Holiday Festivities

I realized that I never really talked about the holidays, except for how many hours I worked. And that made me realize that there was one really big work-related thing I never talked about: Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

First, for those of you who don't know what it is, The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is over 5 million Christmas lights set up on the Streets of America (the forced perspective of San Francisco and New York) in Hollywood Studios. They turn on each night around 6pm and stay on till an hour after the park closes. Every 5 to 10 minutes, they "dance" to the music. It really is extraordinary.

Now, for a little background. Jennings Osborne loved Christmas, and loved his family even more. One year, his little daughter asked Jennings to decorate the house with Christmas lights. This he did. Each and every year, he would decorate the house with as many lights as he possibly could. And it would grow and grow each year. People started coming to see the lights until his neighbors got upset for all the traffic and noise. So Jennings, instead of toning it down, bought his neighbors' houses on either side of his house and began decorating their houses too. This attracted even more people. Eventually, the other neighbors got upset and took him to court. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court where it was ruled that Jennings would have to quite setting up his display. At this point, Disney took over. Ever since, the lights have been set up on the Streets of America. There is a giant globe that spins. There are two carousels with angels. There are two "small" Christmas trees and one large one. There are assorted scenes made out of rope light. There are over 100 angels, most of which are flying midair. And of course, since it's Disney, there are over 70 hidden Mickeys. If you ever get a chance to go to Walt Disney World in November or December, definitely check out these lights! It's entirely worth viewing!

The reason I bring this all up is because the Streets of America are in my area of the park. And of course, there need to be cast members working while the lights are on, to direct traffic and answer questions. So the attractions in my area are in charge of staffing the event each night. Which means, about three to four times a week, I would go to Toy Story in the morning, and then around 4:30, change my costume and head over to work Spectacle of Dancing Lights. They were long days, but it was super fun! Definitely one of the highlights of the season. And it actually made all the hours I worked a little more bearable as it was two different locations then, instead of just one.

A normal Spectacle shift looks something like this. 4:30-5, track talk (meeting with managers and coordinators to talk about the day), followed by setting up barricades and signs. Then we would have some free time to walk around the streets answering questions and talking to guests. At 5:45 we would have to be in positions and start redirecting traffic to help with traffic flow. This redirect would last about half the night, until it quieted down. Then we would enter a "free-flow" time where we would take the barricades down and were once again free to walk around and talk with the guests.

I have a short story that happened one day that's kinda cute, and totally nerdy. But first, a little more background. This fall, the New Fantasyland opened in the Magic Kingdom. Included in this area is a ride telling the tale of The Little Mermaid, a meet and greet area with Ariel, an immersive experience telling the tale of Beauty and the Beast. The last thing that New Fantasyland has that is open is a new restaurant called Be Our Guest. You can go in and eat lunch or dinner in the grand ballroom, or the west wing of the Beast's castle!
A little more background: at Spectacle of Dancing lights, when the lights are not "dancing," it snows! They have snow machines set up and it can actually look like a blizzard sometimes! At the Magic Kingdom, it also snows during their special Christmas events. Lastly, in the grand ballroom of Be Our Guest, it also snows outside the windows.

And now my story. While walking around one night for Spectacle of Dancing Lights before the lights were turned on, my friend Kristin and I ran into a family. A mother and her two young daughters. We were talking to them about the lights, the normal questions: what is it, when will it turn on. I don't remember if they asked, or if Kristin and I just brought it up, but we began talking about how it also snows on the Streets of America.
Here's how the rest of the conversation unfolded:

Mother: Oh it snows! Girls, where else did you see snow in Disney World?
Girls: Magic Kingdom!!!!
Mother: But where in Magic Kingdom?
Girls: in the castle!
Kristin and me: Oh, you mean Be Our Guest Restaurant in the Beast's castle?
Girls and Mother: Yes!
Kristin and me: So you visited the Beast's castle? Did you eat there?
Girls: Yes!
Me (to the girls): Did you try the grey stuff? I heard it's delicious!
Girls (quizzical looks)
Kristin (to me): They don't believe you, they should ask the dishes!
Everybody: (laughs)

Honestly, that was not planned at all. But Kristin and I are kinda nerdy like that and we play off each other quite well sometimes!

