The Highly Awaited "Walt Disney's Disneyland" Book Is Now Available for Pre-Order and Released on Sept 12 !

The highly awaited "Walt Disney's Disneyland" book written by Chris Nichols and published by Taschen will at last be released on September 12 and is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com - see link at bottom. Sept 12 won't come soon enough as i was able to see a preview of the first 50 pages of the book and, boy, this book is going to be amazing! Nearly - if not more- 70% of the pictures included in these 50 pages were new to me, never have seen them before, whether it is pictures or artworks. This 328 pages book will include a LOT of never seen pictures whether they show life at Disneyland in its early days, WDI renderings, behind-the-scenes photos with Imagineers, etc - and finding pictures or artworks of Disneyland that we've not seen before is not easy, as we know.



I will do another article about the book after reading all of it but in the meantime here is the official presentation text, with pictures of some of the pages:

Discover the story of Disneyland, Walt Disney’s visionary theme park in Anaheim, California. This bountiful visual history includes stunning color photographs, concept drawings, as well as ephemera from the historical collections of the Walt Disney Company and the golden age of photojournalism, to trace the park’s development and immersive world of magic and wonder, from Main Street, U.S.A. to Tomorrowland.



Walt Disney dreamed for decades about opening the ultimate entertainment venue, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that his handpicked team began to bring his vision to life. Together, artists, architects, and engineers transformed a dusty tract of orange groves about an hour south of Los Angeles into one of the world’s most beloved destinations.

Today, there are Disney resorts from Paris to Shanghai, but the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which has been visited by more than 800 million people to-date, remains one of America’s most popular attractions. From the day it opened on July 17, 1955, Disneyland brought history and fairy tales to life, the future into the present, and exciting cultures and galaxies unknown to our imaginations.

This bountiful visual history draws on Disney’s vast historical collections, private archives, and the golden age of photojournalism to provide unique access to the concept, development, launch, and enjoyment of this sun-drenched oasis of fun and fantasy.



The book also include plenty of rare artworks like the ones above for Disneyland Enchanted Tiki Room

...or just as rare pictures like this one shot during the making of Jungle Cruise

Disneyland documents Walt’s earliest inspirations and ideas; the park’s extraordinary feats of design and engineering; its grand opening; each of its immersive “lands” from Main Street, U.S.A., to Tomorrowland; and the park’s evolution through the six decades since it opened. It is a treasure trove of original Disney documentation and expertise, with award-winning writer Chris Nichols drawing on his extensive knowledge of both Disneyland and Southern California history to reveal the fascinating tale of “the happiest place on Earth.”



The book also include never seen before pictures for the making of Pirates of Caribbean with, page left above,  Imagineer Harriet Burns who helped to construct the scale models for the attraction so that Walt could study every detail from the point of view of guests riding the finished attraction. The full page on the right shows some Mapo guys working on a pirate figure which is in fact the replacement pirate after the first one burned during the first summer of 1967!



Chris Nichols, the book author who is a writer and historian specializing in Southern Californian architecture and culture did an excellent job with the text, too.

Let me be clear: Walt Disney's Disneyland is a book that all Disney theme parks fans will LOVE instantly and will put in their "five favorite books" related to Disney theme parks, so i highly recommend it to you. And, knowing that i did the Disneyland Paris book and that i'm working one way or another in publishing since decades, you know that i'm generally difficult!

Walt Disney's Disneyland book cost $60 but is currently in pre-order on Amazon at of $39.98 so order it now while it last at this unbeatable price using the Amazon link below:




Pictures: copyright Disney Enterprises, Taschen