haiderodes

OMG the title of this post is wrong, yet so good. HAHA!

i saw this movie the other night...let me tell you it is very UNhollywood. to me it was very respectful and not like any normal motion picture. it is almost like a documentary (although with a lack of narration). it jumps right in there. theres no cute dialog or personal quips. theres no large pan shots to set up scenes. to me it seemed very raw. no computer generated planes or huge special effects. i have watched the A&E version a few times and let me tell you that one was far more hollywood. it was still respectful, but that one seemed to focus more on the people and thier backstory. it focused on the families. United 93, on the other hand, seemed to involve more about the logistics of the day and how things played out. i can see how some probably cant handle this, but for me it was something i really wanted to see. parts were frustrating, but im glad i saw it.

speaking of food... Soren...make sure you visit the Ale House at least once if you haven't already. Good food, good prices, oh ya...and alcohol too!

OOH MY TURN! haha As mentioned before, everything ultimately depends on your park's policies. I have worked at three different parks and all three were different. But, in case you want to hear more, here's my experience. warning...this is long! MGM Grand Adventures - defunct This was one of the best experiences of my life. The people made this job so much fun. It was the summer leading to my senior year of high school and, as we would come to learn, would be the last season of regular operation for the park. Each attraction had a short 3 digit code that referred to what area of the park it was in. For example, Lightning Bolt = 612 and Over the Edge = 621 because they are both in Gold Rush junction. Also made it easier when communicating so you didnt have to say the whole name. You were trained on all aspects of each attraction as you were assigned to a single attraction each day you worked. You would rotate at the ride with usually at least one extra person working as a grouper and/or entrance in order to provide breaks. Rotations were every hour starting at 15 till. If you had a good lead, theyd make sure you got another break later in the day in addition to your hour lunch. Each ride had its own particular operation quirks. For example, the rapids ride had a turntable that you had to contend with. There was also a special loading harness for disabled guests. You had to space boats leaving the station so they wouldnt bump and tip over (very hard because they never stop moving and yes some people had popped boats while attempting to space them!) When it was windy the geysers would trigger a trouble light, or you had people who would jump out of rafts. I liked working that ride especially at Tower because you sat in a little hut high above the water with a cooler full of water...just relaxing...until someone jumped into the water that is. Other things they were big on were speils and hand signals and in what order to do hand signals. For example on the roller coaster, in order to dispatch the load had to put their thumb up toward the train first, followed by the unload. Then the load would hold their thumb high above their head while pressing the dispatch enable with the panel person. Then the unload was to walk toward the front of the station and watch the train ascend the lift (it was a tire drive lift). We were trained to do a lot for some the rides like adding and subtracting units on certain rides, opening and closing them, etc. Others required that to be done by maintenance people. In downtime, you had a list of like 5 numbers to call. To help keep things calm, supervisors, and leads wore pagers instead of radios. All you had to do was page them with your attraction code. The work was hard at times especially when it got busy and it was 120 degrees outside....its vegas afterall! People often underestimated our park, but we made it work. It was definately the people that made it worth it! In fact I was promoted to lead at the end...the youngest they ever had! Adventuredome I worked as a op here twice in my life. Once my senior year of high school and again during my winter break December 04 - February 05. This park had the added hassle of being located indoors. I say hassle because we have additional procedures for stuff like fires, bomb threats, etc that have to be handled in a particular manner because everything is indoors. And dont let the dome fool you, just because its indoors doesnt mean it doesnt rain or get hot inside there, because it does! I didn't and still dont care for operation of this park, from an employee standpoint that is. For one, the rotation isnt a true rotation for the most part. You usually go to one attraction for the start of your shift, go on a break, then return for the remainder of your shift. If you are lucky you might get another rotation. That means sometimes youd get put in a position for upwards of 4 to 5 hours. Because they only train you on certain parts of certain rides at first, you cant just rotate at your ride to break things up. That means you could be working load here and then working the "line" here. Combine that with not being allowed to cross any train or boat on any attraction means you are just stuck. (yes, you read that right, you have to go all the way around to get to the other side). You require coordinator (lead) approval for anything. Its like they didnt trust the workers. Block checks were only done in the presence of supervisors. You could only e-stop rides for the night in the presence of supervisors...I actually know why that is. Someone "sank" a boat on the water ride by doing a premature estop. As for operations the clear/dispatch signal is a index finger...im still not certain of that logic, but ok. Each ride had automated spiels that were either too loud or too low. And the whole wristband, ride tickets thing was for the birds. In the end i noticed a big difference in the mentality between this park and MGM. MGM was a lot more selective in hiring whereas Adventuredome hires any warm body, hence the high turnover. Even the park guests were different...lets just say they were better behaved at MGM. Magic Kingdom - Walt Disney World I actually didnt do attractions formally while there as college program and seasonal so I can only offer limited insight. I did, however, work in operations as a parking host... For the most part, you are trained to work at all positions so that you can rotate within that given attraction. There are some areas where you are assigned multiple attractions and rotate between them...such as Fantasyland and Buzz, TTA, Carousel, and Timekeeper at Tomorrowland. Cast members use Cast Deployment System (CDS) to tell you where to go next...be it break or position. For parking, we were a beast of our own. We used CDS like everyone else in order to clock in/out, but due to the fickle nature of parking cars, our coordinators (leads) told us where to go. From all my experiences, I think I enjoyed parking the most. Its a very logistically intense position to be in. Everything is about timing and being in the right place at the right time. Whereas Space Mountain may require a dispatch of 6 guests every 15 seconds or so, we at peak time, must dispatch a tram of 210 people in 1 minute...WITH everyone seated, no lap kids over 3, no kids under 12 on the outside, stollers folded and IN the tram, and umbrellas closed. This done in heat, rain, AND lightning. And thats just tram operation. We had about 7 pages of spiel to remember along with hand signals. There are also certain routes we would have to drive, things to watch out for, and most importantly where and where NOT to stop your tram. While out in the lot there is so much more into sending those cars down the rows than most people think about, but we made it smooth. Running to get people pulling out of the line all in the middle of florida heat, humidity, and BUGS. Again this was a job where the people made it special. Guests made it hard sometimes when they were stubborn, but it was all a great experience and a great way to stay physically active! Hope this gave you some different perspective.

