And I have a lot of them. Books like this are really my primary collection, which I enjoy because the books have real use and value. They are great sources of information and inspiration for how theme parks are designed.
So this week, I want to start a potential series of Top lists by sharing my favorite theme park design books with you.
These are my Top 10.
Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making Magic Real
I'm starting here with one of the first of the now popular genre of theme park design books, and possibly one of the best. This is organized along the design process, from inspiration to construction and includes literally hundreds of great photos and pieces of concept art that you may have never seen before. This is the book that starts it all and really reveals in detail how Imagineering works. Just looking at all the images in detail can take hours, plus the text is incredibly informative.
This was the first book about Imagineering that I had and likely the first to make me aware that designing theme parks was something you could actually do. So I guess this books a little important to how you are reading this.
Definitely worth having if you want to know more about the general idea of Imagineering. There appear to be some used versions on Amazon for ok prices. A great book to start with.
Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making More Magic Real
And then came the equally great sequel. Since this is much more recent, it is able to expand on how Imagineering has changed over the years with new technology, new rides, and new parks. This one is instead organized into the theory of design and the tools of design, but still covers the same expanse of topics with all new photos and art. Especially great is all the art and photos of the more recent international parks, including everything before Shanghai. A lot of this stuff I had never seen before.
This is another great general overview kind of book. If you want to start a collection, these two books are where to start because of their availability and their look at the entirety of Imagineering's projects and processes.
And this one is still available on Amazon for a good price, so a perfect place to start.
Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance
This book begins to look at the design of parks from a more theory heavy perspective, and therefore is much less of a picture book and more like a text book about theme park design. This is by far the most analytical of the books I have and takes a deep look into the architectural and planning design of the parks and the effects they have on the experience. Its thorough. But has great information if you want to have a better theoretical understanding of why the parks are designed like they are.
This one is available used for good prices, but this wouldn't be my first suggestion for starting a collection. Pick this one up when your ready for a more involved look at the parks. And when you are ready for a long read.
Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show
This is a smaller book but it makes the list because it was written by John Hench and shares a lot of his personal strategies about design along with a lot of his great art. Plus I am partial to all his work on Tomorrowland, and this is filled with those images. I also really appreciate that part of this comes to design from an art perspective, with chapters focusing on the art of visual storytelling and the art of color. By the portfolio of projects he left us, we know that he knew what he was talking about, so I see this as an especially valuable book.
I believe there are two versions of this book, with varied price levels on the used market. If you can get it, its a great book, but if you can't, the more general Imagineering books are an acceptable substitute.
Walt Disney's EPCOT: Creating the New World of Tomorrow
Moving on to the section of park specific books, this is the ultimate document of the design and construction of original EPCOT. With sections on each pavilion and country, this is filled with photos and art of how EPCOT was and should have been. There is so much stuff that I had never seen before in this book since I never saw original EPCOT.
Plus it is just incredible to see all the alternate concepts that never were. EPCOT by far had some of the best concept art used in the design of the park and a lot of it is in this book.
The only pitch this book needs is that if you love EPCOT, you need to see this book.
This book again has multiple versions. The two I have are one that is the thick complete book and one smaller condensed edition. There are used listings online for really good prices, but I don't know how to tell between the two versions because they have the same cover and title. The ISBN for the better version is 0-8109-0819-0 if that helps find it.
Disneyland Inside Story
The Disneyland specific book on my list is included for its photos of Disneyland construction and the early days of the park. It covers a good bit of Disney history, heavily focusing on the creation of the park and the years before Walt's death, ending in the mid 80's, where a chapter describes Tony Baxter as part of the new generation of Imagineers.
It's probably the best Disneyland general overview book you can get besides the famed and extremely expensive Nickle Tour book which I don't own. But that's ok, this still has an amazing collection of classic park photos.
This one you can get used for pretty good prices online and is worth it for the images and history lesson.
Disneyland Paris: From Sketch to Reality
This is another very well known book that for a while was reaching crazy resale prices, but has returned with a second printing. This is the best book about Disneyland Paris and fantastically shows off the details and beauty of the park. There are hundreds and hundreds of photos of the Disneyland Park and the overall resort.
The most amazing part about this book, and what makes this completely unique among the books here, is that it is a fan created and published book, not directly created by Disney like every other book here. It's an incredible feat and is worth getting if you want to see more about Disneyland Paris.
