Hockey Cop Archives: Beach Club

Okay, so I'm going to talk a little bit of behind the scenes from my time as a cast member. Nothing that would be a trade secret or anything like that, just some things I learned.

Everything I talk about was accurate at the time at which I was there. There could have been changes since then.

We are going to start with the EPCOT resorts.

As far as I'm concerned, the EPCOT resorts consist of the Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, Yacht and Beach Clubs, and the Boardwalk.

For starters, I never worked at Pop Century, the Swan or the Dolphin, so I really don't have any tales from this area. Also, I'm only going to talk about things that you don't generally see if you are a typical guest. Plus, there are no pictures because this is not a photo essay, this is story time.

I loved working at the Beach Club. We didn't go to the Yacht Club, mainly because all of the buses would go there first and then come over the Beach. Behind the scenes, there was a cast cafeteria called "Jib and Jaw". It was pretty decent. There was always some kind of fish dished being served. Across from the cafeteria was a training area called "The Lighthouse Room".

Across the lake was the Boardwalk. To get to its cast cafeteria, you had to know where you going. That's because it was located in a tunnel underneath the resort. Just like other tunnels, it was confusing and easy to get lost. One big disadvantage to this labyrinth was the very sharp odd angles of the corners. You would have three intersecting at one point, so it was difficult to remember where you can from if you got turned around.

Painted on the walls of the tunnel are pictures of the resort, including the famous clownslide.

Nearby was the Caribbean Beach resort. Wonderful resort. I would generally work at Barbados, but occassionally be at Old Port Royale or Trinidad South. If at Barbados, I'd break inside the Customs House across the street. It was merely a break room. The real thrill was if a manager took us to the back, past Trinidad South. There was the best break room of any of the resorts. It had the best sandwiches. I really liked the philly cheese steaks.

Normally, I would bring my lunch. Some resorts had only break rooms, other had full cafeterias. So it was difficult to plan ahead. But I would always skip my brought lunch at Caribbean Beach. This cast area was actually really close to the Pop. You can see the bowling pins above the tree line.

By the way, here's how the buses work in Caribbean Beach. There is one internal resort shuttle that just drives around in a circle, hitting every island, Old Port, and the Custom House. Other buses to the parks enter (generally) in one of two areas. Either the A side or the B side. A starts at Martinique then Old Port, Trinidad North and Trinidad South. B side goes Jamaica, Aruba then Barbados. As far as buses goes, they treat this as a basically two seperate resorts. Now, if there is a bus late on one of the sides and another bus still has room left on it after it's last stop, they may get the order to "go as far as you can". They can also be rerouted to a different side if there is an error in dispatch.

One quick story that's kinda funny, but not really. Funnier now. I was working at Barbados, last stop on the B side. One of the buses was running a little late. I had just assured people that a bus was coming. I knew an emergency bus had been dispatched and would start at Jamaica, then Aruba, then us at Barbados. Okay, so the bus is on its way. They, the call comes in over the radio. A bad call that will tie things up.

A woman in a motorized cart is creating a problem on my emergency bus at Jamaica. She refused to get out of the chair or to wear a safety belt. You have to do one or the other according to DOT regulations. Okay, problem. The manager is in route because she also refuses to move her chair and therefore the bus driver can't move the bus (because she's refusing to follow directions and him moving it is a DOT violation). Are you with me?

So more time is being added to this wait time for guests. While I was trying to see what other options were available, the internal bus comes around and signals me over. There's a problem at Aruba. He's been around twice now and there's some unattended luggage at the bus stop. It's been there about 25 minutes. That's a big safety problem. I alert security and the resort immediately.

So, the other buses up until this time have been rolling around the stopped problem bus and Jamaica and coming into Aruba then us. But, because of the potentially dangerous device at the previous bus stop, security stops all traffic until they can determine the safety of the luggage and its contents.

