New viral page for Monsters University. As someone who works for a major university, they nailed it. Enjoy!
Disney fan and Design by Me Disney t-shirt finalist Jasmine Contois unearthed this poster from the now-defunct Discovery Island at Walt Disney World, and it features someone very, very familiar.
It’s not often that I see something Disney-related that surprises me, but this most certainly did. More at this link
Earlier this year, I discovered that a fantastic Disney resource lives right here in our little college town. Kim is a Disney Vacation Planner, and I wanted to find out what that was like, and she was gracious enough to spend some time and answer some questions for us.
Just Off Main Street can highly recommend Kim’s services in planning your next Disney vacation, find her at kimbowers.offtoneverland.com or on Facebook.
My name is Kim Bowers, I’m 43, married to my husband Tom for 20 years and have two kids. I grew up in Atlanta, went to school at the University of Georgia and graduated in 1991 with an Early Childhood Education degree.
I provide fee-free booking and planning services for anyone planning a Disney vacation. My clients come to me because they are overwhelmed by the number of decisions that must be made when planning a trip to Walt Disney World, and they have a thousand questions! Which resort to choose? What time of year is best? etc.. I can help you plan your Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise, or any other Disney destination vacation.
It’s true, planning a WDW vacation can be daunting.
I get to know them and what they want, and help them get the very best rates on the package that is just right for them. Then I help them plan out their itinerary. Going to Walt Disney World is not just another vacation – it’s a pilgrimage! People want everything to be magical – and they appreciate the insider guidance. I have several clients who come back to me because they know I stay up to date on everything, and I can fill them in about new attractions and make sure they get the best price. I’ve been doing this for 4 years now.
After planning several trips for my family and friends, I realized I had a vast (some might say ridiculous) amount of knowledge and a knack for planning. Somehow I had become a walking travel guide! I just knew I could do the job. My background is in teaching preschool, which involves a lot of planning and of course, understanding kids, so I draw on those experiences a lot too. I loved the idea of having a profession that would keep me connected to Walt Disney World. I turned to the Internet to find out how I could become a travel agent and found Off To Neverland Travel. I applied, interviewed, and was hired as an independent contractor.
No. Off To Neverland Travel is an Earmarked agency. That means we are Authorized Disney Travel Planners. That affords us access to the very latest news resources and training. We book directly with Disney, and add our own special services at no extra charge.
Planning Disney vacations for my clients is a lot of fun because I put myself in their shoes and try to anticipate what they will need to know. So in my mind, I go to WDW a lot! And helping people make happy memories is very gratifying. I love to hear from my clients after they travel that my advice and guidance really made their trip run smoothly, or that a character meal I suggested was a highlight of their trip, and so on. It may sound corny but it is an honor to help families make memories that will last a lifetime.
(Ed’s Note: It’s not corny, it’s kind of awesome)One of my favorite things about my job is a service we provide called reservation monitoring. This is something that won’t happen if you book online or by calling Disney’s reservation line. Once a client books with me, I watch all the discounts that come along. And when one comes up that matches, I apply the savings or offer an upgrade. I can’t ever promise it will happen, but it does quite a bit. It’s not often you get a phone call from someone saying “Guess what you are going to save money!” So, it’s fun to do that!
Honestly, I will but I prefer not to because other companies do not instill me with the confidence Disney does that my guests will be blown away by an all-round superior experience.
(Ed’s Note: So true)I visit 2-3 times a year for vacations or meetings (And no – I don’t get to go for free! )
POP Century resort at WDW
My favorite resorts are Disney’s Pop Century Resort because of the low price and the over-the-top Disney theme and service; and Disney’s Polynesian Resort for the tropical ambiance and location (right on the monorail, and you can see Cinderella Castle from the pool!).
The Polynesian does have some great views.
I really like EPCOT, and its relatively relaxed pace. And there are so many neat little nooks and crannies to be found – especially in the World Showcase. I notice something new to me every time I visit. EPCOT is also home to Soarin’, my favorite attraction.
World Showcase, with some of the very best food in the parks.
Crystal Palace for breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends is my whole family’s favorite place to eat. My husband calls it the epicenter of the happiest place on earth.
