mickEblu
Well-Known Member
1st edition. I messaged him too. Lol. Just in case you don’t want to buy it. I’m next in line.
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Bad Disneyland books?
- Thread starter Sharon&Susan
- Start date
1st edition. I messaged him too. Lol. Just in case you don’t want to buy it. I’m next in line.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
It's all yours- I have that PDF scan of the second edition that got shared on here a bit back which has me content for now, I think I'm gonna hold out for a decent price on one of those.
ObscurityPoint
Well-Known Member
I've always loved the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson, mainly the first three-five books, but there are some errors in there that makes a hardcore parks fan like me cringe a bit. I recall in the first book Brer Fox in Splash Mountain is referred to as a wolf, not a fox. In the third one, when talking about Fantasmic!, the characters are talking about Disney villains and refer to Hades as Hercules. There are probably a lot more but those are just silly nitpicks off the top of my head. Great series, and super entertaining, don't get me wrong, but somewhere down the line the books get super dark and kind of graphic too. It's hard to describe, but if you're thinking about reading them, I'd stick to the first three. They work the best altogether and the third one actually ends on a pretty satisfactory note.
shortstop
Well-Known Member
@Figments Friend any good Tony Baxter books/reading you’d recommend? I recently read Tim O’Brien’s biography which was fairly interesting, but a little short and left me wanting more.
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
Not Figment's Friend... but I've been trying to learn as much about Baxter as possible. The dude's a creative genius, and likely the last great Imagineer we'll have that actually understands what Disneyland is and has the creative abilities and leverage within the company to implement his ideas into the park. I'm still bitter he got forced out.
If you haven't, you have to listen to his 8 part series with the Season Pass Podcast. Here's the first episode:
Tony Baxter Season Pass Part 1
Season Pass Archive
He's written a bunch of forwards or afterwords for books. I thought Tim O Brien's book was insultingly short- in an interview he said Tony gave him enough info for a 600 page book, but that he kept it at 100 to make it more palatable to the casual reader. If Marty Sklar can put out a 370 page book on his history with Disney, I'd bet Tony could too- and people would buy it.
I'd love if his attractions- BTMRR, Indy, Splash, Star Tours- got books written about them with the same depth as Jason Surrell's Pirates and Haunted Mansion books. Those rides have had the same basic "creation" story regurgitated time and time again, with no new info for decades. They deserve better.
I wonder how many stories Tony keeps secret to keep a somewhat friendly relationship with the company or face the consequences. Hopefully he can somehow pass these stories down, someday.
That reminds me I was at a D23 panel about the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough and Tony mentioned the dragon under Sleeping Beauty Castle at DLP wasn’t based off Maleficent and instead was based off another (non-Disney) dragon in a movie that was one of his favorites. Does anyone know what film Tony was alluding to?
That reminds me I was at a D23 panel about the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough and Tony mentioned the dragon under Sleeping Beauty Castle at DLP wasn’t based off Maleficent and instead was based off another (non-Disney) dragon in a movie that was one of his favorites. Does anyone know what film Tony was alluding to?
SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
In his interview with the Sweep Spot Podcast- they allude to the management issues of the 2000's- and it made him incredibly uncomfortable. He shared that they brought in therapists to help the older generation of creatives (or maybe just him), and that the therapists basically told him he was still trying to market ideas with the "old currency" that wasn't valuable in the new regime. Basically, his values and high standards weren't valuable or important in modern Disney.
That alone makes me wonder what conversations he's had, and the kind of political drama within the company during this time. I'd love to hear more about it- but he's professional enough to not voice these criticisms in public. He's also skeptical of Galaxy's Edge placement inside Disneyland, and has stated he'll be going first and foremost as a critic.
He's also been very vocally critical of the modern iteration of Journey into Imagination- in his interview with Podcast: The Ride, he describes it as a "sham" of an attraction, so he isn't afraid of voicing some criticism:
In regards to the dragon- I could be wrong but I believe it's an homage to the dragon from Sinbad-
Dragon
The Dragon is a large, green lizard-like dragon and one of the antagonists from the 1958 mythological fantasy film, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, along with the Cyclopes, Roc, and the Living Skeleton. It is one of the most iconic creatures of the film. The Dragon's appearance bears a resemblance to...
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Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Wait until he finishes his own book, then get in line to buy a copy immediately.
Might take some time before it's released, but trust me, you WILL want to get it!
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Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Agree with all of this.
Have you read my 'Tony Baxter Tour of Disneyland - A Venture' thread yet?
Lots of fun facts and info about the man and his creations.
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SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
Wait until he finishes his own book, then get in line to buy a copy immediately.
Might take some time before it's released, but trust me, you WILL want to get it!
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Didn't know he was writing a book.... that's EXCELLENT news. I hope signed copies are obtainable.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Possibly the dragon known as Vermithrax from the film 'Dragonslayer', although technically he was a 'Disney dragon' in some respects.
The film was a co-production between Paramount and Walt Disney Productions in 1981.
Beautifully designed villainous dragon by Chris Walsh ( of 'Gremlins' creature creation fame ) and brought to life via puppetry and stop motion work at ILM.
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Disney Irish
Premium Member
shortstop
Well-Known Member
I didn’t know about this podcast series. Looks excellent - I know what I’ll be doing this week!
I went to DLP last year and have since been obsessed with the design of the Park, which naturally led me to seek out a bunch of Tony material on YouTube! There’s some great stuff out there.
That’ll be a must read!!Wait until he finishes his own book, then get in line to buy a copy immediately.
Might take some time before it's released, but trust me, you WILL want to get it!
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There are a number of books on the Main Street window tributes. I didn't care for Main Street Windows: A Complete Guide to Disney's Whimsical Tributes as the photography was really substandard and didnot have good crisp photos of the windows for which they were discussing was very disappointing. On the shelf but don't open it often.
Stevek
Well-Known Member
It was done by a "fan" per se versus Disney so not surprised given pics were probably taken from whatever angle they could get. This is one that I chose not to purchase as well.
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
I had a book called Birnbaum's Disneyland which was an official guidebook. It promised me a ride called Super Star Limo, which was permanently closed when I went to DCA. It was the worst book I've ever read.
Darkbeer1
Well-Known Member
That I can assure you off. I am lucky enough to have met him a few times, and I have a couple of "Just between you and me" conversations that I can't even hint to.
But then, even former Senior CM's in good graces with the company have stories that can't be told.
Some are better than others. Bob Gurr was one that told more than a few, some you question if they were really true.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Haha I had that book. Except I think it was the 1996 edition.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
It’s not a Disneyland book, but Theme Park Design by Steve Alcon is rather meh, especially since Building a Better Mouse is fantastic.
Stevek
Well-Known Member
I didn't get TPD but absolutely loved Building a Better Mouse.