1980 to 2023
Celebrating 43 Years of Disney-only Collectibles
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Fantasies Come True > Resources

for Disney Collectors and Enthusiasts

Welcome to the Fantasies Come True page dedicated to the Disney collectors and fans out there who are looking for some further information on either Disneyana in general, the theme parks, some specific lines of merchandise or information on The Man himself.

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  The Third Genuine & Original Greenbook Guide to Walt Disney Classics Collection
  For collectors of the Walt Disney Classics Collection, this is the book that you need - it's the "bible"! Inside is listed all the pieces produced by WDCC, together with all the information about them that you could ever possibly need!

  Fantasies Come True does sell this book but it is currently out of stock. The Greenbook series of guides has recently been taken over by The Village Chronicle so it's not certain when the new edition of Greenbook's Guide to WDCC will come out.

GENERAL DISNEY BOOKS

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  Disney A to Z : The Updated Official Encyclopedia
  by DAVE SMITH (1998)
  Literally an A to Z of everything Disney - every character, movie, song, personel, place, short, song - you name it, it's in here - written by the guy who should know: Dave Smith, the official head of the Disney Archives.
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  The Disney Films
  by LEONARD MALTIN (2000)
  One of the most well-known movie critics has just release the 4th edition of his comprehensive book on all the Disney movies, both animated and live action.
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  Disney : The First 100 Years
  by DAVE SMITH and STEVEN CLARK
  Another release by the head of the Disney Archives, this book has been released to coincide with the 100th anniversay of the birth of Walt. This book is a chronological account of the Disney story starting with Walt's birth and taking us up to the release of "Fantasia 2000".
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  The Mickey Mouse Treasures
  by ROBERT TIEMAN
  Another useful addition for the Disney enthusiast written by the manager of the Disney Archives.

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  The Disney Experience
  by ROBERT TIEMAN
  Another useful addition for the Disney enthusiast written by the manager of the Disney Archives.

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  The Disney Keepsakes
  by ROBERT TIEMAN
  Another useful addition for the Disney enthusiast written by the manager of the Disney Archives.

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  Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records
  by TOM HOLLIS and GREG EHRBAR and LEONARD MALTIN
  This book covers all the music records released by the Disney Company

DISNEYANA and COLLECTING

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  The Collector's Encyclopedia of Disneyana
  by DAVID LONGEST and MICHAEL STERN (1992)
  Packed with hundreds of color photos of the range of Disneyana available out there. Published in 1992, the values quoted are now somewhat out of date but this book is still nevertheless a valuable addition to the bookshelves of any collector.
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  Disneyana: Walt Disney Collectibles
  by CECIL MUNSEY (1974 - Out Of Print)
  One of the original books on Disneyana collecting, this 385 page "bible" is worth tracking down if you can. (The best place to start looking is Amazon.com's zShops. Just click on the title.) It covers everything you need to know about collecting Disney memorabilia from "before Mickey Mouse" right on up through to Mary Poppins.
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  Collector's Encyclopedia of Metlox Potteries: Identification and Values
  by CARL GIBBS, Jnr
  Metlox Potteries (which was also known as Evan K. Shaw and American Pottery) was a very popular producer of licenced, high-quality ceramic figurines of Disney characters. The company lost its Disney license in 1956 and ever since, their product has evolved to become a highly collectable line.
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  Disneyana Collectors Guide to Californian Pottery
  by DEVIN HODGE and TAMARA FLICK (1998)
  This book is a comprehensive guide to all the companies located in California who were producing licensed Disney figurines in the 30s, 40s and 50s. This book covers Brayton's Laguna Pottery, Vernon Kilns, American/Evan K. Shaw and Hagen-Renaker.
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  The Mickey Mouse Watch : From the Beginning of Time (1997)
  by ROBERT HEIDE and JOHN GILMAN and JOHN GILMAN and ROBERT GILMAN
  If collecting Mickey Mouse is your Disney-thing, then this book is what you'll need. Covering the production of Mickey Mouse watches from the very first ones in 1933 to the present day, this book supplies you with no end of facts, trivia and anecdotes on collecting Mickey Mouse watches. The 128 pages also include 100 color photographs.
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  The Golden Age of Walt Disney Records (1933 - 1988)
  by R. MICHAEL MURRAY (1977)
  If the music of the Disney experience is what you're into, perhaps you'd like this book. It is a detailed discography and price guide to all the Disney and Disney-related records produced between 1933 and 1988 - and that's a lot of records; over 3300 of them! Also includes 200 color pictures, a history of Disney recorded music and a composer filmography of over 750 features and shorts.

THE ART OF ANIMATION

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  The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters
  by JOHN GRANT (1998)
  Let's face it, the Disney studios have been so productive that it's hard to keep a track of all those characters. Well, with this excellent and updated book, you no longer have to! Covering all the Disney characters who have entertained us for as long as we can remember, this book will be able to answer that eternal question: "What was the name of ...?"
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  Animation Art : The Early Years 1911-1953
  by JEFF LOTMAN and JONATHON SMITH
  For those into the artistic side of the Animation process itself, this volume will be something you'll dip into again and again. Covering what most people agree what the Golden Age of feature animation, this 427 page book is an invaluable asset to anyone interested in collecting and dealing in animation art. It includes nearly 6800 pieces of animation art and each one of them have been offered at auction, which means they are in circulation. It also quotes the price each item fetched at auction.
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  The Art of Walt Disney:From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom
  by CHRISTOPHER FINCH (1995)
  This is the "New Concise Edition" (160 pages, published 1975) of the original one (451 pages). It's a book for the Disney fan interested in getting an overall, but detailed, account of the whole Disney story. Starting with Walt's life and moving through the building of an entertainment empire beyond anything that Walt himself could have imagined, this book is contains 251illustrations, including 170 plates in full color.
  OUR PRICE: $US12.00
  We have very limited supplies of this book in stock. They are in as-new condition.
  
