If you’ve ever been curious about how storytelling and technology come together to create a Disney ride, David Mumpower has written the book for you. This book dives deep into the challenges, creativity, and innovation behind many of Disneyland (and other Disney parks) attractions, and how Imagineering shapes these experiences for guests.
PREMISE
Behind the Ride is a behind-the-scenes guidebook focused on the rides within the parks. Mumpower offers insights into both classic and modern attractions, from their histories to the toughest challenges Imagineers faced trying to make them reality. The book covers everything from initial design concepts to operational details, so that you can appreciate just how much goes into every single attraction worldwide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
From the publisher:
David Mumpower is a freelance writer and the author of Disney Demystified: The Stories and Secrets Behind Disney’s Favorite Theme Park Attractions. His book, which reached an Amazon Best Seller Rank of 25,000 and the #2 slot under “Amusement & Theme Parks” category at its peak, held a Top 100 rank in the segment for more than 9 months.
A proven television trend spotter, Mumpower has been cited as an accredited subject matter expert in movie analysis and theme park tourism on more than 200 occasions. He is consistently quoted in CNN Money, io9, HitFix, Slate, Salon, USA Today, Time and E!, and has served as a consultant for private sector industry executives, including one with a mutual fund with assets valued at more than $300MM.
In addition to his focus on publishing, David Mumpower is a content creation specialist, with content that has gone viral in three different decades, authoring a million-view article in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. He has written more than a dozen articles with at least 1MM views and over 500 articles with at least 100K views. His articles often employ significant independent research, once utilizing FOIA to research and author an article on Comcast’s FCC complaints, which was shared on Reddit and picked up by Time and Consumerist.
MY REVIEW
Overall, I think this book has an interesting topic – many history books about the parks focus a lot more on broader park development or “big moments” than specific ride details – so I think it’s a unique approach to the topic.
However, there are a few things I think this book could have improved on. First, I think it had a tendency to lean a little bit too far into “encyclopedia” territory, outlining a lot of operational facts over than talking about the stories behind each ride and talking about its more holistic story. And second, I think this book really needed an editor in certain places. There were sections with words missing/incomplete phrases and it make reading a little bit clunky.
But all that considered, if you’re a Disney fan that loves details and has interest in how rides come to life, I think you will enjoy a lot of the information this book has to offer.