The Wonders of Walt Disney World

by Aaron H. Goldberg

Planning a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort? The Wonders of Walt Disney World is the essential read before your visit with Mickey. It's part guidebook, part secret stories, part informative history, and part of your plan for a magical trip!

The Wonders of Walt Disney World will guide you from park to park and attraction to attraction, across all of the Disney property. It will open your eyes to the stories behind the stories of each attraction and bring forth hundreds of secrets that Disney weaves and hides just below the surface.

Wherever you are on the Disney continuum, from your first trip to your hundred and first trip, this book will make your Disney experience all the richer. Even for the self-proclaimed Disney expert, there are numerous insider stories and details to entertain and inform you:

Forget about Hidden Mickeys: Did you know Disney's newest park Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, features a hidden Millennium Falcon? Which attraction at the Magic Kingdom has been scientifically proven to greatly aid in passing a kidney stone? What does actor Tom Selleck have to do with Epcot's lovable Figment character? Unbeknownst to Disney at the time, which country announced they were going to be the first to sponsor a pavilion at Epcot, only to have the deal fall apart? Did you know a legendary producer working on an attraction at Walt Disney World refused money as a payment? He opted for a basket of socks instead! The Wonders of Walt Disney World is a comprehensive and entertaining tour designed for both easy reading and reference.

Come discover the wonders that are hiding in plain sight!

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

270 pages, Paperback

Published January 23, 2018

About the author

Aaron H. Goldberg is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, having graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology.

He is the author of the award-winning and bestselling books, The Disney Story, Meet the Disney Brothers, and The Wonders of Walt Disney World.

Aaron has been featured in stories about Disney in CNN, The Los Angeles Times, Emirates Airlines Magazine, Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, The Dis, Imaginerding, and Inside the Magic.

He’s active on Twitter @aaronhgoldberg and has visited the Disney theme parks more times than his wallet cares to remember!

Reviews

[Julie Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring. If Disney enthusiast looking for fun, unusual facts - this is not it.

[britt_brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful guide through each Walt Disney World park, pointing out lesser known tidbits, history, Hidden Mickeys, and other general tips for navigating a well-rounded visit. Loved the organization and definitely learned a few things. Jotted several notes for our upcoming trip!

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am probably not the ideal audience for this book. It's a sort of guidebook/Disney secrets book combo, and I think it'll only be truly satisfactory for people looking for exactly that. There isn't enough specific, strategic information to make a great guidebook. (Let me suggest the Unofficial Guide if you like to be a super planner, or Passporters for a slightly less regimented vacation planning strategy.) As far as Disney secrets books go, this one is fine. There are way more comprehensive ones out there, and ones with much more specific focuses, like extinct attractions or historical easter eggs. If you just want Disney secrets, I'd suggest the Imagineering Field Guides. That said, there are a few interesting tidbits in here I hadn't seen anywhere else and the writing style is generally conversational enough to make for a quick read.

However, I have to point out that this book is heavily taken up with other people's work. There's pages upon pages that just quote trip advisor ratings for rides, and there's incredibly lengthy quotes. At one point, Goldberg pastes in a three page long quote from an article, likely almost the entire thing. Later, there's a potpuri sort of chapter that's roughly 90% quotes directly from Disney's website. I do appreciate that Goldberg at least cites his sources, but way too much of the book is just the words of other writers pasted into this book. It's really not hard to even paraphrase lightly this kind of information, and that Goldberg didn't do that kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as a tour of sorts through the book. The author greets you as if you are meeting him at the gate of Magic Kingdom. He takes you on a walk through the various parks, giving little secrets and histories about each attraction, as well as some hidden Mickeys. I enjoyed the way the author presented this as if he was a friend who was just showing you around the happiest place on earth.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this just before going to WDW for the first time in over 13 years and it was super helpfu.
Hints and tips from all the parks, transportation and all the rides and resorts. A throughly good inforamative read.

[Cedi Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a Disney fan... a HUGE and obsessed fan, who loved going through each of the lands and rides in the park to learn about behind the scenes and how they built it and why. (Probably boring if you don't love Disney Parks) (a bit outdated)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant the description completely puts you in Walt Disney world and you can imagine every detail as if you are walking round the parks yourself

[Aaron Bessmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Disney Info

This book is a great source of info on the parks and their attractions and will help you get familiar with them before you visit.

[lizeindisney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really informative book! Had lots of tips, tricks and hidden Mickey’s - albeit my copy is a little outdated, it’s a great starting point.

[Jess]

Just read it for enjoyment and it didn't disappoint. It's definitely meant for someone to take with them on their trip, and there's information I've already read in other books, but still a fun one to enjoy during a time when I needed a happy distraction.

[Gemma Searle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really quite disappointed by this book I felt it was more a guide to the parks (which I already have)rather than a celebration of all the hidden magic and stories which is what I expected