Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Book Review
We’ve collected dozens of books about Walt Disney World over the years. When sharing Our Disney Theme Parks Library, I’ve offered the cautionary tale about the many boxes of books we’ve dealt with when moving. Nevertheless, we keep buying more, obsessed with old concept art, reading stories from Imagineers, and learning the history of our favorite places. (Updated July 22, 2023.)
Let’s start with the latest update, which is that A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth is back in stock on Amazon and is 40% off as of late July 2023, which is a lot better than you’ll get at Walt Disney World…if you can find it at all now that the anniversary is over!
This is cheaper than it was last year for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, and within $1 of the all-time low price per Amazon price trackers. It’s possible that it’ll be cheaper this holiday season or as more used copies enter circulation. On the other hand, it could just as easily sell out again tomorrow or go out of print and end up costing a fortune in a few years. (There are tons of OOP Walt Disney World art books from a decade ago that now cost hundreds!) As such, we highly recommend ordering it ASAP. It’s one of the best Walt Disney World books of all time, and well worth the money!
Turning back to the review, there are many Walt Disney World titles we love, but the best books have always skewed towards Disneyland and Imagineering. Walt Disney’s original magic kingdom (lower case) has received a treasure trove of deep dives into the park’s creation and history. Disneyland Nickel Tour, Disneyland: Inside Story, and Walt Disney’s Disneyland are a few examples of more exhaustive titles that appeal to California’s more ardent fanbase.
Unlike Disneyland, most official books about Walt Disney World over the years have been superficial souvenir guides aimed at being keepsakes from trips. There have been strong niche titles, focusing on a specific park or even attraction. Some of this is by necessity, as Walt Disney World is more sprawling than its California counterpart, and tough to do proper justice in a single volume.
About the only title to try is Since the World Began, the 25th Anniversary book by Jeff Kurtti. This has been a centerpiece of many Walt Disney World libraries for the last 25 years, and many fans hoped that Kurtti would author a follow-up to that title for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
Admittedly, I was skeptical. While Walt Disney World’s fandom resembles that of Disneyland more with each passing year thanks to Disney Vacation Club, D23, an expansion of the local fanbase, etc., the company still seems to view Walt Disney World largely as a place for tourists. To be sure, there are the merchandise deep dives, but they’re scattershot. Everything “big” seems to go for the low-hanging fruit of casual visitors.
Not so with A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth. While it’s a Disney Editions title, this is more like something painstakingly produced by TASCHEN than the company’s publishing arm. It’s also unlike the average coffee table book. Although it is a visual feast with rare concept art and photos, it’s also extensively researched, sourced and cited. I don’t recall ever paging through another coffee table book with a dozen-plus pages of endnotes.
More than anything else, this book strikes me as a passion project–a love letter to Walt Disney World from authors Kevin Kern, Tim O’Day, and Steven Vagnini. Those names should be familiar to longtime members of the Walt Disney World fandom, as this trio has been involved in everything from the Archives to D23 to Imagineering projects.
The book begins with chapters about the history of Florida before Disney and the Vacation Kingdom’s Preview Center, almost as warning to casual visitors paging through in the Emporium that this is no simple souvenir for remembering their once in a lifetime trips. This title is wholly devoid of regurgitated marketing copy and the same generic stock photos you’ve seen recycled for decades.
Even the best Walt Disney World books often focus an inordinate portion of their pre-1971 history on Walt Disney himself. To a degree, that’s understandable. The inimitable American original casts a long shadow, and his creative vision for the Florida Project certainly deserves attention. Often it feels like something other than that, with more generalized Walt lore borrowed from biographies to meet a page count.
The first two chapters of this 50th Anniversary tome are as laser-focused as Walt Disney’s ambitions for his Florida Project, weaving history with amusing anecdotes with colorful quotes. It’s relatively dense material, but never feels that way. Rather, the reader is pulled into the story of Disney and Florida, the surreptitious land acquisitions and the early years of development.
