Characters in Heat

Things are starting to heat up in Orlando and the busy season is under way at Walt Disney World.  The characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto just to name a few is what a lot of the kids love.  They will stand in long lines to get pictures and autographs from these costumed crusaders.  Santa Claus doesn't get this much attention.  It's a funny thing to see because when you look at Mickey or Goofy just walking around full of life, it is easy to forget that there is a person inside.  These suits of cotton, polyester and wool do not come with an air conditioner either.  They are not built for the comfort of the person inside.  Now I don't know this by personal experience because thats not my role down here but from observation and talking to some of these people they really love their job but they also endure a lot.  As summer time approaches their time in their suit is reduced because temperatures can easily reach 110 degrees or more inside the costume.  It can be the funniest thing to see Pluto ripping off his head the second he gets backstage so he can get some air and wipe the sweat streaming from his head.  Personally I think it has to be torture but it definitely is hilarious to watch.  Each character also has an attendant to defend them from the hoards of snotty nosed little kids that like to grab, poke and trip these defenseless Disney Icons.  Regardless when the heat comes these guys and girls have one of the most demanding jobs in the City of Orlando

Peak Season

We are now into the full swing of the peak season at Walt Disney World.  Currently I am scheduled 21 days straight with no days off!  This is madness.  Magic Kingdom reached capacity today by 11:30 so the park closed for three hours until they started letting people in again.  It is spring break across the country, and not everyone has spring break at the same time so for about a month the lines are enormous here.  The ride the Dumbo the Flying Elephant was a two and a half hour wait today.  This place is a magnet for families from all over the world.  I can only imagine what that parent is thinking after they do all that traveling to finally get here, spent the money on tickets, and when they actually get to Magic Kingdom, its closed!  I am going to take a picture of these never ending lines to illustrate the absurdity of all of this.  At this time of year, the tourist really just ends up waiting in a bunch of different lines.  A line to purchase passes, a line to get in the park, a line to get on a ride, a line to grab a bite to eat, a line to use the restroom, line after line after line.  Patience is a virtue, but even Ghandi would have a problem with this scenario.  It is amazing to see though, and it is fun to be a part of it,but I just definitely would not want to be on the tourist end of things.  

It was all started by a mouse

Walt Disney World is a huge corporation or a conglomerate actually.  They have theme parks in Orlando,Fl, Anaheim,CA as well as Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo.  They own other entities such as ESPN, Touchstone Pictures, and Pixar just to name a few.  Walt Disney is a brand name now and his family has no involvement with or influence over, the company.  I am sure Walt Disney the man, would be very upset to see the cost of tickets, the shameless expensive merchandising, and the astronomical food prices but the one thing that sums up the spirit of him is our military discounts.  Currently if you are active or retired military you are eligible for a 5 Day Water Park Fun N More Pass for free.  You can also get up to to 5 similar passes for your family at a deeply discounted rate.  These passes enable you to have 5 days unlimited access to all the parks as well as the ability to hop between the parks and you are also given 5 fun days as well which mean you have access to the water parks like blizzard beach and typhoon lagoon, as well as the golf course and downtown disney.  In all you have 10 days at Disney that for military is for free and for their family or friends is relatively inexpensive and you have until the end of the year to use up all your complimentary days so they don't have to be used consecutively.  I think the discount is in the spirit of what Walt Disney is all about.  He wanted this to be a place where the average family could come and spend a great time together, and while that may not be true for the average blue collar family anymore, at least it is true for our servicemen and women, who in my estimation cannot be appreciated enough. 

Not Your Average Vacation Destination

There are many stories of families saving for over a decade so they could bring their kids to Walt Disney World.  I see them on a daily basis, and sometimes I see some who are on their last dollar.  I once had a guest who was determined to buy season passes for her and her children whom she brought up to the booth with her.  She was very sweet but obviously very concerned about spending all that money.  An annual pass for a Florida resident is $359.00 and $316.00 for a child.  You are considered an adult if you are at least 10 years old. A child is between 3-9, and anybody under that age is free.  So she has two children with her and her grand total for one adult and two children is going to be $991 plus 6.5% sales tax which makes it $1055.42.  She goes back and forth over her options, and I explain everything the ticket entails and I try to encourage her to purchase a cheaper pass which is our seasonal pass but she doesn't like the idea of blackout dates.  The bottom line is nobody in their right mind wants to be in any of the parks on those blackout days because its like being in the most popular nightclub in town.  The funniest and somewhat sad conversation then ensues between her and her young ones.  She starts to talk about how they came all this way, and that they have been talking about this for so long, and looking forward to it, and how its such a dream that she wasn't going to let their deadbeat dad and his missing child support payments get in the way.  It was so odd but actually not shocking to see.  She then proceeds to pay me with three different credit cards which as she mentioned was apparently maxing out.  I process the payments , give her and her children their passes, and this lady who economically definitely didn't seem to have it all together, between the child support payments that might never come, and her lack of available credit, proceeds to thank me profusely as if I did something magical in taking her money.  I had the impression it was these tickets or her light bill and she went for the tickets!  I just hope her kids don't want any merchandise when their in the parks and I definitely hope they don't get hungry, because you pay top dollar for both.  I just truly hope she finds that deadbeat dad.