I can’t eat wheat, so normally it’s difficult for me to eat out. But at Walt Disney World, I have almost as many meal and snack options as everyone else and I don’t have to worry because the Disney chefs come out and speak to me personally and they are very knowledgeable and accommodating. They make a gluten-free brownie at Pop Century and several other restaurants that is even better than the regular kind. They also stock cookies and other goodies I, and others with wheat allergies, can enjoy while my family is having their treats. To me that is a very big deal!
This won’t be off the beaten path for long because it is very new and people are just discovering it. You could easily spend a day in Magic Kingdom Park and not even know about this. “The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom” is an interactive game that takes you all over the park on a self guided quest with mysterious maps and magical playing cards to save the park from the Disney villains. My 10-year-old son and I tried it out in May of this year, and he loved it. The technology is very impressive. They have holographic-looking characters popping up in shop windows and such, and you can actually cast spells that make things happen. It’s very cool. (Interesting link about testing the experience)
Sorcerer cards. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this.
My favorite classic Disney movie is Cinderella. It was my first theater movie when I was a kid. My mother had to drag me out because I laughed to hard at the mice! They are still my favorite part of the movie!
A Disney vacation can actually be relaxing, and you don’t have to go home exhausted ! There are many places to enjoy peace and quiet at Disney World! A lot of people make the mistake of cramming in so much activity they forget to relax. I try to help people find that balance so they go home refreshed.
You can indeed relax at Walt Disney World
Aulani , the new resort in Hawaii is on my “someday” list!
I’ve had the pleasure of working with several families whose Disney vacation is a celebration of life in the wake of a very difficult time. Hospice patients, cancer survivors, and others have come to me and said, “…life has been really hard this year. And we just need to get away, have a fun time making happy memories together,” or “We just realized that life is too short to put this off any longer.”
I handle all the little details so they can just go down there and enjoy. It really is an honor to help a family have a fun, relaxing, healing experience like that. And I can’t think of a better place for them to do that than Walt Disney World.
Many, many thanks to Kim for sharing. I can’t wait to call her to book our next trip!
After putting out a call on the blog and Facebook, Tony was kind enough to contact me about his time at Disney. Many thanks to him for sharing his experiences with us!
My name is Tony, I’m 31 and from Tampa, FL. I’m currently a fraud detective in Central Florida. I married my wife, Sarah in October of 2010, and we have two dogs. We both LOVE Disney World! We’re both annual passholders and frequently visit the parks. Also, every February for the past 4 years, we celebrate the birthdays of some close friends by drinking around the world at EPCOT with about 20 friends. This September, we are attempting to drink around the resorts in an event Sarah has named “The Happiest Hour On Earth”.
Ed’s note: I can totally get behind this idea.I worked at Disney for 6 months during the summer/fall college program of 2001. I was enrolled at the University of South Florida in Tampa then, though I wasn’t taking any classes while I was away at Disney. I left when I saw how hard the tourism industry was hit after 9/11. Managers were being asked to work fewer hours due to decreased attendance. After seeing how I could work hard to become a manager and have something out of my control greatly effect my career and income, I thought it was time to consider looking into another career field.
I was an employee in the marketing/group sales department of Busch Gardens when I applied for (and participated in) Disney’s College Program. I enjoyed working in the theme park industry and was originally interested in learning what set Disney apart from the other companies. I thought this would be a valuable opportunity for me to learn skills that would help me to advance in a career when I came back to Busch Gardens.
I worked in Disney’s Animal Kingdom as a theater usher at the Tarzan show. I also worked in ride operations at Dinosaur. At Dinosaur, I would do everything from seat belt checks and party grouping to tower control and attraction greeter.
Tarzan Rocks was a high-energy stage show in Dinoland USA. It ran from 1999-2006.
I always enjoyed opportunities to participate in “magical moments.” Sometimes we would be assigned to do a magical moment by “the bump”, (an employee position assignment system). However, magical moments could happen at any time when you have positive interactions with a guest. Little things like giving a guest reserved seating in the Tarzan show, or taking guests past the line to go on a ride.
