Maria’s Backstage Adventure

Last Sunday evening I had a delightful call via Skype with Maria and Katie Chrzanowski. In writing this I am going to make some assumptions such as:

1. You probably were a part of our Adventures by Disney Hollywood Backstage Magic Tour last June.

2. As such, you already know who Maria and Katie are and know that they are two wonderful sisters devoted to each other and devoted to their love of all things Disney (kind of remind me of my daughters).

3. After the tour you read Maria’s blog (hint: if you haven’t there’s a link in the sidebar to the right) and know that she applied and was accepted to the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

4. That you followed Maria’s blog (for the two months she actually updated it).

5. You are her facebook friend and have seen most of the photos she posted while there.

If my assumptions are incorrect then you have some catching up to do.
The original plan for this phone/video call was to record it and just post the video or audio file to the blog. Well…perhaps a trial run should have been undertaken because if it recorded I can’t find where it is stored. As plan “B” I did take notes during the conversation in case there was a recording glitch. I think I can do a fair job of replicating Maria’s answers to my questions and Katie’s color commentary but it is a shame that you will miss the enthusiasm and pure joy for Disney that both Maria and Katie share.

During this conversation there were several things that Maria or her roommates experience that, quite frankly could make one jealous. I have marked those points “WARNING, POINT OF JEALOUSY” so you can skip over them if you don’t want to be jealous.

One of the first things that I needed to accomplish during this call was how to pronounce their last name, “Chrzanowski”. I never asked that last year during the trip, probably because I had no idea how strong the bond would become for many of us that took that tour and, at the time, had no notion that we would still be in touch one year later. I am happy to say that I am still in correspondence with not only Katie and Maria, but also the Vance and Para families as well as our terrific tour guides. Anyway, as I suspected, there is an errant vowel missing between the “r” and “z” and their last name is pronounced Chrizanowski. This is helpful as we have generally referred to them as Katie and Maria, Maria and Katie, the Disney sisters, the ‘nowski sisters, and occasionally, the Tchaikovsky sisters.

Going into the Disney College Program was a sacrifice for Maria as, unlike other schools, her university does not recognize the program for any college credit and If you had been following Maria’s blog or were her facebook friend you knew that she was having cold feet prior to making the trip down to Orlando. One of her facebook postings in October mentioned that she was thinking of aborting the program. On October 11th I emailed her, in my best take on Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, and said “If you don't get on that plane you'll regret it; maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life. College will always be there, but the Disney College Program won't...as for your friends, you'll always have facebook.”

On December 20th Maria wrote in her blog: “A few weeks ago, I got really freaked out…. I was ready to call it all off, but I realized I'll regret it if I do…” Obviously my wisdom and experience meant nothing as I got no credit for talking sense to her. I thought only your own children ignored your advice.

I asked Maria to tell us what happened during this time she stated that she was extremely nervous about stepping out into the Disney College Program, had lost her appetite, and stopped eating. She explained that prior to the DCP she had only been away from home on two occasions; one was the ABD tour which she did with her sister Katie and the other was a visit later in the summer to see a friend who was studying in Japan. Both of those experiences were with people she had known most of her life and both were only one week in duration.
During the late fall she found out that one of her roommates would be Ashley, from Kentucky. They began corresponding and Maria soon felt that she and Ashley had a lot in common and became close friends before even meeting in person.

Maria went on to tell me that upon landing everyone, starting with her driver were very friendly. When the driver took her to her Disney College Program apartment other people who were walking by came over and helped her with her luggage. What a wonderful community spirit in which to live. From there she met not only Ashley but her other roommates: Janet from North Carolina, Caitlin from Michigan, and Stephanie and Alexa who were from Pittsburg. Maria immediately felt comfortable with them as they all shared a love for Disney. All of her roommates worked in the park in some sort of service capacity expect for Alexa.

WARNING, POINT OF JEALOUSY: Alexa loaded people onto their “Pirates of the Caribbean” boats where she got to assist several celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes-Cruise, and Suri Cruise.

