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Universal Studios never really wanted to get into the theme park business. They wanted to be the anti-Disney. But when forced to do so, they did it in a big way. Despite the fits and starts of multiple owners, the parks have finally gained the momentum to mount a serious challenge to the Walt Disney Company. How did this happen? Who made it happen? What does this mean for the theme park industry? In Universal Versus Disney, his newest work to investigate the histories of America's favorite theme parks, seasoned Disney-author Sam Gennawey has thoroughly researched how Universal Studios shook up the multi-billion dollar theme park industry, one so long dominated by Walt Disney and his legacy.
List of contents
Foreword by Phil Hettema
Preface
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1:¿Pulling Back the Curtain
CHAPTER 2:¿The Industrial Tour
CHAPTER 3:¿A Peek Behind the Curtain
CHAPTER 4:¿Defining the Universal Experience
CHAPTER 5:¿The Sunshine State
CHAPTER 6:¿The Battle Begins
CHAPTER 7:¿From Industrial Tour to Theme Park
CHAPTER 8:¿Matsushita, 1991-1995
CHAPTER 9:¿Seagram, 1995-2001
CHAPTER 10:¿Universal's Islands of Adventure
CHAPTER 11:¿Vivendi, 2001-2004
CHAPTER 12:¿General Electric, 2004-2009
CHAPTER 13:¿Comcast, 2009-Present
Index
About the Author
About the author
Sam Gennawey is the author of the newly released history of Walt Disney's first ever destination attraction, The Disneyland Story. Gennaway is also the author of Walt and the Promise of Progress City, a contributor to Planning Los Angeles and other books, and a columnist for the popular MiceChat website. His unique point of view built on his passion for history, his professional training as an urban planner, and his obsession with theme parks has brought speaking invitations from Walt Disney Imagineering, the Walt Disney Family Museum, Disney Creative, the American Planning Association, the California Preservation Foundation, the California League of Cities, and many Disneyana clubs, libraries, and podcasts. He is a senior associate at the planning firm of Katherine Padilla and Associates, and he lives in Pasadena, CA.
Summary
This book tells how Universal Studios shook up the multibillion dollar themepark industry, one so long dominated by Walt Disney and his legacy.
