who gathered at other members' homes to help maintain activity and excitement within the membership.   

The success of the NFFC was proof that collectors were always open to new clubs and events.  As the Disney company gradually increased its collector merchandise throughout the 1980's, they felt that they, too, were ready for the next step.  In 1992, Disney announced the first ever "Official" Disneyana Convention.   The convention was to be held on Disney property at the Contemporary resort of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida on September 24-27th 1992.

Pictured at left is a thumbnail image of the ad Disney released to promote their "Official Disneyana Convention."  If you click on the image, you can view the full size ad.  The round logo featured Mickey's head with the convention year below.  This style of logo became the model for the subsequent Official Disneyana Conventions.  You can see all the logos by visiting our logo pins area.  

The first convention was a success, which by word of mouth, led to sell outs at many of the subsequent conventions.  Using the original formula of the Mouse Club, including auctions, limited edition merchandise, and informational seminars, Disney added to it with spectacular banquets and entertainment which always left conventioneers wanting more. The venues alternated annually between Walt Disney World, Florida and Disneyland, California, until 1995, when for the first time, Disney held two conventions (one at each venue).  Then in 1996, Disney began exclusively holding the convention at Walt Disney World until the year 2001.   
The conventions began to evolve in 1997, having a set theme.  For example, the 1997 convention was themed "Villains!" and was very successful.  From that year on, every convention had a themed title: 1997) Villains!, 1998) 75 Years of Love and Laughter, 1999) Safari Adventure, 2000) It's A Small World, 2001) A Disney Family Reunion, and 2002) The Official Disneyana Mystery.  However, the conventions  were always a work in progress.  Long lines for merchandise, too little or too much merchandise, and facilities management difficulties all provided each convention with its own set of unique problems.   Despite these forthcomings, during the period of 1996 through 2000, Walt Disney World services began pushing the marketing envelope.  In the conventions 1992-1995, the average number of limited edition collectibles remained relatively stable, then rose to nearly double by the 2000 convention.  Then in 2001, the Disneyana Convention returned to Disneyland and was themed "A Disney Family Reunion", where approximately triple the number of limited edition items were available for sale as compared to the earlier conventions.  It seemed that disneyana artwork was abound and both the conventioneers and artists were happy.  However, in 2002, Disney decided to change the Disneyana Convention from that original Mouse Club formula.  They announced that the Official Disneyana Convention for 2002 was to be called the "Official Disneyana Mystery Event."  The title alone, already had collectors in fear.  After all, their prized "convention" had become an "event."  In this transformation, Disney kept on with a multitude of limited edition merchandise, but thought that they would reduce the size of the convention to 3 days from 5, lowering the overall cost.  Since this was a significant reduction in size and cost, they decided to remove the convention label and call it an event."  The dictionary's definition of a convention ("A formal meeting of members, representatives, or delegates, as of a political party, fraternal society, profession, or industry") and an event ("A social gathering or activity") are really not that different, but the reality of the changes were very different for many collectors. What was suppose to be an improvement, increasing the amount of people who could afford to go, instead turned away convention regulars, who were upset that the top notch entertainment and festivities of previous conventions had become a "mystery."  In addition, the long lines and cramped facility problems continued.  Conventioneers began to complain in large numbers and corporate Disney soon decided it was best to cancel the 2003 Disneyana event and take a year off to rethink the convention entirely.  In January 2004, after successfully increasing the number of one day theme park mini-events, it was announced that there would be no Disneyana Convention for 2004. To this day, collectors await news for a return of an Official Disneyana Convention.

This is the brief history of the Official Disneyana Convention, from the term disneyana to those early disneyana collectors who eventually inspired Disney to hold a convention of their own.  So whatever happened to those early convention pioneers?  Well, The Mouse Club eventually went defunct.  Many of those original members became a part of the Mouse Club East, an organization, based on the East Coast, with loose ties to the original Mouse Club.  The club hosted many successful show and sales in Natick Massachussetts.  However, they, too, shut down operations in 2000.  As for the NFFC, they are still going strong with their biannual conventions and newsletter, now with over 6500 active members.  Their official web site can be found at: http://www.nffc.org.

 
To get a glimpse of some of the decorations from many of the past "Official Disneyana Conventions," select from the following years:
1992 1995 - WDW 1999 2003 - cancelled
1993 1996 2000 2004- cancelled
1994 1997 2001 2005- cancelled
1995- DL 1998 2002