I just thought it was cute! Another example of how a little conversation can turn into a lot of magic for guests!

Happy Holidays

So, it's January 9th. The holidays are finally over. It's been a long couple of weeks. Leading up to the weeks before the holidays, we were all getting maybe 32-40 hours a week. Then the holidays started and hours went up. I was working 50-60 hours a week. I started working six days a week. Then the week of Christmas came. That week I worked all seven days, making about a 13 day stretch without a day off. I worked 80 hours that week. And then 70 hours the week after for New Year's. So you think then that the long weeks are over.

Wrong!

Right after New Year's, all of the college program kids finish their programs. The new college program kids don't start right away. So we are currently in what we call the CP-Gap. What this means is that all of the full- and part-time cast members are still working long hours. So I'm still working 50-70 hour weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I love having hours and good paychecks. But, I've not had a real break from work until right now. This is the first time I've had two days off in a row for several weeks. I'll be happy for the hours to get back to 40 in a week. I say that now, but as soon as they do, I'll want more hours again.




I received my first point on my record card. Actually, it was only half a point, for clocking in five minutes late. Normally, I start work around 8:15 or 8:30 in the morning. At this time, traffic is not bad at all since the park does not open until 9 usually. But as soon as 9 comes along, the parking plaza gets super backed up. I can usually make it to work in 20 minutes. This includes walk-time, from the moment I lock my front door to the moment I clock in at work. I usually leave 30 to 35 minutes before my shift just to give me some extra time. The other day, I strangely started at 9:45. Without thinking, I left my house at 9:15. Bad decision. The entrance to Hollywood Studios was super backed up. It took me 15 minutes alone to get from the turn-lane into the entrance to the parking spot. I did not park until 9:43, plus there is about 8 minutes of walking after that. I was so upset but oh well. It's my first notation. And it's only half a point.




I received another first the other day. It was my first Applause-o-gram. When a guest has a really great experience with a cast member, if they tell Guest Relations about it, guest relations will normally fill out an Applause-o-gram for that cast member. Here's my story:

I encountered a family around 8pm. They were a party of five: mom, dad, and three kids. The youngest, probably about 10 years old, suffered from some ailment. He was in a wheel chair and the parents explained that he is currently on chemo and medication. Because of this, they were not able to get an early start to their day. They arrived at Hollywood Studios at 1pm that day, about two hours after we had run out of fast passes. They did not have a Guest Assistance Card (which under the circumstances, they probably could have gotten). The boy really wanted to go on Toy Story. The standby wait time at 8pm was about 2 hours long. We explained that between 9pm and 10pm, the wait time would be considerably shorter. The parents responded that 2 hours was just too much to spend in line, and that they were unsure that coming back between 9pm and 10 pm would be a good option. The boy would only last about an hour longer before the meds started to kick in, the should really be leaving the park within an hour. With heavy faces, they turned and started to leave. I looked at my coordinator Jesse and stated that I feel horrible. Without hesitation, Jesse allowed me to grab the family and bring them through the fast pass line without fast passes. The family was so happy, but realized it was breaking the rules, so they only wanted to send in half of their party. I made sure the whole party was able to ride. I took them through the fast past line, got to know them a little bit while we waited. And told them that it might be an additional 20 minute wait or so. They were so very appreciative and humbled. As I walked out of the building, I almost started crying. Thirty minutes later, I was actually put in the positions where wheel chairs are loaded onto the ride. AS I got there, this family was just getting off the ride, and once again thanked me profusely. The little boy was so happy. And the parents couldn't thank me enough. Honestly, it was my pleasure. I'm happy that I got an Applause-o-gram for it. But, I would have done it regardless. The satisfaction I received from the action alone, was more than enough for me. This is why I work for Disney.