Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
No thanks.
AO Mailbag: Which Places Just Aren’t Worth Visiting?
Benshi would introduce and provide commentary for films like A Page of Madness.
Remembering the Heyday of Japan’s Silent Film Narrators
The Horn & Hardart Automat was a staple of urban dining in midcentury New York City.
All Hail the Slop Bowl, Lunch of Our Ancestors
The Grateful Dead’s “Wall of Sound” on display in Las Vegas.
The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound Changed Live Music Forever

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Florida Orlando The Disney Collection

The Disney Collection

An unassuming corner inside downtown Orlando's library offers a whole new world of the park and its history.

Orlando, Florida

Added By
Pat Cassels
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
A 1967 Orlando Sentinel   Orange County Public Library
  Pat Cassels / Atlas Obscura User
Disney World’s monorail in 1971   Orange County Public Library
  Orange County Public Library
Orlando Public Library   Visitor7 / CC BY-SA 3.0
Archival Boxes with material not to be removed from the library   jessemiers / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Magic Kingdom isn't Orlando's only spot for Disney enchantment. An unassuming corner inside downtown's Orlando Public Library offers a whole new world of the park and its history.

The Disney Collection is the city's 50-year-old trove of documents chronicling Walt Disney World, from groundbreaking in the 1960s to the present. Tucked into a row of shelves and dusty filing cabinets Sneezy would hate, the collection houses more than 200 books, dozens of periodicals, hundreds of pieces of memorabilia, and press clippings dating back to 1971.

The fourth floor of a municipal building may not sound like "the most magical place on earth," but Disney fanatics will be spellbound by items so rare they're not allowed out of the library, including original park concept art, press releases, speeches, and photographs of rides that no longer exist.

Nothing is too specific for this collection. Notable items found by the Orlando Sentinel in 2018 included "everything from a guide on how to draw Disney Princesses to Epcot's 1993 plumbing code." Who needs the Magic Kingdom when you have that?

Related Tags

Amusement Parks Collections Libraries Disney

Know Before You Go

Orlando Public Library is open Sun 1 p.m. - 6 p.m., Mon - Thu 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., and Fri - Sat 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Community Contributors

Added By

Pat Cassels

Edited By

jessemiers, Michelle Cassidy

  • jessemiers
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

October 13, 2022

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/latest-links/disney-history-lives-orlando-public-library/
  • https://ocls.info/ocls-blog/collection-magic
  • https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-bz-disney-archive-library-20181010-story.html
The Disney Collection
101 E Central Blvd
Orlando, Florida, 32801
United States
28.54247, -81.376601
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Global Convergence Sculpture

Orlando, Florida

miles away

‘Fantasy Swan’

Orlando, Florida

miles away

Wells'Built Museum

Orlando, Florida

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Orlando

Orlando

Florida

Places 22
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Global Convergence Sculpture

Orlando, Florida

miles away

‘Fantasy Swan’

Orlando, Florida

miles away

Wells'Built Museum

Orlando, Florida

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Orlando

Orlando

Florida

Places 22
Stories 3

Related Places

  • Marietta, Georgia

    The Georgia Room at Switzer Library

    Strange memorabilia held inside an unassuming library.

  • Interior.

    Rimini, Italy

    Biblioteca Civica Gambalunga

    The oldest civic library in Italy can trace its foundation back to 1619.

  • Washington, D.C.

    Murals at Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library

    In an alcove of this historic library, you can find murals painted in the 1930s by an artist who went on to create some of Disney's most iconic animated films.

  • Ryerss Museum and Library

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Ryerss Museum and Library

    The Ryerss mansion in Burholme Park now houses a community library and a museum filled with a trove of oddities from around the world.

  • Lewis Ansbacher Map Collection

    Jacksonville, Florida

    Lewis Ansbacher Map Collection

    This collection features more than 240 antiquarian maps from around the world, in addition to historical views and plates focusing on North Florida.

  • Anaheim, California

    Dominguez Palm Tree

    A family agreed to sell their property to Disney on the condition that this tree, planted as a wedding gift, would not be removed.

  • Progress City

    Orlando, Florida

    Progress City Model

    A glimpse at Walt Disney's vision for a "community of tomorrow," in miniature.

  • Jingles the carousel horse.

    Anaheim, California

    Jingles

    The lead horse on a Disneyland merry-go-round that is older than the park itself.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.