Customer Reviews

Disneyland Detective: An Independent Guide to Discovering Disney's Legend, Lore, and Magic

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm very torn about this book. On one hand, it's full of fascinating trivia and historical details, including locations and descriptions of hidden Mickeys in the park (a subject not well covered by any other printed Disneyland guide), and since it's a trade paperback, it would be easy to carry into the park for reading in lines. On the other hand, it's poorly written and terribly copy-edited: misspellings, sentence fragments, misused words, incorrect punctuation.

On the basis of the contents of the book, I would have given it 4 stars, but the copy editing is so bad that I had to downgrade it to 3. I hope that if there's a second edition, the publisher will fix some of the many errors. On the whole, though, I'd recommend this book as a worthwhile addition to a Disneyland book
collection.

This book may be packed with lots of information, although not all of it is correct, the editing is extremely poor. There are numerous missing words, incorrect grammar, incorrect punctuation, mis-used words, and spelling mistakes. I find it very hard to believe that this book was actually published in its current state. I wonder if the publisher and/or author were just trying to profit from the Disney name?

Some of the information about Walt Disney World is incorrect. The book states that the Astro Orbitor attraction in Florida is called Star Jets. It is called Astro Orbiter. The book also states that on the Florida Space Mountain riders ride side-by-side; they don't. Riders sit one behind the other on the Florida Space Mountain.

The book also has a sidebar that states that Walt Disney produced "Island at the Top of the World" in 1974; that would have been a little hard since Walt Disney passed away in 1966.

This book needs better editing and needs the content to be reviewed to make sure it is accurate. It still does have some good information in it, but I'd recommend waiting for an updated version (and check it out first before you buy it).

My kids and I enjoyed reading this book while on vacation to Disneyland last week, especially looking for the hidden Mickeys. Nevertheless, the poor proofreading with many spelling and grammatical errors made me wonder: If the author/editor/publisher can't even publish a book that's proofread accurately, how can the reader trust the accuracy of the stories, anecdotes and "facts" in this book? The author even thanks the editor in the introduction!
Nevertheless, the price is right, and with the above caveats, I can recommend this book as a fun supplement to a Disneyland vacation.

I LOVE books about Disneyland. I read them frequently. I was especially excited when this book came out. However, as others have noted in their reviews, this book contains NUMEROUS factual and grammatical mistakes. While this book contains a lot of good, interesting information, much of it has been duplicated in other works on the subject and, furthermore, I question the accuracy of the information contained in the book due to the other errors. However, it is worth noting that from a design standpoint, this book is laid out in a rather attractive manner. Overall, I must say that I was dissapointed.

I love Disneyland lore, legends, facts, fiction, even rumor. Thus, it's easy for me to delve into a tome which will dabble in some, if not all of the above. As other reviewers have noted, some of the tidbits of information in this book are terrific fun. But, alas, my wife is due some sleep as she was awakened by my frequent, "ARRRGH", "OH! MY GOD!", and "WHO EDITED THIS?!"



I suppose, Dear Reader, you're getting the point; the writer may have the research down, but needs to exercise her editing and spelling chops. I believe there is some manner of a "...for Dummies" book that may help, tho im not shur wich won.

The long lines can be murderous during the summer months. This book made the time fly. My children were so busy looking for hidden mickeys and reading up on lessons to learn that it made waiting fun. Sometimes the lines moved too fast for us to read everything regarding the attractions. When I wanted to go shopping the kids were busy looking up the people on Main Street. The book was the perfect distraction for the mom who wanted a few minutes to shop or get a break.

If you go to Disneyland just to ride the rides, you?re missing most of the experience. In Disneyland Detective, Kendra Trahan has created a remarkable resource that reveals the depth of history and development that make Disneyland special, including:

-the ?Disney legends? who designed and built the park (and who now are honored in the windows of Main Street USA).

-the Hidden Mickeys that designers created in the park, creating an opportunity to search for the hidden elements as if solving a puzzle.

-the stories behind the attractions that make each a special treat.

I?ve been a frequent visitor at Disneyland since 1986, and I was amazed at the details about Disneyland I found in Disneyland Detective.

With this book you can tour Disneyland at a whole new level of understanding, and see the wealth of the Disney culture and appreciate the painstaking detail put into the construction and maintenance of the theme park. I recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Disneyland, and to all who have been there and have a curiosity about the amazing talents who turned Walt?s dream into reality.

This book was amazing! Kendra put a lot of effort in separating her book from other guides to Disneyland. I have not seen a guide as informative or creative as this one. Besides providing simple guide tips (found in every Disney guide book) this book goes above and beyond the basic knowledge of Disneyland.

Disneyland Detective entertains guests while in line by detailing props used in the lines of the attractions to directing guests to hidden mickeys. For the guests seeking to acquire knowledge can find lessons to learn, informative of the bonds between lessons and attractions. My favorite being on page 110. Chapter 3 Above Main Street introduces the public to the very creative people behind Disneyland and thier personal stories. This alone is worth the price of the book.

Disneyland Detective is an incredible addition to anybody's trip to Disneyland! This book has a lot to offer but don't just take my word for it, check it out for yourself.

We took this book w/ us to Disneyland and found it very useful. While there, we took the "Walk in Walt's footsteps" tour and found that it covered a lot of what was in the book. One of the tour guides even commented on what a good book this one is. The only downfall is that we couldn't find many of the Hidden Mickeys. We were told by a cast memeber that Disneyland doesn't have official Hidden Mickeys and that if there is one on one day, it might be gone the next. We still had fun looking for them!

I am a CM from WDW. I don't claim to be an expert, though probably so than most people. I've read easily 40 plus books about the Disney parks all over the world, about Imagineering and the history of the company as a whole. So I'm very torn on this book.

First problem, grammar, punctuation and editing mistakes are abound in this book.

Then second, there factual mistakes. Granted most of them have to do when the books references Disney World. One thing that bugs me a lot is it's bit of history and design about Big Thunder Mountain. According to an official Imagineering book in the Disney mountains, about half of it was wrong. I find these errors interesting considering the massive bibliography at the end.

Thirdly, and most understandable is how outdated this book is, even though it's only six years old.

Overall, the amount if content that is wrong isn't more than 5 to 10% of information, but it still is glaring and makes it difficult to take the whole book as accurate. Despite this, the content is pretty thorough and interesting. It COULD be a great book with some edits and fact checking.

I do not recommend this book. There are newer, more accurate and interesting books, especially from Disney.