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Walt Disney’s Disneyland
Welcome to Disneyland
A visual history of the world’s megalopolis of magic
Walt Disney dreamed for decades about opening the ultimate entertainment venue, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that his handpicked team began to bring his vision to life. Together, artists, architects, and engineers transformed a dusty tract of orange groves about an hour south of Los Angeles into one of the world’s most beloved destinations.
Today, there are Disney resorts from Paris to Shanghai, but the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which has been visited by more than 800 million people to-date, remains one of America’s most popular attractions. From the day it opened on July 17, 1955, Disneyland brought history and fairy tales to life, the future into the present, and exciting cultures and galaxies unknown to our imaginations.
This bountiful visual history draws on Disney’s vast historical collections, private archives, and the golden age of photojournalism to provide unique access to the concept, development, launch, and enjoyment of this sun-drenched oasis of fun and fantasy. Disneyland documents Walt’s earliest inspirations and ideas; the park’s extraordinary feats of design and engineering; its grand opening; each of its immersive “lands” from Main Street, U.S.A., to Tomorrowland; and the park's evolution through the six decades since it opened. It is a treasure trove of Disney original documentation and expertise, with award-winning writer Chris Nichols drawing on his extensive knowledge of both Disneyland and Southern California history to reveal the fascinating tale of “the happiest place on Earth.”
A visual history of the world’s megalopolis of magic
Walt Disney dreamed for decades about opening the ultimate entertainment venue, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that his handpicked team began to bring his vision to life. Together, artists, architects, and engineers transformed a dusty tract of orange groves about an hour south of Los Angeles into one of the world’s most beloved destinations.
Today, there are Disney resorts from Paris to Shanghai, but the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which has been visited by more than 800 million people to-date, remains one of America’s most popular attractions. From the day it opened on July 17, 1955, Disneyland brought history and fairy tales to life, the future into the present, and exciting cultures and galaxies unknown to our imaginations.
This bountiful visual history draws on Disney’s vast historical collections, private archives, and the golden age of photojournalism to provide unique access to the concept, development, launch, and enjoyment of this sun-drenched oasis of fun and fantasy. Disneyland documents Walt’s earliest inspirations and ideas; the park’s extraordinary feats of design and engineering; its grand opening; each of its immersive “lands” from Main Street, U.S.A., to Tomorrowland; and the park's evolution through the six decades since it opened. It is a treasure trove of Disney original documentation and expertise, with award-winning writer Chris Nichols drawing on his extensive knowledge of both Disneyland and Southern California history to reveal the fascinating tale of “the happiest place on Earth.”
326 pages, Hardcover
Published September 12, 2018
33 people are currently reading
593 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
June 9, 2019
Unbelievable. Disneyland fans will adore this book, but all theme park fans need to own it.
January 28, 2020
This book is gorgeous. I got it as a Christmas gift, and I immediately started devouring it. The text itself is interesting, especially the story of how Disney developed the idea of his park. I would have liked to see more about recent history, but the early stuff is great.
The stars of the show, of course, are the photographs and artwork. There is so much here, and it was fascinating to see all the pictures from the park's early years. It's the kind of book you can just live in for a while.
The stars of the show, of course, are the photographs and artwork. There is so much here, and it was fascinating to see all the pictures from the park's early years. It's the kind of book you can just live in for a while.
October 16, 2018
This book is amazing!!!
November 28, 2018
Loved it!!! There's no place better than Disneyland!!!! Thank you Walt Disney.
May 31, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this book! I’m a big fan of Disney art and history, and this had the perfect balance of both. I loved getting to learn some new fun facts about Disneyland while also being able to revisit some of my favorite parks of the park’s history, but I loved the many photographs and pieces of original concept art the most. I was in awe of most of them! I will definitely be revisiting this book often.
January 26, 2025
As a Disney fan I really enjoyed this book! There were so many cool photos to get to see of early Disneyland! I was also surprised at how much new information it provided! Must read if you are a fan of Disneyland!
May 25, 2021
The photographs alone are amazing, but the content in the writing is fascinating as well. I would have preferred less on "It's A Small World" since I felt like a number of pages were dedicated to that particular ride, but that was just my personal taste. It was still fine and informative. Overall, a wonderful book.
October 15, 2018
I fully enjoyed the illustrations and narrative on Disneyland's creation and journey. Beautiful book that helps capture a magical moment in time.
July 9, 2019
I thought I knew everything about Disney but this awesome book proved me wrong...great read!
