Let's go Lou-ping

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Thanks for the ride, Lou!!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 595]

Thanks for the tour!

Oh and thanks for vouching for us. I know that couldn't have been easy for you. :rofl2:

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Especially since he had to explain all the giggling, singing, random dancing in the aisles and silly hats!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

It CAN'T BE OVER!!! I WANT MORE MORE MORE LOUPING.... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Ooooh, this might be a great activity for WWW. Find a day where Lou is working, hang out at his hub and ride his bus for his entire shift!!!!!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Oooh time lapse photos of Lou's facial expressions every five minutes for his entire shift.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Ooooh, this might be a great activity for WWW. Find a day where Lou is working, hang out at his hub and ride his bus for his entire shift!!!!!

Oooh time lapse photos of Lou's facial expressions every five minutes for his entire shift.

YES!!!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 595]

Ooooh, this might be a great activity for WWW. Find a day where Lou is working, hang out at his hub and ride his bus for his entire shift!!!!!

Why do I suddenly have the feeling Lou will be requesting time off then? :rofl3:

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Thank You for the adventure... I had no idea on much of the backstage area...

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Especially since he had to explain all the giggling, singing, random dancing in the aisles and silly hats!

Awwww lawdy..... PPV Busman style

[TnBob 311]

wait a minute here, you are just going to drop us and walk away? Thats it? no follow up calls or have a nice life, nothing?

I shoulda known with a up arrow hog like you!

[Lou... 3,118]

wait a minute here, you are just going to drop us and walk away? Thats it? no follow up calls or have a nice life, nothing?

Ok, have a nice life. Now get off my damn bus!

I shoulda known with a up arrow hog like you!

Hog is such a harsh word. I prefer swine.

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

Thank you for the tour.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

I just want to add a little snark to the festivities ... our favorite "bus driver" doesn't drive a "bus". It is clearly announced that you should remain seated while the Motor Coach is in motion! :rofl2:

[kampfirekim 260]

Sadly I have seen Mickey with his head off. It was during my High School years and it was traumatic. #kfkmythbuster

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

As the Fort is so close to all of the MK resorts and most of you are familiar with them, we'll move on and do some backstage lou-ping.

We're driving past the Contemporary on the right and Space mountain on the left. Further down on the right is the Pluto Lot. A CM parking lot. This lot is for non-costumed CMs. Buses pick up CMs here and bring them to the Utilidor main entrance.

Next on the right is a WDW Transportation Maintenance facility. The lower level services the MK railroad and the top level with the beams running into it services the Monorails. The Monorails have been breaking down a lot lately so these guys have been busy.

Across street is the building where I worked back in the late 70s', early 80's. It was called The Central Food Facility Building. In it was a kitchen and the bakery. We made or prepped food for MK and The Contemporary and the Polynesian. My DH yet today, likes his clam chower very thick. My therory is the cast cafes did not thin it down enough before serving it. In the bakery we made breads, pies, cakes and millions (at least it seemed so at the time) of turnovers! Thye were good, but one time I bought one in MK and was very disappointed with it. It was soggy...yuck. They left the bakery all crunchy and good. Of course we, the cast members in the bakery, were not allowed to sample the food there, but somehow we all knew a good turnover....yum! Every one was hand filled after baking.

I think the building is used as a storage for Christmas decorations now.

We'll make another right turn onto Facilities Way and pass the enormous Central Shops building. That's a building that most people would love to tour. If it needs to be fabricated, refurbished, or painted, that's where it's done. Directly behind it is the Ride and Show Engineering building. While Imagineering gets all the glory and publicity for their pie in the sky goofball ideas, Ride and Show does most of the actual real world engineering.

Before I retired, I was contacted by Ride & Show, asking if I would like to be interviewed for a design engineering position. But by that time I found out what they do and how they do it, I said thanks, but no thanks. I wasn't willing to take a step back. Disney engineering isn't at the level that it's perceived to be.

We'll stay on Facilities Way and head over to the MK watercraft area. This is where the MK boats are stored and serviced.

Look, there's the third Ferry. Usually they only need to use two ferrys, so the third can be found here. You can also see the smaller boats and the even the rental boats here too. This is where the Liberty Bell is towed to when it needs to be refurbished.

Heading back out and on the right is Costume Processing. That's where CM costumes are laundered. On the left is one of the Imagineering locations and on the right is Event & Decorating Support. Last is Holiday Services where the holiday decorations are fabricated and maintained.

Next up is Disney University. Lets park the bus and go inside. Before entering the main building is the office where CMs get their IDs. Entering the lobby, the cafeteria is on the left and some Disney propaganda is on the right. Straight ahead is one of the number of "Company D" CM stores. In addition to all sorts of Diseny stuff, CMs can also buy discount tickets here. Continuing down the hall we see some of the class rooms. These are where new hires spend their first day. The class is called Traditions and it's a lot of fun. Because I've come and gone so many times, I've had to take it 5 or 6 times. I've lost count, but it’s always fun. The first time I took it, it was a two day ordeal. Now it's just one. They also conduct re-training and continuing education for CMs at DU.

AH the old Center Building, if we didn't need to change costumes, we would eat in this building. My DH worked in IT (called something else back then) and his cubby hole was on the second floor. It was such a small group that all of them fit up there. They were moved several times as the group grew larger. His last area was in the Team Disney building. Then a lot of outsourcing happened

Back on the bus everyone.

