Book Review: More Mouse Tales
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But Koenig saves his biggest expose for Disneyland's
maintenance department. Here he delves into the hiring of a new manager, the move of most
of maintenance to the third shift and the letting go of many long time employees. He takes
the story right up to the fatal Christmas eve accident at the Columbia dock last year.
However, he is careful not to assign blame for the accident to any one person or
department. Koenig clearly feels Disneyland is no longer on the perfect course, but to his
credit he does include an epilogue that offers suggestions for improvements to the park.
One of the fun aspects of More Mouse Tales, for regular visitors to the park, is
stories about some of the people you may have seen time again. There are stories about the
man with 500 Disney tattoos, "Spin Man" who liked to ride the tea cups, a
disabled guest in an electric wheelchair who "would tear at full speed through the
park, running over guests' toes", "Voodoo Lady" and the "Prairie
Family". Koenig also comments on some of the other targets that have gotten plenty of
attention in local papers and on the Internet including outdoor vending, the New
Tomorrowland and Paul Pressler for whom he makes the editorial "his goal became
turning Disneyland into a Disney Store".
But among the in-depth discussions Koenig continues the funny stories including a few
tales of what it's like to be a character when you have to venture outside of the safety
of the Magic Kingdom. Koenig also includes some of the funny exchanges between guests and
Cast Members and spreads them throughout the book in short sidebars.
I did have some problems with the book, however. At times, the funny stories one after
another get a little monotonous. The second issue isn't so much a problem as a warning. No
one who loves Disneyland would come away from the first first Mouse Tales with
any less love. The same cannot be said of More Mouse Tales, and I don't believe
that's the author's intention. While reading some of the more saddening events, ie: the
maintenance and security situations, keep in mind that despite what is happening
internally, Disneyland is still a place of happiness for the majority of its guests. Like
any large company it has its share of internal politics and disagreements. The last issue
is certainly not the fault of Koenig, just a matter of timing. Over the past year, or so,
Disneyland has had some noticeable improvements giving many guests optimism about its
future. One wonders if the same optimism exists among the Cast Members as well. Hopefully
there will be a third Mouse Tales to answer that question.
More Mouse Tales is available
online from Bonaventure Press maintains a list of David Koenig's upcoming appearances at book signings on their Calendar of Events |
-- Doobie Moseley