Not the Britannica for Disneyland, But A Nice Reference

The Disneyland Encyclopedia: The Unofficial, Unauthorized, and Unprecedented History of Every Land, Attraction, Restaurant, Shop, and Event in the Original Magic Kingdom, by Chris Strodder. Santa Monica, CA; Santa Monica Press, 2008, 467 pp.

One of the questions I get about this blog (besides "Why don't you post more often?") is "Do you actually read all the books you review?" I do indeed, cover to cover, even if I've read them before - which can sometimes be a neat trick with all the demands for my time. I can now say, however, that I actually found time to read an encyclopedia! But is it worth your time to read and refer to it? Well, hopefully you'll have your answer after this review.

The Disneyland Encyclopedia attempts to provide all the information that a Disneyland fan might need to settle an argument or refresh his or her memory. The book provides entries for the lands, major and minor attractions, shops, restaurants, events, key people involved, and important elements of Walt Disney's original theme park, and covers everything from the Park's groundbreaking to recent times. Obviously, the book doesn't cover everything about Disneyland - a book that did so thoroughly would be a lot larger than almost 500 pages - but it attempts to cover as much as possible given the constraints of a reasonably priced one-volume set. The book gives readers several ways to access information - by alphabetical listing, by index, by citations of other entries, and (most interestingly) by a set of maps of the Park with each location noted with a letter and number code. The book also contains numerous lists about things found (or previously found) in the Park, a decent bibliography, and listing of relevant websites where readers can find additional information.

This book was a labor of love for its author, Chris Strodder, and it shows. Chris writes the book's entries in an entertaining and very accessible style; for the most part, he avoids being overwhelmingly positive or overwhelmingly cynical when writing about various elements of Disneyland, but he also manages to avoid being overly dry and refrains from being so obsessed with the minutiae of the Park that he runs the risk of boring or alienating his readers. The book is nicely illustrated with photographs from Disneyland (all in black and white, unfortunately); I particularly liked his use of photographs of windows on Main Street to illustrate his entries about Disney Legends involved in the creation of the Park and its attractions.

While overall I enjoyed The Disneyland Encyclopedia, I do have a few quibbles with the book. As you might expect with any project of this depth and breadth, there are a few errors - most of them about places and things outside of Disneyland, but I noticed that there seemed to be more mistakes about the Park near the end of the book than at the beginning (Chris was starting to run out of steam, perhaps?). Chris did a pretty good job with his research, considering he didn't use a lot of primary sources (it seems like his most of his primary source materials were old soft-cover souvenir guidebooks), but I wish that he'd taken the extra time to resolve some questions that his reference materials either didn't have answers for or had contradictory answers for. And, of course, The Disneyland Encyclopedia isn't a complete encyclopedia, by any means; there are a lot of things about the Park that aren't covered in the book or that I found myself wishing had been covered more thoroughly. That said, the book should provide the answers for most general queries fans have about the Park - and should even provide some new information for the Disneyland fan who thinks he or she knows everything.

The Disneyland Encyclopedia is an interesting and fact filled reference book about Disney's first Magic Kingdom. While it does contain a few errors and isn't an all-encompassing guide to the Park, it should be a handy reference for Disney theme park fans looking for quick answers to questions they may have while pursuing their interests. The book is sure to be a welcome addition to any Disney fan's bookshelf. The book is readily available through numerous sources online and in many brick and mortar bookstores that carry a selection of books about Disney.

A Book For Learning the Whys of WDW

The Unofficial Disney Companion: The Inside Story of Walt Disney World and the Man Behind the Mouse, by Eve Zibart. New York: Macmillan Travel, 1997; 213 pp.

If you've spent any time in your local bookstore's travel section, you know that there are a lot of books that give tips on how to enjoy the Disney theme parks. A little less often, you'll run into a book that tries to do something different - that is, a book that attempts to explain the "whys" of Disney instead of the "hows". Instead of providing advice on how to see the most things in the least amount of time and for the least amount of money, these books tackle subjects like how Walt Disney influenced the design and operation of the Disney theme parks, or what the thousands of Disney cast members do backstage magic that creates the magic onstage. These books can be absolutely fascinating, but they can also be frustrating and difficult to understand - calling a couple of them "dense" would be a major understatement. Today, we're going to discuss a book that tries to tell the inside story of Walt Disney World in a way that the average park visitor can appreciate.

