Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture

by Beth Dunlop

From fairy-tale castles to extraordinary buildings designed by the world's most distinguished architects, The Walt Disney Company has created exciting and influential architecture. The result, beautiful illustrated in this book is "architecture with a plot", a new approach to designing buildings.

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture, Art, History, Design, Reference

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a whole lot more than I expected to. I figured it would be a picture-book with pages upon pages espousing the brilliance of every structure Disney has created. But I was pleasantly surprised at what an objective, almost scholarly approach Beth Dunlop took to the subject. The introduction by Vincent Scully makes the book worth reading in and of itself. His introduction includes one of the all time great quotes relating to Disney:

"When you wish upon a star your dream comes true" makes a lovely fiction for a while, especially when it is sung is front of Cinderella Castle with the magic animals capering about, but it is, after all, pure bullshit in the long run. When you wish upon a star you die like everybody else. This is a fundamental problem for Disney, dealing with American wish fulfillment...

As for the rest of the book, it is well organized, and academic enough to be informative, but not so much so as to read like a textbook.

The overarching theme of the book is that even good architecture can have a theme; it can tell a story. For me, the biggest shift in my view of Disney buildings is almost all the kitsch they design into them is done tongue-in-cheek. A hotel like the All-Star in Orlando is not meant to be taken seriously, it's meant to be almost like a three dimensional cartoon. When you realize that the architects aren't taking themselves too seriously, it's easier to come down off your high horse and appreciate the humor and whimsy in what they've created.

The photography in the book is artfully done and compliments Dunlop's writing particularly well. For Disney fans with an interest in fine arts or architecture, I highly recommend this book.

[Rebecca Markajani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fair warning this books is now a bit dated but wonderful nonetheless. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. It has a healthy amount of criticism, especially for a book about Disney, and gives credit where it's due. Highly recommend for Disney and architecture fans.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved 95% of this book. If you love Disney, you'll love this book. If you love architecture, you'll love this book. But if you love architecture and hate Disney, you shouldn't even be looking at this book. While it's possible to enjoy this book without a great deal of architectural knowledge (I personally have next to none) you will need to appreciate the Disney parks a teeny tiny bit to not hate this book.

My biggest complaint is that there are sections where I wanted more information. I felt that the chapters on the parks could have been more in-depth. Also, the last chapter is an odd hodge podge of anything Disney that doesn't fall into any other category, but it jumped around so much that it was unsettling. However, the background information on the design of the parks and of other Disney buildings was fascinating. There are some Disney buildings that I now love (like the Team Disney building in Burbank, shown on the cover of this book) and other Disney buildings that I hate (like the town hall in Celebration, FL. Why so many columns? It feels like a jail cell!). In any case, if you've been to at least one Disney park and wondered why it looked the way that it did, this book is for you.

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered where the Disney imagineers came up with some of those great ideas when they built Disneyland and Disneyworld? Well, here's your answer. Great view into the past, as Disney began with concept drawings, through publicity ads, onward to the finished product we know today. It truly is an amazing adventure.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily the best officially-approved Disney theme park book I’ve ever read. Not only does it not read like an advertisement, it also actually engages with the parks’ entertainment architecture on the level of real architectural criticism. If you are a commercial archaeology enthusiast in general and want one official book about Disney parks to add to your collection, it should be this one.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A really neat look into the design decisions made when Disney was building its empire. I didn't read every single word in this book. I suppose maybe a die-hard Disney fan might have, but I would be surprised even if they did. The text goes into a significant amount of detail, so much that even I found myself getting a bit bored and losing focus. The pictures were great though. I do find that there's a weird symmetry between every single Disney building (as you would expect, Disney does chaotic uniformity), and it made it feel so utopian I'm not sure I'd want to spend an exceptional amount of time inside any of them. The photography of the buildings I thought captured them really well, but they are very clearly photographs taken in the early 2000s, which makes sense and is fine, but also is a bit jarring. But that's just my experience. A lot of the buildings and projects I had never even heard of before. I'm not sure if that's because I don't live in America and thus would have no use for that information, or if it's because Disney has evolved so much since those projects were realised that they just simply are not that big of a deal anymore. I think the latter is more likely the case. At any rate, this is a nice book to flip through if you're interested in both Disney and architecture, but only if both tickle your fancy.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

With how much this book had to cover, it's understandably (though somewhat disappointingly) brief about the individual buildings. (Sometimes it feels like half of the text was just architects' names.) Oh, the quotes by Eisner, and other architects/critics/etc were so entertaining. Overall though the book (even more so the second edition) is great and very informative as an overview! At least, up until the 90s (the second edition goes further)

On that note...the author is probably very disappointed by how Celebration turned out... they seemed really excited in the last chapter.

[Mitch Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated but an interesting read for someone who enjoys theme parks

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised that this book was written in 2011, as many of the pictures looked dated. Then I discovered it was originally published in 96, so that made sense. I liked the look at the Disney buildings beyond the parks. I hadn't seen may of them before.

[Louis Prosperi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at Disney architecture outside of the Disney theme parks.

This book explores the architecture of Disney buildings in its resorts, office buildings, and other locations. While the book includes a look at some of Disney's theme parks, the majority of the book looks at locations outside the theme parks, including resorts, the town of Celebration, Florida, and even the Disney cruise ships.

Nearly every page of this features full-color photos of the various locations that comprise the Disney company, and taken together, serve to illustrate the expanse of the company across the world.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in architecture in general, and in Disney architecture more specifically.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that shows the progression of Disney from the original plans to the parks and cities they came to build. Wonderful descriptions, pictures and illustrations of the buildings that defined many notable architects.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite aspects of Disney World is the architecture, so I really enjoyed this book especially because it was heavy on the pictures and didn't over emphasize one park or Disney project. Definitely recommend to anyone heading on a Disney trip.

[Alyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as an overview of Disney Architecture. I learned a few things. But the architect in me wanted more details.

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME!!!

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I've read and written enough on this topic that I can read a book I agree with and think, "Meh." So that's at least a milestone. Over-written, well-intentioned, a smidge obvious.