Rating: 
Summary: Mouse Tales Creates Mixed Feelings
Review: Mouse Tales purports to be a behind-the-scenes look at Disneyland - uncensored, and unofficial. This approach has some very positive - and negative - benefits.First, the book is very readable and well-written. I read it in a matter of hours. It definitely qualifies as a page turner if your're interested in Disneyland and its history. The book offers some great inside stories, with dozens, if not hundreds, of interviews from current and former cast members (Disney-speak for employees). The author claims to have gone through records of every court case involving Disneyland. The result is basically gossip about what goes on inside the gates. Stories about unbearable guests, practical joker employees, tragic deaths on the rides, and even gang violence abound. There's no denying that these stories are extremely entertaining and even informative. Disneyland has an image it has to market, and it defends that image vigorously. This "uncensored" look is refreshing in light of the official Disney histories that almost always gloss over serious difficulties in the park. For example, Disney histories will discuss the almost disastrous opening day, when twice as many people showed up and just about everything broke down. However, they ignore employees goofing off or the sad deaths that have resulted almost entirely from guests ignoring safety warnings. Having said that, the book has a tabloid magazine feel that is practically unmatched. Reading it feels cheap, trashy, and gossipy. It feels like the author sacrificed any sense of balance or even accuracy for good old-fashioned scandalous-sounding tales. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the stories he tells are probably true. But they're told with no sense of balance or fairness. Some information seems to have come from only one cast member - who's to say if the cast member was accurate or even honest? The book lists notes in the back, yet there is not a single footnote in the text to cross-reference against sources. I'm glad I read and own the book. But I'm still waiting for a detailed, several hundred page history of Disneyland written by a professional historian that accurately depicts both the ups and downs of the park. "Unofficial" and "uncensored" doesn't have to mean you're going through the National Enquirer.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly ejoyable and amusing. Finished it in a day.
Review: I bought this book with some reservations since I saw both positive and negative reviews from former "alleged" cast-members. Thankfully, I discovered that Mr.Koenig DID document his sources so one can make a judgement as to what is likely truth and what is possibly fiction. Apparently, he did pull a good amount of his information from microfiches of local newspapers in addition to cast and ex-cast interviews. In a nutshell, the book shows that Disneyland, despite its magical mystique, is still a very human place with gemstones and lumps of coal. The one chapter that lost my interest was "Lawsuit Land" which, after going through several other stories of how guests can be so careless or thoughtless, began to be redundant. Overall, the book was an enjoyable and easy read. It's a collection of interesting notes and stories of the park, its founder, its cast and its guests; not an intellectual dissertation of Disney's impact on culture. There's a laugh here and there; some awe at peoples' kindness or stupidity; and interesting snippets of the park's growing pains. It certainly left me with a better appreciation of what troubles the cast-members have to go through, and an understanding of how to be a more gracious guest on my next trip to the kingdom.
Rating: 
Summary: I just returned this book to Amazon.com
Review: This, without a doubt, is the dumbest, most stupid, idiotic book that I have ever read/tried to read. It is awkwardly written in a nonsensical manner. It includes many, too many, idiotic, PROBABLY NOT-TRUE, stupid accounts of practical jokes that DL castmembers play on each other. Honestly, who gives a hoot. I thought it would give me behind-the-scenes looks at attractions, and other things. It is such a pathetic attempt at humor, I returned it tonight. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME GETTING/READING THIS UPBSURD PIECE OF TRASH. It's just not interesting, and plain moronic to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Great source of ¿behind the scenes¿ information
Review: This book gives the reader information about what it must be like to work at the Disneyland Park. It gives information about the building of the park, the people who work there and some of the things that Disney Company does to try to maintain the feeling of magic for its customers. I enjoyed reading about the many things that happen every day and night at Disneyland that help to make the customer experience better. One example is the army of workers that come out at night to make sure that everything is clean and safe for the next day's customers. I think that it would be fascinating to watch what happens at night at Disneyland or Walt Disney World but I doubt that I will ever have that opportunity. This book shows that Disneyland is like all other parks in that there are the unglamorous and even dangerous areas. I think that the author might have gone into more detail on some of the more gruesome accidental deaths than I would have liked. However, I appreciated that the author presented this information in a factual way and did not betray the reader's trust by getting on a soapbox to preach and draw unsubstantiated conclusions based on these isolated incidents as other authors have. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how Disney runs their parks and makes those parks so popular. This book is an easy and quick read and gives the reader a lot of information is a fairly short amount of time.
