Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered

by Dave Smith

Dave 'Ask Dave' Smith, retired Chief Archivist of The Walt Disney Company, has been fielding Disney trivia questions for over 30 years. And now, the most intriguing of those questions and answers have been compiled in this secret-filled book!

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Trivia, History, American History

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2012

About the author

Dave Smith was the founder and chief archivist at the Walt Disney Archives, which is located at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Victoria Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you desire more trivia than the "usual" Disney trivia, this is a great read! Dave Smith breaks the book into eight categories surrounding Disney (including the two U.S. based parks and Walt himself). I knew I needed more trivia than just, "Which Disney Princess sings 'A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes'"? This book contains gems of trivia mainly surrounding the historical side of all things Disney. The majority of this book was made up of information I had never known before. I purchased it at World of Disney at Disney Springs in Orlando.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t what I was expecting, but there’s some nice bits of trivia in here

[Billie · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the description of what this book was supposed to be, it was a real let down. The "trivia" that was in the book is things you can find in any other trivia book, or by using Google. There is a quote on the back of the book; "Take a peek inside. Only Dave knows the answers!" Um. No. Not only Dave knows the answers.

The other thing about this book is the author condescending tone. Most of his "reveals" came across that he is better than the reader and they were stupid to even ask that questions. Many times he stated, "no, you are wrong". It really seems like the picked the answers that make the author look good and the people asking the questions look bad.

I would not recommend this for an avid Disney fan looking to find out some more secrets, because you will not find it here. It would be good for someone just getting into the secret world of Disney though.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I very much wanted to like this book and don't know what I was really expecting - but this wasn't it. The book is divided into sections (Walt Disney World, Walt Disney, Animated Features, etc) and then has a FAQ format in which Dave Smith answers reader questions. Some of the questions brought about some interesting answers, but most were of the "does this reader not understand how Google or IMDB works?" variety. Many of the questions got repetitive and in the end I was disappointed with this purchase and read.

[Lucía · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been searching for a book with fun and interesting facts about Disney films, parks, and Walt Disney himself for some months now. So when I saw this book in Epcot I thought this was it... AND IT IS! I'm just fascinated by all these cool facts Dave Smith wrote in this book. And since the book is basically a Q&A with Disney fans, it made the book very dynamic, fast-paced and fun to read. I even highlighted my favorite facts so I can go back and read them. Loved it!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Learn something New With Disney.

[Della Tingle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not an enjoyable read. I truly appreciate Dave Smith’s unique job...what fun! He has worked in Disney archives for decades and definitely knows his stuff! However, so many of the questions written were just ridiculous to me. For example...

Q: In Lilo & Stitch, Lilo’s bedroom door has a sign with the word kapu written on it. What is the meaning of this word? Blake, Winslow, IL

A: Kapu means “keep out” or “off limits” in Hawaiian.

Dave Smith has considerable patience. For MY answer to Blake from Winslow, IL would have been: You can take the time to write to me to ask me the question, but you cannot LOOK IT UP? What’s wrong with you?! Seriously! Look it up! It’s in the dictionary!

Reading this book has made me want to visit Walt’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri where a previous Disneyland ride, Autopia, is in a city park. I am going to look up The Collector by Mike Jittlov as well as Mousercise from the 80s and Child of Glass. So, while able to reminisce and be inspired to dig a little deeper in some cases, so many of the questions were just aggravating. My daddy was a college teacher and would say, “The only stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask,” but in this case....

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disney Trivia buffs likely know the answers to many of the questions in this book, but there are still some gems to be mined from Dave Smith's deep cavern of knowledge. This book is split into several sections to break apart the questions by category: Animated Features, Animated Shorts, Disneyland, Live Action Films, Publications, Television, Walt Disney World, and of course Walt Disney himself. Some of the questions were run of the mill - what does this word mean or who was this actor. Some required a much deeper knowledge and/or research, which Dave was happy to provide. Black and white illustrations mark the sections and the Q & A format is easy to read.

Though there is some common knowledge included in this book, I thought there was enough unique content to make it worth its while. It's also nice to have so much information consolidated into one place. Perhaps the most die-hard of fans skip this one, but I think the general public will gain new insight and information from a read-through of these answers from Disney's own Chief Archivist. His is an important voice to capture as a part of the Disney legacy.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this! I learned so much about the history of Disney, and I particularly enjoyed learning about some of the lesser-known things from before my time. I probably could have read another few hundred pages just of more of the same.

[Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting stuff!

[Brook Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for Disney fans!

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it :)

[Christina]

Lots of neat facts about Disney films, shows, parks and Walt himself.

[Theresa F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting factoids in this book that you probably won't find anywhere else.
Did I like it? Yes.
Would I reread it? Maybe.
Would I recommend it? Yes.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chock full of interesting facts and details! Great reading for Disney fans!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am SO GLAD that this book exists. So many fun facts from the olden days of Disney.

