We were there to build castles -- castles in a new empire upon which the sun would never set... mice, ducks and talking animals... a man with a mustache and a mouse with a bow tie... and Epcot, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow -- Walt's greatest dream. It was a dream for a lot of us. We had been hired to create Epcot -- hundreds of mostly young, mostly bright and all embarrassingly idealistic people. We believed in the dream, the company and most of all, the ideal -- that a Disney employee had one goal: to make as many other people happy as humanly possible. From pixie dusting -- when new employees are indoctrinated into all things Disney -- through the craziness of the engineering design process, right up until the last frantic dash to opening day, Building a Better Mouse will show you the behind the scenes madness -- and fun -- that went into designing Epcot.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Steve Alcorn Steve Alcorn is an entrepreneur, engineer, inventor, author and teacher best known for his involvement in the theme park industry. In 1982 he joined Walt Disney Imagineering (then known as WED Enterprises) as a consultant, where he worked on the electronic systems for Epcot Center. During his two years with Imagineering he designed show control systems for The American Adventure, wrote the operating system used in the parkwide monitoring system, and became Imagineering's first Systems Engineer. In 1986 he founded Alcorn McBride Inc. The company's show control, audio, video and lighting equipment is used in most major theme park attractions around the world. Mr. Alcorn is the author of several novels available at themeperks.com. Through Internet instruction provider Education To Go, Mr. Alcorn teaches online classes at nearly 1000 universities and colleges worldwide. He also teaches a survey class in Theme Park Engineering at themeparkengineering.com David Green David Green is the principal of Monteverdi Creative, Inc. (montverdicreative.com), which provides creative and technical design services to companies in the entertainment industry. Prior to founding Monteverdi in 2001, David worked for the Walt Disney Company, DIRECTV, Technicolor, IBM, Lockheed and others. He is a trained journalist and published author in non-fiction, fiction and poetry. His software for amateur astronomy was featured in the March 2007 BBC publication, "Sky at Night."
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Building A Better Mouse,
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This review is from: Building A Better Mouse (Hardcover)
As we have indicated in so many past reviews of Disney related books... My company reads everything about the industry and we especially pay close attention to any written words regarding The Walt Disney Company.
This book is very detailed and if you are involved in the theme park industry (like Denny Magic Studios) or... if you have an electrical engineering background... You will enjoy the details in this book. If not, you might find this a bit of a dry-read. I think it would be safe to say that there is a sufficient amount of sour grapes sprinkled over some pages of this book (like pixie dust) but... it goes without saying that The Disney Company is a corporate giant designed to make a profit. In doing so, some employees will be taken advantage of, and when the project is over... many of those dedicated employees will be let go. We hope we never treat our people that way, but... in the corporate world that's how business has been traditionally conducted. Sad. So it is completely understandable that some folks will end up feeling a bit betrayed after putting in so many dedicated hours for a company like Disney... However, the work that they left behind is their legacy for the rest of us to see and enjoy, and they should be proud to have made such significant contributions. Other people DO appreciate what they have done. Like the movie business, people become unemployed once the film wraps... and they usually remain out-of-work until the next movie comes along. So it is no surprise to the reader that Disney treats their people the same way by squeezing every drop of blood from staff to get the job done... and then sends them on their way. It's the same at all big corporations in most industries... and Disney is only acting out according to industry standards. But if you can get through the 'sour grapes' that the writer(s) have added... the rest of the book reads like a manual for 'project managers' who need to go the extra mile to get the job done. It paints a real-world picture of the behind-the-scenes activity that go into the building of a theme park. All the heart aches, disappointments, and triumphs are layed out for the curious reader who wants to know what went into a project like "Disney World".
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable look into a fascinating world,
By Robertsonics (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Building A Better Mouse (Hardcover)
"Building a Better Mouse" is a lively look at the often-shrouded world of building theme parks and of Imagineering in particular. The authors, with the unique vantage point of having lived through it, recount the trials and pitfalls of undertaking the massive design and construction project that was EPCOT Center with a team of freshly minted engineers. Much of the book is derived from notes and first-person recollections of the electronic engineering crew responsible for the computers systems that control the park, and the occasionally harrowing account of meeting an opening day deadline makes for great reading.
If you are fascinated by all-things-Disney, or enjoy "Soul of a New Machine" type narratives, then this book is for you.
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