Across from DU is the main parking lot for MK CMs and the bus pick up area. Costumed CMs are picked up here and brought to the Utilidor.

Let's go down the road to do some shopping.

There are four sections to the complex. The Cast Connection sells all sorts of new, discontinued, or over stocked Disney stuff. They also carry bulk food items. The tagged prices are discounted plus there is an additional CM discount. The tagged price is the same as what you'd find at the off property Disney discount stores, but with the CM discount, it's the lowest prices anywhere.

The second section is where the cash and carry items are for sale. It's all used items including CM costumes, furniture, art work, and decorations.

The third section is called Property Control. This is where no longer used items are auctioned off in a weekly silent auction. Lots of big items, machinery, arcade games, and misc. equipment. I've bid on a few items, but have never won.

The fourth section is where obsolete or flawed items can be found. While CM guests are allowed into the other three sections, only CMs are allowed here. The prices are low and it would be a haven for resellers if anyone were allowed in.

Let's head for the famous Utilidor or what is usually called the tunnels. Which, by the way, they are not because they're not underground. They are at ground level. MK is built on top. It was another stupid and expensive idea that Walt had and it was never repeated. Except for a few exceptions, all supplies have to come and go through there, including most CMs. All other parks utilize a perimeter road which doesn't suffer from the bottle neck problem..

At the gate, security has to check everyone's IDs. I vouched for all of you, so we're all set. Our first bus stop is where CMs that work at Story Book Circus get on and off. As we weave back, you'll notice that there is a lot going on back here. It's a zoo. That's because it's the main drop off point for CMs and supplies for most of MK. It's amazing that there aren't more accidents back here. Buses, delivery and maintenance trucks are everywhere. Add everything required to support the Fantasyland expansion and it's a nightmare. I'm not a big fan of driving the CM shuttle back here and I try to avoid it like the plague.

OK, we're here, straight ahead is the tunnel entrance. Once inside you can see that it's just a wide corridor that you might find underneath any large hotel. There is nothing magical about. If you kept walking, you'd come out behind Main St. near the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. And no, I have never seen Mickey walking around without his head on. That story is probably a myth.

Well hooligans, that's it, now get off my bus, lou-ping is over.......for now.

I have enjoyed this trip very much, learned a lot of new to me information. Thanks a lot Lou.

[Lou... 3,118]

Across street is the building where I worked back in the late 70s', early 80's. It was called The Central Food Facility Building. In it was a kitchen and the bakery. We made or prepped food for MK and The Contemporary and the Polynesian. My DH yet today, likes his clam chower very thick. My therory is the cast cafes did not thin it down enough before serving it. In the bakery we made breads, pies, cakes and millions (at least it seemed so at the time) of turnovers! Thye were good, but one time I bought one in MK and was very disappointed with it. It was soggy...yuck. They left the bakery all crunchy and good. Of course we, the cast members in the bakery, were not allowed to sample the food there, but somehow we all knew a good turnover....yum! Every one was hand filled after baking.

I think the building is used as a storage for Christmas decorations now.

AH the old Center Building, if we didn't need to change costumes, we would eat in this building. My DH worked in IT (called something else back then) and his cubby hole was on the second floor. It was such a small group that all of them fit up there. They were moved several times as the group grew larger. His last area was in the Team Disney building. Then a lot of outsourcing happened

Looks like there has been some changes.

I have enjoyed this trip very much, learned a lot of new to me information. Thanks a lot Lou.

Thanks for the insight, Gretchen, on how some things use to be.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Hey Lou. When I was doing the 5K I got to see some of the backstage area behind Epcot. Does this bus go back there to let us know whats back there. I saw Reedy Creek Energy services and possibly a Pharmacy.

[Lou... 3,118]

Hey Lou. When I was doing the 5K I got to see some of the backstage area behind Epcot. Does this bus go back there to let us know whats back there. I saw Reedy Creek Energy services and possibly a Pharmacy.

That's a big NO, it will not go backstage at Epcot, it's a mess

I cringe every time I have to do the CM shuttle that runs along the perimeter road at Epcot.

The 5K run may have been on a visually acceptable route.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

The 5K runs backstage past a lot of worn out? boats and then turn past cast parking and into a gate leading between Test Track and Mexico. We also make a little trip through the International Gateway and loop back in by Canada. Neither backstage areas aren't very visually appealing.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

That's a big NO, it will not go backstage at Epcot, it's a mess

I cringe every time I have to do the CM shuttle that runs along the perimeter road at Epcot.

The 5K run may have been on a visually acceptable route.

Ok i was mostly curious if Disney had its own Pharmacy or contracted that out to one of the big chains. Working for a drugstore chain I was curious.

[Lou... 3,118]

Ok i was mostly curious if Disney had its own Pharmacy or contracted that out to one of the big chains. Working for a drugstore chain I was curious.

Yes there is a CM Pharmacy at Epcot, but it is not run by Disney.

Only CMs that are enrolled in the health insurance plan which is, and you'll recognize this name as you were in the 5K and probably saw signs all over the place, "Cigna", can purchase prescription drugs there. Gee, what a coincidence?

[Lou... 3,118]

Oh and it's not just a pharmacy, it's a fully staffed medical center called the "Center for Living Well", but again, it's only for CMs enrolled in the Cigna health insurance program.

[thegooftroopfla 18]

When u go into cast connection or the other two, do you have to have a cm with you. I have always wanted to go there but never knew where it was at.

[thegooftroopfla 18]

Also, thanks for taking me along louping