June 12–June 18, 2011

Now that “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue” is officially open and before I forget (again!), I wanted to finally talk about the photo shoot I got to participate on with Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers!  It was so much fun and so much interesting work for the two days I got to be there (it was a 3 day shoot and Grad Nite got in the way for me).  My guys were fantastic and really rolled with everything the director threw at them.  They stood their ground when they were asked to do something out of character (and I backed them up – it was after all my reason for being there) and added their extra personalities (within character of course).  So even though the hours SUCKED, we had a terrific time.  And the video turned out so less cheesy than I thought – we are all quite proud of it!  Check it out here Darth Vader Visits Disneyland!

Sunday was my 12 on 12 day – see my next post for all fun tidbits but the highlight was seeing my friends in their production of Chicago!  The rest of the week was pretty typical, with a few fun bits thrown in for good measure.  On Monday night, my visiting teachers took me out for dinner.  I decided on Wahoo’s (for you Jordan!) and we had great food & conversation.  In fact, before I knew it, we’d been out for over 90 minutes.  I am really enjoying getting to knew these lovely ladies.

At work on Wednesday, I cleaned up the office we used for Join Jack’s Crew – it was bittersweet collecting up all the leftover items to be returned.  But I was able to keep a few things for myself (and the nephews) so it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.  After cleaning up the office, I headed to Ruby’s Diner in Orange for a work dinner with the Entertainment Salaried Staff of Disneyland.  The bosses wanted to thank us for our hard work over the past few months and give us a chance to see and chat with our fellow staff.  It was actually quite lovely and I got to catch up with some folks I don’t get to see much anymore.  We even got a “gift” – a bright orange safety vest with our name embroidered on the back.  It was our bosses sneaky way of getting us to support the new practice of the whole of the entertainment department wearing these vests from dusk til dawn (even though most of the locations are lit – but I won’t get into that!). 

My final Grad Nite of the season was Thursday night.  This too was bittersweet.  I love the show, the cast, the crew and the fun we have each week; I hate the hours and don’t particularly enjoy the grads…I wasn’t near that annoying at that age! ;)  So I took lots more pictures.  And as Grad Nites go, it can’t be a smooth evening.  Since we started rehearsals fighting the rain, the universe decided to end the event with some rain as well.  It kept things interesting all night.  I even started both my shows a smidge early in hopes of avoiding the pending rain.  Thankfully, it worked both times!  In the end, I would say it was a successful Grad Nite event!  And changes are afoot for next year’s event so while we don’t know what the future holds for us, we can hold on to our memories!  Thanks Grad Nite Cast & Crew for an excellent run!

Rene & Traci hamming it up just before we open to the Grads…Tyler and Adolfo hanging out at the audio board…Me and the Mouses – Mickey and Minnie…Sue – the Event Show Director…Jessica – My Castle ASM…Dance Shills and the Grad Nite Host…Dinner Time for the Techs… …and the Pyro team…It’s all about the looks on faces when I catch them mid-sentence :) …Chris – doing the sprinkler…Hanging “backstage” waiting for the Grads…Now it’s dinner time for the performers…Lighting guys Adam and Nick… (also the rain had started so the boards were covered for the first time of many)The Castle in the rain and pink light with polka dots…Joshua – what is your hand doing under there? ;-pThe rain has forced Joshua to take drastic measures…Adolfo sleeping through the rain and loud music – only as an audio can…The rain isn’t bothering Tyler or Nick – they both are wearing the “ah well, nothing surprises us” expressions…Tori loves Grad Nite!!  as seen by the intense smile next to her lanyard!!

June 5–June 11, 2011

Softball Sunday – Playoff Edition!  Our first game was at 6pm against the team we’d play most this season and the team we were mostly evenly matched against!  It was a tight game, the wind was super intense making the ball move in unpredictable ways.  I played a different position almost every inning – loved it!  I even got on base most of the innings as well.  It was a great game and in the end, we won!  The final game was scheduled for 9:15 at a different field.  Since we had time and had to travel, most of the team decided to grab a quick bite together at the Red Robin between the two locations.  It was like our end of year banquet but before the last game! :) 

The final game was against the undefeated team in the league.  We didn’t really stand much of a chance but we put up a good fight!  We had a couple of great innings but a couple of not so great innings.  The wonderful thing about our team is no matter what, we always enjoy ourselves – always joking and keeping it light!  In the end we lost but coming in 2nd place in the top league was our best finish ever; we can’t be too disappointed. 

