Mouse Tales

Amy and I received Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears look at Disneyland by David Koenig as a present. I was excited to read the book, because I love learning fun facts about the park, especially what goes on behind the scenes. At the beginning, the author talks about the day when he discovered the "magic" wasn't real, and became fascinated with how the magician works. I thought I was going to love the book. Sadly, it was a HUGE disappointment!

Although Koenig claims to be a fan of Disneyland, his word choice reveals him to be otherwise. For example, the following phrases have a tone of disdain for the park: "Disneyland is a complex show designed to manipulate guests," "Imagineers have had to get crafty when adding new rides," "The park has been equally creative and deceptive in paying tribute."

Despite the author's extremely poor word choice, his book does contain some elements that are both fun and add to the magic of the park. For example, he gives a list of words in "Disney-ese," wherein employees are called cast members, customers are called guests, etc. There is also a part of the book where the author describes a mini-tornado that hit the park, threatening guests riding the Skyway. They successfully rescued those stranded in the buckets, took them to First Aid, and entertained them with characters. He concludes the story by saying, "Only at the Happiest Place on Earth could you hope to snatch hundres of people from a harrowing, life-threatening ordeal and send them home safe--and smiling." This, to me, captures the magic of Disney.

The author also describes many of the pranks performed by cast members. Some were quite humorous, such as the Jungle Cruise skipper who claimed the hippos were his pets, and when the skipper on the next boat shot at them as part of the ride, he returned fire at the other skipper for shooting his pets. Or there are the cast members who hid behind the bushes, and when the skipper fired at the hippos, they returned fire and surprised the skipper and crew. There is also the skipper who took out an empty boat, squirted himself with ketchup, and leaned over his ship as though he were attacked and killed by natives.

Although these pranks were fun to read, others were highly inappropriate, and I was disgusted to read them. Even worse than the pranks performed by the workers, however, were the actions of many guests who come into the park. I was repulsed by some of the things I read. The author makes the point that no matter how much you make Disneyland different from the outside world, you are still bringing in outside people with their un-Disneyland-like personalities. While that is true, I did not care to read many of the stories the author chose to share.

This book is not authorized by Disney in any way, and it plainly shows. I am well aware that the park is not perfect. I am fully aware that accidents, and even deaths happen. I am fully aware that Disneyland sometimes does things wrong, and I certainly know that many guests do not belong in the park, where they just try to ruin the magic for others. However, all that being said, I don't like the attitude of pointing out all faults, weaknesses, and problems. Let's focus on the positive, on what works, and then build that to make it better. And, let's be honest, some things just don't need to be shared. This is NOT a book I would recommend, especially for children. To be honest, I can't even recommend it for adults.