Andy and I had a great time at MouseFest last week. When we weren’t attending meets, we were busy taking pictures of trash cans, crates, signs and every book we came across.
Yep…we even found books at Walt Disney World. Countless people were waived politely past us as we strained to get a picture of a book on a shelf in a queue, in a restaurant or during a ride. We were amazed at the amount of books that Disney has used throughout the parks.
I know…I am such a book nerd but Andy is such an enabler!
I’ll tease you with the first book we found this trip, but it deserves a special post all by itself. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Da. ‘Nuff Said.
On our second day, we joined the MouseFest throngs at the Animal Kingdom. Our intent was to get me on Expedition Everest as many times as possible. The first time through the queue, we were shocked at two things: it was walk-on with no wait and there were books everywhere. We did the stand-by twice, FastPass a third time and single riders for the fourth ride. During the FastPass wait, we saw a great little stand that looked like a vendor/shop area. They sold first-aid kits, packs, maps, magazines and books about the Himalayas, mountaineering and the Yeti. It was very cool to stumble upon that.
After a scrutinizing the display area and getting as many pictures as possible, I noticed one of the coolest details that I have ever seen in a Disney Park.
In the picture above, there is a light brown wooden carving of an animal. Underneath it is one of our favorite Disney books. Take a close look.
Yep. It is Walt Disney Imagineering: a Behind-the-Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real
We have talked about this book quite a bit at Imaginerding. It is the one book that everyone should have in their collection.
It was such a great moment. Out of the hundreds of books we saw in the queue, somebody in Imagineering felt it was important to add this book about themselves to this monument of a ride. A monument to Imagineering and the art of storytelling.
As we always say at Imaginerding: It is in the details. Make sure you take a moment the next time you are in the parks to stop, look around and be amazed.
http://www.imaginerding.com
now thats a whole new level of hidden mickey – thats really cool
Very nice. I am big fan of how the Imagineers theme, prop and plus throughout the parks. This is a wonderful detail that I have missed. Not again. Thanks.
Soooooooooo… you’re saying there were no.. well… for example… WDW Trivia Books in the queue? Curses!! Foiled again….
We did see lots of Steve Barrett’s books everywhere… (ducks)
What a great marketing idea, Lou! You could throw books at people while on rides.
Yeah guys, that is a great book. Great catch.
y’all rock
Theres a picture of Walt Disney right next to it.
“Our intent was to get me on Expedition Everest as many times as possible.”
This is a worthy goal indeed.
So, how long did you stare at that bookshelf before you realized that hidden gem was there?
disneyana–
Yeah…there is something there. It is a book and I have seen it before. Lemme check my archives to see.
Ray–We stopped to take pictures…Andy and I split up the area. I happened to notice it right before we turned away. It was a great moment.
Jennifer–I missed it during my 2006 trip. We had to do it this time!
I’m not referring to the book next to Imagineering.
I mean the picture of Walt Disney right behind it and the brown statue.
If you do have that book though, I wouldn’t mind knowing what it is.
It is the Walt Disney Imagineering book.
You can see the cover on a previous post we did:
Walt Disney Imagineering
D’oh!
I have the book right in front of me.
Honest mistake 🙂
Nice to see I was blown off to take pictures of books.
Lori–
Uh…actually, it was the fear of being on the safari with 260 other MouseFesters!
And riding EE four times! Woot!