The E-Ticket Magazine and the Birth of Serious Disneyana Collecting

Every hobby has a founding text. For Disneyland history and the collecting that grew up around it, that text is The "E" Ticket Magazine — published by brothers Jack and Leon Janzen from 1986 to 2009, 46 issues plus annuals, each devoted to deep, illustrated, interview-driven histories of individual attractions, lands, artists and eras. Named for the coupon that bought the best rides, it took the park seriously as history before almost anyone else did, and it taught a generation of collectors what they were holding. This guide closes our Pins, Paper & Records series — and it's the one place in this library where the authority site we link to throughout, The E-Ticket, is itself the subject. The complete run is archived there, issue by issue.

What it was

The Janzens started the magazine as fans — Disneyland kids who grew into Disneyland historians — and built it into the publication Imagineers themselves read. Each issue took a subject and exhausted it: the Jungle Cruise, the Matterhorn, the Submarine Voyage, Adventure Thru Inner Space, the Haunted Mansion, the Mine Train, the Skyway, New Orleans Square, the original Tomorrowland, the 1964 World's Fair pavilions, the park's posters and maps, the artists (Sam McKim, Rolly Crump, Bob Gurr, Claude Coats, Marc Davis, Bill Evans). The hallmark was primary sources: interviews with the people who designed and operated the attractions, concept art, construction photos, and period merchandise — which is why it became the reference for the rest of this library. Our guides on lost attractions, posters, ticket books and opening day all stand on E-Ticket research.

What an issue is actually like

For readers who haven't held one: an E-Ticket issue is a saddle-stitched magazine, typically 40-odd pages, with a painted or photographic cover of the featured subject. Inside, a long-form history of the attraction — conception, design, construction, operation, changes, closing — built from interviews the Janzens conducted themselves with Imagineers, artists and operators, and illustrated with material those people pulled from their own files: concept paintings, blueprints, construction snapshots, and the merchandise and paper that went with the ride. Sidebars cover the poster, the souvenir items, and the attraction's place in the ticket-book hierarchy. The tone is warm but exact — dates, names, sponsors, dimensions — which is why it reads as history rather than nostalgia, and why a collector can cite it. Later issues grew more ambitious, with multi-part features and the annuals gathering broader surveys. Reading one cover to cover is still the fastest way to understand why people collect what they collect.

The archive online

The magazine's site hosts every issue: The E-Ticket Magazine overview, then the run from Issue Number 1 through the later numbers (for example Issue 12 and Issue 24), plus the 1988 Annual and 1991 Annual. The single most useful page for collectors is the Alphabetical Index to The "E" Ticket Magazine — look up any attraction, artist or subject and it points you to the issue and page. Physical back issues are also available through the Walt Disney Family Museum, which has championed the magazine's legacy.

Using it as a collector

This is the practical part. When you hold a piece of Disneyana and want to know what it is:

1. Look up the attraction or subject in the index.
2. Read the issue — you'll usually find the attraction's run dates, sponsor, designers, and period photos of its merchandise, signage and paper.
3. Compare your item to the reproductions — correct logo, correct era, correct printing.
4. Note the context — the issue often explains why a piece exists (a sponsor giveaway, a grand-opening item, a reissue), which is exactly what the reissue guide asks you to establish.

For dating paper, the E-Ticket's reproductions of period guidebook pages, maps and tickets are a visual reference you can check against — see guidebooks and maps.

Collecting the magazine itself

The E-Ticket is also Disneyana. Its print runs were modest (it was a fan publication sold by subscription and at a few outlets), early issues are scarce, and complete runs are sought by serious collectors and libraries. What to know:

• Early issues (1–10) are the hardest; the first few were small-format and printed in limited numbers.
• Condition — it's a magazine: spine, corners, cover gloss, mailing labels (subscription copies often carry them; some collectors prefer unlabeled newsstand copies). Grading guide.
• Annuals and specials — the 1988 and 1991 annuals and any special issues complete a run.
• Storage — magazine bags and boards, upright, dark. Storage guide.

A complete run is a shelf of Disneyland history and a collectible in one — and it appreciates as fewer complete sets remain.

Its place in the hobby

The magazine's influence on collecting is hard to overstate. By treating attractions as subjects worthy of scholarship — and by showing the merchandise, paper and art alongside the history — it gave collectors a framework: this is what was made, this is when, this is why it matters. It sits alongside the Tomart's guides (also on the E-Ticket shelf) and The Nickel Tour as the hobby's core references. For the park's sound, the DisneyChris archive is the audio counterpart — read an issue on the Tiki Room, then listen to the Tiki Room. The Wikipedia overview of Disneyana describes the hobby's scale; the E-Ticket is a big reason it has rigor.

A reading list by interest

• Tomorrowland and lost attractions: the Inner Space, PeopleMover, Submarine and original-Tomorrowland issues.
• Opening era: the early-park and Main Street issues.
• Artists: the McKim, Crump, Gurr and Davis profiles.
• World's Fair roots (for Progressland fans): the 1964 fair issues — the lineage behind EPCOT, and behind a certain Georgia collectibles store's whole look.

Our debt, and an invitation

Main Street Collectibles in Martinez, Georgia was built by people who read the E-Ticket as kids, and the magazine's method — know the history, describe the piece honestly, show your sources — is how we run the floor. We keep E-Ticket issues when we find them, and the index is open on the counter computer most days. Come in, pick an attraction, and let's look it up together. It's Georgia's largest Disneyana selection, and this is the book behind it.

This completes the Pins, Paper & Records series — and the Hidden Mickeys library. Start again at What Is Disneyana?, or explore all five series.