Chris Strodder

This is a book with an interesting premise/reason for being that provides a lot of information in a slightly different way. However, I don’t know that, for the Disney fan, this provides a great deal of new information.

First, the premise. Strodder has arranged, alphabetically, all lands, attractions, shops, and restaurants that have ever existed in Disneyland. There are the well-known and there are the obscure. (“Fashions and Fabrics Through the Ages” in Tomorrowland anyone?) For completeness (?) he has thrown in a number of the historical figures that helped build Disneyland, some of the major events, attractions that were not built, and some other “things” that have occurred. (The prime example in that last category being “Yippie Day”.)

This results in a very full (if slightly disjointed) collection of information about the park. The alphabetic, encyclopedic approach works fine in the context and, if you are having trouble finding what you’re looking for, there’s a nice list at the end which shows all these items by Land.

But the second issue is the information itself. Yes, I came across a few factoids of which I was unaware. And I would say that there is a probably more detail on the obscure shops, restaurants, etc. than you will find anywhere else. But that doesn’t seem enough to make this a quintessential part of anyone’s collection.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t a good book – its arrangement and approach makes for a nice addition to a Disney fans reference materials. However, there is not enough here to make it an indispensible part of such a collection.

A nice to have. Not an “I must have”.

(And now the interesting part. I give this three stars for the reasons above. A few years ago I gave the earlier edition 4 stars - see review below. Not sure what that means other than, some things just make you go hmmmm…)… (más)

Oh, my! Hold onto your Mickey ears because if you love Disneyland, you are going to get Goofy over this exciting updated encyclopedia! I read it like a novel, from front to back. Even though I am a really big Disney fan, I learned so much trivia that I never knew before. One thing I had a chuckle over is the fact that in addition to the famous Autopia ride, there was a smaller preschool version called Midget Autopia! Not really politically correct, huh? And the shooting gallery originally shot real metal pellets. Because they struck with such force, the targets all had to be repainted every night! Crazy! I guarantee that event he biggest Mickey fans will discover many facts they didn't know before about the happiest place on earth.… (más)

There is an affectation to this book (and I don’t mean building the book around the encyclopedia concept) that is distracting. Strodder really fesses up to it right up front. Everyone gets drawn to the details of Disneyland in different ways. The author indicates that his fascination (after a first trip 40 years ago) was fed by the books he could find and (like a lot of us) those Disneyland updates on television. He then goes on to talk about how he would use updated maps and souvenir books to note changes to the park over the years. (Many of us still pour over those older documents reconstructing the past in our heads.) But this is the affectation that hinders the book rather than helping – a too slavish focus on where things appeared on maps and souvenir books. It pops up too often in the narrative.

And then, the concept of an encyclopedia listing lands, attractions, shops, etc. is muddled by the inclusion of people who worked on Disneyland (those that are seen in the windows of Main Street) and the further inclusion of “things” (I don’t know what else to call it) such as a listing for “apartments” (yes, we fans know why he Strodder included this – primarily Walt’s apartment – but a strange category), Audio-Animatronics, Passports, Restrooms, Souvenir Books (no surprise here), and various special events. (And, if you are going to open it up to these kinds of things, you have to make sure you get everything. I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel sure some things were missed.) Again, based on the way the book was developed (what I saw on maps and in souvenir books) it is understandable how these show up. But it begins to turn it all into a mish-mosh

All that, and I’m about to tell you it is one of my favorite Disneyland detail books. It passed the first test – I learned things I didn’t know. But it also was an interesting exploration of the history of the park. As a reference, it will be a little tough working through the seemingly arbitrary constructions. But the author has a good style and I can genuinely say I enjoyed just reading through the entries – not worrying about cross-referencing, not worrying about which shop went where, instead just enjoying the narrative around famous and forgotten landmarks and events. Heaven help me – I want more.

We die-hard fans want to either write or read the definitive collection on the history of Disneyland. It would probably be 30 volumes and be cross-referenced to Tokyo and back. But this is an excellent approach and would be a worthy one of those thirty.… (más)