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People Behind the Disney Parks: Stories of Those Honored with a Window on Main Street, U.S.A.
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Hardcover
Published September 26, 2023
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128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 18, 2024
A nice tribute to all those honoured with windows - people who have given so much joy, inspiration and wonderful memories to millions!
February 20, 2025
I think this is a fun coffee table book, but it didn’t blow me away. It’s huge and there are really amazing pictures and details in it, but I would recommend lots of other Disney parks books before this one
July 15, 2024
Separates Disney Legends into eight categories:
1.) Planners
2.) Builders
3.) Virtuosos
4.) Businesspeople
5.) Advocates
6.) Artists
7.) Caretakers
8.) Visionaries
The breakdown is somewhat arbitrary, since many people started out in one department or function and transferred or got promoted into others. Many Imagineers -- famed and not-so-famous -- are generalists, hand-picked or assigned by Walt Disney himself to work in different departments as the need arose. Animators shifting from drawing cartoons and animating feature films to designing park sets. Accountants elevated into legal or operations. Frontline workers at Disneyland promoted to managers and later executives or vice presidents. Family members shoehorned in by nepotism.
People Behind the Disney Parks about all the people that got a window in the parks, my big takeaways were threefold:
1.) Longevity & Loyalty of Regulars: “No way there was this much concentration of talent and genius in one place and time - Hollywood during the 1960’s! Disney developed normal people into stars, taught them how to behave and serve guests, freed them to do Take-5’s where they could take five minutes to give troubled guests unscripted magical moments by improvising based on the moment, without calling a manager. Van Arsdale France’s training program is what separated early Disneyland culture from their competitors at Universal Studios or Freedomland. All the people who got windows weren’t born geniuses when they showed up to work at Disneyland; they were normal people out of whom Disney extracted greatness. The environment motivated the cast. Most of these people just seemed like normal human beings that wanted an honest day's work, and their longevity stands out more than any particular anecdote or work of art.
2.) Politics Dictating Missing Names: Some people that unofficial Disney books highlight -- C.V. Wood, for one, and international executives like Oriental Land Company (OLC) originals -- never made it onto a window, and hence don't receive mention in this book. I understand that you can't include everybody, but just shoving important key figures under the carpet because they didn't end on good or legal terms doesn't paint the whole picture. As a creator, I want to know about the shortcuts taken, the deals with the devil struck to reach sponsorships, the guerilla tactics that made the opening possible -- these are what makes the difference between a successful opening on time and competitors catching up. Disney Editions lose credibility for leaving out people that were instrumental to the park's opening and operations. Windows are transparent: they should show not only the beauty and framing from the outside, but also glimpses of the people working on the inside, including those that left on less than ideal terms, like CV Wood, or those from OLC and Paris.
3.) Mortality: So many people died -- in fact, almost all of the ones mentioned in the book have a death date. Strangely enough, people in the businesspeople chapter have the highest average lifespan, for what it's worth. Did they feel the least stress? Did they have to do the least amount of physical labor or encounter the least conflict? Can't say for sure, but it did draw my attention. Our time on this planet is limited. Those that worked so long transitioned through multiple roles. What were their motivations for staying with Disney so long? It would have been nice to hear from each of them in their own voice, to have quotations or snippets from everybody, instead of just those figureheads that you hear in mainstream media (like Walt, Roy, Dick Nunis, John Hench, Ron Miller, Card Walker, Marty Sklar) and business books. Let these people control their own narratives!
I spent more time calculating lifetimes and trying to imagine motivations than reading bland text, most of which just says who helped with what attraction, why their windows include certain text, and in the case of the Disneys, the names of all their surviving children, grandchildren, and distant relatives. It seems so unfair and unnecessary to list all of Roy's descendants, like they deserve their own windows. I could care less. The Main Street tour is nice, and the photos and maps do evoke a sense of nostalgia, but ultimately I wanted to hear more from the individuals themselves, to know what they were like in life, more than what you can convey by listing the attractions and shows they helped build, manage, or design.
