Disneyland - "Jungle Is 101" Guest Blogger at "Babes In Disneyland"

Well, Jungle fans, today's post is actually a link to the blog "Babes In Disneyland" and a guest post I made for Lisa over there about the old Skull Rock and Captain Hook's Pirate Ship. Lisa's site is true Disney, with a good bit of "Mom" worked in. If you have small kids and are looking for some tips on how to best enjoy the Disneyland experience, you must head over to Babes in Disneyland (either the website or the blog).

True and deep Adventureland thanks go out to Lisa for her kind invitation to share some of my meandering thoughts on the Park with her many, many readers. Lisa's willingness to invite yours truly to pen a piece for her site indicates both a warm generosity and a shockingly blatant lack of editorial discretion on her part. I can only hope that her blog is able to overcome any ill-effects from me having trampled onto the site. We skippers are not known for our ability to interact with an environment without causing havoc. Heck, we shoot a hippos in their native habitat and drag boatfuls of hapless strangers into teeming jungles on a daily basis!

Sincere thanks go out to Lisa! Many happy returns to your blog and website!

---Mike

Disneyland - Long Corridors and Things Inn Between

Today we'll glance down some halls and corridors and look around some corners. The shot above---of your own, very cool skipper---was taken as I was heading to the Jungle from Coke Corner on Main Street. Some of you lucky guests caught in an "overflow" post-parade traffic flow have walked right through these doors and down the back side of Main Street as an alternate route when too many guests have packed the Hub and Plaza. I used to walk through these doors almost every day.


Most days, as mentioned before on this blog, Cast Members would partake of a delightful ripaste at the Inn Between. Cassie, pictured below, seemed to always be there, ready to ring up your bill.

Another hallway one might encounter if one knew their way around is pictured below. It is, indeed, underground within the old Administration Building. Those colorful linoleum tiles? Word is they're darn close to original---if not original---to the building. Some pretty famous Disneyland insider and executive feet have traversed them since the building first went up. Mine don't count, obviously.

Before going up to street level, lets take a look down one of the long halls. At least you can say you've been there---kinda.

Now let us cross the Park, from East Main Street over to Adventure/Frontier. There, we find another corridor---this one much shorter---and peer in on the offices where Adventureland, Frontierland, New Orleans Square and Critter Country operations are housed. Just a quick peek now and keep moving!

And finally, through the miracle of video, you too can grab a glimpse of the Inn Between, but I'm afraid you'll miss out on the chicken enchilada special. Come to think of it, you'll thank me.

Disneyland - Jungle Cruise, Skyway And Swiss Family Treehouse circa 1985

Today we beam back to the Jungle Cruise 1985 and The Skyway 1985 and the Swiss Family Treehouse from around the same time thanks to the miracle of YouTube and "oneandatwo" (who originally posted these clips). I have shared them here before separately, but thought I would put them in a package and also update the "abandoned Skyway"---see below).

If you have a moment, click on the links and take a tour of mid-1980s Disneyland. The grainy VHS video sure isn't HD, but you get a little sense of what it was like. Be sure to enjoy the constantly moving world of Tomorrowland as you leave the Tomorrowland Skyway station. The whole area was "on the move," from Monorails, subs, Peoplemovers, Tomorrowland Stages, America Sings, to the Matterhorn bobsleds. It was also very cool to travel right through the Matterhorn. 'Tis a shame we can't float on the Skyway any more.

By the way, at the end of the Skyway video, you'll see the Fantasyland Skyway station and chalet as it looked before it became its current, abandoned self. Also see these pics (thanks to Davelandblog)---hey, wasn't it "Jungle is 101" that first "crossed the chain" up the stairs to the old Skyway chalet? Good to see some more detailed photos of the interior have surfaced! Here's some video, too (thanks to Tod Reynard who posted it on YouTube).

