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View Full Version : Disneyland After Dark - MiceAge article



cstephens
01-29-2003, 04:15 PM
For those of you who don't regularly read MiceAge, there's an interesting article today by Kevin Yee about the Third Shift at Disneyland - those who work after hours.

Back when I used to close the park a lot, I did remember enjoying seeing Main Street mostly empty. On the few occasions when I've been in the park for a special event and the park has been closed to the general public for a while, it was cool to walk through areas with it totally deserted. Recently, we were at the resort very early in the morning, so we got to watch some of the Third Shift people working and saying goodbye to each other at the end of their shifts.

I definitely think it's a good read. Here's the link: http://www.miceage.com/kevinyee/ky012903a.htm.

innerSpaceman
01-29-2003, 04:56 PM
I am appalled at how little these folks get paid.

Thankfully, I have never worked the graveyard shift anywhere. But I have seen what the topsy-turviness of normal sleep pattern did to a friend or two. Wouldn't wish that on George Bush (well, maybe...)

I, too, have been in the park in the wee hours of the night when the g.y. shift is hard at work. It's a unique experience for me that I have treasured, but I have always realized that it's probably the ultimate rut for the folks who toil all night on a regular basis.

I had just always assumed that Disney paid a premium for, well, wrecking these peoples' lives.

What was I thinking!?

tabacco
01-29-2003, 05:34 PM
I should note that third shift aren't the only ones who frequently see both breaks get compressed into one long one. That happens a lot with the Fantasmic! GC crew, too.

Doodle Duck
01-30-2003, 07:38 AM
Kudos to Kevi Yee. His writing skills and penchant for good solid research and getting the story in readable form really shines lately. Congratz K.Y.! Excellent stuff.

Ghoulish Delight
01-30-2003, 08:50 AM
Originally posted by DoodleDuck(A.E)
and penchant for good solid research Must...resist...urge to discuss Kevin Yee rather than content....Well, in lieu of completely derailing the thread (and possibly violating some community policies), I'll just link to this thread (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13238) for an alternate opinion on the solidity of his research (at least in one case...okay two).

Good article this time around. Definitely a new perspective on the park that I have never put a whole lot of thought into. That's a pretty brutal pay scale, but then again, no one ever took a job as an hourly at Disneyland expecting to get rich (well, no one who isn't completely deluded at any rate).

Promo-Man
01-30-2003, 09:32 AM
:D I was a long time ago a Graveyard Custodian for Disney. I thought the pay was fair for a starting position. The really neat thing about taking on this shift is that you got to work 40 hours a week as a seasonal temporary CM. I did get a raise in pay. Like any job your pay increases the longer you work there. I found at the time that I worked for Disney the pay they paid was better than outside custodial jobs. For some of us who by nature are night people it is a great shift.

mad4mky
01-30-2003, 09:55 AM
I used to date a guy (ok...so it was many, many moons ago) that worked graveyard at DLR.

He was the funniest guy...and he had the best sense of humor...
But,
He told me the funniest stories of working that shift...and he LOVED working it. He was glad he worked there when the park was closed and he got to enjoy DL at night.

He told me about the rides at night, and what they do, and how they do it. He told me about things they found in the HM and in Pirates...
Great stuff.

So, like Promo-man...some people like those hours and the pay doesn't seem so bad if you love what you're doing.:)

cryan71
01-30-2003, 10:18 AM
I worked delivering products from the wharehouse to the stores during summers of 1992 -1993 as part of the college program (any alumni out there?).

Graveyard memories include:

Jackknifing the carts right behind City Hall

Wondering why they left on the Main Street music on all night - its really loud.

Going out for drinks after work - amazing that there are bars open at 8am

Playing the free video games backstage

Exploring - going to the top of the Matterhorn; walking around Pirates; get scared in Haunted Mansion.

Finding liquor hidden on the Pirates Ride

Conoe Official on my days off

Disneyland at dawn is magical

cstephens
01-30-2003, 12:22 PM
Originally posted by innerSpaceman
I had just always assumed that Disney paid a premium for, well, wrecking these peoples' lives.

What was I thinking!?

Wrecking their lives? Hmmm, I assumed Disney was just employing them. It's not like anyone is being forced to take those jobs.

I have a friend who works graveyard for her company. Yep, it disrupts her sleep pattern. She's been working for them for quite a number of years now, and no one is forcing her to do it. She actually rather enjoys the graveyard shifts, but the price she pays for that are being a little off on her first day off and her first day back.

Berry Princess
01-30-2003, 01:11 PM
I've done graveyard before. I did it for an airport shuttle. We got paid a little less then the CMs. It was horrible there though cause the other shifts got commissions on all the reservations they did but whoever worked graveyard didn't and that wasn't what it was suppose to be at the time. I ended up quiting that job cause the guy that I worked with most the time slept and never got in trouble but I would get snapped at for the stupidest things and it was for always doing my job. I did before that after the Northridge earthquake at NBC when I answered their main phone line. That had at least 2 of us in there at all times. That wasn't so bad cause I was usually with someone I liked and we would keep each other awake or take turns napping. LOL But I do think that if you like it and can do it its fine. I didn't mind it cause I liked to stay up late at that time. I don't know if I could do it now but I probably could if I had to. It would probably be kind of neat to be in Disneyland during those hours and being able to see the sun rise over the place.

tabacco
01-30-2003, 02:30 PM
Originally posted by cryan71
I worked delivering products from the wharehouse to the stores during summers of 1992 -1993 as part of the college program (any alumni out there?).


http://www.dougtabacco.com/images/survivor.jpg :)

I was in the college program during its final year, the summer of 2001. I came back last summer even though the program was gone, and I'm hoping to come back this coming summer, if I can find a place to live again.

cryan71
01-30-2003, 03:13 PM
What the college program is over?

Oh, my god!

tabacco
01-30-2003, 11:32 PM
Yeah, 9/11 killed it. The people above the head of the program decided it wasn't worth the money to interview and hire students across the state when there were enough people locally who were willing to work, so they killed it off. That's why I made my logo... only 7 non-local "survivors" of the '01 college program came back this last summer.

bluepearl
01-31-2003, 11:11 AM
We had overnight stock shifts when there was SO much merchandise coming in and not enough time to finish them in the regular stock shifts. I'm the kind of person that could stay up most of the night, but when 4:30AM hits, I start to get sleepy. The night custodial that comes by after closing are really nice CMs. They kinda keep to themselves, but they always greet me with a smile.

The College Program isn't the only thing that got cut with 9/11; the internship at DLR was also done away with. I talked to the guy that headed that program, but he didn't say why.