DISNEY PARKS: THE SECRETS, STORIES, AND MAGIC BEHIND THE SCENES - DVD review

Each year, roughly 100 million people visit Disney theme parks, while Disney's "floating parks" were voted the Number 1 cruise experience by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. So there's a pretty big niche out there for a DVD collection like this (available on three-program Blu-ray combo pack, too) which describes the theme park and cruising experience in pretty good detail.

Not complete detail, mind you, because these shows--which were produced for television and originally shown on the Travel Channel--weren't conceived as an all-inclusive video guide to Disney theme parks. If they were, then there wouldn't be an Animal Kingdom program without there also being Epcot and Hollywood (formerly MGM) Studios installments. But the six episodes we get provide a nice introduction to the parks and cruise line. They're a really good way for families to research the kind of vacation that's right for them, and also an excellent warm-up for families who already know they're going for a Disney experience. If watching these episodes doesn't get you excited about a Disney vacation, then you must be thinking too hard about how you're going to pay for it all.

These are the programs included in the six-disc set:

"Disneyland Resort: Behind the Scenes"
"Walt Disney World Resort: Behind the Scenes"
"Ultimate Walt Disney World"
"Disney's Animal Kingdom"
"Undiscovered Disney Parks"
"Disney Cruise Line"

As you might infer from the titles, the shows are a combination of travel guide and history slash behind-the-scenes stories about the construction of the parks and their various attractions. Produced by Lightship Entertainment in association with Disney Parks and distributed by Questar, this series has an easy-flowing narrative and strong production values. In addition to a male voiceover it features interviews with Disney executives, "Imagineers," and front-line employees, along with travel writers and tourists. The episodes have a tone that seems to fall somewhere between promotion and insider travel guide.

The promotional feel comes from the fact that there are no negatives to be found--not that that's unusual in Travel Channel features-or in anything Disney does, for that matter. Our family has gone on two Disney cruises and stayed at three different on-site resorts while enjoying Disney World, and each time we've been impressed by the way that Disney does things. Their attention to detail, customer service, and "getting it right" is almost legendary. As we learned that the reason why we always saw someone on the cruise ships with paint brush in hand was because of Disney's philosophy to keep things looking new, I turned to my wife and joked that it's too bad we couldn't get Disney to run our failing state of Illinois.

"Disneyland Resort: Behind the Scenes" is where it all started. In this program, as in others, there's rare vintage footage included of Walt Disney himself and various stages of park and attraction construction. The "Resort" title was added to reflect broader experiences now available at the world's first theme park. Focus is on Disneyland's special attractions, like the Sleeping Beauty Castle, The Matterhorn ride, California Screamin', Grizzly River Run, Toy Story Mania, and New Orleans Square. Bonus features on this disc are quick looks at Walt Disney's Apartment on Main Street and King Arthur's Carousel.

Walt Disney World Resort: Behind the Scenes has more vintage construction footage because more was shot. You learn how Disney formed several corporations to secretly and quietly buy up land, but there's no follow-up on the politics that ensued--how Orlando and Florida gave Disney some sweet tax breaks thinking the surrounding communities would benefit, and then Disney went all-inclusive on them. This is the world's happiest place, and there's no negativity allowed. Magic Kingdom gets the most time here, and deservedly so, since this is what many people think of when they think Disney World--Cinderella's Castle that anchors the center of a wheel/hub design that includes Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland. But there are sections on Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios as well. Kids in the family will get a taste of the rides and attractions, and adults will appreciate the stories behind them. Bonus features on this disc include a loot at Stitch's Great Escape and What's New in the Haunted Mansion (a lot of digital improvements!).

"Ultimate Walt Disney World" focuses totally on the thrill rides, and so there's some serious overlapping with this disc and "Walt Disney World Resort: Behind the Scenes" and "Disney's Animal Kingdom." But if you've got older children who are all about the rides, this one will get them psyched. Some of the attractions you'll see are the Tower of Terror, Mission Space, Expedition Everest, Test Track, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Summit Plummet, Kali River Rapids, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and the relatively new Toy Story Mania. Bonus clips (deleted segments, actually, as are the other bonus features in this set) are Goofy's Barnstormer and Catastrophe Canyon.

