Everything you've ever wanted to ask about Disneyland... - but didn't ask.

[LogicBeetch]

Hello! I'm a relative Newb on these forums but several people saw a post I made about working at the Happiest Place on Earth and had questions. Instead of doing twenty or thirty DM's, some suggested I start a thread. It might help to have my background.
I worked at Disneyland (in California) from @1991 to 1993 full time, 1993-1995 part timer. From 1995-2009, I was seasonal. I was originally hired to work as a performer in a stage show and parades. From their I moved to performing in Fantasmic and doing character work. After a few years of that, I applied for rides or being a plaid (tour guide). I caught the attention of some really cool people and became a Jungle Cruise Guide. As a seasonal employee, I've done; Guest Relations, Ride Ops, and then became Seasonal at Disney's California Adventure where I worked across a few departments. If you have any general questions or if you'd like advice on trip planning, or just want to hear cool stories, I'd be happy to share. Also, if you're a fellow Ex-CM, maybe we can have our own little corner of the Kiwi Farm.
(Disclaimer: The Walt Disney Legal department can be a bit aggressive if they think a current or former employee shares a little too much so there are a few things I can't discuss, but I'll always state my opinion and be careful to put things as magically as possible.)

 

[omori]

Oh boy. I'm a massive Disney Parks sperg so I apologize in advance for dogging you with questions.

Any personal horror stories? Favorite ride/aspect in the parks? Backstage secrets (within reason)? Opinion on the closing of ToT?

 

[POWER IN MISERY]

do people really cum in the mascot suits?

 

[Gym Leader Elesa]

Did you ever tap one of the girls portraying Snow White?

 

[LagoonaBlue]

Are children really scared of the mascot suits? My parents went to Disney World back in the 90s and my mum said all the kids they saw there were screaming blue murder whenever they saw the costumed characters.

 

[Some JERK]

One of the girls running the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad slipped me her phone number. How much (if any) trouble was she risking by doing that? (I want to know exactly how much of an asshole I am for never calling her.)

Also, how come Tomorowland smells like trash every day at around 6pm?

 

[omori]

Also why does the area between Pirates and Adventureland always smell like an open sewer?

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Did anything else happen during the Thunder Mountain accident incident, or is everything basically known about it, no dirty secrets covered up or whatnot?

 

[Darndirty]

How prevalent is the rumour that walts body is hidden somewhere on the grounds.? Do they sacrifice jews to him to keep him preserved?

 

[XYZpdq]

Is the Pirates over there haunted like WDW's Pirates?

 

[LogicBeetch]

Oh boy. I'm a massive Disney Parks sperg so I apologize in advance for dogging you with questions.

Any personal horror stories? Favorite ride/aspect in the parks? Backstage secrets (within reason)? Opinion on the closing of ToT?

Personally, I'm really bummed they're closing ToT in California Adventure. The reasons are BS. That ride was one of the only "dark" rides in that park.
Personal horror stories are divided into many sub-categories: Worst guest, grossest things I've seen, etc.,.
Backstage secrets? Depends on the park. I've worked in two pretty consistently and one sparingly as a trainer. I think most people know about the Utilidors - (large tunnels under the surface that connect the park and transport food/goods/people out of site). Let me think on that.

Dog away. Specific is better.

 

[Jason Genova]

I worked at Disneyland (in California) from @1991 to 1994 as a part timer.

holy fucking shit you're old as dirt

 

[LogicBeetch]

do people really cum in the mascot suits?

I can't speak for every suit or every employee ever. However, it would be damn near impossible to, um, pleasure yourself in 90% of the suits. Usually, your hands are sort of unable to be used in a way that would lead to any discharge of your weapon. Also, some of the suits have internal structures that would make it really uncomfortable. Now, what I've seen more than enough is when someone fucking sneezes or barfs/intestinal leakage in the suit. In the 90's, it was NOT uncommon to see questionable stains and you could either report them, which the person who made the mess should've done immediately, or write up a cleaning request yourself. What some people may not know is that the suits vary depending on what activity you'll be doing and although there aren't as many mascot suits as you might imagine, there are different suits for different purposes of the same character. There's a full time crew of cleaners and seamstresses now (I believe).

Did you ever tap one of the girls portraying Snow White?

Nope.

Are children really scared of the mascot suits? My parents went to Disney World back in the 90s and my mum said all the kids they saw there were screaming blue murder whenever they saw the costumed characters.

Some kids WIG when they see certain characters. Mickey and Minnie are fucking terrifying for some kids. I mean, he's a six foot tall rat that doesn't speak (Usually). If you're two feet tall, most of the fur or mascots can be quite scary. The one or two characters that never seemed to inspire fear were Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. I can count on one hand the number of times I saw a kid cower in fear for those two.

One of the girls running the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad slipped me her phone number. How much (if any) trouble was she risking by doing that? (I want to know exactly how much of an asshole I am for never calling her.)


Also, how come Tomorowland smells like trash every day at around 6pm?

Depends on when it was. In general, that's against policy and you could get a point (point system works by giving you points for violating policy, once you hit a certain number, you get warnings/fired). If she was the lead on the ride, or had sympathetic coworkers, it probably didn't get her in trouble. Honestly, there are guests that will just not leave you alone until you give them a number! In the past, we'd give them the Disney company's HR number, lol, or some other random number. With cell phones, they'd always ask if they could text you or get your number and THAT was a huge no no.

