More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland [Hardcover]

David Koenig (Author, Preface), Van Arsdale France (Foreword)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 237 pages
• Publisher: Bonaventure Press; First Edition edition (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964060574
• ISBN-13: 978-0964060579
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAPS! I GOT MAPS!!!, June 23, 2005

By 

Alan D. Cranford (Salt Lake City, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland (Paperback)

David Koenig's books on Disneyland are a delight for us Disneyland fans. "More Mouse Tales" gave me something I've been longing for--maps of the popular Disney rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, and the Indiana Jones Adventure. I used the maps once when someone dropped a purse in the Indiana Jones Adventure--I was able to tell a cast member that the lost purse was in the skull room on that ride. Otherwise, I would have had to shout a long-winded description--the ride is NOISY!

Many people will like reading about Disneyland's goofs and glitches. For me, finding out about these problems made me appreciate how special that place is--that Disneyland manages to function at all is a miracle. Disneyland manages to operate more smoothly than other theme parks and amusement parks.

Here is the human face of Disneyland. Disney magic is created by people: we humans have our vices. These people are quite capable of creating imperfect magic--that includes cast members, the crew behind the scenes, management, Disney executives, the Anaheim Police Department, other government officials, and don't forget over twelve million guests annually! It's a wonder that the place hasn't fallen off the end of the world! Like any place else, Disneyland has its share of problems. Personnel policies disliked at Disneyland are industry standard. Walt Disney didn't want to develop just another dirty amusement park or travelling carnival--and the key to avoiding the "carny" atmosphere was to hire quality people and treat them well. Treat your work force like trash and they'll act like trash. Word will get around and your company soon will have to hire trash because nobody else will work for you. Disneyland hasn't gotten that bad--not by a long shot--but this summer they're having problems in their food service department.

These stories are referenced at the end of the book. Since much of Koenig's information is from the open press, it is easy to verify. I like having an index. I used the information in Koenig's books to maximize my fun at Disneyland. Knowing what to watch out for helps reduce the misery of long lines and other minor problems.

So, when's David Koenig comming out with his fourth book?

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid follow-up to the original book, July 28, 2000

By 

R. Mohr (Troy, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland (Hardcover)

I read the original book and like the original, this book gives the reader information about what it must be like to work at the Disneyland Park. Like the original, it gives information about the people who work at the park and some of the things that the Disney Company does to try to maintain the feeling of magic for its customers. I enjoyed both this book and the original, but I have to wonder if I would have the same feeling about this book if I had not already read the original. I guess I will never know about that for sure.

I enjoyed reading the many stories about how things work at Disneyland. I especially enjoyed the little boxes at the bottom of many pages of this book that quoted funny customer comments and sometimes gave bits of trivia about the park.

I was fascinated by the stories of people who get hurt after ignoring or purposely circumventing safety mechanisms and rules while trying to pull some sort of shenanigan. Worse yet is how these same people turn around and sue the park, trying to blame the park for not protecting them from their own foolishness.

This book also details some of the difficulties that have occurred between management and labor. While I found some of this interesting, I found most of it to be tedious reading. All companies have management/labor difficulties from time to time and I personally don't care to read about it in a book such as this. This aspect seemed incongruous to the rest of the book.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how Disney runs their parks and makes those parks so popular. This book is a good sequel to the original, but I am afraid that the reader might have to read the original book to get the most from this book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Koenig combines both the facts and humor of Disneyland, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland (Hardcover)

More Mouse Tales, a closer peek backstage at Disneyland, is a humorous book as well as and informative one. It tells the stories that you never get to hear inside the park. This book is fun to read during most of it, but it also has it's dark periods, in which it contains the story of what really happened in the Columbia incident that led to the death of a Disneyland guest. Over all, this is a wonderful book that adults can enjoy, but kids should not read, until they are older, that way they can keep remembering Disneyland as the Happiest Place on Earth, and not the Tragic Kingdom.