The Disneyland® Encyclopedia: The Unofficial, Unauthorized, and Unprecedented History of Every Land, Attraction, Restaurant, Shop, and Major Event in the Original Magic Kingdom®

by Chris Strodder

Spanning the entire history of the park, from its founding more than 50 years ago to the present, this fascinating book explores 500 attractions, restaurants, stores, events, and significant people from Disneyland. Each of the main encyclopedia entries illuminates the history of a Disneyland landmark, revealing the initial planning strategies for the park’s iconic attractions and detailing how they evolved over the decades. Enriching this unique A-to-Z chronicle are profiles of the personalities who imagined and engineered the kingdom known as “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Discover unbuilt concepts, including Liberty Street, Rock Candy Mountain, and Chinatown, and delight in fascinating trivia about long-lost Disneyland features, from the real rifles in the shooting gallery that used to be located on Main Street to the jet-packed Rocket Man who flew above Tomorrowland. Overflowing with meticulously researched details and written in a spirited, accessible style, The Disneyland Encyclopedia is a comprehensive and entertaining exploration of the most-influential, most-renovated, and most-loved theme park in the world!

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Reference, History

504 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Chris Strodder is a lifelong student of Woody Allen's movies, writings, and music, and has seen Allen perform live several times. Strodder is also the author of The Disneyland Encyclopedia, The Disneyland Book of Lists, the children’s book A Sky for Henry, an adventure story for young adults named Lockerboy, the comic novel The Wish Book, the Stories Light and Dark collection of short fiction, a pop culture compendium entitled The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool, and Swingin’ Chicks of the ’60s, a popular nonfiction volume of profiles that garnered international attention, coverage in dozens of magazines ranging from the National Enquirer to Playboy, and exposure on national TV and radio shows. Strodder’s writing has also appeared in Los Angeles magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, The Huffington Post, USA Today, California magazine, Movieline magazine, and others. Strodder lives by the beautiful Pacific Ocean in Pismo Beach, California.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational, organized, and detailed guide to EVERYTHING Disney! Next time I go back, I will definitely be taking this with me!

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over 500 pages, listing and detailing Disney attractions, in alphabetical order from Adventureland to Zorro Days. Also includes index, has maps, Land by Land appendix and bibliography, 10 recommended DVDs, 12 recommended websites, notes on photographs (and there are LOTS of them – black and white only. LOTS of info and historical detail. Great compilation for extreme Disney fans, not as useful for beginning tourists as this encyclopedic list includes EVERYTHING including long closed or defunct attractions.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just got this for my birthday and I love it! It lists all the Disneyland (not CA Adventure, just Disneyland) rides, stores, attractions, and restaurants, past and present giving the dates each operated and some general information.

I know encyclopedias are supposed to be reference books, and this will definitely will be, but I'm also enjoying reading it straight through (and jumping around a bit to read about my favorite rides/attractions).

A must-have for Disney fans

[Sam Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book for any Disneyland fan!!! First encyclopedia i have read cover to cover.

[Shannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lifelong fan of and frequent visitor to Disneyland, this was so much fun to read. It was a nice trip of nostalgia to read about attractions, restaurants and shops that I vividly remember from years gone by that are long gone now. It is making me even more exciting for our upcoming trip to the park!

[Kent Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that is easily read a few pages at a time. There are stories about seeming thousands of places and people in Disneyland. A huge trove of history. It feels like an archeology dig as you learn all the many things that were in the same places over time.
Recommended.

[Victoria Bridenbecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the encyclopedia about Disneyland was exciting. It talks about the history behind many attractions, restaurants, shops, and events in the park. Since I enjoyed going to Disneyland a lot, I love reading the encyclopedia about the park.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting if you're planning a visit to the Magic Kingdom.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An encyclopedia of interesting facts relating to Disneyland. Read it cover to cover before a trip in 2019.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun entries about exhibits, shows, restaurants-now-gone, Imagineer bios.
All-in-all: A must for any Disney buff.

