{"product_id":"people-behind-the-disney-parks-isbn-9781484748725","title":"People Behind the Disney Parks","description":"\u003cb\u003eMeet the people who created Disney theme parks around the world!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough rare Disney theme park concept art and photographs, this must-have collector's book showcases more than 280 biographies and features more than 50 pages on the evolution and behind-the-scenes of the Main Street, U.S.A. areas across the globe, up to and including the fairytale castles at the end of each street.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKeen observers will notice intricate details throughout the Disney parks, including names featured on building windows. In particular, the windows of structures lining Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom are designed as calling cards for fictionalized shopkeepers, business owners, and academy heads. These names belong to the real life \"all-stars\" who helped make Disney's theme parks a reality around the world. The people cited on these windows are skilled artists, business leaders, Imagineers, songwriters, and more. With their imagination and sharp skills, each person has made an important contribution to The Walt Disney Company.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople behind the Disney Parks\u003c\/i\u003e is a gift that Disney collectors, theme park fans, and anyone curious about creative career paths through the arts and sciences will appreciate for decades to come.\u003cb\u003eChuck Snyder\u003c\/b\u003e took his first trip to Walt Disney World in October 1974, when he was five years old, and immediately fell in love with the place. Nearly fourteen years later, he began his Disney career as an EPCOT street sweeper, through the Disney College Program in February 1988. That spring he transferred to the Magic Kingdom for the opening of Mickey's Birthdayland, where he joined the entertainment department and later met his wife, Tracy. Upon moving to Los Angeles, Chuck wrote for several sitcoms before becoming a Disney Channel writer\/producer in marketing for nine years. He wrote the initial book, \u003ci\u003eWindows on Main Street: Discover the Real Stories of the Talented People Featured on the Windows of Main Street, U.S.A. \u003c\/i\u003e(2009), which was sold exclusively at the Disney parks. He has been delighted to extend his research on this new and much-expanded project.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJosey Tsao\u003c\/b\u003e is an illustrator and designer based in Los Angeles, creating work for animation, books, and theme parks. She has had the pleasure of working with Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney’s WonderGround Gallery, Bento Box Entertainment, and Cartoon Network Studios. While she thrives collaborating with studios and clients, she also continues to develop her own illustration work to tell her own stories. She often finds inspiration exploring new places and looking for buildings with stories to tell. One of her fondest memories is walking down a quiet Disneyland Main Street before park hours at sunrise.\u003cb\u003ePROLOGUE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e It Takes People\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e It has often been said, even originally by Walt Disney himself, that The Walt Disney Company was all started by a mouse. Perhaps it could be said, then, that the Disney parks were all started by a polo injury. For it was after Walt suffered a back injury playing the game in the 1930s that his doctor encouraged him to find a new hobby.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Walt had a love of miniatures and of railroading; thus his new hobby turned out to be miniature railroading. Walt immersed himself in his railroad hobby, working after hours in the studio Machine Shop, where he eventually built his own miniature steam engine, the Lilly Belle. With this little locomotive, Walt’s imagination and creativity were forever set free from the limitations of the two-dimensional world of the Disney animated movies—to roam in a new and exciting three-dimensional world.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e On December 16, 1952, with his mind full of new ideas, Walt formed his own creative company, WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), to develop plans for a family entertainment venue, which came to be known as Disneyland. There would be no miniature train in this park; his interests and ideas had progressed to the point where everything would now be life-size. He wanted his park to be of the highest quality, like his motion pictures, and he hired only the best people to assist him. Some were already on his staff, working at the studio in Burbank; others would be hired specifically for the project. But they all shared one characteristic: a belief in an idea that existed only in Walt’s imagination and that had never been realized before.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Today the idea to build Disneyland seems like an easy decision. At the time, however, the risks for all involved were great, and success was far from guaranteed. But the crowds came on July 17, 1955, and they have continued to come ever since. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Walt Disney World was risky in another way. Built partly on swampland, the “Florida Project” was, at the time, the largest privately funded construction project in the world, costing $400 million. The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair, which featured four Disney-created attractions, proved the viability of and interest in an East Coast park. Roy O. Disney, who headed the project after Walt’s death in 1966, built a vacation kingdom that is still the most visited resort destination in the world. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This book is about the men and women whose creative visions, tireless efforts, “can-do” attitudes, teamwork, and ability to dream have brought a smile to the face of anyone who has visited a Disney park. The ultimate honor for these cast members, as employees are known, is to have their name emblazoned on a window on Main Street, U.S.A.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e To the typical park guest, these names appear to be the calling cards of make-believe shopkeepers. In reality, the names belong to the “all-stars” of the parks’ histories. As one walks down Main Street, U.S.A., these names are the opening credits to a show like no other.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In 2009, I worked with the Disney Editions team to write a twenty-four-page paperback called \u003ci\u003eWindows on Main Street: Discover the Real Stories of the Talented People Featured on the Windows of Main Street, U.S.A.\u003c\/i\u003e It featured a short biography on forty-five individuals who had been honored at the parks. Now, with the opportunity to write a much larger, 352-page book, I have dug even further into the research and created this extensively updated and expanded volume. On the following pages is a complete listing of talented people and their extraordinary accomplishments.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e They are all responsible for bringing Walt’s park ideas to reality. And all it took was faith and trust . . . and just a little bit of pixie dust.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e —Chuck Snyder\u003cbr\u003e Fall 2023","brand":"Disney Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305031880933,"sku":"NP9781484748725","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781484748725.jpg?v=1767734628","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/people-behind-the-disney-parks-isbn-9781484748725","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}