I level with the guests. "Folks, I'm going to be honest with you right now. There are some technical difficults happening right now with your bus service at some of the stops before here. Now, you are welcome to wait here with me. Everything is being done to solve the problem as quickly as possible, but it may be some time. If you don't want to wait here, you can use the sidewalk an walk to Martinique. It is on a completely different route system than us here at Barbados and there is no disruption at this time."

Some left, some stayed, all were slightly annoyed. Eventually (about a 45 minute wait for the longest group, the one that had that emergency bus put in for them) all of the busses came around. And I mean all of them. We had a line of about 14 buses, which is a lot for only four parks plus the internal and Downtown Disney. Part of the problem was that many were already in the resort before security shut down the road and were unable to turn around. Bus ops also sent more to ensure that if some filled up, there would be more ready and available.

Turns out there was nothing in the luggage.

So that's all of the stories and behind the scenes things from the EPCOT resorts. At least, that's all I can think of right now.

On deck: Coronado Springs pictures
In the hole: An EPCOT country

TTFN

Let's look at the Epcot resorts and how they celebrate the season. This includes the Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club, Swan and Dolphin, and Caribbean Beach. I must admit I was thinking of Gina, the Captain and the whole Black Bunny Crew the entire time I was writing this!

First, we look at the Boardwalk. The resort has a lovely tree standing in the middle of their grassy field with several trees and garland inside. They have lighthouses all around them as part of the themeing. They also have a gazebo with Donald made of gingerbread. At the shopping district, some are cutely decorated, like the candy shop.

But, as you can see, the clown slide remains unchanged.

Across the lake is Yacht and Beach Club. Here, we can see some little Christmas trees growing outside along with, well, beach and yacht themed trees and wreaths.

They also have some impressive displays. The Yacht Club has a miniature ski resort in their lobby.

The Beach Club has the infamous Gingerbread Carousel. Along with it is a Chip and Dale house, Belle's Castle, and a oh-so-delicious store made out of gingerbread selling cookies.

Let's jump on a Friendship boat and travel to the Swan and Dolphin. The Dolphin has a grand white tree with a little train running around it. The walkway between the two is impressive, as are the decorative swans and wreaths in the Swan.

But who should be hanging out in the Dolphin? Jolly Saint Nick!

One last resort. We've got the Caribbean Beach resort. Inside the Custom House, we see the most decorations, mainly a fishy tree with garland around the check-in windows.

Let's switch gears.

I want to catch up on some photos I missed from the first posting of the Yacht and Beach Club. I mentioned the Kitchen Sink and the pirate ship with its slide. Well, now I have some much better pictures of those things.

I've also got a photo from the newly refurbished Space Mountain.

They've taken out almost all the lights and added a more defined story line. Basically, you're taking a journey on your rocket out of Space Port Seven Five (named after the year it opened). While waiting in standby, guests can use the buttons built into the railing to play different games on large video displays. The glow strips are gone from the rockets while the boarding area is also darker, but more open.

It does not have the music like Disneyland, but it's still one of my most favorite rides. This photo is in the exit portion where you can see some of the exotic destinations you can reach from Starport Seven Five.

Now, let's get ready for some football!

Kyle was in town and treated me to the St. Petersburg Bowl between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Central Florida Golden Knights. The Knights won giving the Knights a real run for their money. The Knights were great on Special Teams while the Knights had a real strong O-Line and and equally impressive D-Line. The Knights committed a lot of penalties but the Knights did not turn the ball over very much. The Knights had a lot of run plays while the Knights attempted many passing plays, but failed to gain much yardage.

The game took place at Tropicana Field, home of the MLB Tampa Bay Rays. They did have the cownose ray tank in what would be center field and some cool displays. One was a huge mural with a player leaping over a wall while another was a "cool zone" for fans. This was designed to look like a seedy dark alley. I guess Steve and Liz have their own dark side to them!

Now, a few picture I just wanted to throw in for fun. The Haunted Mansion and an accidental flash picture from Pirates.

What is Christmas without lights? So, let's take a look at some artsy, some cool, some scary pictures from the light parade at Magic Kingdom, Spectromagic. Most are out of focus, but night photography is not my strong hand.