no have you ever choked a chicken?

Right on Robb! As a past Disney parking host...let me tell you people got hurt all the time. Granted 99.9% of the time it was thier fault for not paying attention and not following directions but it happened. There was no news coverage. IMO, I think the Mission:Space hoopla has to deal with how they marketed the ride as well. They said it was the most intense attraction ever, reguardless of the physical reality of g-forces. People will take most intense and turn it into something thats on the edge of being safe/unsafe. We were talking about this very sort of mental game in my Media and Society class yesterday. There are a lot of attractions people get hurt on. Hell, I was at the movies last night and someone fell UP the stairs.

In a way, I think Elissa could be right. I think the suspense of not knowing exactly how its going to feel may play a factor in it. I also think the theming and everything that makes the experience so exciting, adds to the perceived forces. Like someone else mentioned, I have never EVER seen a ride that has that many warnings about whats going to happen. They not only mention spinning, they show it...OVER AND OVER AGAIN! Maybe people just think Disney rides are calm and ignore the warnings (already mentioned)? I mean if people are ignoring them, that can't really be Disney's fault...in theory of course. Yes Mission:Space is unique, its has its intense aspects, but there are much more intense attractions out there.

on the radio yesterday they said that most US dates are sold out. tickets went on sale this past saturday for the may 27th show here...they are already gone!

If I had to add one more point, it would be that Disney isn't the end all be all of all that is good and just on planet earth. It is very tempting to get into what I call "American Idol syndrome" where people think that one shot is the only chance they will ever have at success. If you should do the program, you will have great experiences, but don't let that limit you to thinking that Disney is the only way to success.

My advice for anyone planning on doing the program is not to limit themself with what they want to do. Everyone wants to do attractions, or work front desk, or be a character, etc. Even if you don't, you can still have a great time and learn a lot about the field you are planning to go into. For me, I actually changed my major when I returned as result of networking and talking to various people while there. But like I said its up to you... Don't expect them to just give you everything when it comes to contacts, job offers, etc. They give you the basics and opportunities, but its up to you to take advantage of it!

I really like the look of the station. They went in a different direction from the others and I like it.

Fuh-jeye-tahs! I loved that Family Guy episode. Anyways, I like crunchy tacos...especially on Taco Tuesdays at Del Taco. Then again im also partial to the grilled stuft burrito at Taco Hell.

