Basics, Balloons, and Butler Mood Swings

Just a heads up before you settle in to read this post, it's probably going to be fairly long. It's been a few days since last I wrote and I've been thinking about a lot of random things, heard some new music, and just have lots to share in general. I was going to try to keep it in chronological order but I think I'm going to categorize the events instead. Here......We.....Go....

That was supposed to be Peter Pan not the Joker, but I guess it could go either way.

Haunted Mansion

Lots of evenings are being spent at the spooky house on the hill. The park is staying open later this week and for the next few weeks as well because we are entering spring break season. This has it's pros and cons. On the positive side I'm getting more hours which is what I wanted from the very beginning but the negative side is that they are very boring hours. Most of the business for the Haunted Mansion seems to happen between 1pm and 5pm. It's bright out, parents can talk small children into trying something "scary", and there are just more people in the park. By the time the parade and fireworks come along there is no one in line for the mansion and it basically stays dead all night.

But we do stay open... For Extra Magic Hours (EMH) too. Last Sunday we had EMH until 3am, lucky for me I had early training that day so I wasn't working until close with the other CPs, but that's a long 6 hours when there isn't really anyone to help and each position is fairly isolated because we operate with light staffing when it's slow. CPs always work closing shifts, at least at the mansion, so the later the parks stay open the later in the day we come in and the less people there are for us to help.

Yes it's easy when not many people are there, everything runs smoothly from both a guest and technical point of view, but what's the fun in that? Half of the reason to work in a Disney park is the ability that we have to make things right for a guest if something isn't going their way. Putting extra magic on an evening of smooth sailing is still nice, but it doesn't provide the same satisfaction as making something right for someone.

Basics

I may have discussed this during the traditions post I made ages ago but here's a little refresher in case you don't know what I'm talking about. The Disney Service Basics are as follows:

"I project a positive image and energy" 

"I am courteous and respectful to all guests, including children" 

"I stay in character and play the part." 

"I go above and beyond."

That's really it. You'd think with the recognition that Disney gets for great service that it would be really complex, but those four items are basically what it boils down to. We had a refresher training session with other new employees before the start of my shift the other day, it was pretty fun, but there is a contradiction that arises for maids and butlers at the Haunted Mansion.

I love the basics, I really do. I think they work great as a general rule of thumb for people who care about their work in any field not only in guest service. The problem can be found in the theming for my attraction because staying in character and playing the part is the POLAR OPPOSITE of having a positive image and energy. In fact, the first thing we're taught about maintaining a positive image and energy is to smile. The theming at the mansion tells us that we're maids and butlers basically working at a funeral. You don't smile much at a funeral especially a haunted funeral.

I've been trying to reconcile this discrepancy ever since I arrived and it's been impossible. There are essentially three options: 1) Act happy anyway. Be the perky cast member you would be at any other attraction. The problem here is that isn't what the guests want. I tried this for a few shifts and what was the comment I heard the most? "Why are you smiling?" I've never gotten so much negative feedback for being happy before. 2) Be all the way in character. You don't smile...ever. You can still be polite with guests obviously, but your answers are very professional and to the point. I did this for a few shifts too and it was absolutely zero fun. Guests didn't have a problem with it, but I did.

The third option is the one I kind of made up to deal with it as best I could. Theme when your inside the house and be happy and perky when your outside. This accomplishes two things in my mind. First, it allows you to be happy and approachable for guests that are lost in the area but not looking for the mansion whatsoever. Secondly, it allows you to keep the magic alive because even though the ride only lasts 8 minutes every second that the guest spends inside the doors is part of the haunted experience. I still get comments about my smile when I'm outside but I've come up with a response that seems to be getting folks off my case: "The spirits leave me when I'm outside of the mansion gates."

Haunted Mansion Again

That being said I still think the attraction is having an effect on my general mood. Because rotation and positions are assigned by a computer without any of that in mind there are some days when I'm always inside the gates and some days where I rarely get to go inside. As long as it's a reliantly even split things are just dandy, but once you get over 70% inside the house I've noticed my mood tends to suffer for the sake of the character.

Maybe it's because when I'm in character I'm IN character to the core. The only way to keep myself from smiling is to actually think about things that upset me for an extended period of time. I'll keep doing it for the guests I guess but it just kinda leaves me feeling down at the end of the day. On the flip side staying outside for the majority of the day is just awesome for the heat that is insulated by my green tux. From a psychology stand point, it's kinda interesting to note my differences in mood as they relate to the attraction. There aren't any other in WDW that are themed outside of the positive so there is no one to ask except for other butlers. I'm going to have to ask the people who work multiple attractions and see what they think.

