DisneyLand Pipe Tobacco
- Thread starter jacks6
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The Tobacco Shop opened in 1955 as one of the original shops on Disneyland’s Main Street. It was located between the Magic Shop and the Main Street Cinema on the east side of Main Street. In the year 1991, the Tobacco Shop closed permanently. In its place, a new shop, Great American Pastimes, sold baseball cards and sports memorabilia until 1999. Then, 20th Century Music Company moved in, selling Disney CDs and videos, including CDs featuring Disneyland entertainment
One source for Walt to obtain cigarettes was the Tobacco Shop on Main Street at Disneyland. Among other things, the shop sold pipes that had the Disneyland logo on them and later in Florida, pipes with the Walt Disney World logo.
At the Tobacco Shop, guests could also purchase private label Disney cigars, cigarettes, Disney "Special Blend" bulk tobacco (all with a Disney theme park logo prominently displayed), ashtrays, and, of course, after their purchase, guests could even light up in any of the Disney theme parks, and walk while smoking along Main Street without being harassed.
Disney Legend Van France regretted the closing of the Tobacco Shop because, after all "a tobacco shop was always found on Main Street at the turn of the century" and that like Walt, France smoked three packs of cigarettes a day so always needed more.
Believe it or not, the shop in the 1970s also sold the 14-ounce "Walt Disney World Fruit Cake Smoking Tobacco" described by a pipe expert as a "wet, slick, gooey" tobacco. While many of the pipes sold in the store were inexpensive basket pipes, there were more upscale versions like a sandblasted black billiard pipe with a white three-circled Mickey Mouse head silhouette inlaid in the stem.
The whole story is told right here
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-smokers-of-the-past/walt-disney-american-icon-inventor-of-pop-culture-pipe-smoker/
One source for Walt to obtain cigarettes was the Tobacco Shop on Main Street at Disneyland. Among other things, the shop sold pipes that had the Disneyland logo on them and later in Florida, pipes with the Walt Disney World logo.
At the Tobacco Shop, guests could also purchase private label Disney cigars, cigarettes, Disney "Special Blend" bulk tobacco (all with a Disney theme park logo prominently displayed), ashtrays, and, of course, after their purchase, guests could even light up in any of the Disney theme parks, and walk while smoking along Main Street without being harassed.
Disney Legend Van France regretted the closing of the Tobacco Shop because, after all "a tobacco shop was always found on Main Street at the turn of the century" and that like Walt, France smoked three packs of cigarettes a day so always needed more.
Believe it or not, the shop in the 1970s also sold the 14-ounce "Walt Disney World Fruit Cake Smoking Tobacco" described by a pipe expert as a "wet, slick, gooey" tobacco. While many of the pipes sold in the store were inexpensive basket pipes, there were more upscale versions like a sandblasted black billiard pipe with a white three-circled Mickey Mouse head silhouette inlaid in the stem.
The whole story is told right here
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-smokers-of-the-past/walt-disney-american-icon-inventor-of-pop-culture-pipe-smoker/
The same items were also available at Walt Disney World in Florida. The shop sat on Main Street but closed earlier than the one is Disneyland. The difference, obviously, everything is marked Walt Disney World instead of Disneyland. All my collection, seven pipes, a pouch of slightly aromatic blend, and several matchbooks are all from Disney World. I do have a matchbook or two from Disneyland but only have that because it was part of a group of Disney World pieces I purchased. No computer at the moment so will post pictures sometime in the future.
My research has been unsuccessful in determining who was the blender/manufacturer of the "Mildly Aromatic" "Special Blend"
One of these days I'll snag a disney pipe for my own collection. Brian generally steals all of them though.
Thank you for the additional information Jackswilling and SJMiller. I was hoping someone would be able to fill in the story behind these. This is one of the main reasons I'm personally so drawn to this hobby - there's so much rich history behind pipe smoking. I was completely unaware that even Disney played a part.
It would be so cool to be able to take the kids to Disneyland and purchase a pipe as a keepsake. Of course, it would make Disneyland/world that much more tolerable if one could enjoy a bowl or three while being drug around to stand in line.
I used to work a Disneyland back in the 70s and bought a pipe in the tobacco shop there. I was making minimum wage, so my buying options were limited. The pipe below is what I could afford. Unfortunately, it has no stampings or logos on it. So as far as being a collector's item I might just as well have bought it anywhere. I haven't smoked it for many years but it had a lot Captain Black burned in it back in the day.
I think they sold some pipes with the Disneyland stamp, but I don't know who made them. I used to have an L.L. Bean straight pot with some kind of stinger. It was a nicely made pipe, light weight but with a good sized bowl and thick walls. It could have been a Dr. Grabow.
Briarcraft made the L.L Bean pipes and I would wager that they made the Disney pipes too. I have a L.L Bean pot that needs repair ( my wife knocked it off a counter and the stem sheared off at the strummel). I'd also wager that the Disney tobacco was made by Lane Ltd..
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