Good Books?

[wvdisneyfamily]

some of my favorites are :

The Disney Films - Leonard Maltin
The Walt Disney World Trivia books volume 1 and 2 - Lou Mongello
The aforementioned Jason Surrell books.
and of COURSE Hidden Mickey's Guide

i love all of those.

i'm currently reading the Walt Disney : A Triumph of American Imagination biography, and loving it.

jeff.

I'm reading Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler, too. It's a good book. It's a long read for me though because there is just so much information to digest!

 

[LuckyFin24]

Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World by David Koenig

I just finish reading this book. It was a really good history of Walt Disney World from consept to now. It talks about buying the land, building the parks, what was going to be built but wasn't and what was. It includes information about all the parks and many of the hotels. I highly recomend it.

 

[Fun2BFree]

Since the World Began is by far the best WDW book ever written. Its too bad that it ends at 25 years. I really wish someone would update it as it was written while DAK was still in planning. I still highly recommend it though, by far the best book I've ever read.

I completely agree with you. We purchased the book back in '97 and it still never ceases to amaze. Some great behind-the-scenes pictures too.

 

[donvincenzo]

I read both Walt Disney - The Triumph of the American Imagination, and DisneyWar and would highly recommend both. They're both roughly the same in length, slightly over 600 pages (not counting notes, indexes, etc.) I read DisneyWar much quicker than Walt Disney. The Disney biography is just a lot to take in and not one you can read quickly, IMO. But I still thought it was great. And DisneyWar is very interesting......

 

[DisneyGigi]

If you want to read something about Walt, I absolutely loved:

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

I thought it was a very good read about his life and his efforts. There isn't much "behind the scenes" stuff about the building of Disneyland, though. For that, I think the other posters have given you some great recommendations.

I love this book! It is one of my favorites.
Another one about Walt that I have read is the Magic Kingdom by Steven Watts.
Also worth mentioning is Inside the Dream by Katherine & Richard Green it goes along with the DVD The Man Behind the Myth.
For WDW-
I also have Since The World Began and it is great too as others have said.

The Imagineering Guides have some great info in them too.

 

[Minnietoo]

I need to check out some of these books! They look great!

I just finished the Imagineers guide to MK and it was a fun read.

 

[henryt93]

I love the imagineer's guides.

Also, right now I'm reading Designing Disney by John Hench and I'm loving it! It's a really interesting book about the imagineering process using examples from the parks (mainly Disneyland). I can't wait to get to the chapter on color, since I know that was his specialty.

 

[pacochran]

I thought I would throw in a good fictional book "Waking Walt" by Larry Pontius. Good reading.

 

[wbt06]

just got done with kingdom keepers today. its a great read but probably not what you are looking for but deff read it you wont be disapointed.(cant wait till august 26 for disney at dawn)

 

[2gether]

Seconded

Okay. I have way too many Disney books, so I'll jump in here to help...

Best book about WALT:

Walt Disney, a Biography. Bob Thomas. This is a NICE bio about Walt. Not the MOST informative, but the more informative ones are kind of warts and all. And sometimes not as much fun to read before you go.


Best book about WDW:

Since the World Began by Jeff Kurtti. A terrific history of WDW's first 25 years,

Other great books to get you in the mood:

Any of Jason Surrells books

Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Disney Mountains


Best GuideBook:

Birnbaums. This is an OFFICIAL book, so it has a lot of good info that is very accurate.

Hope that helps!

I like all of these books but would go with the unofficial guide rather than Birnbaum's.

Bob Thomas' biography of Walt is one of the best Bio's I have ever read, period. A great and inspirational read.

 

[Woozle]

Okay. I have way too many Disney books, so I'll jump in here to help...

Best book about WALT:

Walt Disney, a Biography. Bob Thomas. This is a NICE bio about Walt. Not the MOST informative, but the more informative ones are kind of warts and all. And sometimes not as much fun to read before you go.


Best book about WDW:

Since the World Began by Jeff Kurtti. A terrific history of WDW's first 25 years,

Other great books to get you in the mood:

Any of Jason Surrells books

Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Disney Mountains


Best GuideBook:

Birnbaums. This is an OFFICIAL book, so it has a lot of good info that is very accurate.

Hope that helps!

checking these out. thanks!

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I love the Hidden Mickey books - I always have mine on me when I'm in the parks. It makes everything a little more interesting and magical for me.

I also like Walt Disney World trivia volume 1 & 2 (I prefer 2). It's not just trivia, the book also gives you tons of little known facts & things to do. Also, the answers to the trivia questions are like a page in themselves, with long descriptions of why the answer is what it is. I learned more from those than anything else I've read so far. Plus they were a fun way to kill the 15 hour drive to Florida for me!

Jamie

 

[Dayma]

Building a Better Mouse is a very good book about the creation of Epcot from an Imagineer. It really focuses on the American Adventure, but overall a good positive book.

 

[donniedisney]

I think the best book on Walt is "How to be like Walt" by Pat Williams and Jim Denney.

It doesnt have all the same old stories that are in every Walt bio.

The Gabler book would be good if he wasnt so full of himself and thinks his books is Gods gift to the world....

 

[Jestaro]

I have also read "How to be Like Walt" and thought that is was an excellent book. No only was a good biography, but a good self-help book as well.

 

[VT GAL]

I love the imagineer's guides.

Also, right now I'm reading Designing Disney by John Hench and I'm loving it! It's a really interesting book about the imagineering process using examples from the parks (mainly Disneyland). I can't wait to get to the chapter on color, since I know that was his specialty.

I LOOOVED Designing Disney by John Hench. It gives you a glimpse into just how important the littlest things are! It is a quick and awesome read!!!!

 

[Goofnut1980]

a better book

Best GuideBook:

Birnbaums. This is an OFFICIAL book, so it has a lot of good info that is very accurate.

Hope that helps!

I have to disagree... I have always bought the Birnaums book but then I found

The Complete Walt Disney World 2008 - the definitive disney handbook by Julie and Mike Neal..
its about $18 on Amazon... It is the best book.. Completely in color (336 pgs) and gives a little info behind each ride and average wait times and a lot of great info about the parks even I didn't know...

 

[jeffb]

Building a Better Mouse is a very good book about the creation of Epcot from an Imagineer. It really focuses on the American Adventure, but overall a good positive book.

I just finished reading this and I agree it it a very good book and it certainly makes you realize how difficult it is to build a customized theme park.

 

[henryt93]

I have to disagree... I have always bought the Birnaums book but then I found

The Complete Walt Disney World 2008 - the definitive disney handbook by Julie and Mike Neal..
its about $18 on Amazon... It is the best book.. Completely in color (336 pgs) and gives a little info behind each ride and average wait times and a lot of great info about the parks even I didn't know...

I agree, although I think that the other books might be better for a first-timer. Personally, I just liked this one because it got me excited for the trip.

 

[jestrfyl]

WDW Fiction

Here are a few titles of fiction, other than Kingdom Keepers (I am waiting for the sequel). These books are interesting, but a bit weird.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Corey Doctrow
Lord Vishnu's Love Handles, Will Clarke
Otherworld, Sarah Dreher (small press book, probably out of print)
Deep Water, S.V. Date

These are all written for adults (Kingdom Keepers is for the adolescent reader). With that in mind I recommend them with some hesitation. I do wonder how they got these books published without Donald, Goofy and the Mouse Legal team chasing them down a rabbit hole.
Also, in non-fiction Carl Hiassen has a stinging rebuke to what Disney has caused. However, I am a huge Disney-phile, and I take some of his stuff with "a grain of salt" (I ama huge fan of his fiction), but his commentary is worth considering.