Trading Cards
Sometimes when I think one particular Theme Parkology project will be a huge hit it’s not. Of course, sometimes when I think a project isn’t going to be a hit it turns into a sold-out item. Such is the case with my Theme Parkology Trading Cards. I honestly thought no one would want any of my trading cards. Boy, was I ever wrong.
My trading cards are a huge hit. Everyone loves them. And to think these cards almost didn’t happen.
(Rewind to the beginning of the trading cards history.)
I like to give each customer a little something with every package. It started with an ad for an upcoming documentary and then it switched to a DVD check list. One day, as I was packaging up someone’s order I started pondering if I should place more ads with the check list. However, the more I thought about it the more I felt like I was sending junk mail. Then a thought hit me, “What if I created a collectable item for everyone to enjoy?”
Thus, the idea to create trading cards was born.
The idea stuck with me for a long time before I actually started on a design for the card. I had first wanted to do a card just with an image on the front and a blank white backing on the back. I soon realize that the trading card would only feel like half a card, so I decided on a “Did you know” section on the back.
If I recall the first image I tested was a Jungle Cruise card. Shortly after, I scraped it in favor of starting off with the Disneyland series. For the Theme Park series, I gave each card a different color; Disneyland 1955-1959 purple, Disneyland 1960-1969 orange, Disneyland 1970-1979 brown, Disneyland 1980-1989 red, and Disneyland 1990-1999 blue.
It may interest you to know that the first draft for these
cards were rectangular in shape with bright sub-colors
and sharp fonts. I wanted the back fonts to be more
themed to match the charming image in the front. The
idea was to give each card a clean and spacious look, but
when I took a step back and looked at the Disneyland
1955-1959 card I was not happy. So, I toned down the
brightness a bit and added a circle within the vertical
rectangle. Perfect.
The images for the Disneyland in the 50s, 60s, and 90s were designed by Graphic Artist Mindy Lucio, and the Disneyland in the 70s and 80s were designed by Artist Nysa Ramsey.
I printed about 100 cards of each Disneyland era and started to pass them out with every purchase. I was happy, the customers were happy, until…
When the cards started to noticeably dwindle down to around 30 cards per era I started receiving emails from customers and collectors stating that it was getting too difficult to collect an entire set. Some had two of one card, others couldn’t find someone to trade with.
Around that time, I decided to start another set to promote the upcoming Autopia documentary DVD. Graphic Artist Greg Nevius designed several amazing motor vehicles for the film. I knew instantly that all eight cars needed to be a part of the trading cards. The set include 7 colored car which were; black and white, blue, green, red, maroon, yellow, and white, with a rare Gurr-Moble (only 18 of the Gurr-Moble were printed).
The Autopia batch began its circulation shortly after the film
made its debut. The cards started going fast and it wasn’t
long before the emails returned. Customers wanted the
whole set and this time they made it perfectly clear that they
were willing to pay for them.
Sigh! “Always give the people what they want”, I heard my
inner voice say. I quickly placed the Theme Park and Autopia sets up and
guess what happened? They sold out. Luckily, another DVD and two Disney fan
cons were coming up.
In October of 2017 The Phantom Manor was released. It’s a great film and if you
haven’t purchased it yet you really must. (Go ahead I’ll wait.) Once again Greg
Nevius designed several images for the animated intro at the beginning of the
film. Of course, I had to incorporate the image onto my trading card series. Four
images were placed within the set; the Manor, the Phantom, Melanie Ravenswood, and Jake. The dark green border with the Purple hue circle really gave each card a very creepy look and feel. It was perfect.
In October I attended the Disneyana Expo in Anaheim and in November I set up shop at the Mouse-Con in San Francisco. At both events I released a very special and very rare card. To get these cards you had to attend the events.
For the Disneyana, I released Theme Parkology’s first audio CD, The Haunted Mansion. To celebrate its release, I produced 36 Hatbox Ghost Trading Cards, designed by Artist Kristen Watkins, and passed them out to customers. Luckily for some of you Trading Card fans I had a few extra to pass out, but they were gone in record time.
For the Mouse-Con event I released the much anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean documentary which was drawn by Illustrator and Designer Greg Nevius. Along with its release were 36 Pirates trading cards. The DVD sold out within its first week, with the second set of DVDs gone by the end of the month. Again, I had managed to salvage several cards from the con, but they were quickly gone by diehard collectors.
As of right now all of the first series (2017 trading cards) are gone.
So, what’s next for the Theme Parkology Trading Cards?
Well… To be fair for those of you who have yet to complete your collection I will be printing only 18 cards each and will only sell them as a set. This way it insures that those who really want to complete their collection can do so.
The second series is an amazing set featuring The Main Street Electrical Parade. Each card will have an orange backdrop with a hot purple trim and will feature the following float images; a Train, Pete’s Dragon, a Pirate Ship, a Turtle, and Alice in Wonderland. I hope to release this set when the Main Street Electrical Parade DVD comes out.
The Main Street Electrical Parade image was designed by a
good friend of mine and was then colored and cleaned up by
animator Evan Bodell. I wanted to originally have these five
images animated across the screen within the documented
DVD, but Evan schedule was too hectic to complete the ani-
mated sequences. It seemed like a waste to have the images
stored so I decided to turn them into a trading card series.
The Pirates of the Caribbean set includes; the Captain, the Redhead, a Sidekick, The Black Pearl, and the HMS Interceptor. These images will be set to a brick red background and a dark maroon circle.
The designer for these images was illustrator Travis Hanson.
I am a huge fan of his work and was very pleased that he was
able to draw these five characters. Each one of the illustrat-
ion were used in the animated sequence of the Pirates of the
Caribbean documentary. These three pirates and two ships
fit beautifully within the trading card sets.
The Attraction set includes the following; Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster (purple), Indiana Jones Adventure (brown), It’s A Small World (pink and blue), The Monorail (red), and The Enchanted Tiki Room (green).
The Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster was illustrated by Designer
Greg Nevius, the Indian Jones Adventure was drawn by Nysa
Ramsey, and The Monorail, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and
It’s A Small World were designed by Graphic Artist Kristen
Watkins.
The last set I decided to create, which was about two years ago was the Forgotten Attraction set. This charming set included; Carousel of Progress, The Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, Rocket to the Moon, The Submarine Voyage, The Flying Saucers, The PeopleMover, and The Skyway. This was a fun set and very colorful.
So, there you have the history
of the entire Theme Parkology
trading card set. There is so
many, but like I said I am con-
idering redoing the entire
series.
Perhaps I could ask for your suggestions. Should I start over and create a new series with better detailing and description with the option to have some of the signed. Or, should I just continue with the set have now? Please send me your advice at jerry@themeparkology.com.
If you would like to start or continue your collection now would be the time to do as I will be pulling these cards out very soon.
Thank you in advance for your advice,
Jerry Cornell
