Reviews
The Ride Delegate: Memoir of a Walt Disney World VIP Tour Guide by Annie Salisbury, Bob McLain
amyma's review
5.0
I am a self-admitted Disney lover and this book was right up my alley! I've always dreamed of doing a VIP tour and reading about the tours from the point-of-view of a guide was fabulous. I enjoyed all of the stories and the only thing that would have made this book better would have been if it were longer, I would be happy reading so many more experiences! I'd highly recommend this to all Disney fans, I bet you'll want to go on a VIP tour, if you don't already. About a year ago, we saw Michael Buble on a VIP tour and he was definitely getting special treatment.
mlindsey441's review
4.0
Ok -- so it is not great literature, but I loved this account of a Disney VIP tour guide. She provides an inside look at the parks, especially as it is experienced by those who can afford to hire a $300 an hour tour guide. Filled with interesting insights, as well as humorous stories about some of her guests, this book would be a fun read for people who are obsessed with all things Disney.
liralen's review
2.0
Salisbury loved Disney as a child, so when she graduated from university she couldn't think of anything better than to work at Disney. Before long, she was a ride delegate...that is, somebody who led tours (for lack of a better word) for those who could afford to drop a rather ridiculous amount of money on having a personal guide.
Note that I say 'on having a personal guide. One word, but a crucial difference, because Salisbury earned a small fraction of the hundreds of dollars an hour these groups spent. If there's any one takeaway from The Ride Delegate, it's this: Disney is running a fabulous scam. The tour groups pay a ton of money for the expertise of a tour guide who really doesn't give a shit what their experience is like (so long as said tour guide doesn't get in trouble and has plenty of opportunities to zip off to the bathroom or a concession stand), the tour guide gets paid something just north of minimum wage in exchange for very long days with demanding customers, and Disney...does a bit of background work in exchange for thousands of dollars.
Hmm.
But then there's this: A majority of my tours were actually awesome tours, says Salisbury, and I was always sad to leave a family at the end of the day (94). I think if I'd seen more of this, I wouldn't have been left with such a negative impression of these tours. Truly, for much of the book, Salisbury doesn't much seem to enjoy her job. There are the customers who yell and the ones who try to trick her giving them privileges that aren't part of the packages and the ones who ask stupid questions. There are the customers who view the tour as free babysitting and the ones who don't want to take a lunch break because they view that as paying the guide to do nothing and the ones who ask stupid questions. There are the customers who tip badly and the ones who try to sneak extra people into the group and the ones who ask stupid questions.
There are, occasionally, high points in this book: the amputee and his family, who have a blast; the cute British kid...there must be some others, but those were the only two that really stuck with me. It sounds like she did love her job, and was sorry to leave when the time came, but perhaps focused more on the negative things because they made for slightly funnier stories. Not the worst plan ever, but it means that the whole book is tinged with rather more negativity than I'd expected, and perhaps more negativity than she intended.
Note that I say 'on having a personal guide. One word, but a crucial difference, because Salisbury earned a small fraction of the hundreds of dollars an hour these groups spent. If there's any one takeaway from The Ride Delegate, it's this: Disney is running a fabulous scam. The tour groups pay a ton of money for the expertise of a tour guide who really doesn't give a shit what their experience is like (so long as said tour guide doesn't get in trouble and has plenty of opportunities to zip off to the bathroom or a concession stand), the tour guide gets paid something just north of minimum wage in exchange for very long days with demanding customers, and Disney...does a bit of background work in exchange for thousands of dollars.
Hmm.
But then there's this: A majority of my tours were actually awesome tours, says Salisbury, and I was always sad to leave a family at the end of the day (94). I think if I'd seen more of this, I wouldn't have been left with such a negative impression of these tours. Truly, for much of the book, Salisbury doesn't much seem to enjoy her job. There are the customers who yell and the ones who try to trick her giving them privileges that aren't part of the packages and the ones who ask stupid questions. There are the customers who view the tour as free babysitting and the ones who don't want to take a lunch break because they view that as paying the guide to do nothing and the ones who ask stupid questions. There are the customers who tip badly and the ones who try to sneak extra people into the group and the ones who ask stupid questions.
There are, occasionally, high points in this book: the amputee and his family, who have a blast; the cute British kid...there must be some others, but those were the only two that really stuck with me. It sounds like she did love her job, and was sorry to leave when the time came, but perhaps focused more on the negative things because they made for slightly funnier stories. Not the worst plan ever, but it means that the whole book is tinged with rather more negativity than I'd expected, and perhaps more negativity than she intended.
mylhibug's review
3.0
Oh to be a VIP
That's what I want too be, and like Annie I would have fun trying to gift those guides with interesting items. This is a fast read, less than a day, and the stories are fun to read not a whole lot of insight into the inner workings of a tour guide, but the taste we get here it's enjoyable. I wonder whatever happened between her and Trevor.
That's what I want too be, and like Annie I would have fun trying to gift those guides with interesting items. This is a fast read, less than a day, and the stories are fun to read not a whole lot of insight into the inner workings of a tour guide, but the taste we get here it's enjoyable. I wonder whatever happened between her and Trevor.
caffeineandcomposition's review
5.0
Hilarious look into your guide life
I was always one of those cast members who looked at VIP guides and wondered what life was like. Now I know, and maybe I don't envy it as much, even as hilarious as Annie tells her stories. Well worth the read. I also identify on a spiritual level with the statement “We need to talk about your corn dog nugget eating habits.” That was always my downfall too ;)
I was always one of those cast members who looked at VIP guides and wondered what life was like. Now I know, and maybe I don't envy it as much, even as hilarious as Annie tells her stories. Well worth the read. I also identify on a spiritual level with the statement “We need to talk about your corn dog nugget eating habits.” That was always my downfall too ;)
sparklingblue's review
3.0
It starts out with a lot of complaining and talk about how the work was hard, so you have to stick with it.
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