From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland

For Disney fans everywhere, here's the inside scoop on Walt Disney's greatest creation. The Disneyland Story skillfully recounts how the world's first theme park was conceived, nurtured, and grew into a source of joy and inspiration for visitors.

This fascinating history describes how Walt's vision maintained momentum, thrived, and taught future generations how to do it Walt Disney's way. Learn the backstory of his successors' battles with the whims of history and their own doubts and egos, as well as the stories behind your favorite rides.

Inside You'll Find the Stranger-Than-Fiction History of Disneyland:

• How did Walt Disney's frustrations with his movie studio lead to the creation of Disneyland?
• Who were the people who designed, built, and enhanced his park over the years?
• How did the park survive Walt's passing?
• And much more!

My View Through the Windshield provides an enlightened look at over 380 sacred places protected by the National Park Service. Having lived the #VanLife for over six years, I've had the privilege of exploring these parks in-depth. The parks are meant to reflect ourselves and our nation. What can we learn?

While working at Yellowstone National Park, I wondered why people want to pet the bison. This question sparked extensive observation and meticulous research, leading to a profound conclusion: The National Park Service and theme parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios employ similar tactics to engage the public's imagination. They all excel in storytelling and preserving beautiful environments while offering contemplation and physical recreation opportunities. As the author of books about Disneyland and the Universal Studios theme parks and a consultant to both organizations' creative teams, I am uniquely positioned to make this connection. Once you uncover these secrets, your perception and experience at our national parks will forever be transformed.

Get ready to see the parks in a whole new light. My View Through the Windshield takes a unique and innovative approach by grouping the parks by their primary themes (volcanos, geology, fossils, Indigenous People, Manifest Destiny, Wars, American Ingenuity and Innovation, etc.). This structure provides a fresh perspective and reinforces the NPS system and why it matters.

The Story of Walt's EPCOT

Disney historian and urban planner Sam Gennawey traces the evolution of the EPCOT we didn't get and the Epcot we did, in a tour-de-force analysis of Walt's vision for city-building and how his City of Tomorrow might have turned out had he lived.

Beginning with Walt's earliest conceptions for Progress City, a centrally planned, centrally run community where people could work, live, and play, Gennawey weaves urban planning concepts into a meticulously researched historical narrative that culminates in Walt's death and his brother Roy's decision to focus on building a new theme park in Florida, not an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

In Walt Disney and the Promise of Progress City, you'll read about:

Walt's early attempts at physical entertainment with steam trains and Disneylandia

The building blocks of theme park design, and how they were put to use in the creation of Disneyland

Why the Mineral King and Independence Lake projects failed

The real story of the Florida Project, and why Walt didn't want to build another Disneyland in Florida

An in-depth look at what Walt hoped to accomplish with EPCOT, and whether he could have done it

How EPCOT might have been built, with Walt calling the shots: an eye-opening what-if analysis

Disney Legend Marty Sklar says that Gennawey captured much of the attitude and events of the times, and hit on much of Walt's drive and inspiration, and Lee Cockerell, a former Walt Disney World executive vice-president, says, I thought I knew a lot about Epcot until I read Walt Disney and the Promise of Progress City. Find out what Walt really had in mind for tomorrow!

Universal Studios never really wanted to get into the theme park business. They wanted to be the anti-Disney. But when forced to do so, they did it in a big way. Despite the fits and starts of multiple owners, the parks have finally gained the momentum to mount a serious challenge to the Walt Disney Company. How did this happen? Who made it happen? What does this mean for the theme park industry? In Universal Versus Disney, his newest work to investigate the histories of America's favorite theme parks, seasoned Disney-author Sam Gennawey has thoroughly researched how Universal Studios shook up the multi-billion dollar theme park industry, one so long dominated by Walt Disney and his legacy.

From the publisher of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland comes The Disneyland Story: The Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream, the story of how Walt Disney's greatest creation was conceived, nurtured, and how it grew into a source of joy and inspiration for generations of visitors. Despite his successors' battles with the whims of history and their own doubts and egos, Walt's vision maintained momentum, thrived, and taught future generations how to do it Walt Disney's way.

Universal Studios never really wanted to get into the theme park business. They wanted to be the anti-Disney. But when forced to do so, they did it in a big way. Despite the fits and starts of multiple owners, the parks have finally gained the momentum to mount a serious challenge to the Walt Disney Company. How did this happen? Who made it happen? What does this mean for the theme park industry? In Universal Versus Disney, his newest work to investigate the histories of America's favorite theme parks, seasoned Disney-author Sam Gennawey has thoroughly researched how Universal Studios shook up the multi-billion dollar theme park industry, one so long dominated by Walt Disney and his legacy.