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  Animation Magic: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at How an Animated Film Is Made
  by DON HAHN (2000)
  Disney producer Don Hahn brings us a comprehensive introduction to the complex process of producing an animated film. A must have for budding animation artists and those interested in the behind-the-scenes effort it take to get one of those beloved movies from initial idea to opening night.

THE THEME PARKS

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  The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2001
  by BOB SEHLINGER
  This is one of the better travel guides to Walt Disney World. The area is SO much more than just The Magic Kingdom thesedays. It also covers Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, The Disney-MGM Studios, Universal Studios Florida, Sea World and a water theme park - and that's not all! Unless you've got two weeks to do the whole area at a leisurely pace, it pays to grab a copy of a guide to help you narrow down what you want to do in the time you have. And this book will help you do that better than most.

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  Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real
  by THE IMAGINEERS and C.E. JONES (1998)
  Who better into explain the building of a Disney theme park than the company's "Imagineers" themselves? Imagineers are the Disney folk who are the ones charged with the responsibility of turning the Disney movie experience into a real-life Disney themepark experience. Every ride and attraction you've been on was built by these creative engineers. If you're looking to learn more about how they did it, this is the book for you.
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  Designing Disney's Theme Parks : The Architecture of Reassurance (1997)
  by KARAL ANN MARLING
  For the Disney theme park enthusiast, this book will also be another welcome addition. This book will give you greater insight into how the people who design the rides and the shows that you see at Disney theme parks came up with their concepts. You might well find answers to all those questions you've wondered about as you've wandered around park - "What made them think of that?" "Where did they get that idea?" "Why did they go for that theme?"
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  Building a Dream : The Art of Disney Architecture(1996)
  by BETH DUNLOP and VINCENT SCULLY JNR
  This book is more for the architecture buffs as it covers not only the architecture of the Disney theme parks, but also the administration buildings, the hotels, resorts and movie studios. In this volume you'll find original architechtural drawings and color photographs of some of the quirkiest and original commercial buildings in the world. Whether you're a Disney fan or not, if you're into architecture, this book will hold your interest.

THE MAN

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  Walt in Wonderland : The Silent Films of Walt Disney (1994)
  by RUSSELL MERRIT and J. B. KAUFMAN
  Let's face it, there is no shortage of books on Walt Disney, the Disney company and the Disney movies, theme parks and characters. But if you're interested in what Walt Disney was about before he became a world icon, you may want to check out this book. It covers the work that Walt did before he unveiled the world's first synchronized sound cartoon, "Steamboat Willie". Before the advent of Mickey Mouse, Walt was the director and producer of over 90 silent cartoons and shorts. This book details the Walt Disney of the pre-Mickey Mouse era.
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  The Magic Kingdom : Walt Disney and the American Way of Life; (Out of print)
  by STEVEN WATTS
  Now out of print, this book may prove hard to get your hands on, but if you're interested in Walt's influence on the 20th century, it may be worth the effort to track it down. This book attempts to place Walt within the context of the century of which he became a central part. It takes a look at the far-reaching influence that Walt's vision had on the four corners of the world and places the whole Disney experience in context. After all, how many people in this world wouldn't recognize Mickey Mouse? How many children wouldn't give everything they had just to visit Disneyland once? How many people can look back on their childhoods and not recall watching, listening to, reading or singing along to something that Disney and his team produced...?
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  Remembering WaltFavorite Memories of Walt Disney" (1999)
  by AMY BOOTHE GREEN and HOWARD E. GREEN
  This books records the recollections of the people who worked with Walt. A broad selection of relatives, employees, executives and performers share the memories of their interactions with the Father of Animation.
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  The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney
  by MICHAEL BARRIER (2009)
  Karal Ann Marling, editor of Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance, called this book by far the best critical study to date of Walt Disney and his worlds: corporate, personal, ideological, architectural.

FANTASIA & FANTASIA 2000

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  Walt Disney's Fantasia(1987)
  by JOHN CULHANE
  For the "Fantasia" fans out there - and we know there are a lot of you! - this book is hard to walk past. Filled with many, many images, this book is an invaluable companion piece to the animated feature that broke the rules. And if you like this book, you'll probably want to get...
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  Fantasia 2000 : Visions of Hope (1999)
  by JOHN CULHANE and ROY E. DISNEY
  ...which is the companion book to the follow up movie to "Fantasia" that took 60 years to bring to the screen. Filled with many full color images from the film, this book gives you an insight into the process of making "Fantasia 2000". One Amazon review suggests listening to the soundtrack as you leaf through the book - sounds like a good idea to me!
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  And if you are a "Fantasia" fan and you have a DVD player, you CANNOT go past the incomparable:
  The Fantasia Anthology (DVD) (2000)
  Disney truly outdid themselves when they released this 3-disc DVD set. Everything - and I mean everything - you could POSSIBLY want to know about the entire production process of "Fantasia" and "Fantasia 2000" has been included here. They take a look at the development of the ideas of each of the pieces but have also included reconstructions of what some of the rejected segments may have looked like if they had made their way to the screen. Truly a must for the DVD library of any animation fan.

Do you have any books you'd like to recommend? Email us!