Between Books: Four Decades of Magic

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Resort.   Chad Denver Emerson celebrates this anniversary in Four Decades of Magic: Celebrating the First Forty Years of Disney World.  The book consists of over 25 essays on various aspects of Walt Disney World history.  These essays are written by respected Disney enthusiasts and historians such as Sam Gennawey, Jim Korkis, Lou Mongello, Michael Scopa and others.  The topics found in the collection are as diverse as the authors. Essays rank from topics including ghosts, parades, extinct attractions like Horizons, Discovery Island and even two separate essays on the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review.  This diversity makes for a rich and often surprising experience.

I love this book.  My copy sits on my book shelf filled with little flags to mark pages that I want to quickly reference.  Michael Scopa's essay "The Carousel of Progress: What Would Walt Think?" is one that tugs at my heartstrings and reminds us how far cast members will go to create a magical experience.  Mike Lee's "Thunder Mesa & the Western River Expedition: A Neverending Story" makes me hope that is really is true Imagineering does not throw any good idea away, and maybe someday this surefire Marc Davis classic can come into existence.  Overall, these essays brought me back to a park I love to share with family and take me away from cold Midwestern nights (and days) back to the warm Florida sun.  This book is a fitting tribute to 40 years of magic moments and I look forward to other offerings from Ayefour Publishing which cater to the Disney Dork!