The Wonders of Prius

I drove around Orange County quite a bit yesterday, and by the time I got to work it was definitely time to fill-up before the "empty" light flickered on. So after completing my shift in the Magic Kingdom, I hopped in my car and drove down the road a few minutes to get to Arco. The usual routine ensued: pull-up, get out, select payment, pump gas. My car isn't huge, but the tank holds about thirteen gallons, so fill-up usually takes a few minutes.

When the tank was about half full, a Prius (it was powder blue, by the way) drove up and stopped at the other side of the pump. The driver got out and begin pumping gas just as I was. I didn't think anything of it until I pulled out the nozzle when the tank was full. Two seconds after I did that, Mr. Prius pulled out his nozzle and screwed the cap back on, filling up his vehicle in half the time it took me to fill up mine.

Oh, and he got out of the gas station and back onto the street first.

Go figure.

T.H. Excellence

Laid-Back Summertime PhotoBlog

Looking back over my photo archives, I discovered a few shots I haven't posted that, in my opinion turned out pretty well! These were all taken when I was out and about enjoying myself, so if there's a category for these pics, it's "laid-back summertime".


This isn't a great picture, but it helps set the mood.



Strangely enough, I was trying to photograph something else when I took this shot. I happened to look down at these leaves and release the shutter, and upon further examination discovered I had a pretty good picture on my hands. So I adjusted a few settings and took the pic again, quickly forgetting all about the photo I had set out to capture in the first place.




To end, here's a shot of a baseball that very conveniently happened to be lying in the grass. Turned out really nicely, actually.

Okay, that's all for today. Stay tuned for more posts, and keep commenting!
T.H. Excellence

Feed the Birds

One of my favorite positions as a guest control cast member is patrolling the bridge that marks the entrance to Frontierland. Foot traffic is pretty light until the fireworks let out, so I spend most of the evening answering guest questions and enjoying the sights and sounds of the park as the sun sets for the day. The other night, a woman came up to me and asked if it was all right for her young son to feed the ducks. "Perfectly fine," I replied, and the family spent the next five minutes on the bridge as popcorn and pieces of bread were tossed into the water. The ducks swam all around, trying to eat everything before it sank, and soon a small crowd of five or six people had gathered to watch the antics below them.

"It's quite amazing," thought I, "and also quite wonderful that among such world-class amusements such as Space Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean some people would still take a few minutes to enjoy the simple pleasure of feeding the ducks."

T.H. Excellence

Three "E" Ticket Rides

In 1958, three years after the grand opening of his renowned Disneyland, Walt made a trip to Europe for work on his new feature Third Man on the Mountain. Over the course of the trip, he became inspired to build three new attractions based on Switzerland's Matterhorn, Alweg's monorail, and Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which the Disney studios had adapted into a live action film a few years prior. Returning from the trip, Walt excitedly told his brother Roy of these new adventures he wanted to build in Disneyland, but was promptly shut down. As successful as the new park had been, the Disney Co. still had quite a bit of debt to pay off, and Roy refused to consider any new expensive attractions until they were debt free.

However, Walt's tenacity wouldn't let him take "no" for an answer. Some time later, Roy went to Europe for discussions with potential investors and Walt called a meeting together with his Imagineers to make an announcement. "We're going to build the Matterhorn, the Monorail, and the Submarines," he told them enthusiastically. The announcement caught the Imagineers off-guard. They all knew Roy would never agree to finance Walt's ideas as long as the company was still in the red. "What will Roy say?" they asked. "We're just going to build 'em," Walt replied. "Roy can figure out how to pay for 'em when he gets back."

And so per Walt's orders, work began and three new classic Disneyland attractions were born, each one unique in its own right. No one had ever tried to build a roller coaster inside an artificial mountain before, and to top that, Walt's Matterhorn "bobsleds" were the first coaster vehicles to run on tubular steel track, which revolutionized the roller coaster industry. And of course, nothing like the Submarine Voyage had ever been attempted before. For the first time, guests were taken underwater as they sailed pasted coral reefs, sunken ships, and even the lost ruins of Atlantis, all without leaving the borders of Tomorrowland. Finally, the Disneyland Monorail was the first of its kind on the western hemisphere. Walt hoped that the introduction of the monorail to his park would lead to a new widespread method of transportation that would relieve the traffic congestion of metropolitan areas.


On June 14th, 1959, a huge gala celebration was held to commemorate these spectacular new attractions, and Walt considered the event the "second opening of Disneyland". Vice president Richard Nixon and family were on hand for the ribbon cutting of the Disneyland Monorail while Walt's submarines were christened the eighth largest submarine fleet in the world. Across the way, alpine climbers scaled the Matterhorn to its peak while Swiss dancers performed below. The entire celebration was televised by the American Broadcasting Company, allowing viewers from around the country to enjoy the excitement that surrounded the festivities.


In addition to these three new adventures, June 14th also marked the introduction of the E-ticket. When Disneyland first opened, all the attractions required a specific ticket for admission. Smaller rides took an "A" ticket, while bigger adventures such as the Jungle Cruise required a "D" ticket, with "B" and "C" tickets in between. When the Matterhorn, monorail, and submarines debuted, they were deemed worthy of a new ticket, the "E" ticket. The term became renowned both inside and outside of Disneyland and is used to this day to describe the biggest and the best that Disneyland has to offer, even though the admission tickets were discontinued in the 1980's.

The Matterhorn and the Disneyland Monorail have both continued to serve happy guests ever since that exciting summer of 1959. The Submarine Voyage also continuously operated until 1998, at which point the subs "submerged" into Disney history until resurfacing in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. And, as always, Disneyland fans continue to describe Disney's best experiences as classic "E" ticket adventures! There is no doubt about it - June 14th is certainly a day to remember in Disneyland history!

T.H. Excellence

All photographs copyright the Walt Disney Company.

Reflections of a Cast Member

A few months ago a friend and I were discussing Disneyland and she asked me whether I preferred being in the park as a guest or as a cast member. I hesitated for a moment, considering each one, then replied, "Cast member. You get a really unique perspective of the park that way."

This is something I've felt ever since I started work at the Magic Kingdom. Though I've been familiar with Disneyland ever since I was a very young, something about switching roles and taking on a position I had never experienced before allowed me to see the park differently. Of course, I can't explain this without stepping back to explain a little bit about the Disney magic.

When Walt Disney built Disneyland, he created more than just an amusement park - he successfully crafted the illusion of a world entirely separate from reality. Accordingly, everything in his world was artistically assembled to uphold and maintain that illusion. The giant stone blocks that compose Indy's forbidden temple do more than just support the structure. They are an important storytelling element that informs each guest about the environment in which his next adventure is about to take place.

However, Walt created more than a lost temple in the middle of the jungle. He built Disneyland out of entire communities, such as those found in New Orleans Square or along Main Street U.S.A. Elaborate locations such as these need more than just buildings. Additional elements are in order, such as a laid-back jazz beat heard in the back alleys of New Orleans or a horse-drawn carriage faithfully making trips up and down Main Street. Finally, the illusion is not complete without one last touch: people. These places could not come to life without cast members to fill the roles of those who live, work, and breathe in this magical world.

This is the perspective I've come to understand as a Disneyland cast member. Every day when I go to work, I do much more than operate a theme park ride. I become a part of the magnificent show that Walt created over fifty years ago. The experience, of course, is absolutely fantastic, and as much as I love being a guest, it should be little surprise that I prefer being a cast member. To experience the magic of Disneyland is an incredible experience, but to be part of the magic is something even greater.
T.H. Excellence

"Disneyland is the star, everything else is in the supporting role."
~Walt Disney