Of all the things I saw during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, one of the coolest places I wandered through was The Disney Experiences Auction – Rare and Remarkable Finds showroom. This wasn’t a room filled with replicas or merchandise inspired by Disney attractions. These were actual pieces of Disney Parks history.
Disney partnered with Heritage Auctions for the first-ever auction, offering 50 verified pieces from Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and other Disney destinations. Guests at D23 could walk through the showroom during the weekend and see many of the pieces up close before the auction took place on Sunday, August 16. Bidding was available both in person and online, and every lot started at just $1 with no reserve. Of course, they didn’t stay anywhere near $1.
When everything was said and done, the 50 lots brought in an incredible $705,709, with 807 bidders participating in the sale.
And Kermit the Frog absolutely stole the show.
Muppet*Vision 3D Pieces Bring in BIG Money
The highest-selling piece of the entire auction was the park-used Kermit the Frog theater ornamentation from Muppet*Vision 3D, which sold for an astonishing $115,900.
This is the Kermit figure that was positioned above the double doors leading into and out of the attraction’s main theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The piece measures roughly 32 inches wide and depicts Kermit wearing a laurel crown and holding a megaphone. It was used in the attraction from 1991 until Muppet*Vision 3D closed in 2025.
Kermit wasn’t the only Muppet to command a serious price.
The massive Miss Piggy theater ornamentation sold for $73,200, making it the third-highest sale of the entire auction. Standing approximately 5.5 feet tall, the park-used figure was displayed high on the theater walls alongside the stage.
There was one more piece of Muppet*Vision history in the auction too: an original 3-D glasses distribution bin used at the attraction.
Seeing these pieces in the showroom was already pretty surreal considering how recently we said goodbye to Muppet*Vision 3D. Seeing what Kermit and Miss Piggy ultimately sold for makes them even more fascinating.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Wasn’t Far Behind
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad also produced two of the night’s biggest sales.
A park-used attraction vehicle that Disney had customized into a functional sitting bench sold for $79,300, making it the second-highest-selling lot of the auction.
Another original Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride vehicle, this one sold in its traditional attraction configuration for $51,240.
And then there was the trash can. Because only Disney fans could turn a theme park trash can into a five-figure collectible.
An authentic Disneyland Tomorrowland park-used trash can sold for $12,200. Yes, someone paid more than twelve thousand dollars for a Disney trash can. And honestly, after spending enough time around Disney collectors, I’m not even remotely surprised. What does surprise me is that it didn’t sell for much more, especially with Disneyland’s Tomorrowland reimagining announcement.
All 50 Rare and Remarkable Finds Auctioned at D23
Here are all 50 lots from the official Heritage Auctions catalog, in auction order:
- DisneyFest Original Event-Used Sign
- Disneyland 60th Anniversary Park-Used Banner
- Disneyland 50th Anniversary “The Happiest Homecoming on Earth” Park-Used Oval Plaque
- Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Resort-Used Display
- Walt Disney World “100 Years of Magic” Resort-Used Display
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Customized Park-Used Attraction Vehicle
- Walt Disney World Exit to Tomorrowland Park-Used Sign
- EPCOT Spaceship Earth Park-Used Exit Sign
- “it’s a small world” Park-Used Flowers Set Decoration
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park-Used Information Kiosk Sign
- In Character Ariel Park-Used Store Sign
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios 25th Anniversary Park-Used Sign
- Muppet*Vision 3D Miss Piggy Park-Used Theater Ornamentation
- Muppet*Vision 3D Kermit the Frog Park-Used Theater Ornamentation
- Muppet*Vision 3D Park-Used 3-D Glasses Distribution Bin
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Resort-Used Aloha Sign
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Resort-Used Drink Menu Table Topper
- Lilo’s Playhouse Lady and the Tramp Resort-Used Character Display
- Haunted Mansion Donald and Goofy Park-Used Character Display
- Disneyland Haunted Mansion Park-Used Medusa Glass Slide
- Haunted Mansion Holiday Park-Used Jack-in-the-Box Skull Prop
- Disneyland Haunted Mansion Park-Used Mummy Sarcophagus Prop
- Disney California Adventure Mad T Party Park-Used Armchair and Footstool
- Jessie’s Critter Carousel Park-Used Turtle Attraction Vehicle
- King Triton’s Carousel Park-Used Otter Attraction Vehicle
- King Triton’s Carousel Park-Used Sea Lion Attraction Vehicle
- Treasures in Paradise Park-Used Carousel Rounding Board Store Display
- Indiana Jones Adventure Park-Used Mummy Attraction Prop
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Park-Used Chair
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Park-Used End Table
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Park-Used Hanging Lantern
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Halloween Faux Stained-Glass Lamppost Decoration Pair
- The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington Park-Used Display
- Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Park-Used Welcome Sign
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Donald Duck Park-Used Display
- Stitch “Stocking Stuffers!” Park-Used Merchandise Display
- Captain Hook Resort-Used Parking Lot Sign
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios 30th Anniversary Maleficent Park-Used Banner
- Big Thunder Ranch The Sword in the Stone Park-Used Backdrop
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant Park-Used Stork Attraction Ornamentation
- Goofy’s Candy Company Resort-Used Rug
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 45th Anniversary Merchandise Display
- Walt Disney World Original Resort-Used Merchandise Display
- Disneyland Tomorrowland Park-Used Trash Can
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort-Used Trash Can
- D Street Resort-Used Vinylmation Store Display
- Big Thunder Ranch Park-Used Stage Marquee
- Big Thunder Ranch Park-Used Washboard Display Prop
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Original Park-Used Attraction Vehicle
- Disney Store Magic Key New-in-Box Store Display
That lineup is WILD, isn’t it? There are things in there that immediately take you back to completely different eras of the parks. The D Street Vinylmation display, Tower of Terror furniture, old Polynesian pieces, King Triton’s Carousel vehicles, Big Thunder Ranch props, a Spaceship Earth exit sign, and even the Animal Kingdom information kiosk.
Disney and Heritage described this 50-lot D23 sale as a preview of a much larger Disney Experiences auction scheduled for October 23-25, 2026, which is expected to include more than 1,500 lots.
After seeing what happened with Kermit, Miss Piggy, those Big Thunder vehicles, and, yes, a $12,200 Tomorrowland trash can, I’m VERY curious to see what Disney pulls out of storage for that one.
