You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers, Part 11

Another batch of questions relating to Disneyland and Walt Disney Productions, as posed by Disneyland employees in 1973 and published in the June 27, 1973 Disneyland Line. More details can be found in Part 1.

QUESTION: CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO ASSIST US IN HANDLING GUESTS WHO ACT LIKE HOODLUMS?

ANSWER: Yes. Additional out-of-costume employees will be scheduled to assist in handling these situations.

QUESTION: WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR ME, AS AN HOURLY EMPLOYEE, TO SIT IN ON MY DIVISION'S SCHEDULING MEETING?

ANSWER: Yes. We will be asking hourly employees to attend scheduling meetings to provide a better understanding of the problems supervision must contend with in the area of scheduling.

QUESTION: WHEN A DAY SHIFT PERMANENT EMPLOYEE CALLS IN SICK, WHY AREN'T OTHER PERMANENT EMPLOYEES GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO COVER THIS SHIFT RATHER THAN USING A SEASONAL EMPLOYEE?

ANSWER: Supervision will attempt to cover the more desirable shifts with permanent employees when possible.

QUESTION: I AM A PERMANENT EMPLOYEE, BUT IF I TRANSFER FROM MY PRESENT DIVISION TO ANOTHER DIVISION WHY MUST I START AS A CASUAL/SEASONAL IN THE NEW DIVISION?

ANSWER: In the future, if a permanent employee is transferred from one division to another division, where a permanent position is available, they will be transferred as a permanent employee at a lateral weekly rate progression and placed at the bottom of the seniority list.

QUESTION: CAN I POST ANNOUNCEMENTS OF OUTSIDE EVENTS ON BULLETIN BOARDS?

ANSWER: Yes, but please take your announcement to the D.R.C. office in The Center for approval, and if it is approved you may then post it on the bulletin board. All bulletin board materials need prior approval of the D.R.C. in order to maintain reasonable control over the content of the bulletin boards.

Need Fill Dirt?

From the May 16, 1973 Disneyland Line:

NEED FILL DIRT? - Excess fill dirt behind the Haunted Mansion is available to employees on a first come basis by calling Bill Wright [Property Control] on extension 278. Bring your truck and the skip-loader will be made available for as much as you need. This offer is good until all the dirt is gone.

Nixon and Disneyland, Part 6

Yeah, yeah... I've been delinquent. (Would it comfort you to know the thesaurus is up to 38,063 terms? No?) I've come across another connection between Disneyland and Nixon: Tim Elbourne. From the March 28, 1973 Disneyland Line:

Tim Elbourne has joined Disney as Director of Tour Development and Travel for Disneyland and Walt Disney World and will also act as General Manager of the Walt Disney Travel Company. Tim worked for Walt Disney Productions as a Project Developer and in 1968 left to join the Nixon administration as Assistant Press Secretary to the President.

American Egg House Omelet Record

In regards to the American Egg House, Chris Strodder writes in The Disneyland Encyclopedia:

...in fact there's mention of some kind of "omelet record" being set at this Main Street location, though what the record was remains unclear and unverified.

I'm not sure where he got this information originally. Perhaps it came from a souvenir guidebook. The July 20, 1978 Disneyland Line fills in the gap:

An artful display of culinary genius added to the excitement of last Friday's Grand Opening ceremonies at Main Street's American Egg House. Howard Helmer, demonstrating cook with the American Egg Board, broke the world record for omelet preparation. Easily passing the old record of 188 omelets, Howard produced 217 two-egg omelets in only 30 minutes, assuring himself a spot in Guinness's next edition of its famous record book.

Helmer even runs his own blog at http://www.incredibleeggman.com.

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers, Part 10

The ninth and final batch of questions relating to Disneyland and Walt Disney Productions, as posed by Disneyland employees in 1972 and published in the August 16, 1972 Disneyland Line. More details can be found in Part 1.

QUESTION: "Has Disneyland ever considered installing a theft-proof type of parking lot or lockers for bicycles?"

ANSWER: The Maintenance Division is now taking the proper steps to prepare an area in the North Lot (that's the fenced-in lot to your right as you enter Disneyland from Harbor Blvd), where you can safely park your cycles and bikes. Bike racks will be provided, and, as mentioned, the entire area is already fenced in.

QUESTION: "Why can't there be more security officers on Main Street during operation hours to keep the guest from boarding the vehicles while moving and unnecessarily bothering the horses?"

ANSWER: According to Ron Dominguez, Director of Operations, keeping people from jumping on and off a moving Main Street vehicle is the responsibility of the person or persons who operate that attraction.

If you have a workable method in which Security officers can aid the Main Street operators in this matter, give Ron Dominguez a call at Ext. 410.

QUESTION: "It was unfortunate that I was unable to attend this meeting of Disneyland employees at the Convention Center, due to my being on a vacation that week.

"Only good can come from meetings of this nature...maintaining a good employer and employee improved relationship.

"What I would have liked to submit is as follows:

"MONORAIL SYSTEM FOR ORANGE COUNTY....This county has developed into an internationally known Vacationland. Traffic and parking conditions have been greatly increased by this progress. As a step into the future (as we approach the year 2,000), the construction of a Monorail System connecting these locales of pleasure and interest would greatly reduce the congestions. This system could be used by the employees getting to and from work.

