In just a few months, a former Bed Bath and Beyond in Burbank, California became a hub of Disney history. In Up for Auction, the latest show produced by The Nacelle Co., comedian and actor Chris Hardwick follows Van Eaton Galleries through the process of creating a three-day Disney auction, the biggest-ever auction dedicated solely to Disney memorabilia.
All of the items in the auction, from Disneyland maps to the Doom Buggy, came from one man’s collection — Joel Magee. Only a portion of Magee’s collection was featured in the auction, but the Van Eatons turned the aforementioned Bed Bath and Beyond into an exhibit any Disney fan would drool over.
“By the time they were done with it, it was like a Disney museum,” Hardwick says. “All the shelves were gone. People had done all this incredible chalk drawing art of Disney stuff on the floors, and all the posters were in one place, and all the Space Mountain stuff and Tomorrowland stuff was in one place, and the Haunted Mansion and the posters and the park maps. I had thought, ‘Shouldn’t this travel for a while so people can have this exhibit?’”
Along the way, the show dives into different pieces of Disney history, from the protests following the closure of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Walt Disney World to the creation of It’s a Small World for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.
“There’s a lot of really great Disney fan information in each episode,” Hardwick says. “There’s so much, there’s so many little stories and little rabbit holes to go down. I was so thankful that they added that and I learned a ton of stuff, too. I just think it’s another element of the show where it’s like it is an auction show, but it’s also so much more than that.”
'Up for Auction' shows off some iconic Disney attraction vehicles. | Source: The Nacelle Co.
'Up for Auction' shows off some iconic Disney attraction vehicles. | Source: The Nacelle Co.
The show gives viewers glimpses into Disney history, but you’ll also get to meet Disney icons. Up for Auction features appearances from Bob Gurr, one of the original Imagineers, who created vehicles like the Main Street U.S.A. vehicles in Disneyland, the Haunted Mansion’s Doom buggy, and much more.
“To watch Bob light up at the excitement of stuff that he designed decades ago that are legendary fixtures of Disney culture in the parks — what an experience that he’s still here, that he still cares, and that he has as much enthusiasm for this stuff as we do,” Hardwick says.
While the first half of the show follows the process of bringing the auction to life, the second half of the show dives into the action of the auction itself — including an entire episode dedicated solely to memorabilia from the Haunted Mansion. Magee is looking to get $5 million out of the auction, and it’s a race to see if he breaks even on his collection.
'Up for Auction' features park maps from every era of Disney history. | Source: The Nacelle Co.
'Up for Auction' features park maps from every era of Disney history. | Source: The Nacelle Co.
Some members of the Up for Auction team even placed bids on some of their favorite items. Brian Volk-Weiss, CEO of The Nacelle Co. and director of Up for Auction, got a piece of an attraction that had sentimental meaning to him.
“I cannot even believe what I’m saying to you is true, but when Star Tours opened originally in the late ’80s, on the line queue in the ceiling up above it, there were all these baskets on a conveyor belt that held droid parts,” Volk-Weiss says. “And I went on that ride for the first time with my grandfather, who’s the greatest person I’ve ever met, and he’s been gone for about 30 years. I remember doing it with him, and I remember seeing those baskets for the first time. I have one of those baskets in my collection right now.”
Up for Auction is streaming now for free at cwtv.com. Whether you’re well acquainted with the world of auctions or are looking to check out some of the coolest Disney memorabilia around, Up for Auction is the perfect glimpse into the history of Disney and the skill of creating an auction.
