****ANNOUNCEMENT****
It is with great pleasure we announce our newest sponsor Magic Candle Company. Be sure to click on their link and use our special code sweepspot15.
In this episode we welcome Greg to the show. Greg is a former Disneyland Security Cast member and a podcaster with Micecast podcast and a youtuber under Greg Nutt. Greg has some great stories about working at Disneyland and much more. Plus the latest in the Disneyland Resort Current Events.
Disneyland Resort Current Event
Fantastic New Pixar Pier Details – Meet Edna Mode & Lamplight Lounge Preview
May 23, 2018
"With the opening of Pixar Pier just one month away (June 23rd is the official opening), Disney is sharing additional details about the upcoming land, which is transforming the old Paradise Pier area of Disney California Adventure. We were on hand for a special media preview yesterday to bring you the scoop. Meet Edna Mode, preview the Lamplight Lounge, hear the backstory of the new Incredicoaster, and see how construction is coming on all of the neighborhoods of Pixar Pier below."
MiceChat
Four Neighborhoods Will Welcome Guests to Pixar Pier this Summer at Disney California Adventure Park
"As we’ve previously mentioned, when Pixar Pier opens this summer in Disney California Adventure park, guests will find four whimsical neighborhoods inspired by beloved Pixar stories. Here’s a bit more detail on what to expect!"
Disney Parks Blog
Fresh New Look and Tastes of Southern Italy at Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria at Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort
Disney Parks Blog
Disney says goodbye to the ESPN Zone concept as the chain’s final restaurant closes in Anaheim
"The last remaining ESPN Zone sports bar and restaurant in the country is closing its doors Saturday, June 2, at Anaheim’s Downtown Disney, as the land it occupies will become part of a large new hotel complex.
It’s among several businesses, including the adjacent Rainforest Cafe, AMC Theatres and Earl of Sandwich restaurant, that are being shuttered to make way for a new upscale hotel expected to break ground in July. All the affected businesses are required to close by June 30."
Orange County Register
Disneyland annual pass holders can order food without waiting in line
Update May 29,2018: The mobile ordering system is online for all park visitors, not just employees and passholders.
Orange County Register
Hate lines? How to eat at Disneyland without standing in one
"You can choose one of 15 restaurants with special pickup locations, peruse the menus, choose your food for later in the day and pay for it, all while you’re driving to the park, or standing in line at the Matterhorn.
This system was recently installed and tested by employees and annual passholders, but now it’s been expanded to all."
Orange County Register
Tasty Eats Now Available for Mobile Ordering at Disneyland Resort
Disney Parks Blog
Black Spire Outpost Revealed to be the Name of the Village in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
by Scott Trowbridge, Portfolio Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering
"For those of you who attended one of tonight’s panel discussions at Star Wars: Galactic Nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you were among the first to hear some exciting news about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Our story editor, Margaret Kerrison, shared for the first time that the name of the village is called Black Spire Outpost. She also shared some of the history behind the name and how this village is closely associated with the geological formations that surround it."
Disney Parks Blog
Why Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be the most ambitious theme park land ever
By Robert Niles
Orange County Register
Touring Circle D Ranch, Home to the Horses of the Disneyland Resort
Disney Parks Blog
Disneyland Update – Hideaway at the Edge of the Incredibles Universe
May 21, 2018
Includes:
Nothing But Star Wars
Parking Structure Update
Churro Challenge
Starcade
Pirates Refurb
Adventureland Shuffle and Tropical Hideaway
Naples Outdoor Bar & Patio
MiceChat
David Koenig – A Shifty Lot
"A source in Resort Transportation & Parking says guests and cast members should be ready for shuffled parking lots come next year.
The current plan, awaiting final approval, is for KCML (the Katella Cast Member Lot, adjacent to the Toy Story Lot) will be given to the guests some time in the first half of 2019. At that time, cast members will instead park on the vacant lot behind the Carousel Inn that Disney unsuccessfully petitioned to build an “East Gate” parking structure and skybridge over Harbor Boulevard. Currently, most of the land has been cleared away — with the exception of the closed Carousel Inn and the federal agency building — and paved over.
The new employee lot will be a surface parking lot. Also, there will be no shuttle service from this lot to the dropoff at Harbor Pointe. Cast members will be expected to walk over, just as they currently do from the Pumbaa lot (across Disney Way from GardenWalk). The question of whether Pumbaa will continue to be available to cast members is undecided, but will likely be decided by the need for overflow spaces for guests."
MiceChat
Disneyland Update: Solo, YOLO, Let’s Go
May 29, 2018
"Mobile Order Your Food
...
My issue was extremely frustrating. I can’t eat dairy of any kind, so I was thrilled to see that the app offers a detailed list of dairy free options. I placed my order and pressed “I’m Here” when we all arrived at Flo’s. Everyone got their food and started eating. I was still standing by the window waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Finally, after I asked for a status, my order arrived. But it was incorrect. Instead of a dairy free hamburger, I got a kids meal with cheese burger. When I said that I didn’t think it was correct they told me “That’s what you ordered”. I assured them that I did NOT order a kids meal and that I couldn’t eat it anyway. They continued to argue with me rather than try to make things right. I finally asked for a manager and showed them my app. They could see that I ordered an adult sized dairy free hamburger and went back to the kitchen to get it. Unfortunately, they returned with a regular cheeseburger and fries (I had asked for fruit instead of fries). So back they went a 3rd time. This time around they brought me the plain hamburger on an allergy-safe bun (which are horrible) but they still had fries on the plate instead of fruit. By this point I had been waiting for my food for almost half an hour. I wasn’t happy about it . . . I was hangry. So I took the burger and fries and went to join the rest of the MiceChatters.
To be fair, I’m not sure how many of these problems were due to the mobile order system and how many are simply cast members not paying attention. Turns out that the mobile order system did, in fact, send the wrong ticket info to the kitchen for my order. But the continuing drama was entirely cast member error (putting wrong toppings and sides on the order and not paying attention to the fact that their guest has a noted allergy).
In the end, a manager did stop by the table to apologize. But for an $11.50 burger, I expect a higher level of service than the average McDonalds. If Disney is going to charge more, then they should deliver more as well. You raise the bar and so do I. I’ll wait a week or two and try the system again."
MiceChat
Disneyland Offers 36% Wage for Certain Cast Members
May 31, 2018
"The Disneyland Resort announced today that it has proposed a wage offer that includes an increase to minimum rates of 36 percent over the three-year span of the contract. This would put its Master Services cast members at $15 per hour by 2020, two years ahead of California’s minimum wage. The offer was made in April as part of the resort’s ongoing contract negotiations with the Master Services Council, which represents the company’s two largest labor contracts, and includes approximately 9,500 hourly cast members.
...
"Upon ratification, minimum rates for hourly cast members would increase from the current minimum rate of $11 to a new minimum rate of $13.25.
The offer would continue to increase minimum rates to $14.25 in 2019 and $15 in 2020 — a 36 percent increase over the three-year span of the contract
Wages for other union represented cast members will be negotiated as part of the normal bargaining process.
The Unions have not yet commented on the proposal. They are currently backing a ballot initiative that would raise the minimum wage for those that work for organizations that participate in economic development programs in Anaheim. There has been criticism that the initiative is too vague and could have unforeseen implications."
Laughing Place
Disneyland increasing starting wage for cast members, promising $15 an hour by 2020.
You can listen to show 236 on iTunes or go to Libsyn service here.
Show Notes for Episode 236
****ANNOUNCEMENT****
Talking Disneyland with Former Security Cast member Greg
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