The “bump” tells employees where to report for the next part of their shift. When you returned from a break, you would go to a computer located somewhere inside or near your assigned attraction. After logging in to complete your lunch break, a receipt listing all of the positions needing coverage at that attraction was printed. If you printed the bump, you were likely sent to the “first” position, which at Dinosaur, was a greeter position. You would report to the front of the attraction and meet who the previously assigned greeter was. You pass the bump to them, and it tells that person to either go on break or report to another location at the attraction. This process would continue through almost every position to keep breaks on schedule and a good rotation for cast members. Most cast members had preferred positions and would offer to stay where they were if the person with the bump wanted to skip that position. At Dinosaur, I enjoyed all the positions except the hallway position after the pre-show, it offered little guest interaction or opportunities to stay busy. When I worked at the theater for the Tarzan show, I don’t remember an official bump. Our breaks and lunches were all taken at the same time between shows. We took it upon ourselves to rotate positions and that normally worked out fine without issue.
September 11th, 2001. I was in my car and on my way to work around 10 a.m. when I heard on the radio that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was clocking in at the Animal Kingdom breakroom near the front entrance when I saw on TV that the Pentagon had just been struck.
I walked to my position as an usher at Tarzan Rocks that morning and couldn’t believe the news. What made things more strange, was that since Animal Kingdom opened at 8 am, many in the people in the park had no idea what was going on outside Walt Disney World, especially since smartphones didn’t exist. The few guests that knew were the ones with Blackberries.
The way I remember it, after a couple of hours of work, the decision was made to shut down the parks. We were asked to turn guests away from the attractions and tell them the park was closed. When guests asked “why?”, we were instructed to suggest that they go back to their hotel rooms and turn on the TV for the news. I don’t recall any guests being difficult about being asked to leave. Many of them had no idea and were only catching rumors on their way out. I am glad that we were advised not to tell guests what was going on. Knowing that I could be talking to someone that worked and lived in New York City and was at Disney on vacation, I’m glad that I wasn’t put in the position of potentially having to give someone what could be a death notification.
After the park was clear of guests, management requested that the Dinoland employees remain corralled in the breakroom to await further instructions. Many of us sat on the floor in this cramped space watching the TV for any updates. The decision was ultimately made to send us home and keep the park closed. Back at the college program housing, despite the macabre situation happening in the world, many of us gathered for an impromptu cookout. It was rare when we could all be together without schedules getting in the way. It may sound disrespectful or insensitive, but I don’t think we knew what else to do. Many of us were from across the country and since congested telephone networks made it difficult for some people to reach family members, we spent quality time with the people we grew to consider family where we currently were living. Throughout all of this, I (and many others) couldn’t help but worry if Disney World would be an additional target.
Disney’s flag ceremony at the Magic Kingdom a few days after 9/11.
Disney World was a quiet place in the weeks to follow. People weren’t traveling and managers were asked to cut their own hours in half voluntarily. As many people who lived through that time noticed, there was a renewed sense of patriotism and kindness to your neighbor. This was especially noticeable at Walt Disney World.
I lived in Disney’s College Program housing at Chatham Square.
Tony’s apartment from back in the day. That’s a lot of bottles…
My favorite Disney Park is EPCOT where my favorite attraction, Spaceship Earth, resides.
I’m a big fan the Udon noodles at Katsura Grill in the Japan pavilion at EPCOT.
Katsura in EPCOT
I love the Vinylmation Park Starz figures and enjoy Disney’s ‘Meet the Robinsons.’
The Haunted Mansion bride as a ParkStar
Ed’s Note: I love ‘Meet the Robinson’s’ too
I had the privilege of meeting Richard Dreyfus and his family while giving them a brief tour of the Dinosaur control tower. I also met Roy Disney on Walt’s 100th birthday while I visited the Hollywood Studios as a guest. Mr. Disney was walking through One Man’s Dream and talking to Michael Eisner. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet Mr. Eisner.
Richard Dreyfuss in 2009.
Dreyfuss stared in Disney’s version of Oliver Twist
as well as Disney’s adaptation of “James and the Giant Peach.’
With enough money, you can buy a block party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in which you and your company can walk the red carpet and be mobbed by cast members that have been hired to hound you for pictures and autographs.
I would really like to work in the parks again, but after I retire from my current career.
