A Lawyer and the Magic Kingdom

   Although I didn't have a bidded post, a post that I applied for and where I worked every day, I did work the Magic Kingdom on occasion.
   One afternoon I was working swing shift at the front entrance to Magic Kingdom when I was dispatched to the Guest Services building at the front. I was informed that there was a man making a disturbance.
   Dutifully I went over and approached the man with open palms extended and asked, "Good afternoon sir, how can I help you?"
   Well, he proceeded to tell me quite loudly that Walt Disney World was not allowing him to add days on his ticket or something like that and that he was an attorney in New York and knew his rights. He was getting closer to me and getting in my face as it were, but I stood there and didn't move. You know, kind of like a baseball manager and an umpire.
   As I'm looking up at this tall rather angry man, I noticed in my peripheral vision a group of fellow Security Hosts standing discreetly around us.
   Then the guy did something that I wasn't expecting, using two fingers of each hand, he pushed my shoulders and said something like, "What are you going to do about it?"
  Well, as I made a quick thought as to a response and before I could answer, he did it again! His version of the two finger point, I guess.
   That's when the sherrif's deputy arrived at my right side and said to me, "Officer what would you like me to do? I just witnessed two counts of assault and battery, but I leave it to you." The deputy said this while never taking his eyes off of the guy who was now looking back and forth between me and the deputy.
   Beyond this guy was a woman holding a child by the hand in each of her hands. She looked absolutely horrified or scared, it could have been both.
   "Well, deputy, I think this gentleman should rejoin his family and have a Magical Day."
    The guy went with his wife and entered the park but not before trying to say something and the deputy held up a hand and said, "You heard the officer, have a magical day."
   The lawyer looked at me and realized he wasn't going to win that case and went to his wife and
children. She lit into him and I actually felt sorry for him.
   As we dispersed the Security Hosts went back to their posts and the deputy started going back to where he came from, but not before telling me that he was robbed.
   I looked at him and asked him what he meant.
   "I really wanted to arrest that guy and take him to Railroad St. (the Orlando jail), I was robbed," he said with a smile.
   Three hours later after the front end had closed several Security Hosts and I went inside the park to be a visible presence and that's when I saw them. They were over by Toontown Fair and I guess the kids were on a ride and she was still going at him! I never saw a guy look so defeated. Lawyers.

  




  

An Exuberant Little Boy and the Magic Kingdom

It was a nice warm evening, actually late afternoon, when one of the boats coming over from the Ticket and Transportation Center arrived at the dock at Magic Kingdom.
From our vantage point at Magic Kingdom bag check, it looked like a tsunami of humanity coming towards us.
I was at the last security table on the left as you look at the boats and I noticed a little boy maybe six or seven years old running ahead of the pack. When he ran towards us, he came to my table and his parents were right behind him. They had to pick up the pace to catch up to him.
As he approached, I squatted down to his eye level like we're trained to do and said, "How ya doin' little buddy?" He proceeded to give me the strongest bear hug I've gotten in a long time. I looked up at his parents and asked if it would be OK to hug him back, also as we're trained to do, and they both nodded yes, so I did an open hug where you pat the back, but your elbows are up and away. I had to ask him to let go so I could give him a security sticker and he did.
After I gave him the sticker he kept looking up at me grinning ear to ear, but he never said a word.
I started going through Mom's bag and while I was chatting I noticed tears running down her cheeks and I looked at Dad and he was filling up with tears too.
"Is everything alright?" I asked in a kind of whisper not to draw attention to the couple.
They both nodded yes and Mom started to say something but couldn't get it out and Dad said, "Our son is autistic and has never showed any emotion. He associates you with Mickey Mouse, I guess. This is a real breakthrough."
I finished looking through their bags and squatted to the little boy's eye level again and through misting eyes of my own wished him a Magical Day and got another bear hug for my efforts. I loved my job.
So until next time--Have a Magical Day!! Below is the last remaining sticker I own

Naughty T-Shirts and Walt Disney World

One fine day took an unexpected turn in the queue at the entrance into Epcot. It was one of those times when you just knew things were not going to go well.
I was working Epcot bag check, you know, checking people's bags as they enter the park. Back then, we were located up by the turnstiles, just before you put your index finger in the biometric scanner. Well, this couple of young ladies, a teen about I'd say sixteen or seventeen and her mother who was on a cell phone behind her.
As the teenage age girl approached me and put her bag on the table and opened it for inspection, it was hard not to notice three situations, shall we say. One, she was well endowed and well, perky. Two, she was bra-less and as they say, staring, and Three, she had a T-shirt on that was totally unacceptable for entry into the park. The T-Shirt was black and had script lettering that said: "I'm single, you're single lets FCUK."
These T-shirts are made as advertising for a British or European fragrance and clothing business called French Connection United Kingdom. Hence the initials FCUK. They are not allowed in the park because someone looking at could misread it.
I looked at the shirt and explained to the young lady that she could not enter the park wearing the shirt and, using the two finger point indicated the guest gift shop to the left and that she should tell them Security wouldn't let her into Epcot with the shirt she was wearing and they would give her a new shirt free of charge. Her mother then asked what the hold up was because she had been on the cell phone and had ended the conversation and was now interested in getting into the park.
The girl looked at he mother and said that I told her she couldn't wear the shirt in the park and that she had to take it off.
Which is NOT what I said. The mother said, "Then take it off then," it a beautiful British accent.
"What? Here, Now?" Teen said.
"Yeah" Mom said. She was looking straight at me while she said this.
I pointed the two finger point at Mom and said, "That is not what I said." and proceeded to call Main Gate 10 who patrols the front entrance area and I also requested a female security host as well.
They both arrived and explained the situation and Maingate 10, a male, took one look at teeny bopper and said "Go inside and take a break" and the female security host whose name is Nooshin, talked to the teen while checking the bags of the other guests and Main Gate 10 talked to Mom. I had a root beer in the break room inside.
About ten minutes later which seemed like hours, Main Gate 10 came in and told me what happened.
The mother tried to tell them that I was flirting with her daughter and told her to take her shirt off. The daughter with Nooshin told the truth and the guests on each side of the adjoining tables and the ones behind the mother told what really happened. As a result the mother and daughter were expelled from the park and were not allowed to return.

