The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (212 page)

Annual Passholders / Annual Passports
(APs)

Guests who visit the
Disneyland Resort
more than a few times each year find it financially savvy to invest in an
Annual Passport
(
Annual Pass
or
AP
for short). 
Annual Passes
are sold at four different price points that increase annually (usually around January), and offer
Annual Passholders
(also known as
AP
s)
free access
to both parks during much of the year, and reduced admission prices on the
Blockout Days
when admission isn’t free.  The most expensive
Disneyland Annual Pass
, the
Premium Pass
, doesn’t have any
Blockout Days
;
Premium AP
s can visit the park any day during the year, even weekends and holidays, for free. 
Annual Passes
give
Passholders
10 – 15% off of most food and merchandise at the resort, including shops and restaurants in both parks, at the
Disneyland Resort Hotels
, and in
Downtown Disney
; only the smaller snack carts and some specialty stores do not provide
AP
discounts.  Sometimes the resort runs special promotions, and
AP
s can generate
20%
in savings for the passholder!  The
AMC movie theater
in
Downtown Disney
lets
AP
s pay the matinee price for evening and night screenings, which can result in substantial savings. 
Deluxe
and
Premium
Passholder
s receive a discount of up to 20% for certain
Guided Tours
.  All
Passholders
are eligible for discounts on stays at the three resort hotels; when you make your hotel reservations, be sure to mention to the Cast Member who’s assisting you that you have an
Annual Pass
. 
Annual Passes
are purchased online or at the resort ticket booths, and then a
Disneyland Photographer
electronically adds your image to the card.  (Because photos are now stored digitally
in
the cards instead of being printed
on
the cards, don’t be surprised if Cast Members ask to see a valid photo ID when you present your pass.)  Having an
Annual Pass
is like belonging to the most
magical
and delightful country club on earth, but for substantially less than most country club memberships!  Think you can’t afford an
Annual Pass
?  You might be surprised.  In light of the challenging economy since 2008,
Disneyland
began offering
AP
purchasers the chance to pay for their
Pass
in monthly increments, instead of all at once.  For more information, visit Disneyland.com/AP or call the
Annual Passport
info line (714) 781-4567.

Ask Otto

Guests 18 or older (or Guests younger than 18 who have their parents’ permission) can call
Ask Otto
at (714) 520-7090 for
real-time
attraction, dining,
FastPass
, show, and wait-time information.  Like having a concierge on hand at all times, this recent service is a welcome addition to the resort.  (Note that cell phone and landline charges will apply.)  That number again: (714) 520-7090.

ATMs

T
here are plenty of ATMs located throughout the resort.  ATMs are presently operated by Chase Banks, and there is a $3 fee for each cash withdrawal from accounts at other banks.

Disneyland ATM Locations:


                     
West side of plaza outside
Disneyland Main Turnstiles
(Outside Park)


                     
Bank of Main Street
/
Disney Gallery
(
Main Street
)


                     
Frontierland Log Fort “Paymaster” Office
(
Frontierland
)


                     
Fantasyland Theatre
(
Fantasyland
)


                     
Starcade
(
Tomorrowland
)

Disney California Adventure ATMs:


                     
East side of plaza outside
Disney California Adventure
(Outside Park)


                     
Main Entrance Area
(
Buena Vista Street
)


                     
Between
Off the Page
and Rest Rooms (
Hollywood Land
)


                     
Next to
Paradise Garden Grill
(formerly
Burger Invasion
) (
Paradise Pier
)


                     
Near
Sideshow Shirts
on the boardwalk (
Paradise Pier
)


                     
Pacific Wharf
dining area (
Pacific Wharf
)


                     
Bay Area
Victorian Mansions (
Pacific Wharf
)

Disneyland Hotel:


                     
Main Lobby

Grand Californian Hotel & Spa:


                     
Main Lobby

Paradise Pier Hotel:


                     
Main Corridor on Ground Floor

Downtown Disney:


                     
Near
Häagen Dazs


                     
Near
LEGO Imagination Center


                     
Inside
ESPN Zone

Baby Care

Both parks
have
Baby Care
facilities for parents who have infants and toddlers. 
Baby Care Centers
offer feeding areas for babies and small tables for toddlers.  The centers also provide teeny toilets that are perfect for toddlers, and the center sells baby food, formula, diapers, and wipes.  The
Disneyland Baby Care
Station
is near
First Aid
, behind the
Main Street Photo Supply Co.
near the
Plaza Inn
and
Little Red Wagon
.  In
Disney California Adventure
it’s in
Pacific Wharf
near
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop
(the former
Mission Tortilla
Factory
).

Baby Sitting

Please s
ee “Child Care”.