Even if you’re familiar with the story–and I’m well acquainted with it–the framing here is different, with more detail and descriptions directly from those involved. It reads less like the polished corporate history and more like firsthand accounts, warts and all, told over drinks. The parties involved come across as actual people with personalities, which is also a refreshing change of pace, and one that makes the history all the more engrossing.
One of my biggest frustrations with official Disney history is that it’s presented as “corporate canon” that has been meticulously sculpted over the years. Even the imperfections are calculated, an attempt to feign authenticity that rings hollow. Walt Disney is the protagonist (and only major “character”), and he’s a one-dimensional caricature of a real person who speaks in sound bite-sized quotes. Usually, the result is an interesting premise, but surprisingly stilted and superficial. (As a quick aside, this is why Walt Disney: An American Original is his best biography–it avoids those pitfalls.)
The first two chapters of A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth take what is undeniably fascinating history and tell its story in an authentic and engaging manner, presenting new information and individual accounts alongside art and photos. It might seem simple and straightforward enough, but the authors’ choices make a world of difference. The stories are captivating and come across organically, resulting in the first 73 pages reading like a page-turning novel. I was pretty surprised to look down and see I was already on page 64 when the book “finally” arrived at October 1, 1971!
All of this is aided by essays from some important individuals who reflect upon bringing Walt Disney World to life. Dick Nunis, the former Chairman of Walt Disney Attractions and Disney Legend, reflects on the decision to build in Florida, surveying the site, and trying to perform rudimentary visitor analytics.
Debby Dane Browne recalls her whirlwind experience going from reading about hiring of “Disney Girls” for the Preview Center to becoming Walt Disney World’s first Ambassador to her memories of opening day. Roy Patrick Disney, the grandson of Roy O. Disney, shares stories of his grandfather’s sacrifice and stewardship in making Walt’s dream a reality. Throughout the book, these essays and quotes bring fresh perspectives to the material, and imbue the book with a sense of humanity. (Some, like stories from John Stamos and Kevin Feige, hopefully make the title more accessible to a casual audience.)
Chapter 3 provides the framework for the rest of the book, drawing inspiration from the plaque under the Train Station: “Here You Leave Today And Enter The World Of Yesterday, Tomorrow And Fantasy.” This sets the table for subsequent chapters, which divide parks, resorts, lands, attractions, and the rest of Walt Disney World into four categories: Nostalgia (An Idealized Yesteryear), Fantasy (The Art of Make Believe), Discovery (Adventure and Exploration), and Tomorrow (A Step into the Future).
The final two chapters are shorter, looking back at past celebrations and forward to the World’s Most Magical Celebration. They’re still interesting, but are more aimed at wrapping up the book with a 50th Anniversary presentation. They’re not as thorough as the three chapters that make up the core of the book, though.
The first of those main chapters is Nostalgia, which offers examinations of Main Street U.S.A., Liberty Square, Country Bear Jamboree, Crescent Lake, Grand Floridian, Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror, and more. The Fantasy chapter is, naturally, home to Fantasyland, plus Pandora, Star Wars, Maelstrom, nighttime spectaculars, and Figment & Dreamfinder.
The Discovery chapter offers insight into Adventureland, Old Key West, Wilderness Lodge, River Country, Fort Wilderness, Typhoon Lagoon, Disney Springs, it’s a small world, much of Epcot and most of Animal Kingdom. As with the other chapters, there are quotes and fascinating anecdotes from key figures, such as Aunty Kau’i, the longtime cultural ambassador and educator at the Poly.
The chapter about and concept of Tomorrow is perhaps more clearly defined, with a clear focus on futurism and space. This is unsurprisingly home to Tomorrowland, Spaceship Earth, Horizons, Contemporary Resort, and the infrastructure that underpins the complex grid of the Vacation Kingdom of the World–transportation, energy, Utilidors, DACS Central, and more.
If you’re looking for a compendium of all things Walt Disney World, these chapters might disappoint. There’s nothing encyclopedic about this (that book already exists), which is the type of thing you’d typically find in a more straightforward souvenir book.
