Disneyland - Cast Member Photos - Pirates, Thunder, Hatmosphere, New Orleans Square - Ringo Starr

Salutations, "Jungle Is 101" followers! I promised you more Disneyland cast member photos and I am now delivering.

We start with a 1980 shot from long-time Disneylander Sandi Miller, who originally shared this little number on the left. It shows Pirates of the Caribbean cast member Bernie Francis doing a "Stevie Wonder" on the harpsichord in the Cap'n's Quarters (with a row of empty Pirate launches in the background). Groovy, baby. Love the shades, Bernie!


Next, we travel a bit deeper into the Pirates (and leap ahead in time to the "modern" era), and find ourselves with many more "wenches" to choose from than normal. [Thanks to Jose Gracia for originally sharing this photo on the left]. We're not sure how those Disneyland Railroad ladies go into this predicament---though the Frontierland station is not too far from here.




Moving over to Frontierland, we find that Ryan Batcheller is joining a quadrupedal friend in consuming a little TNT roughage. Talk about setting yourself up for a nasty episode of explosive diarrhea! Further proof that Disney employees have way too much time (and fun) on their hands when an attraction breaks down. [Our thanks to Ryan for originally sharing this picture].





Next we will bounce back in time (to the 1970s) and over to New Orleans Square, where a familiar member of the Beatles is partaking of a VIP guided tour (thanks to the lovely and talented Linda Allan - who also supplied the photo). Love the hat, Ringo---did Yoko make it for you? Looks like one of her "art" pieces. Even better is the outfit on the guy in front of the Blue Bayou. He stepped right out of Central Casting for the role of "1970s Male."



Let us say goodbye today by taking a look at the farewell photo of the Hatmosphere over in Tomorrowland. This picture shows the last day of this merchandise location (it was demolished the day after this photo was taken)---and the members of its final crew of cast members. I imagine this was not long after the Skyway had ceased operations overhead. [Thank you to Carlos Porras for sharing this picture]. What color were those costumes???

Besides, perhaps, the Vice Presidency, what other job in the world allows you to dress up in a costume every day, occasionally meet celebrities, chew dynamite and play in a haunted Pirates' cave?



The few.
The proud.
The Disneyland cast members.
We do less all day than most people do by 7:00 a.m.

I'm not sure if that's the exact slogan, but---you get the picture...

If you enjoyed today's post, my name is Mike and this is the Jungle Cruise.
If not, my name is Nancy and this is the Storybookland Canal Boats!
Have a wonderful day in this happy and magical place we like to call...

...Work.

Disneyland - Status Report - Yesterday - Plaza Pavillion Rebirth

Hi Ho, Everyone! Just back from the Park after a busy week that kept me from posting. Bad Mike!

Yesterday was a busy day at Disneyland with an estimated 55,000 or so guests enjoying HalloweenTime. We had some strong winds toward the late afternoon and throughout the evening. The wind was strong enough to blow out one of the gas torches at the entrance to the Tiki Room. Indeed, if there still were a Skyway attraction, it would have been shut down.

Over at the Jungle Cruise, things were hopping during the early afternoon! The queue was long enough that the upstairs queue area was opened and filled with guests. It warms this old skipper's heart to see that the attraction can still pack 'em in after all these years. Even at its longest, the line rarely takes more than 15-20 minutes to get through, since experienced boat loaders can get about 40-45 people per boat (not including lap-sitters). This makes the line progress well.

The Park looks nice with its HalloweenTime decorations. Mickey and Minnie were actually quite dapper when I saw them on Main Street just north of the Mad Hatter shop. Minnie sported a purple witch's hat and matching dress. Her beaux, of course, matched her, with a nice purple coat and a smart top hat. As always, the guests were anxious to say hello to them.

Plaza Pavillion is in the midst of a rehab. Its kitchen is being updated so that it may soon be serving food once again! This is cheerful news. More importantly...could this new kitchen also be used for a Tahitian Terrace restaurant facility??? Stay tuned Adventurers and Adventurettes! If you follow this blog at all, you'll know we're kinda partial to the old Tahitian Terrace around here and it is terribly missed.

Now I'm not saying it is coming back, but the chances have gone up slightly with the attention being given to the Plaza Pavillion kitchen. So there.

And, finally, speaking of rehabs, I can only imagine what the heck is going on with the Small World. Let us keep our collective fingers crossed that this beloved attraction remains as true to the original as possible when it reopens.

Well, I am outta here for now. I'll try and get you all some new cast member photos this week!

