Originally Posted By Big Thunder ecdc, thanks for waking up my memory bank. I stated "the Disneyland Story' I meant "Disneyland, The INSIDE Story" I agree that Nickel Tour is a slight step up from Inside Story and easier to find as it is not officially out of print as Inside Story is. BTW the later blue cover is the same book, basically only the postcard listings are updated in the blue cover edition. Oh yeah, for those that don't know, the Nickel Tour is titled that based on post cards once costing a nickel at DL. There are great pictures starting with the first postcards from the park through about the year 2000? The stories are based around the pictures and those eras of the park. If your a Disneyland souvenir collector as I am, this is a great catalog of DL postcards.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins >>>My personal favorite is the "Liar's Guide to Disneyland," from the same guy who brought you disneylies.com. It claims to be "97% fact free."<<< Didn't that author post to this site when his book came out? If that was him, I enjoyed his excerpt. Thanks for mentioning the book because I had forgotten about it and I wanted to get it. I also like Walt Disney Imagineering, and Designing Disney's Theme Parks.
Originally Posted By monorailblue Disneyland: Inside Story and Disneyland: the Nickel Tour are two must-haves if you are going to be a Disney nut like most of us. Another that I'm told is excellent is the even-harder-to-find is Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness, by Van Arsdale France. (I've never seen or read this book, but have heard spectacular things about it.) All three of these books are available at www.biblio.com, which I never knew about until last summer, but is a great resource for finding books. Nickel Tour has been out of print for several years and is still out of print. I found a brand new copy at the aforementioned website and was delighted. A great online article about a great library of Disney books can be found at: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/24s4tp" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/24s4tp</a>
Originally Posted By ABBY How about "Walt Disney, an American Original". It has been a while since I read it but if I am remembering correctly it contained quite a bit of historical information about Disneyland
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Another that I'm told is excellent is the even-harder-to-find is Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness, by Van Arsdale France. (I've never seen or read this book, but have heard spectacular things about it.)<< It is excellent, but definitely tougher to find.
Originally Posted By 8 ilovemickey 8 My mouse tale books are on there way. Thought I would start there! Can't wait! I couldn't get the Hidden Mickey's book I guess it's not out yet. And I think I will get Designing Disney next!
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Definitely NOT on par with The Nickel Tour or Inside Disneyland, but perhaps worth looking up if you continue to read or collect DL books... "The Architecture Of Reassurance" Actually, this one might be a good one to check out of a library and peruse leisurely for a few weeks. It's largely about design, mostly NOT about the Parks, and is pretty stilted in parts. It's a collection of essays, not something that flows smoothly through chapters. All that said... It contains interesting information on the genesis of the Parks and their features. Behind The Magic: 50 Years of Disneyland This book was produced as the companion piece/souvenir guide to the museum exhibit of the same name. The exhibit was co-produced by Disney and The Henry Ford, and contains a wealth of interesting, seldom-seen artifacts from DL's history. I personally didn't find either the exhibit or the book to be as well-organized as I'd've liked, but there's no denying that some of the content and text is wonderful to see. The book is published by The Henry Ford and may or may not be available commercially now. I think it's on eBay, though.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 I was able to buy "Behind The Magic: 50 Years of Disneyland" directly from the Henry Ford, and it was reasonable. You had better do it sooner rather than later though to be sure they don't run out or stop carrying them. As for the Nickel Tour, it's definately ot of print. Camphor Tree Publishing seems to have gone out of business because of the death of David Mumford, I believe. They still have a website, but the links have been disabled to purchase the books, and emails go unanswered. So, your options are a bit more limited for it now.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 The Henry Ford has already stopped selling BTM:50. I'm pretty certain they didn't sell out; THF just made room for newer merchandise. I honestly don't know whether to expect to see the books again at THF, at liquidators, or what. The exhibit opens at the Union Station Kansas City October 14 (through January 15, 2008). Perhaps the book will be available there.
