Fun summer reads for theme park fans

June 23, 2013, 11:28 AM · Looking for some fun summer reading? If you're new to Theme Park Insider, you might not yet have heard about our Stories from a Theme Park Insider ($2.99 for Kindle, $6.99 in paperback), Stories from a Theme Park Insider a light-hearted look at what it's like to work at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, with stories and comments from other Theme Park Insider readers who have worked at various theme parks.

Unlike other cast members memoirs out there, this book won't take you to any dark or outrageous places -- it's more a reminder of why we fell in love with theme parks in the first place, with plenty of silly and embarrassing moments along the way of course. Hey, that's what happens when your work is someone else's vacation.

For another look at the theme park industry, download a copy of Theme Park Insider reader and correspondent TH Creative's 7097-050719 (a theme park trilogy) ($3.99 for Kindle). It's fictional what-if mystery that explores the popular urban legend that Walt Disney didn't really die in December 1966, but was cryogenically preserved. This fun tale follows a couple of writers from a certain theme park website as they cross the country to pursue the truth. Or, at least, to drink a lot of beer along the way.

If you're in the mood for a more, well, reality-based look at the creation of Disneyland, Walt Disney World and just about every other major theme park in America, the definitive read is Walt's Revolution!: By the Numbers (from $23.77), by the late "Buzz" Price. Price, a Disney Legend who never actually worked for the Disney Company, helped select the site for Disney's U.S. theme parks, as well as pave the way for multiple other theme park developments around the country. You'll feel like a real Theme Park Insider after reading Price's delightful memoir.

Finally, if you're a theme park fan with a love for snark and sarcasm, you simply must read Native Tongue ($14.99 paperback, $7.99 for Kindle) by the dean of contemporary Florida authors, Carl Hiaasen. It's a hilarious, though very irreverent, look at the misfits running a Florida theme park called "The Amazing Kingdom of Thrills," a fictional mash-up of many of our favorite parks. (Hiaasen's newest book, Bad Monkey, just debuted this month, if you're already a fan and haven't read his latest.)

Happy reading!

Replies (2)

June 23, 2013 at 7:42 PM · Just purchased Walt's Revolution, but I have read all the other recommendations and they are top notch. I wasn't a fan of Native Tongue, but I could see how somebody would enjoy it.
June 24, 2013 at 12:58 PM · Buzz Price's book is a MUST for any theme park commentator offering up armchair soothsaying about business strategies surrounding the development of theme parks and attractions.

Robert's 'Tales From a Theme Park Insider' is another fun read ... if only for the alligators on the Frontierland dock and Dolly Parton story ... ESPECIALLY the Dolly Parton story.

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