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Category Archives: OC Register
Disneyland employees get 3 percent raises over next 5 years
The Disneyland Resort plans to give 3 percent raises annually to about 1,100 employees — including plasterers and machinists — over the next five years.
The Craft Maintenance Council, which represents employees from 13 unions, approved the agreement on the first vote — the first time it has done so in more than two decades, according to Disney.
“This is a great example of labor and management working collaboratively and cooperatively for the good of our (employees) to reach a fair and competitive agreement,” said Steve Eisenhardt, vice president of labor relations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in a prepared statement.
Jim Adams, the council’s chairman and chief negotiator, said the employees are happy with the agreement, which was approved swiftly.
“Any kind of increase in today’s economy is pretty good,” Adams said.
Disney has negotiated agreements with 11,100 workers in the past two years.
About 2,100 hotel employees, however, have worked without a contract for more than two years. Their union is opposed to joining Disney’s health plan, which requires employee payments. Workers pay nothing for the union-run program.
Disney and the hotel union are continuing with mediation, which began shortly after some members staged a hunger strike in February.
Some interesting items wash up in Disneyland River
Very interesting article from Sarah Tully over at the OC Register, I can’t believe a Computer Tower was down there. I have called some of my old tower boat anchors but it seems someone took that literally.
Disneyland last drained its Rivers of America seven years ago, so workers found a lot of accumulated stuff when it drained the green-dyed waterway in January.
But the most unusual item by far was a computer tower, said Dan Chambers, a project manager at Disneyland. Workers are unsure how the plastic box for plugs and discs got in the water path around Tom Sawyer Island.
Here are some of the other items found in the rivers:
* Half of a canoe from Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoe ride.
* Plastic swords.
* Mardi Gras beads. The items were part of Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee, a show on the Mark Twain Riverboat on the rivers in the fall.
* Hundreds of cellular phones and walkie talkies.
* Hundreds of baby pacifiers.
* Mickey Hats.
* Sunglasses.
Chambers said there was a rumor that a bowling ball was found, but that was false.
Photo credit MARK EADES, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Disneyland Resort wins top volunteer award
Disneyland Resort, which sponsors an annual volunteer day and routinely sends out armies of “VoluntEARS” to help with charitable causes across Orange County, was honored with the Giving is Living Award at a luncheon Thursday.
The award was the top honor given by the Volunteer Center of Orange County during its 34th annual Spirit of Volunteerism Awards at the Disneyland Hotel.
The luncheon also honored more than 350 people who dedicated hours and hours in the past year – from volunteering to help abused women find safety and independence to finding homes for lost and injured pets.
Bomb squad briefly closes Disneyland shuttle area
A Disneyland shuttle area was briefly closed early Wednesday while the bomb squad checked out a wad of clay stuck to a pole, police said.
The substance was not dangerous, said Sgt. Rick Martinez, spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department.
The shuttle area off of Harbor Boulevard was closed for less than an hour, Martinez said. It reopened about 11:15 a.m..
Both theme parks remained open during the law-enforcement search.
During the closure, Disney employees told visitors to wait outside the gate or walk around through Downtown Disney, which would take about 20 to 25 minutes. Between 50 to 100 people stood on the sidewalk along Harbor Boulevard near Disney Way while police and fire officials checked out the scene.
Martinez said someone noticed the clay-like substance, which was less than the size of a golf ball. The bomb squad was called to look at it, but chipped it off and realized it was nothing.
Betsy Sanchez, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman, said the area was closed for the safety of guests.
Photo from ocregister.com
Disneyland Jungle Cruise is now a real jungle
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The animals in Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise may not be real. But the jungle is.
Since the ride opened in 1955, the land around the ride’s river has transformed into its own ecosystem.
Disney workers have switched the plant makeup from mostly leftover orange trees from the the land’s previous owner to those more like a real jungle. And with the new plants, the land itself has turned into its own interactive environment.
“Now it has a large tree canopy made up of coral trees, ficus trees, some of the large palm trees and bamboo overhead,” said Karen Hedges, director of the Disneyland Resort’s Horticulture and Landscaping.
Hedges said the canopy is as high as 100 feet in some areas and the foliage is growing more like the plants do in real jungles.
“The plants actually keep the heat in from the day time and carries it through to night time,” Hedges said.
When the temperatures in Anaheim dip to freezing, that saves the plants from dying.
“It will stay a couple degrees warmer in here,” she said.
While the landscaping crews work in the jungle every day, they try to leave it alone except for pruning the higher trees, and making sure the plants do not interfere with the animatronic animals that guests see.
Source and Photo ocregister.com