XPost: oc.general, ba.politics, alt.politics.radical-left   
   XPost: sbay.education   
   From: grooming@disney.com   
      
   What’s the cleanup needed after a “Code V?” What about a “Code   
   H?” Those terms and many other secrets of keeping Disneyland   
   clean are revealed in a book by two former members of the park’s   
   custodial staff, titled “Cleaning the Kingdom: Insider Tales of   
   Keeping Walt’s Dream Spotless.”   
      
   The book, by Ken Pellman and Lynn Barron, takes readers on a   
   detailed tour of what it takes to be a “jani” (a self-endowed   
   nickname for the janitors at Disneyland – though now they are   
   called custodians) at Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom. They   
   paint a romantic vision of what is essentially a dirty job   
   keeping things clean at a place visited by nearly 15 million   
   people each year.   
      
   That cleaning involves some discovery of the bad bathroom habits   
   of many people, and the same for the horses. In the book are   
   tales of cleaning up after a load of horse droppings on Main   
   Street, U.S.A. (The aforementioned “Code H.”) and where that   
   foul-smelling material is later deposited. They even say that   
   the device used in picking it up and moving it to the back areas   
   also starts with the letter “H” and is called a “Honey Bucket.”   
      
   They unload tales of their many “Code V” encounters – meaning   
   someone vomited – ranging from cleaning up inside a Star Tours   
   cabin, where it gets all over the floor after a ride, to finding   
   popcorn boxes filled with the foul-smelling stuff in flower beds.   
      
   But the authors also talk about the pride instilled in them and   
   many other janitors at keeping the place clean – whether it’s   
   cleaning up a pile of human waste in an out-of-the-way corner or   
   just sweeping the sidewalks. “That’s the way we felt. We, too,   
   worked hard to keep the park clean, not just because that was   
   what we were paid to do, but because we believed in Walt   
   Disney’s vision.... We wanted to keep it clean because we had   
   enjoyed a clean Disneyland and we wanted others to have that   
   experience, too.”   
      
   The details of how things are cleaned, how trash is picked up   
   and how it is kept that way could be a guidebook for many   
   operations, including city parks and civic centers. There are   
   details on cleaning every boat in Pirates of the Caribbean each   
   day after the park closed; specific methods used in cleaning up   
   hydraulic oil spills on the Indiana Jones attraction; even how   
   to deal with the health hazards of cleaning up human blood after   
   someone gets injured.   
      
   There are also details on sweeping up confetti and “pan and   
   broom” techniques for sweeping up paper trash without losing   
   stride while patrolling as assigned area.   
      
   “We found the most effective one for us was stepping on the edge   
   of the paper with the toe of one foot, and using our other foot   
   to crinkle the paper, which would then no longer slip under the   
   lip of the pan. The other technique involved using the pan like   
   a fan by putting it down quickly, then catching the paper with   
   the broom and moving it into the pan.”   
      
   The same pan would also be used to scrape gum or candy off the   
   walkways.   
      
   One of the things the authors point out is that unlike workers   
   in other divisions, such as the attraction hosts, the custodial   
   staff could work anywhere in the resort – from inside an   
   attraction sweeping the lines and loading areas, to backstage,   
   to cleaning the restrooms – and how many times they are the   
   first ones on scene when something happens, such as the time one   
   of the old Mike Fink keel boats capsized, throwing park guests   
   into the Rivers of America and leading to the ride’s immediate   
   and permanent closure.   
      
   Anecdotes are spun about some of the high jinks during a day   
   cleaning the kingdom, such as the time a custodian got mad about   
   a member of the security staff who parked a patrol vehicle in   
   front of a trash compactor, making it nearly impossible to dump   
   full trash cans. That custodian decided to wreak revenge by   
   hosing down the vehicle, including the seats since the windows   
   were open.   
      
   One of the most amusing chapters, titled “Whistle While You   
   Work,” is about the camaraderie and fun that the “janis” would   
   have with one another on the job – including impersonating one   
   another, elaborate pranks and strange calls on the radio:   
      
   “Adventureland, you have an ice cream spill in the Aladdin’s   
   Oasis waiting area.”   
      
   “10-4. What flavor?”   
      
   Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com   
      
   http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cleaning-680523-clean-one.html   
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)