The good folks at Disney continued to make the College Program participants feel welcome and special with Welcome Parties that continued for several weeks. During this time Maria won an “Air Guitar” contest and played “Bingo for Groceries”, participated in “Goofy’s Mystery Tour (sort of a scavenger hunt), and even took a Disney sponsored trip to Universal Studios Orlando (now that one surprised me).

WARNING, POINT OF JEALOUSY: Maria got to take a backstage tour or the Haunted Mansion.

While there were social activities, new friends, and fun this was also a working program and on the 3rd day it was time to report on duty and learn how to make the magic. Orientation started with a four hour class entitled “Traditions” which explained Walt’s dream and the history of Walt Disney World. After that Maria stated that they went over some “legal stuff”.

Maria was assigned to work in Downtown Disney at Mickey’s Pantry selling Kitchenware. She was given a tour of Downtown Disney and assigned specific trainers, Peggy and Rhonda, who became her “Orlando Aunts”.

Before she could actually begin hawking Mickey Silhouette waffle molds, Mickey handed spatulas and Minnie Mouse aprons Maria has to complete an 18 hour course in “Merchantainment” where, among other things she learned how to run the cash register and perfect her cast member role. And, of course, at every step of the way Disney awarded them cast member exclusive pins and Maria proudly showed me her pin commemorating the fact that she was now a certified “Merchanteer”.

Maria experienced several “Magic Moments” while working at the Pantry. Two of them occurred when it was time to select the “Recipe of the Day”. In both instances she selected young children to help with the process and had a great time interacting with them (one of these instances involved 2 girls who had just come from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique”.

Another “Magic Moment” came when she was trading pins with a young guest. He selected a “Haunted Mansion Hidden Mickey” pin which was a part of a series.

Maria and Katie on their first day together at WDW:

At this point in our conversation we were joined by Katie who was kind enough to bring Desmond, their new puppy up to the webcam so I could say “hello”. In the spring Katie went to visit Maria and when Maria was working on in her finance class Katie

WARNING, POINT OF JEALOUSY: also took some backstage tours. She went behind the scenes at EPCOT’s World Showcase and the Hollywood Studios lot. She got to see their costume shop and learned that they use leftover fabric to make Teddy Bears for hospitalized children. She also got to go into the Utilidors which are the tunnels running beneath the Magic Kingdom.

According to www.thedibb.co.uk/magic-kingdom-utilidors.php :

“These utilidors also contain all the major utilities, garbage disposal, wardrobe, costuming, locker rooms, offices, break rooms, two employee cafeterias, and one of the most important rooms, the "DACS" control room. This computer room, the "Digital Animation Control System" controls everything in the park from making sure all the Audio-Animatronics figures are on cue in their respective attractions, to opening stage doors, curtains and park lighting. This invaluable system also monitors fire protection, equipment failure and watches for power losses anywhere in the park. The system is so sophisticated, that just keeping the Audio-Animatronics in sync, it monitors more than 72,000 functions every second!”

Katie and Maria on their last day together in WDW:

Maria went on to tell me that this experience has made her more confident and sharpened her people and teamwork skills.

Maria had hoped to be allowed to stay on over the summer and did audition for an entertainment role. She passed but there were not enough openings for general characters and other performers.

This experience has changed Maria’s post graduation plans and she now plans to move to Florida and get into the Disney Professional Internship program which is where many fledgling cast members begin their Disney careers. When I asked her what her dream Disney job would be she told me:

Zebra dancer in the Animal Kingdom’s Lion King Show. Looks like an accounting degree can take you anywhere you wish….

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Our Dinner with Elena

As mentioned in the note on my facebook page recapping Kelsey’s college road trip we met up with many friends during the trip to include my old friend from Los Angeles, Chris, and his daughter, Elena. The reason I am writing about it on my Disney Adventurer blog is because Elena, when not attending college, works at Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion accompanying guests in the “stretch room” at the beginning of the ride.

