Bobby Schweizer

Since the opening of Disneyland in 1955, the Walt Disney Company has worked with board game companies to produce games about attractions that promote their theme parks. They turn the unstructure (Paul Booth) of rides into playable systems by taking advantage of openness of the "ride aesthetic" (J.P. Telotte). Rides depicted have included Rocket to the Moon, Haunted Manion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and others.

Enthusiasts historians and rogue preservationists use adhoc archives and incidental media to record the Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks from every angle. From photos of popcorn stands to home video recordings of parades, this reference material proves useful for historians who want to tell stories of the theme park accurately and with vivid detail.

The Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.) is a narrative thread spread throughout Disney theme parks worldwide, uniting attractions across the U.S., Japan, France, and China. By analyzing S.E.A. attractions and paratextual material, we see how this fictional organization's four tenants—Adventure, Romance, Discovery, and Innovation—reflect the creative spirit of Imagineering, illustrating the theme park as both a cultural practice and an immersive storytelling medium.

This chapter examines the evolution of Hobbiton, the New Zealand movie set from *The Lord of the Rings* and *The Hobbit*, as a tourist destination has been constructed and experienced by visitors— from its early days as a partially demolished film set (Hobbiton 1.0) to its current, fully immersive form (Hobbiton 2.0). It also addresses the tensions between sites of screen tourism and more recent expectations for theme park-like experience.

In response to the closing of the Walt Disney theme parks at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, fans of Disneyland and Walt Disney World produced videos re-creating their favorite rides and attractions for a viral social media trend dubbed #homemadeDisney. These typically short videos turned ‘guests’ into ‘cast members’ (staff) and smartphone owners into living room ‘Imagineers.’ Hundreds of participants engaged in a form of shared make-believe (Walton 1990) using a mimetic grammar (Milner 2016) assembled from household objects as props, improvising ride elements, and performing as theme parkgoers for one another.

"Fan-historians" and "fan-preservationists" play a significant role as "rogue archivists" (De Kosnik, 2016) in saving memories of theme park attractions, particularly those that have been demolished or re-imagined. Using 3D modeling software, video game engines, and sandbox tools, fans recreate attractions in virtual spaces, thereby making them accessible to future generations. Although imperfect, these virtual recreations' imperfections emphasize the subjective and personal nature of the theme park experience. They're not just about preserving the past: they allow us to revisit our own connections to these beloved spaces.