As you may have guessed from its title, The Unofficial Disney Companion was intended as a companion piece to The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. The book covers a lot of interesting aspects of the Walt Disney World story that tend to be given short shrift or get compeltely left out of the guidebooks, like why Walt wanted such a large parcel of land to build his Florida theme park, the challenges faced in making Walt's dream a reality, the times and trends that influenced Walt when he and the Imagineers created Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, and how Michael Eisner influenced the expansion of the resort and the types of new attractions added to the parks during his tenure. Readers get a peek at what happens behind the facades and under the feet of the guests, get an idea of how sometimes Disney's view of American history may be a distorted one, and the challenges of dealing with animals and nature while trying to run one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world.

Eve Zibart does a really good job in this book of making topics that are normally the realm or academics and philosophers accessible to the layperson. Although by necessity Eve has to boil down some pretty complicated concepts into simpler ideas, she does so without making the reader feel like he or she's not getting the whole story. While Eve's obviously a fan of Disney in general and Walt Disney Worldin particular, she doesn't pull any punches when it comes to discussing what Disney does well and where Disney comes up short. This book's a fascinating look at some issues and ideas that the average visitor to the World might not generally consider, yet have a tremendous impact on what they experience.

That isn't to say that The Unofficial Disney Companion doesn't have its share of problems. Considering the amount of research that had to have gone into writing this book, Eve still manages to present some information that anyone who's done a little in-depth research on Walt Disney World knows is absolutely false (Cinderella Castle's tallest spire doesn't screw off in case of hurricanes, and the meteor projection in Space Mountain isn't a chocolate-chip cookie, just to cite two examples). Another really unfortunate oversight in this book is the lack of a bibliography, which means that readers can't go look for other books and articles that provide more information on topics that Eve covers in her book. Finally, a good portion of the information in Eve's book is now out of date; there have been a lot of changes at Disney since this book was first published more than 10 years ago (such as the addition of Disney's Animal Kingdom and the closing of the Disney Institute and Pleasure Island), and a new edition of the book hasn't been printed for several years.

It goes without saying that if you're one of those people that absolutely don't "want the magic spoiled" foe you about the Disney theme parks, The Unofficial Disney Companion isn't the book for you; if you're already a devoted fan of the Disney theme parks and are searching for more information about what goes on behind the scenes at WDW and why, you're probably not going to find anything in this boook that you haven't read somewhere else. But if you're one of those people that want to take their knowledge of Disney beyond what you've been told on an official Disney tour, this book might be a good start for your journey of discovery.

The Unofficial Disney Companion provides a fascinating look at what went into creating Walt Disney World as we know it today, including its history, the historical and cultural influences of its creator and his antecedents, and the challenges the Company and its cast members face in creating Disney theme park magic. The book's credibility is slightly hurt by including some old stories that have been proven to be false, but for the most part it's a good introduction to some aspects of the resort that many guests may have never considered.

The Unofficial Disney Companion has been out of print for several years, but it often turns up in used bookstores and on eBay. There's also a second edition of the book available; renamed Inside Disney, the second edition was published by Wiley in 2002. Aside from a few updates, both editions of the book are nearly identical.

Disneyland Gets A Zagat Rating (Or Several)

Zagat Disneyland Insider's Guide (John Deiner, Staff Editor). New York: Zagat Survey LLC, 2009; 108 pp.


If there's one thing you never have to worry about when you write a blog about books related to the Disney theme parks, it's a lack of material - especially not a lack of guidebooks to the parks. Disneyland and Walt Disney World are such popular travel destinations that it seems like every publisher wants to print a guidebook to them, and more publishers add to the selection regularly. This time, we'll be looking at a new guidebook to Disneyland from a well-established publisher of restaurant reviews and see how useful their reviews of an entire theme park might be to the average visitor.

If you're into fine dining and have had the need to explore your meal options in an unfamiliar city, you're familiar with the Zagat Guides. For the past 30 years, they've been providing ratings for restaurants based on extensive reader reviews; many restaurants take great pride in displaying stickers that they they've received a Zagat rating. A couple of years ago, Zagat decided to branch out and apply their review system to the Walt Disney World Resort, and in the new Zagat Disneyland Insider's Guide, they do the same to the Happiest Place on Earth.

The Zagat Disneyland Insider's Guide looks at the entire Disneyland Resort - both theme parks, Downtown Disney, and the Disneyland Resort Hotels, providing reviews and ratings of attractions, entertainment, shopping, and of course food - not just sit-down restaurants, mind you, but also fast food options and even fruit carts. Locations are rated on a 30-point scale, with every item having at least three separate ratings. For example, attractions and shows are rated by appeal to adults, appeal to children, and thrill level; restaurants are rated by food, decor, and service, with a separate box provided displaying average cost. In addition to the ratings, comments from Zagat reader surveys are provided for each location. The book also provides lists of top-rated locations for each district of the Resort, brief overviews of each area, and a separate color section with Disney-provided park maps and photographs of top-rated attractions, shopping, dining, and hotels.

