This guide is intended to be a look at the magic behind the magic of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, and will give the reader a greater appreciation for the incredible efforts and innovations that create the Disneyland experience. If seeing how a magic trick works spoils the fun for you, then you might want to try another guide. However, if you find yourself asking "How do they do that?" when you see an oncoming boulder in Indiana Jones or translucent ghosts in the Haunted Mansion, this guide is here to satisfy your curiosity. This guidebook includes: Behind-the-scenes information for every attraction in the park. Tips on where to spot the special touches and inside jokes. A comprehensive list of the most notable Hidden Mickeys in Disneyland. Puzzles and games to be played while waiting in line for specific rides.

Branded a "cultural Chernobyl" and the "tragic kingdom," the Euro Disney Resort has been on its own thrill ride since opening in 1992. The much publicized version of the Magic Kingdom gave Europeans alcohol-free "mocktails," surly employees, even colors too muted for the Disney image. Facing financial disaster, was it any wonder that Disney execs found themselves wishing upon a star for answers?

After so many knee-jerk criticisms of Euro Disney, this book combines firsthand experience and research to shed new light on claims that the park is nothing more than a form of American cultural imperialism. Andrew Lainsbury, a former Euro Disney employee who knows what the park meant to its visitors, goes beyond media bites and academic scorn to examine Europe's love/hate relationship with Euro Disneyland and some of the undiscussed issues surrounding it.

"Once Upon an American Dream" is a story of global capitalism on a grand scale. Lainsbury has plumbed company archives and interviewed key players to give readers the real view from Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty's Castle). He cracks open the Euro Disney controversy to reveal the park not as a tragic experiment in exporting American culture but the result of European efforts to import a popular form of American entertainment.

Lainsbury tells how the Walt Disney Company came to build a European park and locate it in France, how political negotiations affected its design and development, how it was promoted to continental audiences, and what caused its widely publicized financial woes before being rescued by a real prince from Saudi Arabia. He reveals what it took to win back the hearts of skeptical Europeans-such as serving wine, selling flashy merchandise, and placating disgruntled workers. Finally, he looks into the magic mirror to speculate on the role of Euro Disney and the Walt Disney Company in the twenty-first century.

Ultimately, Lainsbury shows that cultural imperialism is not an exclusively American phenomenon but a global corporate strategy--and that global corporatism, by needing to be responsive to consumers, is so complex that it may not be as monolithic as feared. "Once Upon an American Dream" is a fairy tale for our times, reminding us that, for all the critical huffing and puffing, the creation and marketing of pleasure is what Euro Disneyland is all about.

Get the Trusted Source of Information for a Successful Walt Disney World Vacation The best-selling independent guide to Walt Disney World has everything you need to plan your family's trip-hassle-free. Whether you are planning your annual vacation to Walt Disney World or preparing for your first visit ever, this book gives you the insider scoop on hotels, restaurants, and attractions. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2021 explains how Walt Disney World works and how to use that knowledge to make every minute and every dollar of your vacation count. With an Unofficial Guide in hand-and with authors Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa as guides-find out what's available in every category, from best to worst, and get step-by-step, detailed plans to help make the most of your time at Walt Disney World. There have been lots of changes at Walt Disney World, from park opening procedures, to rides, restaurants, and hotels. Here's what's NEW in the 2021 book: When to visit Walt Disney World to get lower crowds and bigger hotel discounts Details on how COVID-19 and social distancing measures have impacted Walt Disney World Resort Tips on how to get a spot to experience Disney's fantastic new Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance blockbuster attraction How to "Rope Drop" Disney theme parks to get on the most popular rides faster Ten tips for finding the cheapest Disney World tickets (and a free online search tool to do all the work for you) The latest on discounted stroller rentals, car rentals, and vacation homes Reviews of Disney's swanky new Riviera Resort, plus the new Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure rides for families The best hotel rooms to request at every Disney resort

Pacific Ocean Park--or as it was commonly known in Los Angeles from the '50s through the '70s, P.O.P.--was extraordinary in both its glamorous rise and spectacular fall.

As a family-oriented attraction in the '50s with modernist-styled rides designed by Hollywood's best, P.O.P.'s attendance surpassed that of Disneyland.

