Meet Your Maker 1- Shannon Laskey
When going to Disneyland, you want to make every moment count. Sure, you could just wing it, but having a guide – the more whimsical the better – to enhance your visit really is worth it, especially if navigating the Disney Parks is not second nature. Enter Going To Disneyland: A Guide For Kids & Kids at Heart by Shannon Laskey.
Shannon’s guides not only give you structure for your visit, but she also includes a vast amount of “fun facts”, priceless tips, and interactive elements. For example, each ride featured in the book has a “rate the attraction” field, and there are clues on where to find a smattering of Hidden Mickeys, as well as a scavenger hunt for each land. Plus, there is so much aesthetic whimsy on every page. It’s colorful, fun, and full of playful illustrations by Shannon and a bevy of contributing artists.
But Shannon doesn’t stop with just creating her irresistible guidebooks. She makes so, so much more. Learn more about this maker with 8 Questions for Shannon Laskey of Going to Guides.
Give us a rundown of the items you create for the Going to Guides empire. Do you have a personal favorite?
My favorite has to be my books, which started the whole empire in the first place. “Going To Disneyland: A Guide For Kids & Kids at Heart” was the first book, published by the small independent publisher called Orchard Hill Press. The other two titles are for Disney California Adventure and Walt Disney World. These guidebooks (but so much more than just a guidebook) take an incredible amount of work, and I relish every moment of it. As Rolly Crump said after I sent him my first book, it’s “obviously, a labor of love.” He and his wife were the ones who connected me with my Publisher in the first place!
Once the books came out, I started making goodies for my GTG Etsy Shoppe like bookmarks, buttons, stickers, journals, patches, photo albums, digital printables, trip reveal boxes, postcards, book sleeves, book bags and bandanas—which is probably my second favorite item. I call them Fandanas because they are for fans of ______ insert the theme here. The first one was Tiki Room-themed, and I’ve now made 18 styles! I’m currently working on the drawings for a brand new one for fans of Fantasyland. Then there was the Park Pair Up card game I created during the shutdown. I’m in the early stages of designing a new board game and coloring book, AND launched a new snail-mail club in January!
When working on your book, what land do you enjoy working on the most and why?
My favorite land is New Orleans Square, so if I’ve got a nice little table off to the side at Tiana’s Palace with warm beignets, a Mint Julep, and (bad) coffee as I look through my notes about what I need to check on for my book next…I’m pretty much in heaven. If the sweet sounds of live music are drifting over from the nearby stage, I’m definitely in heaven!
Was there a time you saw one of your products in the wild that filled you with delight?
I was at Disneyland several years back with my parents—who hardly ever go—and we went to watch the Disneyland Band play in front of the Castle. There just so happened to be a family with two small kids who were in that area, and they had brought their Going To Guides books for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure with them to the park that day! The mother was so sweet and let me take photos with them, and she explained to them that this was the person who had made the books they were holding. The little boy opened his book and pointed to a page and asked, “You wrote this?” and I’d tell him yes, and then he’d turn to another page, “and you wrote this too?” It was so cute! That would have been a thrill all on its own, but having my parents be there made it even more special.
What are 5 things you always try to do when going to Disneyland for the day?
1) One thing I’ve done for several years now is take a photo by one of the attraction posters in the tunnel under the railroad tracks as I enter.
2) I always try to catch live entertainment—especially the Disneyland Band.
3) Notice something I’ve never noticed before.
4) Interact with Cast Members—I love to chat with them and learn things from them.
5) Figure out when I can come back to Disneyland for the day, ha ha!
If you had to live in any attraction, which would it be and why?
I’ll live in the upper floors of the Pirates of the Caribbean, over the entrance. I’m cheating because that’s actually a luxurious suite called 21 Royal, but it IS in the Pirates of the Caribbean building, so… Not only would this be the best place to live because it’s already like a hotel room, but I could also get some fresh air out on the lovely patio or balcony, and I’d be in my favorite land. I also like that right around this spot was the original Dominguez house, which you can read about in my book.
If you were a Disney character, which one would you be and why?
My favorite Disney character is Tinker Bell. Now, do I like her because she’s like me? Fiercely loyal but lowkey evil if someone gets her way? Hopefully not, ha ha. But I’ll choose her because she’s so cute and she can fly. BTW if I’m Tinker Bell, I might change my previous answer to my favorite attraction in Fantasyland = Storybook Land Canal Boats because I’ll be small enough to move into one of the cute buildings there!
If you had a dinner party, what 5 Disney luminaries (living or deceased) would you invite?
Of course, Walt is a given. After that, I’ll include Disney Legends Rolly Crump, Mary Blair, Harriet Burns, and Eyvind Earle. Not to brag, but okay, okay, I’ll brag…I’ve met 6 Disney Legends so far: Rolly Crump, Bob Gurr, Orlando Ferrante, Johnny Depp, Linda Larkin, and Patrick Dempsey.
Tell us about your latest project – the GTG Gazette!
I’ve been having so much fun with this! Years and years ago, I started a “Friendly Letter” which was one page, all hand-drawn, with craft ideas, recipes, poems, etc. It never really took off, but I always wanted to try again under the GTG umbrella. So finally, in January, I started this snail mail club through Patreon, where each month has a different theme-park-theme like Carousels, Wonderland, Jungle Cruise, and Mary Blair. There’s a 4-page, full-color Gazette newspaper all about the topic of the month, and then a few matching goodies like a sticker, postcard, coloring sheet, etc. For the latest Mary Blair edition, I actually created a 2” embroidered patch that says “Mary Blair Super Fan.” I feel like if you’re a fan of Disney parks, you’re a fan of Mary’s, and if you’re a fan of hers, you are automatically a SUPER FAN. I have been LOVING creating this Gazette and spreading some positivity and magic through the mail!