Theme Park Design: Behind The Scenes With An Engineer

by Steve Alcorn

Have you ever gone to a theme park and wondered, "How did they do that?" At last there's a book that shows you. Theme Park Design reveals the secrets behind some of the world's greatest attractions. Take a peek behind the scenes, with a theme park engineer. Aimed at theme park enthusiasts, the book features behind the scenes information based upon author Steve Alcorn's 35 years designing attractions. The story follows the development of an attraction from "Blue Sky" design to opening day. Along the way it reveals the engineering tricks used to build many fan favorite rides. "This book shows you the secrets behind the magic," says Alcorn. Theme Park Design explores ride control, mechanics, audio, video, lighting, special effects, animated figures, art direction, and much more, with insider commentary. The author illuminates the fast-paced world of theme park design through tales of calamity and triumph, sprinkled with many humorous anecdotes. He also offers career tips on becoming an Imagineer. A must-read for every theme park enthusiast!

Genres: Nonfiction, Design

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2010

About the author

Steve Alcorn is the author of a wide range of fiction and nonfiction works. His novels include the mystery A Matter of Justice, the historical novel Everything In Its Path, and the romance Ring of Diamonds (under the pseudonym Sharon Stevens). His best-selling history of the Imagineers who built Epcot, Building a Better Mouse, was co-written with author David Green.

During the past decade Steve has helped more than 30,000 students turn their story ideas into reality, and many of his students have published novels they developed in his classes, taught through http://writingacademy.com

When he isn't writing and teaching, Steve is the CEO of Alcorn McBride Inc., a leading theme park design company.

Reviews

[Nelson Zagalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Theme Park Design: Behind The Scenes With An Engineer” é um livro escrito para dois tipos de audiência: juvenil e o típico visitante de parques temáticos. Com isto quero dizer que é um livro que peca pela superficialidade com que trata as problemáticas por detrás do design dos parques temáticos, ignorando áreas e posições de enorme relevo, tratando os leitores como dispostos a aceitar tudo o que é dito de forma acrítica. Apesar disto é um livro que conta algumas histórias interessantes, sobre um assunto sobre o qual existe muito pouco ainda escrito. Desse modo acaba por funcionar como uma espécie de acesso ao backstage, ainda que apenas a uma parte desse, daquilo que sustenta a fantasia e o entretenimento dos mundos dos parques temáticos.

O resto da análise está no blog: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...

[Helios · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and humorous guide to theme parks, how they work and how they’re built. I’ve read other books on the subject recently and I found this to be particularly exhaustive and useful. It’s really easy to read, for the author switches often from the lecture tone to engineering jokes.

[Michael Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

After The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company, I decided to read a trilogy about theme park design, and stopped at 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, Theme Park Design: Behind The Scenes With An Engineer, and Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World. Theme parks are large-scale parks on a given grand topic, such as the entire world of Disney characters in Disneyland or everything aquatic in Waterworld; such a park can easily attract ten million visitors yearly, thus becoming big local industry.

Theme Park Design is a semi-humorous book about the engineering of them parks. In the no less than sixty chapters, Steve Alcorn draws from over twenty years of experience to draw the curtains on theme park architecture, management, operations, marketing, and ... engineering. I liked the level of detail---not too low, but enough to show where Steve actually knows what he's talking about---; not to just give you another list, but we learn about audio, video, lighting, hydraulics, and ergonomics. Steve knows why the regular PCs won't do in the all-important control room, and won't hesitate to tell us. Steve also tells us something about people: there are over 100,000 of them running the Walt Disney World, and tens of millions that they would service every year. Now you know, too!

Overall, a surprisingly entertaining read. Thumbs up!

[Adam Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure who this book was written for. At times it's technical enough to be a textbook (and it turns out it's a supplement to the author's online course), and at other times, it seems geared toward those with just an interest in theme parks. A through-line about creating a ride/theme park all but disappears halfway before cropping up at the end. It just feels unfinished, given missing(?) chapters 54-59, numerous proofreading errors, and what seems to be changes in direction and unclear delineations when a new "part" is starting.

