Customer Reviews

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I enjoy books about Disney and normally don't judge them harshly.

But people should be warned about this one. In just the first couple dozen pages, there are numerous items that are out of date. It's kind of sad that families will go searching for the old-fashioned phone in the General Store, will go to awaken Tinker Bell in the Fantasyland shop, will go to see Tink in the keyhole of the sewing table there, the wooden leg on the lost and found shelf at the Frontierland station -- when all of these features have been removed over a year ago. In addition to being outdated, the information is sometimes just wrong. For instance, it isn't true that "WDW imagineers could not dig a basement in Orlando as they did at Disneyland in California ..." There are no utilidors in Disneyland. (Walt was frustrated to see a cowboy walking through Tomorrowland on his way to work in Frontierland in Disneyland -- since there was no other way to cross the park. And the idea for the WDW ultidors was born!)

If I can spot things that are wrong, I wonder what a real Disney expert would find. The editing was skethcy, too. For instance, the red and green faces of Cinderella's evil stepsisters are "belying" their anger and jealousy. "Belying" means hiding or contracting. What the author meant was "revealing."

Unfortunately, this book is a regurgitation of all the "WDW Secrets" lists on the Internet. Some of the items on those list aren't legitimate. For instance, the three-circled cut-out shapes in the stone wall that curves along the walkways to the front of the castle - at no time of day do they cast a Mickey-shaped shadow on the ground. I read about this online a couple of years ago and went on many occasions to the castle to see the shadows. I kept coming back to check. I asked castmembers. It doesn't happen.

As a long time Disney fan, I've devoted a lot of time to my Disney obsession, both on vacation and at home (so much so, that I met my wife on a Walt Disney World fan site). I've read so many Walt Disney World guide books that they all look alike to me anymore. The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World is not a Disney World guide book intended to teach you how to get around the parks and when the best time to ride Dumbo is. What this book does is point out a lot of the overlooked and hidden details about the park. Many of the details that the average guest may look right at, failing to understand what they're looking at or why it's there, and failing to appreciate the meaning of it as a result. This book points out the painstaking detail the imagineers design into the park in an attempt to maintain an authentic atmosphere, or to ensure you truly *feel* the emotions they want you to feel at that moment, thus, allowing you to truly experience the magic. This book is for those who have reached the point where they wander through the parks, no longer paying close attention to their surroundings as a result of a mistaken belief that they've seen all there is to see in the parks. It will elevate their appreciation to another level and is a must have addition to any Walt Disney World fan's bookshelf!

I'm always happy to learn more trivia about my favorite place on Earth, so I picked this book up as soon as I found out about it. I think I wanted to be blown away by all sorts of hidden secrets, but probably half of the items in here I already knew about or had noticed before. That said, there were still several new things that I'll be looking for on our upcoming trip.

The style of the book is basically a walkthrough of the four parks with the aim to draw your attention to all the wonderful details at WDW. There are interesting tidbits throughout about why things are designed the way they are and how the Imagineering mindset works. My favorite part was a breakdown of the history of each park, walking through nearly year by year and detailing when attractions/parades opened and closed. I love that kind of stuff.

Overall, a nice book and a worthy read for the WDW fan.

Hi, my wife and I have been going to WDW every year since 92', and have read a lot of books about the parks, and I think this is one of the best, a lot of Disney Imagioneer secrets that were laid out when they were creating the parks, rides & attractions, and that are right in front of you, but you have to know what to look for, and this book has a lot of info in that regard. Well put together, and easy to read, I learned a lot and look forward to looking for a lot of these hidden secrets on this year's trip.

This is a fantastic and fun to read book.
It is full of little odds and ends and interesting tid-bits about all of the Disney World parks such as the accuracy and historically correct design of the different areas of the Magic Kingdom.
I liked it so much, I ordered a second one for a family member.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been going to Disney World ever since I was a newborn. This is the first time I purchased a book about Disney World because I wanted to know a little bit more about the place i love. The book has a lot of really interesting facts, but there are so many little facts that the book gets a little complicated to read. The book, at some points is described as if you are walking through each of the parks, and unless you vividly remember each section, you're not going to know what the author is talking about. I suggest reading the book with the virtual map of Disney World that you can find online or through google earth, it makes it less confusing because you "see" exactly what the author is talking about. Overall this book got 4 stars from me because it presented some interesting facts but didn't need to include the initials of every imagineer that ever created anything....

I am a genuine Disneyophile -- I've been to Walt Disney World at least once a year since it opened in 1971. So most Disney books are more like a familiar stroll with an old friend. But this book had plenty of secrets that even I didn't know!

No matter which Disney park is your favorite, you'll know all kinds of new fun facts and trivia. This will make your next (or first) trip to Disney World even more special!

What a great book. I like how it was broken down by park and ride or attraction. Lots of great information and very fun to read. I loved reading about the stories behind the rides and attractions. If you are a fan of Walt Disney World I highly recommend this book.

Growing up in Florida, Ive been to WDW several times, more than I can remember, and even several since moving out of FL. Even so, I love going to WDW - there always seems to be something new and the `magical' feeling never gets old. This book by Veness is filled with information that I never knew or even cared about as a child, but as an adult, the creation of WDW and more of its technical information is very interesting.

Alot of the things in here are not new secrets or even that blatantly hidden in the park. It could even be said they are common knowledge or sometimes not even true, but it is good to remember some of those things.

The book is laid out as a walkthru of all 4 parks and starts you as you enter the gate and walk thru the park as a `normal' guest. There are snippets of knowledge from the `Imagineers' who created the park and why things are designed or laid out the way they are. Having an interest in construction and history, I loved reading about Walt Disney's inspiration, dreams and ideas for the parks. Those ideas that came to fruition and those that didnt. The book also chronicles each year since opening date and what was added or deleted to each park.

We enjoyed reading this book on our way to Walt Disney World...then we enjoyed using it as we were visiting the parks! We visit the parks often, and this has been a fun way to learn more while we are there! Great book!