I was recently looking at some old View-Master reels through my "new" viewer when I came upon this booklet for a Disney-themed set.  Back when View-Master reels came in paper packets, they often included multi-page booklets that further explained each shot, such as this from a G3-style packet.

Walt Disney World Fantasyland View-Master Booklet Cover

Through various ownership changes, View-Master dropped the use of packets and shifted to bundling reels in blisterpacks, eliminating all included supplements like order forms and paper booklets.  Today's View-Master sets ironically focus mostly on cartoon and preschool properties, but we no longer get to view the type of artwork featured on the cover of the Fantasyland set that I've shown here.  So take some time to enjoy this nice 1970s montage of things found in the land, in great contrast to what we'd probably see today (i.e. there's only 1 princess featured!)

Can you identify the ride depicted in the image that is no longer found in WDW's Fantasyland?

Over the weekend, while shopping at a vintage toy store with some friends, I happened across a View-Master Model C viewer.  I don't think the seller knew the value of the product, because I got a really good deal when I bought it!

View-Master Model C Viewer

As many of you know, I'm somewhat of a vintage View-Master collector (remember our Christmas trip to View-Masterville?), continued from my fascination with the 3D product as a kid.  These days, I'm mostly interested in the real-life scenic reels of tourist attractions.  It's very fun to look at images from Niagara Falls or Washington D.C. as they were depicted in an era long ago.  The View-Master is still in production, owned by Mattel these days and marketed as a Fisher-Price brand.  However, it's primarily targeted at the pre-school age group with reels based on cartoon properties.

Continue Reading…

Once upon a time there was a small, rural town by the name of Sawyerville. With all the main industries long gone, to help their tax base they attempted to refocus their promotional ventures towards tourism.

Welcome to View-Masterville!

Noting Hollywood's creatively-bankrupt strategy of making every possible movie in 3D to produce inflated ticket prices, the town's Chamber of Commerce thought they could do something similar.

Continue Reading…