Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my all-time favorite Disney attractions so it was a lot of fun to get a behind the scenes perspective on the history of the ride. Surrell, who was a Disney imagineer at the time of writing, digs into how the original Pirates came to be at Disneyland in the 1960s (one of the final projects with Walt's direct involvement although he died a few months before it opened). Then he explores how the ride was adapted and changed for Florida, Tokyo, and Paris. The book also does a great runthrough of the ride experience in each location, with quotes from Imagineers who helped design them. Finally, the book concludes with a surprisingly interesting story behind the making of the first movie adaptation Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. This coffee table sized book is lavishly illustrated with everything from artistic sketches to models to photos of the ride in operation. ( )

Really fun read chronicling the history of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and the other Disney parks around the world, all the way through the production of the first film in the ongoing Pirates movie franchise. The book has a brief addendum announcing the second and third movies, which form the first movie trilogy of the series, and the inclusion of film elements back into the rides. ( )