Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World | David Koenig

Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World | David Koenig | Scraping the pixie dust

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Realityland: True-...

	Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World David Koenig Bonaventure Press, 2007 - 334 pages average customer review:based on 30 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Fascinating look at what forever changed Orlando...

Having read David Koenig's books about Disneyland, I always hoped there would be something similar about WDW. With that said, when I saw a preview of this book on a Disney fan/message board website, I knew I had to purchase it. Having read several books about Disney theme parks and WDW, I can say that nothing is as comprehensive as what David Koenig presents with Reality Land. While other books might devote a chapter at most to the development of WDW, and they all seem to offer pretty much the same synopsis, this book provides the reader with a near complete account of all the nuts and bolts that went into its creation. This book is what I had hoped to learn about WDW when suffering through What Would Walt Do?: An Insider's Story About the Design and Construction of Walt Disney World by D. M. Miller.

I highly appreciate David Koenig's non-biased look at WDW's history, which makes the book seem more truthful. As a 'realistic' fan of Disney, I cringed while reading some parts. However, I think David Koenig was spot on for adding these details, even if it takes away from the 'magic'. After all, his book is not a fairy tale!

I think this book offers an equal look at the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. While another reviewer thought this book devotes too much time on EPCOT, I personally do not believe that is the case. For those of you who know EPCOT's history and the fact it was to be Disney's great experimental city of tomorrow, you would understand why time must be devoted to speaking about EPCOT's evolution. It was to be something very different for the Disney Company and outside the business of theme parks.

However, I will say that the history behind Animal Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios (former-MGM) are quite short and felt a tad bit rushed at the end. I am sure that there is much more to be told there, and I would not have minded if the book were a bit longer to accommodate more stories.

For those of you who have read Koenig's Mouse Tales series, the chapters that deal with accidents, mishaps, and funny cast member stories will be very reminiscent. In fact, I would love if he could make another book one day as a part two to these experiences, as he did with Disneyland. Had I been an editor of this book, I probably would have placed this section towards the end, so that the creation of WDW and its theme parks would have been in a continuous section.

Having said all that, I give the book five stars. It is a great read for anyone interested in Disney, theme parks, Orlando/Florida history, etc...
David Koenig, please write a part two one day!

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Scraping the pixie dust

Recently, I had read and reviewed Charlie Ridgway's book "Spinning Disney's World". That book examined many Disney experiences and explored how the situation was resolved through Public Relations. That book seemed to hop around, sometimes decades as Ridgway `remembered' items of interest.

I have just finished reading David Koenig's ambitious book REALITYLAND. It too explores experiences and stories, but this time it's well organized, and thoroughly chronological. And most importantly for the "spin" on this book... devoid of Disney's Public Relations spin.

I enjoyed the book in very much the same way as Koenig's earlier offerings MouseTales and More MouseTales. All are unauthorized and live up to it. The read is fun, especially if you are into the sort of back alley stories that Koenig slyly relates.

There is plenty of behind the scenes gossip and dirty dealings. After reading some chapters, I actually felt dirty. The worst is reserved for former CEO Michael Eisner and here is where I felt Koenig gave in to a lot of the anti-hype. At no other time in the book did the information delivery become emotional. Statements along the lines of "Eisner arrogantly dismissed" or that Eisner was an "egotistical bully" that are not quoted to someone else seem out of place in a book so thorough in researched material. Especially after giving a pass to previous administrations whose issues were even more flagrant.

Koenig knows his stuff and knows how to deliver it. Capitalizing on a pre-ordained villain helps bring just enough of a soap opera to keep cynics grumbling for another decade. He's also a bright enough individual to end the book on an equalizing tone, validating both the cynical and optimistic point of view of the Disney Corporation.

Disney fans, you will know if this book is for you only if you can stomach a telling with a negative lean... scraping away that pixie dust.

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There Will Be Magic

This book fills a need for a comprehensive look at the development of Walt Disney World. David Koenig is good at digging up the negative stuff you won't learn on an officially sanctioned backstage tour, and a few chapters seem to consist of nothing but lists of accidents, lawsuits and deaths. But I found that aspect of this book tedious. Where Koenig really succeeds is in using his lengthy list of sources to create a picture of how Walt Disney World was created out of the Florida swamps. The disastrous opening day at Disneyland is well-known, but until this book I didn't know how different that day was in Florida, when cast members outnumbered guests. Koenig has unearthed dozens of stories worth telling about how the Disney company has managed vast construction projects which are our modern Pyramids, corporate sponsorships, human resource challenges, tourism downturns and community relations. For the most part, Koenig's criticisms are thoughtful, which is why it is strange that he seems to give no credit at all to Michael Eisner for his vision in developing the vast Florida acreage and creating most of the resort we know today, including two new theme parks, new hotels, water parks and attractions like the Tower of Terror. He does not even recognize one of Eisner's greatest strengths, his interest and keen eye for architecture. Even so, Realityland nicely fills a need for a dose of the mouse until the next trip to Orlando and will open the reader's eyes to previously unsung wonders of that world. The Stern Librarian (I am almost ready to concede that my library is the second most magical place in the world).

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A Provacative View Behind the Curtain!

Koenig produces here what can best be described as a non-Disneyfied history of Walt Disney World, from the initial vision of the man himself to the current status as a monstrous state-within-a-state destination. The author does a great job of getting the inside information straight from the Mouse's mouth, and these points are where his writing really shines. It stumbles a bit, though, when no such interview is available. While people are certainly interested in the stories of accidents, injuries, and the "hidden" scandals of the park, without such stories the book begins to read like a newspaper census of facts and dates, and it is here where the pace gets a bit tedious. These are small faults, however, and thus the book as a whole is an entertaining read for anyone who enjoys Disney or would like to know more than a shiny pamphlet would let on.

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Some Good Anecdotes

If you've read any books pertaining to Disney World, you've already been exposed to some of the information in this book, especially the early chapters about Walt sneaking around Florida to buy land. However, there are lots of interesting stories and information that make it worth the purchase.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6

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