Tokyo Disneyland
Topic: Kevin Yee Announces His TDR Touring Book

#	Author	Message
1	Bob Paris Thu 4/3/2008 11:01a	http://www.miceage.com/kevinye e/ky040308b.htm "Announcing My New Book: Tokyo Disney Made Easy-The Unofficial Guide to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea Want to visit the Tokyo Disney Resort but unsure how to do it? Don't know the customs? Worried about not speaking Japanese? This book provides explanations of likely situations. You'll learn where to go, what to say, and what to expect during every part of the trip, including the airport, transportation to the resort, hotels, and of course the parks themselves. Language and cultural differences no longer form an insurmountable hurdle. Visit the world's most exciting Disney parks in comfort and ease, confident you'll know what to do at each step. At 174 pages, this book dwells long enough on each topic to make readers really feel ready for the next situation, even before it happens. And it's not just my impressions; this book has been vetted by some of the biggest Internet boosters out there for Tokyo Disneyland, including several on our MiceChat discussion board. Their commentary, suggestions, and ideas have been taken to heart, and led to some drastic revisions from the early drafts they saw. Much of the strengths of this book come from them, and I owe them all a debt of gratitude." I wonder what this book will be like, especially after just one visit by the author.
2	Malin Thu 4/3/2008 1:33p	>>> I wonder what this book will be like, especially after just one visit by the author >>> I to have a certain interest in knowing how the book is going to turn out with only one trip under his belt. I think Kevin should had concentrated on making this book a first timers guide to Tokyo Disney Resort. With all due respect Kevin is a very gifted author and I have enjoyed his other books very much, but is he the most qualified person to be writing a book on Tokyo Disney Resort.
3	Mr X Thu 4/3/2008 6:30p	Well, on the one hand, no. On the other hand, it's not like anyone ELSE has bothered to step up and do it over the years. So, the guy sees a niche and takes it. If he'd NEVER been here, I'd say it's really not cool. But, he made the trip. You think those travel guide writers to Zimbabwe and Vietnam really go to all those little towns they write about more than once or twice? Dang, I should've written this book years ago! :p
4	Mr X Thu 4/3/2008 6:36p	I agree though, a better title would be "first timers guide for first timers" or something. Having lived in Japan for ten years, I'd say making a claim like helping if you "don't know the customs?", though, is a pretty darned strong one. I wouldn't even say that *I*, even now, can state that I know all the customs and what to do about them all the time.
5	MagicalNezumi Thu 4/3/2008 7:23p	I got my hands on an advance copy of the book and he does seem to have geared it towards the first-time visitor. I think it is pretty well-thought out and written. Like Mr. X wrote, "No one else has bother to do it." -- MagicalNezumi
6	MagicalNezumi Thu 4/3/2008 7:24p	Oh yeah, Kevin also puts in a very postive plug for LaughingPlace Magazine in his latest column. -- MagicalNezumi
7	Mr X Thu 4/3/2008 7:30p	Well, that's good. Obviously you'd know more than most, MN.
8	Malin Fri 4/4/2008 2:47a	Without reading a copy its very hard to know how the book will turn out. So anything I've written is pure speculation on my part. I am happy to read from MN who has read the book that it concentrates on the first time visitors. A book like this has long been wanted and I could of done with one myself during the first trip. And thats why I'm very much looking forward to reading this book and giving Kevin my throughts.
9	barboy Fri 4/4/2008 10:01a	One who writes a book about a subject as vast as TDR with 1 visit inevitably invites credibility attacks. It's that simple. Before I would even open the book I would be consumed with one question: Can I trust his guidance? And that is a huge deficit to overcome--- for me as a prospective reader and for him as a prospective educator. My biggest preconceived concern, interstingly enough, is not the actual info on TDR per se like hrs. of operation, prices, attraction lineups or # of monorails in circulation as that can be readily gathered but on the cultural backdrop. Tokyo's cultural intangibles and nuances are just as much a part of TDR as the familiar rides like Space Mountain and Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin and to understand those local practices/customs is to understand TDR. But as a prospective reader I would have another big concern and that is the resort itself. How does one rate an attraction if one hasn't experienced it?(obviously he could not have done them all on one visit due to closures, operation schedules or perhaps time constraints). What about dining? there are only so many meals in the day and far, far too many to check out on one visit. Obviously, often one could get a general understanding and make some safe conclusions without actually experincing the foods, hotels and rides but one really needs to see it first hand when making a detailed, credible evaluation. If I'm writing a book review on Homer's Odyssey in school then I had better read the book two or more times but if I just need to get the very basics a secondary resource like Cliff's Notes would suffice. So what kind of resort guide are we going to get--- a profound analysis or a "Cliff's Notes" version?
10	Mr X Fri 4/4/2008 4:43p	Well, again I have to wonder how guide books in general are created. Obviously you have one author, but usually they have a team to help them. Someone who writes a guide to New York certainly didn't eat in every restaurant in Manhattan before tackling the "dining" section! So, it seems that Kevin has relied on a "team" of internet folks as well who've been to the resort. Same methodology, albeit somewhat more suspect since he didn't "hire" a team of experts but instead probably relied on a team of "fans" who might not really know what goes into writing a guidebook. However, I'm sure their info is pretty accurate, being fans and all. And anyway, look at all the Disneyland and WDW guide books out there which contain so much misinformation that we fans sort of chuckle about. Given that as the standard, wouldn't you really RATHER have a true Disneyphile write the book? Would the Birnbaum team do any better trekking over to Tokyo to write the thing? How many times do you think they would bother to sample the place before writing, anyway? Again, two things make me okay with this. MN's endorsement, which means a lot. And again, the fact that nobody has bothered to tackle such a project before. I seriously doubt he'll find a huge market for it, which is the reason no major guides have bothered with such a thing (there are a million and one guides to TDR in Japanese, however, so it shows just how few English speakers actually go to the Tokyo parks). I'd be interested to see how it turned out. If he offered me a free copy, I mean. 10 years in Japan and 8 of those spent working at the resorts would probably qualify me as a proofreader, no? :p

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