Parade and Haunted Mansion!

Last night I got to do parade pre-clean up and post-clean up again, which I enjoy since I can pretty much be on Main Street talking to guests and pin trading until the park closes. I got to hand out some buttons and take pictures again. At the end of the night I even got to watch the Mickey and the Magical Map performers practice while I was on break. Not only that, but as we cleaned up we helped with utility things and got to watch the parade floats go back from Main Street to Small World (no characters were on the floats but it was still pretty cool). I also got to hear and see them testing out the music and projection lights for Mickey’s Halloween Party.

I forgot to blog about the previous day too! Not much happened since I just worked a utility shift when the park closed, but something that I thought was cool was getting to vacuum the Haunted Mansion Portrait Hallway. The HM was having a private tour for those Cast Members working in Critter Country/New Orleans so when they were done we got to go in with the lights on and clean up. It may not be extremely exciting, but I enjoy getting to see things from points of view that normal guests don’t get to see. While we were waiting, me and my two other co-workers got to just hang out down in the basement of HM as they told me some creepy stories they’ve heard about HM and Disneyland in general. One story they told me was that the little end table that Madame Leota is on was given to Disneyland as a gift specifically for the Haunted Mansion. The women (or family) that gave them the table actually practiced witchcraft and she said that if the table is removed from the attraction, bad things will happen. So that is like the only thing still there since the attraction opened. Other things will be replaced and moved in and out of the attraction, but that will never leave! Crazy, huh? I love hearing these stories that people wouldn’t normally hear about. In October I’ll get the chance to have a tour of the Haunted Mansion and I’m so excited to be able to see and hear more about the attraction!

Main Street is my favorite!

Today I my teacher from AZ who I’m getting college credit from came to Disneyland with her family and wanted to visit with me. It was nice being able to talk with her about the program and she even gave me a small gift, a 2014 Mickey pin. After my visit with her I went to work and got to sweep all of Main Street. This shift was a little different because I didn’t have any restrictions on where I had to sweep, plus the sun was still up, which I prefer so I can see everything and everyone.

I love sweeping right in front of the castle because I instantly become a Photo-pass Photographer haha. People ask me to take pictures for them, but I love it even more when I offer because they seem so grateful! Another amazing feeling is guest’s compliments. I haven’t gotten a guest compliment on paper. but I get compliments from guest everyday thanking me personally on how clean the park is. It makes me proud to be a custodian and humbled that I can help make it spotless.

Speaking of cleaning, I cleaned up the parade today and instead of pan and brooming like usually, I was push broom for the first time since someone didn’t show up for the shift. I had never done it before so I was a little uneasy about it since I’ve heard it was hard, but after clean-up my lead told me I did an awesome job and thanked me since she knew I was a little unsure about it.

I got a bunch more buttons from City Hall today and gave a few to some kids after I took their picture in front of the castle. It was their first time in Disneyland ever, so I was so happy to have been able to capture that memory for them and give them First Visit buttons. I pin traded for a little while this afternoon/evening too, but the most interesting about my day was seeing someone arrested in Disneyland for the first time. As I walked backstage I saw security hauling off some kid (like 19) with a smirk on his face. I don’t know why people would commit crimes in Disneyland, I mean it’s the Happiest Place on Earth! I overheard him saying he was trespassing so I guess he was trying to sneak in so he could be happy. Well I’m sure the Disneyland ticket is cheaper then his bail, hope he learns to just buy a ticket next time if he’s ever aloud back in.

Queues

Today I got to sweep line queues for the first time since I’ve started! It’s actually more fun then you would think, I got really lucky and got to talk to some awesome guests today. I was in Adventureland and Frontierland so I was sweeping Pirates, Tarzan, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, and Big Thunder Mountain.

It was more like playing then working since I got to climb up in Tarzan’s tree house and talk to a bunch of kids. When I swept Pirates, there was a small group ahead of me that striked up a conversation with me and asked about some Disneyland secrets. I began to tell them some facts that aren’t really secrets but aren’t necessarily well known. They were so interested and we had so much fun talking that they asked me what would happen if I just jumped on Pirates with them haha.