--Mike

Today we dig up an illustration of yesterday's "C-Ticket" reference to the Adventureland Shooting Gallery. I give you an actual photograph of the "Business End" of the gallery. Disney chained the guns down so that guests couldn't turn around and start picking off skippers over at the Jungle Cruise across the way. Those wood-stocked rifles were serious business. They felt good on the shoulder, but the BBs wouldn't always go where you were aimed them.

I miss the nonstop patter of BBs against the back wall and the sounds of the rifles discharging. There is no way this attraction could ever fly in today's Disneyland---too much maintenance, too many BBs, way too many chances for injuries from ricochets, too noisy and it would require more staffing.

Too bad, it sure fit Adventureland's theme!

Bang!

Disneyland - "C" Ticket Attractions - The Westside Diner (the "Pit")

Today we stray from the 1980s back a bit and into the 1970s.

Consider, if you will, the lowly "C-Ticket" and its attractions---forced to live in the shadow of "E-Ticket" attractions like Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Only the older timers will remember that a "C" would have gained you a round at the Big Game Shooting Gallery in Adventureland. This was quite the shooting gallery, too, with none of this electronic eye stuff of today. I'm talking live BB ammo here! It was plenty loud, too!

Can you believe the Autopia only rated a "C"? Of course, this was the Tomorrowland Autopia. Fantasyland's was way better.

C-Tickets paved your way through Fantasyland, however, allowing you to ride attractions from Peter Pan to the Fantasyland Theatre. I loved the Theatre. It was a welcome, cool spot to mellow out on a hot, crowded day. You could take in some fabulous old Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony classics! It has since gone the way of the Dodo (and the Skyway, for that matter).

And over in Frontierland, there was no way to board a Keel Boat without a C-Ticket. Rather sad, is it not, that the Gullywhumper served honorably for many, many years---only to end up a rotting prop along the Rivers of America?

Vintage Disneyland Tickets could tell you all you want to know about ticket books (check out Vintage's blog over on the sidebar).

I'll finish today with a mention of the Cast Member dining location beneath the Pirates over in New Orleans Square: The Westside Diner. A friend of mine dined there recently, enjoying a turkey meatloaf entree, with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Mmm. This dining location has for years been known as "The Pit" by cast members. It is in the bowels of New Orleans. And, oddly enough, it was famous for getting one's bowels moving.

But that's another story entirely.

Currently, the Westside Diner is most easily accessed by walking through the Indy queue, through some double doors in the back stage area and down a long ramp. As I understand it, it is actually much brighter and inviting than it was in the 1980s---when one-eyed, hunch-backed cast members in scraggly hair nets manned its steamy kitchen. Today, they have both of their eyes (but they work for Sodexo, not Disney) and there are flat panel TVs adorning the walls.

During the course of a long shift, a visit to "The Pit" was a unique experience, if nothing else. It was a change from the Inn Between (and a necessity for most "West Siders" who didn't have time to bolt to Main Street and back for their lunch break). It was kinda cool to know that you were eating underground, like a rodent or something.

I bid you adieu for today, having scrapped together this post with two of my remaining three brain cells. As I review it now, I see that it reads a bit like a railway time schedule, only without all the drama and emotion.

What do you "Jungle" readers expect? Jacques Maritain?

C'est la vie.

--Mike

Disneyland - Cast Member Photos - Autopia, Old and New

Today's post is, thankfully, brief. We explore anew the unique (unpaid) benefits of being a Disneyland cast member.

Working there is great because:

A. There's always plenty to drink.







B. Sometimes you get to DRIVE! (Or at least help a dead guy to steer). [Thanks to Bruce Nelson and "Molly" for originally supplying this picture].















C. You get paid HUGE, PILES OF MONEY (or at least get to stand by a dead guy in a pile of loot). [Thanks to Bruce Nelson for originally supplying this picture].













D. The Autopia cars are just so darn colorful---what's not too love!

Oops. Sorry, they got rid of the colorful ones on the right (from 1984)...and replaced them with...









...these.

Nice.

Disneyland - Jungle Cruise - What Would It Be Like?

If you've never skippered a Jungle boat, you don't know what it's like to miss the Jungle. Some old skippers might not give it much thought, but I'd say the majority of us get a pang inside every so often.

You think back to the happy shifts---jumping into your assigned boat, pushing the throttle forward, throwing it into reverse as you reached the "load" area of the dock; Idling while guests entered. Spieling into your microphone; Taking it all in as you surveyed your latest crew; Teasing your fellow cast members over the PA as they loaded the boat; and then throwing the throttle forward with "Hit it, skip!" Off into the Jungle, just you and your crew.

Those days seem pretty real---even as memories today. I guess because they were each different, but very much the same. Each crew brought new faces, but the scenery remained the same. You'd mix up your spiel, but the core elements had to stay. The routine burned the experience into a deep part of your consciousness. Disney has a way of doing that to people, I guess.

