Okay. I know. Your head is swimming from all the negative stuff that you’ve been reading about Comcast and Eisner and Henson. I’m betting that you could use some good Disney-related news right about now.
Well, here you go then. Read this letter from Kenny H. Who’s writing in today NOT because he wants to dispute what the people working over at DAK’s “Kilimanjaro Safari” have to say. And NOT because he claims that his job at the Magic Kingdom is a lot tougher than anyone else’s at Disney World.
But — rather — because Kenny wants to say that, yes, sometimes the working conditions down there in Orlando can be extremely tough. But … that said … there are also those times when a cast member who’s really on the ball (like Mr. H is) can make a difference. Can actually save someone’s vacation.
Don’t understand? Here, read for yourself:
Hey Jim…I know you’ve had a lot of responses and don’t have too much time, so I’ll get right to the point.
I can sympathize and relate to any and all of the people who wrote in to your site regarding the original “Kilamanjaro Safari” letter. But I fear that some of these messages may lead people to believe that working for The Mouse is nothing but horror after horror on a daily basis.
On my College Program back in 2002, I worked Tomorrowland Attractions and in that time covered full shifts at “Alien Encounter,” Astro Orbiter, and Space Mountain, plus a few Greeter fill-ins at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and Speedway.
Did I have bad days? Oh, most definitely…try keeping up with the long lines at “Alien Encounter” on a hot summer day (with no bottled water at hand due to “bad show” regulations) while simultaneously trying to act all cheery.
Were there days when I felt the atmosphere at the park was downright hostile? Yup…I remember being catcalled with crude sexual remarks by a group of obnoxious guests on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority on Gay Day…the oppressive heat and smothering crowd on July 4th…and the Brazilians — oh, dear God, the BRAZILIANS.
Were there days when it was tough to do my job? Oh, yeah. Try maintaining your composure standing on top of Astro Orbiter with giant anvil-shaped thunderheads approaching (which, if you are…you’re now at the highest point in any of the parks where Cast Members actually WORK outdoors)…try fighting your way around the “Alien Encounter” theater to free a child who was kept in his mother’s lap during the initial phase of the show, pinning the two of them with the harness right underneath the kid’s neck and chin…try hurrying up and down the maze of Space Mountain’s track to free e-stopped trains without getting lost, snagged on some piece of wayward metal, or chastized by a vet in the dispatch tower for taking too long.
But were there good times? ABSOLUTELY. The look on a kid’s face when I helped him/her “turn out the lights” for the Spectromagic parade. Handing out candy to kids wearing costumes while looking like a human disco ball. Being there to see a memorial service for the 1st Anniversary of the 9/11/01 Terrorist Attacks. Ceremoniously signing my name on pieces of the upstairs area of Alien Encounter, a tradition among AE Cast Members since its original opening. Riding Space Mountain for the first time EVER on my orientation day. Eating burgers with my co-CMs at the End of Summer Party, where we had Frontierland all to ourselves to ride the Mountains as much as we want. Making up silly stuff to say during my spiels at AE Turnstile. Getting half a day off to let me install a TV in the Speedway break room. Being there when a lost kid was reunited with his/her parents.
But the day that makes it all worthwhile? A little story time for y’all…
It was not long after I had started my program. I was working “Alien Encounter” Chamber B and a little girl had gotten spooked by the Skippy pre-show. When the harnesses came down, she became frantic — crying hard. I asked her parents if they wanted to go ahead and exit…they refused. I let them know that they could leave at any time by simply pushing up on the harness and I would be glad to lead them out. They said they wouldn’t need it.
The poor little girl was absolutely horrified. So I pulled her harness up and knelt beside her, putting my hand on the arm of the chair, which she quickly grabbed. I told her what was coming, scene by scene…I had long since committed the show to memory, even being able to quote the entire show line-by-line at one point. As the show went on, I told her when to hold her ears, when she was gonna get squirted with water, when things were gonna bump her seat. As the show kept going, she calmed down.
When the lights finally came up, her parents and I attended to her, making sure she was okay…and she gave me a huge, heartwarming hug.
THIS is what working for Disney should be about…not absurd rules and regulations…not Union-spawned infighting…not complaints about groups of guests…not whining about how bad YOU have it. But making each guests feel like you actually give a damn about making their trip to the parks special.
EVERYONE is Entertainment at Walt Disney World…you all have the responsibility to make everyone feel like they are welcome, like you care whether they are having fun or not. Contrary to Eisner’s beliefs, you are not “trained monkeys” or “puppets”. The jobs at WDW are not merely pushing buttons or hitting gas pedals or saying lines or being anonymously obedient in any other way.
In fact, if you are not the type of person who absolutely CRAVES having people pay attention to you, you have no business working in a Disney Park. They really are the largest improv stage in the world.
Thanks Jim, and I hope your readers actually get something out of this.
Kenny H.