More Fantastic Special Guest Scans!
Here is PART TWO featuring some wonderful scans of photos from the collection of Tim L., shared with us by our friend David W. I can't get enough of these kinds of images, showing cast members (lovely young ladies in all three of today's examples!) at work in the park during a time when working at the park seemed like the best job in the world for young people. The text in orange was kindly provided by David.
PeopleMover - Denise C. taking tickets. In the background is the Tomorrowland Coke Terrace.
Space Mountain - Barbara W. in the control tower position. The window on the right faces out towards the track location where the rocket stops temporarily (after loading) before turning to go into the main building. The headset/mic she is wearing is in contact with the loading position. It looks like some of the chairs need replacing.
America Sings - Jeannie M. I had forgotten that the attraction was sponsored by Del Monte (as shown by the patch on her costume).
MANY THANKS to David W. and Tim L., I am very grateful that they were willing to share these rare photos with all of us.
18 comments:
Major-
As you say, seeing images of the cast members at work, on the surface may seem a silly thing to share, but as we've so often said - the cast members ARE a part of the Disneyland experience for guests, and failing to include them leaves a hole in the 'story'. It's so nice to see them here, adding their special touches to each person's visit.
Thanks to David & Tim for continuing to share these special moments with us.
1) Denise seems happy enough but I can't help feeling kinda sorry for her; standing there, taking tickets for several hours, doing (and saying) the same thing over and over. Maybe the CMs were rotated to do other tasks every hour or so? I would go crazy and do something I would regret later, like running through the Park yelling, "Churros are peopllllle!"
2) Awww geeez. Seeing that ratty chair rips me right out of the Disney Magic bubble. How could a chair like that exist in "The Happiest Place On Earth"?!? ;-) Still, it doesn't seem to bother Barbara, so I guess it shouldn't bother me. I'm not sure what her job was... telling guests to remain seated at all times?
3) Jeannie looks friendly but also with a quick wit. She's seen it all, nothing gets by her unnoticed. And she knows exactly what to do in any situation. Looks like she got some Del Monte Ketchup on the upper half of her uniform.
Thanks to Tim, DW, and Major.
I always love any chance we get to see DL employee pics.
JB, I'm sure David or Tim will chime in later, but I'm pretty sure that the person in the control tower position never spoke to riders, unless it was an emergency. I believe they are the ones who actually "send" the vehicles into the ride. That sure is an awful lot of buttons and knobs, though. Hopefully we will find out later today, some of the other functions of that control panel. I see four monitors there. I wonder what views those provided.... views of just the chain lifts, or views of other spots throughout the ride?
Again, I hope they chime in, but I have a friend who used to work on Star Tours, and I believe he told me that they "rotate" positions every 30 minutes. Maybe it was different in 1979? Maybe they made you stand in one spot, for eight hours....without any breaks or lunches. ;-)
In the last pic, I'm pretty sure those yellow panels off in the distance are the light up menu boards for The Space Place restaurant.
Thank you so much Tim and David, for sharing your personal pics, and thanks to Major, too!
I'm sure Disneyland is full of ratty chairs and marked up walls. It's what's in sight of the guest that gets taken care of. I've peaked enough "behind the walls" or backstage to see how ordinary it looks. It's all an illusion.
I LOVE these cast member pics. They are very much a part of the Disneyland experience as Nanook said.
These are wonderful. Thanks again, Tim and David.
Brilliant pics, I can’t add much to Nanook’s comments, that sums it up for me.
Thanks Tim and David W, and Major P!
We shouldn’t fuss too much about Disney Back of House, pretty much every hotel and resort area is the same. Employees get a fraction of the consideration applied to guest-facing operations and what we see here is normal.
The contrast might be sharper since Disney’s Front of House is extraordinary.
JG
Nanook, it’s really true, the cast members make so much difference, and I personally have had many wonderful interactions with enthusiastic, friendly people who seem more than willing to help. I guess there’s always the occasional rotten apple, but in general I’ve been impressed. To the point where I actually wrote a letter to the company to tell them so!
