By Character Diva
When Soarin’ Diva told me that she had been in touch with R.J. and Suzanne Ogren (authors of the book, “Together in the Dream”) and that they wanted to partner with us for THREE reviews and giveaways, I was excited. The book I was able to review is called, “The Design of Fear: An Artist’s Hauntings and Creations from Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion and Beyond”.
While it doesn’t cover the behind-the-scenes-aspects of Disney World as deeply as “Together in the Dream”, as the title implies, you DO get to read quite a bit about the Haunted Mansion and Leota Toombs, the imagineer who also serves as the head of Madame Leota and the “Little Leota” bride at the end of the ride.
From there, the book moves more in the direction of what R.J. Ogren did with his career after leaving Disney World, and how the skills he learned at Disney World were applied in haunted houses and other scary attractions around the country, with “Disney’s mantra of ‘Safety, Courtesy, Capacity, Show” is constantly in (his) mind”.
If you are a fan of haunted houses, encounters with ghosts (R.J. elaborates on a couple occasions where he experienced visions of paranormal activity), or anything Halloween-related, you will definitely love this book. It gives you a new appreciation for some of the special effects that go into haunted houses, as well as a unique behind-the-scenes peek.
The book is written as a collection of memories. Sometimes there is a continuation from the previous chapter, but most of the chapters are written in a way that they can stand alone on their own, with occasional references to Disney sprinkled in, such as “At the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, (R.J.) created pixie dust swirls across 150 feet of wall space, for the entrance into the exhibit entitled Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives. The pixie dust was lit by black light- can’t get away from it!” I also really loved all of the historical references about Walt and Lillian Disney being passengers on the Queen Mary, and how the Disney Company had purchased it for a future project before abandoning the idea and moving in a new direction.
Intrigued? Well we have good news for you! As mentioned before, R.J. and Suzanne have generously agreed to partner with us for a total of three giveaways, and this is your last chance to win! So how do you enter to win a copy of “The Design of Fear”? Just scroll down below to the Rafflecopter entry form below and make sure to like and follow the social media pages!
To read Soarin’ Diva’s review on “Together in the Dream” click here. (Or if you’d rather just take our word for it that it’s great and want to order it immediately, you can click here.)
To read Soarin’ Diva’s review on “Ribbons” you can click here, or to order it, click here.
And if you curious to learn more about R.J. and Suzanne Ogren, you can read Soarin’ Diva’s interview with the Ogren’s here.
Enjoy, and best of luck!
***Disclaimer – The images used in this article belong to R.J. and Suzanne Ogren. They have generously given me permission to use these photos in this article for promotional purchases. We at Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos hope you enjoy reading our articles, and encourage you to share any you feel may be of interest to someone else. We do ask, however, if you choose to share the photographs attached to our articles, you give credit to the photographer. Thank you for your cooperation and sharing our love of Disney!
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