In 2007, freelance Graphic Artist and Illustrator Shannon W. Laskey was excited about her family’s upcoming trip to Disneyland and went to the library with her son to get a guidebook for kids. She was surprised to find out there weren’t any! There were books about going to Disneyland WITH kids but nothing FOR kids. A lifelong Disney fan, Shannon realized making a book like this would be a DREAM project. While doing research, she discovered the incredible photographer Dave DeCaro of DavelandWeb who agreed to let her include his photos. Shannon was designing and illustrating the book but wanted a mix of art styles so she reached out to other artists. Some contributors—like award-winning illustrator Kirsten Ulve—wanted to create a piece especially for the book and others had already created an image that fit in with the content perfectly. After contacting former Imagineer Rolly Crump to look over the sidebar about him, Rolly and his wife Marie ended up putting Shannon in touch with Orchard Hill Press, an independent publisher that specializes in family-friendly Disney-themed books. In 2015 the first Going To Guide for Disneyland was published with guides for Disney California Adventure and Magic Kingdom parks releasing shortly afterwards!

Traditional guidebooks have their place but they’re not very FUN. You won’t find info about parking garages inside a Going To Guide. Instead, you’ll discover the fascinating history and meaning behind what you’ll encounter in Disney Parks—along with tons of gorgeous photos and illustrations. A built-in Trip Planner gets the party started followed by the park’s origin story and an overview of special things like Character Meet n’ Greets, PhotoPass, Seasonal Events and more. From there, each land has its own chapter filled with juicy details. Attraction pages include a spot to fill in your rating, a Time Machine with a chronological overview and the “Story of…” for rides that are based on movies. The Food and Drink pages describe what the eateries are like with spots to write down your review. Sprinkled among all of this are At-a-Glance Charts, Coloring Pages, Decoders, Eye Spy’s, Fun Facts, Games, Hot Tips, Mini Quizzes, Sample Souvenirs, Scavenger Hunts and Sidebars galore about interesting people, places and things. Last but not least, the back of each book has a Trip Journal where you can create a scrapbook and record your magical memories!

Shannon has quipped that she’s “from nowhere” because she grew up with a father in the Navy! When his job took the family to Monterey, they visited Disneyland for the first time. Though she was only 2 years old she vividly remembers being absolutely astonished (and afraid) at the Caribbean pirates firing cannons over her head! It wasn’t until they moved to San Diego while she was in high school that she would return to Disneyland and begin to fall in love with that special place. Throughout high school and college Shannon worked at the Coronado Public Library in San Diego and daydreamed about writing and illustrating her own children’s books. After earning a Graphic Design degree at SDSU, she began her design career in L.A. Then, to escape a dragon-boss-from-hell, Shannon moved to San Francisco. A super cute guy she knew from San Diego had moved there too and—what do you know—they ended up getting married! Shannon was working as the Advertising Art Director for San Francisco magazine and doing freelance projects but when it got too hard to do both, she made the scary decision to quit the full-time job and devote herself to her own company Small Dog Workshop. Next came the kids—two bouncing baby boys—and a move to Oakland with special trips now and then to the Disneyland Resort.