"Cast Member Confidential: A Disneyfied Memoir" Review

Cast Member Confidential: A Disneyfied Memoir

By Chris Mitchell

 9/10

My Synopsis:

Cast Member Confidential is the story of Chris Mitchell as he journeys into the magic of Walt Disney World.  After suffering from some major losses, he moves across the country from California to Florida.  There he begins working as a photographer for Walt Disney World.  Through his eyes, we are given a view into the Magic Kingdom that is rarely seen.  From the Disney employee’s off-time antics to their on-the-clock adventures, Mitchell exposes all of it – the secret tunnels, the break room games, and the hierarchy of characters.  Corporate culture and organizational behavior are set in stone and can make or break your success as a member of the Disney family.  Follow Chris Mitchell’s time as an official “cast member” and his pursuit of the utopian spirit that is Disney.

My Opinion:

Chris Mitchell’s memoir, Cast Member Confidential, is an entertaining account of a time in his life when he was searching for something more.  Something he thought the magic of Disney could fix.  The story is an intriguing account of Mitchell’s life at the time as well as an amazing exposé of life as a Walt Disney World cast member.  I am a huge Disney fan and was looking forward to reading this book and I am happy to say that I was not disappointed.  The writing was smooth and easy.  It contained cast member secrets that I both knew and didn’t know.  Full of interesting anecdotes and fun facts, the story also tells of the dirtier side of the happiest place on earth.  There are times that it was raunchy and racy – too much so for this reader.  I understand that the author was trying to convey the vast difference between the squeaky clean world of Disney and the naughty behind-the-scenes happenings but I just get turned off by all the descriptive details.  The fairy tale bubble of Disney is burst as we find out what happens behind closed doors at the park.  But aside from the Disney details, the story of Chris Mitchell and this portion of his life are compelling.  The pursuit of the perfect ideal and his avoidance of anything negative are so true to life I could totally relate.  The end turned out to be something I couldn’t have predicted but it had the closure that I so often long for in a book.  If you are a Disney fan, you will delight in the theme park references and if you are not a Disney devotee, you will still enjoy this memoir.  9/10