David Koenig's Realityland Book

kmiller15211 · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject: David Koenig's Realityland Book

Hey all, I just finished the first 100 pages of David Koenig's Realityland , a book all about the creation and behind-the-scenes stuff that went on to create Walt Disney World, and I have to say, it's fantastic. It discusses the clandestine way in which the WDW execs used the fake companies to buy the land at a fair prices, how the management team was laid out, how they made decisions like where to place the Magic Kingdom on their huge plot of land, how to get rid of the swamp insects that used to inhabit the area, the big rush to finish the park for opening day (much like Disneyland), the worries about the lack of crowds on opening day, etc. etc. It's chock full of good stuff, and I'm only through the first few chapters

If you're into reading about park history, do yourself a favor and get a copy. Note that David Koenig also wrote the fantastic Mouse Tales pair of behind the scenes looks at working at Disneyland.

Incredibles · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:02 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info. Sounds like an interesting read.

Does it actually get in to the actions of the individuals involved (Walt, Card, etc.) or just talk about what happened?

theEpiphany · Gate Agent Joined: Posts: 854

Careful about some of Koenig's books...I've found (in the past anyway) that he presents a very one sided story to things, while he tries to be factual, rarely does a disney book come about that doesn't fudge the facts or involve some sort of heresay.

I can't comment on this publication as I've not read it yet, this is strictly going by past experiences.
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kmiller15211 · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:20 am Post subject:

I talks a lot about Nunis, Tatum, Roy, and Walker. It gets into their actions, their interactions with one another (how Nunis was a major player in the WDW construction period), their pet projects (the Polynesian wave machine), etc.

At the very least, it has some really good anecdotes. I especially liked the one about how, during a low point in morale, the very first Monorail test ran through the heavily under construction Contemporary, and greatly inspired the workers to continue.

WDWFan · Pilot Joined: Mar 01, 2006 Posts: 10863

I am looking forward to reading this. I had a copy on pre-order at Amazon and then was told I copy was order as a present for me by my brother. I canceled my order and I'm now waiting for the present copy to arrive.

I agree David Koenig write a good book, and truly enjoyed Mouse Tales and More Mouse Tales. I would suggest them highly to anyone, but would aslo caution you to heed theEpiphany's note above. While he tries to state fact, I have heard of a few places where the conclusions/facts are not as accurate as folks would like. ( a true comment about almost all books.)

theEpiphany · Gate Agent Joined: Posts: 854

Green Side up! Was the joke going around...Nunis coined that phrase when he found another park worker (janitorial or something) stating that he's never laid sod before..

Needless to say that during the construction of the park...People were taking on all sorts of tasks.

I'm sure it's an interesting read...I'll get around to it I'm sure....
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