1.) Planners
2.) Builders
3.) Virtuosos
4.) Businesspeople
5.) Advocates
6.) Artists
7.) Caretakers
8.) Visionaries
The breakdown is somewhat arbitrary, since many people started out in one department or function and transferred or got promoted into others. Many Imagineers -- famed and not-so-famous -- are generalists, hand-picked or assigned by Walt Disney himself to work in different departments as the need arose. Animators shifting from drawing cartoons and animating feature films to designing park sets. Accountants elevated into legal or operations. Frontline workers at Disneyland promoted to managers and later executives or vice presidents. Family members shoehorned in by nepotism.
People Behind the Disney Parks about all the people that got a window in the parks, my big takeaways were threefold:
1.) Longevity & Loyalty of Regulars: “No way there was this much concentration of talent and genius in one place and time - Hollywood during the 1960’s! Disney developed normal people into stars, taught them how to behave and serve guests, freed them to do Take-5’s where they could take five minutes to give troubled guests unscripted magical moments by improvising based on the moment, without calling a manager. Van Arsdale France’s training program is what separated early Disneyland culture from their competitors at Universal Studios or Freedomland. All the people who got windows weren’t born geniuses when they showed up to work at Disneyland; they were normal people out of whom Disney extracted greatness. The environment motivated the cast. Most of these people just seemed like normal human beings that wanted an honest day's work, and their longevity stands out more than any particular anecdote or work of art.
2.) Politics Dictating Missing Names: Some people that unofficial Disney books highlight -- C.V. Wood, for one, and international executives like Oriental Land Company (OLC) originals -- never made it onto a window, and hence don't receive mention in this book. I understand that you can't include everybody, but just shoving important key figures under the carpet because they didn't end on good or legal terms doesn't paint the whole picture. As a creator, I want to know about the shortcuts taken, the deals with the devil struck to reach sponsorships, the guerilla tactics that made the opening possible -- these are what makes the difference between a successful opening on time and competitors catching up. Disney Editions lose credibility for leaving out people that were instrumental to the park's opening and operations. Windows are transparent: they should show not only the beauty and framing from the outside, but also glimpses of the people working on the inside, including those that left on less than ideal terms, like CV Wood, or those from OLC and Paris.
3.) Mortality: So many people died -- in fact, almost all of the ones mentioned in the book have a death date. Strangely enough, people in the businesspeople chapter have the highest average lifespan, for what it's worth. Did they feel the least stress? Did they have to do the least amount of physical labor or encounter the least conflict? Can't say for sure, but it did draw my attention. Our time on this planet is limited. Those that worked so long transitioned through multiple roles. What were their motivations for staying with Disney so long? It would have been nice to hear from each of them in their own voice, to have quotations or snippets from everybody, instead of just those figureheads that you hear in mainstream media (like Walt, Roy, Dick Nunis, John Hench, Ron Miller, Card Walker, Marty Sklar) and business books. Let these people control their own narratives!
I spent more time calculating lifetimes and trying to imagine motivations than reading bland text, most of which just says who helped with what attraction, why their windows include certain text, and in the case of the Disneys, the names of all their surviving children, grandchildren, and distant relatives. It seems so unfair and unnecessary to list all of Roy's descendants, like they deserve their own windows. I could care less. The Main Street tour is nice, and the photos and maps do evoke a sense of nostalgia, but ultimately I wanted to hear more from the individuals themselves, to know what they were like in life, more than what you can convey by listing the attractions and shows they helped build, manage, or design.
August 11, 2024
This a very in depth look at the hundreds of people that have contributed beautifully to the Walt Disney Company and been honored with a window on Main Street in Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and various other windows in Disney Parks. No blurb goes too in depth so it gives a nice taster. My BIGGEST issue with this book was the layout. It makes sense, but seeing windows with multiple names presented more than once felt repetitive and the dozens of times I Read WED Enterprises (Now Walt Disney Imagineering) made me think that the content is fantastic but maybe it was edited in a hurry. Still, Disney fans will enjoy this book and that includes me!
September 20, 2024
This is a must buy and keepsake for any Disney World and Disneyland fan, truly any Disney history fan period. The details of the windows, information on the key players of the company you don’t know and the insights into those you do, combined with beautifully done illustrations and photos of all the windows are simply uplifting as a fan.
Don’t hesitate and make sure you get this book in your collection.
Don’t hesitate and make sure you get this book in your collection.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews