Building a Better Mouse: The Story of the Electronic Imagineers Who Designed EPCOT

by Steve Alcorn, David Green Sr.

On October 1, 1982, The Walt Disney Company opened its EPCOT Center to the world, heralding changes that would take the Disney property in Florida from a mere theme park to a world-class resort destination. Authors Steve Alcorn and David Green were there, as employees of Disney's WED Imagineering. "Building a Better Mouse" tells the tale of the "hundreds of mostly young, mostly bright and all embarrassingly idealistic people" who worked on Epcot, and gives a unique insider's perspective on what it was like to be in the trenches as a Disney Imagineer in the early 1980s, from pixie dusting - when new employees are indoctrinated into all things Disney - through the craziness of the engineering design process, right up until the last frantic dash to opening day. It is a breathtaking, breezy, E-ticket ride of a book, required reading for both hard-core Disneyphiles and people interested in the business side of themed entertainment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

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

[Jeff Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disney's second Florida Theme Park, EPCOT Center (so named at the time) opened officially in October 1982. And after reading this book, I'm more than a little surprised that it happened at all!

This is not the typical Disney "back-stage" history book. This was written by two of the main electrical engineers that made it happen. While it's a quick read (less than 200 pages), it's still very detailed as to the work that went into building specifically The American Adventure show

I love these kinds of books, that give the reader even a taste of what it was like, building one of the most techologically advanced theme parks (at the time)

I'm excited to go back to WDW now to experience this show with a new perspective of what's going on in the heart of the theater building that houses it. Even now, in 2015, it seems an engineering marvel!

[Josh McConnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely an acquired taste and only for the die-hard Disney fans (particularly of Walt Disney World). There really is no narrative here. You are placed into the shoes of an engineer who worked on the American Adventure attraction during the madness that was the initial EPCOT construction. The second half of the book is literally a journal, with timestamps for entries.

All of this said, it is still fascinating to understand the insanity that went on during the creation of EPCOT. You receive an inside look to the problems they encountered, how close they were to failing multiple times and more. To some it may be dry, but if you have read extensively about Walt Disney World and its creation then this is great supplemental material.

It isn't mind blowing by any means, but it was still interesting nonetheless.

[Jon Shai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a writing project I'm in the middle of, and for that research, this was great. As its own piece of work, though it's pretty bland and directionless

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really interesting to read a book about working in the Themed Entertainment industry from an everyday worker's perspective. It's even better that it's a retrospective cynical perspective! I feel like I have a better idea of the chaos that a career in this industry will ensure. It wasn't a "Working at Disney is great! Magic happened and it was great! Your scheduling is shot but it's worth it.". This was extremely realistic with the highs and lows and I greatly appreciate it. Plus it was interesting and really funny. I think a lot of people went into this book as EPCOT fans hoping for behind-the-scenes secrets. You'll definitely learn some things, but I'd argue this book is meant for people interested in the INDUSTRY more than the park. Personally, as a student of Themed Entertainment Design, I loved it! But I can see how "die-hard fans" might not be as intrigued. Regardless, it's funny and interesting so I'm not saying DON'T read it. Just be aware of that perspective and audience.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read for those interested in some of the nitty gritty of the creation of EPCOT and an particular it's American Adventure.

The narrative is a bit haphazard and a section is nothing more than transcriptions of snippets of a recorded voice journal one of the engineers made. However, I enjoyed it - could have had more polish and detail from other people's perspective, but knowing that it was put together by those in the EPCOT trenches, I expected what I got.

I'd definitely recommend it for the various crazy stories of meeting deadlines and unbelievable expectations Disney had on what they were to accomplish before opening day.

[John Gregory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supremely disappointed in this one. If you’re expecting a detailed retelling of the planning and construction of Epcot and its opening attractions, you’ll be disappointed too.

What the book really offers is a loose collection of anecdotes about people who worked on the Epcot, but in technical roles like electrical engineers. Hearing a bit after life on-site during construction may be slightly entertaining to diehards, but hearing about delays on Epcot minutia like electrical boxes is beyond tiresome. It takes the book 117 pages to even go over what was being built in each pavilion!

Avoid this. And someone else please write a more interesting book about Epcot’s construction.

[Auburn Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

very loose recollection of the events leading up to building EPCOT, glad it was so short because I didn't really like the structure of this

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been to Disney World and EPCOT Center more times than I can count. And a large number of those trips were made during the golden age of EPCOT, the 80's and early 90's. I've always been fascinated by the Disney Imagineers, so I was very excited to hear a first-hand account of what actually went into building the park. In many ways the book did not disappoint, the stories of the young engineers with impossible deadlines and the unique culture of Imagineering were captivating. But at the same time, the book feels a bit like a first draft. I really would love to see an expanded edition that goes into more detail, includes photographs, etc. The stream-of-consciousness style of the book is not without its redeeming qualities though, I actually appreciated the raw, unfiltered quality of it, especially in a book about Disney (most of which are polished almost to the point of being lifeless). I'd certainly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in EPCOT or Imagineering. Even with its faults, it's a quick, fun, and interesting read.

[Rhea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very loose description of the lives of several engineers involved in Disney's EPCOT Florida project during the 80s, focussing the American Adventure pavilion. Very "on the ground" and flow of consciousness writing, as in "I remember that..." In spite of this it will have significant appeal to Disney park fans and engineers, with it's descriptions of EPCOT when it was still one of the world's largest, muddiest and most complex construction sites. There are long descriptions of how the engineers worked against impossible deadlines to debug the complex set of motorized carriages under the stages which bring the multi- ton robotic sets smoothly and utterly silently into place during the numerous daily shows. Quite a peek behind the curtain if you can get past the writing style.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look into the behind the scenes creation of EPCOT Center. Unfortunately, it has a lot of grammatical errors and repetitions. It would be nice if they could have an editor clean it up a bit. I also wish there was a glossary to explain some of the engineering jargon (what is a wirelister??).

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting; was expecting a more in depth look behind the scenes look at the building of EPCOT, similar to David Koenig's books. Though there were some of those stories here, mostly it was a little too technical to really get the overall behind the scenes experience. What a sense of urgency and sense of accomplishment though!

[Blaywulf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting look into skme early developement of Epcot Center, specifically the workd showcase and the American Adventure pavillion. If these dont interest you, you will get nothing out of this book

[sid · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting peek into the crazy engineering schedules that went into finishing Epcot on time. Reads more like a journal than a real book.