"Undiscovered Disney Parks" is a slightly misleading title. It should read "attractions," not "parks," because this show zooms in on things that aren't used en masse. Like the surfing school or private surfing parties you can enjoy at Typhoon Lagoon water park early in the morning before the park opens, or the parasailing that's available through one of the resorts which gives you a 10-minute view of the Walt Disney World properties. Also included here are some highbrow things, like the Cinderella Suite and hair-styling sessions for your little princess. For ultimate real thrill-seekers there's the little-advertised Richard Petty race track outside Walt Disney World, where you can either ride with a qualified driver around a track at NASCAR speeds, or take a small class in the morning before you give it a go yourself. At Disneyland, meanwhile, there's Club 33, an exclusive private refuge that has a waiting list for potential members. Bonus features on this disc are What's New at Walt Disney World's Resort Hotels and Tips for Walt Disney World Travelers.

"Disney's Animal Kingdom" is probably the second best disc in this set, in terms of thoroughness, information, and visuals. You get plenty of footage detailing how it was built, but you also learn quite a few interesting things about the animals and how they've all been trained, to a degree, to voluntarily go to evening quarters or show up for food at just the right time. There's overlapping here with the same footage of "Expedition Everest" shown as on two other discs, but in context here it plays better than elsewhere. The Tree of Life at the center of this park gets first-rate treatment as we learn how huge and complicated it really is. All of the Animal Kingdom's main attractions are showcased, including the herky-jerky Dinosaur ride, based on the movie, and It's Tough to Be a Bug, based on "A Bug's Life." But the heart of this disc is the account of how Disney got into the animal business and the fascinating story of how they managed to distinguish their operation from zoos. The animal safari ride that takes viewers on simulated safari gets a nice long segment, with some interesting things about the trucks themselves and the surprises that can happen when the animals aren't animatronic.

"Disney Cruise Line" is the most complete and thorough episode of the set. Watch this and you get the full history of how Disney Cruise Line was born--right down to the improbable footage of the first ship being built in two different locations and then joined in the middle. Disney's cruise line firsts are all detailed here, beginning with the design of the ships, the amount of space dedicated to children, the separate adults-only facilities, the private Bahamian island, the rotational dining with same wait staff, and the deliberate exclusion of gambling and Vegas-style operations. All of the activity areas are explored, and viewers get to see both the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. Plus, there's a bonus feature on the new 50 percent larger Disney Dream and a virtual ride on the Disney Dream AquaDuck, a water roller coaster for adults and children that winds its way all around the ship--even going out over the water at one point. Families thinking about a cruise will get plenty of information about food on the cruises--though I don't think it was made clear enough that all of the food is included, and that the fun for smaller children was in being able to "order" their own food at any time. Activities could also have been a little more detailed, as only the fitness center, shuffleboard, and basketball court were shown--not the many ping-pong and foosball tables, or any mention of all the deck-walkers and joggers you see. There's plenty of footage about the Broadway-style shows that are offered every night, and the first-run movies that play in the cruise ships' digital theaters--including 3D. The ship's captain appears on camera and is seen docking the ship, and the cruise director talks about the philosophy behind some of the things you see on-camera. "Pirates of the Caribbean" fans will enjoy hearing the tale of how the Flying Dutchman came to rest in the harbor at Castaway Cay.

Video:
The video quality is very good, with nicely saturated colors and picture that's relatively free of grain and indistinct edges. For a DVD it looks impressive. The shows are presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.

Audio:
The audio is a simple Dolby Digital 2.0 that's plenty to carry the narration, though it would have been nice to have rear-speaker involvement for all the ambient sounds.

Extras:
Ten bonus features are included. Since they're all sequences cut from the shows, I described them earlier in each respective section.

Bottom Line:
This well-produced series makes a great primer for families thinking about a Disney vacation. Sneaky parents can use the DVDs to get their kids excited about working their way to the magic.