This book has surprised me the most so far, and not because of the infamous pain from the Vernon, New Jersey waterpark. What is so captivating about this book is it also functions a bit as a memoir of founder Gene Mulvihill’s son, Andy, and peppers in anecdotes about adolescence and complex family dynamics without ever feeling like a distraction from the story we’re all here for. I found myself with a favorite character from this book (Julie!) as if these were fictional beings. The book does a wonderful job of telling all of the joy of Action Park without feeling dismissive of anyone adversely affected by it. Although the book ends saying the current site is a mere shell of what was once there, I found myself wanting to take a drive up to New Jersey just to see the land myself.

Dream It, Do It! – Marty Sklar

I’ve seen mixed reviews for this one, and I’m here to say that it’s a wonderful book if you know what you’re getting into. This is at its core a memoir of an elder imagineer, which explains the writing style and tone. When you are willing to see through the fluff, there are some really unique anecdotes that remind you of what the imagineers are truly going through. It’s easy to forget these are jobs, complete with meetings, business trips, struggling with bosses and forming mentorship relationships. Sklar colors this all as a positive, using lots of exclamation points while talking about trips on the Disney jet. As someone working in entertainment, I found his “Mickey’s Ten Commandments” section especially valuable, and printed it out to put by my desk.

What Really Happens in Vegas – James Patterson

If you’re a Vegas fan, this book is a must. Similar to how movies that take place in New York frame the City That Never Sleeps as a ~character,~ the personality of Las Vegas really shines. Rather than being a cohesive history, Vegas is explored through different people who have called or still call Las Vegas home, humanizing a place that seems to only exist when you yourself are there. If you yearn to be back in that desert oasis, reading the short stories contained within the book make you feel like you’re truly walking through the Wynn or catching the Bellagio fountain show.

Kings Island: A Ride Through Time – Evan Ponstingle

Kings Island is my home park, so I’m a little biased, but I think this is such a unique read. While at first it can feel a bit textbook, the text expands to its main point – your home park is a part of you and the fabric of your community. I do think I would struggle reading this book if Kings Island was not my home park simply because it could be hard to picture these truly unique rides and the space they’re housed in, but the warm and fuzzies at the end are a universal feeling for park fans.

Universal vs. Disney: The Unofficial Guide to American Theme Parks’ Greatest Rivalry – Sam Gennawey

I declared myself a ‘Universal Adult’ earlier in the year after visiting Islands of Adventure for the first time in nearly a decade. Naturally, I needed to dive in the same way I have for Disney and Cedar Fair properties. I’ll admit that the title of the book made me believe this would contain more nuggets about the rivalry that took place as the dual studio parks in Florida opened (and I am nothing if not a certified Eisner stan), which was my one disappointment. All in all, it is still a good read if you have exhausted all the DIsney content like I have. I feel like I finally have the base knowledge of Universal the way I do for Disney, and it was great to be learning about a new institution once more.

Disney War – James B. Stewart

I have never read Wicked because everyone says the politics make it hard to understand, and I am but a simple girl. I sort of feel that way about this book. A lot of the corporate speak went over my head entirely, but it is still worth a read in my opinion – there are really unique nuggets of information about such an iconic era of the Walt Disney company. Similar to my thoughts on Marty Sklar’s book, it reminds us that there is a business behind the magic, although the portrait painted of the company culture here is near the opposite of Sklar. The same company giving us “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” has cutthroat action and betrayal behind the scenes.