Elena Now

Elena Then (Demonstrating the Aiki-Kokyuho technique)

To fully discuss this and explain some of the accompanying photos I need to start back at the beginning of our relationship which spans about 22 years. I first met Chris when he joined our T’ai Chi group that practiced every Saturday morning in Warner Park; from there he also joined in the Aikido class I was taking at Pierce Community College in Woodland Hills, CA. When I eventually met his wife, Kathleen, she was pregnant with Elena.

(Chris and Kathleen)

(Chris and I on the set of Ulterior Motives with Aiki-jutsu Master Toshiro Obata who also starred in Black Rain with Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I and II, Rising Sun with Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes, Demolition Man with Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, and The Shadow with Alec Baldwin and Penelope Ann Miller. This photo was taken in 1990 when I was about oh,…about 125 pounds thinner, so thin apparently that I needed to wear both suspenders and a belt to keep my pants from falling down. Back in those days there was so much going on in my life that I needed really big glasses to take in all in. [And, as I think of it, this is the only time I think I ever saw Chris in a shirt with a collar.])

Soon after Elena was born and Patty and I were going out we became closer friends with Chris and Kathleen and, even though Patty and I were not yet married, we readily accepted the honorary titles of “aunt and uncle” to their Tricia and Elena.

Elena’s indoctrination to Disney came through her older sister, Tricia, who was the biggest Little Mermaid fan the world has ever seen. (Elena and Tricia)

From the outset Elena was what my grandparents would have called a pistol.

(Elena being entertaining)

She was both entertaining and innocently mischievous and Disney intertwined in both her entertaining and mischievous sides. For a while she was on a Peter Pan kick and one Sunday evening she led us through the house singing “Following the Leader” as she pulled the family’s boxer, Max, along with her. Mind you, however, that Elena did not know the words to “Following the Leader” so she just sang “Leader Leader Leader, Leader, Leader, Leader Leader Leader, Learder Leader Leader”. On another Sunday Kathleen regaled us with a story from the morning’s church service. It seems that during this period Elena was on a 101 Dalmatians kick and during a lull in the service a car horn could be heard which prompted Elena to exclaim “It’s that devil-woman, Cruella DeVille.”

Patty and I left L.A. for Chicago in 1991 when Elena was around two years of age. Fast forward 18 years and Elena is now a grown woman studying Musical Theatre at Columbia College in Chicago. This was a strange twist of fate to bring Chris, Elena, Patty, Kelsey, McKinlie and I back together on this blustery March Day. What made it a stranger twist of fate is that Elena works for Disney which is one of my passions. Because of that I just had to interrogate, eh…I mean…ask her a few questions about her job during our dinner at Pizzeria Due.

It seems that upon graduation from high school Elena could not decide what to do so Kathleen suggested that she venture to Florida and work at Walt Disney World while she figured it out. Elena began working the cash register at a food emporium in Disney-MGM Studios but eventually found her way to one of my favorite places, the Haunted Mansion. She works at the beginning of the attraction bringing guests into the “stretch room” (This is the place where narrator Paul Frees says “This room has no doors and no windows which leaves you with one chilling thought; to find a way out, of course there’s always my way!” And as any true Disney resort aficionado knows, the Haunted Mansion entry room ceiling at WDW stretches upward while the entry room floor at the Haunted Mansion in DLR elevators down.) Working the beginning of the attraction is probably a pretty good job as you have to establish a character and act your way through a short script which introduces and sets the tone for the experience. Outside of the Jungle Cruise the Haunted Mansion is the only attraction I can think of where the cast member has to do this (and the Jungle Cruise script is a little dated and corny anyway).