I'm a huge MGM ToT fan. During my college program I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the attraction including the 5th Dimension! Since then I've fallen in love with the attraction...I'll never forget that I wanted to fall in love with the DCA version just like I did with the original, but of course it didnt happen. However, when you ignore that there is another, DCA's is still a pretty strong attraction that other theme parks would kill for...even with its quirks. My favorite aspects of the DCA ride are 1. The quick walk for fastpass returnees. I love the garden queue at MGM, but ease of access at DCA is awesome when you've already experienced it before and you are looking to on quickly. 2. The lighting effects in the drop (well the only) shaft. Im not talking about the little montage things...Im talking about the actually lights in the shaft. next time you ride look up and you will see all the lights in the shaft go on and off, flash, etc during your climbs and drops. This really surprised me cause i never noticed this in the MGM version. Unfortunately, thats about all the good I have the DCA version. To me it seems that the line moves a lot slower on this one due to the lack of a true "circuit" that the ride vehicles are completing. The hallway sucks, the lack of a 5th dimension sucks, etc. But still its all in comparison to the original. Granted I still think most people would argue...WHY A HALLWAY!

yay! sfmm in the rain. the park is definately an adventure in the rain. i think everyone should do it at least once! Back in November 97 I was there for a spirit competition and it poured from like noon to 5p. Those hills get mighty slippery in some parts! Psyclone never ran better though! Just watch out for water splashing out of those covers on Ninja...very nasty.

Do any of you guys listen to Story of the Year? In their song "Is This My Fate? He Asked Them" they pretty much say the same thing...do you really think its a choice to be born into a life of discrimination? Even though I was in denial about it for a while, I can trace back and see that yes I have liked guys for my whole life. It all depends on your environment and personality if, when, and how you act upon it. For me I didn't really just accept it as reality until after I started college (even though I had had a few experiences back in high school.) But it was never a choice, but more of a natural progression. I think a lot of what people see and stereotype is personality as everyone is different. That is reguardless of "what" you are.

For me it was the time of my life! Everyone has a different experience, but you get out of it what you put into it.

I love Florida. I did the WDW college program and stayed seasonal for a while until I got this position I have now. I would so move there in a heartbeat if the money was right. Actually, I have been applying for a few jobs with Disney as well as ABC...we'll see how that goes.

Non-profit has had its benefits. Its provided me with great experiences, especially with travel. In fact I was just in Philadelphia Monday through Thursday and Los Angeles area Friday through Monday! Its not that I want to leave non-profit altogether, its just that this one is small and can't offer me what I want post-graduation. I did a huge "resume blitz" back in December and heard some good things, but I couldnt commit right then, because I still had committments for this job through April. So now im following up. I'd really like to get out of Vegas and Nevada for that matter. Its an ok place to visit, but Im so tired of living here I could scream!

I was one of those insane kids who couldnt get enough of Flashback. I think it was look of it. The flashing strobes, the loud noise, the boxy, but furturistic trains. Of course it quickly went downhill, but I loved it. The only part that I thought was truly rediculously uncomfortable was the wierd drop after the first hairpin curve. You dived down to the right, but then immediately went up to the left. It did it all in such a small amount of track. It was that abrupt change of direction that really hurt. Here's a picture from RCDB. The train in the middle of this painful manuever.

Speaking of tree trimming... Remember that old Ninja ride simulator film? How they had the tree branch smack the camera when it "repeated" the same section of track to make for a longer movie? I think it did it like 3 or 4 times, it got to be hillarious.

i say Ninja if only for its use of the terrain. It would be awesome if they could slap on some of those inverted style trains like they did for Vampire...that would be awesome, but would probably require some serious tree trimming.

Who else out there is in the midst of their post-graduate job search? It's a bit scary. I graduate in May and it's hard work finding work that is a cut above hourly at a department store. Right now I have a good career type job working for a local non-profit managing our youth programs. Its a good salaried, full time position, but because its non-profit, I need to make a jump toward something better, especially since I will have my degree in a matter of weeks. Any one else out there a little scared by this whole "what am I gonna do after graduation" thing?

yes have you ever been to Grad Nite at Disneyland?

brandon

Big Thunder Mtn Railroad at Disneyland Sunday, February 26 at 10:55p. Ride was closing for the night, everyone was having a great time.