[Andrew]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...#

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to be completely honest. I did not finish this book. For awhile, I read page after page of Disneyland information, but it soon got to be too much. Even though I love going to Disneyland, I soon found myself bouncing all over the place, reading only the entries I wanted to because I liked the attraction, store, area, etc. Nobody needs to know this much Disneyland trivia! Plus, this book was written eight years ago, so even a number of things mentioned in this book are gone, having been replaced with newer attractions or areas.

I will say it's interesting and fascinating. I also think that those who lament the fact that Disneyland is constantly changing how it looks, updating rides, or completely getting rid of things should read this book. It will finally get the message across that Disneyland was never meant to be a static amusement park, but one that was dynamic and always changing and growing to accommodate new technologies, themes, changing tastes, and rides. Walt Disney himself wanted it this way. That's not to say it is not sad when someone's favorite thing goes away, but I agree with the author that the park can't just coast on the fond memories and keep things the same. It needs to reinvent itself and keep striving to be the best park ever. Yes, I miss the People Mover, certain parades, and Adventures in Inner Space, but I will always remember them fondly.

I love where the park is now going with the soon-to-be added Star Wars Land. I can't wait! It's this ever-changing atmosphere that keeps me coming back year after year.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What [Chris] Strodder has done here is compile every attraction, restaurant, and shop that has ever existed within Anaheim Disneyland’s perimeter berm (even the berm itself gets an entry!). Also included are profiles of notable people involved in the park’s history and tantalizing glimpses at lands and attractions that were planned, but never built. This book contained a lot of fascinating info that even a Disneyland History geek like me didn’t know. Stoddard’s writing style is enthusiastic and well-informed, full of delicious factoids — and blessedly different from the upbeat blathering that characterizes most Disney fansites. Just read his little bio of Walt Disney himself to get a feel of the even-handed but fun tone present throughout this book. Want to know more about Aunt Jemima’s Pancake House, the Main Street Electrical Parade, Princess Fantasy Faire, the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, or even the expertly themed restrooms? It’s all in here.

Funny postscript — one of the first things I checked in this book was the Wizard of Bras shop (did you know one could shop for ladies’ unmentionables on Main Street?). Sure enough, it’s listed in here. I mistakenly thought the shop itself was called Wizard of Bras, but that was actually the name of a display that was housed inside the more humbly monikered Intimate Apparel store which only operated during the first two years of Disneyland’s existence. You learn something new every day." - Scrubbles.net review, February 9, 2010.

[Rick Ludwig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I obtained the copy that I read from our library, but ultimately purchased a copy to keep for reference. I knew that my first trip to Disneyland was in the late summer or early fall of 1955 and I was able to nail it down to August based on information in this book, I was not quite five years old when I first went with my family and at that age wasn't too hot on dates. My most recent visit was this past June when my wife and I helped my daughter move into her new student apartment on campus at her college. As I read through this book the memories that flowed back of specific visits over the past 54 years were amazing. There are a few typos and a couple of inconsistencies even in this newest addition, but they are so minimal as to make no difference to the over-all quality of this compendium. For anyone old enough to remember the beginning and all of the years in between, like me, it is a true treasure. I especially enjoyed his profiles on those who brought the magic kingdom into existence and kept it growing over the years. The only addition I would make to the Appendices would be to asterisk those attractions, restaurants, stores, etc. that were still operating as of the writing and a table of all of the Disney Legends and when they were named such.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be fascinating to see a 4-Dimensional map of Disneyland - a 3D map that goes forward and backward in time to see how it has changed and grown over the years. This book sort of works like that - it's history in alphabetical order, so you bounce back and forth over the decades of Disneyland. It's not a tour guide - more of a concordance, and more than half of its entries are for items that are no more. It has a little inconsistency in how it determines when something is a new entity rather than just a name change, and it really is not meant to be just sat down and read - it gets tedious. Still, there's a lot of good information here, not just about the rides, and restaurants, and shops, but also about some of the other people behind the success of Disneyland. The illustrations are utilitarian, not adding a whole lot (although the pages of trash can and bathroom door photos do seem a bit much), but aren't distracting either. It's a unique reference piece that I can't see any real call for use, but it does provide a lot of interesting data for die-hard Disneyland fans.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I read a ton of books about Disneyland in preparation for our recent trip (I thought useless factoids might make the time in line pass more quickly), and I found this one to be the best. It was the best organized and most straightforward of all of them. It didn't have the fawning Disneyphile tone of some of the others, nor was it bordering on abusive like Mouse Tales. It was a little more history and a little less interesting trivia, but if you're only going to read one book about Disneyland, I'd make it this one.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

