Customer Reviews

Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness at Disneyland Park

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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Van France has done a remarkable job in this book of recounting his experiences with Disneyland. What I found most interesting were his tales of the early years...when I worked at The Park I would occasionally recount one of his stories to a fellow Cast Member or interested Guest...they are wonderful to share with everyone! Do yourself a favor...find a copy of this book!

MET VAN IN 1982 AND ENDED UP WORKING WITH HIM ON ASSORTED PROJECTS IN HIS OLD BEAT UP TRAILER ON THE BACK LOT BY THE CLYDESDALES, FOR 4 YEARS. HERE IT IS, JAN 1, 00 AND FOUND VAN HAS LEFT US ON THE 13TH OF OCT, 99. HIS LOVE FOR DISNEYLAND WAS BOUNDLESS. THOSE THAT KNEW HIM, WILL NEVER FORGET HIM. I RECALL THE DAY HE CALLED AND TOLD ME HE HAD RECEIVED HIS "WINDOW ON MAIN STREET", WALT'S HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME. BEFORE HE COULD CONTINUE, I TOLD HIM I ALREADY KNEW WHERE THEY HAD PLACED HIS MONIKER, ABOVE THE OLD TOBACCO SHOP. ASKED ME HOW I KNEW. TOLD HIM THERE WAS NO PLACE ELSE TO PUT HIM, SINCE HE SMOKED LIKE A DIESEL TRUCK. VAN DID MANY THINGS FOR DISNEYLAND IN CAL, FL., AND JAPAN THAT HE NEVER PUBLICIZED. HE DIDN'T WANT FAME OR MONEY, HE LIVED WITH THE SATISFACTION OF A JOB WELL DONE AND MAKING THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND HIM BETTER. BUY IT AND ENJOY A TRUE INSIDERS LOVE OF DISNEYLAND. HE WILL BE MISSED.

Van France sprinkles pixie dust on the world with his candid, written experiences of working for the "work horse", Walt Disney and subsequent management after his death at the Happiest place on Earth (TM). Mike Fiott, an avid Disneyana collector and late publisher of the Art of Laughter Magazine, gave me this book to relish and absorb. I met Van in 1996, and at that time,the late publisher stopped printing the book. Van stated he was tired of signing them!(Yeah, sure!) Van loved the attention of his admiring fans who enjoyed listening to anecdotes of his day-to-day living and working the "Disney" way. If you can find this book, acquire it and enjoy the interesting insight that only Van could share.It really comes to my surprise that Van passed away last October(10/99). He will be missed.

I'm a little late with this review--others have already said it, perhaps better--but if spending time with an entertaining gent who was hired by Walt Disney before Disneyland opened and who participated in making it successful beyond anyone's imagination sounds interesting, there is no other book. A real joy to read.

Van Arsdale France is the creator of the Disney University to which Disneyland owes much of its success. This book is written in a very informal fashion, giving a feeling of sitting with an interesting uncle to hear candid stories of what it was like "back then." All in all, a good and fun reading.

Disney theme parks are known worldwide for the extraordinary quality of the employees, or "Cast". This was accomplished through the creation of rigourous hiring standards coupled with a training program known as the Disney University, created by the author of this book, Van Arsdale France. The book is his candid autobiography, written in a warm conversational tone, and is very enjoyable based on his 35 years of working at Disneyland. He was working for Disneyland while it was still under construction, and stayed there until his retirement in 1990. He passed away in 1999. Here was a man that truly loved Disneyland and the dream that it's founder Walt Disney wanted it to represent. Van was there in the early days, and he includes fascinating stories and pictures you won't find anywhere else about interesting events that occurred at Disneyland over the years.

The title, "Window on Main Street" refers to the tradition of placing the names of persons who have made a big contribution to the success of Disneyland on the upper story windows on Main Street USA in Disneyland. The names include the famous composers the Sherman Brothers, imagineers like Marc Davis, or X. Atencio, and animators like Ward Kimball. Van has a picture of each of the windows, and what the person was honored for.

The book includes fascinating stories of "Backstage Disneyland", to give you a better understanding of what makes the park hum along on a daily basis. IT is loaded with pictures you will not see in any other book. I have thoroughly enjoyed the tons of fascinating and insightful stories and pictures in this book, about incidents, staff, management, and attractions at the park.