The best thing about the Zagat Disneyland Insider's Guide is that the book makes finding information quick and easy; the book's well-organized and the information in it is concise. The book is also small enough that it's easy to carry along - its overall dimensions are probably the same as a small stack of park maps, so it'd be easy to carry along in a pocket or purse. I also like that it's easy to get an idea how much eating at a restaurant's going to set you back with aquick glance, and the lists at the back of the book breaking down attractions, shopping and dining into various categories are a nice touch.

So the Zagat Disneyland Insider's Guide is the perfect thing to take along with you on your next trip to the Park, right? Well, not quite. The biggest problem I have with the book is the format used in writing the reviews; rather than just having their staff writers come up with their own brief summary of the opinions provided by those surveyed, the Zagat folks decided to put together those review paragraphs by splicing together words from multiple individual comments. For example, here's part of the Disneyland Insider's Guide review of Dumbo the Flying Elephant:

" 'Every kid' 'has to ride' this 'quintessential' Fantasyland fixture 'at least once', as there's 'nothing like getting an elephant's-eye view' while 'soaring through the air' in 'colorful' circling pachyderms..."

Writing the reviews in this style probably sounded like a cute idea, but it gets annoying really quickly - especially if you decide to read the book all the way through (which granted isn't how this book's intended to be read). If you're looking for tips on when to visit and how to save time, there's a little bit of information in the Zagat Insider's Guide, but we're talking about one or two very short paragraphs. If you'd like some suggestions for touring the parks, the information you're provided is similarly limited; this isn't the book you want to buy if you're looking for a lot of in-depth information for planning your next visit to Anaheim. It's also not the book you're looking for if you'd like some information about hotels or shopping outside of the Disneyland Resort itself - the book deals only with what's on Disney property. Last but not least, a price tag of $14.95 for a book that's only about 125 pages in total length (108 pages of text plus the color section) may give some folks looking for the best value for their money some pause.

The Zagat Disneyland Insider's Guide is a well-organized and concise book that provides brief but useful reviews and ratings of attractions, shopping, and dining at the Disneyland Resort, and would probably serve as a useful quick reference to guests who are new visitors to the Happiest Place on Earth. However, its usefulness is hampered by an awkward writing style for the reviews, and some readers will find that the information provided by the book is a little too concise, keeping the book from being a useful planning tool. The book is readily available at most major book retailers and at the Disneyland Resort.

Tangent Review: The Scoop on the Anti-Disneyland

Carnival Undercover, By Brett Witter. New York: Plume (Penguin Putnam Group), 2003, 207 pp.

Before there was a Disneyland, there were carnivals and fair midways. Actually, you can argue that carnivals served as one of the inspirations for Disneyland - although not in a good way; Walt Disney has been quoted as saying that he intended his creation to be like nothing else in the world, especially not like the carnivals and fairs people were familiar with. But if what carnivals were and what they weren't helped define the Happiest Place on Earth, the success of Disneyland and other amusement and theme parks helped define carnivals, as well. For this review, I'm going to take a look at a book that explains the differences between carnivals and amusement parks and gives readers a peek behind the scenes of what's happening on the midway.

Carnival Undercover is part-expose and part love poem to the carnival and to the fairground midway. Brett Witter lets us in on how and why things happen the way the do at carnivals, how they differ from amusement parks and theme parks, how some of the amazing and annoying things you encounter at carnivals are done, how you can create a little of the carnival in your own home, and gain a (slight) advantage at the game booths. We learn things like what makes a carnival location and what makes for the best location in a carnival, what tell-tale signs of a poorly maintained carnival ride to look for, what midway games offer the best chance of winning and the least chance of winning, how freak show performers pull off their death-defying stunts, and what the life of a carny is like.

Interesting, I hear you say, but what does any of this have to do with Disney theme parks? Brett refers to the Disney theme parks several times throughout the book - mainly to point out how the theme park experience differs from the carnival experience, and not necessarily for the better. This includes comparisons of the multiple-entry, grid like nature of the carnival layout versus the "hub and spoke" layout of the Disney Magic Kingdoms, a review of how ride safety requirements differ between carnivals and theme parks, and even a critique of Disneyland's late, unlamented Rocket Rods.

