Customer Reviews

Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World, The

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Okay, this book doesn't reveal EVERYTHING--anybody want to sit through a few years of algebra and other basic engineering courses? The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World opens by descibing what an Imagineer is and does. The many disciplines are mentioned, and there is a helpful glossery in the front. The next chapter is an overview and history of Epcot (my favorite Disney theme park). The remaining chapters are: Future World Center, Future World East, Future World West, and World Showcase. In each chapter, the Imagineers describe the concept for that section of Epcot and how they developed the concept into the attractions.

A theme park is more than thrill rides--a theme park is an integrated set of stories. Colors, lighting, textures, shapes, props, scents, sounds, and even the pavement are all used to tell a story. How many shades of white are present at the American Adventure? (See pages 98-99) Why four shades instead of just one? How is forced prospective used at the American Adventure to promote realism? (Page 103) Canada and Mexico are the "bookends" to the World Showcase--see Page 95 to see what they flanked in the concept stage, and why that object moved.

Spaceship Earth evokes the 1939 World's Fair (page 31) and traces the development of communications. Page 37 reveals why Florida's frequent rainstorms don't stream down the sides of Spaceship Earth. Speaking of space, Mission:Space is described on pages 48-50.

A brief bibliography is on Page 128, and a graphic index of sorts is on the back cover. I really need my bibliographies and indexes!

I intend using "The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World" on my next Walt Disney World visit to see Epcot through the eyes of the Imagineers.

While it has a lot of information, I guess I was expecting more about Epcot attactions themselves rather than what went into the concepts about Epcot. Everything is more about concepts, but broad strokes without a lot of facts or numbers. Even the discussions about how things got off the drawing board aren't exactly intriguing to the point you say "Hmmm, that's interesting".

For instance, the coverage regarding Mission Space is like 2 pages. And with the small size of the book, that is pretty small. I would have hoped that there would have been some information about how they came up with the concept or about the mechanics of the whole ride. Instead, it was more like reading about someone thinking out loud about it and not very indepth. For a ride that costs in the hundreds of millions, I find it hard to believe that this is all they have for us.

Froced perspective seems to be about the only topic that gets in depth coverage from attraction to attraction. Yes, we know!! We get it!! All the buildings are built with forced perspective. Never heard that one before :)

I guess what you can say is that if it was written by Imagineers, the engineering discussions are quite light and its heavy on artistic concepts.

Neat and an interesting book overall. But I don't think it compares to the previous Magic Kindom guide by the Imagineers. I bought that one and I guess I was expecting more of that kind of information and facts.

This book provides so many little details to how the imagineers designed Epcot. There are concept drawings/paintings/doodles to that really allows you to see the thought process to all the details that they thought up and we often overlook. They discuss how music was chosen for Future World to why certain colors were picked for building designs. I'm a big Disney fan and am always looking for something new that I didn't already know and this book an the Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom are great.

This is a good follow-up to the field guide to the Magic Kingdom, but it lacks the depth of effort of the first in the series. The problem here is that Epcot is essentially two parks in one (Future World and the World Showcase). This could have been subdivided into two field guides or one longer field guide. There were probably spatial limitations of doing either. What happened was that the depth of analysis was limited to a cursory examination in some parts of the guide, especially the World Showcase pavilions.

The Imagineering 101 section is repeated from the first field guide. I suppose it has to be done this way until the "Super Deluxe All Inclusive Field Guide to WDW" with all four theme parks, the water parks, the Downtown Disney area, and (potentially) the cruise ships is released. Cleverly, the example photos for the 101 section are now Epcot-related, so there is some additional value to repeating it in the context of the new guide.

Of course, for every Imagineer wannabe this is a "must have".
I can't wait for the Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom field guides.

This book was great! It explains the reasoning behind why and how all the current attractions were constructed. I would have liked to see a little more on the past and the potential for future attractions, but it was good. They spent a considerable amount of time on world showcase and not as much on future world. Also, forced perspective is one of the strong topics - they must explain it 5 times. Regardless of the disappointments, it was overall an interesting look into the concepts of what went into Epcot.

I also own the Field Guide to Magic Kingdom. I found that to be a more detailed but, but with the expansive size of Epcot, that could be part of the problem with a lack of detail. All in all a good book, but only skims the information/history of EPCOT. So I would recommend it as a good place to start learning about EPCOT.

I'm a certified Disney nut who enjoys reading about anything Disney - films, Walt, and (of course) Walt Disney World. That said, I bought "The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom" about a year ago, and I really enjoy it. I think it evokes the magical feeling you get when you walk down Main Street USA. If you can't be in The World, taking a virtual walk through it isn't a bad option.

Since I enjoyed that book so much, I wanted to buy the "Epcot" version. I was curious to see how good a job it would do at describing Epcot's origins - IE, go back to the EPCOT days and discuss Walt's determination to build a city that would function more efficiently than the cities of his day did. I thought the book did a decent job with that. It doesn't spend a huge amount of time on the subject, but I think that's appropriate. It's meant to be a happy (and brief) overview of a neat place, not an avenue through which to lament the EPCOT that could have been.

Epcot visitors will expect the book to be divided into two basic sections - Future World and World Showcase. It is. It talks about the three different sections of Future World (East, West, and Central), and it provides information on each World Showcase pavilion. Other topics - like Kidcot stops and Illuminations - are also considered. Tidbits of information are presented on all major attractions. I thought that it skimped a little bit on a couple of headliners, particularly Mission: Space and Test Track.

The biggest 'con' I associate with this book is that, for me, it fails to evoke the feeling that you get when you're at Epcot. The biggest 'pro' is that it's an informative, fun read about Walt Disney's most ambitious undertaking. For $10, it's a worthwhile addition to your Disney library.

These books tell you all about the story behind Disney World like Pirates Of the Caribbean's Never ending game of chess.

This book has amazing information on the building of Epcot...what went into it and how it grew from conception to finalization. A great Disney lover book!

The Imagineering Guide to Epcot at WDW is a great book for those who would like information about EPCOT behind the scenes, from the point of view of those who helped to build it. Touches like where to look for hidden Mickeys and unique features of the park. I highly recommend it for guests who are new to the Disney parks.