Between Books - The Imagineering Story

 

It’s a brick!

Don’t get me wrong, bricks are good. Bricks give us firm foundations.  

When I ordered The Imagineering Story, I saw the 700-plus pages and had a thought. It’s an oversized art book? That many pages just have to be filled with a lot of pictures, definitely more than text. It will definitely be artful, fun, and light.

There are five pages of pictures…and all in the front of the book!

Stop thinking art books, and start thinking 700-page fiction fantasy or thriller because this book is just as wild of a ride as any of those! And it is all words my friend!

The Imagineering Story: The Official Biography of Walt Disney Imagineering by Leslie Iwerks is more than a companion to the Disney+ series of the same name. She documents the actions of Walt Disney Imagineering from Walt Disney to the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. She draws a line of artists, creators, and business people who shared a common mission, “to create fun.” Iwerks provides a deep narrative that moves from park to park and milestone to milestone for Disney creatives. While giving us a history of things and events she adds multi-page biographies of Imagineers that often includes how they were recruited by Imagineering and their impact on an important project. The writing is clear, detailed, and consistent. And while it is not an academic press, it is clear that Disney sees this volume as exactly what the title claims “the official biography.”

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty. Iwerks overall keeps a calm tone. It is one that neither gets too high nor too low, it is honest and consistent. So while readers may come up against names that give them internal frustration, Iwerks avoids name-calling and dirt-digging. Everything is neither always good and never always bad. It is just frank here are the facts. It is likely this tone that allowed her to talk about some low points in Imagineering history in both the book and series in a Disney-sanctioned program. Let’s be honest, Disney does have a tendency to paint a rosy at all times picture. And Iwerks does not have to run away from the bad times for employees and the parks. I am still shocked that Michael Eisner was given such a big role in her series, and I am all for it. In the end, Iwerks can go places that maybe Disney marketing may not have preferred because to be blunt she wasn’t looking to flame anyone, she’s just providing facts.

Personally, I really liked her biographies of Imagineers. And yes as expected we get our Tony Baxters and Kevin Raffetys and other well-known figures. But I must admit, I was shockingly under informed of the career of Disney Legend, and guest star of The Mandalorian, Wing Chao. These biographies also answered questions for me about some Imagineers I saw in the program. For example, Doris Woodward was a new to me Imagineer, and Iwerks has time on the page to give us the background on this key leader for Shanghai Disney. And maybe these biographical asides were my favorite part as they allowed me to connect with people.

As Disney fans, we have dreamed about staying overnight in a Disney park. In the United States, we dream of winning an in-park suite for the night. Or we daydream of getting locked in by accident. Internationally, we may have the opportunity to stay in a Disney hotel in a park. But in 2011, 70,000 guests were marooned in Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea after a devastating earthquake and national tragedy. This is not how I would like to be staying overnight in a park, especially with cold temperatures. And Iwerks’ retelling of this incident has stuck with me. It shows that we may not know everything and The Imagineering Story has so much Disney history something that you’ve never read about is going to be in here. And Iwerks’ clear writing creates drama and tension.

The biggest personal issue I have with the book is a lack of an index and a lack of cited sources. Lack of index is likely my biggest future problem. This book is huge. And really one does need a map to go back and find content for future projects. Even writing this review required me to dig to confirm content a little harder than I really wanted to. Have I mentioned this book is huge? The lack of citations I am going to give her a pass on. Iwerks is a filmmaker, not a historian. I have a history background and I like to see the work. Iwerks relied heavily on interviews and internal sources and when quoting someone she always gives you the speaker in the text. She had access to the Disney Archives and most of all the people who lived the creations. We must remember that Iwerks is the granddaughter of Mickey Mouse’s co-creator and the daughter of a Disney film legend. Disney Legend could be the family crest! She is more focused on telling a story of creating fun, and her lack of citations keeps moving the story she’s telling forward of creativity and innovation.

In 2023, we enter the one-hundredth year of the Walt Disney Company. The Imagineering Story is the beginning of a book program to support this milestone. And Leslie Iwerks gives us the first good brick in the magical year’s foundation.