Jay Stein Builds a Better Mousetrap

After years of sitting fat and happy atop the theme park totem pole, Mickey Mouse discovered a big cat in his backyard named Jay Stein. Against stiff odds, corporate politics, and fierce opposition from Michael Eisner's Disney, Jay Stein founded Universal Studios Florida. This is how he did it.

Starting in the mailroom of MCA (now NBCUniversal), where his duties included delivering messages to stars like Alfred Hitchcock and Ronald Reagan, Jay Stein soon found himself in charge of the Universal Studio Tour, reporting directly to MCA chairman Lew Wasserman. He became a keen observer of what Walt Disney had accomplished in Disneyland-and how one day he might do even better.

That day came when Wasserman gave Jay the go-ahead to build a Universal theme park in Orlando, Florida. With help from Steven Spielberg, Jay got to work, in Jay style: no excuses, no retreats, no failures. Despite Disney's relentless attempts to sabotage the project, and ruinous infighting among members of his own team, Jay did not give up.

When the new theme park opened in 1990, it was full of Jay's patented JayBangs-rides and attractions that stunned, shocked, and surprised guests, dousing them with water, blasting them with air, heat, or cold, and giving them what the Disney parks of that time lacked: fear and visceral delight.

It was beating Michael Eisner at his own game. It was catching Mickey in a trap he couldn't aw-shucks his way out of. It was Jay Stein's triumph. But the man who went from delivering messages to building theme parks wasn't done yet...

Jay Stein Builds a Better Mousetrap

After years of sitting fat and happy atop the theme park totem pole, Mickey Mouse discovered a big cat in his backyard named Jay Stein. Against stiff odds, corporate politics, and fierce opposition from Michael Eisner's Disney, Jay Stein founded Universal Studios Florida. This is how he did it.

Starting in the mailroom of MCA (now NBCUniversal), where his duties included delivering messages to stars like Alfred Hitchcock and Ronald Reagan, Jay Stein soon found himself in charge of the Universal Studio Tour, reporting directly to MCA chairman Lew Wasserman. He became a keen observer of what Walt Disney had accomplished in Disneyland-and how one day he might do even better.

That day came when Wasserman gave Jay the go-ahead to build a Universal theme park in Orlando, Florida. With help from Steven Spielberg, Jay got to work, in Jay style: no excuses, no retreats, no failures. Despite Disney's relentless attempts to sabotage the project, and ruinous infighting among members of his own team, Jay did not give up.

When the new theme park opened in 1990, it was full of Jay's patented JayBangs-rides and attractions that stunned, shocked, and surprised guests, dousing them with water, blasting them with air, heat, or cold, and giving them what the Disney parks of that time lacked: fear and visceral delight.

It was beating Michael Eisner at his own game. It was catching Mickey in a trap he couldn't aw-shucks his way out of. It was Jay Stein's triumph. But the man who went from delivering messages to building theme parks wasn't done yet...

The Story of Walt's EPCOT

Disney historian and urban planner Sam Gennawey traces the evolution of the EPCOT we didn't get and the Epcot we did, in a tour-de-force analysis of Walt's vision for city-building and how his City of Tomorrow might have turned out had he lived.

Beginning with Walt's earliest conceptions for Progress City, a centrally planned, centrally run community where people could work, live, and play, Gennawey weaves urban planning concepts into a meticulously researched historical narrative that culminates in Walt's death and his brother Roy's decision to focus on building a new theme park in Florida, not an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

In Walt Disney and the Promise of Progress City, you'll read about:

Walt's early attempts at physical entertainment with steam trains and Disneylandia

The building blocks of theme park design, and how they were put to use in the creation of Disneyland

Why the Mineral King and Independence Lake projects failed

The real story of the Florida Project, and why Walt didn't want to build another Disneyland in Florida

An in-depth look at what Walt hoped to accomplish with EPCOT, and whether he could have done it

How EPCOT might have been built, with Walt calling the shots: an eye-opening what-if analysis

Disney Legend Marty Sklar says that Gennawey captured much of the attitude and events of the times, and hit on much of Walt's drive and inspiration, and Lee Cockerell, a former Walt Disney World executive vice-president, says, I thought I knew a lot about Epcot until I read Walt Disney and the Promise of Progress City. Find out what Walt really had in mind for tomorrow!