What would it be like to return as a cast member today?

Things are somewhat different, but deliciously the same at the World Famous Jungle Cruise. The dock is a little different, but actually a bit improved from its past iteration. There are female skippers now, but they seem to fit right in with the guys. The Jungle is its own family. Adventure/Frontier Attractions is its own little community within the grander community of Disneyland itself.

The job is still fun.
Oh, to grab the mike and throttle just one more time.
To don that name tag and costume and walk through Adventureland.
I think it would still be pretty cool.
I know it would be enjoyable.
Maybe.
Someday.

Until then, we old skippers blessed with good memories have plenty of loops around the Jungle to fall back on!

Well, I'm off like a dirty t-shirt, so---wave goodbye to the folks on the dock! Make it look like you're having fun! You'll never see them again...

--Mike

Disneyland - Beats A Global Economic Collapse!

The financial news of the past year---particularly these past few weeks---is enough to make you want to stop blogging, dive into bed and pull the covers over your head.

But since it was getting hot under there,
I decided to zip out a post to all four (4) of you fabulous readers of Jungle is "101" (Hi, Mom!).

Here goes.

I'm not saying the economy is bad, but for the first time in our lifetime the Disney parks are offering free admission next year to each of us on our birthday.

With today's admission prices, what is that, a $400 value?
[I engage in hyperbole here, so don't go wacky on me and deluge my in box with emails about the REAL current admission price for adults (one day, no Park Hopper)].

The Bank of Main Street was recently taken over by the Federal Reserve.

Minnie's house in Toontown has a lockbox on the front door and a foreclosure notice written in crayon.

Chip & Dale's tree house property has been vacant for about three years---which is no big loss to the Toontown real estate market because there's nothing to see in there anyway.

Sleeping Beauty apparently just received a notice that the equity line on the castle has been shut off by her bank.

Is there a silver lining?

Will this downturn mean less folks at the Park?

Chances are good that there will be a lot more room, however, the locals may flock there to escape the drudgery and fears generated by the wonderful state of our economy.

In the last Great Depression, people spent their money to go to the movies in record numbers in order to escape the drab darkness of everyday life.

Will Disney theme parks become more popular escape mechanisms than they are already?

We shall see.

The parks are still pretty expensive, even if you hold a valid annual pass. Unless you pack a lunch and drinks for your whole crew, the food prices alone are going to drag you down.

Still, nothing says, "Hey it's okay that we lost the house and now have to live in our SUV!" like a walk down Main Street or a Matterhorn bobsled run.

I'll end with this:

Global economic collapse??

I'm going to Disneyland!

Pax vobiscum

--Mike

Disneyland - Resurrection, A Recurring Theme

As you drift through a day at a Disney theme park, it probably never jumps to the forefront of your consciousness that you are repeatedly encountering metaphors of renewal and resurrection in most of the attractions you enter.

What?
What the heck am I saying?
Was that first sentence even mildly comprehensible?

Here's the deal:
You start with a sunny day enjoying yourself at Disneyland, Disney World, etc.
You decide to go on an attraction---let's pick the most obvious one, the Haunted Mansion.
As you enter the darkened foyer, the sunny day dims behind you. You are "dying." Indeed, before you know it, you are in a chamber with no windows and no doors (sounds kinda like a tomb or a coffin--gulp!). There's no way out except the famous "My Way" of our disembodied spirit host.
Lightning fills the chamber and then total darkness. For a moment, you are in the abyss---separated from your fellow guests and alone in the black.
As the lights come dimly up, the doors slide open and you are presented with a corridor. A corridor you must walk down. An endless storm clatters and blows outside the windows, and the paintings on the wall of the corridor graphically flash images of the speedy deterioration of flesh and earthly things.
Soul-less statues mechanically follow your movements with sightless eyes. You step aboard your "Doom Buggy" and fantastic otherworldly sights play out before you.
When you disembark in a dark corridor, you step onto a moving walkway ramp and are pulled upward toward "the light." As a ghostly woman beckons you to "Hurry Back," you turn a corner and literally walk from the door of a tomb and back into the bright sunshine of the world of the living.
As a child, I recall the wave of relief and the spark of joy inside me as I saw that I had made it through the darkness of the Mansion and back to the warm sun.
This "light-to-darkness-to-underworld-visions-to rising-to-return-to-light" drama plays out in many of Disney's most popular attractions.

Take the Pirates of the Caribbean: sunlight--murky swamp--a death's head warns "there be squalls ahead" and "dead men tell no tales"---a plummet down a waterfall into darkness---another waterfall---skeletons in a cave-like underworld---marauding invaders of a darkened seaport---fire, flames---a stony prison of iron bars---and then you rise up, up toward the light. As you exit the attraction, the sunlight from New Orleans Square almost blinds you, along with the upbeat pirate music.