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Cap's Comics - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad #3

As Big Thunder Mountain Railroad #3 opens, Abigail Bullion finds herself captured by the gang that robbed her father's gold train.  And as she discusses her situation with her captors, the real question becomes who is the real villain in this story.  The robbers swear it is her father who is the real robber, mistreating workers and the mountain.  But can her father sweet old Barnabas T. Bullion, the victim of theft, be everything the thieves claim he is.  Talking is not enough to show Abigail who the real villain of the story is, but action reveals all.  A crisis will reveal to Abigail everyone's true colors.

Brian Crosby Connecting Variant Cover

Sadly the third installment of this Dennis Hopeless Disney themed adventure is slowing down for me.  Honestly the tardiness of my review shows my general lack of enthusiasm.  Honestly, it could be because it is a Western comic, something I really do not read.  But Figment 2 definitely has help my interest when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad  has not.  Though I do still like the fact this title has a strong female hero.  And she is willing to open her mind while still standing firm for what she believes.  I just wish that a Tony Baxter modeled figure was not a questionable bad guy.

Hopefully, the next issue can help me feel connected to the parks and the roller coaster my family truly loves and have not seen for way to long.  

 

Cap's Comics - Disney Kingdoms Big Thunder Mountain #1

Regular Cover

A goat munching on dynamite!

A miner enjoying the bath!

Strolling the streets of Rainbow Ridge!

Yes, you have entered the world of Big Thunder Mountain!

Disney Kingdoms Big Thunder Mountain Railroad #1 written by Dennis Hopeless with art by Tigh Walker takes the reader to the Arizona Territory of 1878.  Abigail Bullion travels from the East after the death of her mother to join her father as his oversees the family's mining operation.  But Big Thunder Mountain locating at Rainbow Ridge is not producing gold in the same quantities as the past.  Some speculate that this means they should dig deeper.  But Chandler, a young and handsome miner, speculates that the mountain is telling them to stop digging deep.  Abigail explores her new home and sneaks herself into the mine so she can see the source of the family's finances.  But while in the mountain an incident occurs that leads readers to question who is that masked man?

Brian Crosby Connecting Variant Cover

Overall I think the creative team puts up a solid effort.  Hopeless has written several titles for Marvel in the past.  But I will admit that most of his titles I have read in the past were superheroes.  So I was I was a little worried that he would not pull off a Western story, especially since the genre is not a personal favorite.  And I will admit he succeeds with this issue feeling different than his work I have read previously.  I do think this is more text heavy than Figment, but I never felt it to be too wordy.  and best of all, he provides a story around the back story we already know for the roller coaster.  Walker's art feels like you are brought into the old West.  Though my favorite moment may have been his first appearance of Mr. Bullion, who I think most looks like his inspiration Tony Baxter (the designer of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) in his first frame. 

Tom Raney Variant Cover

Abigail is a strong role model for young ladies.  She is somewhat non-complaint to her parents, which is a concern for the parent in me.  But she is clearly strong-willed and determined.  She demonstrates that she is teachable as she explores Rainbow Ridge.  And she seeks knowledge.  I personally think she is lead character that both boys and girls can relate to as she has qualities that everyone should admire.

Phantom Group Variant Cover

But as Bob Iger reminds us, Disney must remember the boys too!  And I think that Chandler is going to grow into a character that boys, and again girls, can admire.  He appears to be concerned with doing an accurate job while also being kind to the environment.  And he is truthful.  But if this young man does not serve the bill as a boy role model, I am fairly sure that the unknown masked man will provide a outlaw attitude that will attract young males. 

It has been awhile since the last Disney Kingdoms release and I have missed having a regular release of a Disney Parks themed comic.  I am not a Western guy, but I do love Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  And the choice to stick close to the Imagineering back story really worked for me, instead of providing new reveals early.  I look forward to Hopeless and Walker playing in this world and more Easter Eggs tracing the story back to the classic roller coaster. 

