Friday, June 2, 2000
by Kevin Yee
A longstanding tradition among Cast
Members, the Canoe Races is an annual event. It is anticipated
for weeks, even months, before it actually begins each summer. CMs across
the park look forward to it... and end up hating it as much as they love
it, typically. You see, it's WORK to power those things in a race!
Let's back up half a step. Canoe Races are for CMs only of course,
and happen every summer. I had the impression it used to be just DL CMs,
but I've heard that's no longer true. Apparently a group of animators
once tried to bribe a Canoe Attractions CM to join their team in exchange
for a free cel!
It takes place over several mornings on the Rivers of America, and teams
sign up weeks in advance and pay a fee to play. Typically, a location
(attraction, store, restaurant) will band together and form one team;
the team name is often a reflection of where they work. Or it's some fun
pun.
In 1992 the some of the teams names were: DC Express, DC Squirrels,
High Voltage, Nomad Adventure, Team 1, Rowmen Empire, No More Pins, Lethal
Injection, Parking Lot Oars, Beauties and the Beast, Desk Jockeys, Mission
Impossible V, Oar Mongers, Splash-n-Crash, Without a Paddle, and PMS (Paddlers
of Main Street).
There are basically four categories
you can enter: competitive all-male, competitive mixed-sex, recreational
all-male, and recreational mixed-sex. The crown jewel, as you
might expect, is the competitive all-male, and this was typically won — surprise — by the guys who worked Canoes for a living. Experienced paddlers.
Probably helped that these guys had biceps, too. For reasons that escape
me, their team was always named D.C. Express (DC = Disneyland Canoes?).
If I remember correctly the competitive / recreational split didn't always
exist.
Logically enough, the category with the most entries was recreational
mixed-sex; that's what our Cafe Orleans team always was. The recreational
category is the most fun, and people always welcome the chance to flirt
in the early dawn hours. It must be noted that neither sex looked their
best that early, in my opinion.
Our team never won, but we did qualify on a few occasions. Oh, here
I go again, getting ahead of myself! You see, there are several stages
to the competition. The first step is that each team must certify three
people as steerers, so that their team will always have the requisite
people to steer when it's race time. The second step are several days
of practice runs; there is usually only time for one trip around the island
per day, so this gets stretched out for a while.
The next step is the actual race, which also happens over a couple of
days, and the top-performing teams "qualify" to move to the following
round of competition. The idea here is that even if you don't qualify,
you had several days of practice and actual races, so it was still worth
it. Those who qualified move on to the last stage, with only a couple
days of races and one day of finals for all the various categories.
Did you ever see a Jeff Speakman
movie called "The Perfect Weapon"? It's a martial art movie
that we fell in love with (so cheesy!) so we named our canoe team after
it. Not that it helped us win ever. Some weapon we were!
So, anyway, I was talking about the typical "season." We'd park in Eeyore
section — where they would later build the Indy building — and enter backstage
from Holiday Gate. Holiday Gate is still there, I think. It's roughly
behind the Haunted Mansion building. We then proceed around the Mansion
show building, across the train tracks (somehow that was the coolest part)
and out to onstage.
We'd certify a few steerers (never me) who would be responsible for
steering our canoe, which is not that easy. There's a front and a rear
steerer, with most of the work being done by the rear. Usually, therefore,
whoever was the captain took that spot — it was his team.
Once we all showed up for a practice run around the island, we'd pile
in, freezing our butts off, and push off. Everyone is all bundled up,
because it's cold at 6:00 a.m. to us wimpy Californians, but the work
of moving the canoe quickly warms you up, so that you end up hot and sweaty
and rue the decision to bring any jacket or sweater. On the other hand,
those first few minutes really kill you. What makes it worse is that the
water is ice cold, and rowing like you really mean it inevitably means
there is splashing.
There are as many rowers as there are rows, but not two per bench. Thus,
we'd have it set up alternately: boy on right in row one, next row had
a girl on the left, then a girl on the right followed by a boy on the
left, and so on. You need the whole row because at several points in the
journey around the island you get exhausted, rowing like crazy. To combat
this, and to use somewhat dormant muscles, everyone would switch sides — if you were on the left side before, you end up on the right side now.
The back steerer calls out the switch. He can see everyone and judge
how tired we are. We had a complex system actually. He'd call out "Switch!
One... two... three... four" and at each word, a different set of rows
would slide over (this way someone is always paddling and the canoe wouldn't
lose speed).
The steerer also had the task of
providing our tempo; a human metronome of sorts. This was accomplished
by rhythmically chanting "Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!" It feels like something
of a slave canoe after a while, and you dread the next occurrence of the
word. Remember, we have half the manpower the canoe has when it's loaded
with guests, and we are moving much faster, so it's a lot of work.
And the water stinks that early in the morning, particularly when it
gets on your clothing. I usually wore sweats.
