It's time for another selection of photos, graciously given to me by GDB friend Bu, who worked at the park in the 1980s. We get more rare "backstage" glimpses! And Bu provided some fun commentary, which is the icing on the cake. Let's go!
Bowing in reverence to the D. This is in City Hall before it became the thing you wait in line to do I don’t know what now… I also was “interviewed” when I did wait in line to see what it was all about… I STILL don’t know what it’s all about. Nutty guests wanting buttons or something.
That is Kellie. Another one of those “normal” people that would pose like insane people for me with my trusty camera. I also worked with Kellie at Coke Terrace. She was I think 6’1”. Glamorous, Nordic…like many of the Tour Guides. That framed thing is also in City Hall - a proclamation to someone, something…there were a lot sprinkled everywhere in these complex of offices on Main St - we had some up in the TG Lounge as well as there was no where else to hang them.
I'm pretty sure this photo was on my Birthday. My hat said “Julie Andrews Bu”. I was a bit obsessed with Julie, and probably still am in that category. Every Christmas/Holiday/Etc. she would send a big basket of tiny muffins or candies or something to the Tour Guides for taking care of her special guests. I took care of her parents, the Wells’ briefly. They were pretty much right out of 1930’s pre-war England. Very nice, as you would expect. Giant goodie baskets… like they took up the entire office. Supervision would get hold of there were “goodies” in the phone room, and they were: “WOW… WHO sent you guys THESE?” I loved saying very nonchalantly… ”ohhhh Julie Andrews…” and their eyes would pop out as they went digging to look at the card. Note that we received MANY baskets, and presents, and goodies all the time from lots of people.
Hostesses would also bring back a celebrity or two to the phone room: generally the celebrity guys who wanted to see the ladies. Ozzy Osborne, etc. We even had a in box for “fan mail”…not for characters, but for us. I got some very sweet letters that I wish I saved. Back to the TG Lounge and my birthday. Looks like we ordered a giant TOGO’s sandwich for lunch. You can see all the photos and whatnots all over the walls. This was the “new” TG lounge after we were exited from behind tour gardens to make way for finance types offices. That wallpaper is on purpose and was done for us. (I had feedback.) The furniture was from the old lounge and probably pre-dated Walt :) The sign above the air conditioning controls pretty much said “if you mess with the temperature we will cut you.”… or whatever we said in the 80’s.
The wood grain frame on the left is the sign that said “though these doors pass the most beautiful….(I forget the rest)… something about being Walt’s ambassadors. “Walt’s Welcome” something like that. That’s Linda and Janet. I don’t know why I look so sullen…but we used to have to smile and pose so much on stage I think I was giving my face a rest. Those are the new Hostess costumes… but I’m afraid I couldn’t put an exact date of these. It’s a Mickey name tag without any tag line… possibly ’84. Janet and I later went on to make an epic backstage/onstage movie that we screened at the annual Tour Guide Banquet. The likes of which have not been seen since ’84, but the film resides in good hands.
THANK YOU, Bu! I love seeing these "behind the scenes" slices of life from genuine Disneyland CMs.
@ Bu-
ReplyDeleteI LOVE all these backstage stories. Just a little bit more of 'the magic' gets revealed. (Yes... that wallpaper - even the chair rail-? doesn't help the situation-!)
Thanks for sharing.
"Bowing in reverence" eh... hmm, the gal on the right doesn't seem too reverent with that playful grin on her face. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWas bowing to the D an actual "thing"? Sort of like a not-at-all-serious initiation ritual?
Geez. Kellie makes a good insane person! Very convincing.
So, did Ozzy Osborne send any goodie baskets? Say, a big basket of bat heads? ;-) Not sure if that story of him biting the head off of a bat is true.
I can understand Bu giving his smile a rest, otherwise it might get stuck on his face like Mr. Sardonicus.
So, along with all the strict rules that Disney CMs had to abide by, there were some pretty nice perks as well. Whether it's baskets of muffins and candy from Julie Andrews, or close friendships and camaraderie with your fellow employees; sounds like a memorable experience.
Thanks, Bu for sharing more of your time at the House Of Mouse with us. Thanks, Major.
Bu, thank you so much for sharing these photos and especially your commentary. They add a new dimension for those of us armchair admirers who always wished we could work at Disneyland but for various reasons (like living in another state) were unable to fulfill our dreams.
ReplyDeleteJB, ironically, I finally saw Mr. Sardonicus for the first time a few weeks ago. That guy was a real Joker.
I love seeing "Cast Members Gone Wild®" photos, and I'll be waiting patiently for the accompanying video to come out.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any little dolls of Eisner, Pressler, or Harriss, were ever "sacrificed in effigy," within that "D" circle?
Bu, that sailor hat looks like it has "Bu" embroidered on it, but I can't read what precedes your name. Was that a birthday gift, or part of the official costume for hosts? ;-) And now I want to ask you if "Bu" is a shortened version of a longer first name (as in "Mama don't whip little Bu***"), but I don't know if that is getting too personal.
Thank you for sharing your personal pics with us, Bu! And thanks to Major, for "Hosting."
Bu. What. Chuck. Said.
ReplyDeleteReally, he summed it up for me. I’ve been a Disney fan for as long as my memory reaches. These details and stories about your career, and those shared here by other CMs add to those memories and are endlessly entertaining.
Thank you, and thanks to your CM compatriots who share their stories and pictures.
Thanks Major for making all this possible.
Also, the wallpaper isn’t that bad, Nanook.
JG
It's not easy having a good time. Sometimes even smiling makes my face ache.