Behind The Scenes To On Stage

Walt Disney World is truly like no other place.  The Magic Kingdom currently has three parades a day.  These are not just some average run of the mill parades.  They are over the top, overblown, music blaring, festivals of joy and excitement.  The current theme at Disney is celebration and if you call to make reservations at Disney World or to make Dining reservations at one of our many restaurants, or if you come to one of the ticket booths at the parks you will most likely hear the question "are you celebrating anything today"?  The song that you hear during the parade is about having the time of your life.  The characters and performers embody this theme and bring an amazing level of enthusiasm and excitement that would be hard to match on any level and they do it over, and over, and over again.  It's 80 degrees, they got sweat pouring down their face, they are dancing in sync, and smiling like they just snorted some pixie dust and are actually having the time of their lives.  The energy that buzzes through the crowd makes you smile as well.  As soon as these characters and performers get backstage, the first thing the characters do is rip off their heads to get some much needed air and retire to their air conditioned trailer.  Deep down in the tunnels beneath Magic Kingdom, it is common to see Ariel all beautifully made up from the neck up wearing some jeans and a white t shirt at the Mousecateria getting some lunch, or Snow White smoking a butt outside in the backlot.   Regardless once you go onstage it is the Disney way, their mission, that you turn on and become a performer no matter what role your in, whether its custodial or as a character, we are all expected to be in sync and go above and beyond and preserve the magic.  The goal of course is for each and very guest to have a positively memorable experience and come back again and again, and again.

Quite an Operation

This is one of the biggest man made productions in the world.  A well oiled operation many years in the making.  On a recent outing to Hollywood studios I got to to observe how everything is run from a guest 's perspective.  I got a great understanding before I even arrived to the park.  As I arrived to the park I was led by a litany of yellow striped parking attendants to my waiting parking space.  I then hopped on my waiting shuttle and was entertained by the conductor and dropped of at the front turnstiles.  Later on in the day when I returned to my waiting shuttle I couldn't remember where I parked or even what parking lot I was in.  I told one of the parking staff what time I arrived and they not only told me what lot I was in but also what number lane I was in.  Amazingly accurate and they of course did it with a smile and a sense of humor.  Only here could I have that type of experience, that brand of customer service.  That simple experience will last with me and it also makes me understand why people love to come back and give their money to Disney.

It's not all bad

My initial goal of traveling down to Orlando to complete my internship with Disney World was to gain employment with an industry leader.  In the first week I found out due to the lackluster economy they were currently on a hiring freeze.  I inquired further to find out that they would be offering management internships but when I found out the meager income of managers I was shocked, so my reaction was somewhat negative to say the least.  To make matters worse, I was informed it is in Disney's best interest to hire management interns because they can pay you less as well as not have to provide health insurance.  Disney's profit is off by 60% so they recently asked the top 300 executives to take a buy out.  Money and opportunity are not what they used to be, anywhere apparently, but not all is bad at Disney world regardless of the current fiscal situation.  There is a few things that differ here than any other company I have ever worked for.  Number one is internal customer service.  To most companies that is a word that doesn't even exist and if it does it is only in theory and hardly implemented.  The employees are treated just like the guests.  The managers are involved daily in your development and help is always there whether it is from your co workers or your supervisors.  Management wants to know what your goals are and if you do your job then they will do what they can do to assist you in getting you to where you want to be.  Customer service is at the highest levels.  We get repeat customers from India, France, Italy, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Russia, Canada, the Netherlands and the U.K just to name a few.  The culture here promotes happiness within and through out the park.  Disney is a great place to work for and people generally seem to really care about each other.   Besides it opens doors at other employers because of the well earned prestige of Disney.