During the course of our dinner I quizzed Elena on various aspects of Disney and found that she knew her way around my trivia. She knew that Paul Frees was the voice of the Haunted Mansion’s “Ghost Host” and she also knew that X. Atencio wrote the script and the lyrics to “Grim Grinning Ghosts”. Xavier Atencio is one of the “Disney Legends” and also scripted the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction and wrote the lyrics to my favorite song, “Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate’s Life for Me”. Atencio can also be heard in both attractions as the voice of the talking Skull and Crossbones before the first waterfall drop in Pirate of the Caribbean (“Ye come seeking adventure and salty old pirates, eh”) and in the Haunted Mansion at DLR he can be heard cautioning you to stay in your “doombuggies” if spirited spooks have caused the ride to stop momentarily.

Elena told us of one time at the Haunted Mansion when a couple of people came in and requested a private stretch room. After the doors closed and the narration began Elena took her place along the side of the room while the guests stood in the center looking upward. As the lights flashed off she moved in and when the lights came back on she was standing nose to nose with one of the guests, scaring him half to death. Elena enjoyed this as it really allowed her the opportunity to be “in character” and she was recognized by a leader who happened to witness the event.

Elena is still a casual cast member, working at WDW whenever she is off from school, and as such she is allowed to keep her costume so that she can be ready to work without having to go through a costume fitting. She told us that one of the toughest things to explain to people who do not work there is the sense of family and community amongst all of the cast members. Elena related that while there is competition for jobs and advancement each cast member roots for everyone else and is happy for the success of the other cast members. This clearly does not take place in the competitive atmospheres at most other Fortune 500 companies. All of this helped Elena decide what the she wanted to study and where she wanted to begin her career. As mentioned earlier she decided to study musical theatre and hopes to become a cast member in a musical show onboard one of the Disney Cruise ships.

It was very good to see Chris and Elena and I hope it is not another 18 years before we get together again. I enjoyed listening to Elena share her experiences and secrets of working at Walt Disney World. So now I will impart a secret of my own: my experiences around Tricia and Elena as their “uncle” gave me the desire to have girls of my own after Patty and I got married. It is another wonderful twist of fate that my dream of having two wonderful girls came true.

Kelsey and McKinlie

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My Dinner With Quinn, Wednesday, December 10th 2008

For two years running now it seems that, for some inexplicable reason, every December requires me to make a business trip to our banner office in Fullerton, California which is a ten minute drive from “The Happiest Place on Earth”. As those of you who were with our Adventures by Disney Hollywood Backstage Magic tour last June can probably guess, I wind up in Disneyland. Well, what am I supposed to do, sit in my hotel room all alone and watch “Hulk Hogan’s Championship Celebrity Wrestling”? (Actually I do watch this as I am fascinated by how far the edge of the envelope has been pushed for the celebrity/reality show genre; but I’m not going to do this when I am a scant ten minutes from my favorite place in the world.)

I can tell you from my experience last year that going to Disneyland without your family is just not the same. You can have a good time, especially during the Christmas season when the park is at its magical peak, but not being able to share it with your loved ones does take some of the enjoyment out of it and I guess it should since Walt intended this to be a place for families. One of the other things I realized was that it was also not going to be the same without all of you fellow adventurers along and how would I find my way around the park without Quinn leading the way with the ABD sign?

Two things happened to make the visit more enjoyable. The first was that my boss asked if she could come along on the business trip. I told her that it was alright but….”I know,” she interrupted “one night we’ll have to go the Disneyland”. So now I had someone to share the experience with and, although she had been to Disneyland before, she hasn’t been there since 1975. (I must say that I am very proud of the way that I was able to get her in the Disney spirit; by the second night she bought herself a Disneyland jacket for thirty dollars and $250.00 worth of collectible pins.) The second thing that happened to make the trip more enjoyable was Quinn Shurian himself, tour guide extraordinaire and Ambassador-in-training. I contacted Quinn and asked if he might be able to come out and say “hello” and Quinn stated that if he was there he would. At that point I asked if he could join us for dinner and he agreed. From there I escalated the proposition and asked if he would allow me to interview him for my blog as I thought that many of you would like to know more about Quinn and what he is doing. Once again Quinn graciously agreed. I was about to ask him for a platinum plated VIP lifetime fast pass but decided to quit while I was ahead.

