Walt Disney World Hidden History

by Kevin Yee

Everyone can list their favorite former attractions at Walt Disney World. What if you could still have a glimpse of those treasured rides even today? This book will expose the remnants of previous rides and attractions still visible at Walt Disney World, including many elements that were folded into the shows and rides that replaced them. There are also numerous intentional reproductions of parts of former rides, planted as a kind of ultimate inside joke. That's not all. Interwoven with these remnants is a rich tapestry of homages throughout the Walt Disney World parks, there to pay respect to the designers, artists, and engineers who built these magical realms. These references are often hidden in plain sight, and many are given without explanation. This book will uncover so many tributes and homages, you'll forever see the Disney parks in a whole new light.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2010

About the author

Kevin Yee worked for 15 years at Disneyland in a variety of roles (restaurant management, entertainment) and has written regularly about Disney theme parks since 1997 on Web sites, magazine articles, and blogs. He has written over two dozen books about Disney. He lives in Central Florida, and he visits the Disney parks dozens of times per year with his family.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for hardcore Disneyphiles. As the title says, the author mainly charts the signs and hints of former attractions at Disney World. Some of it any respecting Disneyphile would know, such as the FSU gopher. But there's also some incredibly obscure trivia in here, and much of it was new to me. Did you know there's a wave machine at the bottom of the Seven Seas Lagoon? The bulk of the information is concentrated in the Magic Kingdom. Only natural, since MK is far older than any of the other parks. It's hardly surprising that the section on Animal Kingdom is the shortest, but there's still quite a bit there. There's also a short section with a few interesting factoids about Universal. The book is most fun when reading a totally new fact, or when remembering what came before. The one drawback is that the pictures are small, black and white, and often grainy. This would be a fantastic book to haul around the park.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. Many things I already knew, but there was a lot of new information too. I would have liked him to go into more detail about more of the old rides, though. I hope he releases a new edition because this one is already dated (ex: Tiki Room is no longer "Under New Management").

[Sarah Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any Disney Fan! This book is full of great information about the Disney parks!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great details that most people would overlook when touring the parks. I am definitely going to check some of them out next time I am in the world.

[Alex Baron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was published around the time I was a WDW cast member. Brings back good memories. Unfortunately, that was a while ago now and it makes both the book and I dated. Also, at least two of the facts presented in the book have been shown to being untrue and were simply popular rumours. So while fun, it loses some points for accuracy and relevancy.

[Kent Archie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of little stories about interesting things in WDW. Hidden Mickeys, references to important Disney people

[kylajaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Walt Disney World is its own gigantic city (and is, in fact, larger than some states), so it stands to reason that, much like a gigantic city, there will be remnants of days and years past lurking around every turn in WDW. Kevin Yee shows us what's behind every nook and cranny in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. He even includes an extra chapter for a few Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure tidbits. Like most Disney trivia books (at least the ones I've read), this one includes soooo much of the Imagineers' stamps on everything. That's nice... But I've never been a girl who is particularly curious about, say, every single person involved in the making of a movie. I didn't quite realize what this book was when I ordered it, but I'm glad there are pictures and it is a nice, quick read. This book will thrill diehards and leave others a bit glassy-eyed. But I did learn some things I didn't know, such as that a Roger Rabbit section was originally planned for DHS. Read this if you can't get enough of Disney trivia. Those who have frequented the parks for years already know that almost every detail you find in the parks and hotels has a hidden message... That's the nature of Disney.

[Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es interesante para leer especialmente si se va a Disney, es sabido que los parques tienen muchisima historia y muchisimos detalles que si bien están a simple vista tienen una larga historia oculta a los ojos de los visitantes.

El libro no solo cuenta buenas historias y tiene imagenes de las partes que hablan para asociar lo que te cuenta con lo que se ve en los parques.

De todas formas no es un libro 5 estrellas porque lo veo demasiado centrado en Magic Kingdom, Disney tiene otros 3 grandes parques y creo que el libro se olvida un poco de ellos y se flecha mucho a Magic Kingdom.

Si son fans de Disney, les gustan los parques o van a viajar a Walt Disney World en poco tiempo este pequeño librito es un lectura obligada.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is very right, the magic of Disney is in the details. This book gives a really nice incite into some of those details. It gives particular focus to where you can find tributes to the imagineers and other people influential in the building of the Disney empire, and to tributes to opening dates. There were some wonderful gems in there that I didn't know and was excited to read about, and there were some things that are already outdated, which is to be expected when you're talking about an ever evolving set of theme parks.

Overall, I liked it, but did not love it like I have loved other books like this.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dry, reads like a fact book. However, the content is unique and quite interesting, not the same material covered in every other Disney guide. I can't imagine where or how Yee came up with all the tidbits of information in here. Unfortunately it's quantity over quality, each piece is only about a paragraph long. Certain sections left you wishing the author included more of the backstory or stories of the people involved. The layout of the book is pretty simple too, maybe on the second printing the can invest additional money into a more stylish presentation.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Like reading about things that use to be at Walt Disney World. The Disney i went to when i was in 4th grade was different when i went to in '95 and is different now. The History of the old rides and what is left of them is very enlightening. I enjoyed a lot

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in depth, interesting look at the references and details that make the park come alive.

My only issue was the overuse of some phrases (yes, I know any mention of '71 is not an accident) that made things seem s little repetitive. Otherwise, a fun read and a great resource.

[Shannon Pauley · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting! makes me want to go to Disney and find all these hidden treasures

[Jessica]

For Disney history geeks!