Fridays with Jim Korkis: The Independent Walt Disney World Encyclopedia
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
YOUR PERSONAL DISNEY LIBRARY (49)
By Jim Korkis
- The Independent Walt Disney World Encyclopedia Vol. 1: Magic Kingdom by Kevin Yee and George Taylor
Knowing the experience and previous work of the two authors of this book, Kevin Yee (whose past books, including Walt Disney World Hidden History, I have recommended) and George Taylor (whose original ImagiNerding website was a favorite of mine and I told him so), and their reported list of sources that they used, I was personally extremely disappointed with this book.
It is described as follows: “This volume about the Magic Kingdom is the first in a series of comprehensive books about the Walt Disney World parks and resorts. The authors combed through numerous official sources such as park guide maps, official books, the official Walt Disney World website, and D23 publications and blogs to collate their information, and cross-referenced it thoroughly with unofficial sources, like third-party books and guides, fan websites, news websites, and fan blogs and podcasts. The result is a first-ever comprehensive listing of attractions, restaurants, and merchandise locations in the Magic Kingdom.”
It is oddly sized at eight by ten inches and contains only a hundred and three pages of content, with an additional twenty pages being lists of attractions/restaurants/shops by Land and an index. It also includes small black-and-white photos scattered throughout the text.
It is definitely not “comprehensive”. The short paragraph entries in the body of the book are cursory at best, and incomplete and misleading at worst.
For instance, the description of the Sword in the Stone ceremony held in Fantasyland lists the opening date but omits that it ended in August 2006. I would have also liked an additional sentence at least to explain that Merlin was looking for the new “temporary ruler of Fantasyland” while King Arthur was on vacation, and that the show ran approximately fifteen minutes. This information and more is easily obtainable and confirmed with a few seconds of searching.
Entries are not just incomplete but often misleading. The entry for the Diamond Horseshoe Revue indicates that it was replaced in 1986 by the Diamond Horseshoe Jamboree and “the show remained relatively the same”. No, it was a completely different show with Miss Lily and Sam the Bartender now hosting with completely different music, only a piano accompanist and some on-stage audience participation, among other things.
Once again, this information is not obscure or difficult to find quickly. Many items are just simply missing as well, including the Citizens of Main Street like the Mayor who made many magical memories for guests over the years, or the Car Barn in Town Square where guests could visit one of the horses, discover the authentic antiques and chat with a cast member. There is no entry for the Partners or Sharing the Magic statues even though they use the image of the Roy statue on the cover and list a Partners reference in the index that leads to a page with no information on it.
Sometimes you already need to know something like that Beacon Joe is on the Rivers of America (he is not listed in the index) just to find the name but no explanation of who or what he is in the Rivers of America description.
Sadly, both of these authors know much more about the Magic Kingdom off the top of their heads as they have demonstrated than they have included in this book.
My standard for what a Disney park Encyclopedia should look like is The Disneyland Encyclopedia by Chris Strodder that I highly recommend. It is accurate, clear and filled to overflowing with information, especially opening and closing dates.
At this point, I am not looking forward to future volumes of this series from Yee and Taylor, but at a cost of only eight dollars you may consider it worth adding to your collection if you are a completist.
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Thanks, Jim! Come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including his new books Vault of Walt: Volume 10: Final Edition, Kungaloosh! The Mythic Jungles of Walt Disney World and Hidden Treasures of Walt Disney World Resorts: Histories, Mysteries, and Theming, much of which was first published on this site.
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