The highly acclaimed and rated Disney+ documentary series, The Imagineering Story, becomes a book that greatly expands the award-winning filmmaker Leslie Iwerks’ narrative of the fascinating history of Walt Disney Imagineering.

 The entire legacy of WDI is covered from day one through future projects with never-before-seen access and insights from people both on the inside and on the outside. So many stories and details were left on the cutting room floor-this book allows an expanded exploration of the magic of Imagineering.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

The Disney Plus series that this book is an expansion of was probably one of the first things I watched on the streaming platform when I took out a subscription. As someone fortunate enough to have visited Disneyland back in 2004 (if memory serves), along with multiple visits to the Disney World Resort in Florida, most recently in 2013, as well as many of the other parks in the Sunshine State, I have a deep love for the Disney parks.

From the perspective of a visitor, there’s a magic and charm to them that the parks here in the UK just don’t seem to be able to achieve. That said, with a Universal Studios project just up the road from where I live, that might just change. But the point stands, Disney parks are filled with so many moments of magic – large and small. This book dives into HOW these were created.

From Walt’s earliest plans and the idea he supposedly got from a trip to Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens (which I’d also say is well worth a visit), through to the development and construction of that first park in Anaheim and his plans for expansion in Florida, this book charts that path. It also charts the growth of the portfolio of parks beyond those of Walt’s lifetime. Filled with anecdotes and stories from legendary imagineers, some such as Bob Gurr, Marty Sklar and Joe Rhode, who have become legends among legends, and senior members such as Bob Iger and Michael Eisner. This is a magnificent, if hefty, book for anyone with a love of the Disney parks and an interest in the art that came to be known by Walt as Imagineering.

My rating: