Anaheim Vacationland

by David O'Neal

Anaheim Vacationland tells the story of the area that surrounds Disneyland. The motels, shops, places to eat, the crazy extinct attractions like the Japanese Deer Park, Wax Museums, and so forth. The large full color 244 page book is a visit to a crazed time when everyone and his brother wanted to cash in on the success of Disneyland! When Walt Disney chose Anaheim as the city to build Disneyland in, everyone in the public and his own friends, thought he was crazy. All that was in Anaheim in 1955 was farm fields and dusty old roads. All that changed drastically in 1955 when the new theme park opened. Anaheim was now known as Vacationland. In this second edition of the sold out book by David Oneal, you will be treated to a treasure trove of historical photos, and first hand accounts of the effect that Disneyland had on Anaheim. Disney legend Bob Gurr, Marty Skylar, Buzz Price (the man who decided on Anaheim as the place to build Disneyland) and other Disney historians like Don Ballard and David Oneal take the reader from the Anaheim boom town of the 1950's and 60's to the decay of the 70's and 80's and eventual rebirth as the resort district that is today. 244 full color pages with amazing images of the Space motels, Tiki Motels, western motels and googie buildings! Plus explore the history of the Movieland Wax Museum, Japanese Deer Park and other areas of Vacationland.

244 pages, paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Pictorial history of the Anaheim area, mostly post-1955 to current day, covering not only Disneyland, but the surrounding hotel/motels, dining establishments and other attractions. Contains a great selection of postcards and other advertising ephemera. The proofreading left a LOT to be desired (typos galore), but the information and underlying story is a worthwhile read.

The author & his brother lived in many of the run-down motels surrounding Disneyland in the mid 1980's - their annual passes to the park allowed them an escape from their lives until their mother abandoned them - some of the proceeds from this book, as well as other Extinct Attractions projects, go to help "motel families" living in similar situations.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you remember the Anaheim that surrounded Disneyland in the early years, you must add this book to your Disney collection. The only thing keeping it from five stars are a handful of typos. My copy is the second edition. Let's hope these typos are corrected for the third edition.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this book for free for my Kindle. It was interesting, but left me wanting more. I have purchased some of David O"Neal's extinct attraction dvds and even preordered a book that has yet to be finished or delivered. I just wanted more information. Good luck to David and his projects.