Between Books - Disney Destinies

Everybody has bad times.  Everybody just hits that rough patch you cannot get past, you think.  And everyone needs a little inspiration sometimes.  It is amazing what a little reminder of how others have moved past their obstacles can help cheer someone (including yourself) up.

Disney Destinies: How Passing, Patience and Determination Can Take Anyone Anywhere by Karl Beaudry recounts stories of Disney personalities and legends who experienced tough times and moved past them.  Beaudry starts with the big cheese himself, Walt Disney, reminding us of his setbacks including a bankruptcy and detractors who mocked his ideas.   Along with Walt Disney, Beaudry profiles Disney figures that you are likely aware of like Bob Gurr, Tony Baxter, Ward Kimball and more.  But he also spends time with lesser discussed figures like Vesey Walker, Owen Pope, and a surprise Disney personality Steve Martin.  The typical chapter is not a full biography but a look at specific incidents that the individual had to struggle with to become the success they later became.

I can see someone picking this up and believing it is a book of biographies like Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends.  Disney Destinies is not really a history book, it is an inspirational text.  I think an alternative name, in jest only, would be Chicken Soup for the Disney Fan's Soul (it does not appear such a book exists).  In this book the inspiration is not provided through moral tales or fables, but through the real-life stories of people that Disney fans will likely know or come to relate to by the end of the profile.  Why inspiration?  Beaudry makes it clear that he was reading a lot of Disney history during a rough patch in his life and found inspiration from the stories he was reading.  In short, he is now sharing what inspired him when he was undergoing a personal struggle.  Beaudry succeeds in sharing this inspiration by providing easy to read text with smooth connections between the story and where the individual could claim success.

Though I will admit with me being a history fan there were still insights I pulled out of the book.  I did not realize how the lose of Roger Broggie's father as a young child put him on the path towards his later career.  And I did find the thoughts on Steve Martin's career, including his job at Disneyland as a youth before the magic shop and his long years as a stand-up without success as a story of perseverance.  And I had never really thought about the fact that the Popes relocated their entire lives to Disney property from the Studio to Disneyland to Walt Disney World throughout the decades to support Walt Disney's dream.  

I could see giving this book to a Disney fan facing a personal struggle since they will connect to the profiled figures.  I could also see giving this book to a young adult just starting to dig into Disney history since there are a number of individuals that they will be introduced to who will come up again in their reading.  I would probably not suggest this to someone who wanted an in-depth history of the Walt Disney Company, as this is not the book's purpose.  With a Kindle version priced at $4.99 it would be an easy book to give to a Disney minded friend who needs inspiration.

Everyone struggles sometimes and everyone needs some inspiration.  As Karl Beaudry points out there are no real dead-end jobs.  There are only steps in one's story.  Disney Destinies reminds us that even those we admire faced difficulties in their lives.  And like them we can overcome them.     

Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press

Cap's Comics - Figment #1

 

I'm not obsessed with Journey into Imagination.  There I said it.  You might think me a lesser Disney fan for saying it but it is true.  I have never and will never see Figment and Dreamfinder in their glory.  I enjoyed the book From Dreamer to Dreamfinder, but I am not really the target Disney fan that Marvel and Disney are trying to reach with Disney Kingdoms second comic offering Figment.

Figment #1 written by Jim Zub with art by Felipe Andrade introduces us to Blarion Mercurial, a young man with some facial hair that we could imagine eventually sprout into Dreamfinder hairy greatness.  Mercurial works for the Academy Scientficia-Lucidus in 1881 London and has been charged with discovering new forms of energy.  He creates the Integrated Mesmonic Converter which makes energy from brain power.  However, his employer doubts his creation and threatens to send him back into the arms of his childhood poverty.  In experimenting with his machine he unlocks his own memories and imagination, re-introducing himself to an old friend!  In the final pages his experiment is interfered with and he begins a journey that looks to shape the young man.

