Hidden History of Walt Disney World - by Foxx Nolte (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Author Foxx Nolte gives readers a glimpse behind the curtain of the most magical place on earth. Millions of people a year visit Walt Disney World, but few would consider it to be a place with any real history. But hidden just below the surface, past the blanket of pixie dust, is a story as vivid and bizarre as any. It is a history of corporate politics, urban planning, crazy ambitions, and failed schemes. The Hidden History of Walt Disney World takes you on a journey that stretches from "Old Florida" to the events that made Walt Disney World what it is today. There's birds made of citrus, horizontal elevators, a ghost town, and tennis ball factories. And that's just the start. Whether you've visited one or one hundred times, your vacation will never be the same again. Yep, the castle is fake. But the stories are not.

Review Quotes

A behind-the-scenes look at the Magic Kingdom

Each chapter is a new story and it reads as if you were sitting around talking with the author who is sharing stories and interesting tidbits of information they had learned.

I recommend Hidden History of Walt Disney World to any Disney theme park fans who want to learn more than Disney's official and often repeated view of events. Readers with any level of Walt Disney World knowledge will find something they enjoy and even die hard fans will learn something new here.

Hidden History of Walt Disney World by Foxx Nolte is not your typical secrets book by just highlighting events within Walt Disney World. Notle does an excellent job of connecting the park's history to the geographical region it resides in strengthening the mental image of the parks to the city. If anything, there were times when I wanted a little bit more so I had more facts to share with those around me. Though often, like the story of the Walt Disney World Preview Center, Nolte finds ways to bring the story back around full circle.

"The best Disney historian hands down. This book is full of surprises." - Josh Avery, Goodreads

"No one writes about Disney theme parks like Foxx Nolte; no one rises above the trivia and goes beyond the mere sleuthing of historical facts, no one nails the essence of what makes these parks work - and fail." - novelist Cory Doctorow

"It's very easy to be snarky with this, but it's approached it in a way that's critical, but not snarky. And that's exactly what you need." - Brian P. Miles, The Retro Disney World Podcast

About the Author

Foxx Nolte is the author of Boundless Realm: Deep Explorations Inside Disney's Haunted Mansion and Scoundrels, Villains & Knaves: Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Popular Culture.