Kenversations™
Page 2 of 7

From Exiting the Freeway to Getting Behind the Berm
I exit the freeway and head for the Katella Cast Member Lot (KCML). White shuttles with the distinctive "Disney" logo on their sides come and go. I’ll reach the lot anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes after 5. Fortunately, at this hour, parking isn’t a problem. Later, people will search for parking and may end up parking at the far reaches of the lot and walking a ways to the nearest of the three pick-up points. Still later in the day, the lot will be closed and cast members will be redirected to the Pumba lot.

On Saturdays and Sundays, I do have the option of parking at Team Disney Anaheim.

Even though parking wasn’t a problem, getting on the shuttle may not be an easy task. Sometimes the shuttle fills up at the first stop. Cast members nervously check their watches. If there is a problem with the shuttles, management will usually take that into account and not mark someone as late.

There’s a building in the lot that has water, television, restrooms, vending machines, newspapers, an ATM, and phones.

I climb into the shuttle, which has no more seats left. I’m in a hurry, and standing, holding on to a bar, won’t hurt me, at least as long as were not hit by some errant driver. I might carry on a conversation with someone I see from my department or someone else I know. It is still early, so things might be quiet on the shuttle, quiet enough to hear the hip-hop, classical music, or sermon the shuttle driver is listening to on the radio.

The shuttle rolls down Clementine, and we can get a good look at the freeway. Thank goodness for the light at Harbor Boulevard, or we wouldn’t be able to turn left. The shuttle pulls into Harbor Gate, right behind an errant driver who is stopped by a Security Hostess and directed to turn around. On the left is the access tunnel to the backstage of DCA. On the right are roads leading to the backstage of Disneyland Park. The shuttle pulls forward, next to the Monorail beam, and let’s us out at Harbor Pointe, the place to get in or out of the fenced-off area.

A Security Host monitors Harbor Pointe and stands between the clock-in and clock-out areas. Before passing through one of the three turnstiles, each of us has to press a button for clock-in or just for clearance, then scan our cast member identification card. It is 5:40 a.m., according to the clock, which means I don’t have any time to delay.

The old Administration Building stretches in front of me, the Costuming building is on the left, Harbor House is on the right, and people walk in all different directions. Harbor House used to be the checkpoint, placing the new Costuming building past the checkpoint for a while. That meant a lot of costumes were taken onto the shuttle, never to be seen at Disneyland again. This is one reason Harbor Pointe was built.

Until recently, I used to head into the Administration building, where I’d descend the stairs to the level where my locker room was, and then continue along the corridor to Custodial Central, which was on the same level. However, the downstairs locker rooms were recently cleared as part of an ongoing renovation of the building. In fact, looking up to the upper level from Harbor Pointe, I’m looking at the new scheduling center, where operations schedulers work to fill shifts that day, handle requests, and plan out the upcoming weeks and months in a large room loaded with workstations.

Now, I turn right and go to Harbor House, where I stop to pick up any information (Cast Member Reference Guides, Disneyland Line, special bulletins, memos, etc.) I don’t yet have. Exiting the other side of Harbor House, I’m now standing on the walkway that rises next to Harbor Undercrossing, where vehicles cross under the Disneyland Railroad as it moves from the Grand Canyon Diorama to the Primeval World.

Due to the steepness of the undercrossing, vehicles are given the right away so that they don’t risk rolling backward due to stopping for pedestrians. Vehicles trip a signal as they go under, warning pedestrians of their approach. I head under the train track and emerge up inside the berm, where I have to turn left and pass in front of the undercrossing.

Inside the Berm, Getting Ready
The Space Mountain complex is on my left, Pizza Port is up ahead on my left, the green, round, and large Innoventions building is in the distance as I walk next to the backstage buildings on my right. I pass by such places as Cast Cutters, where cast members can make arrangements for haircuts and the like.

I finally reach the stairs that take me up to the Men’s Upstairs locker room, which I was forced to return to after about ten years away from it. It is no secret that another reason the downstairs locker room was eliminated is that management is pushing for hourlies to go on Fast Track, and then to find it easier to wash their own costumes. Everyone at DCA is on Fast Track. Fast Track is another reason why we see more costumes for entire lands as opposed to individual attractions. Also, downstairs lockers (or any "permanent" lockers) were not being issued to new cast members.

Swinging open the door to the locker room, I’m greeting by a pile of costumes on the ground, and stuffy warmth. Hangers and debris are strewn about, and someone from Empire Maintenance is doing what Disneyland Custodial used to do - cleaning up the room. There are two types of lockers in this room. There are tall, skinny ones with footlockers above, or short, wider lockers, one on top of another.

The old locker room had the former; I have the latter in this room. I get the bottom locker, which barely has enough room for everything. A sweeper is likely to at least have two sets of costumes, a belt, a pouch (holds paper towels, maps, etc.), a jacket, work shoes, rain gear, and whatever he is lugging around for the day tucked into the locker. Without a footlocker, my shoes get shoved in with my costumes and rain gear.

Waaay back in training, we were encouraged to exchange our dirty costumes for clean costumes after our shifts. But these days, when I'm opening and therefore off anytime between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m., I know it is best to do it before my shift, before the crack of dawn, lest I be waiting in horrendous lines at Costume Issue long after I'm off the clock. Expansion forced Costume Issue to stay open around the clock.

Now that I’m in the upstairs locker room, and now that Costume Issue is just east of the kennels at the Disneyland Main Entrance, I have quite a trek ahead of me. So, I open my locker, get out what I need to, and go back where I just came, all the way back through Harbor House, passing Harbor Pointe, walking the length of the old Administration Building until I pass by TEAM Center Parkside, which recently moved into the eastern end of the Costume Issue building. If this was later in the day, I could wave at guests going by in Monorails, all while holding my dirty costumes in my hands.

There is a line for to approach the windows, even at this hour. To keep us occupied and informed, the 24-hour Cast Member Channel plays on the overhead television. The televisions in the backstage break rooms are all equipped to have this channel now, which shows what is happening at the Resort. Clever.

This building not only houses Costume Issue and TEAM Center Parkside (which has merchandise and useful paperwork… stuff like that), but it is where the new "day" lockers are located. Yes, if you don’t put your costume on at home, and you need a place to put your clothes and stuff, these day lockers are available to you for the length of your shift, as long as you use a company-issued lock. I think you buy it.

That particular locker room is co-ed, and there are "cozy" gender-specific changing rooms. Of course, if you are in Custodial and you aren’t wearing your costume in to work, a day locker is very inconvenient because of all of the equipment and extras you lug around - it is good to have a place to store them.

Well, I finally get to window, offer my identification card to be scanned, and exchange my costumes, making sure I’m getting the right sizes and they are functional. Then it is time for the long trek back to my locker.

After changing, I need to hurry to make it to Custodial Central ("the office") on time. After passing Harbor Undercrossing, I don’t turn towards Harbor House - I continue along the north side of the old Administration Building, past where Costume Issue used to be conveniently located. It was moved so that it would be conveniently located between both theme parks. Delivery trucks pass by parked cars, helping to prepare for the day ahead.

A bunch of Security Hosts stand around smoking. I finally reach the doors that I go through to get to the stairs down the Custodial office, which was moved underground in January of 2000, under Security.

Over the years, more and more signs have appeared backstage. No doubt this has been done partially because of higher turnover. Most signs have some sort of Disney character or icon on them. The stairwell is no exception as direction signs inform you how to get to what in the building. Along the stairs, there are signs touting how many injury-free days the different divisions of Custodial (DL Days, DCA Days, DL Nights, DCA nights) have behind them.

At the base of the stairs, I face a display case with pictures of new hires, retirement parties, award ceremonies, and occasionally, the recently departed. The cast member schedules for this week and next are on the wall as well. A long hallway stretches to the right, next to the stairs is a machine that dispenses such equipment as flashlights and squeegees. The office is on the left, and I hurry in to check in, as I’m supposed to before 6 a.m.