Disney Original Figment Variant Cover

Here just let me say it, I liked it!  Figment was a well-written, beautifully illustrated tale that I felt achieved exactly what it wanted, part one on a heroic adventure of discovery.  I liked the 19th century setting and found the art a good mix.  I have heard many say the previews had a steampunk look.  But I felt like the steampunk aspects, like a owl like helmet, were not forced but were a natural part of the story set in our world.  And even though I am not in fanboy love with Dreamfinder or Figment, I found myself feeling connected to Mercurial.  And I could not help but hear Billy Barty's voice when Figment spoke.  I thought it was a huge success with my only major criticism being a lack of creator credit for Tony Baxter and Steve Kirk.

Tom Morris Imagineer Variant Cover 

What I am really enjoying about this Disney Kingdoms series is the all-ages aspect of a comic.  This line is not bloody and something that I can share with my kids.  And the Between Tween really likes Figment from a past trip to Epcot.  The Tween also came to connect to Mercurial, and I do wonder if we should consider this story canon for the origins of Figment and Dreamfinder.  And the Tween really liked the fact that Mercurial blew some stuff up!

I joke around with my local comic shop guy quite a bit.  So when he saw me put down three issues of something called Figment he began to tease me.  I noted it was Disney, which lead him to fly to the shelves to pull a copy for another regular who buys all Disney!  And he quit teasing me realizing that Figment is a beloved pop culture icon.  He did not realize what he had when the title went out!  Why three?  I was buying two for none comic fans!  I hope Marvel is taking note that some non-regular customers are buying these books.  

The Tween said it all with, "That's it, you can't stop me there."  Figment was really enjoyable and I look forward to next month's installment!  This is the sort of title that makes me realize all the fun that Marvel can have with Disney's characters and not just how much fun Disney will have with Marvel's! 

Between Books - Walt's People Volume 13: Talking Disney with the Artists Who Knew Him

For a few years now I have had Dider Ghez's Walt's People series on my radar.  These oral history collections seemed like a good fit with my educational background.  So when Theme Park Press asked if I would be interested in reviewing the latest volume I immediately jumped on the the request.  But what I did not realize was that a simple book review was a intense journey into Disney's past.

Walt's People Volume 13: Talking Disney with the Artists Who Knew Him edited by Didier Ghez is over 550 pages of oral history.  The volume contains 27 separate interviews of former Disney employees in areas ranging from animation, live-action films and Imagineering.  There are plenty of voices that Disney fans would recognize from Tony Baxter, Roy E. Disney, Fess Parker, Blaine Gibson,  and Don Iwerks.  But the interviewers also introduce us to less familiar names like Becky Fallberg and Paul Kenworthy, who while perhaps not commonly known figures shed light into working at Disney in their interviews.  Ghez collects the interviews, and his collaborators who interviewed the subjects include well-known Disney historians such as John Canemaker, Michael Broggie, Dave Smith, and Paul F. Anderson.  Along with the interviews there are also two essays included.  The first on John Parr Miller is written by Canemaker, while the second on John Sibley was completed by Peter Docter.

Alright, let me put in my complaint!  I really want an index.  Yeah, that's it that's my one complaint.  That is a pretty weak criticism!   I get why it's not there, with over 550 pages of rich text that endeavor itself would be highly time consuming and add considerable length to this alright large book.  So I would love one to help ease the searching of the researcher in me.  But, I will pick up other volumes without one.  Because honestly, these pages are full!  

I expected to breeze through this book.  I will be honest, I was kind of cocky about it.  But instead it has taken me four weeks to complete the volume.  Quite simply, this is not a vacation book.  No this is a fact packed journey, actually journeys, into Disney's past.  And even the speech patterns and the vocabulary of the subjects become part of one's reading as you try to get to know these Disney artists in more depth.  In short these interviews are treasures and they should not be ran through, one needs to stroll.