Or next take Indiana Jones: sunlight--long dark corridor--enter your vehicle--see the eye of a deity--plunge into darkness--skeletons aplenty and snakes (why did it have to be snakes?)--fire and flames (is this hell?)--a boulder threatens to crush you into nothingness---a flash of light---more darkness--it is finished. You exit your vehicle and walk back up out of the darkness and return to the light---adrenaline pumping. (Thanks to disneylandcompendium for posting the Mara photo from Indy).

There are other examples, some more obvious than others: Snow White, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (come on, we get hit by a train and literally drive through Hades---how's that for a kiddie ride?), Pinocchio (bad boys on Pleasure Island find out the hard way that blind pursuit of pleasure aint all it's cracked up to be, and Monstro is a living, breathing metaphor for death swallowing us up; an angel--in the form of the Blue Fairy--brings us back to life and it's back out into the sunshine again!), Alice in Wonderland (down a dark hole into a bizarre fantasy world and then back up and out into the day), and even Star Tours and Space Mountain (if you'll be kind enough to indulge a little poetic license with these two--still, on each of these attractions you go on a wild journey into dark space and then return to life and reality).

This concludes today's study in Adventureland eschatology. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We apologize in advance for Mike's sometimes meandering posts and random thought processes. We are aware of the problem and are working diligently to address it. We appreciate your patience and thank you for your continued patronage despite these occasional digressions into La La Land.]

Disneyland - Big Thunder

Hello Adventurers and Adventurettes!
I was out of town for a couple days, so sorry for the extreme lack of posts. For punishment, I was sent to the African Veldt and spent seven hours up a tree with a mechanical rhino beneath me.
Oh, the indignity.

Did I mention that I worked Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?
It was 1987.
I had it all.
Big brown hat.
Big klunky boots.
Vest.
Scarf.

No, it wasn't some sort of Village People disco outfit.
This was Thunder.
If there's a close second to Jungle Cruise as far as fun jobs at Disneyland, it's BTMRR ("Big Thunder Moutain Railroad").
The crew there had a blast. We loaded and dispatched trains. We stood at the entrance and rejected kids that were too short.
We walked guests off the mountain during breakdowns.
We goofed around on the intercom.

You get the drill.
By the way, you try pulling an eight hour shift in those old boots they issued for Thunder. It's a wonder I can still walk.
Anyhow, one quick BTMRR tale to close out this week.
Tale is that the folks who built the attraction were working on the part of the track known as "Spiral Butte." That's where the train enters into a circular portion of the track around and through "Spiral Butte." (See the photo---thanks to "Arizona Steve" for the picture!).

Well, they built one side of the circle and then they built the other. When the two lengths of track met about the middle of Spiral Butte, they were not perfectly aligned. Doh!
No problem. A little Disney magic and imagineering and the track was bent just a touch so that the two sections of track would meet up.

Now when you ride through Spiral Butte, long about halfways through it, at high speed, you'll feel your car shift a bit toward the outside of the turn. When your hiney jiggles at that spot, this old prospector wants you to remember how the track was bent.
Some say this is just an old dusty story from Rainbow Ridge.
I say, it's true!
After all, this here's the WILDEST ride in the Wilderness!!!

See you next week!

Capping Off Rounds At Disneyland

How many of you---postal workers and police officers excluded---get to squeeze off multiple rounds from a .38 caliber revolver during your typical work day?

Disneyland provides its Jungle Cruise skippers with this unique work experience. Each trip through the Jungle, the skipper fires two shots in order to save his crew from dreadful attack by audio-animatronic hippopotami.

The gun we used in the Jungle was a real Smith & Wesson .38 revolver. Okay, it has been modified so that no one could fit a real round into its chamber, but those plastic "blanks" we use are still mighty noisy. That's why skippers hold the gun above the canopy and shoot upward---it is a little quieter for the guests in the front of the boat.

I heard once of a "friend" who took a boat through the Jungle with a couple of obnoxious teenagers sitting up front, alternatively interrupting, heckling and often ignoring the captain. By the time he arrived at the Hippo Pool, the skipper had had enough. Instead of discharging his weapon above the canopy, he lowered it straight out, pointed toward the hippos and fired two deafening rounds---about three feet from the ears of the teenage pests.

My friend was deafened, too, from the blasts, but---(it is my understanding)---it was worth it! The teenagers kept their sassy little mouths shut for the remainder of the trip.

As we say at the World Famous Jungle Cruise:

"Ride's over. Get out."

Love,

Mike