Backstage

Walt
and many of his team members had show business backgrounds, and they approached
Disneyland
as a grand, three-dimensional film.  Therefore, much of the park terminology has show business roots.  If you hear Guests or Cast Members talking about
backstage
, they are referring to the areas of
Disneyland
that are off-limits to and hidden from Guests, the places where the park’s Cast, maintenance, cooking, and administrative activities transpire.  Being immersed in the fun and
magic
of
Disneyland
, most Guests don’t notice or think about
backstage
activities, but the whole park is honeycombed with secret rooms, corridors, streets, tunnels, and buildings.  These areas are
much
plainer and more functional than the flawlessly beautiful
onstage
areas where Guests play. 
New Orleans Square
, in particular, is riddled with secret rooms and subterranean chambers that include a huge kitchen, pantries, storerooms, a massive Cast Member cafeteria, and Cast Member lockers and break rooms. Cast Members dine at the
Eat Ticket
(near the
Team Disney Anaheim
building north of
Toontown
), the
Inn Between
(behind the
Plaza Inn
), and the
Westside Diner
(below
New Orleans Square
). Entrances to these areas and the walls enclosing them are often painted
go-away green
, a special color that
Disney
uses because it tends to blend into the background and surroundings; Guests often overlook these doors and walls! 
Walt
and his team wanted Guests to be able to enjoy their visit without mundane things like delivery trucks, maintenance work, and so forth breaking the illusion.  There’s a famous story that
Walt
was pained one day upon seeing a cowboy-clad
Frontierland
Cast Member stroll through
Disneyland
’s
Tomorrowland
.  So when planning
Walt Disney World
,
Walt
included features like a massive below-park complex of corridors and facilities not unlike the sprawling warren of subterranean shops and tunnels that linked the original LA County-USC Medical Center.  Called a
Utilidor
, the nine-acre tunnel system that
Walt
conceived runs under the entire
Magic Kingdom
, rendering Cast and maintenance activities invisible to the thousands of happy Guests above ground. 
Walt
didn’t live to see the opening of
Walt Disney World
, but his
Utilidor
, like so many of his ideas, lives on.  Every time I glimpse a backstage area of
Disneyland
, I am reminded of the tremendous number of people who work so very hard so that Guests can play.  Such glimpses can be poignant–the Cast Member talking dejectedly on a cell phone in the alley behind the restaurant where he works, then putting on his “game face” and heading back inside to wait on Guests.  Signs telling Cast Members to “Smile!” hang on the doors that lead
onstage
, reminding Cast Members that they have to be “on”
all the time
when they are
onstage
, no matter what is happening in their lives. Guests should appreciate these hard-working CMs, and treat them well.  Some
backstage
glimpses are fascinating–like seeing the area behind
“small world”
where the
Monorails
“sleep” at night, or the
Anaheim
police cars and paramedic vehicles stationed just north of
Downtown Disney
, one level below
Tortilla Jo’s
.  If you keep sharp, you never know what
backstage
glimpses you might see.  For most of its history,
Disney
has stringently hidden the
backstage
world from Guests, not wanting to “ruin” the
magic
for Guests who have paid so much to visit
the happiest place on earth
.  Increasingly, however,
Disneyland
fans have shown an interest in learning more about the
backstage
world; glimpses “behind the curtain” don’t seem to diminish their appreciation for the
magic
they experience
onstage
.

Berm

If you hear Cast Members or Guests referring to “the
berm
,” you might wonder what the heck they’re talking about, unless you can guess from the context of their conversation. 
Berm
isn’t exactly a word you hear every day.  The word “
berm
” refers to a wall or barrier made of earth, or the narrow strip on top of such a wall. 
Walt
wanted to shield Guests from any “real world” intrusions while they enjoyed the park, so he had an earthen
berm
constructed all the way around the
Disneyland Park
.  The
Disneyland Railroad
trains travel along the
berm
as they circle the park.  The
berm
, in concert with the trees and foliage planted on and around it, effectively veils Guests from the outer world and from
Disneyland
’s
backstage
areas, an illusion that still holds up today.  For example, most Guests have no idea as their train chugs into
New Orleans Square
that they just passed the giant show buildings for
Indiana Jones Adventure
and
Pirates of the Caribbean
, both of which had to be constructed
outside
the
berm
due to their massive size.  Guests also don’t realize as they stand outside
“it’s a small world”
or at the
Tomorrowland Train Station
how close they are to
backstage
areas and the streets of
Anaheim
, which are just on the other side of what appears to be deep, hilly forest.  When you hear or read about
Disney
projects
beyond the berm
, that means non-park projects, such as the attractions
Disney
created for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair.  Of course,
Walt
and his
Imagineers
never wasted anything, so those attractions eventually found homes
within
the
berm
, including
“it’s a small world”
.  Other
beyond the berm
projects by
Imagineering
have included elements of the
1960 Winter Olympics
,
Angel Stadium
, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Northwest Airlines uniforms, a pirate museum in St. Augstine, Florida, and
Times Square
.