JB, I’m sure some of those jobs could get boring; after all, the nature of those jobs is plenty of repetition. But I think that I have read that (at least in the old days) cast members did not have to do any one task for half a day or longer. I’ll need our former CMs to check in and let us know! The ratty chair doesn’t really bug me, it’s backstage after all. I don’t have duct tape on my office chair, but it probably needs some! I was looking for a ketchup stain on Jeannie’s outfit, but I guess you were referring to her red top?
TokyoMagic!, I’m sure your right about that CM not talking to guests. That would be weird! It does seem like a lot of buttons and knobs. It almost looks like the sound board at a recording studio. Maybe she worked on Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors”? I’ll bet the monitors showed the vehicles as they proceeded through certain points of the ride, but… it’s just a guess. Thanks for pointing out (and identifying) the yellow signs!
K. Martinez, yes, most pictures I’ve seen of backstage areas are not very inspiring. They look like well-used spaces in any office, with the occasional poster or framed item on the walls so that we know it’s “Disney”. I hope Tim and David can someday share lots more photos from their days at the park!
JG, something tells me that most young employees were not that picky about the backstage areas, as long as they could relax and maybe grab a snack. Who cares about a ratty chair?? I’m sure that there are plenty of people who expect that the backstage areas are as magical as the “onstage” areas!
J. Nartubez and JG, Oh, I agree. Disneyland, especially Disneyland, is all about the thin veneer that the guests normally see. Everything else is ordinary everyday stuff. My above comment was just an attempt at sarcastic humor. So funny! Haha! *crickets* ;-p
Major, I actually like the ratty chair. I love it when the Disney Magic occasionally goes awry and we see the 'Wizard' behind the curtain. Like the recent BBQed dragon incident, or Mr. Lincoln folding over at the waist.
And yes, I was referring to Jeannie's red top. Haha! *more crickets*
These are fun photos and, YES(!), the cast members make a day at Disneyland an extra-special experience.
JB, ha! Before GDB, I never thought about behind-the-scenes at Disneyland. I guess, In my mind, if I didn't think about it, it didn't exist. I could stay 'in the magic.' All you folks ruined it for me...ratty chairs and all. ;o)
I can picture that pretty blonde as Alice or Aurora.
David W, Tim and Major - thank you!
P.S. Major, it's a good thing I didn't 'bet'cha'. I would've lost, as NO ONE mentioned 'you know what' today.
There's On-Stage and Off-Stage. Much like what you would expect off to the sides of any stage which is everything magical On-Stage. i never grew tired of behind the scenes in Pirates. In fact during busy periods, there was a position for a rover to be behind the scenes there in the basement. It took a while to find your way through it all. So much fun to see how it really all came together. Ingenious, complex and it worked pretty much all the time. Evacuations did kick-in the training and then the adventure really began. We were quite proud of getting the job done quickly and safely. Great to see other CMs. KS
Sue, you're right, no one has mentioned "I Love Lucy" yet today.
JG
@ JG-
The lack of ILL references today must have something to do with a phone conversation I had with Gregg Oppenheimer on Monday; and yes, a 'certain subject' did come up in conversation. (I'm happy to 'take one for the team'). You're welcome, Major-!
I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the photos. It's been 40+ years since I was a cast member & some memories of time are still very clear, while others are long gone...;).
JB- On most of the rides, there are multiple positions & a rotation (which was as TokyoMagic! mentioned about 30 minutes each position). Breaks & lunches were also included in this. So Denise did not have to take tickets for her full shift- as I recall the other positions included load & unload.
TokyoMagic!- As I remember the monitors in the Space Mountain control room did display the lifts, etc. In the lower right corner of the photo, the small dark screen with red images, is a digital scale, which would display the weight of the loaded 2-unit "rocket". If the weight difference compared to the previous vehicle was a certain amount, the next one would be delayed a slight bit to maintain the proper timing. The main system was controlled by computer & if there was any thing irregular, the brakes throughout the ride would engage & then everything shut down. Normally the control room was fairly dark, with most of the illumination coming from the control panel. I think that the lights are turned on & it is not just the camera flash that we are seeing. This may have been at the start or ending of the day or when the ride was not operating.