[Lucy Caruana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this mostly 10 years after it was published, so it was a bit outdated. But was still an interesting read.

[Gab · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the way this book was structured which left me feeling disappointed overall. I suppose if I'd have read the 'Questions Answered' part of the title I might have understood what the book was. It was a series of questions written in by fans and then answered by Dave Smith, who established the Disney Archives. Each chapter of the book covers a different aspect of Disney - and there are chapters on Animated Features, Animated Shorts, Disneyland, Live-Action films, Publications, TV, Walt Disney World and Walt Disney himself. There were some interesting and obscure facts but there was also lots that didn't even interest me, an avid Disney fan. And sometimes I felt that the author didn't answer the questions in a very kind manner.

[BrandyLee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of interesting trivia facts related to everything from Disney films, the parks, and to Disney himself. The questions answered by archivist Dave Smith are often unique, although not entirely new. I found some hidden gems peppered throughout the book that make the whole endeavor worth a read. I did find the organization of the questions to be very scattered within the overall categories, and I feel a lot of the questions were repetitious and could have been combined into one lengthier and more informative answer. Sometimes the answers didn't even answer the question being asked or were so short that you didn't feel it was an answer at all. But again, there are enough snippets in the book to make the whole book worth a read.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a little different from other Disney trivia books as it basically takes you through questions from people seeking answers to their Disney questions and Dave Smith answering the questions. A lot of the book doesn't necessarily feel like trivia, although you can learn new things from reading the Q&A's, the book feels more like an instructional session on Disney, like a guidebook. Everything revealed is still interesting but the style is completely different from the usual trivia or fact telling style of storytelling. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to add another Disney fact book to their shelf.

[Kevin R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very sad to hear about Dave Smith's passing earlier this month. I got to meet him once at Disneyland and I got two books signed by him. I flipped through them from time to time, but never actually read them all the way through. After he passed away, I decided it was about time.

Dave Smith founded the Walt Disney archives, and the treasures he has collected, both tangible and intangible are absolutely incredible. For years he allowed people to write him questions about anything Disney-related, and he would answer them in his column, "Ask Dave." This book is a collection of those questions and answers. It is a great source for authoritative facts and trivia.

[Kayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because Mrs. Lau recommended at the book talk and it seemed easy for me to read. The story was interesting but too complicated. Many Disney fans asked questions and the author answered it, the questions were so hard and I couldn't understand what it tells about. Also, there are too many questions and they were organized by categories like movie, Disney Land. Therefor it made me boring and took away my interest.
I would recommend this book to the people, who really like Disney and know about it well.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent fact book straight from the Disney Corp.'s own historian. I have always admired the company's dedication to preserving their own traditions and history so it's great to see the author answer all the questions we have had about the parks, movies and more! Unfortunately a lot of the questions were very mundane and could have been easily found out on their own. For example, the availability of old videos found on eBay. However I did enjoy learning about some older movies that I didn't grow up with to check out. The questions on the parks and characters were my favorites.

[Lindsical · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by famed Disney historian, Dave Smith, who has worked in the Disney Archives for many years. As a huge Disney fan I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Dave answers questions sent in from people around the country and while I wasn't interested in every single question and answer, I did learn a lot of great Disney facts and tidbits which are not commonly known. I'd recommend this to any Disney fan!

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an utter joy to read. The book is written by famed Disney historian Dave Smith, who is known for his archival work for Disney. The book is divided into sections: Animated Features, animated shorts, Disney Land, Disney World, Publications and Walt Disney. It contains questions and answers. Like many of these books, not all of these questions caught my attetion, but overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and didn't want this to end.

[Jenn G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for any HUGE disney fan. The questions are sometimes about things I've never heard of. But the questions about the things I know are very interesting. I loved the sections in the book.

Ce livre doit être lu par tous les GRANDS fan de disney. Les questions sont parfois à propos de choses dont je n'avais jamais entendu parler. Mais les questions sur les choses que je connaissais étaient très interessantes. J'ai adoré les sections dans le livre.

[-`ˏ maci ˎ´˗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, I loved this book!! It was right up my alley. Thank you to my cousin for buying this for me at Disney World last year. It only seems fitting to have completed it (finally) on the day we leave for Disney World.

P.S. My mind is blown. Walt Disney never actually said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." One of his workers wrote that quote for different plans and other releases. I've been lied to my whole life.. 😂😂

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. There were quite a few questions that were essentially asking the same thing just in a different way which could have been left out for other questions, also some of the questions, especially in the animated features made me wonder if they had actually seen any of the animations before they wrote in.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for Disney fans and people who love getting those nagging questions answered! Par example, I have indeed always wanted to know where they got those lovely costumes from The Princess Diaries. Consider this lady's curiosity satisfied.

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of Disney trivia tidbits, but some facts are repeated several times or so specific, brief, or easily accessible on the internet that it seems strange that they were included over lesser-known trivia.