One of the things I found interesting, and perhaps it was intentional, was reoccurring themes in the book.  So for example, early in the book labor relations at the studio and the 1941 animators strike continually resurfaced.  And with numerous animation staff discussing the incident, the reader can begin to exam it in other angles.  Another reoccurring theme that stood out to me was the True-Life Adventure film series.  A reader can walk away from Walt People Volume 13 after reading Roy E. Disney's, Kenworthy's and other interviews the process, time commitment and staging involved with capturing nature on film.  I found the Don Iwerks interview  extremely exciting, especially since the interviewer Michael Broggie's father was once Iwerks manager and mentor.  The interchange is fascinating since they share a common foundation of understanding.  And it is highly interesting to read an interview with the son of the man who drew Mickey Mouse.  

Walt's People Volume 13 confirmed for me this is a series I must complete. But I also know this is not a series to be trifled with.  These pages are jam packed with events and perspectives from the viewpoint of artists who lived them.  So as one would recommend that you don't rush to your favorite ride in the park you should not rush straight to Tony Baxter without visiting with his other colleagues and their stories also.  And as you research your favorite Disney topics, you should expect to look into these volumes to find new insights.  Walt's People Volume 13 is a must have in a Between Books library dedicated to Disney history!  

Review Copy Provide by Theme Park Press

Between Books - The Imagineering Workout

The Imagineering Workout: Exercises to Shape Your Creative Muscles by the Disney Imagineers is a collection of mostly one page essays that highlights different aspects of the creative process. Topics in the book range from using your creative license, considering the audience, storytelling, and finding inspiration. Contributors include Imagineers familiar to Disney fans such as Tony Baxter and Jason Surrell and many more who’s names are not as public. Along with the text many of the essays are illustrated or have boxes for readers to write notes to help sharpen their creative skills. The essays also have grey boxes with areas of emphasis.

This volume really is a companion to The Imagineering Way but with shorter essays. The topics and tone of both books are generally the same. The book is one that a reader could pick up and put back down to come back to later with the short essays. And it is a volume that one can search for just what you need when you need it. Honestly, I have been using it to gather quotes over the last few weeks to share at work and for a presentation. But the book itself as straight through read can be difficult as the writers switch from page to page. Overall, for anyone doing a creative task, which is really everyone, this book can provide inspiration but not detailed techniques on creating.

The Imagineering Workout is a short volume that provides inspiration from those who build the Disney Parks. It is something that can be a good creativity resource though it really is not a how to but inspiration. For those who want short and small packets of inspiration, this could be a good book to explore.

Walt's Windows - Magic Kingdom: Imagineering the Magic

Magic Kingdom: Imagineering the Magic provides a history of the development of the Magic Kingdom Resort at the Walt Disney World Resort from an Imagineering eye.  Host Diego Parras, Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) Media & Broadcast Production Manager, takes viewers on a historical tour of the park using the voices and recollections of the Imagineers that helped build the park.  Prominent Imagineers that contribute to the story of the park through interviews include John Hench, Marc Davis, Harriet Burns, Rolly Crump, and many more.  The story is told through a mixture of period pictures with narration, videos from the parks and interviews.  The story of the park is told through a land by land tour of the park.

I really did enjoy the windows this presentation provides on the history of the Magic Kingdom Park.  Highlights for me of course included stories about the work of Marc Davis.  There is a deep discussion about the Haunted Mansion and the roll taken by X Atencio to balance the multiple creative geniuses who contributed to the attraction.  Atencio had to combine the work of Davis (funny), Claude Coates (creepy), Crump (strange) while using the visual creations of Yale Gracey.  And I enjoyed hearing about Davis’ plans for the Western River Expedition, cancelled for the Florida version of Pirates of the Caribbean.  They show how despite the project was cancelled that it still influenced other attractions like Big Thunder Mountain.  Another enjoyable moment is Tony Baxter talking about working with painters at the Jungle Cruise, a story that I had never heard before.  But it is not just the superstars like Davis and Baxter that are discussed, as another legend Bill Evans and his work with landscaping is also highlighting. 

There is some oddity to the presentation.  Some of the video is black and white segments that are clearly Disneyland.  This is especially true with Tomorrowland video, and is typically included as quick flashes within montages.  I am pretty sure that Imagineers like Tony Baxter realize that the jetpack demonstration was in Disneyland during the 1960s.  And images of the Monsanto House of the Future are also clearly from the West Coast park.  We should assume that the segments probably relied heavily on stock footage from the Disney library, but it would have improved my experience if they had the images all match the park being discussed.         

