Despite all my singing this morning, it did, in fact, rain on my parade.
A shift-swap had left my Sunday schedule wide open, and I sure as heck wasn't going to church, so I picked up a Parade Audience Control shift on Main Street. I was super excited at the chance to wear a new costume and try out a new work location. A nice change of scenery. I had a few reservations about how to get to my work location, where to clock in, etc. Luckily Tyler (from Encore) had also picked up the same shift, he guided me through the Utilidor and around the backside of the Emporium to the PAC briefing room, which is located upstairs in City Hall. After clocking in, the manager and coordinator talked to us in general about what was expected today, then called roll and gave us assignments. I was given Confectionery 2, and other than where the Confectionery is, I had no idea what to do. The manager assured me that my partner knew what she was doing and would help me out.
Turns out the shift was a lot of fun, despite the rain. We put masking tape down on the sidewalk to delineate where guests could stand or had to keep clear, put up a big rope along our corner of the street. I spent most of my time pointing guests down the sidewalk and asking that they continue moving down the narrow pathway, as it's the only path in and out of the Magic Kingdom during the parade. As the last float went past, we picked up our tape and ropes, and followed the float all the way to the bridge at Liberty Square, where we lined the middle of the street and kept guests moving on the right-hand side of the path in either direction, as that bridge gets very congested following the parade. After the traffic had cleared, we headed back to the south end of Main Street for PACtivities. This involves bringing out jumpropes, hula hoops, and bubbles to play with kids until the end of our shifts. Who knew that parents would pay thousands of dollars to bring their kids to Orlando and have them hula hoop with us?!
I have another PAC shift for SpectroMagic tomorrow night, which I think segues into Wishes. Getting paid to watch the evening entertainment is a real drag.
Universal was awesome. I didn't have really high expectations, but the park was really clean, not super crowded, the employees were pretty friendly, and most of the rides were really cool. I especially liked the Revenge of the Mummy coaster, E.T. Adventure, and Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. There is also a really great section of the park themed around the world of Dr. Seuss. But the most exciting part of the day was definitely walking through the middle of Hogsmeade to get to the Dragon Challenge coasters. Granted, there were modular walls keeping us from seeing all the scenery, but we could see the rooftops and Hogwarts Castle. I'm soooo excited. The coasters themselves were pretty cool (though they're already ten years old), they're suspended below the track and dispatch at the same time, and though the tracks don't mirror each other, they have three points where the trains look like they're going to collide. One of the coolest ideas for a roller coaster I think I have ever experienced. Brendon was a great tour guide! Since he works for Disney and Universal, he knows a lot of stuff! Looking forward to my next visit!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
A Post With Class
To enhance this post's class, be sure to hit play on one of the Brubeck clips just up and to your right --------->
Today marks two months of me being here in Orlando. Two months of pure awesome. A few unexpected bumps in the road, sure, but I am having the time of my life, learning a lot, and I'm so glad I made the decision to come out here on the program. A few updates since I talked to you last:
I've had two meetings of my class now. It's called Creativity & Innovation: Gaining the Edge. I'm not sure that I would call it a really "academic" class, I don't know where it would fit into my curriculum, though parts of it remind me a lot of my Philosophy of Design class that I took last quarter, ME 234. That's not to say the class won't be challenging though.
We meet once each week for four hours (it's death---I've never sat in class for more than two hours before), with two short breaks. We have writing assignments, a midterm, a research project, a group presentation, and almost daily journal entries that make up our final grade at the end of the course.
The classroom itself is set up with innovation in mind: we all sit around hexagonal tables, and there is an obligatory whiteboard on the main wall flanked by two enormous monitors hooked up to the teacher's computer. One wall is covered in photos showcasing the many attractions we have at all four theme parks. And there is not a single fluorescent light fixture in the room. This setup really helps our unconventional class, we utilize the board and monitors about half the time, and spend the rest of the time in discussion with our groups at each table. This week we had tubs of Play-Doh in the middle of our table; our teacher says that she provides it because many of us learn better when our hands are busy. I don't know that I fall into that category, though when her lecture got boring it gave me something interesting to do. Last week we had a Barrel of Monkeys. That was a little more distracting.
