Be Nice to Cast Members….Please

I can imagine it’s pretty stressful to be a Disney Parks Cast Member right now, what with the recent layoffs that took away valued colleagues, record crowds for spring break, and rumors of more layoffs at Walt Disney World coming down after those seasonal crowds subside. I’ll bet that a lot of the Guests are a little more tense than usual too, given the ecoomic pressures so many of us are under. I’m not the first to presume there’s likely a connection between the number of multiple shootings we’ve seen in the US lately and the financial free-fallwe’ve been in.

So, given that we’re all kinda freaked out, let’s try to be kind to each other. And if you want some examples of what not to do, check out this post from Walt Disney World: In the World of a Five Foot Mouse, which includes one of those train wreck stories, where I’m horrified  but can’t look away.

We had a guest come to the front desk at the Lodge in a fit of rage and screamed at the cast member, “I SHIT IN MY BED LAST NIGHT AND IT’S STILL THERE.” . . . I have a hard time figuring out which is more disturbing. The fact that a grown woman would ‘S!!T’ in her bed AND admitted it. Or the fact that a houskeeper could make the bed with out seeing the stuff and change the sheets. Ewww. We’re moving on.

It’s amazing to me that when Cast Members have to put up with that sort of behavior, many of them are still able to go that extra mile for us.

1900 Positions Eliminated at Disney Parks

The Orlando Sentinel, via The Disney Blog, has brought us saddening news:

The Walt Disney Co. has eliminated 1,900 jobs across its U.S. parks division – including 1,400 in Florida – the company confirmed this afternoon.

The division-wide cuts include about 1,150 layoffs, 50 voluntary buyouts and 700 open positions that were not filled.

The Florida cuts include 900 layoffs and buyouts and 500 open positions eliminated. The vast majority of those cuts were in Central Florida and at Walt Disney World, though the company also shed jobs at a reservations center in Tampa.

The remaining cuts include 200 layoffs and buyouts and 100 eliminated open positions at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and smaller cuts at offices in Burbank, Calif., and Glendale, Calif.

My Jentasmic! column today at StudiosCentral.com was written before the final numbers came out, but the song remains the same:

My heart goes out to all those who have lost their jobs. Given the current unemployment rate (9.4% in Florida, Feb 2009), I know that many will have a difficult, and long, job search (I’d gladly explain to you over coffee sometime why I know this so well, though I won’t ramble about it here). And my heart also goes out to those who remain employed, and may now be picking up extra responsibilities to cover for those whose positions were eliminated. It’s a rare employer that actually manages to eliminate all the work that was being performed by those being laid off; more often, at least some of that work is spread around those remaining.

Pal Mickey: Hot Item on eBay

Who woulda thunk it? But just today I learned on one of my favorite Disney fan interweb message boards that Pal Mickey, now discontinued by Disney Parks but still fully functional, is routinely fetching over $100 on eBay, as opposed to the $60 (or so) that he used to cost in the parks. I didn’t believe it, actually, so I followed the advice of one poster to check the “completed listings”, and yes indeed there they were.

It also sounds like there are still a few Pal Mickeys out there in the shops at Disney World, perhaps especially out at the resorts.

What an odd thing that there’s apparently still such demand for the little guy! And no, mine won’t be showing up on eBay anytime soon….perish the thought!

Reported Battery on “it’s a small world”?

From the Orlando Sentinel:

A person at Magic Kingdom called deputies Sunday to report a battery, but later declined to prosecute, reports show.

Jim Solomons at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the person called 911 dispatch operators at 3 p.m. alleging a battery at the It’s a Small World ride at Walt Disney World‘s Magic Kingdom theme park.

Reports show one guest elbowed another because he thought the man was trying to cut in line.

The real story here is that someone was allegedly cutting in line at “it’s a small world,” which implies that there was enough of a line for one to cut in.

People, people, people.

I Heart Push

Somehow, this sign made me think of an old pal:

What I Did On My MouseFest Vacation

Dancing at Port Orleans Riverside. Photo credit: Trace Jennings, the Disney Dude

The great thing about solo travel is that one can try new things with abandon. Usually, I’ve got my kid’s needs to consider, and I often hesitate to try something new when my 12-year-old son is along for the ride. Plus of course, there are some things that one simply can’t do with a 12-year-old in tow, unless one has an outrageously precocious child, the right connections to fake ID manufacturers, and a willingness to completely forgo parental responsibilities.