Yes. I think having a name like the Walt Disney Company is a strong employer to list on a résumé. I also attribute many of my people skills to the opportunities I had at Disney to help people.
I still have one as a Facebook friend. Although I haven’t talked to my former coworkers and roommates in a long time, I would be happy to see any of them again. We did have a reunion 5 years after our college program.
Absolutely! On the college program, you don’t make much money so you learn to rely on the parks for a good time. My roommates and I would spend our time off at the parks. I even remember bringing a change of clothes to work so I could meet up with friends as soon as I finished my shift.
Although it wasn’t really “out of the way”, I would often find time to go by The Living Seas at Epcot. I’ve always enjoyed the exhibits there, particularly the cuttlefish tank. When I had time to myself in the parks, I enjoyed spending it there. I find the cuttlefish fascinating and relaxing to watch. I still love showing them off to friends that haven’t seen them before; everyone seems to find them interesting.
EPCOT’s The Living Seas is now known as The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
My favorite hidden Mickey is in Dinoland at DAK. If you stand near the weird dinosaur statue outside Chester and Hester’s, and look down, you might be standing on it! It’s a series of cracks in the concrete making a hidden Mickey about 18 inches wide. I think most people stand or walk over it and never know its at their feet!
I took this picture last year. It is indeed a great find!
I would suggest that guests take time to interact a little more with the cast members. When you engage a cast member in conversation, not only will you break some of the monotony that they might have in their day, you also give that cast member an opportunity to show you why Disney service is above the rest. Although most people work at Disney because they have a passion for what the company represents, it is still a “job” at times. Showing interest in the people of Disney and not just the attractions will open many unexpected doors for memorable encounters. Like Walt said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it makes people to make that dream a reality.”
Fortunately, Disney has been progressive regarding their integration of technology and communication “plus-ing” the guest experience in the parks. That being said, I am quite happy with things they have done or are planning to do. But if I was put in charge, I would work to bring the future back to Future World in Epcot. Provide better dining options in the Magic Kingdom. And finally, install a One Man’s Dream-style exhibit at each park that is focused on Walt’s interests and achievements relating to that park’s theme.
Most definitely.
Many thanks again to Tony for sharing!!
The good people over at Chip and Co. posted the question “If you got a specialized Disney car tag, what would it say?”
So, I thought I’d do some searching for Disney vanity plates and here’s what I found. These are used under Creative Commons. Just ask if you want me to take one down.
Do you have one? Share it with us! If not, what would you get??
This one flummoxes me, not sure how you get a heart on your plate.
My favorite
Not strictly Disney, I know
When you ask, sometimes you really do receive. After putting out another call to my fellow university staffers, I found my next interview via her brother-in-law. I met Rosemary Milsap, and her delightful son, at a local coffee shop one brisk but gorgeous day last year. She spent almost 2 hours with me discussing her time with Disney. I learned that we lived in Southern California at same time, living through some earthquakes and the 1992 riots.
Rosemary teaches drama at a local high school (she taught Broadway actor Tituss Burgess!). She shared stories and photos from when she was one of the performers in the first version of Fantasmic back in 1992 at Disneyland in California, plus some great insight into being a Disney performer and what goes in to the audition process. As always, I can’t thank her enough for her time. Enjoy.
Yes, THAT Tituss Burgess…seen here portraying Sebastian in the Broadway version of “The Little Mermaid.”
I’m Rosemary Milsap, 41, from Augusta, GA. I’ve been in Athens since 1993. I graduated from the University of Georgia in 1991 with a degree in Art History. I since gotten my Masters in social science education. In high school, I decided I wanted to be on Broadway and I’ve always loved the theater.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is my favorite park and Space Mountain for a ride. I loved “Snow White” as a child and “The Lion King” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” now.
My Seven Dwarfs figurines. My son has a stuffed Mickey that I love, and I regularly wore a baseball cap I got there for many years. I still have it.
This sounds a little strange maybe, but the gluten-free chicken fingers I got at the Columbia Harbour House in the Magic Kingdom. During our first trip to Walt Disney World, I discovered that if you ask, many of the Disney chefs can and will accommodate a variety of food allergies.
