Tokyo Disneyland
Topic: Kevin Yee Announces His TDR Touring Book

#	Author	Message
41	Mr X Tue 4/8/2008 4:32a	I can only imagine he didn't care enough to bother. I probably wouldn't myself, unless I happened to see an outfit I'd have wanted to buy anyway. I'm a pretty happy "hang at the buffet" guy myself anyway. No need for those fancy shmancy dining rooms for me. :p On the OTHER hand, I'm not all that self-conscious either. As long as nobody told me otherwise, I'd probably just stroll in and eat. When I took a cruise a couple of years ago, a decent percentage of the diners weren't following the dress code. Maybe DCL is different in that regard (my cruise was on Carnival, decidedly the lower end of the spectrum lol).
42	Mr X Tue 4/8/2008 4:34a	Ah, as I expected. Thanks for explaining that, Kevin.
43	barboy Tue 4/8/2008 9:01a	"there were little cultural moments that I would have liked to know about in advance. I'm a fretter :)" On my maiden voyage my first defining moment that told me that I was no longer in Kansas came early: putting in to the first restroom upon arrival in Narita out of the blue a cleaning lady pulled up to the very next urinal and started cleaning.
44	davewasbaloo Tue 4/8/2008 9:11a	>>>putting in to the first restroom upon arrival in Narita out of the blue a cleaning lady pulled up to the very next urinal and started cleaning.<<< This is very common in Europe too. i think only the US is prudish in that way.
45	Mr X Tue 4/8/2008 9:11a	Trial by fire. lol.
46	Mr X Tue 4/8/2008 9:13a	The US is prudish in many ways I think, Dave. Some other poster referred to it as "lax moral standards" (speaking of Europe in particular). I guess the US is very "superior" when it comes to that stuff. :p
47	davewasbaloo Tue 4/8/2008 9:15a	>>>Some other poster referred to it as "lax moral standards" (speaking of Europe in particular).<<< Hmmm, would I rather have someone cleaning while I use the facilities, or allow people to die because they are poor, invade countries for little reason, allow violence on everything but cut out love and sex.....hmmmmmmmmmmmmm Shame I missed that debate, I think I would have liked it!
48	The Goddess Mara Thu 4/10/2008 8:53a	The ego-driven gall of someone thinking he has the ability to write a book on the Tokyo Disney Resort after a single visit is really unimaginable. I'm a professional writer--it's what I do every day of the week. Having been to the Tokyo Disney Resort a dozen times, and having read a lot about it, I still don't feel able to do justice to the resort in a book. I don't think Yee is a good writer--he's a highly biased writer who has fallen into the trap of thinking he's an authority. The entire "Declining by Degrees" business is nit-picking and tedious, as were the endless photos Lutz used to run of the tinest spot where paint was missing at a Disney park. Anyone who goes to the Tokyo Disney Resort often knows that you can find spots where the paint is worn all over the place if that's what you're looking for. And what does that say about a person if that's how he spends his time at a Disney park? Of course, In his Miceage article, Yee didn't write about any worn paint at Tokyo Disney because he was looking elsewhere, which is what just about everyone else in the world does at a Disney park. I purchased his book "Mousetrap" to see if it would be any better than his endlessly tedious internet columns and it isn't. A book on the Tokyo Disney Resort by someone who's visited it once is what you get in the age of the internet, where print on demand sites like lulu.com exist and where anyone can indulge his or her ego in print. A legitimate publishing house would never consider bringing out a guide to a theme park by someone who had been there once. That person would be laughed out of the meeting. Just compare this scenario with the fabulous book "The Complete Walt Disney World 2008" by Julie and Mike Neal. This couple has been to the four parks many times over five years in order to write this book--and even though it's a great book, there are STILL mistakes in it.
49	KevinYee Thu 4/10/2008 6:15p	I share the skepticism of wondering if a single visit can lead to a valuable guide. If you read my initial article when announcing it on miceage, you saw that I said something similar. You will also see that I ultimately decided a few things: 1. Any guide is better than no guide, particularly for first timers. A repeat visitor like GoddessMara will find little value in the book. 2. In a curious twist of logic, someone who is VERY experienced is exactly the wrong person to write a book for a first timer. That experienced person has forgotten what the first timer agonizes about, what the uncertainties were, and so on. In a weird way, being a first timer was an ADVANTAGE. It helps anticipate what other first timers would think. 3. I tried to corral as many experts as I could to help me with this. My apologies for not thinking of you, GoddessMara - you would have been an effective reader to help make the book stronger. The proof, of course, is in the pudding. If the result is endlessly tedious, hopefully readers will tell me what it takes to make the book stronger for others.
50	The Goddess Mara Thu 4/10/2008 6:34p	Kevin, thanks for your courteous reply. However, the second point you make is flawed. You write, "2. In a curious twist of logic, someone who is VERY experienced is exactly the wrong person to write a book for a first timer. That experienced person has forgotten what the first timer agonizes about, what the uncertainties were, and so on. In a weird way, being a first timer was an ADVANTAGE. It helps anticipate what other first timers would think." I would respond that only a poor writer would fail to properly gear his book toward a "first-timer" if that's the subject of the book! And only someone who can circuitously turn the upside-down logic of making it seem like a good idea to have a first-timer write a guide for first-timers would have the chutzpa to actually write the book without first taking a long while to think about whether that's really a good idea. It's not! It's a terrible idea. While first-timers often write memoirs about their experiences of doing something, they rarely write guides purporting to tell other first-timers what to do! I've already ordered a copy from amazon and hope to find something I've missed at the Tokyo Disney Resort--that would be one of the tests of a genuinely good book for first-timers: if it has some treats for the experienced visitor as well.

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