Birthday Button
/ Birthday Cake

Are you at the park to celebrate a birthday?  The birthday boy or girl can pick up a
Birthday Button
(called a
Birthday Pin
by some) at
City Hall
in
Disneyland
or the
Chamber of Commerce
in
Disney California Adventure
at any time during park operating hours.  A Cast Member will write your name on the colorful button, and might hand you the phone so you can listen to a special birthday message from one of the
Disney
characters.  The
Birthday Button
can be pinned to your shirt, jacket, or vest.  Cast Members and Guests who see the button will likely wish you “Happy birthday!” 
Birthday Buttons
are free of charge.  They’re fun to wear, but they don’t confer special privileges upon the wearer.  The
Birthday Button
, like so many things at the resort, is just a little something extra, that “plus” that adds another sparkle to your day.  Looking for other birthday ideas?  Some of the resort restaurants, like
Main Street
’s
Plaza Inn
and
Frontierland
’s
Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante
, sell large slices of chocolate cake (
Dream Cake
or
Celebration Cake
) that you can devour in celebration of your special day.

Black
Sunday

In
Disney
lore, this term describes
Disneyland
’s opening day on July 17, 1955, when an array of opening day problems led gloom-and-doomers to predict the worst for the park.  The asphalt was soft enough that ladies’ high heels sank into it.  There were rest rooms, but not adequate water fountains—a plumber’s strike had forced
Walt
to choose between completed rest rooms or completed water fountains; most would agree he made the right call.  The initial lack of water fountains launched an urban legend—not true—that the lack of hydration was a plot to get visitors to buy
Coke
. Lines for food, beverages, and attractions were incredibly long for much of the day. 
Tomorrowland
wasn’t really ready—it was a land of wet paint and “coming soon” attractions. 
Opening Day
at
Disneyland
was televised, including a slew of technical and cue foul-ups—that’s what happens when you broadcast live.  Given that the intricate, ground-breaking park had been built in only one year, and that the televised opening was the most complex broadcast attempted at that time, challenges were to be expected and all the park’s problems were corrected over time.  Naysayers ate crow as
Disneyland
went on to become a stunning success.

Cast Member

The employees of the
Disneyland Resort
are called Cast Members, a clear indication of the show business background of
Walt
and his
Imagineers
.  Being a Cast Member has been a point of pride for thousands since the park opened in 1955. 
Disneyland Resort
hires warm, talented people from around the world, trains them in
Disney
customer service principles and specific functions, and places them in roles that will maximize their skills and the Guests’ enjoyment.  Cast Members with a knack for comedic gibes might find themselves skippering a
Jungle Cruise
boat.  Brawny, outdoorsy Cast Members could be put in charge of one of
Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes
.  Sharp-eyed, no-nonsense Cast Members could be deployed to search bags at the entrance check point.  Cast Members at
Disneyland Resort
are a diverse crew, speaking 32 languages, and they aren’t like employees at non-
Disney
venues.  They’re trained to keep the
Disney
magic
alive.  That means that when they’re
onstage
(that is, anywhere in
Disneyland
that Guests can see and hear them) they’re playing a role, and they speak about all
Disney
characters
as if the characters are
real
individuals.  Cast Members are expected to provide outstanding customer service as a matter of course, and to escalate that to
amazing
customer service whenever possible,
plussing
Guests’ visits in unexpected and enchanting ways, with spontaneous
Take 5’s
or planned
magical moments
.  Guests might not realize that
Disneyland
Cast Members aren’t paid any more than their counterparts at non-
Disney
amusement parks. 
Disneyland
Cast Members deliver amazing service because they’re dedicated–not better paid.  Cast Members, especially those behind the scenes in the unloading docks and maintenance areas, are sometimes injured.  A local taxi driver reported that he and his colleagues drive Cast Members to local ERs when they’re hurt; the dedicated Cast Members are often back at work the next day.  Sure, once in awhile you’ll encounter a clinker, but by and large,
Disneyland Resort
Cast Members are incredibly devoted and are held to extremely high standards.  So when a Cast Member goes out of their way for you, be sure to thank them.  If you have time, stop by
City Hall
in
Disneyland
or the
Chamber of Commerce
at
DCA
and mention their outstanding service; your compliment will be passed on to their supervisor.  All Cast Members wear white tags with their first name and their home town printed on it.