The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World

View other editions of The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
View books by Imagineers, Parke Godwin, Alex Wright.

Left me longing for more - Rated
I think Walt Disney World is the single greatest cultural achievement of all time - a place of breathtaking beauty, infinite imagination, astonishing variety, and the 'Imagineering Field Guide' series gives you a chance to find out about some of the artists who helped put it all together: you get to see architectural drawings, draft sketches, details of certain attractions that were never actually built...

But my one reservation with this book is that it only scratches the surface...and as the pages are quite small, most of the photos are only passport-sized. And inevitably, it feels like a brochure rather than a proper critical analysis. I suspect anyone who loves the Magic Kingdom will enjoy this book, but I do feel there is a bigger...and better book about the Magic Kingdom waiting to be written.

Excellent - Rated
I'm a huge Disney fanatic and have visited all parks a number of times.

This little book gives you a great insight to how the parks were in the past and how they are in the present. The Imagineers who have put this great book together are the people behind the rides. Not only do they supply us with the story behind the rides but how they have altered and why.

There are some great illustrations in the book both in colour and in black and white, showing the beginning concept to the completed design.

Whether you have been to this park or not this book provides a great through the eyes of the people who have designed it, the Imagineers. :-)

It's great book to add to any Disney collection. :-)

Perfect little gem of a book - Rated
Despite it's size this entertaining & informative little book is faultless. Whether you're a fan of Disney's Theme Parks or a first time visitor looking for a little more insight into the most popular park at Walt Disney World, this book is for you.

Superb photographs, illustrations & pieces of art perfectly compliment the fascinating text that will keep the reader entertained. From it's insightful introduction which details an overview of the park and it's history through to the pages devoted to all the park's major attractions - this book contains everything you should know about the Magic Kingdom. Whilst still highlighting the basic's of this park it's the anecdotes & background offered into many of the rides that really make this a great book for everyone. You'd think that a book of this size would struggle in coming up with anything new for the die-hard Disney fans but it really does succeed on this level. Prior to reading this book I'd read much of the behind-the-scenes & imagineering stories of Disneyworld but on the whole I never felt like I was reading over things I was already aware of. If I was to aim any critiscm at the book it would be that I would have loved it to have been much larger !!! Some of the artwork is superb and I would have loved to be able to check them out in more detail with expanded text but there's already expensive books out there which do that so I guess a big part of the appeal to this book is it's pocket-size.

In summary this is a brilliant little book which gives an insight into one of the most magical places on Earth. Can't wait for the Epcot version !!!