Read Online Would You Like Magic with That?: Working at Walt Disney World Guest Relations by Annie Salisbury - Free Book Online
Authors: Annie Salisbury
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castle courtyard to try and pull the sword out. He’d wave his hands around and gather up all the kids, and one by one they’d all have a go at trying to be the strongest, and consequently the once-and-future king. In the end, he’d give out this little sword in the stone medal, and that was that.
For some reason — just, because , probably — this show stopped (though I believe it’s now being held again). But the sword in the stone remained, and every now and then it would move. After I became a Celebrate Greeter, I learned how it moved: A garage door opener.
This is 100% true. The mechanics behind the sword and the stone boils down to one of those garage door remotes. There was a key locked up at Guest Relations that I needed to sign out, and then I would walk the key over to Fantasyland where I’d unlock a small box. Inside the box were two things: the on/off switch for the sword, and the garage door opener for it. I’d flip the switch, walk toward the stone, and then wait.
I’d wait kitty-corner to PhilharMagic and watch teenage boys walk over to try to lift the sword, to no avail. Then I’d wait until a little girl dressed as Ariel would give the sword a go, and of course I’d raise it for her. I then had to lower it back down with the click of a button, and everyone would laugh and cheer, and little princess Ariel would feel like a hero for the day. I’d do this for hours.
Sometimes, smart parents would realize that I was doing it, and would beg me to do it for their son or daughter. Sometimes I’d agree to it, such as when there were a lot of boys in the family and the youngest one looked sad and the older ones were smug. I’d do it if it meant that the parents would get a real kick out of it, and then the smallest and youngest member of the family would receive bragging rights for the rest of the day.
I wouldn’t do it for parents begging for a photo op. That’s not what it’s there for. I didn’t care that your son was 14 and he wanted to send this picture to his girlfriend back home. That’s not magical, that’s staged.
After Fantasyland, there’s Tomorrowland, of course. Also not my favorite. Also usually crowded and no shade whatsoever. When you think about Tomorrowland, it’s also a very small land. It’s all contained in this big circle, so there aren’t too many places to go once you’re there, except to walk in a circle all the way around.
For me, there was never a good place to stand (there was also never a good place to hide, either). Other Celebrate Greeters used to spend their time in the Tomorrowland Arcade, and would somehow get quarters/tokens and challenge kids to games all day (while these kids waited for their older siblings/parents to get off of Space Mountain). That wasn’t really my speed, and I kinda hung by Buzz instead. Then I’d get bored and walk down Main Street. Then I’d get bored there and walk through Adventureland.
As much as we were supposed to stay in one land all day, we never did. We’d buddy up and make magic together . This would involve lots of walking and talking around the park, stopping every now and then to give a kid an ice cream or point out directions.
The weirdest thing we did as Celebrate Greeters was stroller decorating. I don’t know how and why it got started, but we would purchase a bunch of random Disney junk from one of the stores and then just place it in a stroller. It was weird. I did it a lot (with a buddy) for Stitch. I’d think, Oh, this family just saw Stitch’s Great Escape, they probably hated it, so we should get them some Stitch plushes so the kids aren’t so terrified for the rest of the day when they return to their stroller! So a buddy and I would go and purchase some Stitch stuffed toys and randomly place them in strollers. There wasn’t a real reason why .
Then my buddy and I would hide around the corner and wait for that family to return to the stroller. Sometimes the family would look at the new plush
For some reason — just, because , probably — this show stopped (though I believe it’s now being held again). But the sword in the stone remained, and every now and then it would move. After I became a Celebrate Greeter, I learned how it moved: A garage door opener.
This is 100% true. The mechanics behind the sword and the stone boils down to one of those garage door remotes. There was a key locked up at Guest Relations that I needed to sign out, and then I would walk the key over to Fantasyland where I’d unlock a small box. Inside the box were two things: the on/off switch for the sword, and the garage door opener for it. I’d flip the switch, walk toward the stone, and then wait.
I’d wait kitty-corner to PhilharMagic and watch teenage boys walk over to try to lift the sword, to no avail. Then I’d wait until a little girl dressed as Ariel would give the sword a go, and of course I’d raise it for her. I then had to lower it back down with the click of a button, and everyone would laugh and cheer, and little princess Ariel would feel like a hero for the day. I’d do this for hours.
Sometimes, smart parents would realize that I was doing it, and would beg me to do it for their son or daughter. Sometimes I’d agree to it, such as when there were a lot of boys in the family and the youngest one looked sad and the older ones were smug. I’d do it if it meant that the parents would get a real kick out of it, and then the smallest and youngest member of the family would receive bragging rights for the rest of the day.
I wouldn’t do it for parents begging for a photo op. That’s not what it’s there for. I didn’t care that your son was 14 and he wanted to send this picture to his girlfriend back home. That’s not magical, that’s staged.
After Fantasyland, there’s Tomorrowland, of course. Also not my favorite. Also usually crowded and no shade whatsoever. When you think about Tomorrowland, it’s also a very small land. It’s all contained in this big circle, so there aren’t too many places to go once you’re there, except to walk in a circle all the way around.
For me, there was never a good place to stand (there was also never a good place to hide, either). Other Celebrate Greeters used to spend their time in the Tomorrowland Arcade, and would somehow get quarters/tokens and challenge kids to games all day (while these kids waited for their older siblings/parents to get off of Space Mountain). That wasn’t really my speed, and I kinda hung by Buzz instead. Then I’d get bored and walk down Main Street. Then I’d get bored there and walk through Adventureland.
As much as we were supposed to stay in one land all day, we never did. We’d buddy up and make magic together . This would involve lots of walking and talking around the park, stopping every now and then to give a kid an ice cream or point out directions.
The weirdest thing we did as Celebrate Greeters was stroller decorating. I don’t know how and why it got started, but we would purchase a bunch of random Disney junk from one of the stores and then just place it in a stroller. It was weird. I did it a lot (with a buddy) for Stitch. I’d think, Oh, this family just saw Stitch’s Great Escape, they probably hated it, so we should get them some Stitch plushes so the kids aren’t so terrified for the rest of the day when they return to their stroller! So a buddy and I would go and purchase some Stitch stuffed toys and randomly place them in strollers. There wasn’t a real reason why .
Then my buddy and I would hide around the corner and wait for that family to return to the stroller. Sometimes the family would look at the new plush
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