Silence Is Not Just Golden...It's Priceless

Out of my many experiences at Disney World I think there is one that can't ever be matched. The opportunity to be virtually the only one in the park. There were somedays that my shift would extend and hour after the Animal Kingdom closed to do a closing sweep after the guests have left. As the guests would leave, it would slowly get more quiet. When almost all the guest and many of the employees had left, it was so quiet that you could hear the crickets chirping, the birds singing, the ambient music playing in the bushes, and I would pause for a moment on one of the bridges and watch the sun set into the horizon. I felt like the park was my own and that I was the only one there. It was a wonderful gift to be give to have that experience. I have also been in the Magic Kingdom for a College Program party and me and my friends were the only ones left in the park. We just sat and watched the colored lights change on Cinderella Castle. It was so magical indeed. I walked with one of my roommates as he was doing a closing check at EPCOT, and again, the silence of the park is something no guest could pay for. It was marvelous to just sit there and be with your thoughts and ponder far beyond imagination.

Secret Passages?

I'm sure many people know, but there are still many that don't know about the tunnels below the Magic Kingdom. Most guest don't care because they come to see what's on the surface. But back in the days when Walt was alive, the Magic Kingdom was built to reduce cost of building space. The network of tunnels is how the cast members and characters get around. How else did you think Mickey could be in one spot and then suddenly be in another spot. Actually there are multiple characters. Inside some of the buildings is office space or living quarters to, again, conserve space. I enjoyed using them as a cast member to beat the crowd sometimes. It was fun to go through doors that guests didn't know about, kind of like a secret passage. However, EPCOT, Disney Studios, and the Animal Kingdom were not built like that. Their "backstage" is hidden by a gate. Disney used billions of dollars by not following the same pattern as the Magic Kingdom.

Room Inspection

We lived in Chatham Square while on the college program. It's owned by Disney World as well as some others that they use for the college program. About once a month they would do a room inspection in our apartments. They noted the condition that it's in, if maintenance needed to be done, check any pest contol needs, and make sure overall that you're not bustin' the place up, breaking the rules. Luckily many of us liked to be clean and tidy in the first place. Our roommate Aron was our lead man; he'd make sure the place was spotless. Through out our inspections, one of the ladies said that it was the first time she ever saw an apartment with eight guys so clean and to receive a reward for it. See, each time you had a superior check on your apartment, they gave us little rewards. They got bigger and better each time they checked us off. The first thing we got was a "Clean Room Club" pin as shone in the picture. We also got an "aplaus-o-gram" which is a really good compliment and goes on your permanent record. God job, boys!

Oh George!

When we first arrived at our apartment, Randy, Jason and I, we checked out the four rooms to see which one we wanted. Three of our roommate had already been there, but were not there themselves. The first room we went in had a little Lilo and Stitch shrine. It had recently come out and I guess this guy loved it. The next room was kind of messy with all his stuff spread all over. The other room that had been occupied looked well kept. He had a picture of himself with girl that he took to what appeared to be a school dance. Randy didn't want to end up with some wierdo and thought this guy looked okay. Jason and I dibs the room that wasn't occupied. We are both LDS and thought it would be nice to share a room with someone that shares the same beliefs. By the end of the day we meet our other roommates and George was Randy's. Turns out that he deciede to be homosexual, which I don't support, but I don't condem him as a person. He once kissed me on the cheek and I made it clear never to do that again. He was really funny at times, but often thought he was the badest thing that landed in Florida. While we were working at Disney World, he managed to burn a hole in a cookie sheet, kick a hole in our wall, and light the oven on fire. All we could say is, "Oh George."
Another Selection For Your Gee Wiz Collection:
When Walt told his wife that he wanted to build an amusement park, she asked why and stated that they were so dirty. He responded, "That's the point! Mine wouldn't be."

Piglet?

One of the funniest things that happened while working at Disney World was when my friends and I went to eat at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kindom. It all started out when we were on Splash Mountain. They have songs playing while on the ride and there was one part that we didn't understand very well. We thought it said, "Pretty good smoking a bong." Others guessed it was, "Pretty good sure as you're born." We thought neither of them made perfect sense so we started making bets on it and the loser would buy the winner dinner at Crystal Palace. So we called everyone we knew to see if they knew what the words were. It turned out that it was, "Pretty good sure as you're born." We all went to Crystal Palace and had a wonderful meal. While you eat, there are four Disney characters walking around. They are Winnie the Pooh, Pilet, Tigger, and Eyore. We got on a discussion trying to determine whether Piglet was a boy or a girl. When the Piglet character came by, we asked him. Piglet lifted his costume as if he were checking his own gender. Then looked at us and shrugged. We all bust up laughing. It's great that those characters have a sense of humor. We unanimously decided that Piglet is definitely a boy.