So, on Wednesday December 10th at 5:30 PM, Quinn met us at the Café Orleans to break bread (or break Monte Christos—and I must say that Quinn was courageous to eat this powdered sugar covered sandwich wearing a dark suit) and tell me about his personal journey at Disneyland. Please note that I did not audio record this interview and, although I might try to give you an exact quote from Quinn, I will be working off of my notes and the quotes more accurately will be a paraphrase of what Quinn told me. I welcome and actually encourage Quinn to clarify anything that I might have omitted or misrepresented. Also please note that I truly appreciate Quinn sharing his valuable time with me. He did not have to do this and I don’t know why he did but I was certainly honored by his company; especially in light of the fact that he had to get home and pack for a trip to Northern California the next morning. Thank-you Mr. Shurian!

After ordering our meal I asked Quinn what made him decide to make a career with Disneyland. Walt used to say that it “all started with a mouse” but for Quinn, it all started with a letter. “In eighth grade we were assigned to write a report of any subject of our choosing. I selected Walt Disney as my topic and wrote a letter to the Disneyland Resort asking for information. I was impressed with the quantity and quality of the material that they sent me. They made sure that I not only had all of the correct biographical material but also provided me with enough fun facts to make sure that my report was not only factual but also entertaining. That sealed the deal.” I wish now that I had the presence of mind to inquire as to the grade he received on this report.

Quinn related that he began his life at Disneyland working on attractions in Fantasyland:

Pinocchio’s Daring Journey

Storybook Land Snow White’s Scary Adventure And Casey Jones
From there he moved over to Tomorrow Land working on the People Mover and Circle Vision.

After working on attractions he moved up to duties in Guest Relations and as a Tour Guide

eventually winding up in Guest Communications where one of his responsibilities was to handle correspondence from the public. It was interesting to note that he found that he was listed in the Guest Communications database from the time that he requested information about Walt for his eighth grade report. Many of you may not know that during this time Quinn designed a Disney collectible pin. This pin features Lilo and Stitch dancing a tango to promote ABC television’s celebrity-reality program “Dancing with the Stars”. This pin is extremely rare and all attempts by me to locate one have so far been unsuccessful.

From Guest Communications Quinn’s next assignment was in Cast Communications where he worked on the employee newsletter and the internal cast website. Quinn stated that after a while he grew tired of writing about what was happening in the park and wanted to get back in park operations so in 2007 during the “Year of a Million Dreams” (which by my recollection has lasted at least two years) he joined the “Dream Squad” which was a roving band of cast members who randomly selected unsuspecting guests and bestowed some type of gift, special privilege, or other honor upon them such as a special pass to ride the “Finding Nemo” attraction which was not yet open to the public.

I then asked Quinn what made the biggest impression upon him coming up through the ranks and caused him to stay with Disneyland. “People come here because of the Disney reputation and the quality experience that we provide at Disneyland” Quinn replied. “It is that quality of the product that makes you proud to be a cast member and has kept me here for 15 years. It is enjoyable and rewarding to make sure that guests are having a happy time.” All of us who participated in the Hollywood Backstage Magic tour can attest to these statements and how well Quinn embodies them.

As many of you know, soon after our tour Quinn hosted an Extreme Home Makeover family on an Adventures By Disney excursion in the Canadian Rockies. I asked Quinn what impressions of that experience have stayed with him. “The family was very nice, very humble, and were very complimentary toward Ty Pennington and his team” he told me. “It was fun and interesting to see how the camera crew interacted with the family. It was their job to film the entire event but they were very respectful that the family was on vacation.” He was struck by the fact that “although they had to do some different takes or retakes of the same thing the crew never told the family what to say or how to react”. What we saw on the program was the family’s genuine feelings about their experience.

