Book Review: Team Rodent

It's a bit hard for me to write this review. I am quite a big Disney fan and an even bigger fan of Walt Disney World. But I try hard to be fair so I borrowed this book by Carl Hiaasen. The full title is Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World and it is not the most flattering picture of the company. Hiaasen is not a fan. 

Part of that seems to come from the fact that he lives in Florida, in a place taken over by Disneyfication. Hiaasen writes about the major destruction that has happened to the Florida environment since Disney moved in. And that I have to agree is true. Before Disney Orlando was a small orange growing community. Now those trees are gone, plowed under to make room for more and more housing. The sprawl in that city is terrible. Florida has grown by leaps and bounds, and that is painful for the environment. Point one for Hiaasen. 

Disney is often held to a higher standard of behavior simply because they are Disney. And Hiaasen is quick to point that out. He is also quick to point out that they should be. They claim to be the ultimate family friendly place and it doesn't look so good when one of their employees acts up. And I have to agree with him there. Disney does a lot to cover up problems rather than deal with them outright. But even Hiaasen has to agree that there have been a lot of frivolous lawsuits for Disney just because of the money they have. 

Hiaasen's big argument though is that Disney is gentrifying everything. He claims that they have destroyed Times Square by making it less seedy. Here is where he loses me. I have no problem with strip joint and bars but I am also pretty impressed with what the city has done with a corner that was not the most well traveled. I have no problem with the escapism that Disney helps to create. I'm going to sound old when I say this but manners and gentrification are not always a bad thing. I love to go to Disney world mostly because people are nice, the grounds are immaculate, and there are lots of things to do. Now I know that is not real life. It is escapism pure and simple. But I have a tough time believing that a little escapism is a bad thing. Sometimes it's nice to pretend. 

All and all this was a very good book with a ton of great points. And of course Hiaasen tells it with humor and insight. I love his work. Perhaps if I lived in Florida I would have a different impression of Disney. But for right now I still don't mind the fantasy.