Thankfully, the authors eschew such an approach in favoring of offering interesting insight, anecdotes, and morsels of information that you otherwise might not know. For example, there’s no scene-by-scene description of Mickey’s PhilharMagic, but there is a tidbit about Tinker Bell originally being the “featured foil” rather than Donald Duck. This is then a jumping off point for a longer passage about the long-extinct Mickey Mouse Revue. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh fans (do they exist?) might be disappointed that it’s only given passing mention over the course of a couple pages about Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
You won’t be lost if arriving to this book with zero familiarity with Walt Disney World, but there’s definitely some background knowledge that’s assumed throughout the book. This is necessarily the case, as the authors are tasked with the formidable challenge of distilling 50+ years of history, parks, attractions, resorts, and more into a little over 300 pages. Without question, the approach they took was the right one.
Ultimately, A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth is the best book about the Vacation Kingdom of the World and one of the highlights of the entire 50th Anniversary celebration. While there are a number of excellent topical titles focused on something specific, nothing before has tackled Walt Disney World as a whole with such interest and insight. This is Walt Disney World’s “Nickel Tour,” which is the highest praise possible. It’s going to be the souvenir that creates new lifelong fans among Walt Disney World first-timers, and the spark that sets young kids on a lifelong career path.
This is an incredible testament to authors Kevin Kern, Tim O’Day, and Steven Vagnini. It’s evident their goal was a book by fans, for fans–and that’s exactly what they accomplished, while also making it easily accessible. The authors managed to take such a sweeping subject and present it in “something for everyone” format. Whether you’re after a coffee table book with beautiful art and photos or a riveting read about the history of Walt Disney World, this has you covered. As should be evident from my effusive praise, A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth is an absolute must-buy for all fans of the Florida parks.
A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth retails for $60 and is available from Amazon.com, in the parks, and at independent booksellers. It is frequently sold out online and at Walt Disney World, and often backordered on Amazon. We highly recommend buying is ASAP if you want it in time for Christmas. Click here to purchase A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth. We receive a small commission from your purchase, so buying through that link helps support the site!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you read or perused or A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 Years of The Most Magical Place on Earth? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
SOLD-just ordered through your link. Thank you for the in depth review.
This should dull the disappointment of the not-so celebration on Oct 1st at the park. The Disneyland 50th was spot on sensational while WDW was a bust. Covid was not the culprit either. Both CEO’s were at the park all week and at the very least could have appeared on the balcony of the castle to open the fireworks or something-They never had to be around crowds. Even do a speech projected on the castle…..but I digress.
I 2nd the comment from Mickey1928 about purchasing through your link. It doesn’t cost anymore then going directly to the site and if it helps keep this wonderful site choo chooing along than it’s a no brainer!!!!
Based on your recommendation back in December, my husband gave this to me as a Christmas gift! Love it!
I ordered this book today from Amazon should have it by Sunday. Like others it will take the place of our family vacation. Disney has become too expensive for our big family vacation. They are greedy charging more for less and took away the Magic!
Based on your review we ordered this book through your link. It’s supposed to arrive today. We can’t wait to see it. We’re “old” Disney fans and look forward to seeing the pre-Disney stories.
Thanks for the heads up that it was back on Amazon … just ordered it thru your link! So looking forward to reading it throughout our hot Florida summer days when there is no way I’ll head into a park.
I was also on the waitlist and got cancelled 2 or 3 times.. I finally got a copy from a 3rd party through Amazon and it was twice the price… I am however, really enjoying it now – taking my time reading it. I like the anecdotal aspect of the history, and appreciate how many details affected the outcome of what we enjoy today!
I also managed to get the book from the Orlando Sentinel early, and i really enjoyed their presentation as it was presented in a chronological voyage of newspaper stories about the genesis and growth of Walt Disney World. It must have been a real treat being a resident of Orlando as Disney evolved!
I hope the growth and evolution continues! My family and friends are going to Disney in August, and I cannot wait as we are staying at the Polynesian (first time on a monorail resort).
A must have. I was fortunate that I got a copy easily enough from Amazon.ca and no issues. Thanks for a awesome review. I like the way they divided into these sections.
