Behind the Design: Behind the Design of 2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary

The Backstory of Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary

Date: Feb 24, 2026

Topics: 2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary, Behind the Design, Disney, Product, Trending

Length: 1011 Words

Reading Time: ~6 Minutes

For 70 years, Disneyland has stood as a monument to imagination. Since opening in 1955, the park has evolved through generations of attractions, characters, and moments that have left a permanent mark on pop culture. Turning that kind of history into a trading card set comes with its own responsibility.

For Topps Art Director Derrick Eng, the creative direction behind 2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary was clear from the beginning. The mission, he says, was “capturing all the iconic, historic imagery from decades of moments and displaying them in cohesive, visually pleasing designs.” With seven decades of source material spanning everything from opening day attractions to modern park icons, the challenge was not finding meaningful content. It was presenting it all in a way that felt unified and worthy of the milestone.

Disneyland’s visual identity has shifted dramatically over time. Vintage photography carries a completely different tone than today’s vibrant park imagery. Attractions have been reimagined. Lands have expanded. Entire experiences have come and gone. The design system needed to hold all of that together without feeling disjointed. Eng and his team focused on clean composition and intentional hierarchy, allowing the imagery to take center stage while building a consistent anniversary framework around it.

That consistency was strengthened through close collaboration with Disney. “We worked cohesively with Disney, and their feedback was integral in regard to colors, graphics, and specific imagery that helped shaped the identity of this product,” Eng explains.

Every decision, from color palette to graphic accents, was filtered through that partnership. The result is a release that feels authentic to Disneyland’s brand while still delivering the premium finish collectors expect from Topps.

Balancing Nostalgia and Fresh Design

While the set celebrates history, it was never meant to feel stuck in the past. For Eng, the project also carried personal meaning.

“I grew up watching Disney’s animated movies, which are so iconic in pop culture history,” he says. That lifelong connection shaped the tone of the product. “We wanted to show all the colorful themes that help to relive these moments for past and present collectors.”

The emphasis on color and vibrancy runs throughout the set. The cards feel celebratory and energetic, reflecting the atmosphere of the park itself. The goal was not to recreate a purely retro aesthetic. Instead, the team aimed to honor nostalgia while delivering something visually relevant for today’s collectors. The designs amplify the imagery rather than competing with it, creating a balance between memory and modern presentation.

Curating 70 Years of Storytelling

Curation played a central role in balancing the set. Associate Product Manager Ben Shapiro approached the checklist with a deliberate strategy. “I wanted to balance iconic attractions and sights that anyone who has been to the park before will recognize, as well as some deeper cuts of beloved Easter eggs or things that have been retired for the die hard fans,” Shapiro says, “so that the product could truly be an ‘anniversary’ product, telling most all of the 70 years of the park history.”

That philosophy ensures the set operates on multiple levels. A casual visitor can flip through the cards and immediately connect with familiar landmarks. At the same time, longtime Disneyland enthusiasts will recognize retired attractions and subtle inclusions that reward their deeper knowledge. It’s not simply a greatest hits collection, but a layered retrospective that acknowledges how the park has grown, adapted, and continued to define family entertainment for decades.

Disneyland Inserts and the Collector Experience

Among the inserts, one concept stood out creatively for Eng. “The Collector’s Pin stood out due to the popularity of Disney Pin collecting. They’re highly sought out and fun to collect.”

Pin trading has become a defining part of the Disneyland experience, creating its own passionate community of collectors. Translating that culture into a trading card insert felt like a natural extension of the park’s collectible tradition. It mirrors the excitement of chasing limited-edition pins inside the park, while giving card collectors another dimension to pursue within the set.

As with any project centered on Disneyland, scale remained one of the biggest creative challenges. The park is immersive and expansive, filled with architectural detail and environmental storytelling that unfolds in layers. Capturing that sense of magic within the confined format of a trading card required restraint. The design team leaned into clarity and focus, ensuring each card delivered visual impact without overcrowding the space.

Ultimately, Eng hopes collectors feel transported when they open a pack. “We hope the designs compliment the imagery highlighted in each card and for collectors to have the colorful magical feel of being at Disneyland.” That emotional response is the true measure of success. More than commemorating 70 years of attractions, 2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary aims to capture the feeling that has kept guests returning for generations and preserve it, one card at a time.

2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary FAQs

What is 2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary?
- It is a commemorative trading card set celebrating the 70-year history of Disneyland, featuring iconic attractions, historic imagery, and themed inserts inspired by park culture.
Does the set include retired Disneyland attractions?
- Yes. The checklist balances well-known landmarks with deeper cuts and retired attractions to reflect the full scope of Disneyland’s evolution.
What is the Collector’s Pin insert?
- The Collector’s Pin insert draws inspiration from Disney’s popular pin-trading culture, translating that collectible tradition into a themed trading card chase element.
Was Disney involved in the design process?
- Yes. Topps worked closely with Disney to build out the colors, themes, and overall designs of the cards.
Who is 2025 Topps Disneyland 70th Anniversary for?
- The product appeals to both longtime Disneyland fans and modern trading card collectors seeking a premium commemorative release.