Disney D23 and Heritage Auctions, a Dallas, Texas-based auctioneer, have begun a partnership that will auction to the highest bidder Disney theme park props, signs, and related memorabilia beginning at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August 2026. From the short mention amongst yesterday’s broader information release for the event, it appears that Disney seeks to create a new source of revenue generation from the sale of relics from beloved retired Disney theme park attractions.

D23 Kickoff of Disney and Heritage Auctions Sale of Theme Park Assets for Profit

The rather vague announcement indicated the following:

The Disney Experiences Auction – Rare and Remarkable Finds:
Through live and online bidding, discover select, verified pieces from Disney’s theme parks and resorts that are ready for their next chapter with the fans who treasure them most. Hosted by Bret Iwan, Disney Fine Artist and the Official Voice of Mickey Mouse!

Rather than offering items directly to its fans, as it has in the past through D23 Expo and other engagement opportunities, Disney has chosen the traditional auction house route. The Company has selected Heritage Auctions as a third-party vendor to run these auctions, significantly expanding Heritage’s footprint in the area of Disney theme park memorabilia. While not as well-known in the area of Disney theme park memorabilia as auction houses like Van Eaton Galleries, Heritage touts annual sales of nearly 500,000 total items, potentially signaling Disney’s plan to begin auction sales as a volume proposition. Before bidding, though, collectors should keep in mind that Heritage typically charges an additional 22% as a Buyer’s Premium on top of the high bid at auction.

The sale of Disney’s own memorabilia at auction has been an on-again, off-again proposition over the last several years. Originally this concept gained traction during the tenure of then-CEO Bob Chapek, but ultimately was not greenlit. Renewed internal discussions led to negotiations between Disney and Heritage in 2025, approved by then-Chairman of Parks, Resorts, and Experiences Josh D’Amaro. It was only after Josh D’Amaro stepped into the CEO position that Disney finalized the arrangement announced today.

While Disney made the official announcement this week, it seems that Heritage Auctions actually let the cat out of the bag several days ago. On June 23, Heritage sent a text message to its subscribers reminding them of the deadline for consignment for “The Disney D23 Experiences Auction” occurring on Sunday August 16, which is the last day of the D23 event in Anaheim. As the screenshot below shows, there was no such auction listed on their website’s auction calendar at the time the text message was sent. Curiously, this D23 auction was never intended to accept consignments from the public, reinforcing the hypothesis that the text message was a big mistake on Heritage’s part.

The one-of-a-kind theme park artifacts to be auctioned off have been gathered from across the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. Michael McCammon, Director of Business Operations for Disney Experiences, oversees Disney’s Asset Management team (colloquially known as “Property Control”). Within this department, McCammon assembled a secretive team which has been quietly rounding up items for auction from beloved and recently retired attractions and lands, including Muppet*Vision 3-D, Dinoland, Dinosaur, Tom Sawyer Island, and the Rivers of America. This team would descend upon the attraction immediately after its handover from Park Operations, and begin stripping away props, signage, thematic details, and anything else that they deemed worthy of marketing to park fans. As we have noticed with recent closures, teams of Disney Security are now in place during the last few hours of any location’s operations to deter would-be souvenir hunters—both cast and guest alike—from removing any potential auction items that could generate revenue.

In addition to memorabilia gathered from recently retired attractions, mothballed items from previously retired attractions may also made available — including props from The Great Movie Ride that have been stored backstage in trailers since its closure in 2017.

This is not Disney’s first attempt to offer its own memorabilia at auction. Longtime collectors will remember the efforts in the early 2000s to offer items on eBay through the Disney Auctions platform. In 2018, another McCammon-led initiative endeavored to secretly sell items from the Disneyland Resort without disclosing Disney as the source of the material. Our own reporting uncovered this venture, which was then quickly discontinued. Since this pullback, Disney has significantly restricted the sale of theme park memorabilia from its holdings–and had started actively policing both the marketplace and its own cast members for the unauthorized sale of props, signs, and other memorabilia. Under this guidance, the Company has been notoriously protective of any surplus items branded with Disney characters and icons, or anything associated with retired attractions. With this announcement, that policy has apparently been revisited and completely reversed.

It remains to be seen whether Disney fans will eagerly clamor to own a piece of a retired attraction or find it concerning that these corporate “keepsakes” are being sold simply to generate additional revenue. Will you be bidding? Let us know on social media.

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