Balloons

This one is a double headline as it fits for two separate stories. Last night a family came through and saw a Mickey balloon sitting by the exit of the ride. They asked me if it belonged to anyone because they had a balloon stolen from a previous ride. I told them to come see me before they left. While they were on the ride I got a coupon written up to get them another balloon for free. These balloons are insane! They are like doubles and cost around $10. That's a pretty big loss for a family that already had to buy 5 tickets to get into the park that day. They were so happy when I told them they could get another one, and it made my day and theirs to do that.

This is what a $10 balloon looks like...

Yesterday was also my birthday. I didn't buy a balloon or wear one of the Disney birthday buttons that all the guests do when they visit on their birthday but I still had a pretty good time. I'm not really the celebrate because it's my birthday type of guy so I kept it fairly low key and under the radar. I went to EPCOT with Monica so I could get fish and chips from the UK. I had been looking forward to eating there basically since the day I arrived and because it was my birthday my mom was buying so it made the food all the more special.

Best fish I've had outside of NE in a long time

I had to go to work later in the afternoon but the few hours in EPCOT were exactly how I'd like to spend every birthday. Good food, good company, and nice weather. I'm pretty easy to please.

I got out of work about an hour before the park closed so I took in a bit of the electric light parade. Alice was featured prominently in the portion I was able to see before I headed over to Splash Mountain. I was able to get on twice before they closed for the night. That ride always brings back good memories of when my dad and I spent an evening in the park together back when EMH was just being established. We did a little of everything first, but as the end of the night approached we just rode Splash over and over again. We must have done it 7 or 10 times before they made us get off. Just something I think about every time I get on that ride. I did get stuck in front of the Zip-A-Dee Lady at the end of the ride for about 20 minutes which must be the equivalent of water boarding but I still enjoyed my ride and my day.

Alice on her giant mushroom with the Cheshire cat out front

Elbow

I've been listening to a lot of good music in the part few days which almost always lightens my mood, but I want to focus first on a group I saw in concert a few years ago that has really come up with a lot of good press recently. Elbow opened for Coldplay when I saw them perform three summers ago and I thought they were a solid band with a really good singer and an emotional appeal. Their album "Seldom Seen Kid" won all sorts of British music awards and they have a new album, "Build a Rocket Boys!" coming out on March 7th. I've heard one single from it so far and I have to say I'm very excited. "Lippy Kids", which features the album title lyric, is a ballad beauty. Guy Garvey's smooth tones sail over the simple yet rhythmic electronic background allowing the listener to be carried to a place of bliss.

Check out the camera work on this too, it's simple and lends itself perfectly to the music. No fancy dancing ninjas here (I'm talking to you Bieber...).

Celtics

The Boston Celtics, my team in the NBA for obvious reasons, made a down to the wire deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder trading Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, and a future first round pick. This has deal has divided the fans and commentators opinions about the Celtics chances this year and about their future. I watch basketball, but I don't claim to understand how the business side works. Bill Simmons, the ultimate basketball writer especially for a Boston fan, talks about the underpinnings of this deal and I still don't quite get what it takes to make a deal happen in the NBA the same way that I can follow NFL draft trades but here's what my understanding of the deal is:

1) The Celtics are not better this year for it, in fact, they are worse. Sources report that this opens up the east and creates poor match ups for the Celtics against bigger front courts like that of the Orlando Magic whom we already had trouble with in the past.

2) Jeff Green is a rising star and could grow to become the cornerstone of a future "Big 3" in Boston. I've read his game is comparable to Paul Pierce when he was younger. Like Paul he might be stuck with a group of slackers for years if the Celtics don't get him some help with the majority of this aging team retires.

3) Perk wasn't going to stay in Boston at the end of the season. I guess getting what you can for a guy with a history of injury problems is better than over-paying for him to stay with the team in the future.

4) It will be really interesting to watch this play out. Rumor has it they might end up with Troy Murphy and Leon Powe at some point down the line which would be an interesting mix that I would like to see.

Cheers,
David

BONUS Songs of the day - The Bones of You by Elbow AND One Day Like This by Elbow