April 25, 2021
This might be the best disney book i’ve ever read. It’s must for every disney fan
May 21, 2021
Full of so many colour pictures and information about the beginnings of Disneyland and an overview of Disney after Walt.
The only problem I have with it is that it isn’t even longer!
The only problem I have with it is that it isn’t even longer!
October 2, 2024
Historical retellings of Disneyland's origins are in no short supply. Between coffee table books, documentaries, and miniseries, anyone who wants to can uncover the story of Walt's original theme park in Anaheim. This is, in large part, why it took me so long to open Chris Nichols's Walt Disney's Disneyland despite purchasing the tome when it first came out.
I'm happy to have decided finally to dive into its many colorful pages. Inside is an engaging biography of the Happiest Place on Earth, a comprehensive tale detailing the earliest days of Disneyland's conception. As someone who has consumed much media on the topic, I was pleasantly surprised by anecdotes I'd never heard before, as well as the phenomenal collection of images.
If there's one fault with this book—and it's the same fault many of its peers fall victim too—it's that it positively races through decades after Walt's death. For the first two-thirds of the tome, we are treated to lovingly written, detailed descriptions of the park and the ideas behind each design choice. Once we hit December 1966 and Walt's passing, the writing becomes a veritable list of what came after, right up to the present day. I've had the in-depth narrative of Disneyland's journey from concept to opening. I want the same treatment given to the post-Walt years.
Overall, I was really pleased with this book. The richly textured concept art and vintage photos perfectly highlight what a treasure this original Disney theme park truly is, and how it could have gone wrong in so many ways. But the seemingly haphazard way in which it came about is almost the crux of what makes it so endearing. It doesn’t feel master-planned. It truly was a culmination of ideas matched with a thirst for innovation.
I'm happy to have decided finally to dive into its many colorful pages. Inside is an engaging biography of the Happiest Place on Earth, a comprehensive tale detailing the earliest days of Disneyland's conception. As someone who has consumed much media on the topic, I was pleasantly surprised by anecdotes I'd never heard before, as well as the phenomenal collection of images.
If there's one fault with this book—and it's the same fault many of its peers fall victim too—it's that it positively races through decades after Walt's death. For the first two-thirds of the tome, we are treated to lovingly written, detailed descriptions of the park and the ideas behind each design choice. Once we hit December 1966 and Walt's passing, the writing becomes a veritable list of what came after, right up to the present day. I've had the in-depth narrative of Disneyland's journey from concept to opening. I want the same treatment given to the post-Walt years.
Overall, I was really pleased with this book. The richly textured concept art and vintage photos perfectly highlight what a treasure this original Disney theme park truly is, and how it could have gone wrong in so many ways. But the seemingly haphazard way in which it came about is almost the crux of what makes it so endearing. It doesn’t feel master-planned. It truly was a culmination of ideas matched with a thirst for innovation.
Read
August 25, 2024Obviously this is a coffee table book given it's size and the text reflected that the package was more about the visuals. But there were still interesting tidbits here. It's a lot of the same narrative/information that you would get from the various Disney/Disneyland documentaries found on Disney+, but I enjoyed reading it in one place and keeping the through line. Lots of amazing pictures, particularly of the park through the decades. I was surprised to learn how constantly and how much the park has changed over time. It wasn't meant to be static. My favorite part was about Tomorrowland, my least favorite land in the park. It used to have more hard science, hands-on, exhibits rather than silly, dated rides and a lot of concrete. I personally wish they would harken back to that rather than have Star Tours, but I don't know that most people would agree. I was especially captivated by the model home they used to have made out of plastics. It was very mid century and very cool.
April 4, 2021
This was a fun book to look through. It’s more like a coffee table book than a novel to read. It was fun to look at old pictures of the beginning of Disneyland. Tickets were dirt cheap and Walt Disney still seemed to be working on figuring out his vision even after the park opened. In fact, some of the newspaper reports about opening day claimed it was a flop. I would love for him to have a glimpse of what it has become.
My favorite quote:
“I couldn’t believe my eyes...we were driving through orange groves and dirt roads. I didn’t tell him what I really thought- that he was out of his mind. After all, it was 45 minutes from where people lived and there was nothing there.” Art Linkletter
An inspirational thought for dreamers.
