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Boo Again, Naturally

After the half-marathon, Disneyland Cast Members get less than three weeks of well-deserved rest before the crowds return for the debut of the popular HalloweenTime festivities and Haunted Mansion Holiday on September 24th. More custom Halloween decorations have been created for both Disneyland and DCA this year, and it really has turned a previously quiet time to visit the parks into another frenzy of activity and long lines.

Scariest? Prices!

Tickets for Mickey's Halloween Treat parties in DCA are going quickly, and will likely sell out entirely by the time the event begins in late September. The Halloween version of the fireworks that Steve Davison had once proposed was shelved for this year as Steve pours his energy into the Wonderful World of Color show, and TDA just spent the money on more decorations for the parks instead.

That Halloween fireworks show will arrive eventually however, as Disneyland management is still interested and Steve wants to do it. The parks will be busy from late September all the way through the monumental Christmas season this year, and the sharp pencil boys in TDA and Burbank will laugh all the way to the bank.

Dress for Success

There are some people in TDA who won't be laughing this fall however, and those are the folks who have been flouting the office dress code for the last few years. Called the "Disney Look" in all of their theme parks, Disney has clearly defined dress codes for everyone from churro salesmen to senior vice presidents. For the managers and salaried types that don't wear "costumes" the dress code is very specific and very detailed, going right down to the color of eyeshade and the number of rings on a ladies hand or the style of shirt and color of belts allowed for men.

Back in 1996 when Paul Pressler had just taken over as President of the Resort, he ditched the old dress code and went with a "Business Casual" option for nearly everyone. Of course there were many companies in the 1990's who were doing the same thing with their office dress code, and for a few years things were just fine in Anaheim. It was just one of many ways that Paul Pressler was making a break with the past at Disneyland, and at the time many people thought it was a reasonable thing to do.

But about five years ago a few TDA departments really started to go their own way and the clearly defined Business Casual standards began to be ignored. Women in TDA began wearing denim fabric, flimsy sleeveless blouses and open sandals, while men began to wear casual polo shirts and khaki pants that obviously had never met an iron. Neckties disappeared almost completely inside TDA. Some of the more fashionable TDA departments like Marketing and Entertainment even have folks with punky hairdo's and wild jewelry that would never be seen on a manager in the park. An hourly hostess would likely get sent home from her shift at Star Tours for having two-tone hair, but the same wild hairdo could be the hit of the Tuesday morning meeting in TDA.

Quick Piglet, we can escape the ride if we hurry!
Photo: David Lane

And that's primarily what is driving the decision to ditch the old 1990's business casual standards, such as they were, and return to a more traditional "Business Professional" dress code for managers and office staff. The fact that managers out in the park were trying to hold the hourly Cast Members to the stated standards while Cast Members in TDA routinely flouted those standards is what finally got the senior management in the parks fed up. It's a shame they can't just go in and sit the TDA violators down and hold them accountable to the rules that are already on the books. The managers in the parks will be required to ditch the business casual look as well, but (with a few exceptions) it won't be as big a change for them as many either still dressed up for work routinely or actually followed the Disney Look dress code in the first place.

Chic, no?
Photo: David "Darkbeer" Michael

The most noticeable violators in the parks are the artsy folks in Entertainment, or the young park supervisors who barely make enough money to pay their OC rent, let alone buy suits and ties. And the managers over at the hotels never lowered their dress code standards to begin with, so it won't mean much of anything to them. There are quite a few folks in TDA however that will need to rethink their hairdo, tone down their makeup and jewelry, and buy new more conservative work clothes this fall.


Gay Days

Speaking of special events (will the park ever again have a slow season?) the folks behind Gay Days at Disneyland are always kind enough each year to send me a press release for the event, which I like to run so readers can plan their upcoming visits accordingly:

10th annual Unofficial Gay Days at Disneyland announces their line-up for this year's event, October 5–7 at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. Ugly Betty's Ana Ortiz to host, Djs Ray Rhodes and Kimberly S. to spin, Sean Van Der Wilt and Billie Myers to perform, appearances by Alec Mapa, Jenny Shimizu, Reichen Lehmkuhl and much more announced for the annual happening.

Following last year's successful event, which attracted nearly 30,000 gays and lesbians from California and all over the country, the Gay Days at Disneyland this year will be held Friday, October 5—Sunday, October 7. Modeled after the gay days at Walt Disney World in Orlando, the Disneyland event is a "mix-in" with straight park-goers. Gays and lesbians are encouraged to wear red shirts to identify one another and show strong numbers. Official T-shirts are available at the official Gay Day at Disneyland Web site linked below.

Both days in the park will have gathering times for specific groups including gay youth (sponsored by The Trevor Project), families, women, singles, and, of course, bears. There will be scavenger hunts and a group photo inside the park. A complete schedule is available at the Web site.

The weekend opens Friday, October 5 with Wonderland, a dance party with DJ Ray Rhodes (Tiger Heat, KBIG 104.), hosted by Los Angeles drag diva Momma. Alec Mapa (Desperate Housewives) and Michele Fleury (Logo's Curl Girls) will host the VIP room. The event, which benefits The Trevor Project, runs from 9:30pm–1am at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen located in Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Saturday, October 6 will be Gay Day at Disneyland which culminates with Kingdom, the weekend's signature dance party with music from renown DJ Kimberly S. There will be special performances by Billie Myers (“Kiss the Rain”) and Sean van der Wilt as well. The party will be hosted by Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty). The event will be held at the House of Blues Anaheim in Downtown Disney from 9pm–1:30am. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Sunday, October 7 will be Gay Day at Disney's California Adventure.

Other events at the weekend include free screenings at the Gay Days Entertainment Center presented by here! (located inside the Wonder Tower of the Disneyland Hotel), where Disney/Pixar will present a special screening of their upcoming DVD Pixar Shorts, and members of the cast of here!’s Dante’s Cove including Reichen Lehmkuhl and Jenny Shimizu will attend a screening of the sow’s second season premiere on Sunday. There will also be a Gay Days Pin Trading event on Sunday at the Gay Days Info Center presented by Voce (also located inside the Wonder Tower of the Disneyland Hotel.)

One-day, single park passes are $63 for adults and $53 for children and are available at Disneyland’s entrance or from www.disneyland.com. Discounted hotel rooms and park tickets are currently offered at the link below.

Like the gay days at Walt Disney World, this is NOT a Disney-sponsored event so Disney will not have any information regarding the "unofficial" happening. Complete details about Gay Days at Disneyland are available at www.GayDaysAnaheim.com.





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Oh-kay - that should do it for today.

Again, do keep in mind updates only get posted when there is something to report on, and not before. It takes time to confirm things, and even then we can only offer a snapshot of a continually evolving story. Just like the happiest place on earth, patience is a virtue; the queue may take a while before you can enjoy the attraction. ;)

Thanks to all of your kind donations to the payboxes, we've been able to keep the bills paid. As I've said before, we're only here due to all of your efforts.

See you at Disneyland!

Al Lutz may be e-mailed at [email protected] - Please keep in mind he may not be able to respond to each note personally.

© 2007 Al Lutz


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