After dark, the dirty work at Disneyland begins A crew of 600 custodians, painters, gardeners and decorators works 365 n

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After dark, the dirty work at Disneyland begins
A crew of 600 custodians, painters, gardeners and decorators
works 365 nights a year to ensure that the 85-acre park meets Walt
Disney’s squeaky-clean ideals.
Visitors on Main Street U.S.A. await Disneyland’s opening after
its sprucing up by the night crew, upholding founder Walt Disney’s
vision of an immaculate land, free of the litter and grime of the
outside world. (Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times)
When the last Jungle Cruise boat docks for the night and lights
fade to black on Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the real work
begins.

At lush Pixie Hollow, gardeners don miner's headlamps as they begin
uprooting stubborn weeds. On Main Street, custodians scrape chewing
gum off the sidewalk. And over at Mickey's Toontown, painters sand
and recoat chipped handrails.

Few see it happen, except perhaps for the dozens of
feral cats that emerge from their hiding places to prowl
the park after hours, stalking rodents.
Welcome to the dark side of Disneyland.

Gone are Mickey and his friends. In their place are about 600
custodians, painters, gardeners and decorators, working to ensure
that the 85-acre park meets the squeaky-clean ideals that Walt
Disney himself extolled even before he launched the park 55
years ago.

During a recent overnight shift, Disneyland provided a rare glimpse
into the work that goes into maintaining the world's
second-most-popular theme park. Though park officials wouldn't
divulge how much money is spent on Disneyland's overall upkeep,
they said most is spent on the night shift.

And although most guests will never witness the after-hours work,
theme park experts credit the park's continued success to its
cleanliness and tidy conditions.

"Disney and many other parks recognize that keeping it clean and
refreshed, with all of those little details that you don't notice
until they are missing, are important to the park's success," said
Gene Jeffers, executive director of the Themed Entertainment Assn.,
a nonprofit organization of designers and builders of theme parks
and attractions.

It's one of the many reasons attendance at Disneyland jumped 8%
last year despite the economic downturn, while the crowd numbers
dropped at Southern California competitors like Universal Studios
Hollywood, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry
Farm, according to a recent estimate.

To keep the park in good order, it takes a crew that works 365
nights a year, toiling under portable floodlights. "It's a city
that never sleeps," said David Caranci, the manager of resort
enhancement and decorating. "There is something always
happening."

And for nearly every nighttime task, there is a specific
worker.

Three workers are responsible solely for repairing and replacing
the 800 umbrellas, 25,000 chairs and about 7,000 tables in the
restaurants and snack bars in Disneyland and neighboring California
Adventure Park.

Four certified divers collect submerged trash and make repairs on
water attractions like Finding Nemo and the Jungle Cruise.

The work can often be tedious and occasionally bizarre. At the
Enchanted Tiki Room, a 17-minute musical show features 225 robotic
birds, plants and singing tikis. Patrick Pendleton, the show's
primary mechanic, has seen it more times than he can count.

To make sure the characters work properly, he plays the show
repeatedly, watching each closely. "It's hard to catch everything
in one show," he said.

Sometimes, the jobs require ingenuity, even for some of the more
distasteful chores. For example, the Indiana
Jones Adventure ride relies on nearly 1,000 black lights that
shine on painted mesh screens to create floating ghost
images.

But the effect is marred when guests sometimes spit at the ghosts,
and the saliva ends up on the screens where it glows under black
lights. Because typical cleaning products bleach the screens, David
Graefen, the ride's service manager, said his crew created a
special saliva-cleaning solution.

Park workers have also found a resourceful way to remove other
unwanted guests — rodents.

Years ago — no one seems to know when — feral cats began to sneak
into the park, living among the park's trees and shrubs during the
day. At night, they venture out, and an estimated 200 cats now
prowl through Disneyland and neighboring California Adventure
Park.

But instead of evicting the cats, Disneyland's animal wranglers
work to control the feline population by spaying and neutering the
adult cats and finding homes for all kittens born in the resort.
The cats eat at five permanent feeding stations installed
throughout the two parks.

"We are not trying to get rid of them," said Gina Mayberry, manager
of Disneyland's Circle D ranch, where the park's animals are
housed. "They keep the rodent population down."

Other nighttime visitors are not so welcome. Before maintenance
crews take over, security workers sweep through the park to find
guests hoping to spend the night. (Don't even try hiding on Tom
Sawyer's Island — park security knows all the hiding places.)

"If someone tried to hide, they would not stay hidden for long,"
said Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown.

The primary goal of the after-hours crew is to pursue Disney's
vision of an immaculate land, free of the litter and grime of the
outside world.

Walt Disney himself led early efforts, insisting that attractions,
gates and benches be repainted on schedule, even if a touch-up
would suffice. He made sure light bulbs were replaced even before
they burned out and trash cans were emptied before they were
full.

"When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, ‘But why do you
want to build an amusement park? They're so dirty.' I told her that
was just the point; mine wouldn't be," the founder said at the
time.

Longtime park fans say Disneyland hasn't always sparkled. In the
mid-1990s, they say, park managers turned away from Disney's
emphasis on cleanliness to save on maintenance costs. "For 10 years
or so, it was horrible," said Al Lutz, founder of MiceAge, a fan
website. "That wasn't Disneyland."

But with the 50th anniversary of the park approaching in 2005,
Disneyland officials renewed the push to operate a spotless park.
And they turned, of course, to the night crew to make it
happen.

Beginning after midnight, about 300 gardeners work to give the park
its trademark manicured look.

Spotting tiny pests like aphids and spider mites can be difficult
for nighttime gardeners. But Disneyland horticulturalist Steve Fox
said his biggest fear was tripping or falling in the dark. "We try
not to hurry and try to do the work that is needed as best we can,"
he said.

Meanwhile, the paint crews search for gates, fences, benches or
buildings that have become faded, chipped or scratched. But they
must use special paint that will dry before guests enter the park
in the morning.

Some areas such as Mickey's Toontown require special attention. To
reverse the effects of thousands of climbing, scampering children,
the crews run through gallons of paint a year on the brightly
painted cartoonish village.

"It's a pretty tough location," Caranci said.

Other overnight workers specialize on repairing damage caused by
vandalism. Recently, park decorator Frank Franco worked for several
hours at the Indiana Jones Adventure replacing rope that someone
had pulled free from the ride's scenery.

On a regular basis, Franco said, he finds that visitors have stolen
or damaged fake skulls, lengths of bamboo, rope, nets and other
props that create the ride's jungle ambience. Armed with epoxy glue
and screws, Franco tries to ensure that the props stay in
place.

"Every day is something different," he said.

As dawn breaks near Disneyland's Main Street, two custodians
complete the final job of the night: scraping dried chewing gum
from the pavement with metal blades attached to long poles. Gum is
not sold in the park, but the sticky leftovers often end up on
sidewalks, benches and tables.

Nearby, a crowd has gathered at the park's entrance, waiting to
pass through the turnstiles. Park greeter Bob Daisey stands just
inside the park and raises his arms to get the visitors'
attention.

"We are about to open the original and most famous theme park in
the world," he calls out, igniting cheers from throngs of fidgeting
children.

Meanwhile, night custodian Steve Tomatis cleans up the last of the
chewing gum on Main Street. It's dirty work, but he knows it's
essential to preserving Walt Disney's ideals.

"We take care of this when everything else is done," he says. "It's
a constant, ongoing problem, but it has to be done."
Explain how the “Disney After Dark” article illustrates
the Theater Framework discussed in Ch. 2. Be
specific and include all components of the theater framework in
your explanation using examples from the
article.