Christopher Merritt and Domenic Priore's spectacular history includes hundreds of images, most of them unseen elsewhere, including original ride designs and illustrations, including Tiki-rich, space age, and nautical rides. P.O.P. was often widely seen in movies and television shows throughout the '60s. Its Cheetah auditorium hosted important early rock shows, including those by Ritchie Valens, The Doors, and Pink Floyd.

P.O.P. was located at the dividing line between Santa Monica and Venice, the only spot during Prohibition-era Los Angeles were residents were allowed to dance and consort in a carnival-like atmosphere. The book also backgrounds the infamous "Dogtown" of the 70's in which surfers took advantage of big waves that rolled through P.O.P.'s rotting piers near homeless junkies.

Buyers will be able to download audio files heard from all P.O.P.'s attractions.

Christopher Merritt currently designs amusement parks in Asia and also co-wrote "Knott's Preserved."

Domenic Priore also co-wrote the celebrated volumes "Riot on Sunset Strip," "Pop Surf Culture," and "Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece."

Both of these books are published under the University of Wisconsin Press' Popular Press imprint. In 1984, America celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the first successful roller coaster device - La Marcus A. Thompson's switchback railway - erected at Coney Island. Although more than a century has gone by, the literature of the amusement park and its history is still in its infancy. Robert Cartmell examines every phase of roller coaster history, from the use of the roller coaster by Albert Einstein to demonstrate his theory of physics, to John Allen's use of psychology in designing one.

Norman Anderson has written a gripping story of one of the engineering marvels of both the nineteenth and the twentieth century, the ferris wheel. The idea of this contraption may be as old as the water wheel, and written descriptions and drawings of pleasure wheels go back at least four centuries. There have been dozens of experiments with design and construction--early portable wheels by Strobel, the Condermans, Sullivan and others; one-of-a-kind wheels like Schnitzler's Asbury Park wheel with a tower and Stubb's water-turned wheel at Electric Park in Waterloo, Iowa; giant wheels in London, Blackpool, Vienna, Paris and recently in Japan.

Many books have been written about the history, secrets, and design of Disneyland, but this guide looks at the California landmark from a different angle. It explores the little known ghost stories and strange folklore surrounding this famous tourist destination, and offers new insights into this beloved theme park.

This volume presents the rich history of the old amusement parks and beach resorts frequented by Baltimoreans beginning in the 1870s and stretching into the late 20th century. Readers may recognise such popular amusement parks as Gwynn Oak, Carlin's, and Tolchester Beach, and will learn about some of the more obscure places like Frederick Road Park and Hollywood Park. Each of the major parks is documented here, complete with a detailed history of the sites they were built on, the creative owners behind the parks' inceptions, the individuals and companies who provided the rides and attractions, and, the people that happily travelled by boat, streetcar, train and automobile to reach their favourite park or resort. Like many sizable cities across the U.S. in the early 1900s, Baltimore offered numerous amusement parks and beach resorts for city residents to attend. Some sprang up along the trolley lines, others were beachside resorts typically reached by steamers departing from Baltimore harbor. Sadly, Baltimore is no longer home to a major amusement park. Most of the traditional amusement parks built in the early part of 20th century have disappeared, many falling victim to fire, changing social habits and rising land values.

Sunny Vale Pleasure Gardens, near Brighouse, was the Belle Vue or Alton Towers of West Yorkshire. It opened as a garden in 1880, and became a popular venue for sunday strollers, local sunday school groups and day trippers. This collection features 180 images, complemented by captions and reminiscences of the Gardens throughout its long history.

In its fourth edition, this authoritative guide to roller coasters in the United States and Canada provides a history of coaster evolution, an exhaustive reference section and a peek into the future of coaster technology and design. Roller coaster development is traced to its roots in late 16th and early 17th century Europe, where thrill-seekers constructed primitive ice slides in winter. The reference section features a listing by state or province of more than 700 coasters at more than 160 amusement and theme parks. Each entry includes park contact information along with summaries of each coaster's origins, features and history. Six appendices give information on famous coaster designers, a list of the longest wood and steel coasters in North America, a roller coaster census by state or province, a chronology of wooden roller coasters still in operation, amusement park and coaster trivia, and a guide to four alpine coasters which have been constructed at winter resorts in the U.S.