Today we talked about the nature of innovation. To practice the process of innovation, we picked a topic and discussed it at length, how we could better understand the problem, how we could imagine solutions through many different perspectives, how we can apply our findings to action, etc. I mentioned to my table that I wasn't very impressed with Disney's Environmentality campaign.I felt that yes, Disney was making a small effort to be environmentally responsible, especially in sight of the guests. But being such a huge company with so many resources at their disposal (bad word choice?), shouldn't Disney be playing a bigger part? Even things as small as providing recycling bins for our Tell-A-Cast schedules or guests' park maps. Not too difficult or expensive. My whole table agreed and we had a lot to talk about. I'll be developing my ideas more and more in that journal that I'm supposed to be writing in.
In other news, I'm finally getting away from Disney for a day this week. I'll be visiting Universal with a friend on Friday, we're crossing our fingers for soft openings at Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I've been avoiding reading too much up on the attractions there, I want to experience everything with all the "magic" intact first.
I was also selected by one of my managers to help represent the College Program with four other cast members from all over WDW at the 2010 National Association of Colleges and Employers Conference, held here in Orlando the first week of June. I'm very honored, but I have no idea what I'll be doing there. I'm told that I already know everything I will need to know. Yikes.
Today marks two months of me being here in Orlando. Two months of pure awesome. A few unexpected bumps in the road, sure, but I am having the time of my life, learning a lot, and I'm so glad I made the decision to come out here on the program. A few updates since I talked to you last:
I've had two meetings of my class now. It's called Creativity & Innovation: Gaining the Edge. I'm not sure that I would call it a really "academic" class, I don't know where it would fit into my curriculum, though parts of it remind me a lot of my Philosophy of Design class that I took last quarter, ME 234. That's not to say the class won't be challenging though.
We meet once each week for four hours (it's death---I've never sat in class for more than two hours before), with two short breaks. We have writing assignments, a midterm, a research project, a group presentation, and almost daily journal entries that make up our final grade at the end of the course.
The classroom itself is set up with innovation in mind: we all sit around hexagonal tables, and there is an obligatory whiteboard on the main wall flanked by two enormous monitors hooked up to the teacher's computer. One wall is covered in photos showcasing the many attractions we have at all four theme parks. And there is not a single fluorescent light fixture in the room. This setup really helps our unconventional class, we utilize the board and monitors about half the time, and spend the rest of the time in discussion with our groups at each table. This week we had tubs of Play-Doh in the middle of our table; our teacher says that she provides it because many of us learn better when our hands are busy. I don't know that I fall into that category, though when her lecture got boring it gave me something interesting to do. Last week we had a Barrel of Monkeys. That was a little more distracting.
In other news, I'm finally getting away from Disney for a day this week. I'll be visiting Universal with a friend on Friday, we're crossing our fingers for soft openings at Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I've been avoiding reading too much up on the attractions there, I want to experience everything with all the "magic" intact first.
I was also selected by one of my managers to help represent the College Program with four other cast members from all over WDW at the 2010 National Association of Colleges and Employers Conference, held here in Orlando the first week of June. I'm very honored, but I have no idea what I'll be doing there. I'm told that I already know everything I will need to know. Yikes.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
HISTA la vista, baby!
Louisa said it best with that line. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience had its final show on Mother's Day, May 9, exactly a week ago. The theater is officially closed for refurbishment, and probably won't be ready again until the very end of June. With one of our two attractions out of commission, that leaves our team with not much in the way of work. I NEVER thought I'd say it, but I kinda do miss HISTA. There was a lot more guest interaction, we didn't stand at a console the whole time, and talking to a crowd of several hundred with the microphone became pretty fun after the first couple weeks (if our EO gets set up like Disneyland's, we'll have just a short safety spiel in the theater). The ride just gets kinda dull after a whole day in there.
I got to open the dispatch console today though :-) Only downside is that you have to be there at 7:30am. I got to stand at the main console and ensure that our track walker triggered all of the video motion detectors, doors, and pressure mats throughout the ride. Once all of those parts are checked, we cycle the whole fleet of trains through the attraction one time. Then worklights are turned off, audio activated, and one of our cast members rides through the attraction (with Maintenance present) to ensure that all show elements are working correctly. For such a simple ride, it's got some very complicated systems all working together to make the magic.