The special features section is one that will catch the interest of most Disney history fans.  There is an excerpt of the Cherry Plaza Hotel news conference from November 1965 announcing Disney’s entry to Florida.  The excerpt shows Roy O. Disney’s enthusiasm for this new project.  Also viewers can see Walt Disney speak of what he dreamt for this new projects especially a city of tomorrow concept.  Somewhat disappointing is “Roy Disney’s Dedication Speech.”  The disappointment is the lack of video as the feature is primarily Disney’s speech over stills.  I would have really loved video, which perhaps does not exist.  Other special features include a segment on the Cinderella Dream Suite, “Project Florida” which discusses the building of Walt Disney World, “Mickey’s Trivia Tour” and an art gallery.  The Between Tween got 12 of the 14 trivia questions correct, though admittedly the Tween probably knows more Disney trivia then the typical Tween.    

 I have to admit a moment of pride while watching Magic Kingdom: Imagineering the Magic.  One Imagineer called the Walt Disney World Resort by the name Disneyworld.  The Between Tween yelled out, “That’s Walt Disney World.”  Yeah, I’m proud!  Yet for someone, like me, who has heard many of these stories before I still could feel the hair standing on the back of my neck in excitement as Imagineers told their stories.  For someone who is a WDI fan, Magic Kingdom: Imagineering the Magic is a must own.  But for someone who just wants an overview of the park, the free vacation planning video may be a better investment. 

  

Between Books - The Imagineering Way

We can all agree that the artists of Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) create magic.  But how does an idea move from idea to concept to final attraction?  The book The Imagineering Way by The Imagineers gathers the collected creative wisdom of WDI and attempts to show how non-Imagineers can use the same principles in their everyday work and creative lives.

The Imagineering Way consists of small essays written by a number of WDI staff.  These include well known Imagineers including Tony Baxter, Marty Sklar, John Hench and honorary Imagineer Richard Sherman.  But being in the public eye is not a key to selection of inclusion in the book as a number of lesser known Imagineers contribute to the book.  Contributors range across a number of WDI disciplines including story, lighting, artists, and engineers.  The essays range from a page in length to no more than five pages.  Some of the essays are not even really essays but doodles, quotes and poems.  The essays are grouped into five main topics including brainstorming, building a culture, creativity, and multi-tasking. 

I have wanted to read this book for several years, ever since I saw it lying on a shelf in a Downtown Disney store in Orlando.  I have contemplated picking it up several times and have pushed it off until my most recent vacation.  I probably built too much anticipation over the years as I found myself slightly disappointed.  I do not think the book falsely advertised what it was, but I do not believe I truly understood what it was.  I was expecting a cohesive creative manual for non-Imagineers.  Instead the book is a series of quick hits which are only loosely held together.  Once one understands the style of the book it is possible to mine nuggets of wisdom from the WDI team which can be used in your non-Imagineering life.  In fact, I believe this book is highly quotable, and I could see stealing quotes from this text in the future especially as tweets.  Additionally, readers should not expect this book to include detailed concept art or discussions of WDI disciplines.  The book focuses on the philosophy of creativity not the artistic skills needed to develop a final WDI project. 

The Imagineering Way attempts to connect the philosophy of Imagineering to the non-Imagineering community.  It offers the common man the ideas that help guide Imagineers and makes suggestions on how these principles can be used beyond the walls of WDI.

Between Books - From Dreamer to Dreamfinder

I never met Dreamfinder.  I am not obsessed with Dreamfinder.  I have no nostalgia for the old version of Journey to Imagination at Epcot.  In fact I have warmer feelings for the Audio-Animatronic Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe, and he is not even alive!  Dreamfinder and the height of Figment’s presence in the park were simply before my time.  So I looked to From Dream to Dreamfinder as a chronicle of an Epcot, character and attraction that I never experienced.  And coming from that perspective I was shocked to how much I connected with Ron Schneider’s From Dreamer to Dreamfinder.