That's not to say there's not value in the book - there is! If you or a kid you know is gung-ho on working in the theme park industry's technical side, it's a good primer. Alcorn is definitely authoritative and has expert knowledge, and the last thing it feels like is an ad for his class or his company. The best parts for me were the behind-the-scenes construction stories. Unfortunately, they feel too few and far between. Towards the end, he starts to integrate some of the technical jobs and their tasks into a narrative about building the World of Motion before EPCOT's opening, a method I would've loved to see more of. I think as a theme park fan, I prefer the histories, stories, and criticism of the parks than the technical details, so when the stories were less common, I lost interest.

A friend of mine, with whom I do a YouTube channel called Theme Park Workshop, loaned me this book since it was a pivotal read for him. I'm glad I read it, and I took some things away from it. It just wasn't for me, but there will be people like my friend who read this and it sparks everything.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contains some interesting content, though it's tone and writing style jumps all over the place. Sometimes it's written like a textbook, and at others, it's goofy and upbeat. Every other page I would encounter some obscure references, bad grammar, and/or typos.

[Keeli Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed how personal and interesting this book is. One star off for the fact it's getting outdated and one star off for it constantly bringing up how amazing the "The Amazing Spider-Man" ride at Universal is...Albeit correct, just pointlessly repetitive.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool summary of how theme park attractions come together. It's an easy read yet doesn't make the descriptions too simple for knowledgeable audiences.

[Holden Amedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 ⭐️

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever experienced a theme park show or attraction and wondered what it took to put it together? If you have or you know someone who has, here’s a brief introduction to the people and the process involved in designing an attraction.

Steve Alcorn is a former Imagineer with years of experience working on the systems that control theme park shows, audio, and video equipment. He walks the reader through the projects a theme park designer might work on, the stages of a project from “blue sky” through attraction opening, and the roles of the people involved in creating an attraction. Most of the book concentrates on the basics of the overall process, although Steve also discusses the issues and the equipment that go into controlling the ride snd show elements and the video and audio elements of a show (that’s what he does for a living, after all).

Steve’s writing style helps make some technical and technological concepts easier to understand, and he does a good job of explaining the kinds of jobs a theme park creative worker or an engineer might be responsible for. Some of the book may go a little far into the weeds for a person who just wants an overview of the Imagineering process, but the book’s organized well enough that you could skip some of it and still get a good feel for the design process.

If you know someone who thinks they might want to be an Imagineer someday but wants a better idea of what the work is like, or someone who wants a better idea of how the magic happens, this book would be a good gift for them, or a nice addition to your theme park reference library. Recommended!

[John Fultz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely written for a younger audience. I think it'd be a fine book to recommend to a 10-15 year old. I thought it might be a more detailed look that somebody like myself with an engineering background could appreciate, even if communicated through lay language. But I found myself distracted by the language and transitions which seem to consistently aim for the juvenile reader (and, although I'm clearly not the audience to properly judge...I think that aim is a bit patronizing).

Also, Alcorn tells the narrative of designing a theme park ride where the engineering types are consistently the heroes while others perform jobs which are sometimes meritorious, but often not. The portrayal doesn't seem fair, and really takes a swipe at types like project managers and, to a lesser extent, designers, some of whom seem to have really gotten under his skin.

But, it's still a narrative you don't hear every day, and not uninteresting, if flawed.

[Ferran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lets say it's A very general Theme Park Design 101, don't expect detail, nor too many anecdotes, nor curiosities. It basically describes the different profiles, roles and technical areas of people involved in the creation and running of rides and attractions of theme parks, as well as the process.

However, this seems a book written for teenagers. The style is too plain and always trying to be funny (annoying for me most of the times), which for adult theme park enthusiasts is not necessary at all.

This was not what I expected really, but I wouldn't say it's a bad book for people seeking this.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a lifelong Disney fan, I found this book really enjoyable. As an engineer myself, I enjoyed the engineering tidbits and humor thrown in. There were a lot of fun facts about how things worked behind the scenes, while explaining why things were chosen to be done one way or another.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as engineering-focused as I'd like.