Story & Photos by Chuck Easterly
On January 7, 2000, I left Disneyland for the last time as a Cast Member after arriving for my first shift in April of 1973. I have to admit that it was initially hard to come back as a Guest and not slip immediately into “Cast Member mode” (picking up trash off the walkways, stopping to take a photo for another Guest, or noticing when things were not quite right). But it’s now been 22 years since my final day, so I’ve managed to suppress some of those instincts (although I still stop to pick up trash).
After a year of planning, my family travelled down from the Portland, Oregon area to enjoy a 2-day visit to the Parks on July 28 and 29. Because we’re now a family of 14 (Mary, me, four daughters, three sons-in-law and five grandkids), this was a blend of fun adventure and organized chaos. But we actually pulled it off.
When I last worked in January of 2000, Disney California Adventure was still a year away from opening, so there have been quite a few changes to the Resort since my days as a Cast Member. Even though we’ve made a few visits over the years, I have to admit that I often felt very lost in a place with which I used to have great familiarity. A line from John Denver’s song Rocky Mountain High probably best describes how I felt: “Coming home to a place he’d never been before.”
Certainly, some things were very familiar. The walk down Main Street U.S.A. toward the castle brought back tons of memories. I found myself thinking about all the times I walked through a backstage door, or where Popcorn Wagon #1 was located, or when my office was located behind First Aid. But I mostly enjoyed the looks on my youngest grandkids faces as they took it all in for the first time.
But many things were brand new to me. That experience started with the Disneyland App and Genie+. That was both a blessing and a curse. While it was great to have access to all of the attraction wait-times and be able to order food through the mobile app and have it ready for pick up, I noticed that it also tended to create frenetic behavior for my adult kids and their children as they saw opportunities to book the Lightning Lane to get on a particularly popular attraction. It’s also a very fast way to spend money.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was the biggest “new” thing and it did not disappoint. While it was very strange to be at Disneyland and also be completely lost in this brand-new area, it was fun to see the amazing detail that went in to making this such a wonderful experience. We all voted Rise of the Resistance as our most favorite experience of our visit.
One wonderful new addition (to me) was having photographers stationed at key locations in the Resort. Instead of relying on selfies or having to ask a stranger to take your group photo, you actually have access to a real photographer who snaps photos for you and then delivers them to your phone through the app. We benefitted from that in front of the castle just after noon on Day-2 of our visit. While it was a little crazy getting all of our family to rendezvous at Sleeping Beauty Castle at noon (which ended up being the exact moment the Disneyland Band performed a brief concert on the Castle forecourt), and then finding enough real estate to get our group of 14 into photo-formation, we did get a great family photo.
And yes, as a person who supervised in Theme Park Operations from 1976-1989, it was a little strange to see male Cast Members with long hair or beards. But I guess I’m so used to it in today’s world that I really didn’t pay that much attention to it. (And it made me think that today’s supervisors must enjoy not having to have conversations with Cast Members about hair length, eye shadow, finger nail length and color, etc.
While I also noticed many other changes throughout the Park, there was one very magical element that swept a wave of nostalgic joy over me: the 50th anniversary performance of the Main Street Electrical Parade. Mary and I met while working at Carnation Plaza Gardens in the early 1970s, and every summer evening we heard the familiar “electro-synthe-magnetic musical sound” and twinkling lights of my all-time favorite Disney parade. I never grew tired of it. But this time was even more special as I watched my 3-year-old granddaughter sitting on her daddy’s shoulders. She was dazzled. And that moment, more than any other, made me reflect on the “magic” that Disneyland brings to people. It was a privilege to have been a part of that for 25 years, and now it’s special to see it impact my grandchildren (and so many others).
August 20th, 2022