This review was originally posted as a "The 626" column on MiceChat.com...
It seems like almost every week, I sit down to start reading a new book about Disney. Whether it's a biography, behind the scenes tell-all, or just a general history book, there is no shortage of books on the topic.
But every so often, you come across a book that is a little bit different than the rest...a little bit off, if you will. Something that really grabs you by the shoulders, shakes you a bit, and yells "Hey, look at me!" Well, today I'm here to talk about The Dark Side Of Disney, by Leonard Kinsey, the latest book to do that to me.
The Dark Side Of Disney is NOT your typical travel guide. In fact, I would dare say it's not even for the faint of heart. While most guides point you in the right direction for great dining deals, fantastic tips for the Parks, and general Disney knowledge, this one leads you straight off the beaten path & into forbidden territory.
The Dark Side Of Disney takes a look at things that not everyone thinks about while they are vacationing at the happiest place on Earth. How to score cheap tickets, what the best way to get into the Utilidors are, and where are the best spots to have some "private time" in the Parks are just a small sampling of some of the tips this book has to offer.
By now, I'm sure a lot of you are going "Wait, are you serious!? Is book this for real?," and rightfully so.
But the real question that remains is this: is the book any good?
Why, yes. Yes it is.
Before people get up in arms about it, hear me out. When I first heard about the book, I couldn't believe it myself. How could such a bizarre book like this even be allowed to exist? Whoever wrote a book like this HAD to hate Disney, right? Sure, I'm not the most straight laced guy, but even I wasn't sure if I was going to like The Dark Side Of Disney. However, I dove head first into reading it. And what did I find?
Well, for starters, I was pleasantly surprised. I was laughing out loud on almost every page. I was enjoying the tongue in cheek look at the OTHER side of Disney, the one most of us are so sure didn't exist. Leonard Kinsey wrote the perfect alternative guide to visiting Walt Disney World.
I chatted a bit with Leonard recently, and was even more surprised to learn just how much he DOES love Disney. It was that love that lead him to write this book to begin with. Having grown up visiting Walt Disney World many times over the years, Leonard eventually started to get bored with a "normal" day at the Parks, and started looking a little beyond that to keep every trip fresh and new.
So why did he write the book to begin with?
"I started writing tip sheets for friends and co-workers who were planning Disney vacations and the sheets kept growing and growing," he recently told me. "Everybody would follow the tips and come back from an excellent WDW vacation saying, `You should be a travel agent!' or `You should write a book!'"
"So I decided I'd take everyone's advice and write something about Disney. I didn't want it to be another generic travel guide, though, because the ones already out there really didn't reflect the way I viewed the parks. They left out a lot of the stuff that I was interested in, and they all seemed whitewashed."
Leonard took some cues from other `off the beaten path' Disney explorers while writing the book as well: "I have to say I was also inspired by Hoot and Chief (of Mesa Verde Times), Shane Perez, and Chris Mitchell (author of Cast Member Confidential), because they all wrote about non-pixie-dust Dis-related subjects and people seemed to love it. So that gave me some confidence that this would be a book worth writing."
A book worth writing, and a book worth reading for us as well! But again, I must stress that this book is NOT FOR EVERYONE! If you are easily offended and hold Disney on a pedestal, chances are you will not enjoy this book. You might even be insulted by it. But if you read it from a non-judgmental point of view, I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy it, and laugh along with it.
Does that mean you or I should go out and try some of these things? Absolutely not. Heck, I know for a FACT I'm not going to try them. Leonard himself even stresses sometimes that you shouldn't attempt some of the tips. But I did walk away from the book with some new found knowledge that will definitely come in handy on my next trip, and I'm quite sure you will too.
"I mainly want people to know that there's something for everyone at Walt Disney World," Leonard told me. "I'm hoping that people will read this book and will actually look forward to getting dragged to the parks by their family or significant others, instead of dreading it."
FULL DISCLOSURE: I received a review copy of this book from the author.