---Mike

Disneyland - Summer 1980 - Yank My Heart Out - "The Bench"

I was digging through "the box" of old Disney stuff that I keep and came across my 1980 Souvenir Guide. Glancing through its somewhat faded pages at the photographs and lists of attractions, restaurants and shops resurrected for me the Park of my young adulthood. I figured there are more than a few of you who tossed away your Souvenir Guide after touring the Park back in 1980, so I present a few of its pages here to help you recapture those memories.

Even the cover---perhaps slightly hokey by "today's" standards---evokes a sense of real joy and fun. The folks pictured are not professional models. Their smiles are genuine. The Polaroid ad on the back page takes us back to a day when cameras did not store digital images. The Polaroid Pronto Sonar automatically took and then printed out a "beautiful SX-70 picture instantly." You could watch the magic happen as the picture slowly developed its image in front of you. Amazing. I remember the old Lilly Belle photo prop there on the east side of Main Street, next to what is now Disney Clothiers.

Stepping into the 1980 Guidebook to its center foldout display page really yanked at my heart because it contains great photographs of the Park as it once was---clean, new and full of bright colors. The quotes on these pages are from Walt. The photos show how truly colorful Disneyland was---from Cast Member costumes to the shiny white of Space Mountain and the red awnings of the Emporium. I feel that old ache---the ache to somehow go back, to be there then, as it was. We all get that ache in life at one time or another. We all have some place and some time that was special to us, where we return in pensive moments. For me, the Park will always be such a place full of memories, just as Walt and his team had intended. The 1980 Guide also included a map of the Park---before Splash Mountain and Winnie the Pooh turned Bear Country into "Critter Country," before the Skyway was yanked from the sky, before Fantasyland was remodeled, before Tarzan rudely kicked out the Swiss Family, before Buzz Lightyear and Emperor Zurg evicted Circlevision and America the Beautiful, before America Sings was "Innovented," before the People Mover became the Rocket Rods and then...um...bare track, before the Rocket Jets were rudely torn from their high perch and stubbed onto ground level at Tomorrowland's entrance, before anyone ever did anything to mess with the original (perfectly-fine-and-no-need-for-fixin') Pirates of the Caribbean, before the parking lot became DCA, before...well...before a lot of stuff happened and changed.

I know. Most of you four Jungle is 101 readers (hi, Mom) have heard the rant before. Still, each glance at the evidence of how things once were refreshes the sting of the many thoughtless changes that were made to the landscape of Disneyland. Not that everything "new" is bad. You've got your Indiana Jones and even Splash Moutain, for example. But the hurt still lingers and always will for some things that are forever gone or changed.
"THE BENCH"

I will close out today's post with a little nugget of Disneydom that only your true believers can appreciate. As a Cast Member and a guest, I have had many occasions to "connect" with the old Disneyland while walking through the "new" version. Some things are obvious---they never moved the Matterhorn, for example, or the entrance to Frontierland. Other things you might not really think about as you encounter them. One of the latter things is the metal bench you will encounter in the Fantasyland castle courtyard---on the Fantasyland side of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. You can see the bench to the right side of the blow-up of the iconographic photo of Walt below.

When I worked there, I met quite a few old timers, many of whom worked with Walt. One of these fine fellows related a simple story to me.

One day in the early 1960s, he was working in Custodial and was doing his morning walk-through of Fantasyland. He entered from the West entrance---along the path that led from Carnation Plaza Gardens into Fantasyland (near the Tinker Bell Toy Shop). It was before the park opened and still early. He rounded the corner and there was Walt. Sitting on the bench. The bench in the photograph below.
"Uh, good morning, Mr. Disney," stammered the then-young custodial host. Walt stood up, said good morning and thanked the young man for his work, gently reminding him "It's Walt." Walt then turned and walked back through the castle entrance toward Main Street. It was the last time the cast member ever saw Mr. Disney and the first time he'd ever had a chance to speak with him. He never forgot it.

Anyhow, next time you're in Fantasyland and you happen to see a metal bench there in the courtyard behind the castle, take a moment and take a seat. Walt was there once. In many ways, throughout the Park, he is still there now.