Originally Posted By alexbook Nobody's mentioned Michael Broggie's books yet. "Walt Disney's Railroad Story" certainly looks impressive, but I haven't actually read it. <a href="http://www.carolwood.org/store/books/" target="_blank">http://www.carolwood.org/store /books/</a> >>I didn't think about checking the book store in Downtown Disney I will do that!<< FYI, Compass Books in DTD is *not* owned by Disney. On the up side, this means we can stock unauthorized titles like "Mouse Tales" and "Disneyland Detective." On the down side, this means we can't get some Disney titles like "Disneyland: Then, Now and Forever." You can get some of the "park exclusive" titles at the World of Disney store in DTD or through DelivEars or the LP store. [I work for Compass, but not at the DTD store, hence my occasionally inconsistent use of the first person plural. ;-)] >>BTW, I have mixed feelings about the Mouse Tales books.[...] But it is so selective on presenting tawdry stories only - they're weird books.<< I got that feeling more from the second one than the first. The first dished dirt lovingly, if that's possible, and also mixed in positive and negative "secrets". Not unlike a lot of the postings on LP. >>>>>My personal favorite is the "Liar's Guide to Disneyland," from the same guy who brought you disneylies.com. It claims to be "97% fact free."<<< Didn't that author post to this site when his book came out? If that was him, I enjoyed his excerpt. Thanks for mentioning the book because I had forgotten about it and I wanted to get it.<< He's posted here as Liar. Here's his description of how to tour Disneyland while only turning left: <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T-82495-P-2.asp" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/Ms gBoard-T-82495-P-2.asp</a> >>I couldn't get the Hidden Mickey's book I guess it's not out yet.<< Looks like the official publication date has been pushed back from May to June. :-( >>Oh yeah, for those that don't know, the Nickel Tour is titled that based on post cards once costing a nickel at DL.<< "Nickel tour" is a widely used idiom for a brief guided tour. Maybe it originated at Disneyland? <a href="http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/nickel+tour.html" target="_blank">http://www.usingenglish.com/re ference/idioms/nickel+tour.html</a>
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I just finished reading and skimming through "Disneyland Hotel, The Early Years, 1054-1988" by Donald W. Ballard. It's a good "coffee table" book. The first two thirds of the book is very interesting. Unfortunately the rest is like reading a High School report (sorry to anyone who might know the author, just MHO) it's almost as if the author needed to fill in the space just to keep up with all the photographs to be included There are lots of wonderful photos of the construction of the hotel, the early days, each addition, what the rooms looked like, etc. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Disneyland: Then, Now and Forever, which came out for the 50th is pretty good and still available, but I thought the one that came out for the 40th, "Disneyand: Dreams, traditions, transitions" was better. Particularly nice was a timeline they had through the years for all the lands. It's an official Disney book, so long on pictures and a little light on text, but I liked the text better than the 50th book. Probably hard to find except on ebay, though.
Originally Posted By monorailblue I almost forgot: Disneyland: The First Quarter Century is a great book about Disneyland's earlier years. It has some really great photos of long gone Attractions, eateries, costumes, etc. An e-bay or biblio search will usually turn up a copy or two available.
Originally Posted By x Pirate_Princess x I just won Walt Disney: An American Original on eBay. $4.25 plus $3.50 shipping.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I just finished reading and skimming through "Disneyland Hotel, The Early Years, 1054-1988">> Good thing they refurbish the place every so often!
Originally Posted By dresswhites my favorite book on disneyland is Randy bright's disneyland inside story. i feel this books gives one of the best comprehensive history of disneyland. also it contains great pictures. most of what i know of disneyland i learned from this book. also at the end it gives a complete rundown of the year attractions opens, which was really interesting. the railroad story by michael broggie and the two books devoted to pirates and mansion respectively are also great books. i like these three books, because they give a detailed history of the particular attraction the book is covering.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>>>I couldn't get the Hidden Mickey's book I guess it's not out yet.<< Looks like the official publication date has been pushed back from May to June. :-(<< Our copies of "Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys" showed up today. Check your local bookstore.
Originally Posted By nemopoppins Aaaahhhh! I just learned that there's now a 3rd edition to Disney A to Z. Do you think it's worth getting if I already have the second edition?
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 Another update: I checked recently with The Henry Ford about the availability of the "50 Years of Magic" book. It looks as though the availability may now be "none." After the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland exhibit left the Museum, THF offered the books at a clearance price. The books are gone now, and the Gift Shop lead told me that their usual "remainder" buyer passed on this one. Unclear if they've been destroyed or will be sold to another distributor.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes Just my opinion: I think the best book on Disneyland is Randy Bright's "Disneyland, The Inside Story". To me it ranks just a scant above "Disneyland: the Nickel Tour" and I'm sure that's just a question of taste. For me, it's because Randy didn't restrict himself to the theme of the nickel postcards (which was a brilliant theme, I think). So he gets into quite a bit of the pre-Ananaheim concepts, which I like. My next favorite was also mentioned: "Disneyland, The First Quarter Century" (forgive me if I'm butchering these titles, I'm not looking them up, but I'm sure you know what books I'm talking about). After that, get your hands on every issue of The "E" Ticket Magazine as you can. The out-of-print back issues are available on CD. If you haven't already subscribed, what the heck is the matter with you??? Beyond that, I have a library full of the old hard and soft bound Disneyland books from the sixties and seventies, and just about everything that's ever been published on Pirates of the Caribbean. Just keep going to eBay, and you'll eventually get all you want.
