Today was another day of training at the Haunted Mansion. I learned the remaining positions and had to read the redundancy ridden Operating Guidelines (OG). The OG is all about safety procedure and how to proceed during unusual or less than optimal situations. I'm not allowed to get into specifics of the guide, but the training is very thorough and you should feel very safe when under the watch of Disney cast members. Communication is the "buzzword" in everything we do. Who cares about that though! I've got a story of a prank that took place in the mansion some time ago that will certainly amuse you.
Remember the amazing people that work at the mansion that I told you about yesterday? There is a group of three, whom I will affectionately refer to as the ladies, that have collectively put in more than 60 years with the Walt Disney Company. They have been around through everything; ups, downs, and in between. Most of their years were spent at the mansion too. They've seen a lot in their time and they like to reminisce by telling the new CPs tales from their glory days. I feel like I hit the jackpot with today's story, but it's only been two days so who knows what other crazy tidbits are kicking around in their minds.
For those of you who don't know, the Haunted Mansion is one of the few remaining original attractions in the Magic Kingdom that has received minimal updates over the years. We're still running with pretty much the same "doombuggies" that were installed when the ride opened in 1969 if that gives you an idea of what were working with. At one point in it's history it's empty space served as storage for other rides in adlib, and that's where our story begins.
Madame Leota, one of the central figures of the ride, is featured as a floating head calling out the spirits from beyond using various musical instruments. If you can picture the ride path you'll remember that you go up into her séance room and up into the ballroom and attic before diving down into the graveyard. Ever wonder what was underneath all that space? For a while it was filled extra animatronics and props from the Jungle Cruse, Hall of Presidents, and Tiki room.
Fifteen years ago there was a cast member who was flat out creeped out by the house. It didn't matter if the animations were off and the lights were on, there was just something about it that didn't sit well with her. Anytime she had to do a walk through or ride through she hated to go alone. The ladies found this very amusing, and decided it would be fun to play a little joke on her.
Part of mansion protocol dictates that anytime one of the sensors on the side of the ride is tripped the ride must be stopped and a cast member has to go into the ride with the lights off and music on and see what happened before motion can continue. On a slow off season day when the mansion was "dead" the ladies decided to hold some of the guests from the intro so that the ride would empty out. One of them went into the heart of the ride to trip a sensor in the. The ride stops and she has to go check it. She grabs her flashlight and heads into the ride with such haste that she doesn't realize that the ride is mostly empty. She comes around the corner and she is face to face with a wide mouthed alligator from the Jungle Cruse! She was so scared that she ran screaming back to the front of the house almost knocking over the pranksters that were trying to calm her down.
By the time she realized what happened and was laughing at the joke, a manager came by to ask why the ride wasn't running. They reported that there was a false alarm and he told them to start letting guests in again... with the alligator still in place. Two of the ladies had to make their way quickly underneath the ride to get the gator out of view. They thought they were out of the woods when they heard a guest getting off the ride...
"There's an alligator in the mansion!!"
"Madame, there are alligators all over Florida but I can assure you there aren't any in the Haunted Mansion."
The alligator was sticking out behind a curtain for any guest looking deep enough to see. Once again they had to make their way into the mansion without anyone seeing and finally they were able to get the gator properly hidden. These days the storage is exclusively for Haunted Mansion ride parts, but that has to be one of the most interesting things that has ever happened in the mansion...
One more day of training before my assessment and then I finally have a day off to play in the parks! I'm thinking it might be time for some fun for this blog, something away from work. I think it's time for a Disney countdown! I'll tell you what I think about the attractions at the various parks and you can tell me if you agree or think I'm crazy. It's pouring rain here tonight, but that's nothing new for Florida. I'm so glad I beat the weather home or my tux would be toast for tomorrow. Sorry about the lack of pictures today by the way...
Cheers,
David
Song of the day - Block After Block by Matt & Kim
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