Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment aims to be the most in-depth book on theme park design ever written, documenting for professional designers, theme park design students, and curious theme park fans, the fascinating processes and techniques that go into creating the amazing worlds of theme park design.

If you've ever visited a theme park and wondered how the magic is created, this is the book for you. Theme park design invites you to become an apprentice Imagineer. Inside, you'll: - Explore the different types of rides and shows- Experience creating an attraction from conception to opening day- Discover the different professional roles in Imagineering so you can determine which best suits your interestsAnd for avid fans and gearheads, a special section takes you on a deep dive into show control, ride control, audio, video and special effects.Whether your goal is to become an Imagineer, or you're just curious about how theme parks are created, Theme Park Design pulls back the curtain on what goes into creating the greatest attractions on Earth

From the day it opened in July 1955, in an event given live TV coverage, Disneyland has been a key symbol of contemporary American culture. It has been both celebrated and attacked as the ultimate embodiment of consumer society, a harbinger of shopping-mall culture, a symbol of American hegemony in entertainment, the epitome of fantasy, simulation, pastiche, and the blurring of distinctions between reality and mass-media imagery. Yet for all the power of Disneyland as metaphor, almost no one has discussed the making of this unique place, with its far-flung colonies in Florida, Japan, and France. Written to accompany an exhibition at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, "Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance" is the first book to look beyond the multiple myths of Disneyland. Uniting a roster of authors chosen from wide-ranging disciplines, this study is the first to examine the influence of Disneyland on both our built environment and our architectural imagination. Tracing the relationship of the Disney parks to their historical forbears, it charts Disneyland's evolution from one man's personal dream to a multinational enterprise, a process in which the Disney "magic" has moved ever closer to the real world. Editor Karal Ann Marling, Professor of Art History and American Studies at the University of Minnesota, draws upon her pioneering work in the Disney archives to reconstruct and analyze the intentions and strategies behind the parks. She is joined by Marty Sklar, Vice Chairman and Principal Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, historian Neil Harris, art historian Erika Doss, geographer Yi-Fu Tuan, critic Greil Marcus, and architectFrank Gehry to provide a unique perspective on one of the great post-war American icons.

Designing Disney sets into history and puts into context the extraordinary contributions of the late John Hench, who, at the age of 94, still came into his office at Imagineering each day. His principles of theme park design, character design, and use of color made him a legendary figure, not only for Disney fans but also for students and aficionados of architecture, engineering, and design. Designing Disney reveals the magic behind John’s great discoveries and documents his groundbreaking in several key areas: “Design Philosophy” examines the values, attitudes, aesthetics, and logic that went into the original concepts for Disney theme parks. In “The Art of the Show” and “The Art of Color,” Hench reveals the essence of what makes the parks work so well. And in “The Art of Character,” he lets the reader in on the how and why of the Disney characters’ inherent popularity—their timeless human traits, archetypal shape and gestures that suggest these qualities graphically, and their emotional resonance in our lives.

Industry insider Scott Lukas teaches you how to design exciting, believable, authentic themed spaces. Make your immersive worlds come alive with the gems in this book, including key industry interviews and case studies!

Behind the scenes stories of how Theme Park Attractions and Entertainment Spectaculars were designed by Imagineering Legend Bob Gurr during a 42 year career.