I continued sweeping and it surprised me that in just about every line I got into, I had very friendly people to walk next to. One little girl in line had a birthday shirt on but no birthday button, and lucky me, I had one in my pouch! I got a bunch of buttons last week from City Hall to pass out and I’ve finally given them all away, which has been really fun to do. What kid doesn’t love free buttons? I learned my lesson though, I got a sharpie now because when I gave that little birthday girl a button, I couldn’t write her name on it 😦

One of the best things about my day, as weird as it may sound, was helping a lost boy find his parents. When I went to sweep Pirates this little boy was crying outside the line and so I went up to him and he said he didn’t know where his parents went. I got his name, age, and parents description and stood there with him. I reassured him it was going to be alright, that he wasn’t lost, and we’d find his parents. I distracted him a little and talked to him about his Cars shirt and his favorite ride. By the time his dad came around, he stopped crying and was laughing as he was trying to explain to me the ride. Even though I didn’t do much, I still felt proud to have been able to help calm this little boy down and get him back to his parents.

Closing Main Street at 5pm

This afternoon I closed Main Street but it was a different experience because we closed the park at 5 pm instead of the normal 8 pm during the week. The reason we closed early was because Disney was putting together a special celebration for the Cast Members that have been there anywhere from 10 to 60 years.

I got to pin trade with a bunch of princes and princesses and even a cute old couple. The old couple were from Utah and I told them I’ve never been there since I don’t have any family there and they said they’d be Grandma and Grandpa and I could come visit them haha, it wasn’t creepy like it kind of sounds, it was actually really cute. Another cute thing that happened today was a little girl was crying and so I went up to her and pulled out a bunch of buttons to see which one she wanted. She picked out too and began to giggle instead of cry. She and her family only spoke Spanish but her mom started snapping a bunch of pictures and they all thanked me immensely. It didn’t matter that we didn’t really speak the same language, all that was important was that whatever was bothering that little girl, I changed around her mood as she was leaving the park so that hopefully she’ll only have pleasant memories of today. This was the first time I felt like I really made magic and it felt great!

Because they were closing early, this was the first time that I got to see Main Street totally closed. I don’t think I’ve seen all the doors closed, especially with the sun still up; it was really weird. As all the guest left the park and I swept closer to the castle, I saw the Cast Members as guests all dressed up taking pictures in front of the castle and drinking cocktails. It was so cool to get to work during a party like this, even if it was only for a little while right before I left.

I hope I can be attending one of those Cast Member parties as a guest one day!

Dapper Day in Fatasyland

Friday was my first Dapper Day at Disneyland! For those who don’t know what Dapper Day is, it’s a well-known event that Disney fans created where guests dress up in their most fashionable olden day attire. It takes place twice a year in Disneyland, Disney World, and Disneyland Paris. It started in 2011, but I didn’t learn about it until Spring 2014 when they had the first one of the year. As soon as I heard about it I was excited to know that I’d be in the Disney College Program at the time of the Fall 2014 one.

Unfortunately, I had to work the prime hours that Dapper Day was occurring but I made the most of it while still having to wear my costume.

I worked Fantasyland for the first time and although it was the hottest it’s been since I’ve been here and I had to do trash, it was still really fun! I enjoyed looking at everyone’s Dapper Day outfits and talking to the kids. Some people get REALLY into Dapper Day and have awesome outfits. Some even Disney Bound, which means they dress like a Disney Character or Disney inspired in their dapper outfit.

I was excited that I got called to clean up a spill in Snow White’s Scary Adventure and walk though the attraction! It was a very small spill but it was cool seeing it with the lights on.

After my shift, I got changed to meet my roommate Christine in the park. I wanted to previously go to the thrift store and get a really good outfit for the day but I never got a chance, so I just through something together the day before. My phone died and I couldn’t find her where we planned on meeting, so after 2 hours of a very frustrating and stressful situation, I decided to just go home and charge my phone.

I went back to the park and we finally found each other and had one 2 hours left until the park closed so we made the most of it and headed over to the Carousel. I got to ride Jingles, the lead horse who was painted gold for the 50th anniversary and then later dedicated to Julie Andrews in honor of the carousel horse she rides in the movie.

