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I had a fantastic experience doing a week of consulting at Tokyo Disneyland. I got a very unique view into the park from the other side of the fence. Firstly

I had a fantastic experience doing a week of consulting at Tokyo Disneyland. I got a very unique view into the park from the other side of the fence. Firstly, everyone is almost pathologically happy and friendly. It made for a very relaxed and easy working environment. The attention to detail mentioned in the article extends into the backend. Everything was impeccably clean, and in order. There is a uniform 'warehouse' - a huge sprawling uniform wardrobe containing thousands of uniforms in every possible size. People would walk up and say "Elf, Large size," and someone would run off and grab the appropriate costume. Opposite the uniform area, there was a convenience store, with all the same trappings as a regular convenience store in the city. There are secret 'doors' into the park. We used them for lunch. It was a surreal experience to use a secret door to get into the Disneyland Park, and go and order lunch at the Aladdin themed restaurant wearing a suit and tie. Very interesting and enjoyable week to see the backend of such a large, well-oiled and well-managed operation.

joezydeco 16y ago
If you have a group of people over 16, you can take a "backstage tour" at Disney World (Florida) that shows you similar things. I took the tour in 2000 and got to walk the underground tunnels, see the computer room, costume pickup desk, the trash vacuum system, and a bunch of other behind-the-scenes things. It's nothing a Disney park fanatic doesn't know about already, but it's neat to be able to go back there. Looks like they still offer it, but I'd avoid the other parks and just do the MK one: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/backstage-magic/ http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/backs...
- replicatorblog 16y ago
  You can actually go with fewer people, They will put you into larger groups. I totally agree that it is an interesting experience, like an episode of "How it's Made" in real life.
  - joezydeco 16y ago
    Yeah, I guess there's enough demand now that you can just make an individual reservation. Back in the day they wanted to have a significant group to make it worth the guide's time.
- tome 16y ago
  How long until the "backstage tours" become part of the theme park itself? And then there'll have to be a backstage-backstage.

joezydeco 16y ago

If you have a group of people over 16, you can take a "backstage tour" at Disney World (Florida) that shows you similar things. I took the tour in 2000 and got to walk the underground tunnels, see the computer room, costume pickup desk, the trash vacuum system, and a bunch of other behind-the-scenes things. It's nothing a Disney park fanatic doesn't know about already, but it's neat to be able to go back there. Looks like they still offer it, but I'd avoid the other parks and just do the MK one: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/backstage-magic/ http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/tours-and-experiences/backs...

replicatorblog 16y ago
You can actually go with fewer people, They will put you into larger groups. I totally agree that it is an interesting experience, like an episode of "How it's Made" in real life.
- joezydeco 16y ago
  Yeah, I guess there's enough demand now that you can just make an individual reservation. Back in the day they wanted to have a significant group to make it worth the guide's time.
tome 16y ago
How long until the "backstage tours" become part of the theme park itself? And then there'll have to be a backstage-backstage.