Book Review - Heart and Darkness: Scary Adventures and the Evolution of Disney’s Dark Rides by Shawn Patrick Farrell

I found this book by accident while searching for Disney-related guides. I didn't expect much looking at the cover but it turned out to be a real treasure. The author not only dives into the history of dark rides but also details almost every single dark ride that ever existed at all the Disney parks. And I really enjoyed learning how the Imagineers handled different situations and the "secrets" of how they made these rides so popular.

The chapters are broken out in logical order starting with the history and making of dark rides in the first few chapters. Chapter 4 describes the World's Fair where Disney showcased Carousel of Progress (and an early version of People Mover) as well as Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Chapter five, humorously titled "Go East, Old Man", is an exploration of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Chapter six delves into Disneyland Tokyo and Disney Sea. Chapter seven visits Disneyland Paris. Chapter eight goes to Hong Kong Disneyland and chapter nine goes to Shanghai Disneyland. Chapter ten visits other amusement parks like Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm and their stand out dark rides. Chapter eleven discusses some abandoned dark ride ideas or concepts and the end of the chapter talks about the future of dark rides and some upcoming rides.

Keep in mind this book was published in 2017 which means a few of the rides are now retired and some of the rides listed in the future section are up and running today.

I like that each chapter that lists rides puts them in ascending order by date so we can see the evolution. A lot of the early rides are still operating.

This is a great book for not only Disney lovers but Amusement Park enthusiasts as well.

Title: Heart and Darkness: Scary Adventures and the Evolution of Disney’s Dark Rides
Author: Shawn Patrick Farrell
ISBN: 978-1683900962
Pages: 237

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Book Review - Insight Guides - Shanghai City Guide

Our family love Disney World and Disneyland and we have the desire to visit the other parks in China, so I picked up this Shanghai City Guide at the library. It's a bit old (I think there's a newer version out there on Amazon) but the general information is still valid. PLUS, this book comes with a FREE ebook that you can take with you!

I do want to warn you that there's only a paragraph's worth of information for Shanghai Disney Resort and the authors recommend other parks instead. So if you're planning a trip solely for Disney, you may be disappointed with this guide.

That being said, I do like how this book is laid out by area or neighborhood. They have some useful full-color maps. The app that is advertised inside the cover of the book is no longer available but the eBook is and I was able to download it without any issues.

The really useful information is found starting on page 255 in the back of the book - getting around, money, etc.

Title: Insight Guides City Guide Shanghai
Author: Insight Guides
ISBN: 978-178-671-845-7

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