Walt Disney World Park Exclusive Books

[devoy1701]

I have quite an extensive collection of books (or so I thought) but not just focusing on the parks...my collection includes a few Walt Disney Bios, the Imagineering Books, Disneyland's and WDW's Then, Now, and Forever, and books on the company itself. Guess I'll post my collection when I get home tonight. (EDIT: I just realized I can't post a pic because a few of my books are out on loan...:brick

Anyway...Recently picked up the new Imagineering book about a month ago. It had been on my wishlist on Amazon for awhile and when I went to buy it I noticed that Amazon had gone "Out of stock, Not sure when we will have this item back in stock again" type status and the Marketplace resellers were now selling this book for about $120-$150 a piece.

I knew I had seen it at the parks recently and was heading over there for a Jellyrolls weekend so I made sure to pick up a copy before it went completely out of stock. I paid $67.00 for it. Should have looked up the UPC on my phone though before I bought it because when I got home and checked Amazon it was back in stock and selling for a whopping $35. (those marketplace prices sure did come down again too!)

So I bought it again on ebay and returned the one I bought at DtD a couple weeks later.

Anyway, that's my little Disney Book Story!

@Tom/Lee - had no idea those "Then, Now, Forever" type books were put out yearly... do they change much or are they just updated and have some images swapped out. I love the two I have for DL and WDW...sometimes it's nice to have a book that is short on words and heavy on pictures!

 

[wolf359]

Tom, I just finished reading the reviews. Really well done, and it pointed out a couple books (Then, Now and Forever, and Making of Animal Kingdom) I really need to get myself.

I agree Since The World Began is a great book, and a good starting point for a collection. I also really love that particular moment in WDW's history when that book was produced. 1996 was a great time and I still remember how exciting everything seemed.

Though I had to smile when I read there were "slight" differences between the two EPCOT books. The larger version has twice the number of pages and includes quite a few gatefolds that show the entire piece of art instead of just cutting it off. It is well worth the effort to find the larger 240-page version if you're just starting out or really love old EPCOT.

 

[Lee]

Just saw "The Architecture of Reassurance" on Ebay for for nearly $90.
That's more than double the original price I paid years ago. Good book on Disney park design if you guys don't have it.

Nothing beats The Stand.

My limited edition is easily the most beautiful book I own.
Paid $700 for it about fifteen years ago. They sell for nearly 3 times that now.

 

[WDWFigment]

Though I had to smile when I read there were "slight" differences between the two EPCOT books. The larger version has twice the number of pages and includes quite a few gatefolds that show the entire piece of art instead of just cutting it off. It is well worth the effort to find the larger 240-page version if you're just starting out or really love old EPCOT.

I guess the problem is that I don't have both of them. I really thought it was just a slight difference. Well, I guess I have another book to add to my collection now!

 

[wolf359]

I have two; I'd be glad to send you one. It's a great book!

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Here's My Set....I've recentley added a few more books to my collection..
I also added my WDW Explorers 1st & 2nd Editions PC Programs since they are pretty rare.

 

[meekoman]

I'll have to get a shot of my books, but I have the Birnbaum books from 83 to this year's book. I've never seen an 82' book, so I'm not sure if I have them all or not.

 

[wolf359]

I'll have to get a shot of my books, but I have the Birnbaum books from 83 to this year's book. I've never seen an 82' book, so I'm not sure if I have them all or not.

1983 is the earliest one I've got too. '82 has been extremely tough to track down.

 

[marni1971]

I`m guessing I might need another photo here....

 

[wolf359]

Here's a pic of my WDW-related books.

I think my top favorites are Since The World Began, Walt Disney's EPCOT Center, and Building A Dream.

Since The World Began is a great history of Walt Disney World, though it lacks depth because it has to cover so much development. This book easily could have been 100 pages longer and still not really done everything justice. I'm still holding out hope Disney revisits the concept of writing Disney World's history again, and gives it the necessary depth this time.

Walt Disney's EPCOT Center is the most authoritative book on the development of the park, and it benefits from having a singular focus and coming out at a time when books didn't have to describe everything in one page or less for fear of boring the reader. A lot of the artwork and photographs have been reused in the multitude of books that have come since, but here they are all in one place, and in most cases larger and more complete. Because this park was so well documented during construction there is a wealth of background on pretty much everything, and since it was written at the beginning of the park's history you get a better sense of the incredible enthusiasm the company had for the project.

Building a Dream is the least Disney-like of these three books, but because it avoids talking about the "magic" and gets down to the details of the actual buildings themselves it can be a lot easier to read without getting cavities. It is also pretty critical in places, sometimes sharply so. It is so unvarnished I'm actually surprised Disney chose to publish it, even though I think the criticisms are fair. If you really want to know the nitty-gritty about Disney architecture and the architects behind it, this is the book for you.

As for the others, what I love most about the older guide books is being able to piece together your own sense of history by reading and seeing things in a contemporary setting. Disney tends to whitewash or just plain ignore a lot of details when they write their own history books, though I forgive Since The World Began for keeping it fairly minimal.

And the Disneyland ones.

