Reviews for Dixie Before Disney: 100 Years of Roadside Fun

The average rating for Dixie Before Disney: 100 Years of Roadside Fun based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-30 00:00:00 Khairy Osman There are very few people who'd want to be stuck on a long roadtrip with both fanatic amateur Florida historian Serge A. Storms and Florida bon vivant Binky Watrous, but reader? I AM THAT PEOPLE. The author really, really loves roadside architecture and bad puns, and combines that with enthusiastic historical research based largely on personal interviews and combing small, regional newspapers. That was one of the two things this book made most abundantly clear: the value of small, regional newspapers in the United States, filled with hyperlocal articles written by and for people who are genuinely interested in their localities. The other, of course, is revealing the existence of the Society for Commercial Archeology, which is apparently where you can go to just *revel* in roadside bits n' bobs. Forward my mail. The book itself is a mixed bag, otherwise. Chapters are organized by theme: beach things, jungle things, Florida, Confederate things. No, there's no kind of critical reflection there. But there is a whole section on fiberglass dinosaurs, so... a wash? *sigh* Also: bibliographic essays! Instead of a conventional bibliography, the author included a little bonus essay for each chapter, citing the people and works he drew from for each via exhaustive and creative lists of bad puns. And I will admit I enjoyed that more than the standard MLA or APA formats.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-05-16 00:00:00 Douglas Allen It's been awhile since I read this book or more accurately, looked at the pictures and thought about all the great places I missed seeing before they were gone. Traveling to Fl on vacations, I remember getting the free travel brochures for all the great attractions before Disney became, The Magic Kingdom and Epcot was opened. I was thrilled with the thought of seeing the Magic Castle (?) or going to the Dali museum even thought I wasn't sure who Dali was but I know I wanted to find out. There are still some attractions like Silver Springs in Ocala where you can still enjoy yourself but at a slower pace. No need for a fast pass there. Thank you Tim for writing all these great books and all the memories you've given us.