Carnival Undercover is a really fun read. While Brett certainly doesn't view carnivals and carnies through rose-colored glasses, he has a strong sense of admiration and respect for the folks who make their living be working on the midway, and it shows in his book. Along the way, Brett makes a real effort to increase the reader's appreciation of carnivals and the carnival lifestyle as well, and provides some interesting tips and tricks that could be helpful to folks who like going to carnivals and fairs, including how to better your chances of winning and avoid gaffs (rigged games) on the midway. The book is a fascinating look at a topic that has seldom been given serious study.

So what problems do I have with Brett's book? At times, the book seems unfocused - veering away from its primary topic into discussions of amusement park attractions and attendance, among other things. My only other complaint about the book is that a lot of its facts are out of date, making you wonder about the accuracy of the rest of the book, but then this book has never been updated since its brief initial run, so to some extent you have to expect that sort of thing.

Carnival Undercover is an enjoyable and fascinating look at carnivals and fairs, providing information about how and why things happen the way the do on the midway, as well as tips and tricks to help the reader enjoy and appreciate their time at a fair or carnival a bit more. It's not intended as a serious or scholarly piece, and some readers may not appreciate the tongue-in-cheek attitude of the book, but it's a great way to learn about carnivals, amusement parks, and theme parks. If your interest in the amusement industry extends beyond the Disney theme parks, you may want to consider picking up a copy of this book.

Unfortunately, the book went out of print soon after its initial print run, but it's not difficult to find used copies through brick-and-mortar bookstores specializing in used or bargain books, or online booksellers like Amazon.

A Nice Effort, But It Doesn't Deliver

Secrets of the Mouse: An Unofficial Behind-The-Scenes Guide to Disneyland Park, By Alan Joyce. Createspace.com, 2008; 192 pp.

Going into a bookstore and saying you'd like a guidebook to a Disney theme park is kinda like walking into a Starbucks and saying that you'd like some coffee. No matter what bookshop you visit, you're going to be confronted with a lot of choices - there are are a lot of books to choose from, each with their own take on the parks, and every day new titles appear hoping to provide readers with a new and fresh perspective on the Disney park experience. And it's not just the big publishing houses vying for the Disney fan's or the park visitor's attention - thanks to the emergence of several self-publishing websites, a lot of first-time authors are bringing out out books on the parks in the hope of becoming the next Arthur Frommer or Steve Birnbaum. In today's post, I'm going to review a recently released self-published work on that promises to give readers a glimpse behind the curtain at many of Disneyland's most popular attractions.

Secrets of the Mouse provides concise information on the lands and attractions of the Happiest Place on Earth, including attraction history, information on attraction elements such as ride vehicles and theming, and details often overlooked by infrequent or casual guests. Besides information on attractions, the book also gives readers hints on where to find some hidden Mickeys in the attractions and attraction queues, and it provides some games to pass some time while waiting to board an attraction. The book is intended to be a guide for enhancing a guest's Disneyland experience; it's not so much intended to provide readers with information on what to visit and when as much as it's supposed to provide a ready reference to help a visitor get more out of their visit. For a self-published unofficial guide to the Park, Secrets of the Mouse is pretty well illustrated (although more than a few photos are on the fuzzy side), and it's a quick read; each entry on a particular attraction is about one to two pages long, so a reader can quickly go to the entry for an attraction and read up on it a quickly as he or she queues up to ride.

If you're an author and you're going to name your book Secrets of the Mouse, you'd better be ready to deliver some fascinating and surprising information, and... well, for the most part, this book doesn't. Don't get me wrong - it's not a bad book, and I did learn a couple of things I didn't know about Disneyland by reading it, but the book really doesn't deliver on the promise of its title if you're a die-hard Disneyland fan. You're getting some of the Mouse's secrets, all right, but they're probably ones you're already familiar with if you've done some reading about Disneyland or if you've been on one of Disney's official tours. The book also suffers from being a jack of all trades but a master of none; it's got some good information on attractions, some fun hidden Mickey hunts, and some fun games to play, but not enough of any of them to make this book really stand out form amongst the books available. Secrets of the Mouse would make a good gift for someone who's just starting to discover the little things that make a Disney theme park so special, but if you're past that initial stage of discovery, there are better choices out there.

Secrets of the Mouse provides a nice introduction to some of the history and hidden details found in Disneyland's attractions and to hidden Mickey spotting, as well as providing some fun games to pass the time while waiting in an attraction queue, and would make a nice supplement to a guidebook for someone unfamiliar with the California theme park. However, the book covers topics that have been covered before and covered in better detail in books that have been previously published, and someone who's already at least somewhat familiar with the little touches that make Disneyland a special place would be better served looking elsewhere (I'd suggest The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland and Disneyland Detective if you're looking for information on attraction details, and Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys if you're interested in hidden Mickey hunting). The book tries to be many things for many people, but in the end is only moderately successful at covering any of the topics included.

