Q : Your article is the highlight of each FanFare I read. Since you are asked so many questions, I thought I’d ask you some questions about questions. Do you have a favorite question you have been asked? What question took you the longest to answer? Is there one question that you have not answered that particularly frustrates you?
Michael, Savannah, Georgia
A: Thanks, Michael. One of my favorite questions, though unanswerable, was “How much does Walt Disney World weigh?” There were many questions that took a long time—sometimes I would spend several hours searching for an answer, then have to give up when my search proved fruitless. I have been frustrated in not being able to find a listing of the background artists who worked on each of the early Disney cartoons (before they started putting credits on the films); we know the animators and the directors, but not the background artists.
Q : As a child, I remember a poem published in a magazine around Christmastime that was many pages long and featured Disneyland. I cut the poem from the magazine and read it all the time to my younger brothers and sisters. After a number of years, I went to the place I kept it, only to find it not there, and all the younger siblings denied taking it. When I had children, I attempted to find it through contacting various magazines, but no one was able to help. Now as a grandmother I would love to have this poem to share again with a new generation. Do you know the title and if it is available?
Karen, Clifton Park, New York
A: You may be thinking of A Christmas Adventure in Disneyland, published in Family Circle magazine in December 1958.
Q : Before Swedish illustrator Gustaf Tenggren migrated to America and began working for The Walt Disney Company in the 1930s, he (as I am sure you are already fully aware) was studying art at Valand, in Gothenburg. There he met and befriended fellow art student Rudolf Petersson, who would later come to create one of Sweden’s most beloved comics of all time. A few years later, Gustaf married Rudolf’s sister, Anna, and when they migrated to America in 1920, Rudolf decided to follow them. What I would like to know is if Rudolf Petersson ever applied for a job at The Walt Disney Company, and if so, if you could tell me something about his work at the studio. I have heard rumors in Sweden that he did, but I have never gotten these rumors confirmed.
Dennis, Gothenburg, Sweden
A: The Disney personnel records do not show a Rudolf Petersson ever working for Disney.
Q : I was invited to a preview of the original 5th Avenue New York “House of Disney“ Disney Store back in 1996 and still have the original invitation. It is a three-dimensional card that opens up to show a formally dressed Mickey and Minnie dancing under a dangling chandelier. While I have no intention of selling mine, I am curious if these types of invitations were sent out for other special Disney openings.
Louis, Rego Park, New York
A: While there have been other Disney Store opening invitations, yours is probably one of the more elaborate ones.
Q : In trying to find items not in the Archives collection, do you have someone that scans eBay for items you might need that have been lost? If so, is it “buy it at any cost” to acquire it? If so, how frequently are items purchased off eBay or antique stores annually to have in the Archives?
Jeff, Simi Valley, California
A: The Archives staff does not regularly scan eBay for interesting Disney items, but occasionally some are brought to our attention. The Archives actually purchases very little for its collection.
Q : I was recently at the Walt Disney World Fanniversary, which was great. They mentioned a few different Disney characters and movies that are turning 25 this year, but I didn’t write them down. I’m planning a surprise for my Disney baby who is turning 25 this year and would love to include these things.
Donna, Jensen Beach, Florida
A: I asked Steven Vagnini, who co-presented the Fanniversary event at Walt Disney World.  These are the 25th anniversaries that they noted in the show: Disney Dollars (May 5, 1987, at Disneyland), Star Tours (January 9, 1987, at Disneyland), Disney Store (March 28, 1987), and Ducktales (September 21, 1987).
Q : I am a current museum-studies student at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I have always been obsessed with Walt Disney and the culture associated with him and his projects, including all of the theme parks. My goal is to one day work at the Disney Archives or work with the branch of the Disney Company that designs and installs the exhibits inside the theme parks and other venues, such as the Ronald Regan Presidential Library. My question to you is do you have any advice in helping me achieve my goal? How would I go about trying to get an internship or job in the Disney Archives?
Paige, Fredericksburg, Virginia
A: There are rarely openings, but you can write the Archives at Disney.archives@disney.com.
Q : It was suggested I contact you about a couple of pictures I have. I have never seen anything like these before and cannot find them in any collector references. The pictures are of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. In the Mickey picture, he is playing, sitting at a drum set and playing a drum. The Donald Duck one has a dismayed Donald in a cowboy suit tangled up in a popgun string. The art style for both of them looks ’50-ish to me. I wish I had a way to send you pictures.
Pat, Cairo, Georgia
A: You can send pictures to Disney.archives@disney.com.