Schneider, best known as the original Dreamfinder at Epcot’s opening in 1982, chronicles his life in themed entertainment in From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years Behind a Name Tag.  While Disney fans may be aware of the character of Dreamfinder and expect much of the book to be about Schneider’s time at Epcot, readers instead will find a book that outlines a long and diverse experience in themed entertainment ranging from theme parks, dinner shows, and historical reenactments.  Schneider starts with his childhood and his growing love of Disney, including his attendance at the first operational day of the Disneyland Park.  Schneider becomes what can only be called a Disney fan collecting park memorabilia while also showing an interest in theater.  In 1971, Schneider begins his first job as a in park performer.  He portrays a mountain man whose performance partner is a lion named Major!  Schneider moves forward improving his acting skills until he in 1980 becomes an understudy to legendary Disney performer Wally Boag at The Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland.  While in Disney employment he hears of a character created by Imagineer Tony Baxter planned for the second park at the Walt Disney World Resort, Epcot.  Schneider auditions for the new role and becomes the original Dreamfinder, helping to define the character and his interactions.  After several years portraying this iconic character, Schneider shifts into other roles including freelance writing, writing and supervising the celebrity look-a-likes at Universal Studios Florida, serving as a guide for Titanic: The Exhibition, and a return to Disney opening the new Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  Schneider closes the book with five appendixes sharing his years of experience on themed entertainment.

I found this book very surprising.  I thought I would find a nicely written memoir that looked fondly on professional experiences and almost exclusively within Disney Parks.  What I found instead was refreshing.  First Schneider makes it clear that he was a Disney fan before he even became a performer, starting as a kid.  And his fandom continues into the age of the Internet with his participation in the Disney fan community.  Additionally, I expected that of this book at least a third would be dedicated to Dreamfinder at Epcot.  Instead, this is far from the focus of the book.  Instead the diversity of Schneider’s career stands out.  I felt as if he went more in-depth into his time supervising the look-a-likes at Universal than his days as Dreamfinder, which makes sense he spent twice as much time in that role.  I did not realize that this book would start in Disneyland, and that he had experiences at Walt’s original park.  And the diversity of Schneider’s experiences helps highlight the range of themed entertainment experiences, I had not expected for example to read chapters, and very interesting chapters at that, on dinner shows.  If I could ask for more content on any one of these topics it would have been his tenure with Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  But his lack of in-depth discussion on how the magic is made, which he alludes to but does not spell out for his reader, is likely due to the respect he is giving an active show. 

I really came into this read with preconceptions that were proven wrong.  Because another expectation I had was Schneider would paint a very rosy picture of his days at Disney and other themed entertainment experiences.  Instead, the book is highly realistic about these experiences and at times Schneider names the guilty.  There is at least one personality that he speaks of in code, a personality that Schneider clearly did not like, but in general he talks about people known within the themed entertainment circles.  For example, he discusses Crazy Joe of the restaurant Fiascos in depth, including both positive and negative points about his personality and operation.  And he is not above criticizing shows found in amusement parks such as calling out the shortcomings of a show titled “Super-Santa-Tastic Extravaganza” before a guest even sees the show.  Schneider is frank about situations in which he felt his contribution was ignored or overlooked.  And he even discusses the burn-out of being a Disney cast member and character.  Overall he is very frank as he invites the reader into his life.              

I really enjoyed, as you can probably guess, this well written memoir.  Ron Schneider is engaging and shares his experiences both on and off stage.  And despite the fact that for me the nostalgic factor was non-existent even I could feel the excitement on the back of my neck as I read of his return as Dreamfinder at the 2011 D23 Destination D event celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort.  Dreamfinder’s, I mean Schneider’s, writing made it clear that something special and emotional was going to happen even to the non super-fan.  From Dreamer to Dreamfinder is a well written and highly engaging book that provides depth to the performance aspects of theme parks, and an essential for Between Book libraries.    

Review Copy Provided by Bamboo Forest Publishing