The Happiest Place on Earth Disneyland Book Review

The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney’s Disneyland is a new book commemorating the 70th anniversary of Disneyland. The authors of the book, Don Hahn and Christopher Merritt, are well known for creating top tier theme park books, so the anticipation for this one among fans was off the charts. Was The Happiest Place on Earth worth the wait and does how does it rank with the rest of the great Disneyland books? Keep reading our review to find out.

The Happiest Place on Earth starts with pictures of Kansas City’s Electric Park, and the famous Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round. Both of which inspired Walt Disney to create an amusement enterprise of his own. We then see the “first drawing” of Disneyland, which was created by Herb Ryman in 1953 with Walt by his side. This drawing was then used by Roy Disney to help sell the idea of Disneyland to investors who were going to help fund the park. This is the largest and clearest print of this drawing in any Disney book that I can recall seeing. It’s a treat to be able to look at all of the fine details of this drawing up close for the first time. That brings me to a point I wanted to emphasize in this review. This book is GORGEOUS. The paper it’s printed on is gloriously thick and every picture is crisp and each has beautiful vibrant colors.

The book continues on with Walt’s various inspirations for Disneyland along with the people who helped achieved his vision along the way. If you don’t know the names well now, you will by the end of this book. All the greats get receive attention, including Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, Harper Goff, Buzz Price, John Hench and many others. Including some you may be less familiar with, such as Renie Conley, who designed Disneyland’s original cast member costumes. I enjoyed reading about people like this who have gotten less of the spotlight over the years.

One of my favorite parts of the book shows huge multi-page scans of the various concept drawings of Disneyland as it transformed from a small park in Burbank next to the Disney studio lot, all the way up to a drawing of the park similar to what ended up being built in 1955. It’s fascinating to see these drawings in order as they are presented in the book. Over 50 of the book’s first 300 plus pages are dedicated to the early inspiration, design, and construction of Disneyland. Much like other topics in the book, every subject is given plenty of space.

After the opening section, The Happiest Place on Earth then goes through Disneyland land-by-land and shows sketches from each land’s development and pictures from the early days of the park. This isn’t a greatest hits collection of images you’ve seen a hundred times before. There are some never before seen photos and some true deep cuts. Some of my personal favorites are a look inside the long-gone Candle Shop on Main Street, U.S.A., a glimpse of a Lon Chaney Phantom walk-around character, and a 1958 photo of the then-68-year-old Tiny Kline putting on her Tinker Bell wig on as she prepares to fly over the castle for Disneyland’s fireworks. I especially enjoy seeing wacky events from the park’s past getting mentioned, such as pancake races down Main Street. If only I had a time machine to experience that one!

Canceled projects from Disneyland’s early history are shown in great detail as well, such as Edison Square, the original walkthrough version of Pirates of the Caribbean, The Land of Oz, Museum of the Weird, and others. The book wraps up with Tomorrowland and its gigantic expansion in 1967, which is fitting because Walt Disney passed shortly after.

The Happiest Place on Earth is a perfect way to celebrate Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, perhaps even better than the celebration currently happening in Disneyland itself. This book may go down as the most comprehensive look at Disneyland’s development and early years. It’s a fascinating and binge-worthy read that I didn’t want to put down. It’s an instant classic and a must have. The book releases July 15, 2025 and it can be purchased on Amazon using this link.

Click here to purchase The Happiest Place on Earth: The Incredible Story of Walt Disney’s Disneyland on Amazon.

Read our reviews for other highly rated Disney theme park books: Hidden History of Walt Disney World and Boundless Realm: Deep Explorations Inside Disney’s Haunted Mansion

Will you be picking up The Happiest Place on Earth book? What’s your favorite Disney theme park book? Let me know in the comments.

Note: Disney did not sponsor this post, provide a copy of the book, and did not pay for, or receive copy approval.