ReplyDeleteBut, these peeks behind the veil are so amazing. We hear so many stories nowadays of what a rough time the park employees have busting their butts to give the rest of us a good time, that it's extra special to hear about young people having fun working at Disneyland.
These photos bring back very fond memories, and like when you do a TV show, movie, etc: it's a strangely out-of-body experience to see these pop up. We did have a lot of fun back then and were treated very very special by the powers that be. The dept. was not really built for "normies" and this year was a relatively short time after Cicely running the department for decades, so the "spirit" of the department was very much "Walt In-tact" The "original" Tour Guide Lounge: (behind the Tour Gardens) was even more glamourous...with it's own bathroom (girls only) phone, and a "living room" feel. There are photos on the internet floating around, but I never got any of my own photos...I think....there is a slide deck "in process" that may reveal more secrets not seen since the '80's. Ozzy was a relatively super normal "dad" who just happened to have a very zany on-screen persona. The kids were like normal suburban kids: "Daaaaa-addddddd"...I can hear them saying. This was long before there was a TV show chronicalling their lives. Which given their normality, was kind of surprising to me. There was a little effigy of a Tour Guide: a little doll in a glass cloche. I called her "Test Tube Tour Guide". She was on the wall on a little pedestal. It was kind of nice that they had all these things put up for us...not sure if any of that would happen today: such personalization of a space. The "Tour Guide of the Year" plaque was also on the wall: a carry over from Walt's time. There were Tour Guide yearbooks to read, and thumb through....as well as the obligatory People Magazine, et.al. that we had subscriptions to. That would be a good mailing label to have: I recall it said "Guest Relations, Tour Guide Lounge, Main St. USA, Disneyland 1313 Harbor Blvd, Anaheim 92803" I think one of the Main St. Supervisors would buy us subscriptions for Christmas. All seems like yesterday, and 100 years ago at the same time :)
ReplyDeleteNanook, there’s more to come from Bu!
ReplyDeleteJB, I’d bet dollars to donuts that “bowing to the D” was just an opportunity for a silly photo. But you never know! At least they didn’t have to kiss the floor, yuck. Kellie does look crazy here, but there are some other photos where she looks like a model. You’ll see! I think Ozzy has confirmed that he bit the head off a bat, though he did not know it was a real bat at the time (I guess it had been thrown onstage by somebody. Poor bat!).
Chuck, yeah, the timing was always wrong for me - when I lived close enough to be able to work for the park, I was too young, and then we moved to the east coast a couple of times. And then I was back in California, but even then was too far from Anaheim. Weird that Mr. Sardonicus has been mentioned, the movie is on YouTube and I was thinking about watching it recently.
TokyoMagic!, imagine a ritual with little Eisner, Pressler, and Harris dolls being sacrificed (lots of stabbing with knitting needles), when one of those very people walked into the room. Cue the laugh track! Ha ha, yes, “Bu” is short for “Buford”! No not really, but I love it. “Buford! Fetch me a possum for supper!”.
JG, I’m happy to report that Bu generously gave me a whole bunch of photos to share with you all (or should that be “y’all”?), in fact it might be time for me to bug him again for more stories. There’s a Christmas installment coming up that should be fun.
Melissa, I can’t help wondering if today’s CMs still manage to have fun. You hear so many unfortunate stories, but I’d like to believe that the people involved make all the difference (just like on GDB!) and can make even a “not great” situation more enjoyable.
Bu, when you gave me these photos (almost a year ago now!), I KNEW that the Junior Gorillas were going to love them. I’m sure employees might be amazed to think that regular folks would give anything to be able to see all of those backstage areas, even if they seemed like “just the place we work” to all of you. They used to sell Tour Guide dolls, I’ve seen them with various hair colors, and I think they even had tiny pins on their red vests, I wonder if one of those was in the glass case? (When I read “glass cloche”, I thought, “She had a glass hat??”, but I see that “cloche” has other definitions). It’s amazing to think that some 15 or 20 years after Walt’s passing, there were still people who worked at the park who tried to “keep the flame” as it were. Thank you again, Bu!
There were still folks like Dick Nunis, Ron Dominguez and Jim Cora in charge fanning the flames of the Disney cast. Tho the cracks were beginning to show. Bu...is the Linda in the photo, Linda C-A? Sure looks like her. Her smile was infectious. RIP Linda. KS
ReplyDeleteI LOVE seeing all the TG (and cast member/employee) photos and hearing the behind-the-scene stories. Definitely the best-of GDB! Thank you, Bu and Major!
ReplyDeleteSue
The first picture reminds me of a thing from my time in the Boy Scouts. Some of the older scouts would initiate the new ones on their first trip with a complicated story of the king of Siam and his sons Tana and Owa, ending with the new scouts bowing and chanting loyalty to "Owa" "Tana" "Siam" at faster and faster pace until the joke revealed itself.
ReplyDeleteYes, KS, that is Linda. Did not know about RIP. How very sad. Yes, RIP Linda. The Tour Guide Doll was not the doll you see for sale...it was another type...more like a "Rankin Bass" TG...articulating model of sorts...BTW: the room you see in the photo is now nothing more than a storage closet seems like a little waste of space for a cute guest facing building!
ReplyDeleteDean, ha! I remember, as a kid, we used the words "Owa" "Tigu" (pronounced "tie goo"), "Siam."
ReplyDelete:o)
Bu and KS, sorry to hear about Linda.
:o(
Thanks for the reply Bu. Yes, it sadly is true. It's been a few years. There is a FB site called Disney Friends Who Passed Our Way. My heart sank when I saw the post. Indeed there are those hidden spaces only we know! KS
ReplyDelete