General Information:

Media Type: Book
Type: Other
Release Date: 2015-07-17

Geek's Thoughts: Released on the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland this book by David Koenig takes a deep dive into the legal side of the Happiest Place on Earth. The sub title is How Lawsuits & Lawyers Transformed the Magic. In this very well researched and document work David goes through a litany of cases and situations that have arisen over the years at the park.

Chapters include a look at the Home Court Advantage, Slips, Trips & Bumps, Rides Gone Wrong, Beyond the Berm, Unequal Access, Security Alarms, Labored Relations and Who Wants to B a Millionaire?

 

We live in a very litigious society, especially in California, and over the years Disneyland has to deal with an assortment of cases from all aspects of its business. Some based on fact, others not so much. In the end most cases never see a courtroom and are either settled, dismissed, or dropped. Of the small percentage that has Disneyland has had an excellent track record of winning.

I found it really interesting to read through this book and look at how society and the park have evolved over time. Some good, some not so good. David takes an approach rooted in research to present a large number of cases and situations that have arisen and then goes into detail about them. Be warned this book is not a storybook. It is really a series of facts and cases and is rather dense. There are narrative sections but a vast majority of the book is detail oriented. I would have liked to have seen more of a big picture and weaving together of the trends out of these cases. David does talk at that level but a majority of the book is in the weeds.

I think this is a good reference book to keep around and it does fill in details and give background information to those of us who really follow the parks closely. I think it may be a little too dense for the novice geek to find interesting and you may want to consider taking a look at it at a library before investing in it for your collection.