‘Happiest custodian on Earth’ shares his Disneyland adventures

This past summer I was a happy Disneyland Cast Member. It was the best job I’ve ever had and probably always will be. The former orange grove of Anaheim that became a world resort destination was my second home for several months, but the big difference was this second home was filled with fireworks, cartoon characters and spinning teacups.

I’ve always been a Disneyland fan. It’s kind of a family thing.

As a Southern California family, we didn’t do many traditional vacations to far-off destinations – we did Disneyland. According to my mom, I was potty-trained at the Disneyland Hotel. And by the time I was 10, I’m pretty sure I knew my way around the park better than my own neighborhood. I could tell you where all the bathrooms were.

Consequently, Disneyland is a very special place to me. It’s full of many happy childhood memories, but I never dreamed that someday I would be wearing that Cast Member nametag. I never thought I would be a part of that Disneyland magic for someone else.

But this summer I got that chance. And I took full of advantage of it.

Any job at Disneyland is pretty all-encompassing and most who enjoy being there really get caught up in everything. Disneyland is like its own little community, complete with its own newspaper, TV station, eating areas, health center, Cast Member-only activities, Cast Member language and lingo. Many who work there long enough are likely to lose track of their non-Disney friends and enter a Disneyland-only whirlwind.

My job at Disneyland was being a day custodian. I know it sounds lame, but it was actually a lot of fun and in many ways is one of the better jobs there. I was one of the white costumed people, pan and broom in hand, strolling around my designated area at my leisure while enjoying the scenery.

But I occasionally cleaned a few gross things. I won’t go into too many of those accounts for the sake of sharing more interesting details.

I got to see the entire park, more than a large amount of the people who work there. I saw movie stars during the “Pirates of the Caribbean 2” premiere and the filming of the ride’s commercial.

I went down in the bowels below the Haunted Mansion, the maze of tunnels throughout Space Mountain, through every attraction queue and inside every store. For a Disneyland fan like myself, to see how it all works was always a lot of fun.

I had a lot of independence and little boss oversight. I got to take a lot of unauthorized breaks and watch the fireworks or Fantasmic! every night.

I came to work each day with little to no “real” responsibility. It was great.

As a day sweeper, I could stop walking around and talk to park guests or other Cast Members for 30 minutes while on the clock. I would ask them about their day, their vacation plans or tell them about “Brad’s Secret Spot” to watch the fireworks.

Part of my job involved handing out stickers to kids. I’ll never forget the looks on some of their faces when I would hand over a little Mickey one. Their eyes beamed as they proudly wore the mouse on their shirts and used their short legs to run over to mom and dad and show off their new prize.

Equally memorable was one evening when I was in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle with my supervisor. A young man in his mid-20s walked up to us. He pointed to a young girl standing on the drawbridge of the Castle.

“I’m going to propose to her, but I want to surprise her,” he said. “She doesn’t know yet. Can you take pictures of me proposing?”

My supervisor took his camera and I created a small barrier with my broom to prevent people from walking through. He pulled out the ring, my supervisor snapped a dozen shots and I stood there watching the two begin a new stage of their lives. It was a small, intimate moment with just the four of us, and one I’ll never forget.

How many jobs other than one in the “Happiest Place on Earth” bring to you opportunities like those? At that job, I had the opportunity to really make someone’s day or vacation into the memory of a lifetime.

One might think that because after working at Disneyland for any extended amount of time, its charm and magic would grow old. For me, this could not be further from the truth.

Being a Cast Member, if only for a short while, caused me to develop a greater sense of appreciation and admiration for Disneyland that would not have been possible otherwise. Working there made me realize how much that place really, really means to people.

Want examples? There’s an old couple that visits Disneyland several times a week. The two always want to be the last one on Peter Pan’s Flight before it closes each night. They wait patiently until they get that chance.

Every day, people wait in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle two to three hours before the fireworks begin – just to get that prime spot. On the Fourth of July some guests waited from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in front of the Castle just to see Disney’s once-a-year fireworks show that night.

And, if the fireworks are ever cancelled, things become downright riotous in the park. People boo. Children cry. The incredible show means an awful lot to park guests, and a lot to me because I never got tired of watching it.

Disney never does anything half-assed, its current fireworks show being no exception. Most people who have never seen a Disneyland show expect maybe a few flashing lights, cute music and a few fireworks. They are instead amazed to see the intricacies, surprises and fireworks being launched all throughout the park. I never got tired of seeing 10,000 faces light up and hearing 10,000 gasps at the same exact moments during every show.

All of that proves, to me at least, that Disney is one of the most effective entertainment companies in the business with more hardcore followers than the president.

There are more details put into the park than most will ever know. To highlight one of them, the gardening is impeccable. Every day the flowers are in full bloom. The grass is always green and perfectly trimmed. Next time you’re there walking around, take notice. It’s quite amazing.

All of those details, the park’s cleanliness (thanks to folks like me) and the friendliness of much of the cast are what make Disneyland unlike other theme parks. It was the first place to do family entertainment – the right way.

And no, Disney didn’t pay me to write this. I’m now off the payroll.

Walt Disney said the following at Disneyland’s opening: “To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the promise and challenge of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

What I take from this is that Disneyland is optimism, a place for people of all ages to enjoy that’s clean, safe and friendly. There aren’t many places like that around anymore.

And even if they do exist, they’re missing Mickey Mouse.

Bradley Zint is a senior journalism and political science major and the managing editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.