New Books - Theme Parks
The American Amusement Park by
For more than a century, amusement parks from Brooklyn's Coney Island to Disneyland in Anaheim and today's chain parks like Six Flags have been among the most popular destinations for countiess Americans in search of fun, thrills and forgetting their troubles. This marvelous photographic retrospective distills more than 100 years of the sights, sounds, smells and vertigo-inducing thrills associated with the American amusement park. Nostalgic archival photography from private collections, period print advertisements and exclusive modern color photographs illustrate the stories behind thrill rides, arcades, architecture, park food, pavillion entertainment, fun houses, tunnels of love and much more. Special focus is given to the roller coaster, while sidebars highlight specific parks and rides whose influence on the development of amusement parks in general is undeniable.
Call Number: GV1853.2 .S26 2001Publication Date: 2001-10-26
Claude Coats: Walt Disney's Imagineer by
Claude Coats: Walt Disney's Imagineer--The Making of Disneyland: From Toad Hall to the Haunted Mansion and Beyond is the story of artist and designer Claude Coats who, for more than half a century, was one of the most prolific creative talents at The Walt Disney Company and, arguably, the most accomplished. An unpretentious man of strapping stature, Claude was the artist behind some of the stunning backgrounds produced at the Disney studio during the Golden Age of animation before becoming one of the founding members, handed-picked by Walt Disney, to start the fabled WED Enterprises--now known as Walt Disney Imagineering. Working side by side with Walt Disney, Claude Coats is considered a significant influence in creating the first theme park, Disneyland, and a new form of creativity called Imagineering. He forever changed the worlds of global entertainment, technology, architecture, and popular culture.
Publication Date: 2021-11-16
Gods and Rollercoasters by
This worldwide study examines how religion gets into theme parks - as mission, as an aspect of culture, as fable, and by chance. Gods and Rollercoasters analyses religion in theme parks, looking at how it relates to modernism, popular culture, right-wing politics, nationalism, and the rise of the global middle class. Crispin Paine argues that religion has discovered a major new means of expression through theme parks. From the reconstruction of Biblical Jerusalem at the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, through the world of Chinese mythology at Haw Par Villa in Singapore, to the great temple/theme park Akshardham in New Delhi, this book shows how people are encountering and experiencing religion in the context of fun, thrills and leisure time. Drawing on examples from six of the seven continents, and exploring religious traditions including Christianity, Daoism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, Gods and Rollercoasters provides a significant contribution to the study of religion, sociology, anthropology, and popular culture.
Publication Date: 2019-01-10
Magic Color Flair by
Vibrant, splendidly hued, and charming beyond compare, the work of Disney designer and illustrator Mary Blair is more than just acclaimed--it is adored. She has charmed generations with her whimsical creations, from stunning art direction for Cinderella and Peter Pan to the wowing and wonderful "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland. Magic Color Flair celebrates this Disney icon, tracing the evolution of her mesmerizing style and showcasing her work in gorgeous, full-color imagery. Curated by award winning animation director and designer, John Canemaker, the Magic Color Flair is an authoritative celebration of Blair's life work. From her precocious paintings she made while studying at the renowned Chouinard Art Institute, to her concept drawings for Disney films, to her treasured Golden Books, delightful advertisements and large-scale installations. With annotations about her artistic process, Magic Color Flair gives readers an inside look to her bold and lively artistic process that yielded such loveable, and memorable work. While at art school, Blair developed a dynamic style that emphasized drama and emotion. Her gift for visual storytelling caught the eye of Walt Disney himself, who loved her bold graphics, sophisticated whimsicality, and eye-catching use of color and who became a lifelong friend and champion of her work. This book accompanies the Walt Disney Family Museum's 2014 Mary Blair exhibit of the same title.
Call Number: NC1766.U52 B572 2014Publication Date: 2014-05-06
Storybook Worlds Made Real by
Memorable children's narratives immerse readers in imaginary worlds that bring them into the story. Some of these places have been constructed in the real world--like Pinocchio's Tuscany or Anne of Green Gables' Prince Edward Island--where visitors relive their favorite childhood tales. Theme parks like Walt Disney World and Harry Potter World use technology to engineer enchanting environments that reconnect visitors with beloved fictional settings and characters in new ways. This collection of new essays explores the imagined places we loved as kids, with a focus on the meaning of setting and its power to shape the way we view the world.
Publication Date: 2022-04-21
Travels with Walt Disney by
From his earliest years, Walt Disney aimed to expand his boundaries: physical, creative, and intellectual. Throughout his life, Walt was a frequent and enthusiastic "tourist," visiting destinations around the United States of America and across the globe. Whether attending a premiere, supervising a film production, or simply vacationing with his family, the "All-American" Walt became a citizen of the world. From Denmark to Argentina, England to Greece, Austria, Chile, Canada, France ... all of them welcomed Walt as an emissary of his good name, good works, and good reputation. In Travels with Walt Disney: A Photographic Voyage Around the World, seldom-seen and never-before-published photographs are showcased along with eyewitness recollections and enlightening anecdotes, arranged into a one-of-a-kind "travel journal" as if Walt himself might have documented these exciting excursions in one special place to keep the memories alive and to share with readers.
Call Number: PN1998.3.D57 K27 2018Publication Date: 2018
Women of Walt Disney Imagineering by
A dozen female Imagineers recount their trailblazing careers! Intertwined with memories of Disney legends are glimpses of what it takes behind the scenes to create a theme park, and the struggles unique to women who were becoming more and more important, visible and powerful in a workplace that was overwhelmingly male.
Call Number: GV 1853.3.C22 D57955 2022
