(no subject)
I had my last Candlelight shows for the year last night. But OMG, what a show to end on!
Edward James Olmos? Freakin' best Candlelight narrator I've ever seen! He was so passionate, so comfortable up there, and he really put his heart into it. What's more, he was so incredibly gracious, and clearly just happy to be there. As we filed into the wings just before the show, he stood there, grinning, shaking hands with every single cast choir member, and sincerely thanking us for being there. He's the only narrator I saw this year to do that - most hang out in their dressing room. During the show itself, I really loved that he repeated a lot of parts in both English and Spanish. While the show narration is generally English-only, there's so many guests that speak Spanish as their first language - and for many, that's their only language. So it was really neat to see that group of guests really be included. And his introduction and closing comments were some of the most heartfelt I've seen. He was cracking jokes at the cast choir during the second show, about how we could never hear him at the top of the tree (OMG, the fans are so loud there I can't even hear myself sing). And the choir responded to his enthusiasm... we really had a fantastic 8:15 show. At the end of the Hallelujah Chorus, he turned around and looked at us, wiping tears from his eyes. That sort of praise was just incredible. :D
I also put his family/friends on Splash during the afternoon yesterday. I wasn't really paying attention - I was chatting with a first time guest who was waiting to come through our wheelchair entrance. A Guest Relations person came up and flashed the purple PEP pass, and I waved his group through and went back to the conversation I was having with the guest. At the time, I happened to be suggesting the Candlelight Procession to them as one of the Epcot highlights, giving them tips, telling them about it. When I sent them on into the station, I turned around to chat with the Guest Relations guy, and found that Edward James Olmos had been standing a few feet away that whole time, chatting on his cell phone while he waited for his group to get off the ride (they went twice anyways). Too cool! :D
For the second time in a week, Splash went down two minutes before opening today. :P We had it "parked," and no logs had moved in about 5 minutes. I was the tower opener, so I was just chillin', listening to the morning track talk, and waiting. Well, everyone gets up to go to walkdown, and all of a sudden the console alarm goes off. I turn around... "...WTF?! For reals? NON-RESETTABLE!!!" Oh, Splash. :P It goes down for refurb on the 4th, and I think Bubba (the computer) is telling us he wants it already. :P Maybe that means I'll actually get scheduled Bears for once. :P
I also saw a wood stork at Shades of Green on my way home tonight. Another lifer! Rock!
Edward James Olmos? Freakin' best Candlelight narrator I've ever seen! He was so passionate, so comfortable up there, and he really put his heart into it. What's more, he was so incredibly gracious, and clearly just happy to be there. As we filed into the wings just before the show, he stood there, grinning, shaking hands with every single cast choir member, and sincerely thanking us for being there. He's the only narrator I saw this year to do that - most hang out in their dressing room. During the show itself, I really loved that he repeated a lot of parts in both English and Spanish. While the show narration is generally English-only, there's so many guests that speak Spanish as their first language - and for many, that's their only language. So it was really neat to see that group of guests really be included. And his introduction and closing comments were some of the most heartfelt I've seen. He was cracking jokes at the cast choir during the second show, about how we could never hear him at the top of the tree (OMG, the fans are so loud there I can't even hear myself sing). And the choir responded to his enthusiasm... we really had a fantastic 8:15 show. At the end of the Hallelujah Chorus, he turned around and looked at us, wiping tears from his eyes. That sort of praise was just incredible. :D
I also put his family/friends on Splash during the afternoon yesterday. I wasn't really paying attention - I was chatting with a first time guest who was waiting to come through our wheelchair entrance. A Guest Relations person came up and flashed the purple PEP pass, and I waved his group through and went back to the conversation I was having with the guest. At the time, I happened to be suggesting the Candlelight Procession to them as one of the Epcot highlights, giving them tips, telling them about it. When I sent them on into the station, I turned around to chat with the Guest Relations guy, and found that Edward James Olmos had been standing a few feet away that whole time, chatting on his cell phone while he waited for his group to get off the ride (they went twice anyways). Too cool! :D
For the second time in a week, Splash went down two minutes before opening today. :P We had it "parked," and no logs had moved in about 5 minutes. I was the tower opener, so I was just chillin', listening to the morning track talk, and waiting. Well, everyone gets up to go to walkdown, and all of a sudden the console alarm goes off. I turn around... "...WTF?! For reals? NON-RESETTABLE!!!" Oh, Splash. :P It goes down for refurb on the 4th, and I think Bubba (the computer) is telling us he wants it already. :P Maybe that means I'll actually get scheduled Bears for once. :P
I also saw a wood stork at Shades of Green on my way home tonight. Another lifer! Rock!