Midway to Main Street | 4 Unusual Disney Book Recommendations @MidwaytoMainStreet | Uploaded October 2017 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
I love Disney books. Normally when people suggest Disney books you end up hearing about stuff like Walt’s biography or some of the Disney published books on rides like the Haunted Mansion. On the fiction end the go to people keep bringing up is Kingdom Keepers. However today I want to talk about a few of my suggestions that fall outside of what I would think are typically recommendations.
📚My Full Book List: robplays.com/books
Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom: amzn.to/2gfK7EJ
The Enchanted Tiki Room: amzn.to/2y3qsB8
Work in Progress: amzn.to/2xk0hr3
Tomorrow-Land: amzn.to/2xYdwe5
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My Patreon!
❤patreon.com/RobPlays
My Disney Podcast!
🎧ttapodcast.com
Follow me on Twitter!
📱Twitter.com/RobPlays
First up is Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow. Now before I say anything else, let me start by saying that while this novel does take place in The Magic Kingdom and it does have to do with Disney World, it’s not what I’d call a book for kids. It does include some more mature content and themes. That said, it’s a really fascinating sci-fi novel with a very bizarre premise that I think would appeal to many Disney fans.
Down and Out takes place in a futuristic world in which death is no longer a concern for society and citizens, not having to work anymore for a living, volunteer to keep busy. In this society the Magic Kingdom is staffed entirely by volunteer Disney fans, and rather than operating as one company, each land is run by a different team. Conflict arises when one team wants to step in on Liberty Square and make some drastic changes to the Haunted Mansion. It’s not brilliant writing, but enjoyed that it touched upon the concepts of finding purpose beyond basic needs and the value of preserving another person’s work versus updating it. I enjoyed it even more having that done while set to the context of Disney World.
The Enchanted Tiki Room, is the latest series in the Disney Kingdoms family, which focused on stories based on Disney attractions and ideas. It takes place on a tropical island and follows not only Jose, Michael, Pierre and Fritz, but also a number of very interesting guests visiting the island, all dealing with their own problems. Out of all of the Disney Kingdom comics, this one made the list because it is hilarious. It’s a dry humor, but it’s one of the only times I’ve literally laughed out loud while reading a comic book.
This one is going to sound weird to those who understand it’s immediate flaws, but Work in Progress, Michael Eisner’s autobiography. Now I get it, trust me. In terms of reading about the history of the company, the word of a both loved and hated CEO is pretty worthless. It’s about as biased as you can get. As a source of information on some of Disney’s more controversial happenings, this book is terrible. That said I found it to be a rewarding read because it offers rather than being informed about the history of the company during his time there, it does better as showing us his perspective during that history.
In other words, when it comes to more messy events like Jeffrey Katzenberg leaving Disney, I don’t believe what Michael Eisner has to say in the book, but I do believe that he believes what he’s saying, and it goes a long way it offering insight to him as a person. Beyond just that it covers his career before Disney, and I think it’s an interesting look into what kind of person it takes to run a company as large and complex as Disney. So while I’d highly recommend you offset this book with a more objective historical lookback such as Disney War, I think think it’s worth reading.
I love Disney books. Normally when people suggest Disney books you end up hearing about stuff like Walt’s biography or some of the Disney published books on rides like the Haunted Mansion. On the fiction end the go to people keep bringing up is Kingdom Keepers. However today I want to talk about a few of my suggestions that fall outside of what I would think are typically recommendations.
📚My Full Book List: robplays.com/books
Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom: amzn.to/2gfK7EJ
The Enchanted Tiki Room: amzn.to/2y3qsB8
Work in Progress: amzn.to/2xk0hr3
Tomorrow-Land: amzn.to/2xYdwe5
New here? Be sure to subscribe!
🔷goo.gl/x17zTL
My Patreon!
❤patreon.com/RobPlays
My Disney Podcast!
🎧ttapodcast.com
Follow me on Twitter!
📱Twitter.com/RobPlays
First up is Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow. Now before I say anything else, let me start by saying that while this novel does take place in The Magic Kingdom and it does have to do with Disney World, it’s not what I’d call a book for kids. It does include some more mature content and themes. That said, it’s a really fascinating sci-fi novel with a very bizarre premise that I think would appeal to many Disney fans.
Down and Out takes place in a futuristic world in which death is no longer a concern for society and citizens, not having to work anymore for a living, volunteer to keep busy. In this society the Magic Kingdom is staffed entirely by volunteer Disney fans, and rather than operating as one company, each land is run by a different team. Conflict arises when one team wants to step in on Liberty Square and make some drastic changes to the Haunted Mansion. It’s not brilliant writing, but enjoyed that it touched upon the concepts of finding purpose beyond basic needs and the value of preserving another person’s work versus updating it. I enjoyed it even more having that done while set to the context of Disney World.
The Enchanted Tiki Room, is the latest series in the Disney Kingdoms family, which focused on stories based on Disney attractions and ideas. It takes place on a tropical island and follows not only Jose, Michael, Pierre and Fritz, but also a number of very interesting guests visiting the island, all dealing with their own problems. Out of all of the Disney Kingdom comics, this one made the list because it is hilarious. It’s a dry humor, but it’s one of the only times I’ve literally laughed out loud while reading a comic book.
This one is going to sound weird to those who understand it’s immediate flaws, but Work in Progress, Michael Eisner’s autobiography. Now I get it, trust me. In terms of reading about the history of the company, the word of a both loved and hated CEO is pretty worthless. It’s about as biased as you can get. As a source of information on some of Disney’s more controversial happenings, this book is terrible. That said I found it to be a rewarding read because it offers rather than being informed about the history of the company during his time there, it does better as showing us his perspective during that history.
In other words, when it comes to more messy events like Jeffrey Katzenberg leaving Disney, I don’t believe what Michael Eisner has to say in the book, but I do believe that he believes what he’s saying, and it goes a long way it offering insight to him as a person. Beyond just that it covers his career before Disney, and I think it’s an interesting look into what kind of person it takes to run a company as large and complex as Disney. So while I’d highly recommend you offset this book with a more objective historical lookback such as Disney War, I think think it’s worth reading.
