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Light/Bite/Blight/Height/Sight (continued)
My New Disneyland CM Book
(Here's a link to the end of today's post if you've already read about
my latest book.)
Just in time for the holidays, my new book about my Cast
Member experiences at Disneyland has come back from the printer
and is now for sale. The cover art wasn’t ready in time, so this
book should be considered a preview version (and is labeled as
such).
Over the course of fifteen years, I worked in three different
locations, while taking a couple of years off here and there
during that interval. As you might imagine, I saw a lot of
history in that amount of time, even as a front-line CM. My
history stretches from 1987 to 2002, a long enough time that I
knew even while living those memories that they should be
recorded.
That silver Mickey was created by Disneyland's Entertainment
Art department.
By way of introducing the book, let me simply present the
chapters and provide a brief synopsis of each one:
Welcome to the Disneyland Cast!
This is the story of interviewing and hiring in, and the orientation
programs back in 1987. You'll also read about job types and benefits for
each type.
Me (on the right) in 1987.
Studying at the Disney University
This chapter provides specifics on 'continuing education' courses
offered at the Disney University, like Lead Development, Guest
Complaints for Leads, Performance Appraisals for Leads, and We Create
Happiness.
We Are Family
Disneyland did an awful lot of community building. Read my accounts
of canoe races, Disney Family Christmas Parties, Backstage Magic, Cast
Blast, Working Lead Appreciation Events, Distinguished Service Award
Banquets, Minnie's Moonlit Madness, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Spirit Award
pins, tours of WDI and the Disney Studios, Flashback, and, since this is
a chapter about family, that omnipresent visitor Arthur Holmson.
A cake in 1994, for my first parting with the company.
The Happiest Backstage on Earth
Follow along on a verbal tour of the entire Disneyland backstage,
going behind the berm, into the tunnels and underground areas, and
circle all the way around the back, passing by maintenance buildings of
all stripes.
Innovation and Reinvention
A front-line CM has the ability to suggest ways to improve the
workplace around him; these are some of my suggestions. Some were
approved; others not. You'll also read about the creation of the Fantasmic Dessert Balcony.
We're Not Carrots!
A definition and description of my department called New Orleans
Restaurants. See what it's like to work in the Blue Bayou, in the CM
cafeteria, in the cavernous food prep kitchen downstairs, or in the
steaming dishroom with an SUV-sized dish machine.
Some Enchanted Evening
Enchanted Evenings were private parties restricted to just one land,
with lavish decorations and special menus. From the private opening of
Toontown to Liz Taylor's gala 60th birthday party in
Fantasyland, I share my observations and experiences.
The Lead costume in 1990.
Maggots, Fires, and Falling Elevators
Stories of mishaps are universal to any workplace, but somehow they
are just more fun when they take place at Disneyland. To the stories
mentioned in the chapter title, I could add stories of falling stacks of
trays, CMs stealing money, bomb threats, and even the CM with the most
Guest complaints in our location.
Stupid Guest Tricks
From lost kids to strange Guest complaints, this section tackles the
unusual interactions with the visitors. Don't miss my strange series of
things that fell from the sky: bird poop, bones, berries, and
wristwatches seem to materialize with no warning. And no accounting of
guest tricks would be complete without the requisite clam chowder fight.
Boys Will Be Boys
What could be more fun than a chapter dedicated to listing the ways
people goof off while at work? There's playfulness with the cashcart,
horseplay (some of it involving the Mouse-O-Rail), last day pranks, and
some roaming around in off-limits backstage areas.
Raging Hormones
Attraction, infatuation, and even stalking occurs at Disneyland too.
Hook-ups were so prevalent, I created a 'kissing web' to chart who was
kissing whom, and it was astonishing to see just how connected the
department was. Hear also about the places people would retreat to for
some time alone, often just steps away from the Guests.
I folded and painted an awful lot of ribbons.
The Disneyland Ninjas
This is the chapter on Entertainment Art, with the cavernous
warehouse of props located off-property and the constant placing and
removing of decorations onstage. Almost every story here is fun and
fascinating in its own right, but two in particular stand out: crafting
many of the decorations you see in the Haunted Mansion Holiday (that is
MY name on the naughty/nice list in the snake's mouth, 17 names down
from the top), and being inside a fully deserted Disneyland at noon on
September 11, 2001.
The shadows tell the story: this is the middle of the day,
with no one around.
Escaping the Mouse Trap
From goodbye parties on the last day of work, to young people who die
during their days as a CM (and the big funerals that result), all of us
escape the mouse trap eventually. Not that we ever escape mentally.
Bonus Chapter: A Day as a Cafe Orleans Lead
More than you ever wanted to know: a detailed accounting throughout
the day of just what a restaurant Working Lead does. If you ever wanted
a perspective on all it takes to make Disneyland eateries function, this
is the chapter for you.
With the exception of the chapter on EntArt, all of these stories relate
Disneyland life from the perspective of my restaurants, and doesn't try to
present a holistic view of all of Disneyland. After all, I didn't work in those
locations and didn't live those experiences. Not that my memories are unique. I
have no doubt there are thousands of DL CMs out there, current and former, who
have equally interesting memories, and I hope some of them publish their
stories, too.
Behind the Indian Village.
With the exception of the chapter on EntArt, all of these
stories relate Disneyland life from the perspective of my
restaurants, and doesn’t try to present a holistic view of all
of Disneyland. After all, I didn’t work in those locations and
didn’t live those experiences. Not that my memories are unique.
I have no doubt there are thousands of DL CMs out there, current
and former, who have equally interesting memories, and I hope
some of them publish their stories, too.
At 200 pages, the book relates my stories in enough detail to
provide a ‘you are there’ feel, but tries to move quickly to the
next topic, not lingering overly long on any one memory. I tried
to keep the audience in mind as I wrote this, stripping out the
parts that are presumably only interesting to me (the crass term
for self-absorbed writing is ‘literary masturbation’). The
result is hopefully a snappy, breezy read that paints a picture
of how dynamic life as a CM is, how fun it can be, and how much
a sense of family it engendered, at least in my case.
Act quickly!
The text of the book has been ready for some time, but the
cover art wasn’t. If I had waited for the cover art, the book
wouldn’t be back from the printer until Christmas (or very
nearly so). Thus, I printed a ‘preview edition’ of the book with
its own cover artwork, restricting the print run to just 1,000
copies.
To further sweeten the pot, I included the bonus chapter (A
Day as a Cafe Orleans Lead) that won’t be in the final release
of the book. Also, the book’s price ($17.99) has been reduced for the
preview edition to just $14.95.
Since it’s Christmas, I’m
charging a mere five cents for shipping and handling, so for an
even $15, you get the book sent to you (Florida residents must
pay $16 to account for state
tax). Obviously, this offer is only good while supplies last and
for a limited time.
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All domestic orders
(except Florida), click
below to pay by PayPal:
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For orders to Florida,
click below to pay
by PayPal:
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For international orders, contact
[email protected]
directly for information on how to order.
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Once the regular cover art is finished and the book is reprinted, it will
eventually be sold at Amazon and possibly bricks-and-mortar retailers as well,
but that won't start until at least January and will be at the regular price of
$17.99.
No matter how you get your hands on it, I hope you have a chance to read the
book and share in the stories. My Disneyland story was simply too rich an
experience to keep to myself. My fondest wish, of course, is that others seize
the opportunity to also share their memories. Then we all win.
Editor's Note: I don't think you will ever find as informative and
sincere a book about working at the happiest place on earth. I'm sure you
will learn all sorts of new tidbits about Disneyland just as I did. - Al
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