After the Carousel, Christine and I only had enough time for one more ride so we decided to go on Pirates. On the way out I decided to take some dapper pictures to go with my outfit. I even got to see the best dressed mouse around, Mickey!

I can’t wait till next Dapper Day when I can plan out my outfit and put more effort into it!

Working is Playing

Tonight I had a utility shift, which I was honestly kind of bummed about because I knew I couldn’t create magic since the park closed early and then I was backstage. To my dismay, I not only got to create a little magic, but I had magic made for me too! Tonight was one of the best nights working in Disneyland!

The first place we go to clean is Aladdin’s Oasis (the small place where they showed an Aladdin show, but is now just a rest area and meet and greet place). As soon as I got there I found a phone just laying on the ground! I got kind of excited because I had spotted it and I’ve never found a guest’s valuable to take to City Hall. When I took it to City Hall, the lady told me the guest was in earlier looking for it, so I was glad I could make the guest happy by getting her phone back to her that day instead of someone finding it tomorrow. I had always wanted to go into the Chambers of Wonders (the big Lion’s head), and guess what! We got to go in! It lead to the back stage area of the Jungle Cruise and we got to clean the deck.

Once we were done, our lead told us to sweep all of Adventure land so we did and I even got to sweep some of Tarzan’s Tree House. After that is when the real adventure started. After we cleaned the Indiana Jones queue for a short while, the lead closing the ride started talking to us so I asked if we could get a tour and he said yes! We got to walk through the entire time as they pointed out awesome hidden things to us. We saw one of the skeletons wearing Mickey ears with the name “Bones” on them and we saw a skull with a bronze Tinker Belle on top. When we got to the end, the lead told us how the cars literally can’t move back, so instead the walls move back when Indiana says “Wa-hoo, back up!”. This tour made my entire program! It was so nice of the two Indiana workers to do that for us, they could have just said goodbye and went home but they took out an extra 15 minutes of their time to make some magic for us, even though we were still on the clock.

When we finished with the walk though we finished cleaning the queue and I finally got to see the hidden Eeyore sign in the top back of the Indiana Jones queue. After making sure the queue was nice and clean, we headed over to Main Street to dust all the tall things down the street like the awnings and windows. Once we were finished with that, we had a break and that was it for the rest of the evening. We didn’t do anything else except sit around. Hey, I’m not complaining, if that’s what my lead says, then I’ll do it!;)

I got some awesome pictures on my way out tonight!:)

Meg Crofton event and Day Parade shift

Monday morning I had an amazing opportunity to listen to Meg Crofton speak! It was another exclusive Disney College Program even that we had the privilege of attending. For those who don’t know who she is, like me (I know, I’m a horrible Disney fan haha),she’s the president of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations. She’s the 4th president and the only women to have been president.

She read us excerpts from her journal that she had been writing in for the last 40 years. We got to hear her favorite quotes, advice, and experiences that she’s had while with the Disney Company. At the end we got a chance to ask her questions and we even got a group photo with her!

That night I worked Day Parade, so I got to do pre-parade and post-parade clean up, which was pretty fun since I talked to some guests as I cleaned my way down Main Street. I even got to pin trade a tiny bit. After the parade, a family with young kids asked me what they could do for the last 30 minutes of the park being opened, I gave them a ton of ideas but I was happy when their face light up after taking some of my suggestions. I even saw them later that night when the park closed and ask them how they enjoyed Small World and Toon Town and they said they were so glad I suggested them, so I was definitely proud about that.

2 hours after my shift started the park had closed and I got to sweep Main Street for an hour since the stores are still open down there. Once all the guests were gone, I saw the night crew working for the first time. It was so cool because I got to see them pull out the flowers and put in the giant Mickey pumpkin for Halloween. We walked backstage and our lead decided we should take a golf cart for a ride from Main Street to Critter Country and New Orleans all the way to Pirates. We did some utility work at Pirates, like cleaning the walls, window sills, and railings. And if you were wondering, Tarzan’s tree house music never turns off.

On our way back to clock out, we had to stop at Small World to pick up my leads backpack so we got a fun 10 minute detour of all of backstage in the golf cart. I finally got to see 2 of the Disneyland cats that are there to eat the mice! There were soo many trucks there in the park that it was so strange to see them out there where guests would normally walk.