This was the first time I’d spent more than 12 hours at Walt Disney World without my kid, so I enjoyed a measure of freedom that’s rare for my vacation time. I’m also fortunate to have plenty of solo business travel under my belt, so I’m accustomed to independence…just not when that independence is strictly about having a good time hanging out with buddies old and new! So, this month’s trip to MouseFest 2008 gave me a chance to try a few new things at Walt Disney World. Many of them I’ll do again…and some, well, I’m glad I had the chance to try them, because now I know they’re just not my thing.

Those Darn Cats' "Fish Are Friends, Not Food, Meet." Photo credit: Trace Jennings

I will start by saying that I hope to be able to make it to another MouseFest someday, and I’d gladly travel solo to Disney again! But, well, maybe not real soon. As great a trip as this was, family travel remains a much higher priority for me, at least for so long as I’m spending time on the road for business, and for so long as my kid’s living at home (which, shockingly, might only be another 6 years). Given that vacation days and dollars are sometimes scarce commodities, I’ll still be spending most of mine with the family.

And I also gotta say, isn’t it kinda cheat-y of me to call MouseFest a solo trip? Yeah, it was a solo trip with 952 of my closest friends! I’m not sure I would have enjoyed 5 days at Disney World truly solo, without 30 friends to dry my eyes after Finding Nemo: The Musical, without pushing a recalcitrant Jon onto the Haunted Mansion, without Steve showing up in drag at 9AM on a Sunday morning (hey, that was indeed quite new, even for me!). I do think I would have been lonely had I truly been there alone for 5 days.

But all that being said, and all aspersions of cheatyness set aside, what else was new for me this trip? Well, this was the first time I’d left Housekeeping oversized tips and shameless pleas for towel animals, which I’ll surely do again. Yes, I have an embarrassing fondness for towel animals, and I did bring home a whole menagerie…but it wasn’t just the need for new trinkets. It was also the pleasure of knowing that I’d put a couple extra dollars in the pocket of  a Cast Member who is surely underpaid, and the fun of knowing I’d find something new and amusing when I returned to my room each night. Maybe Stitch would be curled up with a book (The Contortionist’s Handbook,
for those of you playing along at home, which of course is available from my Amazon Store). Or maybe he’d be watching TV…. or maybe a strange swan/reindeer hybrid (sweindeer?) would be atop my television, or some strange creature looking like she’s just emerged from the day spa. But either way, it was fun to feel just a little bit pampered, even (or especially?) at my low-rent Value Resort.  Of course, since I enjoyed this special attention so much, I did in fact practice what I preach, and sent an email to Guest Communications after my stay to let them know what an important part this Cast Member played in creating the Magic, and how much I appreciate their great work.

Inside Pixie Hollow

I’d never been to Pixie Hollow before, and would recommend it though I don’t feel the need to do it again. The Fairies meet-and-greet is very well done, not only because the Fairies themselves are well-played but also because of the theme-ing. As you enter the Fairies’ domain, you’re sprinkled with pixie dust, represented by occasional electronic sparkles along the walls. As you move down the hallway towards the Hollow, the trees and mushrooms around you grow larger, symbolizing the pixie dust’s having shrunken you down to the Fairies size…and apparently, making it possible for you to understand the Fairies language. It would have been nice had a Cast Member explained this as we were waiting, as these details would have been lost on me were I not an overly-researching Disney dweeb (and had a friendly Tomorrowland Cast Member not talked me into visiting the Fairies by waxing enthusiastically about just this sort of thing).  And yes, once you get into the Hollow the Fairies are every bit as playful and friendly as one would expect from Disney characters. Tink was in fact rather sassy, not the sexpot Tink who shows up so disturbingly in many Disney pins.

