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Theme Park Design
- Behind the Scenes with an Engineer
- Narrated by: Steve Alcorn
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Have you ever gone to a theme park and wondered, "How did they do that?" At last there's a book that tells 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-listen for every theme park enthusiast!
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What listeners say about Theme Park Design
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- E. C. Naville
- 09-13-15
What goes into a theme park?
Steve Alcorn is the perfect person to read his own book, since it's written in his voice. I did find it helpful however to speed up the audio to X1.25 to keep the pace up.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Logan Niccum
- 01-11-20
Pretty fine.
The recording has a few moments with strange noises, like licking lips or stomach growls, but otherwise well done! It's an interesting peak at the wide breadth of engineering jobs in the world of themed entertainment. Some of Alcorns opinions are what I call "Disnelitist" and he seems to have a friendly disdain for the non-engineering professions in the industry. overall though, it's informative and entertaining. In addition, the book contains some of the best advice I've ever heard when it comes to getting your resume to be taken seriously.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Adam Oakes
- 05-08-19
fantastic insight
great behind the scenes view of how theme parks and their attractions are planned and built
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Brooke Jansen
- 01-07-19
GULP
I can't get over the author's tendency to smack his lips, lick them, and make very audible gulps before talking. It's otherwise okay :P Don't care much about his personal stories, but the actual amusement park information is cool.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- DarrylW4
- 04-16-18
Interesting But Not Easy
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
"Theme Park Design" contains some interesting content for the theme and amusement park fans. The delivery can be a little hard to listen to at times.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kurtis Leander
- 05-01-17
laugh out loud funny
flew through it. felt like he was talking directly to me. very inspired to keep chasing those dreams!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- geoff from Tigard, OR
- 03-17-16
He's an expert
I think there are millions of theme park enthusiasts and some of the enthusiasts write books; this guy on the other hand is a total expert and he did a great job of sharing his career experiences and details of all aspects of theme park rides and how the parks operate. A very professionally done book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tony
- 05-23-15
Wonderful story, and delightfully narrated
Nice overview for theme park design process people and outcomes. The story takes you inside the environment of theme park design.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- C. Rosani-Allen
- 08-30-21
Interesting
Great overview of how theme parks are designed and built, with special focus on those who want to work in the industry. I thought the fact that the author is also the narrator a double edge sword: at times the book felt like a chat with a friend but others the narrator's lack of experience in reading showed. There were too many awkward pauses, weird noises and other distractions.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richard Pocklington
- 05-05-21
Great incite to the themed attraction world
Great Read , learnt lots and will re read to be sure to further take in the experience
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William T Matthews
- 05-24-19
Hugely Enjoyable and Informative
Brilliant, listened to it twice over back to back, and will probably start it again tomorrow.
Dry enough for someone as sad as me to find interesting, humourous enough to keep my child like levels of attention up.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-21-18
really enjoyed
Felt a bit 'listy' at times but that's perhaps the best format for this content
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-29-19
Helpful information about the theme park engineering industry
There were definitely some audio/performance issues throughout, but I don’t feel as though they really detracted much from the information being told. Good read if you’re interested in theme park ride design, Disney Imagineering, or even just engineering generally.
