This December 1971 Gold Key Walt Disney Comics Digest Special Issue (No. 32) celebrates the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida by featuring Mickey Mouse and the gang in stories, activities, and puzzles themed to the six new lands of the Magic Kingdom.

Gold Key Comics (1962-84), an imprint of Western Publishing, was responsible for the publication of many Disney titles over the years. The Walt Disney Comics Digest series ran for a total of fifty-seven issues from 1968-76. This thirty-second issue, from what collectors deem the Bronze Age of Comic Books, totals 160 pages in length and features Mickey and friends flanked by sketches of various Magic Kingdom attractions on the front cover. The issue’s premise—“Your Disney Favorites Tour the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World”—plays out in the following stories:

INTRODUCTION…3

 

FANTASYLAND

            With Goofy, Minnie Mouse and Pluto…4-23

TEACUP RIDDLE RIDE…24

ROUNDABOUT MERRILY…25-26

 

FRONTIERLAND

            With Donald and Mickey…27-45

FRONTIER DAYS MAZE…46

AN EPIC RIDE…47-48

 

MAIN STREET, U.S.A.

            With Uncle Scrooge, April, May, and June…49-59

MAIN STREET SCRAMBLE…60

THE FIREFIGHTERS…61-62

 

TOMORROWLAND

            With Mickey, Morty and Ferdie…63-81

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL QUIZZER…82

SPACE STATION ’76…83-84

 

LIBERTY SQUARE

            With Grandma Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie…85

GEORGE WASHINGTON…86-109

HAUNTED MANSION SPOOKEROO…110

 

ADVENTURELAND

            With Donald and Daisy…111-132

TREEHOUSE WORD HUNT…133

CAPTURING WILD ANIMALS ALIVE…134-135

THE AFRICAN LION—Part 3 and Conclusion…136-159

The comic represents an enjoyable collectible from the first months of Disney World that uniquely places a cast of classic characters into the context of the park’s lands and attractions for an entertaining look at the manifestation—albeit in altered fashion—of Walt’s ambitious Florida project.

VALUE: $10