(Ed’s Note: During my last trip to WDW, I watched a chef at the Rose and Crown discuss cooking options with a family whose child had more than a few food allergies, including preparing the meal with separate cookware. He never batted an eye at the request.)More on Disney and food allergies
I don’t recall seeing any, but there were always rumors that a celeb was watching the show (We couldn’t tell as each audience was up to 3,000 people). We performed for a couple of media events when we first opened the show, and we were told we might perform for Micheal Jackson’s birthday. Sometimes, he would rent the park for the night. Memory evades me, but I believe it never happened, if it did he was not present.
But in some ways, Michael was always in the Park…
1992 (almost the whole year)
I was a performer in the original cast of the outdoor show Fantasmic at Disneyland; I played a flower petal in the Jungle Book section, a pirate in the Peter Pan section and Doc in the finale section, all within a 1/2 hour show. It was a rush, three times a night. After I saw Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, I know that some of the lineup has since changed–now it’s Lion King instead of Jungle Book and Pocahontas instead of Peter Pan.
My husband and I were living in North Hollywood in Los Angeles and I needed a job. I saw an ad in the paper for a casting call and it looked like fun. At the time, I thought it was a parade audition. During many of our visits to Disneyland, I’d watch the parade and think, “I can do that.” So, I did.
There were hundreds of people auditioning in a giant sound stage in Orange County, we were there for over 6 hours. Another girl and I were two of the last people to audition. When they called us, we had learned a short dance piece, we both froze in place. They allowed us to start over, which seemed strange considering how fast they were eliminating people. I’ve always thought that if one of us hadn’t froze, they would have asked the other to leave, but as we both did, they started again. They wanted to see how we moved, and grouped us by height. Nothing happened that night, then I got call-back, went in and did more movement. Again nothing. Then, I got a third call, and I was getting a little annoyed, but a girlfriend encouraged me to go down and do it. I did and I was one of the last ones to get a part.
The characters were based on height, and I’m around 5’6”, and Doc is the tallest dwarf, so I was aiming for that. But 5’5” was the cut-off, so when it came to me, I got as short as I could.
We all signed six-month performer contracts. We got to pick our schedule, and I only worked on the weekends since I had a day-job up in Pasadena.
After my six months were up, I signed another contract. But about two months in, my husband and I decided to move back to Georgia, and Disney was very gracious to allow to get out of the contract. I was there around eight months.
Spending nights in the park during the months of rehearsal leading up to the show. In the beginning, we rehearsed on a sound stage, then we moved to park. They were rewriting and adjusting the show as we went based on how the performers moved and how fast they could get around during costume changes. The were VERY concerned about the dragon fire, [pyrotechnics and lifts] and making sure we were all safe. The Mickey at the end that rises to strike the final blow shoots up out of the ground like a rocket. These were all untested gags, and we worked very hard to get it right. We found out that so much gas was used for the fire gags that the gas level in Anaheim actually lowered all at once during a show. I was always worried about the ducks in the river.
Once we moved to the park, we worked from midnight until 8 a.m. We had to camp on Tom Sayer Island, which I found amazing. Here we were in this large city, sleeping outside and were perfectly safe. I had a great time. We brought sleeping bags and backpacks. Most performers weren’t allowed to have anything personal inside the park, but since we were there all night and couldn’t leave, we were allowed. I think most people brought books and cards. I played a lot of cards on that island.
Our costumes included a wet suit, sweat suit and t-shirt. We had to wear the sweats and t-shirt on the river crossing to the paddle-boat where we got in costume. The costumes were at the whim of the wind, that’s when my flower petal suit became a strapped-on 7’ sail. It could literally pick you up if you didn’t hang on or lean the right way. The huge water fountains in which they projected video clips would spray you on a windy evening and you would be quite wet (thus the wet suits we all wore). When we were done with one part of the show, we would have to literally run to the next location to get ready for the next section. It was always interesting (but usually fun) running in the dark on and off boats and across the obstacles of Tom Sawyer island! We got pretty good at it after a few good spills and pile ups.