Nancy, Bob, Ray, and myself. Photo credit: Trace Jennings

I am not generally a piano bar fan, so I approached Yee Haw Bob’s show with some hesitation, but I enjoyed it immensely and would definitely go again….if I were with friend, or bringing my kid. Bob Jackson is a tremendous, and tireless performer, providing audience participation par excellence. My BFF Lisa and our friend Trace had secured the front table, so I was able to sneak in at showtime with friends Angel and Julio, and we all had a blast. Of course being at the front table meant that we were called upon for more audience participation than some, and I’m sure Lisa’s hand-made “Yee Haw” shirt didn’t hurt matters either!  Bob Jackson’s a good enough comedian to get you to play along with the corniest jokes, and laugh until your sides hurt. And yes, some of us enjoy dragging unsuspecting MouseFesters into a conga line from time to time. It’s all very family-friendly, and I hope to take my kid there before he’s too cool to enjoy it. Or if we miss that window, maybe I’ll take him later on, when his kids can enjoy it too.

Alas, I can’t honestly say I want to go to Jellyrolls again, the other much-vaunted Disney World piano bar experience. It wasn’t for lack of good company…I arrived with my friend Danielle (after a fabulous time at the Studios Central Fantasmic Dessert Party), sat for a while with Steve Barrett of Hidden Mickeys fame, and then hung out with Bryan Ripper and others at the All About the Mouse Singalong Meet. So what was my problem? It might have been the general aesthetic….despite my eclectic tastes in music, they just weren’t playing anything that made me wanna sing, with the exception of a rousing rendition of good ol’ Rocky Top. The audience participation just wasn’t as orchestrated (some might say forced) as Bob Jackson’s, and I never felt pulled into it. But perhaps my friends hit the nail on the head when more than one of them told me that Jellyroll’s is just more fun when you’re hammered.

Earlier that day, my friend Danielle had introduced me to the Animation Academy, which I’ll do again every visit, perhaps even every day! Located in The Magic of Disney Animation at the Studios, this 20-minute experience always looked like a bore, especially since I have no talent whatsoever at the drawing board. But in that 20 minutes, I was able to draw a recognizable Jimminy Cricket, suitable for framing! In this day and age of “interactive entertainment,” this low-tech experience is immensely engaging, and I’d recommend it to people of all ages, even if they’re not hammered.

I’d never stayed at one of the All Stars Resorts before, and I’d do it again…if I’m staying onsite, and if Pop is booked. Yup, that’s a lot of if’s, but I mean it. I often stay offsite to have more room for fewer dollars (especially given easy access to family timeshare weeks), and I do prefer Pop to the All Stars. But All Star Movies really wasn’t so bad, and my location in the Mighty Ducks building meant that I could choose the Movies or Music buses depending on which was to my advantage. Plus, the towel animals were fantastic, and the low rent meant I could sign that credit card slip with a clean conscience.

And on the higher-rent end of things….I will absolutely eat at Boma’s again! I’d thought about trying this restaurant before, at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, when my son and I had been staying at Saratoga Springs Resort on our Free Dining trip in August of 2007, but had balked because I hate taking Disney buses between resorts. Next time, I’ll just take a cab – it’s worth it for this fabulous dining experience! The roast pork was succulent, the fufu divinely spiced, the pineapple cheesecake worth the trip itself. My only complaint was that the zebra domes didn’t live up to the hype I’d heard in the Disney Digerati, being a rather well-ornamented chocolate mousse rather than the cure to all that ails you. But how could they have possibly lived up to that reputation? I shall dine again at Boma’s at the first opportunity, and will allow myself even a bit longer to linger in the lobby, maybe even grab me a pair of those night vision goggles I keep hearing about, for watching the wildlife outside the window.

I don’t know when I’ll get back to Walt Disney World…right now, the next Disney trip on my agenda is a few days next August at Disneyland Paris, in my estimation the prettiest of the Magic Kingdoms. As much as it would be great to be headed to Florida again soon, I’m also glad I’ll be giving it a little time, so that next time I visit I’ll be able not only to revisit these new favorites, but try out whatever new stuff they’ve cooked up in my absence!

American Idol: WTF?

Okay, I used a milder headline for my Jentasmic! article this week at StudiosCentral.com, but I gotta say, WTF is up with this whole American Idol deal at the Studios?

I’ve just returned from MouseFest with whatever bug seemed to going around, so maybe it’s just the Nyquil talking. But I just have to say: American Idol? What the &%#(?