We are all pretty fortunate that Walt dared to make his vision of Disneyland a reality. Let us hope that those charged with keeping Walt's legacy will remember his desire to have things at Disneyland "get more beautiful each year." "Growing and adding new things" probably did not mean tearing out the soul of an attraction (America Sings comes to mind) or painting the Small World facade in nauseating pastels (let us all take a moment of thanksgiving that the simple, white paint scheme has since returned). Walt and modern corporate Disney management probably would not get along. It is a simple truth that listening to "bean counters" would have prevented little things like Snow White, Pinocchio, and Disneyland itself, from ever, ever becoming realities. At its best, Disneyland is art, living art.

---Mike

Disneyland - Big Bands - Carnation Plaza Gardens - Empty Nest

The trip across the wooden bridge to the colorful red and white canopied stage and dance floor of Carnation Plaza Gardens once brought a surprising reward to devotees of the Big Band Orchestra in the summers of Disneyland's yesteryear.

One would surmise from modern Disneyland's dearth of entertainment at Plaza Gardens that most of the Big Band afficionados have shuffled off to the grand, glitter-ball ballroom in the sky, leaving behind only those who favor performances by random, unknown, amateur bands, choirs, or dance ensembles (mostly from junior high and high schools across our great land).

The Plaza Gardens stage has gone from Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Les Brown, Harry James and Buddy Rich to the Broomfield High School Eagles Marching Band, Color Guard, Jazz Band, Percussion and Wind Ensemble (of Broomfiled, Colorado).
Now don't get me wrong.

It is not that the Eagles bands are anything less than entertaining or are in any way undeserving of a chance to perform at Disneyland (and we here at Jungle is 101 absolutely applaud their efforts, especially in this age of budget cuts and video games when true musicians are disappearing faster than Western Lowland Gorillas).

It is a simple truth that such groups (and others like them) are not of the same caliber as the legendary performers who used to light up the Plaza Gardens stage. I am not saying that these young musicians won't reach those heights some day---they are not there just yet.

Disney's Magic Music Days and the Disney Performing Arts Program are certainly noble in their support of young musicians---and have been for many years. Indeed, it is always a thrill to see one of these groups march down Main Street during a parade or pre-parade. It is also nice that they can perform from time to time at Plaza Gardens. True.

But.

At night, when Disneyland used to come alive in most every corner of the Park, the Plaza stage now, generally, sits empty and dark. And on summer evenings in particular, this empty stage is literally a void that was once filled with life, music and light.

Chuck Cecil authored the article to the left for the Summer 1983 edition of Disney News, the Official Magazine for Magic Kingdom Club families (Vol. 18, No. 3), Margery Lee (Editor). Chuck hosted (and apparently continues to host) a syndicated radio program entitled The Swingin' Years, which is devoted to Big Band Swing music and is produced in Mr. Cecil's own home studio nowadays. A Jungle is 101 thank you to Chuck Cecil and all he has done to promote and bring (even more) magic to the original Magic Kingdom over the years.

In the article, Chuck announced 1983's big band season lineup: Count Basie and his orchestra; Harry James and his big band; Lionel Hampton and his big band---he could play the drum let's just say---watch the whole video clip gang); Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians directed by Art Mooney; and the Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Larry O'brien. Not too shabby.

The bandshell at Plaza Gardens in 2009 does not exactly foot the same bill. Indeed, the current version of Plaza Gardens is hardly even a ghost of its former, gloriously, ebullient self. It has been largely "Astro-Orbiterized" and sits, waiting, like the old Skyway chalet in Fantasyland (and the attraction formerly known as the Rocket Jets), for a chance to maybe, somehow, return to its former pre-Eisner glory and true self (*sigh*).

Until then, my friends, I leave you with the attached article from 26 years ago and the faint hope that someday a "big band" or two might return to Carnation Plaza Gardens on a summer's night to create a little, old-fashioned magic for a few lucky guests.

