Why the Magic Matters

Discovering Disney as a Laboratory for Learning

Edited by Alexis T. Franzese and Jill Peterfeso
Foreword by Len Testa
Bloomsbury Academic, September 2025

Also available from: Bloomsbury · Barnes & Noble

About the book

As education, entertainment, or “edutainment” (as Walt called it), Disney offers its consumers and guests a wealth of opportunities for learning. In Why the Magic Matters, Disney scholars and teachers unpack what, why, and how Disney maintains its overwhelming cultural significance in the global entertainment industry.

The book is organized in four parts — Magic and Strategy, Authenticity and Simulation, Nostalgia and Innovation, and Leisure and Labor — and offers a framework that juxtaposes ideas found in Disney products, properties, and experiences. From art, film, and television history to Indigenous, disability, and religious studies, each chapter contextualizes Disney within a greater cultural landscape. Students, teachers, and fans will gain insights on what Disney can teach us about pop culture, and fresh perspectives on why the magic really does matter.

Praise

“As documented by this esteemed panel of experts, education must go beyond instruction and provoke a response. Using Disney as a starting point can help educators create magical moments that transform apprehension into awe and delight.”
— Sam Gennawey, author of The Disneyland Story: An Unofficial Guide to the Evolution of Walt Disney's Dream

“Why the Magic Matters passionately and successfully argues for using Disney, its products, and its parks as teaching tools. Its multidisciplinary approach celebrates the power of the liberal arts and ensures that anyone with an academic interest in “The Mouse” will find something of use.”
— Tom Robson, author of Disney Parks and the Construction of American Identity: Tourism, Performance, Anxiety

Inside the book

Foreword — Len Testa
Introduction — Jill Peterfeso
Disney Dialectic Pairs: Theoretical Framework and Book Structure — The Editors

I. Magic and Strategy

Section introduction — Jill Peterfeso
1. Disney’s “Magical” Curriculum: Bibbity, Bobbity Boo! — Gabriel Huddleston, Blake Lentz, Nicole Weinberg
2. A Private Mouse for Public Art — Cher Krause Knight
3. To Infinity and Beyond: Understanding Data Science Through the Lens of Disney Data — Lucy D’Agostino McGowan
4. Why and How Walt Disney World Makes You the Star of Its Story — Gary Kaskowitz

II. Authenticity and Simulation

Section introduction — Alexis T. Franzese
5. From Magic to Memory: How the Physical Experiences of the Disney Parks Contribute to Historical Memory and Learning What it Means to Be an American — Bethanee Bemis
6. True-Life Adventures: Walt Disney and the Modern Environmental Movement — Sarah Nilsen
7. Urban NDNs and the House of Mouse: A Journey of Education and Self-Discovery — Lucy Buck
8. Asian Disneyland, Local Community Reactions, and the Role of Cultural Spaces — Jenny Banh

III. Nostalgia and Innovation

Section introduction — Jill Peterfeso
9. Only Correct: How Disney Revises, Rethinks and Re-edits Their Own Creations — Bonnie Rudner
10. Teaching Walt: Place-Based Learning and SHAPE-ing Walt’s Legacy — Christopher W. Tremblay
11. Theme Park America — Alex Hofmann
12. Worldbuilding and Role-Playing Across Disney Production — William S. Chavez

IV. Leisure and Labor

Section introduction — Alexis T. Franzese
13. Making “Happy” Happen: What Disney Teaches Us About the Hidden Costs and Labor of Leisure — Jacob Hayward and Alexis T. Franzese
14. Disneyland: The Happiest Classroom on Earth — Jeffrey A. Barnes
15. Wheelchairs, Magic Carpets, and a Community of Tomorrow: Constructing Disabled Utopia in the Disney Parks — Mason J. Shrader, Benjamin Shrader, Carol Mason Shrader

Takeaways
Contributors
Acknowledgements
Index