A Historical Tour of Walt Disney World

In this special hardcover edition of A Historical Tour of Walt Disney World, which includes both volumes for the first time in one book, Andrew Kiste pulls back the pixie-dust curtain on some of the most iconic rides in the Magic Kingdom. First, he explores the rides themselves, from the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean to Spaceship Earth and Country Bear Jamboree. Then, in a departure from most other tourbooks about Walt Disney World, Kiste also explains the many historical and cultural influences that inspired Walt Disney and his Imagineers.   Did you ever wonder why Walt wanted a Jungle Cruise? Or how closely his Pirates of the Caribbean were based on real pirates? Or why the original conception for Tomorrowland didn't work out? Or how the Crystal Palace is really the work of a forgotten Victorian architect? With A Historical Tour of Walt Disney World, you’ll discover the answers to these questions and much more. Learn the history BEHIND the history of such popular Magic Kingdom locations and attractions as:

• Main Street, U.S.A.: It's always the Fourth of July on Main Street, and everything there has a purpose that might surprise you.
• Jungle Cruise: Despite the skipper humor, this ride has its roots in European colonialism and the scramble for Africa.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Did the real pirates of the Caribbean act like those in Adventureland?
• Crystal Palace: The first two Crystal Palaces burned to the ground; how much is Disney's popular restaurant their carbon copy?
• Tomorrowland: Disney's original plan to faithfully represent the future fell apart when the future didn't cooperate.
• Spaceship Earth: Earn an honorary degree in world history as you absorb, in depth, the historical background of each scene in Epcot’s centerpiece attraction.
• Storybook Circus: Take in the history of the American circus and see how this new area of Fantasyland puts you squarely under the big top.

  Find out where the Imagineers got THEIR ideas!