The Backstories and Magical Secrets of Walt Disney World: Main Street, U.S.A., Liberty Square, and Frontierland [Volume 1] (Walt Disney World Backstories)

This book is an invaluable resource for any Walt Disney World guest who wants to get the most out of his/her experience. The book explains how the Imagineers created a space that literally immerses guests into the story. Any casual guest can enjoy their experience. But for anyone simply willing to look for them, the Imagineers planted various story-telling elements in each location. These elements are like buried treasures, that, if noticed, will take the guest’s experience to the next level. Chris Smith has given us the ultimate treasure map to find these gems. Reading about these hidden treasures makes not only good reading but the perfect book to read before your next visit to WDW. (In fact, I plan to take the Kindle version with me the next time I stroll down Main Street, U.S.A..... Hopefully by then there will be a “Backstories” App for my smartphone!).

This is a good book to have for any Walt Disney World fan, but it could use a good edit. There are a number of punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors that should have been caught prior to printing. My only other fault is that the book comes off as a compilation of separate articles rather than a book that should be read cover to cover, since it makes minor repetitive reference to things mentioned in previous chapters. Even with these, this is a necessary Disney book. It’s worth having as a reference.

The author could use an outside editor as there are niggling grammatical and punctuation errors, however the book is very enjoyable and informative. As someone who is obsessed with finding out everything I can about the Disney park histories, I was still able to learn some heretofore unknown facts about the three areas covered in this book. I look forward to the next one in the series.

The details and the way they are presented are wonderful! Easy, pleasant, informative reading. Adds more magic to an already magical place!

So good and interesting. Made a great stocking stuffer

I am always surprised by the depth the Disney Imagineers put into the backstories of the various attractions. This wonderful book covers half (vol 2 is on the way) of the backstories and trivia about the attractions and other secrets at The Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.For Main Street, just about every window is covered, with location, the wording, the history and a mini-biography of the legend so honoured.A Large Chapter on the Haunted mansion, covering all the queue (fascinating!) the backstorieS (which is rather confusing as Disney had not settled on one before Walt passed, so there are several backstories) the ride itself, and some nice trivia.Even stores and restaurants are covered, and I found the sections on the Liberty Tree Tavern and Pecos Bill to be full of stuff I didn't know or hadn't noticed. Next time, spend a few extra minutes there, with this tome are your guidebook, you will be edified.Tons of stuff on Tom Sawyer's island.Big Thunder and the sadly never build Thunder Mesa are covered in depth.Interesting ride facts, trivia and several back stories for Splash Mountain and Country Bear Jamboree.All real fans of the Magic Kingdom should pick this up, it will enhance your next visit immeasurably!.

Some good info here, but unfortunately there's a decent amount of stuff in here that either isn't correct or just doesn't exist. The Wild Bill cards in Peco Bill's are not the dead man's hand. The boot scrappers are not in Liberty Square. There's a few more . Completely forgivable if you're putting it up for free on the web, but if you want people to pay you for your insights, you better be accurate.

This book provides information on several Disney attrations, the creation of, hidden secrets and things to look out for when you go visit. I enjoy the behind the curtain information one can learn from reading this book about the various attrations.