Reviews

Cast Member Confidential: A Disneyfied Memoir by Chris Mitchell

hmonkeyreads's review

1.0

Just awful. Seriously, the stories all seem completely fake and he's just a total cynical grouch but occasionally tries to play the "I love Disney" card. Save your money and time.

suzannalundale's review

4.0

The end got a little pompous and Randian in places, but I really enjoyed his descriptions of life Backstage at Disney. I'm amazed the Mouse let him publish it!!

wafer's review

2.0

I read this start to finish in a day, which is not a usual feat for me, especially for something so unapologetically trashy and fabricated. It may be a page-turner, but the author is a real piece of work. Almost unbearable.

This really is a book that’s filled to the brim with what feels like one tall tale after another. There’s a glimmer of truth, I’m sure, but I think it helps to just read this as more of a novel than a ‘tell-all’

ashleighdana's review

1.0

This book sucks, not only is this book poorly written and wrongly marketed, the author/narrator is completely un-relatable and unlikeable. Never once did I feel sympathy for this man, and never once was I shocked by the "facts" about Disney World cast members and their gender and drug preferences. I was hoping to hear some totally scandalous stories that would ruin the magic of Disney, but instead I was met with a wimpy story about a wimpy guy who thinks he's too cool for school.

LAME LAME LAME. Don't waste your time. I didn't even finish. I'm abandoning the book because it's so stupid and pointless. He needs to take a class on how to write a narrative and how to make the reader connect and care about what you're saying.

bedknobsandbookmarks's review

2.0

I have never read a book by someone who sounded so full of themselves. Seriously. This book is like 5% about Disney and 95% about this guy talking about his life. Which is not what I wanted at all. I wanted to know about Disney and the entire time he just kept talking like he was better then everyone there. I don't even know why he kept working there. Ugh.

sharonfalduto's review

Though advertised as a look behind the scenes at Disneyworld, there isn't really any startling backstage information revealed, unless you're surprised that the guy inside the Tigger suit is actually a real person with real person foibles. This book is more of a memoir of a time in the author's life when he tried to fix the problems he was having with a little Disney magic.

ballinnnnnn's review

4.0

Welllllll, having been a cast member myself, I had high hopes for this. The book was recommended to me by a fellow cast member who read it in 2 days, so I assumed it was going to be up to my standards. After completing it in just under a day, I would have to agree. Working in the entertainment part of Disney, I had some extra insight and knowledge, so everything he had to "reveal" wasn't a suprise to me. It was fun to relive my 5 month internship with the boss on the happiest place on earth though. Some things were definitely exaggerated, but all in the name of a story, right? I'm astonished that the book doesn't have a higher overall rating, but perhaps it's because people think they want to know the ins and outs of the Mouse, but then after finding it out, would rather not know. Ignorance is bliss afterall...duh.

jaclynhyde's review

4.0

An interesting look behind the scenes at Walt Disney World, told by a former Disney photographer who tried to escape his life by working there. There's a definite focus on the sordid antics of Cast Members, but it's not a mean-spirited deconstruction of the parks as much as a look into what makes people find a home at Disney World. Mitchell's own journey is effective, if sometimes heavy-handed; I especially find it hard to believe that all the events near the end of the book transpired as such in such a short span of time. He does say that details are changed to keep confidentiality, but those particular details threw me out of the narrative.

kjirsten's review

4.0

a very interesting book.. gives another side to disney. don't read if you're one of those people who think disney is truly all about the magic. that's not to say that mitchell set about to debunk every little aspect of disney, but he made it more real. i won't look at disney the same again, but i'm a realist in any case, so it wasn't a huge stretch for me. and needless to say, i still love disney world after reading this.

flyfarther79's review

3.0

First off, don't let your kids read this. It's not about the fun side of Disney. This is an adult memoir about someone who "ran away" from his life to Disney. It shows the more scandalous side of Disney and the author's experiences working with other cast members. Overall, I had a hard time liking the author; I'm not sure if it's because of his reasons for running away from his life or just his actions while he was there.