And so our coed season ended but we have the memories of a terrific season.

At work, this was a long week for me – two Grad Nites, back to back, followed immediately by two nights of MMY/Magical.  At this point in the run of Grad Nite, it’s getting tougher to stay up all night and get back to a “normal” schedule the following day(s).  The Grad Nites themselves were pretty uneventful.  The second night this week was the “LA schools” night – always good for extra drug busts and fights and this year was no exception.  Within the first 30 minutes, we’d already had 3 busts of controlled substances at our venue at the Castle.  Times like this make me worry for the younger generation and our future leaders!

Friday was not a good day for me.  It was one of those days where at the end of the day, I just wanted to curl up and cry.  Thankfully, I had a great team around me and we made it through 2 cancelled shows for 2 different reasons and my lost BlackBerry, amongst other issues.  The first show of MMY was a comedy of errors centered around the façade lights not responding to our command to turn off.  Several attempts later and an oddly placed cancellation announce and we were done.  Fireworks went okay but without projections as we still couldn’t get the Small World façade lights to respond.  Finally, just before the second MMY show, we got the lights to go out!  After some quick pre-show checks, I started the show only to have the projectors not have any output.  And we couldn’t find the cause of the issue so once again, I got to cancel the show.  We just weren’t meant to show Guests MMY this night.

Thankfully, after a full night sleep, I got to reset and start over on Saturday.  My BlackBerry was found and I had no issues for the night.  It’s amazing what a new day can do for one’s outlook.  I’m reminded of Anne of Green Gables – to paraphrase – tomorrow is a new day, fresh, with no mistakes in it.  So wise and so true!

May 29–June 4, 2011

No softball this week as it was Memorial Day weekend.  However, I got a chance of a lifetime.  A few days earlier, my friend Sandy, asked if I wanted to join her for the Prince concert as the person she’d bought the tickets with could no longer attend.  I couldn’t say no to Prince!  He’s a legend and so very talented!  She had to work earlier in the afternoon so I met her at Disneyland and then we headed to the Great Western Forum in LA for an evening of incredible music! 

After some interesting people watching in line we were let into the arena.  We grabbed some food and headed to our seats – and they were some amazing seats – on the floor, eye level to the stage (which was a raised platform in the shape of Prince’s symbol).  The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30; well, the opening act didn’t even take the floor (actually they performed in the tunnel opening at the entrance level – very strange) until almost 9pm.  They did a quick 3 numbers and then we waited another brief amount of time before Prince took the stage.  He did not disappoint!  It was quintessential Prince – the outrageous clothes, the heels (oh the shoes – first gold pumps and then knee high fuzzy wedge boots with lights in the heel), and the awesome music!  He played all the classics and then some.  Overall he played until after midnight – 4 encores, and we think the 4th was unplanned – the crowd just wouldn’t leave so everyone came back out and just jammed for another 10 minutes or so.  An amazing night – I’m so glad I got to share it with Sandy!

Monday (Memorial Day) was closing night for Join Jack’s Crew.  It was bittersweet – I understood the reasons for closing but am going to miss everything about the show: the cast, crew and laughs we shared.  I was Entertainment 1 that day but spent all of my time with the pirates.  I helped set up the tables & chairs for our potluck, got the food organized, and then enjoyed & shared stories with my amazing group!  We took a cast photo before the first show of the evening.  And since I called the first two shows, I thought it fitting to call the last two shows.  I so much didn’t want it to end that I let the opening improv banter go on an extra 5 minutes for starting the “show”.  I was just having to much fun and laughing too much to make it stop!  Needless to say, all great things must come to an end.  I will, however, always hold a special place in my heart for my pirates on Join Jack’s Crew!