I finally got an email back from the Encore Cast Orchestra and I'm in! They didn't say where I'll be sitting, but I'm just really excited to be part of the show this summer. It's quite a production with over 100 people in the orchestra, and over 200 in the choir. This year's concert is called Dream Our Dreams, A Musical Tribute to the Legacy of Disney. I didn't get a chance to see the whole song list, but I know it includes some classic pieces from the movies and the parks, including Bella Note, Baroque Hoedown, and One Little Spark. Rehearsals start on June 15. I can't wait.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Spring Formalities
Today a little girl popped a squat on the loading platform of the ride. She couldn't have been more than three years old. Just spread her legs, hitched up her dress a bit, and just peed right there. On the loading platform. But bless her heart, she stayed behind that yellow line.
I was at the dispatch console, and about to send the train at that point, but seeing what the girl had just done caught me a little off guard. Her mother didn't seem too surprised, she just apologized deeply and dragged her daughter back toward the entrance before I really had a chance to say anything. Laura had the Nextel and rang custodial for us. I was stunned that two coordinators and a manager got there within five minutes, but it took custodial over 20 minutes to get there! It's something I can laugh about now, but I was mortified when it happened.
Right after work I headed to the College Program Spring Formal, held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in their 60,000 sq ft conference room. I wasn't expecting much, but there were tons of people there, decent food, and good music. These are a few of my coworkers who were available for a Kodak Moment:
I was at the dispatch console, and about to send the train at that point, but seeing what the girl had just done caught me a little off guard. Her mother didn't seem too surprised, she just apologized deeply and dragged her daughter back toward the entrance before I really had a chance to say anything. Laura had the Nextel and rang custodial for us. I was stunned that two coordinators and a manager got there within five minutes, but it took custodial over 20 minutes to get there! It's something I can laugh about now, but I was mortified when it happened.
Right after work I headed to the College Program Spring Formal, held at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in their 60,000 sq ft conference room. I wasn't expecting much, but there were tons of people there, decent food, and good music. These are a few of my coworkers who were available for a Kodak Moment:
Sunday, May 2, 2010
A Blog-Worthy Night
Or at least that's what Tyler 1 said (I'm Tyler 2... for now). I'm gonna make this a blog-worthy weekend, as I never got around to publishing this weekend.
Each of the four parks has one night of the week that we stay open extra late for guests staying at a WDW Resort hotel. Epcot's night is usually Friday night, and for us it's usually a snooze-fest since the families with younger kids that frequent our ride usually go home before it gets that late. HISTA is equally boring when you're only spieling to 30 people or stacking 30 pairs of glasses. BUT, we got some excitement last night around 10:30.
I was standing at the podium inside the HISTA theater with mic in hand to welcome the next group of guests, but about 30 seconds after the music cue, I figured we had an empty show. Then my manager came through one of the doors, which I figured was a bad sign. He said we'd had a Signal 25 over at the ride, which is Disney-speak for fire. We have lots of Disney-speak terms, some are used in reference to the "show" that we're putting on (cast member, audience, costume, backstage, onstage, etc), and some are used so as not to alarm the guests or reveal too much info (that would include a signal 25). Anyway, the ride was being cycled-out and we were evacuating the entire building just in case. The building includes the ride, HISTA, and the Imageworks gift shop and play area. It's a lot of building to clear out, luckily we weren't too busy.
I met the rest of our crew out in front of the building and together we blocked off the Imagination Pavilion and told guests that we were currently experiencing technical difficulties. I found that it can be challenging saying this without revealing too much about the problem, since most guests ask further questions. We just did our best to direct the guests to other attractions. In the meantime, the fire truck had arrived and the crew was checking out the building. I'm not even sure if the cause of the alarm was determined, but it seems like it was a computer error, all the sensors were fine in the ride. We grudgingly returned to our posts to finish out our extra magical evening. The otherwise uneventful evening did end with Guest Service Fanatic cards all around (a kind of caught-being-good reward system).
Saturday night after work I had my Encore Cast Orchestra audition. I was scheduled until 9 and auditions went to 10:30, though I was doubtful I'd make it with our sort-of-reliable bus system. LUCKILY my co-worker Margaret, who has a car, agreed to drive me out to Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) Wardrobe where the auditions were being held. I ended up being the very last to audition that night, but I felt it went alright. The judges had their poker faces on, and there weren't many others there, so I have no idea how I did in comparison. I did make a new friend there, however. His name is Tyler. He lives in my apartment complex. And he plays the violin. Any Tyler who plays the violin must be pretty cool, right? I'll hopefully get an email from the orchestra directors in the next week. I'll let you know how it went then.
