Customer Reviews

Since the World Began: Walt Disney World The First 25 Years

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like many people, I am absorbed by things Disney, especially the parks. "Since The World Began" satisfies that need wonderfully, but adds much more - how many of us know about the special zoning and self-government that makes the Disney property in Florida unique? That Disney World had the first operating 911 emergency system? That a vast network of self-operating gates and levees keep the water table intact? The infrastructure of this massive community is a testament to the most forward-thinking engineering in - no pun intended - the world. From the multi-layered transportations systems to the enormous "basement" of The Magic Kingdom, Jeff Kurtti's book tells not only of rides and cartoon characters, but of the fascinating behind-the-scenes efforts to create a truly new world.

This is a very good book on Walt Disney World. It is far superior to the 20th Anniversary Book "Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years". Although, many of the pictures are the same, there are alot more in Since the World Began.

In addition, this book provides much more information on the creation of the park. Still the best book on the creation of the Disney theme parks is "Disneyland: Inside Story" by Randy Bright. Since this is out of print, Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years is a good choice.

This so far is the best book on Disney I have found. It's simple, if you are a fan of Disney you will love this book, you'll have a tough time setting it down. The photos are great, and the text is informative, interesting, and detailed. The author is a BIG fan of Disney, and worked there too, so it's coming from someone who knows Disney.

If you have been saving your pennies for a trip to Disney World during their 15-month-long 25th Anniversary Celebration, here's a reason for you to withdraw $14.95 from the trip fund. A new book is about to hit bookshelves, and it is something every lover of Disney World will want to own. <P> "Since the World Began; Walt Disney World; The First 25 Years," a large paperback book from Hyperion Publishing, is a colorful and interesting guide to Disney World's history, its present, and its future. <P> This 186-page book has something for everyone. The Disney World novice planning his or her first visit will find helpful information about the parks and onsite lodging. The book will mean even more, however, to those of you who have visited the resort frequently, for this exhaustive resource leaves no stone unturned in its examination of the popular tourist destination. The author, Jeff Kurtti, has compiled hundreds of photos, facts, and stories relating to Disney World's de

Walt Disney lives.

No, I'm not talking about the urban legend about him being cryogenically sealed and stashed below the Pirates of the Caribbean exhibition. Nor is this some soft New Ageism about spirits inhabiting the celestial plane.

He's alive down on a plot of land outside of Orlando, Florida, a boom city that was a dumpy little crossroad when Walt began buying what became a 30,000-acre spread there is the late 1960s.

Walt's gone, but his vision and energy lives on, and once you start dipping into "Since the World Began," you'll see that the scope of his vision is nothing short of awesome.

There are many faces of Disney, the producer of family-friendly and highly profitable movies, the creator of family-friendly theme parks, but also a visionary who thought that, as one associate put it, "bad information was responsible for all the evil in the world." Who tried to change people's attitudes within the confines of an amusement park, the man whose idealism spawned the Epcot center, and under Michael Eisner, the Disney Institute, where education and learning are on a par with entertainment.

What the book won't tell you -- this is published by Hyperion, Disney's publishing arm, and written by Jeff Kurtti, a longtime Disney employee -- is just what hell Walt went through to realize his vision. You won't hear of Disney's fundamentalist upbringing, his retreat into fantasy to escape a brutal father and life in poverty, his endless hard work to make animated movies, his multiple nervous breakdowns. His brother Roy is idealized as the business brain behind Walt's success, but you won't hear that Roy constantly opposed Disney's ideas as a waste of money. When Kurtti writes that Disney founded the design firm Walt Disney Imagineering in 1952 "because he realized that he wouldn't be able to create Disneyland within the boundaries of the studio system," he doesn't mention that it was also because Roy and the Disney board refused to advance Walt the money to design Disneyland, fearing that it would be a failure.

There was plenty of reason for Roy to be worried, too. Disney's ideas constantly threw the company perilously close to bankruptcy, generally on the order of every 18 months, until Disney's deal with ABC in 1955 made him very wealthy and put the company on a firm financial footing. Walt Disney was an idealist and a visionary, and if it wasn't for his tenacity, the company would not be the worldwide giant it is today.

