Vintage Disneyland hand-drawn map sells at auction for $708,000

LOS ANGELES — A hand-drawn map that shows Walt Disney’s original ideas for Disneyland has sold at auction for $708,000.

The founder of Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles said a private collector cast the winning bid Sunday.

Walt Disney commissioned an illustrator to create the map in 1953 to drum up interest. Many of the ideas shown on the map became realities when Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif. in 1955.

Utah resident and Disney collector Ron Clark owned the map for more than 40 years and dreamed of it being returned to Disneyland.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Art dealer Mike Van Eaton stands next to a hand-drawn map from 1953 that shows Walt Disney’s original ideas for Disneyland, displayed at the Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles.