Ever since my morning in the Magic Kingdom last month, I’ve been thinking a lot about world-building. Walking around by myself made the experience very much one of observing, rather than goofing around, as I expect would have happened had I been with a group of friends.
Part of me–my inner child–was delighted by the whole place. The way every last detail has been planned out, that you never see a “mistake” or false move–it’s so complete. That’s so impressive, and it’s such a total experience.
And yet…
Maybe it’s because I’m a grown-up, maybe it’s because I’ve lived in NYC for nearly eight years now, but the other part of me was wondering things like, “But where’s all the trash?” “How do they stay so perky all the time?” “What happens behind the Cast Member Only doors?”
The last is the most intriguing. Because I bet that’s where the real story is. Where the “cast members” gripe and complain and trade funny stories and, well, live. Everything else is a facade. An expertly detailed one, but one that only stands because of all the inner workings, and what happens behind the closed doors.
Tags: believing, Disney World, places, world building
My husband and I both grew up in So Calif and he worked at Disneyland through high school. Oh, the stories he has to tell…
It's the behind the door stories that are so compelling, so intriguing…those are what make the picture book Disneyland into the YA page turner – lol!
Martha, I told you I was a Disney World cast member in my youth, yes? And a Custodial Hostess, at that! So I can answer TWO of your burning questions!
i've heard that snow white smokes
and cusses like a sailor. but that's
disneyland. ;*)
I had a friend that was a Disney princess for a year after highschool in Flordia. And no kidding, this girl was exactly like her character in person. Always smiling, always happy, always super interested in what you were saying. And always wanted to smack her! Who is like that?