Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - The Only 3 Merchandise Items during Walt Disney's Period

Q: I am searching for information concerning a spring wind-up doll named Oswald after the cartoon character of the 1920s. I understand he was before Mickey. Any information and possible value would be appreciated. Do you have one in the Archives?
Phillip, Des Moines, Iowa 

A [Dave Smith]: There were only three Oswald the Lucky Rabbit merchandise items made during the period that Walt Disney was making the Oswald cartoons — a stencil set, a pinback button and a candy bar. Other items would have been made later, during the period that Walter Lantz produced the cartoons. We do not have any information on them. 

[Marcio Disney]

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Fantasyland Board Game by Parker Brothers

Q: A friend of ours gave me a bunch of old Disney stuff from her attic and among them was a Fantasyland board game. The instructions have gone missing, but it looks like you make your way through Fantasyland, passing through the rides (which only seem to include those that were around Opening Day). I would love to know more about this game. What can you tell me about it?

Lauren, Merced, California

A [Dave Smith]: The Fantasyland board game was made by Parker Brothers in 1956, so it does indeed include only the earliest attractions in that land. Parker Brothers was a Disney licensee for many years, beginning in 1933. The game was reprinted for sale at the Disney parks a few years ago, along with three others in the set: Monorail, Riverboat, and Adventureland.

[Marcio Disney]

--- Description

Players move on board and try to collect stars and tickets with high numbers as they move along path in Fantasyland.

In 1956, just one year after the opening of Walt Disney's Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, Parker Brothers produced a series of board games based on four of the themed sections within the park. The Fantasyland board game is one example. A very simple race and point game for small children, the game box features the iconic symbol of Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty's castle, as well as most of the popular early Disney movie characters.

Description courtesy of thestrong.org (Creative Commons, BY-NC-ND)