I am also sure that many of you have heard that Quinn was chosen to be one of two Disneyland Ambassadors for 2009. I asked Quinn what prompted him to become an Ambassador. He explained that when he joined Disneyland 15 years ago he would never have imagined being an Ambassador. He told me that three years ago when he was in Cast Communications he was assigned to promote the Ambassador program. In order to do that he had to learn more about the Ambassador’s role and that sparked his interest. He also had friends and other cast members who told him that he would be perfect for the program (a sentiment that I think we all would agree with). So, with a little trepidation, Quinn applied in 2007 to become a 2008 Disneyland Ambassador. His goal at the onset was to become a semi-finalist and Quinn explained that the vetting process was both strenuous and stringent. The interview process was thorough and included the panel giving the candidates different scenarios in which they might find themselves as Ambassadors and each candidate was evaluated on how well they handled each situation. Quinn found that the more challenging the process became the more he really wanted to be Disneyland’s Ambassador. Although he became a finalist, surpassing his original goal of being a semi-finalist, he was ultimately not chosen for the program. Quinn promised himself that when the time was right he would reapply and go through the process one more time. So, in 2008, instead of being an Ambassador Quinn became an Adventures By Disney Guide for the Hollywood Backstage Magic Tour which was very lucky for all of us. Quinn then began training for the Canadian Rockies tour and was set to begin leading lucky adventurers through that experience when he heard that the Disneyland theme for 2009 would be “What Will You Celebrate”. Quinn knew that 2009 would be a great time to be an Ambassador and, as you all know, his second attempt attained his goal.

Quinn went on to explain that there are already some events lined up for him next year. He will be conducting a marketing tour of the western third of the country visiting Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Fresno. 2009 will also mark the 40th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion and Quinn will be a part of the official anniversary ceremony on September 9th, 2009 as in 09/09/09 as in 999 as in nine-hundred and ninety-nine happy haunts (but there is always room for one more…). Somehow I am sensing that I will be needed at another business meeting in Fullerton that week!

Quinn also explained that when Ambassadors are not busy fulfilling official duties they cross train on other jobs in order to be able to better represent those cast members. Although it has not been decided, Quinn is hoping to cross train on the Pyrotechnic Team (let’s hope he is not the cast member who has to peer down the muzzle of the pyrotechnic launcher to see if all of the fireworks went off) or train with the Resort Enhancement group.

I then asked Quinn what he would like to do once his Ambassadorship is over in 2010. “Park Operations,” Quinn replied, “or maybe an Adventures By Disney operations role involved in the planning of the trips and supporting the Tour Guides when they encounter a problem.” “A problem like the Hollywood Boulevard Soda Shop not being prepared for the tour’s breakfast and the El Capitan theatre not ready for the behind the scenes tour?” I asked. “Exactly,” Quinn replied. “At least in Hollywood there are other things to look at, like the celebrity handprints in front of the Chinese Theatre, but think if you were the Tour Guide in Switzerland and you hit a snag.”

As we were winding down I wanted to know what Quinn’s dream job at Disney would be. “Well Disneyland Ambassador,” he stated without hesitation. “But since I have attained that I will have to figure out what my new dream job would be. I think it would probably be in the Resort Enhancement group. Those are the folks that plan the décor of the park with their amazing attention to detail”.

For my final question I asked Quinn if he had any words of wisdom for Maria Chrzanowski, one half of the Disney Duo from Baltimore, before she begins her new adventure as a part of the Walt Disney World College Program. “Yes.” Quinn said immediately, “Have fun with the experience, but remember people save for years to make this trip and one cast member can make all of the difference in their vacation. Maria has a great personality, she won’t have any problem.”

And so dinner was finished; there were no more anecdotes to relate, no more jokes to crack,
And Quinn solemnly strode up the stairs to the New Orleans Square train track,
He lingered for a moment just barely within sight,
And then like a Dickens “Christmas Carol” specter Quinn crossed the tracks and disappeared into the night.

Full Moon at the "Nightmare Before Christmas" Mansion

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Memorabilia Time

Here are the reasons there is no money for college:

Pins from the Trip:

Disney Lamps:

Disney Watches

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