Here’s Kevin hanging with his buddies ready for 3D…Waiting for the daily goat parade…Yeah! The goats are here…The men (and women) in black, otherwise known as my awesome Crew!!!Some of the creative and production staff with a few out of dress pirates…More food being enjoyed by the cast & crew…Catching up and sharing stories…Ralph & Traci – he missed the cast photo but I captured him here!Traci & Knuckles – he’s a funny guy…Glenn, Sharon and Furgus…Crow’s Nest & Knuckles (leashed!)…You can climb a gate but can’t escape!

Keeping the spirit of busy going, on Wednesday, it was time for the next production in our season line up at OCPAC (SCFTA) – Burn the Floor.  I met up with Sarah beforehand for dinner at Claim Jumper.  We ordered the same meal and enjoyed lovely conversation.  And for a change, we even splurged on dessert.  We then walked over to the theater to meet up with Karen & Jamie.  The show is an amazing ballroom dance concert with 2 live singers and a cast full of talented dancers.  And my sister got all excited when she realized two of her So You Think You Can Dance stars were in the show!  After the show, Sarah and I ended up chatting at our cars for another couple of hours.  It was a great night out!

The rest of the week was a typical work week – time spent on The Magic, the Memories, and You! and Magical fireworks and Grad Nite.  Nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary to report on this week.  

May 22–May 28, 2011

Yes, it was softball Sunday again!  It was a tight game but we pulled it off in the end – our last regular season game!  With this win, team Fantastical ended in 2nd place in the standings! Woot!  We have next week off and then it’s playoff time!  I can’t wait!

Monday, I spent the day with Harry.  I had finished book 6 late Sunday night and jumped right in to book 7.  And all day, while laundry was washing, I joined Harry on his final adventures.  Seriously – all day, from wake up until just about 6pm when I got ready to attend Danielle’s going away karaoke party.  I hadn’t quite finished with Harry (but was very close) but I couldn’t miss seeing Danielle off!

It was a great time at the karaoke bar.  I got to spend some time catching up with Danielle and some mutual friends. Harry (a real life man!) and Sammie were there, along with Sammie’s son Travis and his wife Vilma.  I declined on the singing, and the bar was better for it, but the others all got up and did at least a number. I realized how much I missed hanging out with this group and seeing them on a regular basis.  But my crazy schedule and the 30 miles between us really makes it difficult to keep up with them. 

After several hours of singing and good conversation, I headed home and back to Harry (the fictional one).  I ended the night by ending my adventures with him.  I am super excited and ready for the final movie now!  Just so long as they don’t change too many things, I will be very happy!

Tuesday saw me finally experiencing the movie Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides in its entirety.  I’d been seeing the same one scene for weeks on end with Join Jack’s Crew and now got to see how it all fit together.  I enjoyed the movie though I may have been partial to it.  I thought it was right up there with the first one. 

On Thursday, my cousin Cheryl, her husband Scott, baby Westin, and cousin Barbara arrived in town from Utah.  I met up with them late in the morning to sign them in to Disneyland.  As I had Grad Nite that night, I couldn’t play with them but they got a good many hours in the park.  Thankfully I knew we had the big family BBQ on Saturday when I could really catch up with them.

Friday I started my refresh on the summer fireworks spectacular, Magical.  It is a much faster paced show for us stage managers.  In addition to the two fairy flights, we also have a pachyderm flight.  We are constantly doing something during this show – not a lot of time to sit and enjoy the pyrotechnics. 

I continued my Magical refresh on Saturday but not before I experienced the famous Pickett Summer BBQ.  We usually saved the big BBQ for 4th of July but as we weren’t sure about the state of the house sale, we moved it to Memorial Day.  The kids got a bounce house, BINGO is played at the end of the night and all evening, my mom’s fabulous BBQ and spread is feasted upon by all.  There were probably 50+ people, family and friends, all hanging out in the family’s backyard.  It is such a fun time.  And I finally got to catch up with my cousins!  I was a little bummed to leave early (missing BINGO – with prizes!) and head in to work (especially as we ended up cancelling due to high winds!). 

Another family filled fun week in the books!