Tomorrowland and 6pm? Hmm. What some people don't realize is that, since the late 90's redo, almost all of the plants in TL are edible. Occasionally, we'd catch whiffs of cabbage or brocollini and it's pretty powerful. Other than that, the only thing I can imagine is that there used to be a set of garbage cans behind Rocket Rods Pizza/Space Mountain that got ripe in the evening.

Also why does the area between Pirates and Adventureland always smell like an open sewer?

In Disneyland it's because that's essentially what the water is, to put it bluntly. Rivers of America, Castle Moats, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and all the water by Big Thunder are run through the same system. It's the worst water in the park because it's the most exposed and it's not chlorinated. It got worse when they started Fantasmic because they pump an oily substance into it three times a day to set the water on fire. But, if you've ever looked behind Big Thunder, that water is NASTY! Add in people throwing shit (and occasionally vomit) in it all day and it's kinda' vile. I don't think they do it anymore: but, for several years , there was a pre-opening contest between rides/crews where you had to paddle the RoA in a race for park supremacy and the joke was that falling in was taking a bath in the Ganges.

 

[Flame the Sunbird]

What's the grossest thing you ever saw happen there?

Edit to add: Cool tidbit about the edible plants! Was that because of kids eating the plants and getting sick?

 

[LagoonaBlue]

Why aren't adults allowed into the parks in fancy dress/cosplay?

 

[LogicBeetch]

Did anything else happen during the Thunder Mountain accident incident, or is everything basically known about it, no dirty secrets covered up or whatnot?

There are some websites where you can read the actual reports from OSHA and Ride Safety on that incident and they're comprehensive and factual. Obviously, if there was a cover up, no one knows but I'm pretty certain that the blame was put on the right people. The park was struggling with mechanics at the time. There just weren't enough and the tag system was easily at fault. As for the ride operators, I don't think they could've known that was about to happen except for the claim that one of them had noted an odd noise and you could argue that they should've pulled the train off until they knew what the alleged noise was. The failure was, in some ways, a freakish accident. Had the rod not hit the track on an uphill section, it wouldn't have vaulted the locomotive into the roof, crushing the next car. Any other section and you might've had some minor injuries. It also happened out of site of the public which, I think, made it more prone to speculation. The reality is that every ride has millions of moving pieces and then you add human error and guest error and I'd say we should be surprised there aren't MORE issues. The Disney company is pretty on the ball with repairs and shutting down rides if there's even the suggestion of a problem. Other parks aren't as careful.

How prevalent is the rumour that walts body is hidden somewhere on the grounds.? Do they sacrifice jews to him to keep him preserved?

It's pretty prevalent but it's just that- a rumor. Walt's body is not on the property. Sadly, there ARE people who try to bring cremains in for a stealth dump and it's pretty nasty.

Is the Pirates over there haunted like WDW's Pirates?

No. It has a different track layout/float layout. The stories are similar but WDW's is a touch larger and has two drops (?) as opposed to the one in DL. Personally, I love the fact that you can see Blue Bayou Restaurant on the original Pirates.

 

[Shokew]

How bad are the food prices there? Are they worse than Six Flags?

Also, about that water system issue... Is something being done about it? If not, that's one more reason for me not to go there, besides the high costs of everything...

 

[LogicBeetch]

Last round for this morning...

What's the grossest thing you ever saw happen there?

Edit to add: Cool tidbit about the edible plants! Was that because of kids eating the plants and getting sick?

Grossest? I saw the aftermath of this family that had some stomach bug and were stuck on Small World for twenty minutes. The boat ahead of them and behind them were gagging because of the odor. It was foul.

Why aren't adults allowed into the parks in fancy dress/cosplay?

It's a matter of employees being instantly recognizable. You don't want a pedophile dressed up as, say, Winnie the Pooh dressing up and using the opportunity to get close to kids for pictures and such. You don't want to take that liability for a family from Iowa who thinks YOU are employed with the park and, therefore, fall under the policies of the park with regard to behavior. Costumes can also become an issue on rides and just walking through the park safely. When Disney suits go out, they are always with a cast member attendant who guides them through because it's really easy to get the costume caught on something or not notice the pavement changing and causing a fall. There's also a point where they start drawing so much attention that it's disruptive. You CAN go dressed up for some of the Halloween festivities.

 

[LogicBeetch]

What's the grossest thing you ever saw happen there?

Edit to add: Cool tidbit about the edible plants! Was that because of kids eating the plants and getting sick?

No. It was part of the campaign to make TL an example of what you can do with agriculture in your home life. Growing your own food on a small scale could also be decorative. For a while, they were using some of the basil and other herbs growing in the Park food. You can still grab tangerines and stuff if you're there at the right time, although the grounds keeper is pretty good about getting everything ripe off the trees/vines before guest entry.

 

[XYZpdq]

No. It has a different track layout/float layout. The stories are similar but WDW's is a touch larger and has two drops (?) as opposed to the one in DL. Personally, I love the fact that you can see Blue Bayou Restaurant on the original Pirates.

I don't think WDW Pirate's ghost is because of track layout, I think it was supposed to be some contractor that died during construction, so now you have to say good morning to him if you're on the early shift or else he makes the ride break down more than usual.