Heart and Darkness: Scary Adventures and the Evolution of Disney’s Dark Rides

by Shawn Patrick Farrell, Bob McLain (Editor)

The Definitive Book of Disney Dark RidesThe dark rides in Disney theme parks have delighted—and sometimes terrified—millions of people. The history of these attractions is a fascinating story of creativity, engineering, and pop culture, and it's told here for the first time.

From their primitive beginnings in the 1800s, to their perfection by the Disney Imagineers, dark rides are an ingenious way to tell a visually exciting story to guests who "travel" through the action, scene by scene, aboard vehicles ranging from boats to (Doom) buggies.

Despite their popularity, dark rides still retain an aura of when did they originate? how did Disney transform them from curiosities into crowd pleasers? why are they such a draw to young and old?

Shawn Farrell dispels the darkness with the definitive history of Disney's dark rides, from Disneyland's Peter Pan, Mr. Toad, and Snow White, to Disneyland Shanghai's cutting-edge version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Farrell also explores notable dark rides not in a Disney park, the many that have gone into the gloom, and some hints of what's to come.

Genres: Nonfiction

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2017

Reviews

[Daniel Tasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book purports to be the definitive history of Disney's dark rides & it is exactly that: listing dark rides past, present and future in every Disney theme park around the world. But the text offers considerably more. As an avid follower of Theme Park Press and its published output, I've seen a varying degree of quality in what they have released. My interest veers more toward Disney's history than say, the best places to have a quickie in Fantasyland.

Here, we have the history of these narrative driven dark rides, but also the context. What came before Disney? Why are we, as theme park guests, so drawn to this type of attraction? How did Walt Disney and his Imagineers take inspiration from their animated classics and translate them to the 3D reality of Disneyland and beyond? Beyond that, the author offers a look at what's to come as special effects, animatronics and other technology involved in the creation of dark rides continues to evolve.

Though we'd be foolish to assume that as popular and innovative as Disney's dark rides are that they have the market cornered on this type of attraction. The book includes a fair amount of examples of dark rides (and dark ride designers) in other amusement parks around the world, some of which seem comparable to Disney, still more of which seem to pale in comparison.

[Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for an easy read about Disney. Instead this reads more like a research paper. If I needed to write a research paper this would be a great book, but it's not what I was looking for.

[Dana Stickney · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a great deal to learn from this book on the history of not only popular Disney dark rides (rides that focus more on telling a story, or even putting riders into a story, rather than thrill rides), but on their history in general. Most fans of Disney parks understand that dark rides include attractions like The Haunted Mansion or Snow White's Scary Aventures - not rides like The Matterhorn or the IncrediCoaster.

Though some photos would have been appreciated, I have read a decent number of books from this same publisher and their absence seems to be the norm. That being said, I think the author succeeds admirably in painting his own picture - the text includes descriptions of every current Disney dark ride, as well as nostalgic recollections of those that have been shut down over the years. Though the descriptions for some rides aren't as lengthy, that's probably because only so much can be said about Peter Pan's Flight (or a similar ride) when the only difference between it in one park and the next is the language of the ride's narration.

After some interesting introductory text that suggests some reasons for why we enjoy these rides so much (those of us who don't dismiss them as 'for kids,' that is), the author describes the earliest plans for Disneyland and how that park grew from Walt Disney's interest in making something for families. Something very unlike the typical amusement parks of his day. We learn about the earliest versions of what would become known as dark rides and how Disneyland would take them to the next level. A chapter is devoted to the rides at each Disney park and the chapters include some equally interesting diversions - adapting these attractions to different cultures, dark rides in parks other than Disney's, etc.

[Sharon Kingmartin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What are commonly known as dark rides in the Disney theme parks (think Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones Adventure, Horizons, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride), represent both a triumph of Disney's talented group of Imagineers and the vision and innovation of Walt Disney himself. Farrell's book reviews the history of these attraction, from their pre-Disneyland roots in pretzel rides and old mills to the groundbreaking use of the ride type as a narrative device, and way to bring Disney's screen creations to three dimensional life. Beyond that, there's context provided for why we as theme park visitors are as drawn to them as so many of us are, a look at the dark rides in each park and some background information on their reasons for being there. A chapter or so is also spent on non-Disney rides that offer a similar level of escapism. A quick read at 200 or so pages, but a welcome addition to your Disney library.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the stuff about early dark rides. Later on, the sections about individual rides is just sort of a basic recounting of their plots, with little behind the scenes information. The sections that do have that info are interesting, with the Mystic Manor section probably being the most interesting for people who read a stupid amount of Disney books. The chapter at the end about non-Disney dark rides is... odd. There's some good stuff about Tracy rides, but the ten non-Disney ride list seems entirely arbitrary. I think it would have been far more interesting to see info about a selection of still operating rides that do a good job of demonstrating what dark rides of their eras were like.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straight-forward, informative, but not narratively gripping--like reading a lengthy wikipedia article, I didn't get a sense of style, tone, or even attitude from the author. If you like your text dry, you're in luck, but I prefer a more engaged treatment.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great overview of the concept as it relates to Disney's rides in particular, although I would have loved more of a focus on Claude Coats' original version of 'Snow White's Scary Adventures'. The earlier chapters contain a decent history of the dark ride before Walt, and later chapters are a handy guide to international examples (mostly Disney, of course).

[Danielle Baranowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting comparisons of the rides in the different parks, but more dense than entertaining - this read like a term paper.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing springs fully realized and this book has some great backstory into dark rides. The ride descriptions and updates were excellent (although with each successive park they grew worse) - some photos would have been nice too. All of the chapters were nicely broken into smaller sections. The whole latter half of the book was not as cleanly executed and the ending aside on other modern dark rides was unnecessary to the subject matter.