Book Review: More Mouse Tales
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More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland
David Koenig

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Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4

David Koenig, the author of Mouse Tales and Mouse Under Glass, is back with his third book uncovering some of the secrets of the Walt Disney Company. This book, the sequel to the very successful Mouse Tales, gives more insight to what happens behind the scenes at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. Through employee stories, some investigative reporting and a few pointed editorials, More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland tells you things you definitely didn't know about the Magic Kingdom ... some of them you perhaps didn't want to know.

The first Mouse Tales was enjoyed by readers because it opened the door on something that was near and dear to so many without destroying the magic. Amid the tales of crazy grad nites and deaths in the park it was clear the author loved Disneyland and was interested in giving some peeks backstage without tearing down too many walls. For the most part the first book is a collection of stories - sometimes funny, sometimes sad - but stories. By comparison, More Mouse Tales clearly has a message to get across: Disneyland is still a special place, but right now it may not be headed in the right direction.

More Mouse Tales has the funny guest stories of it's predecessor, but adds a few really inside stories for some periods of time I'm sure Disneyland would just as soon forget. The first covered in the book is a situation that occurred at the Jungle Cruise a couple of years ago. There was a disagreement between a new manager and some long time skippers that eventually resulted in the firing of several people including one very well publicized firing of a skipper after he jumped into the river (a common ritual). Koenig goes into great detail on the sequence of events here. He even reprints an underground letter circulated by some of the "oppressed" skippers. Koenig gives similar coverage to a former policy of Disneyland security. A California law allowed businesses that were victims of shoplifting to recover damages of up to $500 from the perpetrator. Disneyland security got into the habit of requesting the money in the security office. The practice was exposed in the Orange County Register and eventually came to a stop.