Interestingly, we'd row around the island in the opposite direction
that you'd expect. Guests go clockwise, so that New Orleans is the last
thing you pass. We would always start in New Orleans (the start / finish
banner was spread from the island stage to the railings on New Orleans)
and go around the other direction. I understand this was not the case
before the mid-80's.
The Loading Dock for the Canoes.
The canoes are chained and locked each night. No practicing permitted!
The secret for practicing is to have your team show up at the canoe dock
when the ride opens so you can have your own boat.
After the hard work of rowing ONCE around the island, we were done for
the day and usually went off to breakfast together to IHOP or Denny's.
This is, I think, the whole point of the Canoe Races — to function as
a bonding experience for those of us who work together. In that sense
I think it was very successful.
One of our regulars, David, was an amateur pilot and liked to fly as
often as he could. After one such canoe morning and IHOP breakfast, we
all conceived the crazy idea to just fly to Laughlin (this incident marks
the only time I've ever taken the controls of a single-engine plane and
it is the same flight I nervously learned that lightning would pass harmlessly
through a plane on its way to the ground).
I was scheduled to work, but no problem: using the IHOP pay phone, I
called my supervisor and convinced him we could cover my midshift by having
the other leads come in early and stay late (respectively). He was cool
about it. I can guarantee that no supervisor nowadays does that too often.
Bonus Story from Main Street Magic!
A canoe in storage for the day.
Someone, way back when,
came up with this brilliant idea to bring together the employees at the
beginning of each summer by having canoe races around Tom Sawyer's Island.
Here are a few memories of my first (and only) canoe race.
Again a reminder that I am going back to memories of 1969 and 1970 here.
I will try not to enhance anything and remember it as it really was. I
had just been hired on (I believe that these are scheduled just after
Disney increases it's CM staff for the summer) when the word got out that
they were organizing the canoe races.
Basically all you had to do was find 10 people in your work area that
wanted to get together as a team. This team would meet several times a
week for several weeks; prior to DL opening every morning for practice
runs around Tom Sawyer's Island. Then on a given day, your team was timed
to see how fast you could go around the island. The team with the fastest
time wins. To this day I still don't know what the winners got (obviously
we didn't win!). Sounds simple enough, right?
The initial meeting was held in the
Indian Village at the dance arena. For you youngun's, that
is where Bear Country (or Critter Country) is now. Check out those vintage
Wonderful World of Color shows of Disneyland and perhaps you'll even see
some of the Indians performing their "war dances". Anyway, I digress…There
we were, at the crack of dawn listening to someone from Disney University
(i.e. human resources) give us the "rules" for the competition.
Everyone was to get together teams of 10 men, or the ladies team was
9 ladies with one of the canoe CMs provided to steer (I guess they figured
that the girls couldn't steer one of these canoes and all of us guys can!
Well….we'll show them!). We were informed that the time trials would
be each morning from 6 a.m. until about 7:30 with each team having about
30 minutes on the water to practice. Then on a given day we would be provided
with a time for our team to show up to be "timed" for one lap around the
island.
Next we were told that we could go out and get team t-shirts but if
we did we were not to wear the t-shirts in the park during normal operating
hours. Why you ask? Well, it's because of the team names that teams were
known to give themselves. Some examples of team names that were given?
Well there was the team of girls from Entertainment who called themselves
the "9 Little Oarers"… or the team of girls from Merchandising on
Main Street who called themselves the "Ladies of the Street".
There was the guy's team of ice cream vendors who created t-shirts that
had a composite picture of an ice cream bar and a topless girl &endash;
their team name? Why Topless Bars, of course! I won't even print what
the team I was on was known as….just remember that I was in janitorial.
However we did try to honor one of our supervisors at the time, who's
nickname was the Buzzard (for the way that he could be found standing
behind some bush or trash can watching over us like a buzzard), by having
a buzzard on the back of the t-shirts.
My most vivid memory of DL is the
first day I attended a practice. We had one of those early
times of about 6:30 a.m. to show up. I remember walking across the hub
all alone. I stopped right in front of the castle and turned to look down
an empty Main Street and my thoughts came to that one photo of Walt standing
in front of the castle. I had always wondered what it would be like to
have Disneyland "all to yourself" and at that moment that was how I felt.
It was truly a rush!
Well, off to Frontierland. I met up with the rest of my team and it
was then I began to learn just what exactly the canoe races were all about
&endash; partying! It turned out that most everyone who attended the races
held "all nighters" prior to practice. Talk about hangovers! It's true
when they say that alcohol and water doesn't mix! Well, of course we are
given the 5 minute explanation of what an oar is and how to enter a canoe
and how to paddle and don't worry, you can't sink one of these canoes
…."yeah yeah….let's get in the water!"
So we take our first effort to go around the river. It is then we all
realize what it takes to get 9 individual to row in cadence while the
guy in back steers. I think we went through 4 or 5 different attempts
to find someone who could actually keep us from running aground during
the practices.
One of the benefits to the canoe
races (at least for me) was that Aunt Jemima's Pancake House was opened
early for us to have breakfast (at a discount rate, no less).