Until then, this is Mike signing off and reminding you that, during my illustrious tenure, four out of five Jungle Cruise survivors had not ridden my boat. How many skippers can make that claim?

---Mike

Disneyland - New Year's Eve 2009

Perhaps you were there. I was. With a glowing coned flashlight and manning the rope at the bridge that leads to Carnation Plaza Gardens, I was part of a small, but stalwart crew of guest control cast members who held back---and helped move---the teeming hordes gathered around the Hub in front of the Castle as midnight approached.

If you were there, you saw the fog come in low over the Castle and pretty much block out the view of the fireworks when the clock struck midnight and 2009 roared in.

You may have seen a small group of Disneyland cast members gathered in the Castle forecourt area (behind the rope) and hug and shout and exchange New Year's greetings after giving up the fight to stem the surging crowd. We hung in there for as long as we could, but---come midnight---no coned flashlight on earth could have turned back the eager guests surging toward the front of the Castle.

So. We kinda just let it happen. We joined in the fun. Sure, for four straight hours we kept "circle flow" moving around the Hub. We redirected the wayward and provided direction for the disoriented. Firmly, lovingly, with true Disney flair, we kept tens of thousands of guests from boiling over into a stampede or a riot.

I wore the big, straw hat. Perhaps you heard me: "IF YOUR FEET ARE ON BRICK, YOU ARE IN DISNEYLAND'S MAIN ARTERIAL WALKWAY! IT'S DISNEYLAND'S ARTERY! IF YOU STOP, YOU WILL CLOG IT AND GIVE DISNEYLAND A HEART ATTACK! PLEASE KEEP MOVING! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

And similar words of encouragement.

For all the efforts of our crew, we got a nifty Cast Member pin and sincere congratulations from the Parade guest control leads and supervisors at the end of a long night.

I loved every moment! It kills me to be back in the "real" world as a non-cast member. I miss all my friends, but I know that Disneyland hasn't seen the last of me!

A (somewhat) belated "Happy New Year 2009!" to one and all!

----Mike

Disneyland - Haunted Mansion - Rainy New Orleans Square

There was a shop near the Mansion in the late 1970s, early 1980s, that sold official, personalized Haunted Mansion tombstones. I'm betting a few of you out there have one like mine shown above.

Note: according to the tombstone, the Haunted Mansion is located "in Disneyland."

The Mansion is not in "The Disneyland® Resort" or in "Disneyland® Park."

It is in Disneyland.

The following story comes to you straight from Disneyland, too, though it has nothing to do with tombstones as far as I can tell.

Dateline: Disneyland, February 1985, New Orleans Square.

Picture, if you will, a cold and rainy day at the Park.

Damp sheets steadily fall from the sky. It is getting dark.

I am a sweeper assigned to New Orleans Square.

My yellow rain gear and matching hat give me the appearance of a storm-tossed skipper of a Maine lobster boat, or of a guy on the cover of a box of frozen fishsticks.

Guests, by the way, are nowhere in sight.

I am manning a large squeegee, which looks like a pushbroom without bristles---just a handle with a wide rubber blade on the bottom. We use these to methodically push puddles from low areas to nearby drains, including some along the Rivers of America.

I remember that I am cold, despite pushing around puddles in waterproof clothing.

My breath mists from my mouth and nose with the effort. The area music is muffled by the rain and clouds it seems. At this time there is no funky bridge in front of the Pirates of the Caribbean. New Orleans Square runs steadily downhill from Royal Street down to the Rivers of America.

Standing along the main pathway, I can see all the way into Adventureland to my right and back toward the entrance to Bear Country toward my left.

For some reason, I stop.

Squeegee handle in hand, I stand and take it all in.

The rain.

The quiet.

The gas lamps flickering on their posts.

Swisskapolka gently bouncing to my ears from the Treehouse.

The smell of wet walkways mixed with a tinge of hot cocoa.

The pattering of drops against my wide-brimmed hat.