Includes a forward by Dick Nunis, former president of Walt Disney Theme Parks Division. Published in 1991 by "Laughter Publications", a company that used to publish a well made Disneyana magazine called, "The Art of Laughter". This book is hard to find, as it is out of print. If you find a copy, hold onto it tight as they are very rare indeed. I highly recommend!

Finally someone was nice enough submit an image. We can at least now know what this book looks like...thankyou J. Coleman. Up until now, I wouldn't have had any idea.

Last published in 1991 this book has had much praise...and it baffles me as to why it isn't in print.

Wouldn't it be nice if some publisher picks this book up and decides to do a re-print?

I have seen this book for sale on second hand marketplaces for 100's of dollars.

Come on, let's get this thing reprinted and stop this insanity.

Sounds like a fantastic read from the reviewers and it would be really nice if a new version is printed at a reasonable price.

Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness at Disneyland Park by Van Arsdale France. 1991, 129 Pages.

Van Arsdale France, Disney Legend and member of the elite Club 55 (first year employees--not a restaurant), has a window on Main Street at Disneyland (hence the book title). The window was originally installed above the former Tobacco Shop. Currently, the window is above an empty spot between the Magic Shop and Great American Pastimes. Van was at the opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. He was responsible for the overall development of the training programs and is considered the Founder and Professor Emeritus of Disney University. As recounted in the book, Van hired Dick Nunis as a gofer back in 1955. Years later, Dick would be the president of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Van returned to the company as Dick's staff assistant (professional term of gofer). Lesson learned? Always be nice to your staff--you never know when they might be your boss! Van passed away in 1999 in California.

Published in 1991, Van recounts his long and storied career with Disney. The work is full of anecdotes that are told chronologically. From meeting Walt the first time to the introduction of Eisner and Wells. The book is presented as a biography but is really more of a collection of anecdotes. As Van states, he had tried to publish this book in the 1970's, only to find himself heavily involved in the opening of Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.He revisited the idea in 1985. With Dick Nunis' approval and Disneyland's 35th Anniversary approaching, Van dusted off and "...reworked that old, dust-covered book." (p. 6)

Van looks mainly at his story at Disneyland. In the beginning, he was hired to create Disneyland's first employee training session--the very first session was attended by Roy Disney, the Vice President of Bank of America and major executives of Disneyland sponsors. Talk about a tough crowd! Roy approved and thus launched the beginnings of Disney training.

In that first session, Van and Dick created the training, the manual and all visual aids on a shoestring budget. The theme was We'll Create Happiness. The rest of the manual includes the following areas:


It All Started With a Mouse
The Magic Mirror of Your Smile
It's Been My Pleasure
We Don't Have "Customers", We Serve "Guests"
We are "Hosts" and "Hostesses"
There's No Such Thing as a "Dumb Question"
Everyone's a V.I.P.
The Disneyland Look
Disneyland Taboos
We Work While Others Play
Team Work is Essential
From there, Van recounts the major points in Disneyland's history and his opinion and thoughts on those events. For a two-year period, Van left Disney and worked with C.V. Wood on the Pleasure Island Park in Massachusetts and the Freedomland Park in New York. After the hiatus, Van was rehired by Dick at Disneyland. From there, the Disneyland University was officially begun. It would see many changes throughout the years, but the basic philosophy would remain the same. My favorite parts of the book were the stories about Roy; you get the feeling that Roy truly loved Walt and did everything in his power to make all of Walt's dreams successful. Van never saw himself on the creative side and always felt an affinity for Roy and Dick Nunis. It is obvious that these two men were thought highly by Van.

The book is divided into major chronological sections with small stories presented back-to-back. It is a quick and easy read. At various points, you will find yourself laughing out loud. For me, I found myself wishing to be a part of the early years of Disneyland. Van finishes with a look at the changes and excitement brought by Eisner and Wells.

I would like to thank Van--posthumously. If he hadn't decided to keep his "diary," there would be a lot of lost stories. And this book is a great collection of stories.

Bottom Line: This book is a fun and a great look back at one man's long career with Disney but it isn't for everyone. I would recommend this work for the Disney enthusiast that wants to learn more about what it was like working in the organization and seeing how it grew. The anecdotes are charming and you do get a good sense of how Disney grew and evolved over the years.
Window on Main Street: 35 Years of Creating Happiness at Disneyland Park

I'll keep this real simple. This book is simply one of the best out there for Disneyland history. As was stated before, it's told in a very informal fashion and is more like story time. Very relatable.

Like I said, one of the best books ever on Disneyland.