Lynn Barron

3 stars: Enjoyed Parts of It.

From the back cover: What is it like to be the eyes and ears of the institution known as The Happiest Place on Earth? How does it really feel to work day in and day out leading part of the world famous Disneyland Custodial team? Just how do they keep such a busy place so clean? Find answers to these questions and more as secrets are revealed in this unauthorized, honest, and affectionate memoir from insiders who struggoled to keep guests happy, tame wild new cast members, and keep the original Disneyland clean through a time of tremendous growth, change and controversy for the resort. You'll discover that cleaning up is just a part of the job as you experience heartwarming triumphs, heartbreaking tragedies, and hearty laughs along with the people who lived them.

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I enjoyed parts of this book. I found it and met the authors at D23, the official Disney con. Some of the stories are entertaining and I did learn some things -- much of it minutae -- about the custodial crew. I already had respect for what they did and I have more so after reading this book. Unfortunately, its just not that well written and its very samey - could have been half the length. With two authors they *constantly* (and I mean constantly) state which author is saying what. In the form of "... I [Lynn]..." Plenty of other books are coauthored without this constant stating of the first person. Fun, easy read, will pass on to another Disney fan.

A few quotes and tidbits I liked:

"They added sidepacks....We'd have park maps in there, pro towels, and anything else we could fit, such as putty knives, gum scrapers, moist towelettes, the plans to the Death Star, whatever would help."

(describing a holiday parade, cleaning up after the horses). "The parade stepped off without a hitch as we proudly strolled along in our glorious apparel before thousands of guests. In truth, I actually enjoyed doing this. If you took it in stride you could really have fun with it. It was a great break from my typical duties and we often got applause and hilarity from guests. Although we really were not supposed to, I typically bowed with the cheers after cleanup which guests always seemed to appreciate. After all, this was Disneyland; how many jobs in the world would allow you to dress up in ceremonious attire for the sole purpose of [cleaning up horse] poo?"

"The quiet night might be broken by what we used to call a pager ["pay-jurr"]. In case you're not an archaeologist, a pager was a portable information receiver. If you could take your smartphone and fold it, you'd have something about the size and shape of a pager..."… (plus d'informations)