All because of an offensive shirt. A picture of one of the shirts is above. What a day.

So Sad, November Disney Trip Postponed

   Hi guys, we were planning to go to Walt Disney World from November 10th to the 18th but I took a job as full time reporter at a newspaper in Londonderry, New Hampshire and, well it was a cut in pay but a challenge that I felt I should take. As a result a few financial reassignments were made and the WDW trip had to be pushed out.
   Anyway, I'm excited to be back blogging about WDW and sharing with anyone who'll listen (read?) about the happiest place on earth.
   Originally, this blog was about my time at WDW as a Security Host and it will continue to be so. That way I can share what it was like to work there and reminisce a little and jog my memory for the book.
   However, I think I'll expand the scope a little and make the name Protecting the Magic to include how people who visit WDW can protect there magical experience at WDW and not "lose the pixie dust" as we cast members and former cast members say. I'll share inexpensive places where visitors can eat and where to go that won't break a budget. (After of course, conferring with my wife who is  the money saver in the family when we lived there and go there on vacations)  Having lived in Kissimmee, there's plenty of places to explore and add to a Disney experience. Not that Disney needs any additions.

   The above picture is that of the entrance to the Cast Services building backstage at Epcot. Once inside those doors, there's a Security Host that inspects the bags of cast members who are showing up for work that day.
   After you pass through security, there are row after row of lockers to your right and a wall on your left that extends almost the entire length of the building. Go through the doors in that wall and you are in "costuming." All the costumes needed for the park are in that room. A cast member goes in and selects up to five costumes (three for security) and drops off the soiled costumes which are scanned. Bring the new costumes to the "check-out" station and a cast member scans them too and you're ready for another week.
   All cast members other than security (at least when I was there) are allowed to "zoom."
Zooming is wearing your costume to work. Security at the time wasn't allowed this priviledge. We were told that wearing the costume looked too much like law enforcement and if God forbid you walked into a seven-eleven and it was being robbed, you'd be the first one shot. How true that is, I don't know. Those royal blue pants are pretty hard to confuse with the deputies attire. Sooo, security cast wore bulky clothes over the costume and then just took off  the outter layer when in the locker room. We were just careful not to get caught. I wore a Hawaiian shirt over my security shirt and that seemed to suffice.
  One last tidbit. While the cast member is in the locker room or at the back of the building waiting for the bus to your work site, music is heard overhead. When I was there it was WMMO in Orlando and probably still is. (if anyone knows differently that it has changed, get the call letters and let me know).
   It really is cool to go on the computer to work on writing projects and put on WMMO and know that at every Cast Services Building, the cast are listening to the same thing. There a little connection there I guess. That's it for today, so, until next time--Have a Magical Day!
  

Back To Blogging!

   Well, when last we spoke, I was suspending this blog to work on writing a book called "Protecting the Magic" and well, I thought that writing the blog would take away from time writing the book. Well I'm still writing the book, but can't seem to remember stuff as easily as when I'm blogging. It seems my editor says that he thinks that I'm trying so hard with the book that it's preventing me from relaxing enough to write. Whereas blogging is fun and more informal, he thinks I should blog and use the blog for a sort of outline for working on the book. In short use what I've written to share with you as a launching pad for my memory and add details in the book. Sounds like good advice, besides I really missed this blog. So here we go again!

   I took this picture on a recent research trip for the book to WDW. I was standing by the American Garden Theatre when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. The movement was this majestic Bald Eagle swooping down to land on the flagpole atop the American pavillion across the promenade. I grabbed my camera and took this picture just before the symbol of our nation flew off.

   I recently received a very nice e-mail from a fellow Walt Disney World Security Hostess. (I won't give her name because, quite frankly I'm a gentleman and she hasn't given me permission to do so) but I encourage anyone who has come across our little blog to do so as well.

   I enjoy hearing from cast members (former and present) and Walt Disney World enthusiasts. I guess I view it like the Marines. There are no former Marines. There are no former Security or other cast members. We will always be cast members at heart.

   I'm going back to Walt Disney World on November 10 for another research trip, gathering photos and jogging my memory and keeping an in depth diary for the book as sights and locations trigger more thoughts and memories to add to the book. 29 days and I'm off!!

   I'll be blogging before I leave and while I'm there so until next time, Have a Magical Day!!!