The LA riots. The whole city was on curfew and it was unclear whether I was expected to report to work or not, but I was scared to drive past dark as that would be breaking curfew for LA county. Finally, I found out they had to cancel the show. I can’t remember how many days we had curfew, but those going to work were allowed to venture out after a day or two.
We would have long waits when we were still in rehearsals before the show opened. Often it would be a couple of hours before you were needed again. Since it was the middle of the night, we would sleep in our sleeping bags, or play cards, or talk, but a few times we made up ridiculous games that involved silly charades just to pass the time. All very juvenile. The whole cast was very friendly and fun. A group of us had a sleep over a couple of times. We just enjoyed hanging out, but we all came from different directions up to 2 hours away, so hanging out beyond work wasn’t really feasible.
I always felt a bit like Disney was ‘big brother.” They dictated hair styles for men and women with specifics for every ethnicity and hair type. Of course talent didn’t wear any jewelry, but sales persons were given specific instructions on where and what type of jewelry one can have on (rings, earrings, necklaces). It makes sense from an image standpoint, but it always seemed intrusive. One of the stunt guys for the “Peter Pan section wore a wig so well, that none of us knew he had long hair underneath until they got mad at him and he yelled that he quit and pulled off his wig!
For a season or two, sure!
I teach theatre, there must be some connection there…..
Walt Disney was a GENIUS! He really was a visionary.
No; I should look them up on Facebook!
See the shows, they really are good. It’s also fun to imagine what the person underneath the costume looks like and what gender they are (adults only, don’t spoil the magic for the kids)
How many guests they will allow in the park at one time. Too many on holidays.
yup
Absolutely.
Thanks again to Rosemary, and to you dear readers for continuing to follow these interviews.
Sunlight through a dogwood leaf
Friends, I love my iPhone. I love my iPhone camera more. As my daughter says, “Daddy, do you have to take a picture of EVERYTHING?” Yes, yes I do.
Food, trees, signs, interesting street textures and so on. But, many iPhone camera users have lamented that you can’t really get close up to anything due to its depth of field. And honestly, the iPhone is perfect for close-ups: it’s small and light with a huge viewfinder.
Enter the macro lens, a device that is essentially a magnifying glass for your phone. I know most of you know this already, but I like to be thorough. You can buy one online, they run from around $20 on up. And there are some really cool ones out there. But there are just as many plans online to make your own…and that’s what I wanted to do.
So, the quick rundown is this: find either an old disposable film camera or DVD player; extract the lens from either; attach to a small item like a bottle cap; and attach that to your phone. You have to be careful, you don’t want to scratch the camera lens and you don’t want to affix anything permanent to the phone, so there a multitude of ways to attach the lens. Here’s how I did it…
It can be difficult to find a disposable film camera these days. I’m told Dollar General still have them, but I couldn’t find one locally, so I asked around campus and got two brand new ones! I opened it and started taking it apart.
Once done, I had three lens, the camera lens, the viewfinder and the flash lens.
Hidden Mickey was not intentional…
My daughter and I have been collecting plastic bottle caps for a future project, so I found some that would work.
I cut out holes.
And attached the lens to the caps with hot glue. The camera lens is attached to the cap of a detergent bottle, which allows me to rest the phone one something while I’m taking a picture.
I don’t recommend using hot glue, as the glue is hard to manage in such a small place, and those glue strands get on everything, but it worked ok as a first try.
The trick then was to attach it to the phone. I’ve seen bent wires, rubber bands and even glueing it to an iPhone case. I had none of those things and didn’t want it glued to anything, so I used zip ties.
Bending the zip ties and crimping them with pliers, I got the shape I wanted. It took a couple of times to get it right, hot glue is very forgiving. Once shaped, I glued the lens/cap to the ties and you have what you see above. It slips on and off the iPhone easily and is pretty well lined up with the camera itself.
And as I am want to do, I ran around the house taking pictures:
Playing card before using the lens
…and after
Morning dew on the rose bush
Rose
And that’s that. The other two lens don’t really work as well, but I’ll keep tinkering. It took about an hour and cost me absolutely nothing. I’ll make more, but I was pretty tickled to get this first one built.
Follow me on Facebook, or @tattoed_dad on Twitter and Instagram to see more in the future.
Just Off Main Street 
Written
on November 1, 2012