Secrets Of The Mouse: An Unofficial Behind-The-Scenes Guide To Disneyland Park [Paperback]

Alan Joyce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2008

This guide is intended to be a look at the magic behind the magic of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, and will give the reader a greater appreciation for the incredible efforts and innovations that create the Disneyland experience. If seeing how a magic trick works spoils the fun for you, then you might want to try another guide. However, if you find yourself asking "How do they do that?" when you see an oncoming boulder in Indiana Jones or translucent ghosts in the Haunted Mansion, this guide is here to satisfy your curiosity. This guidebook includes: Behind-the-scenes information for every attraction in the park. Tips on where to spot the special touches and inside jokes. A comprehensive list of the most notable Hidden Mickeys in Disneyland. Puzzles and games to be played while waiting in line for specific rides.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Joyce is a writer, podcaster, and photographer. His recent projects have included a collection of informational podcasts and two guidebooks for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (August 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438290942
• ISBN-13: 978-1438290942
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect guidebook for use at Disneyland, September 10, 2008

By 

Dave "Davelandweb" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets Of The Mouse: An Unofficial Behind-The-Scenes Guide To Disneyland Park (Paperback)

What a fantastic aid for Disneyland guests, whether first-time visitors or die-hard fans. The book is very well organized, the information concise, and just enough photos (all black and white) to represent the park.

The book is divided into sections:

1. Attractions: Each attraction is listed under the land in which it is located (for instance, Haunted Mansion, Club 33, and Pirates of the Caribbean are in the New Orleans Square section).

2. Hidden Mickeys: Add an extra dimension of fun to your next trip by finding the famous Hidden Mickeys sprinkled throughout the park. Just like attractions, the Hidden Mickeys are listed by land/attraction. In addition, there is a photo of each one, just in case you have a hard time finding them by the description alone (this is a nice touch that no other guidebooks I have seen offer).

3. Queue Games: This is one of the best features of the book. How many times have you waited in line and gotten bored? True, Disneyland does an excellent job of themeing the line queues and giving guests visual eye-candy to look at, but when waiting 30 minutes or more, there's only so much eye-candy that can keep you from getting annoyed at having to wait for a 5 minute attraction! Problem solved with this book: the author gives games/activities for most attractions, alleviating the boredom you might feel from having to wait.

I also liked the size of this book; it is just the right size to be able to carry it around the park and refer to it (which the author, Alan Joyce, suggests in the intro), once again, enhancing your visit to the park. There is also just enough history/background information on the attractions to enhance (not bore!) the reader. Many volumes get weighted down to the point that the average reader would find no use to them; although some might enjoy knowing how many rivets are used in a particular piece of machinery, the average first-time visitor doesn't care. They'd rather know how long the ride is, what fun things to look for (that they might miss on a first trip through), and how some of the special effects are created (yup...there are some scene-spoilers here, so if you don't want to know how some of the magic is created, you'll need to skip through the book carefully). It is also very refreshing that this book doesn't waste time on petty negative comments against Disney/Disneyland.

Note: as one of the other reviewers states, this book does NOT have information on California Adventure...which makes sense since the park is about to undergo a $1 billion + renovation, which would make any guide book virtually useless.

Overall: highly recommended!

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing., October 6, 2008

By 

Brian (San Diego, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets Of The Mouse: An Unofficial Behind-The-Scenes Guide To Disneyland Park (Paperback)

The book is short. Don't go by the listed number of pages if you think that may indicate amount of information in its pages.

The layout of the book is decent and goes by the different themed lands in Disney land, but all of the secrets are very pedestrian. There are no behind the scenes photos and IMHO 90% of the information is public knowledge.

The layout of the pages is almost as if someone printed out a web page, very bubbly and wastes paper (but does increase page count).

If you are looking for a book that peels up the veneer of Disney land and examines the cogs, this book is not for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to have and read plus very informative., October 22, 2008

By 

Corellian_Scoundrel "S.R." (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Secrets Of The Mouse: An Unofficial Behind-The-Scenes Guide To Disneyland Park (Paperback)

If you are taking your first trip to Disneyland, or you are a current visitor, do take this book with you. You will enjoy the activities included on the book. (Specially if you need to wait in line duing peek visit season) There are extra pieces of information that will make you look like a Disneyland expert.

Who ever thought knowledge will be so much fun!