I agree the Nickel Tour isn't worth the hundreds of dollars it sells for, but damn it's a great book. It is easily the best history book about Disneyland I've ever read. There is so much art and so many pictures it would do a good job telling Disneyland's history without a single word. Thankfully though, the text is also the best written I've come across too. Gordon and Mumford clearly love Disneyland, and they sure did their research to tell the story behind every photo in the book and goes pretty far beyond that to help fill in the gaps where no photos were available.

I also want to point out to folks that have never read the book that is is not just postcards. Even though the postcards are awesome, and used as the framing element of the entire book, there are almost just as many other photos and pieces of art used to elaborate on or fill in gaps in Disneyland's history.

In many ways it is similar to Randy Bright's Inside Story but The Nickel Tour is clearly superior and benefits from going more in depth and using all of those wonderful postcards.

Also of note to the more WDW-centric fans there is quite a bit of discussion about the give and take in the developments both unique and shared between Florida and California. Of particular interest to me was the feeling from a Disneylander's point of view that they were mostly ignored for the better part of 15 years or so when the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT were developed and Disneyland seemed frozen in time. It's interesting to see how those perspectives have changed.

 

[Lee]

I`m guessing I might need another photo here....

Try not to make the rest of us look inadequate...

For the record, the photo I posted is just what's currently on my coffee table. I'm not dragging all the rest of them off the shelves for a photo.:lol:

 

[devoy1701]

Try not to make the rest of us look inadequate...

For the record, the photo I posted is just what's currently on my coffee table. I'm not dragging all the rest of them off the shelves for a photo.:lol:

You can use it as an opportunity to give them a good dusting... :lookaroun

Would love to see what other titles you have in your library!

 

[wolf359]

You can use it as an opportunity to give them a good dusting... :lookaroun

Would love to see what other titles you have in your library!

Agreed! I'd love to know more about what else is out there.

 

[Kamikaze]

Ha, it's Since the World Began again. I own it in both softcover and hardcover, so I figured it was sort of pointless to picture it twice.

Which is still the best title for a book, ever.

 

[WDWFigment]

Which is still the best title for a book, ever.

Agreed.

I'm surprised no one has brought up is One Day at Disney. I didn't feature it in the last round of reviews (I'm holding it back for the DLR reviews since I have fewer DLR books), but I think it's a really solid title and pretty cool premise. Really expensive now, unfortunately.

 

[wolf359]

Agreed.

I'm surprised no one has brought up is One Day at Disney. I didn't feature it in the last round of reviews (I'm holding it back for the DLR reviews since I have fewer DLR books), but I think it's a really solid title and pretty cool premise. Really expensive now, unfortunately.

I've never even heard of that one. Sounds like another great book I missed out on...

 

[Lee]

I'm surprised no one has brought up is One Day at Disney. I didn't feature it in the last round of reviews (I'm holding it back for the DLR reviews since I have fewer DLR books), but I think it's a really solid title and pretty cool premise. Really expensive now, unfortunately.

Forgot about that one. It's a very cool idea, one that would lend itself to periodic updated editions, I would think.

Bought mine at a Disney Store back years ago when they were worth going to.

 

[stargrl33]

Too funny, I just came across my Disney books while trying to pack earlier tonight. My collection isn't that big or impressive but I have a couple from my parent's first vacation there in the early 80's and a couple from 1991. I like flipping through and seeing the pictures of what is still there, what isn't. Also, the outfits that the people are wearing crack me up. So many short shorts and high socks.

 

[loaloa]

Disneyland Paris book to be reprint

I have good news for those of you looking for the Disneyland paris, From Sketch to Reality book which was out of stock since one year. A new publisher is going to reprint the book and it will even be the rare collector's edition which will be sold exactly the same price than ten years ago, i.e 100€ (yes, it's this same collector's edition which was sold on eBay or Amazon for prices between 500$ and 1500$ !).

The book will be reprint in its english or french collector's edition and you will find all infos about this reprint here:

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2011/12/disneyland-paris-book-from-sketch-to.html

Quantities are limited, so don't wait too long to place an order.

 

[WDWFigment]

I have good news for those of you looking for the Disneyland paris, From Sketch to Reality book which was out of stock since one year. A new publisher is going to reprint the book and it will even be the rare collector's edition which will be sold exactly the same price than ten years ago, i.e 100€ (yes, it's this same collector's edition which was sold on eBay or Amazon for prices between 500$ and 1500$ !).

The book will be reprint in its english or french collector's edition and you will find all infos about this reprint here:

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2011/12/disneyland-paris-book-from-sketch-to.html

Quantities are limited, so don't wait too long to place an order.

Thanks for the heads up! I saw this yesterday and am debating whether to purchase.

Alain seems very trustworthy, so I don't have an issue with placing a preorder with him, but my concerns are that they will receive 300 preorders in the first place and also that the book is still expensive at $150 (although worth it, I'm sure).

Despite what the website says, this book is not selling for $500-$1,300 on Amazon or eBay. Now, it's listed for those prices on eBay and Amazon, but actual completed auction prices on eBay for the last few months have been $190-255 shipped, with one outlier at $100 shipped (I think it was a under-priced buy-it-now). I mean, I could list the book for $300,000, but that doesn't mean it's worth $300,000.

Like I said, I'm on the fence about it. It seems like a really awesome book, and everyone I've talked to speaks very highly of it, I'm just not sure if I'm willing to spend $150 on a book.