Sunday, June 07, 2009

Book Review: The Art of Walt Disney World Resort

Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon's THE ART OF DISNEYLAND is one of the most prized volumes on my Disney theme parks bookshelf, along with DISNEYLAND THE NICKEL TOUR by Bruce Gordon and David Mumford.

I was thus very happy today when I was able to purchase (20% off!) Kurtti and Gordon's new THE ART OF WALT DISNEY WORLD. I'm not sure what month it was released, but it has a 2009 copyright date.

The book is selling at highway robbery prices from Amazon vendors, but there are plenty of regularly priced copies available on Disneyland's Main Street.

Speaking of Main Street...


...I forgot my camera today but was able to take a couple of cell phone snaps of the flowers on Main Street...


...as well as the Astro Orbitor, which has a new silver paint scheme:


Back to THE ART OF WALT DISNEY WORLD. This oversized (10-1/4" x 13") 139-page book is every bit as special as THE ART OF DISNEYLAND.

The book contains huge paintings of designs for the parks, the resorts, and attraction posters. The book is meant to be read turned a quarter to the right, the better to make "widescreen" use of the pages.

My favorite artwork includes the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square and designs for the Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts.

The last few pages of the book profile Disney Imagineers including Tony Baxter, Sam McKim, Dorothea Holt Redmond, Mary Blair, and more.

This book is a "must" for those who collect books on Disney theme parks.

2 Comments:

Blogger Irene said...

I met Tony Baxter at the Christmas Carol Train when it was at Union Station a few weeks ago and got a picture with him :) Really nice guy.

You went to Disneyland on a Sunday? I hear the traffic is really bad on Sundays now. How was the park? I'm going today after work for awhile. Hope to see a preview of Magical.

7:29 AM  
Blogger Laura said...

How great you met Tony Baxter! I saw him at the Julie Andrews tribute last spring but didn't meet him. I heard the Union Station event was pretty crowded -- it's wonderful you got to go!

We almost didn't go to Disneyland yesterday because of the stories we'd read about Sunday traffic, parking shut down, etc. We decided to give it a try anyway, figuring we'd just turn around if it was bad; we wanted to cash in the college girl's new passport (bought at Costco) and get the $50 gift card rebate.

It was absolutely nothing like the horror stories we'd read -- maybe enough people read online to get scared away! We sailed into Mickey & Friends lot (no electronic signs warning the park was crowded, either), got her pass at Guest Services in a matter of minutes, and went right in to both parks. Disneyland was relatively uncrowded, i.e., Casey Jr. was almost a walk-on (?!). Took about 15 minutes for Matterhorn.

We then went over to DCA so she could see the construction and the Blue Sky Cellar; it was a little more crowded, especially Paradise Pier. Might have been the last day of the Food & Wine Festival causing the crowding. Midway Mania was the usual 45-minute wait as it is on busier days.

Good luck trying to see the preview -- let me know if it happens!!

Best wishes,
Laura

9:03 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Newer›  ‹Older