Cast Member Confidential: A Disneyfied Memoir

by Chris Mitchell

Book Overview

This is the story that Disney would never tell you.

What do you do when everything in your life falls apart? If you're Chris Mitchell, you run away from home--all the way to Disney World, a place where no one ever dies--and employees, known as Cast Members, aren't allowed to frown. Mitchell shares the behind-the-scenes story of his year in the Mouse's army. From his own personal Disneyfication, to what really happens in the hidden...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806531282
• ISBN13: 9780806531281
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Behind the Scenes at Disney World

Mitchell, Chris. "Cast Member Confidential: A Disneyfied Memoir", Kensington, 2010. Behind the Scenes at Disney World Amos Lassen Everyone knows that at Disney World you live forever and no one ever frowns. Chris Mitchell spent a year working at Disney World and he became disneyfied. Now he tells us what really went on in the world of Mickey Mouse. This is a fascinating and funny look at behind the scenes at the place where magic rules. Mitchell does not hold back and with wit and detail he tells us all about it. We know that back-stabbing goes on everywhere so we are not surprised to learn that it goes on at Disney World but the sexual intrigues will make you sit up. The word "Disney" has never been associated with sex until this book. Mitchell was quick to make friends and learned quickly to difference between Disneyland and Disney World. At Disney World one is programmed with certain answers while Disneyland employees speak freely about their lives. The book is a wonderful look behind-the scenes and it a very entertaining read. We learn of the guidelines that Disney employees must follow and the characters that work for Disney. There is also a lot of trivia about Disney but there is a hitch, Employees must sign a contract that states that they can never share their Disney experience with anyone but Mitchell was a worker for a third party and did not have to adhere to this rule. Life with Disney is not as ideal as everyone might think and Mitchell spent enough time there to let us know what he heard and what he saw. This is the kind of book that pulls you in on the first page and you do not want to stop reading. It is a sensitive, moving and very funny look at the world of Disney and the people that work there.

Entertaining, Shocking, Insightful

Mitchell's book Cast Member Confidential is an entertaining and often shocking look at the everyday lives of the real people who perpetuate the Disney illusion. These cast members wear more than one mask, and Mitchell does a superb job of peeling off the layers one by one. Although this intricate and comical memoir is disillusioning in the full sense of the word, Mitchell's love for Disney shines throughout.

Finally the Truth about Disney

When you look at a perfect glass slipper all you can think is perfection, Cast Member Confidential reveals the imperfections behind the Disney curtain. Great writing making this book hard to put down. Just getting all the dirt on Walt's world was really entertaining!!! I'll never look at Mickey the same... and I like that.

Funny, acerbic, disturbing and often scandalous

Delve behind the scenes into one of the most secretive organizations on the planet. Meet the dedicated people whose sheer passion for the organization would in any other scenario be deemed pathological. The curtain has been pulled back and, the Magical Kingdom revealed is a thing of wonder alright. Wonder with a giant question mark at how the sugar-coated facade has been maintained so well, for so long. Find yourself shocked, slack-jawed, shake your head, laugh and, never look at the World of Disney through the same prism again. Through sheer cunning and bravado Mr. Mitchel dives headlong into a world few people will ever experience and even fewer could ever understand or make sense of. His observations, experiences and relationships through this journey read more like a first rate page-turner suspense thriller than a memoir of time spent working at the world's most beloved amusement park. Truly a fun, disturbing and outrageous romp that I am shocked Disney hasn't found a way to shut down through lawsuits or other less-Disneyfied methods. It would be scandalous if it wasn't so much fun.

A hilarious and fun read

Why it took so long for someone to go behind the magic curtain and share the secrets and comedy of that life I can't imagine. This book is a really fun and witty ride with the author blending what I've always wanted to know about disney with superbly humorous and moving stories. A perfect balance, I highly recommend.