Description:
Step behind the magic and into the madness of building Disney's most ambitious theme park.
It's 1982, and hundreds of young, idealistic engineers have been recruited to create EPCOT Center - Walt Disney's greatest dream. Over three frantic years, they'll transform 27,000 acres of Central Florida swampland into a $1.2 billion showcase of innovation and imagination.
But between the pixie-dusting and opening day, something happens: impossible deadlines, last-minute redesigns, hydraulic nightmares, and the constant challenge of making the truly impossible actually work. This is the story of those who lived it - told with humor, honesty, and heart.
Inside you'll discover:
- What it was really like to be a Disney Imagineer in the early 1980s
- The frantic rush to opening day and why American Adventure almost didn't make it
- Behind-the-scenes stories of EPCOT's most complex attractions
- The pixie-dusting process that turns engineers into true believers
- Why nearly everyone was laid off after opening day
- Personal accounts from the front lines of themed entertainment history
Co-authored by two Imagineers who were there, Building A Better Mouse is part memoir, part technical history, and entirely entertaining. It's a breathtaking, breezy, E-ticket ride of a book - required reading for Disney enthusiasts, theme park professionals, and anyone fascinated by what happens when ambition meets reality.
"A fascinating glimpse into the creative chaos of building a theme park." - Theme Park Insider
About the Authors: Steve Alcorn later founded Alcorn McBride Inc., whose technology powers attractions in theme parks worldwide. He is a USA Today bestselling author of 27 books and has helped over 100,000 students learn to write through Writing Academy. David Green went on to become president of Visual Terrain, a leading lighting design firm, and holds nine U.S. patents.