And actually, I don’t think it’s the Nyquil after all. You see, pretty much anytime I’ve walked by that big ol’ American Idol sign near the hub at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, whichever MouseFester I happened to be traveling with at that moment would spontaneously burst out with anything from irritable pessimism to out-and-out disdain for the coming attraction. My friend Danielle exclaimed, “You should write a Jentasmic! column on this, ‘American Idol: What the ^$)#?’.”

Head on over to StudiosCentral for the rest of the catty criticism….

All Star Movies: Not So Bad After All

Arriving at All Star Movies last Wednesday night was rather anti-climactic. It always looks like such a fun place, with all those giant movie icons. But as I waited to check in, I couldn’t help but notice how poorly the reception area was aging, how the printer they were using for Guest parking passes was leaving black smears along the side of each print, and just how much less glamourous the whole place felt compared to my beloved Pop Century. Sigh. I’d booked All Star Movies because I wanted to try something new, and because I didn’t want to stay at Pop Century without my son, as its our usual pick and I knew I’d be plenty homesick for him even without those giant 8-track tapes staring me in the face.

The resort did grow on me, though, after a day or two. I was staying in the Mighty Ducks building, so I used the All Star Music food court and bus stop far more often than my home resort. The fact that I was reasonably close to both of those bus stops came in handy later in the week, as the bus system kept dynamically rearranging itself. Some days all three All Star Resorts were served by a single bus, some days each resort had its own bus back from the parks, and some days Sports and Music shared a bus (with a super-long line on at least one occasion) while Movies had its own. And I never saw any real crowding in the food courts, though that might be because I was rarely in them after 8:00am.

The Housekeeping Cast was superb. I’ve already written to Guest Communications to express my thanks for a job well done, and I hope the notes and tips I left also let the Cast Member know how Magical they’d made my stay. The room was very well-kept, and happy surprises greeted me almost every evening. I have never seen such lovely towel animals! Is this one a reindeer? A swan with horns? Perhaps its identity crisis is what draws me to it.

I knew that Pop Warner was in town, and a little research online told me that their blocks were at Sports and Music, but not Movies. Still, the uproar on the interwebs got me a little paranoid….would I be able to hear Illuminations over the roar of Cheer? Would I be woken up at 2:00am by some sort of disturbance, or at 5:00am by Cheer practice? But truly, I never would have known they were. Shockingly enough, something that sounded like a big deal over the Interwebs turned out to be a boggart, at least if one is not staying in Sports itself.

Pop Century remains my favorite of the Value resorts, but I wouldn’t mind staying at the All Stars again.

Three gay caballeros at All Star Music

Woof!

The Fantasia Pool at night

WDW Retail Must Be Hurting

I am having a fabulous time here at MouseFest! As I type this into my Crackberry, I am standing in a 25 minute wait for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, as I have an inexplicable need to look for that second picture of Toad giving Owl the deed to the property.

But one thing is really gnawing at me. WDW is running a sale at all its retail locations: 40% off all t-shirta’ and 50% off most Christmas stuff. While it is nice to get a bargain, I can’t help but see this as another sign of how troubled the economy is. Are future bookings so badly off that they’re resorting to this level of discounts?

But I shall put these grim thoughts out of my head. There is a picture of Toad and Owl to be found, and I am wearing the hot pink Mickey ears my BFF gave me this morning at our Haunted Mansion meet. Life is, in fact, very good.

No More High School Musical!

Now, it just so happens that I do indeed enoy the High School Musical francise. But when the last film wrapped up with a musical tribute to itself, even my stomach churned at the intensity of product placement, and at the lyrical plea to not stop watching just because Gabriella and Troy won’t be around anymore.

High School Musical (yeah)
Who says we have to let it go?
It’s the best part we’ve ever known (yeah)
Step into the future…but hold on to
High School Musical

Um, yeah…I don’t think the tweens were gonna stop watching, even without this plea. Or was this a reassurance that yes indeed there will be fresh-scrubbed antisceptic new faces in High School Musical 4, in addition to the Rocket Boy who they’re surely audience-testing for future installments?

And of course yes, I’ve heard that the HSM Pep Rally at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been updated, so yes I’ll try to catch it at MouseFest. It’s like a sickness, I tell you. But don’t go thinking I’m gonna try the Ludovico technique or anything.