"Connection to such points of interest:

"DISNEYLAND, KNOTT'S BERRY FARM, CINEDOME 20 and 21, LAGUNA BEACH FESTIVAL OF ARTS, MOVIELAND WAX MUSEUM, JAPANESE VILLAGE, LION COUNTRY SAFARI, AND CAPISTRANO.

"Eventually it would include: Marineland and San Diego's Mission Bay.

"One exception which would prevent this vision of Tomorrow would be: Auto industry, oil companies, bus lines, etc."

ANSWER: We have given some thought to extending the Monorail system to other places in the Disneyland area.

Your idea is too great for our financing ability or even our engineering ability at this time.

QUESTION: "When will the Opportunities Questionnaire be passed out?"

ANSWER: Disneyland's Opportunities' Resume, "Where Do You Go From Here," is scheduled to be mailed to all Disneyland employees around the middle of September. When you receive this Questionnaire, fill it out as soon as possible and return it to Disneyland in the envelope provided.

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers, Part 9

The eighth batch of questions relating to Disneyland and Walt Disney Productions, as posed by Disneyland employees in 1972 and published in the August 2, 1972 Disneyland Line. More details can be found in Part 1.

QUESTION: "As a very concerned sweeper, I would like to inquire why we in Bear Country have such an inadequate costume.

"Granted, the costumes look good, but they are quite impractical. A sweeper probably does as much walking as anybody, and the heavy boots are not made for walking. The sole is so hard that it has given me shin splints. A sweeper should be mobile - the boots are a hinderance.

"The hats are constructed with no air vents, and one's head becomes very hot and sweaty. The shirts are equivalent to wearing flannel underwear on a hot, humid summer night. They are fine for the winter season, but much too heavy for summer. The pants are closely knit so they keep in the heat. Also, we are required to keep the pants tucked into the boots, which makes the situation even more cumbersome.

"May I suggest that the sweepers wear the traditional white linens. They are practical, cheaper, and much more appropriate for our specific job situation."

ANSWER: "Your costume is a duplication of the kind of clothes the loggers and trappers wore in the old Northwest.

"In our efforts to keep ten years ahead of our competitors, we are trying to theme all sweepers' costumes to the area in which they are assigned to work.

We believe that the white uniforms exclude the sweepers from the Show.

In regards to the question:

1. Hats are being vented as you suggested.

2. The homespun weave of the shirt may appear to be heavy, but actually it is 100% cotton, which is the coolest fabric available. The pants are also 100% cotton.

3. The composition of the last and the sole in your boots are similar to the type of well-constructed shoes worn by many construction workers. Once the boot has been broken in, it becomes quite comfortable.

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers, Part 8

The seventh batch of questions relating to Disneyland and Walt Disney Productions, as posed by Disneyland employees in 1972 and published in the July 21, 1972 Disneyland Line. More details can be found in Part 1.

QUESTION: "Since they rehab the Park every year, why don't they do the same thing in the ad building? It could sure use it. I thought we were all part of the Show! Anyway, that's what they tell us."

ANSWER: According to Disneyland's Director of Maintenance, Mel Cecil, most of the ad building will be repainted this summer. Work has already begun in Accounting and Payroll. The Computer Room is next on the schedule, along with the rehab of the hall adjacent to the Mail Room, and the hall displaying Disneyland's history.

As you know, most of the major rehab at Disneyland is performed during the winter months in the Park. Summer is when most of the backstage rehab takes place.

Next year, a complete evaluation of the ad building's air conditioning will take place, and hopefully all of these cooling problems can be solved.

QUESTION: "Why can't there be some improvements done in the Paint Shop? An area for preparation that is shaded and a place to put a finished product."

ANSWER: No sooner said than done! In August, work begins on the Paint Shop to add more shaded area to the shop adjacent to the old steam train building.

QUESTION: "What is planned for the area of land in which the old tin warehouse is sitting on, now that the new one is completed?"

ANSWER: The old tin warehouse is currently being used as a storage area for the Maintenance Division. Molds, parade items, and spare parts currently fill the place.

Within five to ten years from now, the land on which the warehouse sits will more than likely be the site of a new Park attraction.

QUESTION: "Was any consideration given to the principles of spacial ecology (that is, personal distance that an organism, or person, customarily places between itself and other organisms, or persons) when setting the ceiling on in-Park attendance. I feel the present guest count ceiling is an injustice to our guests.

ANSWER: We're doing our best to make it more comfortable for guests to visit Disneyland. Every year, our industrial engineers go through the Park to determine how we can make it better for the next year. Food facilities, restrooms, benches, drinking fountains, attraction waiting areas, and merchandise shops are all studied. And it's then determined how to best handle specific problems on busy summer days in these areas.

Improvements made this year as a result of last summer's studies include larger crowd control areas for attractions, enlarged restrooms, and the installation of more benches and drinking fountains.

One of the main considerations during the construction of Bear Country was to make sure that guests had enough room to roam in that area. Also, Bear Country's restroom facilities are one of the largest in the Park.

Since our guests come from all over the country and from all over the world, they expect to visit Disneyland on the day they have set aside in their travel schedules. It's an inconvenience if they have to be turned away, and in the past, we have had to stop people from entering the Park because we just couldn't handle them.

As Disneyland expands, we will be able to handle more people more comfortably. And, even then, the popular attractions and areas will still be crowded.