Even while ignoring those shadings, there is still plenty of story left to make "Since the World Began" an awe-inspiring overview of Walt Disney World. It's probably the single largest and most complex construction project this side of the space shuttle. Its statistics are jaw-dropping: 55 miles of canals and levees were built to control the water levels, nine acres of underground corridors thread through the park, housing sewer lines, pipes and cables, and a pneumatic system for hauling trash, 60,000 plants and 800 varieties of trees acquired, moved and transplanted to build the park, 100,000 pounds of linen had to be washed every day.

As befitting its creator, the theme park was ahead of its time in its use of innovative technology. WDW was also the first area to implement 911 service in Florida, the first commercial venture to use fiber optic cables, the first telephone system using underground cable instead of overhead wires.

But the park was also a reflection of Walt Disney's vision of a global coming together of different peoples and cultures, learning about each other and attempting to find and enjoy peace as a result. It's globalization with a human face, to borrow someone else's phrase, and even if it seems outdated or even impossible in this post-9/11 world, Walt's beliefs is a hopeful and sustaining vision, and as American as the culture from which it sprang.

Being a huge Walt Disney World fan, I truly loved this book and couldn't put it down! Each section of this book is fully illustrated and very in-depth. I have spoken to Jeff Kurtti about this book and he sure did his homework in writing this masterpiece. Anyone who wants to learn about the history of Walt Disney World, look no further! Jeff is an excellent writer who brings first-hand knowledge & experience of Walt Disney World to the table. Buy it, it's excellent!

The author dives into the nuts and bolts of Disney history, including the formation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and Disney's unique infrastructure. Yet the book isn't bogged down with technical, intricate details. Any Disney fan should enjoy reading about the Imagineering behind all four Florida parks' concepts, the hidden meanings of the names on Main Street's second floor windows, the transformation of Tomorrowland, ad infinitum. I received the book as a gift in 1996 and I've enjoyed reading through it several times.

This is a very good book on Walt Disney World. It is far superior to the 20th Anniversary Book "Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years". Although, many of the pictures are the same, there are alot more in Since the World Began.

In addition, this book provides much more information on the creation of the park. Still the best book on the creation of the Disney theme parks is "Disneyland: Inside Story" by Randy Bright. Since this is out of print, Walt Disney World 20 Magical Years is a good choice.

Wow, wow, wow what a great book depicting the history of the number one vacation spot on the planet. I actually bought this book when it came out about 5 years ago. After reading it, I decided I'm going back to Dinsey World to celebrate its 25th birthday. Needless, to say it was a great trip. This is the book for all you wanting to know about Dinsey World History. For Dinseyland I would reccommend Disneyland: Inside Story, but getting on of those under... is a hard task.... What are you waiting for, buy this book! Get ready to experience the magic!

This year, Walt Disney World turns forty. It's a shame that this, the most recent, most thorough official history of the Vacation Kingdom, is itself fifteen years old. Jeff Kurtti has said in interviews that Disney has no plans to commission an updated edition of this book (though he would be interested in doing one), which is unfortunate as Since the World Began is one of the essential volumes for the Disney historian, professional or amateur.

Despite the fact that it is an official, authorized production, Since the World Began only occasionally bears the hallmark santized, sterilized quality that often marks such works. Instead, what one finds within the pages of the book are genuine insights into the history, design, and philosophy of Walt Disney World and how these mesh with the larger concerns of the Walt Disney Company. Kurtti's observations on this latter question are among the book's most interesting features.

Since the World Began is illustrated throughout with beautiful color photographs and concept artworks. Full-page sidebars cover the water parks, the resorts, and specific themes in Disney World history, including the parks' environmental commitments (the reading here is surprisingly undated for a fifteen-year-old study).

Kurtti doesn't provide much insight into the individual players in the creation of WDW; his Imagineering Legends is a better source if one's interests are in the personalities and gifts of individual imagineers. This is, nonetheless, an essential overview of the early history of the world's most popular tourist destination.