The Happiest Place on Earth by Don Hahn

The Happiest Place on Earth

The Incredible Story of Walt Disney's Disneyland

Don Hahn, Christopher Merritt

Random House Worlds · Print & ebook · July 15, 2025

On the 70th anniversary of Disneyland, a look back at the theme park that started it all—an illustrated history of Walt's first theme park!

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Who it’s for
Explore Disneyland’s early planning through artwork, documents, and the park’s five original lands.
Themes
Disneyland history, Theme park planning and creation
Genres
Theme Parks, 20th-Century America, Pop Culture & Art

About this book

On the 70th anniversary of Disneyland, a look back at the theme park that started it all—an illustrated history of Walt's first theme park! The ultimate coffee table book for Disney collectors and armchair travelers alike, brimming with more than 750 images, previously unpublished documents, and concept drawings. Disneyland is the only park Walt walked through and tinkered with during the last 11 years of his life.

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For Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, Disney fans will get an in-depth visual look at the planning and creation of those first 11 years of Walt Disney's original theme park. This treasure trove of Disney history will take fans through the pre-production and realization process Walt used during the earliest days of his nascent theme park. Inside: • Organized by the 5 original lands: MAIN STREET, U.S.A., ADVENTURELAND, FRONTIERLAND, FANTASYLAND, TOMORROWLAND • Includes many sidebars about "lost lands," offering a glimpse of the park that parkgoers would’ve experienced in the 1950s and 1960s. • A rare look into the renowned vault of the Walt Disney Imagineering Art Library and other unique sources, including private collectors and the Library of Congress, showcasing concepts for both realized and unrealized attractions designed solely for Disneyland. • Recently discovered artwork and many previously unpublished documents and images. A true must-have for Disney fans everywhere, readers can get the full picture of just what it took to create the Happiest Place on Earth.

Disneyland’s First Lands

Explore Disneyland’s early planning through artwork, documents, and the park’s five original lands.

Come here for

  • Planning and creation across Disneyland’s first 11 years
  • Concepts for realized and unrealized Disneyland attractions

Expect

  • Sidebars on lost lands
  • Previously unpublished images and documents

Where it sits

Theme Parks93%
20th-Century America55%
Pop Culture & Art44%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • 20th-Century America
  • Pop Culture Studies
  • Theme Parks
Authors
Don Hahn, Christopher Merritt
Publisher
Random House Worlds
Published
July 15, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Disneyland history · Theme park planning and creation
Reading lane
20th-Century America