Merlin’s Magic Shop Articles

Offers monster masks, tricks and magician's supplies of many kinds in a medieval setting. King Arthur's rock-locked sword is on display. Steve Martin once worked in this shop.

This was the first Magic shop in Disneyland. The one on Main Street opened in 1957

Steve Martin once worked in this shop

From Steve Birnbaum brings you the best of Disneyland 1982:
When Betty Hutton came to Disneyland some years ago, she grew tired of being hounded for her autograph, so she stopped in this shop and bought herself a pair of long false eyelashes, a pirate's hat, and a special sword that looked as if it pierced her head. People kept on stopping her, but not because they recognized her-they just wanted to know where she had bought her crazy hat. The array of possible dis- guises for sale in this boutique (on the east side of the Castle courtyard) is wonderful indeed. With big dollars and the aid of some realistic-looking latex masks, you can transform yourself into a Franken- stein, a gorilla, a grandfather or a ghoul, a skeleton or Darth Vader. Smaller budgets will allow for a pair of bloodshot eyes, a box of clown makeup, black fingernails, etc. Because this is a magic shop, how- ever, there are also books full of magic tricks, and there are packaged tricks as well. The Disney- landers who preside over the place will occasionally give a good demonstration. Party jokes like plastic ice cubes and rubber eggs, and those beloved fittings of an American childhood-black eight balls, slinkies, and magic rocks-can also be found here. The structure itself, a shuttered cottage with a red-shingled roof and small dormer windows on the second story, gave the cue for the style of the new Fantasyland. Located in the Castle courtyard.