Sue- I agree, Barbara could have substituted for Alice or Aurora, if they called in sick...
-DW
JB, I am very offended that you mentioned crickets! “Cockroach Cousins”, I call ‘em. ;-) That video of Mr. Lincoln keeling over was one of the funniest thing I ever saw.
Lou and Sue, as a true Disneyland nerd, my dream was to be able to wander around “backstage” where mere mortals were not allowed. I’m sure in my imagination it was all much more impressive than the reality. Sort of like Willy Wonka’s factory! And yes, I wonder if Barbara W, was ever asked to play Alice? She’d be perfect! Being a “face character” is not for everyone though. And you aren’t kidding, nobody has mentioned bacon cheeseburgers today! :-D
KS, what did a “rover” do? Did he sit up, play dead, and beg for treats? I’m hilarious! Your description of the basement (“Ingenious, complex”) is what makes me wish I could see it! I’ve never been evacuated on a ride, even though I thought it might happen the last time I rode “Pirates”. My boat didn’t move for 15 minutes.
JG, THANK GOODNESS!
Nanook, Gregg Oppenheimer hardly ever calls me. I guess it’s because I never bathe? You guys must talk about “I Love Lucy” a lot!
DW, I wonder if the management had employees move around from task to task from the earliest days? Or if it gradually occurred to them that they could prevent complete boredom by switching out positions every half hour? It’s a nice thing to do for employees, plus they learn a bunch of different skills “just in case”. Load and unload: “Watch your head”! Very interesting about the scale and the weight of the rockets changing the timing of the “launch”. Ingenious. Thank you so much for sharing these photos!
Ratty Chairs. A new Broadway musical. I don’t think I EVER saw a chair that was not ratty. Backstage was all ratty all the time…mostly. I petitioned for new chairs in the phone room and got to pick them out. All of us were getting bad back problems as a result, and the chairs were literally falling apart. The new chairs I remember were outrageously expensive…like over 1K. They all had proper back support, were adjustable, and had a nice little lumbar bump. Everyone was very happy. Things backstage weren’t dishelved so much as “authentic” … read “tired”. The Disney girls look lovely. We all thought Disney Girls (Beach Boys) was written for the Tour Guides, but the song predates 1958. They did a lot of TG “montage shot” things for internal use and played the song with many of the Disney Girls. Many many many pretty ones in my time. A guest even asked me once if you had to be good looking to work here? Well, no…but yes. I think when you are in your 20’s everyone is pretty stellar looking. Thin was in back then, and costume sizes had a range that stopped in the low numbers. I can attest to the weight thing with Space Mountain. If your rocket is too heavy, and it’s possible to catch up to the rocket ahead..theoretically…your rocket actually will go over to the right instead of the left. Where you zoom into a backstage area..to be met by an employee while you are thinking “what’s going on?”. You stumble past some cleaning supplies…I remember seeing a bottle of Bright Boy there (?) (and some old rags). And you get back into the queue…without explanation (?). At that point my group of ursine very healthy guys was split up like the Ark. Collectively, we were too much for the ride to bear. No pun intended. We all got a huge kick out of this, and continue to talk about that moment in time…like we had just won the worlds strongest man contest. The employees NEVER said a word. We made some obvious assumptions. Thanks for the ladies guys and sharing the photos.
Correction: rocket will go to the left not the right… :). I still don’t know the difference.
As for that taped chair, I saw far worse things than that "backstage" at Knott's! Hideous things, actually. And many of these things were in the kitchens, where food was prepared for guests.
David W., I forgot to thank you for answering my questions about the Space Mountain control board! I appreciate all of the info, as well as the all of the photos! Thank you!
Post a Comment