How Do You Say "I've Got An Excuse" in Japanese?

Due to a series of very fortunate circumstances, I'm off to Tokyo (and of course, to the Tokyo Disney Resort). I was hoping to have at least one more review to tide everyone over until I get back, but I had so much going on this last week that it didn't happen - sorry, folks! I should have another review up by the first week of February - until then, sayonara and take care.

Getting An Education From The Mouse

Mousecatraz: The Walt Disney World College Program, by Wesley Jones. E.J. Communications/lulu.com, 2006, 153 pp.

The next time you visit Disneyland or Walt Disney World, take a minute to look at the nametag of the cast member who's assisting you. Chances are that underneath his or her name on the tag, you'll see a college name listed instead of that cast member's home town; that means that he or she is part of the Disney College Program, an internship program where Disney brings in college students from all over the country to "live, learn, and earn" for a semester as they work for the Mouse. Few people are aware of the program and fewer still have had the chance to be a part of it, so even some devoted Disney fans may not be aware of what it's like to be a college student working at the Disney theme parks. The book we're eviewing this time gives us a peek behind the curtain at the Disney College Program and its participants.

Mousecatraz is the nickname given to the Disney College Program by some of the interns based on the conditions they've experienced while working in it, and it's also the name of a book that shares information and anecdotes about the Disney College Program experience. The book takes us through the various phases of the College Program, from the recruiting seminars held on college campuses to the final goodbyes, and many of the things - good, bad, or odd - that can happen in between. Former College Program cast members share their experiences and stories of the things they witnessed while they were part of the program; they talk about their jobs at the Disney parks (and some of the things they did and were done to them while working at them), their experiences living with a large group of people their own ages from all over and the joy and the terror that can result, the educational experiences they received, and the things they did to break free from the monotony and frustration that sometimes goes with working in a theme park. While the young adults that participate in the College Program may look like stereotypical clean-cut All-American kids, they're subject to the same quirks, desires, urges, and foibles of any college student anywhere, and the things that have happened to them while they worked for Disney makes for some interesting stories - not all of them for small ears.

Wesley Jones, a former Disney College Program intern, mainly lets his fellow participants in the program tell readers what being a College Program cast member is like; Wesley provides some general information about various facets of the program, general information about the Walt Disney World Resort, and sets up some of the anecdotes, helping to tie the whole narrative together. I think things work out better for the book in this format, since if Wesley had just told the stories he'd heard, some folks might not be inclined to believe what they had read! Although it's pretty obvious that Wesley enjoyed and appreciated his time in the College Program (particularly when you read Wesley's own story in the final chapter), he doesn't appear to pull any punches; the book is more than happy to point out the mistakes and dumb actions of cast members, guests, and Disney managers alike. Wesley isn't salacious when he shares some of the more adult stories about being in the College Program; overall, he maintains his role as a more-or-less neutral observer throughout the book and lets the readers come to their own conclusions about the College Program.

I didn't have any major problems with Mousecatraz, but I can imagine there's going to be some readers that will. As I've mentioned above, some of the content of the book is definitely not suitable for kids (it's not that any of the stories are particularly graphic, it's just that some parents may not want their children reading about some of this stuff). If you're one of those folks that don't want the magic spoiled for them by finding out what happens behind the scenes, this isn't the book for you - Wesley doesn't give away too many secrets that most Disney fans don't already know, but any illusions readers harbor about the perfection of cast members and the well-olied machine that keeps the theme parks running may definitely be called into question after reading this book. If you're looking for some really graphic or bawdy stories, you're probably not going to be to happy with Mousecatraz, in spite of what the book jacket might have you believe; you're also probably not going to be thrilled with this book if you feel that Disney can do no wrong, because the Company does come in for some criticism in a few places in the book. If you can handle a few adult situations and a sometimes less-than-magical view of the Disney parks, this book's worth a read.

Mousecatraz is an interesting and (so far, at least) unique look into the Disney College Program and the true-life adventures experienced by its participants. The book's not really appropriate for pre-teenage children because of some adult themes, but if you have a college-age or nearly college age child who's contemplating signing up for Disney's internship program (or who might do so sometime soon), this book will give them and their parents a little better idea of what to expect than they'll get from a presentation or a glossy brochure. Although the book's a couple of years old, it's still readily available through Amazon.com and lulu.com.