A cool spray of rain wetting my cheeks as it bounces off my jacket.

I am facing the River and can see steam rising from the stack over at Big Thunder.

The area lights are reflecting off of the glistening walkways and the dappled surface of the river.

I feel like I am the only one there.

Indeed, I can see no other people.

The weather has driven them to seek shelter,

leaving me and my squeegee standing in the downpour---in the middle of New Orleans Square.

I feel the rain lighten and the wind pick up.

It is cold---really cold.

Yet I cannot bring myself to move for this moment.

I am transfixed.

It is a truly Disneyland experience, and I realize it to be something simple but deep.

Even as a young person, I feel a need to grasp it within my memory.

I am not sure why.

Why this moment?

I guess it is because the Park feels like it is mine---like this is happening just for me, just this once.

I know it will soon pass.

The guests will shortly be back out on the pathways and the background noise and regular bustle will resume.

So I breathe in and smell the smells amidst the moist, cool air.

I look and see that the Park around me is literally shining amidst the sky's gray backdrop.

My eye then catches the first sign of movement in this scene, toward my right, at the bend in the River near Cascade Peak.

Large white clouds of steam billow over the tree tops.

A yellow glow of light brightens the shoreline.

The Mark Twain, its decks asparkle with electric lights, slowly rounds the bend.

Its steam whistle blasts.

The familiar sound seems so sudden, so loud.

Its bell rings out loudly, too, breaking into the moment and almost shattering it.

But a silence follows.

The Mark Twain glides toward the landing.

More cool wind.

A whisper of rain.

I get one final glimpse of the whole scene: gray, wet, shiny, yellow, bright, green, white, black, steam, cocoa, treetops, river, red peaks, rain, no guests in sight.

I say to myself, I am not going to forget this.

I am not entirely sure why,

but I never have.

---Mike (who still exists and even posts once in awhile)

Disneyland - Jungle Cruise - The Jungle Crew 2009

Today we say hello to a few of the Jungle skippers with whom I shared the dock during my Disneyland tenure. Above is Jerry, one of the longest-serving skippers. Oddly enough, he started on the Jungle Cruise the year AFTER I first left my job as a skipper. Jerry has been a skipper since 1988 and is rarely actually seen in a Jungle boat these days, preferring to main the Jungle Central office (pictured below) as a lead.

Below is a "last day" photo showing this blog's chief contributor (i.e., me) along the walkway that leads from Back Stage to the Jungle dock.
And next is another photograph from my last day:

It looks like they let me into the Tiki Room to open and close the show a couple times while covering for one of the regular cast members who had to attend a meeting. It was tough to say good-bye to my friends Michael, Jose, Pierre, Fritz and, of course, the "Magic Fountain." I'm relatively certain that we'll meet again.

Paul at the helm. We did time on Parade and in the Jungle. I got an early release, but he's still serving the last I heard. Never went on his boat, but his spiel at the dock gives me the impression you would have a great time with Paul as your guide.

Ashley, a true "Disney" Cast Member if ever there was one!

Tim at the controls of the Yangtze, with his holstered .38 and ammo box at the ready, even though he is safely at the dock. You can never be too careful.

Siobahn and Gill, two of our illustrious Skippers, standing at the Jungle Central counter at the end of the shift. Note the ammo box from the boat (wooden) and the spent ammo box (metal) on the counter, along with the leather tethers or leashes that we clip to our guns when they are on the boat and when we carry the guns back to the office.

Jose and Tim, adventurous and daring, take a moment for a photograph at the entrance to Jungle Central near the end of our shift. I spent a lot of time with these characters (both in the Jungle and while working Parade shifts), but I am happy to report that the long-term damage to my psyche has been limited (from what the specialists are able to determine thus far).

As can be seen in the photo above, despite expert intervention from mental health professionals, I was still prone to brandishing firearms while on Disney property (as were seemingly ALL of my Jungle compatriots for that matter).