Being from Canada, I commented earlier and said that I was hesitant about buying it from Amazon.ca (this is the Canadian Amazon – it is in stock but some reviews commented that the book was poorly packaged and often arrived damaged). However three weeks ago, I bit the bullet and ordered it from Amazon.ca and it came within a few days. It was loosely packed (one small piece of bubble warp that did not fit the box) but it arrived undamaged so I am happy. As an alternative, since I was going to WDW I considered finding the book there but I just got back and didn’t see it on anywhere (I didn’t look for it). Looking forward to some great reading. Looks like it is a great book. Hope everyone finds a copy.
I ordered from Amazon months ago for my sister. I got several emails saying it was coming and then they cancelled my order. And now Amazon is selling it for $85. I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere else. I just ordered a few days ago from Copperfield Books for $60. Fingers crossed it is scheduled to get to her by Christmas.
Great review Tom, very helpful, thank you. I am all ready to order it once back in stock!
Thank you, Tom. I was on an Amazon waitlist for this one, but took them up on one of their ‘also available at’ links. It arrived a couple of days ago.
I’m extra excited to read this because I also turned 50 within the past few months – I thought my family and I would be celebrating by visiting the parks, but it’s looking more and more like the trip will exceed what we can afford. I will enjoy reading this book that much more, knowing that it’s likely the closest I’m getting to the parks for the big celebration.
I appreciate the book review, and all of your thoughts and commentary. This blog site is a treasure in and of itself.
My copy just arrived a week ago and I can’t put it down! Your review makes me even more excited for what’s left. Thanks Tom!
Had I known I could help out DTB with a purchase via the link, I would have surely done so!
Maybe I’ll give a few copies as gifts
I know that my husband pre-ordered it for me as a Christmas gift and it has arrived. It’s taking all my willpower to not search and find where it’s hidden. I am so excited to read it but I don’t want to ruin the “surprise!”
Haha. Well, if it helps, this book is very much worth the wait! 🙂
Tom
I want to buy this book but have held off buying from Amazon.ca (I’m from Canada) as reviews from people who bought it say that Amazon ships it cheaply and the book has arrived dented, bent, etc. Hopefully there will copies when we go there next month.
I’ve had that problem with Amazon on other books (the copy of this that I bought from Amazon was perfect), and a quick chat with customer service has resulted in them sending another copy. (Often without me returning the first.) I know that’s not an ideal solution with a backordered book like this one, but there aren’t any great options here given how hard to find this is.
Tom, another wonderful book on Walt Disney’s Life is by Neal Gabler, Walt Disney was published in 2006. If you haven’t read it, I think you’ll enjoy it.
I’ve read some interviews with Gabler and saw the PBS doc produced with his involvement, but not read the full book. I need to check it out at some point–along with a few others.
Hi Tom! I ordered this when it first became available for pre-order and am still waiting from Amazon. do you happen to have any other suggestions for ordering? Thanks!
Unfortunately, I do not. It’s almost impossible to find this anywhere right now. The only “good” option at this point seems to be WDW when it happens to be restocked, but that’s obviously not viable for non-locals.
Your review is perfect.
I ordered this on Feb 1st. I did it through your blog rather than going to Amazon. Why do I mention this? Because it’s important to let other readers know that by doing so it cost me nothing but it supports your blog which towers over a huge field of Disney blogs/websites and I’d hate to see it end.
I’d be interested in knowing if you think Disney World at 50 by the Orlando Sentinel is worth reading. I fear it might just be culled from a bunch of shallow quickly written previous news articles. I hope I’m wrong and if you say the word throw me a link and I’ll buy it.
Thanks for the kind words!
I do plan on checking out the Sentinel’s book, but have not yet. I’m behind on so much, as evidenced by this month-plus late review, and don’t want to take that on yet. Regardless of opinions on the current Sentinel, it has been the hometown paper of Walt Disney World for the last 5 decades (plus) and has had a lot of good coverage, talented writers, and photographers during that time. It’s just a question of how much of that made it into the book.