(Part 2) Top products from r/disney

Marty Skalr has a book. I havent read it yet, but I own it. I saw him talk about it some at the EPCOT's 30th panel he did, and it sounded like a great book.

I also managed to find Building a Dream (the 96 version, not the 2003 version) on eBay for $10. Either version routinely goes for over $40 since its out of print. Its a good book, too.

I also own How to Be Like Walt which has been an OK book so far. There's better biographies out there of him, though if youre looking for ways to apply Walt's life as an inspiration to your own work ethic, this is a good book.

The Imagineering Workout is a book I dont own, but is one that I'll probably be buying soon.

Oh, and also look for two books from Leonard Kinsey (I bought them on my Kindle) Dark Side of Disney, about hidden secrets of WDW, and Our Kingdom of Dust, a fun fictional tale set at WDW. (Both bordering on PG-13/R).

And also a book by the original Dreamfinder Ron Schneider called From Dreamer to Dreamfinder, about his journey from other themeparks to WDW and more, is a good book. Also bought on my Kindle.

Well, a lot of these stories are based on existing folk stories, some of which have existed for centuries. Though Disney films are neither historically accurate or follow the original stories completely, a lot of the original tales did not have mothers. In this here book, the author goes into quite a lot of detail about the role of the missing mother. "..the dying mother usually attempts to protect the child after she is gone. In some fairy tales, a blessing or benediction is used to cement the spiritual connection between the two." Though we do not see this in Disney movies, there is always a maternal figure or friend around to assist the princess; the forest animals in Snow White, The Fairy God Mother in Cinderella, Flounder and Sebastian in The Little Mermaid, Rajah in Aladdin and the furniture in Beauty and the Beast. We're also told that mothers in fairy tales symbolise safety and all that is good. The absence of a mother or protector also forces the 'child' to "draw on inner resources that might not have been tested were the mother still around. It is the mother's death that sets the stage for the later confrontation with the witch." These heroines, for the most part, fight their battles on their own (of course, with the help of a man, but that's a different conversation altogether) and they become better role models and a lot more interesting for it. In the original tales, women were celebrated and were a lot more resourceful than the Disney versions give them credit for. I'd say a lot of this "missing parent" malarky is based on the tradition that fairy tales have absent mothers and also to provide strong, female role models who take on the world on their own.

It's a good book, by the way, I'd recommend it.

Our next Disney trip is still months away, so I thought I’d create a little Disney heaven at home for my husband. First, I made a DoleWhip (his favorite) using recipes found online (Pinterest has a ton). While he ate that, I put on Dark Ride cologne from Xyrena (https://xyrena.com/product/darkrideedp/) and played the soundtrack from his favorite “dark ride” Splash Mountain. Then, I lit the Fireside woodwick candle (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HLRPZA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00) which is supposed to smell like “Rome is burning” from Spaceship Earth (“Call it, the first back-up system”). I’ll admit, it wasn’t a strong smell, but it certainly made the crackling noises. I played the soundtrack from Spaceship Earth. It transported us back to Disney!

Note: The Dark Ride cologne is seriously awesome. Pricey, but so worth it for the true Disney fan! I would try to find a different candle, this really didn’t have the strong “Rome is burning” smell I had hoped for. Anyone else have ideas?

My favorites in no particular order:

Realityland - Goes into the history of Walt Disney World, with a heavy focus on the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. It covers MGM and the Animal Kingdom as well, but you can tell the author has a real ax to grind with Michael Eisner, and so the second half of the book comes off him being bitter about change. Regardless, it's worth a read and the front half on the first phase and Epcot are really interesting.

Disney War - Possibly my favorite Disney book. It covers the Michael Eisner era of the company, from him and Wells joining in the 80s to Bob Iger taking over. This book covers all of the aspects of the company, not just the parks, and is very inside baseball. I love it because it covers a lot of the projects and decisions the company makes from a business perspective rather than from a storytelling/magic/enjoyment level.

Building a Company - This is Bob Thomas' biography for Roy O Disney. I'm a fan of this one because it offers an alternate perspective on the early years, by focusing on Roy instead of Walt. Similar to Disney War, it covers a lot of the same history that you'd get out of a Walt biography, but with more of a lean on the business element.

In Service to the Mouse - The memoirs of Jack Lindquist. It's a fun easy read full of random anecdotes and memories from his time at the Disney company, all the way up to him being made president of Disneyland.

http://www.amazon.com/Walt-Promise-Progress-City-Gennawey/dp/0615540244

This is a decent overview, but it still didn't get into the details that I'd hoped. I'm hoping to get a copy of "Walt Disney and the Quest for Community" at some point in the future. I did, however, recently get a first edition of the book that Walt based his EPCOT plans on, which was supposedly the only urban planning book he read:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Heart-Our-Cities-Diagnosis/dp/B0006BLXLI

Hope these help!