By the way, old skippers never die...
...they just get sent to boat storage.

Auf wiedersehen meine freunde!

Disneyland - 1986 Main Street Electrical Parade - Great Video!

Greetings, Jungle lovers!

Today I provide you with a quick link to a fabulous video from 1986 regarding backstage Disneyland and the Main Street Electrical Parade!

In this clip I even saw one of my old supervisors (Mike Vaughn) helping to put up ropes on the west side of the Plaza on Main Street toward the later end of the clip! There is also a shot of some of my old Jungle Cruise compadres rolling out poles by the east side of the Plaza (near the Plaza Inn) at about the same point in the video.

You simply have to check this out. Thanks to whomever was responsible for posting it originally!

For those of us who worked the Electrical Parade back when it wound through the Park (as it was meant to do), this is a trip down memory lane worth taking. There are even some shots from backstage Main Street and the Parade building near what is now Toon Town.
---Mike

Disneyland - Jungle Cruise - Last Day (for now?)

Greetings, Jungle lovers! I post the bitter news that my current tenure as a Disney Cast Member has come to an end (there's just way too much coming up this summer for me to be able to juggle the Park and the rest of my life).

Today I share with you pictures from my last day at the Park, April 19, 2009.

Let us begin, shall we, with a picture taken of me and one of the executives from Team Disney Anaheim (apparently they are really cutting back over there due to the worsening economy). This was taken during my final walk-through of Tarzan's Treehouse.Since those Treehouse walk-throughs can really take it out of you, sometimes you have to slow down the pace and kick your feet up. I'm just saying.Next, let's take a look a few of my fellow skippers with whom I shared some of my final day.

We have Skipper Kip below. He is a Class A Jungle veteran and a fabulous skipper. His spiel is subtle, refined, like a good wine. It is filled with nuance and the kind of oddball humor that brings guys like us back to the Jungle again and again. He's a tall fellow and, if you get the chance, be sure to catch his boat! His baby hippo routine during a night cruise is a fine example of skipper excellence! Thanks, Kip!
Next, we have Skipper Megan below. We spent many hours on Jungle and probably even more working Parade guest control shifts! She is very funny and her evil twin "Muriel" is an absolute delight. "Muriel" is the Little Mermaid's less attractive, chain-smoking sister (kinda the black sheep of the family). If you ever ride her boat, you might want to ask her how Muriel is doing!Here is Skipper Gill. We agreed to start a rumor together among the other Jungle Skippers that she was originally a man (this was partially Gill's idea, so don't think us cruel). Around the Jungle dock skippers began calling her "Gilbert" during the last week I worked at Jungle. Gill is simply a great person and she has a fabulous sense of humor! I never rode her boat, but her guests always seemed in pretty good moods when she pulled up to unload. That's always a good sign! Gill---I'll miss you and all my friends out there on Jungle!
Below is a shot of me and one of the Parade leads, Ryan, as the sun set on my last day. Had to get a shot of Sleeping Beauty's Castle while I was still in costume! Ryan and I worked many busy parade/fireworks (or "pyro" in Cast Member lingo) shifts. He was also a Lead on Jungle and was in Jungle Central when I had to go out in my boat and rescue one of our fellow skippers whose boat had derailed at the hippo pool! I want to say one thing for the record: you can't understand a thing that anyone is saying on those darned walkie-talkies we had on our boats. I think we ended up using smoke signals from the native village in order to communicate with each other during that six-shot episode! Thanks, Ryan!Well, what farewell to Disneyland would be complete without a night shot in front of the castle on my way to turn in my costume for the last time. Perhaps, like the Terminator, I'll be back!
For now, thanks, Disneyland, for welcoming me back! I had a complete blast and, as you might see from some guest comments posted in this blog, it looks like a few of my passengers did, too!

I have plenty more photos to share, but this should appease the masses for today.

Now, please stand up and exit the boat. If you don't stand up and exit, well you'll have to go again and, trust me---the jokes DON'T change!

---Mike