We went to Disneyland in April and have been fascinated with it's history and it's creator- Walt Disney, ever since. This book tells the history/interesting facts about every ride, attraction, restuarant, etc... in the park, along with descriptions of key Disney legends. I wasn't sure if I would like the Encyclopedia format, but it was perfect for this book. There were definitely entries that did not interest me at all, but I never knew where a fun "secret" or gem might turn up, so I read everything. There are several entries I could've skipped (reason for 4 stars instead of 5).
It was a fun, interesting read and just plain fascinating.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of information about past and current (as of 2005-6) attractions. Fascinating reading about the old bra shop on Main Street, or the Fantasyland Circus of the '50's, or anything else you could find out on any numerous Disneyana sites on the web. A few missing entries about awesome people in the park (Tony Baxter is mentioned in one entry, but ignored alphabetically) but as just a huge compendium of facts about the first fifty-years of the park, it's an entertaining and worthwhile read. I like it a lot.

[Sam Richins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just totally loved this book. I liked it because I knew some things about the park, but I really learned a lot from reading this. As soon as I can, I am going to read it again. I am just amazed at some of the awesome things that they thought up, and I am surprised how long some things have stayed in the park. Some people that I have shared some of this information with have just been awestruck at the secrets that they put in. I have been to the park twice, and I did not even know a tenth of the information that it shares with me. If you have ever been to the park, READ IT!!

[Mike Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never made it through from cover to cover, nor are you really intended to do so. But for a lifelong Disneyland aficionado (like me), starting on a random page or from the entry of a beloved attraction, you just don't want to come up for air. The casual Disneyland visitor might find it boring. But if you're the kind of person who talks about still feeling Walt Disney's personal impact on the park (or finds Disneyland Resort to be miles better than Walt Disney World--also like me), you'll love this book.

[Rachel Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potentially a great informational read, this book relies far too much on tidbits from old souvenir books. There are often articles on extinct attractions that I would love to know more about, but since they were before the author's time, I'm left with a vague timeline and location and maybe a sentence describing it. Many articles were very repetitive and it could probably use an update. I'm finding Internet research much more informative.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read through this before and during our recent trip to Disneyland with our older two kids for the first time. The entries for every ride, restaurant and attraction are listed alphabetically, and it contains tons of fun trivia about each entry. It reminded me of some of the past rides that are no longer there. Lots of nerdy fun!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having this book only 3 weeks from the library wasn't enough - it is so full of information - history and interesting facts. I never knew there used to be a Gibson Street Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street!

I'm going to have to buy this book to read up for our next Disneyland vacation.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Around our place, we're all Disneyland nuts and we've got plenty of books about the park but this one's the best. It gives wonderfully intricate details about every little tiny piece of anything that is or ever was at Disneyland. It's fabulous.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have an interest in Disneyland history, then this is the book for you! The book covers every attraction, shop, restaurant in the history of the park. You will learn how long each ride existed, and what replaced it. My one and only complaint is that I wish this included DCA as well.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series of guide books. They have gobs of history about every attraction, ride, shop, imagineer etc that ever had anything to do with Disneyland. This new edition has lots of new info and pictures. Definitely my favorite Disneyland book.

[Lex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good size book that contains good info on any attraction, exhibit, restaurant, shop, ect that is, or ever was at Disneyland. It has probably been the best research book I have read for my project thus far. A GREAT resource for anyone wanting to know Disneyland's history.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of interesting factoids about the park and how it's changed over the years. A bit of overkill when you include every single food cart and restaurant, but it connects to the changing themes. Will look around with a different perspective next time I'm there!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was terrific to get such a sense of the park and how it is always evolving. While not as flavorful as some other Disneyland historical books, it's still an excellent read by an author who adores Disneyland as much as anyone who would care to read it.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes I actually read an encyclopedia. It started as just a source tool for a school project and then I couldn't help but read the whole thing.