So each day after we would finish our practicing the teams could be found
chowing down on pancakes while they discussed "tactics" and watched the
later teams.
Two instances have always stuck in my mind. There was one of the first
days of practice. We had just gotten off of the water and were standing
at the dock. We could hear several of the other teams out practicing.
One of the teams, Coke Terrace, was just coming around into view on their
first lap. I remember hearing one of the team members yell out "ok, we're
coming near the dock, let's look good!" and then he began calling cadence
"stroke…stroke…stroke….".
As the canoe came into view, imagine our surprise as we saw that the
canoe was only about an inch above water and sinking slowly as they paddled
by. It was like something out of a comedy, with the team trying to look
so cool while they slowly sank. It turned out that that canoe had a leak
but no one realized it until too late!
Then there was the day when, as we were dining at AJ's after our practice
we watched as a team (again I think it was Coke Terrace) came into view.
From where we were sitting we could see the canoes as they came by the
dock where the Mark Twain was docked. We all watched in horror as this
canoe headed straight towards the Mark Twain. Only two or three of the
team was paddling. The person in front was holding onto a rather large
balloon filled with helium. It appeared that the entire team had been
partying all night long as they headed closer and closer to the Mark Twain.
Suddenly the team started bailing out and the canoe continued on, smashing
into the Mark Twain. Naturally, all of the teams dining at AJ's stood
and gave them a standing ovation. It should be noted that no team members
were injured in this incident.
I do remember the day that I was
wandering through the park on a day off. I was heading through
Adventureland (wearing my canoe team t-shirt, of course) when I spotted
Baloo and King Louie. For those of you who haven't been following my adventures,
Baloo (a.k.a. Brer Bear or his real name, Jim) was known to do some rather
strange things if he could get away with it). There were several things
that he could do with his costume that could really make you smile. None
of these are printable here and you didn't want kids around when he made
several of his moves.
Sorry, I digressed again... anyway there I was walking down Adventureland
and Baloo spots me. He immediately brushes past all of the kids who want
to grab him and all that and Baloo walks up beside me, puts his arm around
me, bends over and as we walk through Adventureland I hear him ask…."so
how'd you guys do this morning?" We spent several minutes discussing that
mornings practices (yes even the characters had a team). Finally I was
able to free myself and go on my way and the kids were able to get their
pictures taken with Baloo.
So just how did we do? Don't ask. I remember us trying to get once around
the island without running aground and we almost made it. We did get around
and we didn't sink our canoe, but we definitely didn't even come close
to any awards. I think we were all just happy to have endured those early
mornings. I did learn to respect those CMs who worked the canoes on a
regular basis. I don't remember seeing any of them ever take a canoe full
of guests into the rocks along Tom Sawyer Island.
— Main Street Magic
Next up: Cast Member Guinea Pigs
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Are you a CM or a former CM? I would love to hear and share your stories! E-mail me! Stories and comments you submit become property of and may be published on this site; we normally don't publish last names of current CMs, but if you wish to remain anonymous altogether or do not want me to share your stories, please let me know when you e-mail me. — Shoshana NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in reader-contributed stories do not reflect those of Cast Place or MousePlanet. CM – Cast member; company lingo for “employee.” Empowerment Evolution – The 1995 attempt by newer park management to introduce modern accountability and market forces into the stodgy Disneyland methodology and power hierarchies. The name was meant to “empower” rank and file employees by removing layers of their management, though now there are more managers than ever. TPO – Theme Park Operations; the division of the Disneyland hierarchy that actually works in the theme park itself. TDA – Team Disney Anaheim; the name of the on-site administration building. Area manager – used to be responsible for an entire land, with all business divisions in the area reporting to him. Area supervisor – the immediate boss for location supervisors who divide up a department of intelligently grouped locations. The area supervisors in turn reported to the area manager. Nowadays all supervisors and area supervisors have been replaced by managers and assistant managers — the same idea, but smaller “business units" than a department; usually just one location in fact. RFT – “A” status; a full-time hourly employee. RPT – “B” status; an hourly employee five days a week but just not quite 40 hours usually. CR – “C” status; an hourly employee who works weekends year-round and five days a week during all school holiday periods (including summer and Christmas break). CT – a part-time hourly employee who works five days a week during all school holiday periods (including summer and Christmas break). No seniority, so shifts worked are usually quite short. Locate the employment center to fill out an application, and they will call you for an interview (dress nicely, just shy of an actual suit). Once there, follow these rules, in this order of importance: 1. Smile and be very friendly. They want outgoing people.
2. Do not let the group interview throw you off balance. They want outgoing people who can “perform” a little bit.
3. Do not worry about job (in)experience. They don't care. They want friendly people, not experienced and/or hardened people.
4. Do your best to convince them you already have a Disney attitude: you want to work with people, you're a team player, and you would consider this a dream job (however, don't overdo it on the crazy-Disney-fan side either). Strike a nice balance.
5. Did I mention the importance of a smile? 
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