Mousetrapped - Catherine Ryan Howard

Three big dreams, two Mouse Ears and one J-1 visa. What could possibly go wrong in the happiest place on earth? When Catherine Ryan Howard decides to swap the grey clouds of Ireland for the clear skies of the Sunshine State, she thinks all of her dreams - working in Walt Disney World, living in the United States, seeing a Space Shuttle launch - are about to come true. Ahead of her she sees weekends at the beach, mornings by the pool and an inexplicably skinnier version of herself skipping around Magic Kingdom.

Not long into her first day on Disney soil - and not long after a breakfast of Mickey-shaped pancakes - Catherine's Disney bubble bursts and soon it seems that among Orlando's baked highways, monotonous mall clusters and world famous theme-parks, pixie dust is hard to find and hair is downright impossible to straighten. The only memoir about working in Walt Disney World, Space Shuttle launches, the town that Disney built, religious theme parks, Bruce Willis, humidity-challenged hair and the Ebola virus, MOUSETRAPPED: A Year and A Bit in Orlando, Florida is the hilarious story of what happened when one Irish girl went searching for happiness in the happiest place on earth.


Why Read - Following my Disney Obsession (mostly around the stories of what goes on in the happiest place on earth) this was another book focusing on one of my favourite topics.

Catherine Ryan Howard, invites us to read her experience of working for disney for a year.  Unlike most stories she is not based in the park but in a Hotel close by and spends little time in the park. However this gave us a great insight into the world around Disney, and the areas that are very Disney but are not always mentioned or discussed. The hotels, the other Parks, the roadwork and her visit to Celebration, a man made Disney-fied town.  It is a great view into a side of Disney that we rarely see.  Howard takes us on a journey and really gives us a feeling of what it is really like to struggle to meet your biggest expectations.

Her writing style is amusing, and poignant. It is also very honest and open about her experiences.  It does still make you (if your obsessed as me) want to work for disney or spend some time their, and it also invites you to explore areas you would not really think about. She its realistic in her book, about the pitfalls and hardships she faced whilst living the disney dream.  This is sprinkled with the magic and the happiness she also finds around the parks and her lifestyle.

If you are interested in Travel Writing, or obsessed by the disney dream, this is a great book to read.  Defiantly worth picking up and finding out more about life working and living in Disneyland.