"Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 04:29:54 GMT

"... So what do you think, folks? Does it now seem like this new Disney Editions book will be worth the wait?" - Jim Hill

Ummmm..... Yes.

Looks great.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 09:34:35 GMT

Kurtti and Gordon always do a great job. Nice to finally know why the book's been so delayed. Better yet, is to learn that the book will be even better!

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:47:42 GMT

I agree with Destino. Thanks for posting this article Jim. As I recall, I originally ordered that book on Amazon in 2005. Now I am definitely looking forward to it, and content to wait.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 11:36:38 GMT

isn't he working on a art of Walt disney World book as well?

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:40:23 GMT

I've been waiting for this book since 2005 when it was first listed on Amazon. I'm glad I didn't pre-order with the Surrell's Disney Mountains. I would be waiting forever to get em both. I really do hope it's worth all the wait. I scored a copy of Kurtti's Art of Disneyland book and for the price I paid at DL ($95.00) it was rather lacking for the price. This book needs to be great in order to impress. I want it to be as thick as Disneyland Paris from Sketch to Reality or The Architecture of Reassurance. I'm looking forward to Peggy's new Imagineering Workout...that should be a delight and if Buttermaker is right I will look forward to the art of Walt Disney World.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:11:56 GMT

I've had this thing on pre-order since it was announced two years ago. Every six months I get an Email from Amazon telling me the book is delayed and will I accept an extension. I'm expecting the usual Kurti thinness to a book...and, reality speaks here, am getting tired of waiting, no matter the reason. But, it's like Splash Mountain on the left coast, I fear...doomed not to open on time and needing it's flume rebuilt and everything else along the way. I wait. At least it isn't the overpriced disappointment that ART OF DISNEYLAND was. (agreed, not worth $ 95.00.)

Disney's Mountains is on the way. I've seen a copy of it already. Brilliant piece of work.

BTW - if anyone gets lucky enough to get ahold of it...there was a copy of MAKING OF HONG KONG DISNEYLAND - MAGIC AT WORK - Melody Malmberg - ISBN 988-98708-1-9 that was briefly sold at the Cast Team Center in California...if you are interested in a good pictorial development book on this park (Hong Kong) - this is a reasonable bok to have in your library....

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:44:19 GMT

Thanks for the piece, Jim. I appreciate the support, and I'm quite proud of the book.

terp79: I have nothing to do with setting prices, I fully agree that The Art of Disneyland was stunningly overpriced at 75.00.

Sorry Skipperwest finds my work "thin," not sure what that means. I work quite diligently within the constraints of each publishing project to deliver a book that I would want for my own library.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:40:08 GMT

Wow!

I enjoy reading quite abit and somehow this book managed to slip under my radar until now. It sounds amazing! I can't wait!

Thanks Jeff.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:17:13 GMT

I am just glad that the imagineers form yesteryear are gettin their just due. Becasue, as I have mentioned here before, usually all good ideas that come out of imagineering came from origianl ideas by the older imagineers.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:18:01 GMT

Hi Jeff and Jim. I hadn't been planning on purchasing the book as I'm on limited funding...but I think I just changed my mind.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:49:13 GMT

Wow, this sounds like an incredible book.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:24:43 GMT

Jeff - the ART OF DISNEYLAND is a prime example. The over-pricing for such a thin book...that was my statement. And, I felt that more should have been delivered for the buck. I mean, look at books like Gordon & Mumford's NICKEL TOUR, Bright's DISNEYLAND INSIDE STORY, and the well-edited IMAGINEERING - BEHIND THE DREAMS LOOK...these are all moderate cost books (depending upon their year of release and the cost of living at that time) that are packed to the gills with inside information. These books tend to average around 200 pages of information and artwork. Some a tad more, some a tad less. Even the books by Surrell (MANSION, PIRATES, MOUNTAIN) tap at about 150 pages average count. And, equally chock full of information and images. ART OF DISNEYLAND clocked in at 130 pages and about thirty more buckolas than the most expensive of the listed works above. And, a lot of the artwork therein (not saying all) had previously been printed in other books and sources. Thirty dollars would have been a reasonable market draw for ART OF DLAND. You state you didn't set the cost, fine, you were on line for content. And, there is a whole lot more content that needs to see the light of day in my humble opinion. Again, this is not saying ART OF DLAND isn't a brilliant book. It is. It holds a choice position on my bookshelf of Disney Park Reference material. I wish it could have been more bang for the buck. That's all. And, it is a thin work...especially when physically placed on the shelf amongst other books of similar subject.

Given that this was a piece for the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland, this book should have been twice as thick and twice as filled with visual information and related descriptions. My hopes were high for something and I was less than stellarly impressed with what I got. No offense to you directly, but, the product was short of the mark..although good and worth having in content. In comparision, Marling's book for the 50th, BEHIND THE MAGIC, was a superior offering of information and images on the history of Walt Disney's first theme park. Even though Marling's work topped out at 110 pages and is physically "thin", it is far weightier than the ART OF DLAND in substance and regard.

I have been waiting for the IMAGINEERING book you are working upon for over two years now. There have been real delays in the process of getting it to the public...no matter what they are. I am hoping for something that has the content and depth of Randy Bright's 'INSIDE STORY' or the punch of the just mentioned Marling entry, 'BEHIND THE MAGIC'.

Other than that, I enjoy your work and creativity and htank you for oyur time hat you put into editing and bringing forth the books you do.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:26:06 GMT

(oops - keyboard is getting old and the last line went through bad. Should read, "thank you for your time that...")

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:47:11 GMT

As I said, I have nothing to do with pricing, and could not agree more in re: the Park edition of The Art of Disneyland. "The usual Kurti [sic] thinness" called out an overall opinion of superficiality to my work that was troubling.

The bookstore edition is priced far more realistically at $45.00, as will The Art of WDW.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:15:09 GMT

Jeff - I am sorry that such a feeling was implied on your end. The obvious work you do with your projects, DVD, book, otherwise, speaks amply for itself. It's all about "bang for buck" return...and nothing to do with the person who is pouring their energy...especially proven energy...into a project. I am guessing that you ran into a lot of obstacles in getting that book (DLAND 50th) compiled and completed, and, that there was a lot more material that should have made the final cut that didn't due to given reasons of whatever.

re: "Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Jim Hill — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:16:58 GMT

Thanks Guys, this book looks and sounds truly amazing. We will be proud to have it in our Disney Book collection!