Secrets of Disneyland: Weird and Wonderful Facts about the Happiest Place on Earth

by Dinah Williams

Ever since Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California in 1955, Disney's Imagineers have worked nonstop to make sure every family enjoys a magical experience. Secrets of Disneyland reveals tons of behind-the-scenes tidbits about the theme park, along with fascinating facts that make it the Happiest Place on Earth. Filled with bright photos, fun quizzes, and information on everything from Main Street, U.S.A. to Mickey's Toontown and Frontierland, it's the perfect guide for planning the perfect visit! 
Where else can you :
- Visit a haunted mansion that's home to 999 spooks?
- Plummet five stories in a log flume?
- Fly over London in a pirate ship?
- See 1,000 fountains that can shoot water up to 200 feet into the air?

 

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Childrens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Dinah Williams, an editor and children's book author, is fascinated by odd and unusual stories. Her nonfiction books include Terrible but True: Awful Events in American History; Secrets of Walt Disney World; and Spooky Cemeteries, which won the 2009 Children's Choice Award. Dinah's newest book, True Hauntings Deadly Disasters, is coming from Scholastic in 2020. She lives in Cranford, NJ with her husband and daughters, who hate all things scary.

Reviews

[Michelle Van Dyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fritos were invented at Disneyland!
Radiator Springs Racers cost 200 milion to build!
Fantasmic! costs 75k every night to produce!
The poisoned apple kept getting stolen in Snow White's scary ride so that's why it's holographic now!
The drawbridge on Cinderella's castle has only been lowered twice!
There used to be a basketball court inside Matterhorn bobsleds for the cast members!
The first woman to be Tinkerbell in a flying show was a 70 year old woman!
Lots of fun facts and a quick read!

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally taking some of our kids here. Basically it’s only because my sisters are going and we are always up for another excuse to travel.

Anyway. My diehard Disneyland sister insisted I read this before we go so I’m properly prepared. She’s also making me watch some Disney cartoon movies. Grrr. The things we do for family. Ha!

[MB · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! Cute little book with lots of easy to read Disney trivia. Small and light enough to carry in the park and peruse while waiting in line, and contained facts that even Disney pass holders like my friends and family did not yet know. Worth noting that this book is slightly outdated - since it's publication, the park now includes Pixar Pier, Galaxy's Edge, Avengers Campus, and a few other renovations - however, the majority of the facts hold true, and it's still a worthy addition to a Disney trip.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It had some fun and fascinating facts about the happiest place on earth, but not as many unique facts as I would enjoy. It's a nice, yet very short, visual book that can be read in one quick sitting or can be easily flipped through and skimmed. Would recommend (as long as you know that it'll make you want to plan a trip to Disneyland!).

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of fun facts and trivia about Disneyland. For instance, I didn’t know Doritos were invented there. A nice read to prep for an upcoming trip, though being over 10 years old now, it is a bit dated.

[Katy Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book! I read the entire thing while standing in line for Sunday (July 16) of the D23 Expo 2017! My uncle got it for me for Christmas and I saved it just for the occasion.

It was a very easy book, definitely for children. Unfortunately, being the Disneyland Know-it-All that I am, I found myself correcting it quite often. Not that every fact was wrong - just a few. It was a bit disheartening to think that some child might read the book and get the wrong fact out of it.

Other than that, I enjoyed this quick little read! :)

[Mac Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun facts about the Happiest Place on Earth. If you're planning a trip, it will change the way you look at things in the park.

[Courtney King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this because I am going to Disneyland later this month and I wanted to get hyped. It definitely worked! Cute book.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun facts

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and quick read, mainly a compilation of statistics rather than secrets. Fun trivia facts!

[Brandon McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun little book. Got this as we are planning a trip and thought it would be fun. Lots of cool history facts and a few ideas for our visit.

[Brandyn]

am i counting this towards my reading goal? yes, yes i am. mind your business

[Christine Deeths · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Disney and was very excited to read this book. I was however overall disappointed. There were not many facts. It was really very simple and only took 15 minutes or less cover to cover.

[Mishon · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book with the word “secrets” in the title, it was pretty lacklustre. There were a small handful of quite interesting tidbits, just enough to keep you reading

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felt so powerful reading this as a kid lol I thought I knew top secret information that nobody else knew.

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I knew less about Disneyland than Disney World - but that was a LOT that I didn't know.

And some that I didn't want to know. That hidden Mickey stuff is a little creepy. Don't even get me started on that Country Bear Jamboree. brrrrrr

Now I want to make Tigger Tails - I foresee some candy-making in my future.

[Caty Molnar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walt had a grand idea of creating Disneyland and bringing the magic to life. The “Secrets of Disneyland” provides so many fun facts about Disneyland, which everything from Disneyland has been influenced by Walt and the creations from Disney Enterprises. I could not stop turning the page each page was filled with bright colors and fun facts. Also, this book is very interactive with trivia and crosswords. I have been to Disneyland every year since I was five and I thought I knew everything about the happiest place on Earth. One of my favorite facts about Disneyland is above the fire station is an apartment that was for Walt. He would stay there and if he light was on then he was there. After his death the light in apartment has remained on like Walt is still watching over his dream. That just makes my heart melt.

[Scott Butki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book checked out by my charge but since I grew up near Disneyland and went there multiple times I checked it out too and...
it's a fun read esp for those who've been there.
Among the "secrets": There are pictures of Mickey Mouse hidden around Disneyland, there are 200 wild cats who live at Disneyland
to help get rid of rats and among the oddest lost and found items are a waterbed and a toilet seat.

[Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little book with neat facts! I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Disneyland history and lore. Or even if you just want to find some Hidden Mickeys at Disneyland.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book of disney secrets!

[Marie Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have never been to disneyland it is a fun book to read however any true fanatic would already know these "secrets" and know that some are incorrect. Nonetheless still a good read.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were actually a lot of fun information in this book. My wife and I enjoyed reading this together.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found an incorrect fact towards the beginning of the book, so it was hard to take the rest of it seriously. The Hall of Presidents is at Walt Disney World, not Disneyland!

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read. Interesting facts about Disneyland. Nothing that will help plan a trip, but maybe it will ramp up your excitement for a trip.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maiku:

Interesting tips
and background info; packed with
Disneyland details.