What Disneyland means to me

By: Lynn Barron

I am a consistent listener and fan of the podcast Dole Whips and Dark Rides (Formally The Disneyland Mixpot). The question, what does Disneyland mean to you? comes up often on their Facebook page and on the podcast. I thought about this question many times and thought I would answer it on my blog. 

Disneyland is a very special place to me, with many different memories coming from different times in my life. I grew up going to Disneyland at least once a year, sometimes more. I first remember going to Disneyland when I was about 4 years old with my mom and my dad, who are both not with us anymore.  I cherish those pictures I have taken there with them, and try to remember the memories. Throughout my childhood I had the chance to go often with family and sometimes friends.  As I grew older I also remember going with my mom, step dad, sister and step sisters, with them I remember going on Space Mountain for the first time and remember how scared I was as a 10 year old.  Once I was in high school I played drums in the marching band and we had the opportunity to march down Main Street.  We were a wild bunch of kids then. Then my grad nite was held at Disneyland in June of 1990.  I remember the park stayed open all night and we fell asleep on a bench near the Hub at 3am. One year later I applied for a job at Disneyland and worked at The Plaza Inn Restaurant from 1991 to 1993. It was my first experience to see the behind the scenes at Disneyland, and no it didn't ruin it for me, it just sparked more interest. Between 1994 and 1998 I was an annual passholder and we used to go at least once a week with friends and my wife, although at the time she wasn't my wife. I remember going to listen to the big band music at Plaza Gardens stage and sipping on Hot Chocolate. In 1998 to 2007 I worked again at Disneyland this time in custodial. During these times I met some very neat people and some became my closest friends.  I had the chance as a custodian to see many of the behind the scenes and how things worked and operated.  It was such a neat experience that I will never forget.  Soon after I quit we took my son to Disneyland for the first time and that is a very unique experience.  You get to see what Disneyland is like through a childs view.  My son instantly fell in love with Disneyland and to this day still loves to go there often.  I found my new love for Disneyland through podcasts.  One of the first podcasts I started listening to was Wedway Radio.  I really enjoyed the way the material was presented and the history they talked about on the show.  I am a history buff so I really enjoyed what they talked about and it was Disney! I felt like podcasts especially Wedway Radio helped me forget about lifes struggles and make me feel like I'm back in a Disney theme park. Thanks to Matt and Nate they helped me get through some of the toughest things in my life, and they didn't even know it.  I truly think that of course God helped me through the tradegys in my life and does everyday, but Disney is another thing that I used to keep my mind off of these things. 

In March of 2011 I started my own podcast.  I was already writing this blog for Wedwayradio.com and wanted to do it in a podcast format.  I have really enjoyed it so far.  It is not easy to put a podcast together every week, but I get to talk about Disneyland and that makes me happy.  I have met so many neat people through this podcast and hope to meet many more over time.  It is fun to meet people with similar interests.

So what does Disneyland mean to me? Disneyland means happiness, comfort, familiarity, love, thrills, a place you can go to and forget about your everyday struggles and just have fun and learn something too.  Its a place you can go unwind and let your troubles be for one day go.  I look forward to going every time with my wife and son, because these are now new memories, and hope my son will remember these times and pass them on. 

Thank you for reading my story and hope you would check out my podcast The Sweep Spot and my other posts under Thunder Alley. 

A Sweepers Companion

By Lynn Baron

When working in custodial at Disneyland you are issued your own pan and broom. I remember my first pan was a metal one. Those metal pans were the only pans we had at that time in 1998. 

The first time you try to hold one the correct way and sweep through your area it feels awkward and heavy. Your wrist and arm are not used to this type of motion. After a few days you get used to it and it becomes natural. The metal pans can quickly get heavy. Sometimes they would become full of papers, maps, bottles and the heaviest of all code H. A code H means horse poop. After you clean up after the horses on Main St. you would then go back stage and dispense of it in a metal round trash can we would call "The Honey Bucket". 

In around the year 2000 we received new pans, and they were plastic. Some people at first didn't want to change over to the new plastic pans, and they stayed old school with the metal ones, but many people loved these new pans better. The plastic pans were much lighter. but less sturdy and would warp easy at the edge. Once the pan was warped items sweep towards the pan went right beneath it. 

Some people would customize their pans with a character or neat way of writing their names. At the end of a shift we would hose out our pans and sometimes shine them up, but with the plastic pans you couldn't do that. 

Cast Members with coordination would quickly learn tricks with their pans. We would flick trash in between our legs and into the pan, or spinning the brooms around. I noticed recently that the big thing is to draw with your broom using water on the ground. At night we would store our pans in a locker that we would share with another person.

When we had the metal pans it was a tradition to throw your pan into the Rivers of America on your last day. With the plastic pans you cant do that, because they would just float. On my last day I asked if I could take home my pan, and I was allowed to through management. I now use that pan to do my yard work at home. 

Check out my other posts under Thunder Alley. Also I have a podcast called The Sweep Spot. You can find all the info at www.thesweepspot.com   Lynn Barron

A Memorable Musical Experience

By: Lynn Barron

One of the many perks you get while working at Disneyland is some of the cast exclusive events. On December 8, 1999, I had the great opportunity to attend an event that was announced in the Disneyland Line, the exclusive cast member weekly publication. This event was an afternoon with The Sherman Brothers. The Sherman Brothers as you may know are a musical team that was hired by Walt Disney. They have written song for many films and attractions that are well known and considered classics today. Some of their most popular songs are from films such as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Sword In The Stone, Winnie The Pooh, The Parent Trap, and many more. Their most popular song is probably "Its a Small World". 

This event was free, and took place at the Team Disney Anaheim Auditorium. My guess there was maybe only about 100 people in attendance. The event was hosted by the late David Mumford who passed away in 2003, He was an Imagineer, author, and Disney historian. Along with him was Jeff Kurtti who has written many books; Disney and non Disney. The event was informal and a very casual intimate setting. On the stage sat Richard Sherman at a keyboard, his bother Robert sitting on a chair beside the two hosts. The hosts would ask the questions, and the brothers would take it from there; telling stories about Walt Disney and the songs they had written. Between questions they would play and sing some of their most popular songs, along with some that never made it into movies or attractions. One of the most special moments came when Richard told the story how Walt would ask them to come into his office on at the end of a work week and Walt would just say "Play It," and they knew what that meant, it meant they were to play the song "Feed The Birds". They then played the song, which was a very moving moment for many of us there that day. They then played the song "Its A Small World" and every one sang and clapped along.

After the event there was a book signing for the book Walt's Time. I of course bought this book and had them sign it. The book is a wonderfully designed book with many photos as well as great information. I highly recommend this book to any fan of The Sherman Brothers.

The event was something I will never forget. I learned a lot about this song writing team, and appreciated their music even more after attending. I truly appreciated how they were willing to do such an intimate presentation for cast members. I hope Disney still does similar presentations for the cast members because it truly was a special day.

Check out my other blog posts under Thunder Alley, and take a listen to my podcast The Sweep Spot. Thank you.

Sweep Spot Ep 10 - Fantasyland Dark Rides

In this episode we take a look at some dark rides in Fantasyland. These attractions are sometimes overlooked, but they are what separates Disney from other theme parks. So much thought and creativity went into these attractions, and it shows in the details.

While working in custodial we had the opportunity to see these attractions up close, seeing how they work and some of the these details that you wouldn't know unless you looked really well. I hope you enjoy this look at these attractions, and check out other episodes of The Sweep Spot on itunes.

A Different Role

By: Lynn

With all the hoopla surrounding the Star Tours grand openening at Disneys Hollywood Studios I decided to write about a similar experience I was involved with a few years ago.  As a Disneyland cast member we had the chance to fill a few different roles other than my usual position.  I was able to be a media host for the grand opening of The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror at Disney California Adventure.   It was pretty simple to get involved; I had to let the media hosting leader know I was interested in a certain event.  DCA was in need of another big E ticket attraction!  I was asked to be a media host for the opening of Tower Of Terror.  We went through some training. preparing for the show, and what to expect and what the media can and cannot do.

The event was to take place over two days May 4th and 5th of 2004.  We dressed in a polo shirt, given to us that was special for the event.  The first day I was assigned to work the media center.  This is where the media checked in, did some writing, interviews, and a place to relax.  I scheduled different media for interviews with whoever was available.  The media could choose from imagineers, Disney spokes people, even the president of Disneyland.  They would have to indicate if it was a TV interview, radio, paper, ect.  The the 2nd day I had to be a host to a radio station from Arizona.  The station, along with others, had a booth set up right across from the attraction.  My job was to be sure that the radio announcers had everything they needed.  I was kind of a gofer boy.  I got them food, drinks, pretty much anything they needed while under a canopy for four hours during their broadcast.  One part of their broadcast included a ride on the attraction, which I got to participate in as well.  We rode it 4 times in a row.   I usually don't mind that ride, but after the 3rd time I was a little sick. I was also allowed a break, and given a food voucher, where I could eat almost anywhere in the park.  Mmmmmmm, Taste Pilots Grill.

This was a great change of pace from my usual post as a custodian. I was able to be in a different park and do a whole new role for a couple of days.  I met some neat people, and had lots of fun!

Thank you for reading my blog post, and don't forget to check out my podcast called The Sweep Spot. You can download it at Itunes. Lynn Barron