I love the poster art of Disney parks book. It's a good size and has so many amazing pages of the original attraction posters with some history besides them
https://www.amazon.com/Poster-Disney-Parks-Souvenir-Book/dp/1423124111

I can point you towards this candle if you are looking for the smell of the burning of Rome from S:E! I also recommend baking some Alexia Chipotle Sweet Potato Fries. Your house will smell like The Land pavilion for hours :)

If you want a book about Walt in general, I suggest "The Vault of Walt" by Jim Korkis. It debunks some myths about Walt, while also telling you about his personal life, and projects for things such as Disneyland. It's a great read for any Walt Disney fan, like myself.

Here are my favorites:

Designing Disney

Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends

The Disney Mountains

It's Kinda a Cute Story

and anything in the Imagineering Field Guide Series.

Fellow Disney book-nerd here! Here are a bunch of my favorites. Hope this helps!

The Art of Animation

The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas

Walt Disney Imagineering by The Imagineers

The Disney That Never Was

Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards

Before the Animation Begins: The Art & Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists

The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast

Lilo & Stitch: Collected Stories From the Film's Creators

Magic Color Flair: The World of Mary Blair

Lovely: Ladies of Animation

Coming soon:

Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man

The Nine Old Men by Andreas Deja

Disney During World War II: How the Walt Disney Studio Contributed to Victory in the War

The Dark Side of Disney

This book is great.

Jim Korkis - The Vault of Walt

This guy is a walking Disney encyclopedia, lots of great stories from his work there.

This is the original Little Golden Book - Cinderella that came out near the movie's release. It has been reprinted with the original artwork. https://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Little-Golden-Book-Werner/dp/0736421513

I honestly don't think that such a thing exists after much searching and research. The closest thing I have found is this crazy expensive robotic mega disney toy robot with individual characters including a robotic goofy. You can see a neat review of it here.

i have this one, about the attraction poster art.

The items I remember from browsing merch on Amazon are:

COLLECTOR'S/LIMITED EDITION

Epic Mickey collector's edition: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Mickey-Collectors-Edition-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0040QAN0M/

Epic Mickey 2 EU steelbook: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Mickey-Nintendo-Wii-WiiU-U/dp/B00AB3O58Y/

BOOKS

The Art of Epic Mickey: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Epic-Mickey-Austin-Grossman/dp/1423148266/

Epic Mickey guide: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Epic-Mickey-Prima-Official/dp/0307470857/

Collector's Edition Epic Mickey guide: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Epic-Mickey-Collectors-Edition/dp/030788984X/

Epic Mickey 2 guide: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Epic-Mickey-Official-Guides/dp/0307895262/

Collector's Edition Epic Mickey 2 guide: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Epic-Mickey-Collectors-Official/dp/0307895254/

VIDEOGAME ACCESSORIES

Wii PDP paintbush nunchuck: http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Epic-Mickey-Paintbrush-Nunchuk-Nintendo/dp/B0040XZJJK/

Wii PDP color-changing paintbrush nunchuck: http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Mickey-Mickeys-Paintbrush-Wii-Nintendo/dp/B008FHHT1S/

Wii PDP remote nunchuck: http://www.amazon.com/Epic-Mickey-Oswalds-Clicker-Wii-Nintendo/dp/B008FHHT04/

Wii PDP evil glob remote charger: http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Epic-Mickey-Remote-Charger-Nintendo/dp/B004ETCYF2/

3DS (original model) Epic Mickey Power of Illusion clear plastic case plus paintbush stylus: http://www.amazon.com/Mickey-Crystal-Armor-Paintbrush-Stylus-Character/dp/B008U25YQU/

TOYS

Funko POP Vinyl Mickey with paintbrush: http://www.amazon.com/Funko-POP-Disney-Mickey-Figure/dp/B00FGLBS2C/

Funko POP Vinyl Oswald with remote: http://www.amazon.com/Funko-POP-Disney-Mickey-Oswald/dp/B00E7JR7RO/

MISC

Epic Mickey 2 Wall stickers: http://www.amazon.com/Roommates-Rmk2077Scs-Mickey-Friends-Decals/dp/B00AO0JEGM/

Oswald PVC key cover: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DL4XYQO?psc=1 (Don't know if this one is official Epic Mickey merch though)

There are also various shirt designs available online. I only remember one that has the white background with black paint ears, and the one with mickey facing away from you with the giant slosh of paint from his paintbrush as original designs.

Drawn to Life Volume 1: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes: (and/or Volume 2).

Link!

At least they're both female. There's a book of Disney Princess stories, this book to be exact, that contains stories about Dumbo and Bambi.

Jason Surrell's books - Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion Both books have an incredible amount of detailed history behind the rides (in all parks) and subsequent movies, etc.