Rating:
Summary: Issues at Disney
Review: If you thought that Disneyland was the best place to work, think again. Disney is not immune to problems, and this book tells all about them. Koenig takes an un-edited, behind the scenes look at Disney. Read about how Disneyland has changed since Disney's death. Or what really goes on with those people who wear the larger then life Mickey and Minnie Mouse suits. What you don't know won't hurt you. So if you want to go to Disneyland thinking that it IS the 'Happiest Place on Earth,' then you may not want to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for all current & former theme park employees
Review: A true account of what goes on behind the castmember doors, Mousetales reveals many hysterical accounts of the experiences of the castmembers at the happiest place on earth. The accounts of people standing on lines just for the sake of seeing what is at the end of them (often bathrooms) to backstage pranks pulled on each other, this book reveals theme park culture and the true nature of the general public.
Rating:
Summary: BEWARE: This book may be a mouse killer!
Review: Are you obsessed with the mouse? Do you love Disneyland? Or are you just curious what makes Disney tick? Personally, I fit in with the last two questions. I have visited Disneyland numerous times and everytime I've always asked myself and (to their annoyance) my family how did the Disney company make such a place. This same question is often asked by an audience member watching a magic show -- how did s/he created the illusion? Well, this book reads like a truthful tabloid. Sounds like a contradiction? It's not. While I was reading this book I felt like I had picked up the latest issue of a weekly tabloid that proudly read on the front cover "Ex-employee of Disney tells all!" But this story is truth, unlike the majority of the tabloids, I'm sure. If you wanted to know how Disneyland works, read this book. I was laughing and enjoying the reading from cover to cover. Being an ex-amusement park employee myself (Legoland, CA. for over a year) I could related to a lot of the stories that were told by Disneland employees (or I should say cast members). This book will give you a new perspective about the mouse and his land. I think it's a very good read!
Rating:
Summary: Mostly ejoyable and amusing. Finished it in a day.
Review: I bought this book with some reservations since I saw both positive and negative reviews from former "alleged" cast-members. Thankfully, I discovered that Mr.Koenig DID document his sources so one can make a judgement as to what is likely truth and what is possibly fiction. Apparently, he did pull a good amount of his information from microfiches of local newspapers in addition to cast and ex-cast interviews. In a nutshell, the book shows that Disneyland, despite its magical mystique, is still a very human place with gemstones and lumps of coal. The one chapter that lost my interest was "Lawsuit Land" which, after going through several other stories of how guests can be so careless or thoughtless, began to be redundant. Overall, the book was an enjoyable and easy read. It's a collection of interesting notes and stories of the park, its founder, its cast and its guests; not an intellectual dissertation of Disney's impact on culture. There's a laugh here and there; some awe at peoples' kindness or stupidity; and interesting snippets of the park's growing pains. It certainly left me with a better appreciation of what troubles the cast-members have to go through, and an understanding of how to be a more gracious guest on my next trip to the kingdom.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and fun, but no earth-shaking revelations here
Review: Several years ago in an MBA class I read an article entitled "The Smile Factory: Work at Disneyland" which was very interesting. It opened up a new perspective to the "Happiest Place on Earth." This book is more of the same, although written by an outsider as opposed to a former employee. It's basically a collection of stories from interviews with past and present employees of Disneyland. It starts with a basic history of the park explaining some of the problems that happened and some of the behind-the-scenes stuff you normally wouldn't know about, and goes on to talk about things such as rude guests, mischevious employees, and even the crime and accidents that have occurred at the park. To call this book "unauthorized" makes it sound like an expose` of sorts, but that's a bit dramatic. Really, while it discusses aspects of the park that Disney would rather keep behind-the-scenes, I didn't find it critical in any way. The book acknowledges that Disney is a money-making company and must behave as such, but also that they do a very good job of pleasing their guests. The book was interesting, kinda fun, and easy to read, but basically light stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Sneaky? Disney???
Review: Without a doubt, Koenig's Mouse Tales is a great read with plenty of things to keep you entertained and make you think. The only problem with this page-turner is that it is unofficial... and I suppose that to uncover as many "secrets" as he did, it has to be that way... I would definetly reccomend this book to anyone who is in the search of the truth about anything and everything commercial... but if you are a devoted Disney fan and lover... stay away from this eye-opening book!
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