Kevin Yee’s “‘Earbook 2011” and “Christmas at Walt Disney World” are books that will help you book your next WDW vacation

Jim Hill

13 years ago

Kevin Yee is a cyborg.

Mind you, that's my theory. I don't have any definitive
proof. Not yet, anyway.

But there has to be some sort of logical explanation as to why
this MiceAge columnist has become the Terminator
of Disneyana-related authors. I
mean, Kevin just keeps coming up with book ("Mouse Trap: Memoir of a Disneyland Cast Member") after book ("Walt Disney World Hidden History") after book ("Tokyo Disney Made Easy") after
book ("101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World") after book ("101 Things You Never Knew About Disneyland") after book ("Magic Quizdom") after book ("The Walt Disney World Menu Book") after book ("Unofficial Walt Disney World 'Earbook 2010: One Fan's Review in Pictures") after book ("Your Day at the Magic KingdomYour Day at the Magic Kingdom").
If Yee keeps this pace up, he'll eventually
have his own wing at the Library of Congress.

Just in the past month alone, Kevin's had three different
books which he's had in a hand in turn up on store shelves. The first of this
trio — "Jason's Disneyland Almanac" (Zauberreich Press, November 2011) [which
Yee co-authored with Jason Schultz] – I've previously reviewed here on JHM.
Which is why I'd now like to turn your attention to Yee's other recent opuses, "Unofficial Walt Disney World 'Earbook 2011: One Fan's Review in Pictures" (Ultimate Orlando
Press, November 2011) and "Christmas at Walt Disney World: An Unofficial Pictorial of the Christmas Season Through the Years at the Parks and Resort" (Enchanted
Swampland, November 2011).

When I opened the review copy of "Unofficial Walt Disney
World 'Earbook 2011: One Fan's Review in Pictures" that Kevin was kind enough to send along last
week, the first things that I noticed was that the 2011 edition of this
Unofficial WDW yearbook was significantly beefed from last year's edition. We're
talking 164-pages versus the 72-pages found in the 2010 edition.

"So why would I want to purchase a copy of 'Earbook 2011?,"
you ask. Because this paperback is a terrific snapshot of what went on the Walt
Disney World Resort in the past year. Everything from the construction of The
Haunted Mansion's new interactive queue right through to the new Dine-In
Theatre at AMC Downtown Disney 24.

Yee clearly made an effort to include as much as possible
when it came to what actually went on at the WDW Resort in 2011. And some of
the stuff that's included here is sort of redefines timely. By that I mean:
Kevin's got pictures in here of the holiday version of "The Magic, the Memories,
and You!" And given that the Christmas edition of this projected-on-Cinderella-Castle
light show didn't debut at that Magic Kingdom 'til November 8^th of
this year, it's just kind of stunning to see shots of this show included as
part of the 2011 edition of the "Unofficial Walt Disney World 'Earbook."

And speaking of the holidays … If you've ever tried to
convince your family that they should spend some of the coming holiday season
in Central Florida but just couldn't close the deal, have I got a book for you.
"Christmas at Walt Disney World: An Unofficial Pictorial of the Christmas
Season Through the Years at the Parks and Resorts" is a virtually a sales
brochure for why you & your family should spend at least one Xmas hanging
out with the Maus … er … Mouse.

Just to be clear here. Kevin is only the co-author of "Christmas
at Walt Disney World." Truth be told, Denise Presskit of MouseSteps did most of
the heavy lifting here. She's the one who selected the over-200 pictures which
are featured in this 96-page paperback (FYI: Many of the images showcased here
were culled from Jeff Lange of JeffLangeDVD's photo archives) as well as
writing much of the text.

But with Yee adding his editing expertise to the mix, "Christmas
at Walt Disney World: An Unofficial Pictorial of the Christmas Season Through
the Years at the Parks and Resorts" not only gives you a glimpse of the most
recent holiday celebrations at the WDW Resort, it also allows you to look at
Christmas Past. So you can then get a sense of how Mickey has tweaked his Xmas
decorations over the past 40 years.

Now I know that some folks might balk at "Christmas at Walt
Disney World" 's suggested retail price of $22.95. Which may seem like a lot for
a 96-page paperback. But if this is the book that then actually helps you close
the deal for your family so that you finally get to spend the holiday season at
WDW … Well, it's then definitely worth the investment, don't you think?

Likewise, there are those who might complain about the suggested
$24.95 retail price associated with "Unofficial Walt Disney World 'Earbook 2011:
One Fan's Review in Pictures." But when you consider the literally dozens of
trips that Kevin had to make to the four WDW theme parks over the past year in order
to collect all of the info & images which are featured in this 164-page
paperbook, that's a relatively small price to pay for all that effort.

And speaking of effort … If Kevin wrote this many Disney-related
books in 2011, one wonders what 2012 will hold for this prolific author? Beyond
– of course – a nearly terminal case of writer's cramp.

But then I remember. Only humans get writer's cramp. And
since Yee clearly isn't human (Has anyone ever seen him go through the metal
detector at the airport? I'm betting that Kevin's X-ray sort of looks a lot like
the T-800 from all those "Terminator" movies), there's just no way that this guy
ever gets writer's cramp.

Whereas me … Just reading all three of the books that Kevin
Yee had a hand in that got released in the past month made me tired. Having to write
them would have put in me in a coma.

Speaking of which, it's time for my long pre-winter's nap.
But if we have JHM readers out there who have previously purchased some of this MiceAge
columnist's other writing, could you perhaps tell us what your favorite Kevin
Yee book was / is ?

Your thoughts?