My favorite quote:
“I couldn’t believe my eyes...we were driving through orange groves and dirt roads. I didn’t tell him what I really thought- that he was out of his mind. After all, it was 45 minutes from where people lived and there was nothing there.” Art Linkletter
An inspirational thought for dreamers.
June 13, 2023
Makes for a great coffee table book but I read it as a regular book, start to finish. Beautiful photographs. Reading the book makes me wish I was alive in the early 1950s to witness to the develop of Disneyland, even be a part of it. I grew up in a post-Disneyland/Disney World reality. We take it for granted that Disneyland is a success and a fun place to visit. But the author details how much of an undertaking this was, only Walt was convinced it would work. Plus, reading this truly instills in you that Disneyland was Walt’s park. It was the only one he was personally and intimately involved in, all others came after his death. You see how his fingerprints are in all planning stages and development of the park and on.
October 15, 2020
This is a beautiful coffee table book that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of Walt Disney and especially Disneyland. The book tells the story of the park and has some pictures from the earliest days along with beautiful diagrams and artwork. There are more photos than text in this book which suits the format of this book really well. Overall, this would be a great gift for a Disneyland fan and a fan of the magic.
July 27, 2023
This book is gorgeous.
It has in depth sections on the creation of Disneyland, including getting funding, finding land and trying to get it built. It then looks at each section of Disneyland on how it got made and put together. the final section is about the major updates after Walt's death.
The star here is the photos. They are great quality and really interesting to look at. The book is really well made, and I am super excited to go to Disneyland
It has in depth sections on the creation of Disneyland, including getting funding, finding land and trying to get it built. It then looks at each section of Disneyland on how it got made and put together. the final section is about the major updates after Walt's death.
The star here is the photos. They are great quality and really interesting to look at. The book is really well made, and I am super excited to go to Disneyland
February 16, 2020
If, like me, you love Disneyland and history, then you will probably love this book. It reads like a documentary of the making of the park, complete with fantastic historical photos and concept art. It focuses on the southern California park up through the end of Walt's life, but does cover some of the more significant updates up through 2018 as well as a bit on Disney World.
April 24, 2021
This book is gigantic! It's heavy and huge, but totally worth it. The pages are giant and full of photos of the old Disney, sketchs of the rides and what they were inspired by. It was such a beautiful time and I loved seeing the old Disney. I have never been to Disney and plan to go in 2022 and I'm so glad I got to read through this and step back in time.
April 10, 2024
This was a wonderful visit to my past, seeing Disneyland as I experienced it growing up, remembering the Living Desert, the Mine Train and Pack Mule ride, the Skyway, Circarama, and the Carousel of Progress. A magical place for me, then and now and this book of print and pictures beautifully captures a lifetime of memories.
July 10, 2024
This book is so beautiful! I have been to Disneyland dozens of times and it’s by far one of my favorite places on earth and this book is a beautiful companion to Disneyland’s rich past and development. The spectacular pictures and interesting tidbits make this a must for anyone who loves the Happiest Place on Earth.
February 26, 2019
The stunningly lovely renderings are the strong point of this tome written as a paean to Walt Disney and Disneyland. Nonetheless I have to down grade it a bit as the narrative has been cleansed of anything suggestive of controversy or critical of the park's development over time.
April 23, 2019
Sumptuous coffee table book with beautiful photos of the Disney, his family, and the evolution of Disneyland, from its inspiration to its future. Interesting research makes this a wonderful book to revisit.
September 18, 2021
Excellent overview of the history of Disneyland, with some great photography and illustrations of the park over the years. Would have loved to see more in depth coverage inside the rides themselves, but that would have made the book exponentially longer.
December 24, 2023
This is my new prized possession I will not be taking any further questions at this time.
This is beautiful. The detail, the sketches, the pictures, it's truly a masterpiece and must have for any Disney fan.
This is beautiful. The detail, the sketches, the pictures, it's truly a masterpiece and must have for any Disney fan.
March 2, 2019
Super cute! Loved seeing all the old concept art and posters from original DL! Would have loved to see a more in depth look at some of the rides more than what was published.
March 7, 2019
Perfect for Disneyland nerds like me to learn the history of the theme park and to look at the gorgeous pictures.
April 14, 2019
Stunning vintage photos, beautiful concept art, and a well-written narrative full of interesting facts. This is a must-have book for any Disneyland fan.
December 27, 2019
This book is beautiful!!
January 2, 2020
Beautiful book for Disney lovers full of interesting facts and history alongside amazing photographs. It transports you to Disneyland itself.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews