The West Side of the Kingdom
Page 2 of 3

My next thought takes us into the dark shadows of the Haunted Mansion. As most of you know, Cast Members take great pains to make sure that everyone gets into their Doom Buggies safe and sound. Then, Load 2 makes sure the clamshells close properly, locking guests into their vehicles. Of course, since people are such “creative” creatures, things don’t always go as planned.

One morning, while I was working Load 2, a guest had a question and I walked backward up the ramp toward the interior of the attraction trying to briefly answer it for her; I believe she was asking where a bathroom was when she got off the ride or something similar. As a Load 2 Cast Member, you’re never supposed to leave your post, so I had to be quick and careful not to ramble on too long. After a few moments, I returned back down to the loading belt and just as I arrived, a little Asian man went riding by, leaning on the closed clamshell of one of the Omni-mover vehicles! This guy was actually standing on the safety plate that rests between Buggies to cover the groove in the floor where the vehicles above are connected to the track below. And I soon found that it wasn’t just him; several others were riding like this too behind him! Somehow, the Cast Member at the Load 1 position had become distracted and this Asian tour group started seating itself… creatively. I stopped the attraction and assisted the guests into their Doom Buggies correctly. Once I made sure that everyone was seated properly, we started the attraction back up again. It’s amusing but serious to remember that while we’re all very familiar with these rides, there are people each day that visit theme parks that have honestly, no clue as to how they are supposed to ride, etc.

These mishaps aren’t always because of lack of understanding each other. The next thought I have takes us to the Rivers of America, where I once worked the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes. In my opinion, the job is a virtual Hell on Earth, but some Cast Members really enjoy it. I mean, they get to be outside, in the sun all day on the River. That’s really cool, actually. But throw in 16 guests that suddenly realize halfway around the River that they are tired, and you’re in trouble. It makes for a long day when you and your partner have to paddle the rest of the way for group after group! And then there are water fights. Despite constant warnings and requests to stop, some guests just don’t get it that we didn’t want them to splash each other or canoes that happen to come up along side of us. There is always the possibility of a canoe flipping, which has happened a few times in recent years. That is a most serious situation, and Cast Members try to avoid that like the Plague at all times. Splashing is a pre-cursor to more trouble, so that is squashed almost immediately whenever that occurs. I constantly had to beg guests not to splash. After asking a few times, it was often much easier to demand they give you their paddle and the throw the thing out into the water for retrieval later on. Sometimes, actions are the only route to safety because people think that no matter what they do, they are automatically free to be silly, etc. at Disneyland. It’s some sort of false impression they have of being completely taken care of and free of responsibility in this land of fantasy. Time and again I have preached that safety comes from both ends - Cast Members and guests. If one of those ends fails, the possibility of an accident or problem escalates quickly.

One afternoon, I was working Canoes and we had a group of very rowdy teens that were padding very quickly, splashing and just raising hell in general. We’d already tossed several oars overboard and the group seemed to be mellowing out as we came around the bend past Big Thunder Falls, toward the front of the River. The Columbia had just left dock and like a spark in a gasoline tank, our group ignited into cheers and crazed paddling. They wanted to catch up to and pass the Columbia.

It’s a rule that large river craft needs to be watched and given the right of way. So, with a group of crazed teens trying to catch up, my partner and I were concerned. I was in the front of the canoe for this particular trip. We closed the gap nicely and soon were within a few yards of the rear of the ship. After telling the group to stop paddling, we realized that we were way too close to the rear of the ship - and its propeller. In fact, I could see sediment and algae that was being kicked up by the unseen propeller just about two yards away. We’d disappeared out of the sunlight and into the shadow of the rear of the ship. It was the closest I had ever been to the Columbia with a group of guests before. We shouted at the group to stop paddling immediately but they laughed and continued. Taking last-minute evasive action, we turned the canoe sharply, away from the rear of the ship. Our group thought we were ruining their fun and both of us got a written warning for the incident, despite the fact that we did everything we could to control the situation once we got back to the dock. Our area supervisors were real gems back then that personally had it out for some of us, so we were watched constantly no matter what ride we were on; situations like this made their days!