The author and publisher put out a second printing for the 20th anniversary of the resort 5 years ago, and amazingly still has some copies for sale from his website here. Its a little expensive, but if its your kind of thing, it is worth the cost. And available in French and English editions.
One Day at Disney
This book makes the list for me because I think it was the first time that I realized there were multiple Disney parks all around the world. This book, like the title suggests, shows the events of a single day around the world, at all 4 resorts that existed at the time.
It is not as spectacular as some of the other books here, but I found it incredibly cool to see the parks around the world and more interestingly see a look into how they work. Since its one day around the world, it includes pictures of how the parks and cleaned and maintained over night, which I found really cool. There's some great candid photos in the book as the focus of the book is not really the image of the parks but how guests and cast members use the parks. So its a good contrast to the architecture heavy books around this.
This book seems to be a bit more expensive online than I would say it is worth, but if you see a deal, its a pretty neat and unique book especially if you are interested in the logistics of the world wide Disney operation.
Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture
This book is here because of my specific background as an architect. There's some good information about the general design of the parks from an architectural perspective. But way more interestingly, the parks are only about 1/4 of the book, with the rest about nearly everything else Disney touches. Hotels worldwide, Disney corporate offices, the Town of Celebration, Downtown Disney, Theaters, and even the Cruise Line are covered, though the majority really is the hotels.
There's a lot of great images of all the hotels with good theory commentary about how they were designed. It definitely was written for readers who can understand and appreciate the architectural design practice of the included projects but the images are plenty if that isn't for you.
This is yet another book with multiple versions. The one above is more recent and includes more recent projects. Between the two versions, there are a huge variety of prices online. I have to laugh that currently Amazon has listings for both at less than $30 AND over $1,000 simultaneously. If the great pictures of the hotels and resorts or the architectural theory are your interest, this book is probably worth it for the right price.
Maps of the Disney Parks
And last, the most recent of the books in my collection, and maybe the most specialized. This book has an assortment of maps, art, and concept pieces of all the parks around the world. Maps, as I am sure you can tell by reading here, are my kind of thing, so I was definitely into this book just from the name.
The best part of this book is just the sheer amount of high res concept pieces there are on alternate versions of the Disney parks we know today. Organized by each park and including Shanghai, this gives new information about basically every park. If you like maps, this is your book.
It's just less than a year old, so you should have no problem finding this one.
Last, two special mentions that I did not include. The Art of Disneyland and Art of Walt Disney World books are really great collections of concept art for both resorts. They are both extensive and show a lot of stuff that is not found in any other book. They are really among my favorites, but I didn't include them because they are both out of print and therefore really expensive on the resale market, at least $200 or so. Everything else I listed above should be quite a bit cheaper than that. If you can get these and like concept art, they are worth it.
So that's my Top 10 Theme Park books. Just a small part of my collection, but some great pieces.
So, how many of these do you own? What are some of your favorite pieces of you collection? Let me know with a comment and we can talk books!
Hey TRF,
ReplyDeleteNice list. Some personal favorites not listed, which you probably own:
1. Making of Animal Kingdom by Malmberg
2. Gardens of WDW (shows you what the park was like when shade trees were deservedly glorified.)
3. The Surrell Trilogy (Pirates, Mansion, Mountains)
4. Since the World Began.
Most frustrating are the Imagineering Field guides, with so many unique, cool illustrations that are too tiny to properly see!
Also quite keen on Game & Movie "Art of" Books that show environmental design applicable to theme parks (i.e. Art of Moana or Art of Uncharted 4 or Art of Rogue One).
Hoping the next big coffee table book release this June on Shanghai Disneyland, "A Celebration of Dreams", features a lot of never-before-seen concept art (equivalent of the DLP: Concept to Reality sketch).
Cheers,
SWW
I own all but the first of you list. Definitely all great books! Since the World Began would probably be just on the edge of my list as the best WDW book.
DeleteThe Field Guides are such a weird concept. I guess I get that they wanted them to be portable, but are that many people using reference material in the parks? At least most of the good concept art and maps were reproduced in other books.
Never got into the art of books, but that might just be because there's so many of them and I don't know where to start. I would end up buying way too many of those. But maybe that will be the next expansion to my collection.
Haven't heard about that Shanghai book yet, so I'll have to look into it!
Dude you need to check out David Younger's "theme park design" book. By far the most thorough thing you'll ever find. It's amazing.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that but yet to get it. But I'll put it on the list to buy soon. Thanks!
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