It was such a terrific day and a fun shift. I have my first official utility shift on Thursday so I hope I have a cool lead again and get clean things that guests might not get to see haha!

Main Street USA

Last night I closed Main Street, the most magical place in Disneyland! It’s definitely one of my favorite locations to work now. I was expecting to do trash but when I came in my lead had decided to put me on sweeping, which I was ecstatic to do! Unfortunately by the time I got to work all the lanyards to pin trade were gone, and this time they didn’t have any turned in until the park was closed 😦

Even though I couldn’t pin trade, I got a lot of guest interaction since Main Street is the busiest location with guests coming and going. Not to mention that it has the parade route, shops, food, first aid, character meet and greets, city hall, and the train station! I got asked lots of questions and got to take lots of pictures 🙂 When the parade was over, I got to clean up after it. And once again, I got paid to watch the fireworks and then clean up after them as well. While waiting for the parade, I saw that a little girl had split her popcorn on the ground so I went up to her and asked if she’d like a new one and she said yes, so I went to get a new one for her and her and her mom thanked me immensely. She was so cute and I was so happy I could help. I know that it wasn’t a big deal, but I’m sure it made their night better and I was excited to use the skills I learned in training. 

I loved working here and I can’t wait to work Main Street USA again!

Closing Adventure and Frontier

Last night I had my first closing shift and I got placed at my favorite location (so far), Adventureland and Frontierland. Closing is a lot different then working during the day. My shift started out normal and I got to sweep all around the area but when I asked if I could pin trade, there weren’t any lanyards available 😦 so it was kind of boring. Although I did get some guest interaction with answering questions and giving directions.

After my lunch I went back to the office to see if there were any lanyards turned in, which there were, so I was excited that I could pin trade for a little while. Since Fantasmic takes place on the Rivers of America in Frontierland, I got to help clean up both shows plus the fire works. It was nice to be able to do something different since sweeping by it self gets tedious and pin trading is hard at night since I have to take out my flash light.

When we were done cleaning all of that up I got my first code v that I had to clean up by myself. Thank goodness the kid only had water and a handful of popcorn in his stomach! As soon I was done I headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean since everyone closing Adventureland and Frontierland helps clean up the boats. It was pretty cool to see Pirates with the lights on; the water looked cleaner then I expected!

I got off at 12:30 last night but it was exciting to get to do something new for a change!

I enjoyed seeing this awesome view on the way out of the park!

Sweeping up Matterhorn

Today was my first day working anywhere other then Adventure land and Frontier land, and boy was it different. Granted I did work Adv/Front when it was busy Sunday and Monday after a marathon, but today was just too slow! I worked Matterhorn and I’m not going to lie, it was kind of boring. I did get to sweep and pin-trade though, my favorite thing, but with it not being busy, it being a very small area, and not very many pin-traders around, it was quite a slow day. I’d rather have a million people ask me questions and pin-trade every 2 seconds then be bored. I just kept walking around the Matterhorn over and over for 6 hours. Well not really, I had two 15 minute breaks, plus I got to clean up after the parade! So that was a nice change of scenery haha.

Once I was done with the parade I got to sweep all the way until after the park closed. It was so cool to be working in Disneyland and literally look around you and not see a soul in site! Before everyone exited the park I saw some guests waiting in front of the Matterhorn and I thought they were just waiting for their family but then I see some cast members taking them up the Matterhorn for a tour… with a basketball! I was so jealous! If you didn’t know, the Matterhorn has a basketball court on the roof. It’s definitely on my bucket list to go up there and play, but until then at least I can cross be the “last one” in Disneyland off my bucket list. Obviously I’ll never be the last one in Disneyland since there are Cast Members there 24-7, but I think it was pretty close haha. Walking to Main street to clock out, our Lead told us we could take pictures of the park empty so I did!

Even if it wasn’t the most magical day, I still put on a smile and tried to have fun. It’s not like it was a bad day, it just could have been more fun. I just have to remind my self how grateful I am to have an opportunity like this! And I truly am 🙂