Today's work wasn't super exciting. Ride and show operated without problems. We are now required to wear actual safety goggles when we're down in the maintenance bay washing glasses. I don't really see why, since the machining tools that maintenance uses are back behind a huge vinyl welding curtain, and they only ever use them at night, but I guess it's not a huge deal. We have been washing some new glasses in our machine these last few days. They're the latest from Dolby, and they're a lot cooler than the flimsy yellow glasses we use in the parks. These have some serious frames on them, they look like Oakleys, and the lenses are clear, except for a redish sheen on one side and a greenish sheen on the other, which comes from the polarized lenses. We are sending quite a few pairs through each day, some are getting taken out of the cycle as we go along. The glasses will be sent back to Walt Disney Imagineering at the end of the week so they can determine the results of the durability tests. From what I understand, Disney currently uses similar glasses to show 3D movies on their cruise ships. Each pair of glasses costs quite a bit more than our flimsy yellow ones, so they're embedded with RFID tags that set off an alarm if they get taken out of the theater. Cool stuff.
Each of the four parks has one night of the week that we stay open extra late for guests staying at a WDW Resort hotel. Epcot's night is usually Friday night, and for us it's usually a snooze-fest since the families with younger kids that frequent our ride usually go home before it gets that late. HISTA is equally boring when you're only spieling to 30 people or stacking 30 pairs of glasses. BUT, we got some excitement last night around 10:30.
I was standing at the podium inside the HISTA theater with mic in hand to welcome the next group of guests, but about 30 seconds after the music cue, I figured we had an empty show. Then my manager came through one of the doors, which I figured was a bad sign. He said we'd had a Signal 25 over at the ride, which is Disney-speak for fire. We have lots of Disney-speak terms, some are used in reference to the "show" that we're putting on (cast member, audience, costume, backstage, onstage, etc), and some are used so as not to alarm the guests or reveal too much info (that would include a signal 25). Anyway, the ride was being cycled-out and we were evacuating the entire building just in case. The building includes the ride, HISTA, and the Imageworks gift shop and play area. It's a lot of building to clear out, luckily we weren't too busy.
I met the rest of our crew out in front of the building and together we blocked off the Imagination Pavilion and told guests that we were currently experiencing technical difficulties. I found that it can be challenging saying this without revealing too much about the problem, since most guests ask further questions. We just did our best to direct the guests to other attractions. In the meantime, the fire truck had arrived and the crew was checking out the building. I'm not even sure if the cause of the alarm was determined, but it seems like it was a computer error, all the sensors were fine in the ride. We grudgingly returned to our posts to finish out our extra magical evening. The otherwise uneventful evening did end with Guest Service Fanatic cards all around (a kind of caught-being-good reward system).
Saturday night after work I had my Encore Cast Orchestra audition. I was scheduled until 9 and auditions went to 10:30, though I was doubtful I'd make it with our sort-of-reliable bus system. LUCKILY my co-worker Margaret, who has a car, agreed to drive me out to Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) Wardrobe where the auditions were being held. I ended up being the very last to audition that night, but I felt it went alright. The judges had their poker faces on, and there weren't many others there, so I have no idea how I did in comparison. I did make a new friend there, however. His name is Tyler. He lives in my apartment complex. And he plays the violin. Any Tyler who plays the violin must be pretty cool, right? I'll hopefully get an email from the orchestra directors in the next week. I'll let you know how it went then.
Today's work wasn't super exciting. Ride and show operated without problems. We are now required to wear actual safety goggles when we're down in the maintenance bay washing glasses. I don't really see why, since the machining tools that maintenance uses are back behind a huge vinyl welding curtain, and they only ever use them at night, but I guess it's not a huge deal. We have been washing some new glasses in our machine these last few days. They're the latest from Dolby, and they're a lot cooler than the flimsy yellow glasses we use in the parks. These have some serious frames on them, they look like Oakleys, and the lenses are clear, except for a redish sheen on one side and a greenish sheen on the other, which comes from the polarized lenses. We are sending quite a few pairs through each day, some are getting taken out of the cycle as we go along. The glasses will be sent back to Walt Disney Imagineering at the end of the week so they can determine the results of the durability tests. From what I understand, Disney currently uses similar glasses to show 3D movies on their cruise ships. Each pair of glasses costs quite a bit more than our flimsy yellow ones, so they're embedded with RFID tags that set off an alarm if they get taken out of the theater. Cool stuff.
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