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March 16, 2007 - A good sign that the book you’re reading is really good is when you only put it down because you have to go do something, like get off an airplane because you’ve landed or it’s time to go back to work because your lunch break is over and “Spinning Disney’s World” by Charles (Charlie has he prefers to be called) Ridgeway is one of those books and was quite a bit of fun to read.  It certainly leans to any fan of the Disney theme parks and gives you some very interesting insider views into the operations of the Disney parks such as Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris.  Ridgeway’s book should be a must-read for anyone who’s ever gone to a Disney web site and called themselves a Disney fan.

The book is organized by Ridgeway’s chronological experiences and starts off with his hiring at Disneyland in California as a press agent and follows Ridgeway’s career to Walt Disney World in Florida, Disneyland Paris in France and trips to Tokyo and Hong Kong and shares stories along the way ranging from annoyances that come with the job to really special events Ridgeway either worked on or came up with. 

It’s a very easy read and as mentioned earlier, you’ll be hard pressed to voluntarily turn it down because each story is followed by another fun story and some it’s hard to believe unless you “get” the whole Disney thing and are willing to suspend your imagination when it comes to anything Disney. One of the highlights of the book is Ridgeway’s stories about Walt Disney, having worked with Walt from 1963 until Walt’s untimely death.  Charlie doesn’t put Walt on a pedestal and doesn’t make him seem like God’s gift to man, but he makes Walt feel human and it helps to see beyond the myths and stories and garner a good sense of what Walt really was like, like allowing the kids to call him “Uncle Walt” but giving a look to any coworker; Walt preferring to be on a first name basis with everyone to make things friendlier, hence the Cast Member nametags that simply show the Cast Member’s name and where they’re from. Moreover, Charlie himself also comes off as a very humble man, and seemingly not influenced by the multi-billion Fortune 500 Company that he worked for over forty years.

In all the reviews I write, I like to focus on the Disney-MGM Studios aspect of the book. Charlie does share some interesting stories about the Studios, many of which revolve around the Studios opening. It’s clear Charlie is nostalgic about the Studios opening as it came during the “Disney Decade” and from the sound of it was Charlie’s favorite time to work for Disney aside from perhaps his early years at Disneyland.  In the book, there are some interesting stories about Walt’s plane that is now in the Backlot Tour at the Studios, as well as a recant of the opening ceremony for the park.  There isn’t a whole lot about the Studios, but there are some great stories about it peppered into the book, some of which were new to me and I was sure to bend the corner of the page so I could come back and re-read it later.

The book deals mostly with Charlie’s experiences at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom with some stories from Epcot, the Disney-MGM Studios and his other experiences around the world.  My favorite story has to be for Donald Duck’s 50^th birthday when Charlie had the idea to have 50 ducks follow Donald during the parade and what it took to get that idea working.  This and other stories are concise retellings of what goes on in the sort of planning jobs some of us dream about.  Again, if you have an affinity for any of the Disney parks, this book will be right up your alley.

The only negative aspect of the book is the last third of the book tends to start getting a little repetitive in terms of the stories being told.  After telling so many great stories about working at Disneyland and the opening of four different theme parks at Walt Disney World, when Charlie gets to his stories about Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland, you may start to get the “this seems familiar” vibe. However, this hardly detracts from the book and by the end Charlie talks more about his personal experiences throughout his career with an assortment of interesting people.  I personally enjoyed the stories of celebrities and their attempts to visit a Disney park like a normal person (the story of Prince Andrew visiting Walt Disney World is noteworthy).

Charlie gives the book a very human side to a very corporate position and regales fun, and sometimes amazing, tales of working at the Disney parks.  Sometimes it seems like it was never really “work” for Charlie and at times this book left me just about fed up because my day job is never as fun as Charlie’s.  If you’re looking for an easy and fun read, “Spinning Disney’s World” is your book and is a great hardback for any Disney fan.

Overall score: 8 out of 10

Link to buy this book