Entering the utilidors

[BoarderPhreak]

Wow, zombie thread - complete with the Woo (who has long since been banned from property). LOL.

 

[Communicore]

This has to be a fake video for sure?
Surely they did not pass all of those cast members and not one of them stopped them? Not to suggest I am sure there are loads of plain clothed people down there, but wasn't one of the lads wearing some sort of park t-shirt, or something similar, surely this will have raised suspicion with the amount of people they passed?

Now I was a CM starting 94-97, but I was never stopped at all. I wore like caps, bandannas and sometimes touristy stuff, a backpack, etc. and I entered and exited the utilidors at will. I was only stopped when I tried to access the castle elevator to go to the top lol

 

[Fable McCloud]

I always assumed you had to have a badge/name tag or something like it to enter the utilidoor unaccompanied by a Tour Guide.

 

[flynnibus]

I always assumed you had to have a badge/name tag or something like it to enter the utilidoor unaccompanied by a Tour Guide.

People are coming and going all the time... some prior to a shift.. some during work.. some after a shift.. etc. So not everyone is in 'uniform'. Add to that, CMs aren't empowered to do much at all.. so why should they concern themselves with what someone else is doing? Basically there is an assumption that people have a purpose, and why waste your time/energy on questioning that.

Now if you walk around running into locked doors, rummaging through things, or generally using a camera everywhere.. you're going to draw suspicion quick

 

[unkadug]

This has to be a fake video for sure?
Surely they did not pass all of those cast members and not one of them stopped them? Not to suggest I am sure there are loads of plain clothed people down there, but wasn't one of the lads wearing some sort of park t-shirt, or something similar, surely this will have raised suspicion with the amount of people they passed?

Certainly not a fake video.

 

[englanddg]

If your curious, here's a map of the Utilidors.

 

[Jakester]

Speaking as somebody who has access to the ultidors whenever I please, I do find it very odd at how low security there is for backstage access at a theme park that packs an average 40k-50k a day. IMHO, I believe they should have ALL Tunnel Entrances equipped with a device that CMs can just tap their ID on and grant access. Just like I've seen everywhere else.

 

[Communicore]

Speaking as somebody who has access to the ultidors whenever I please, I do find it very odd at how low security there is for backstage access at a theme park that packs an average 40k-50k a day. IMHO, I believe they should have ALL Tunnel Entrances equipped with a device that CMs can just tap their ID on and grant access. Just like I've seen everywhere else.

I agree. I thought in the 2000's it would've been more secured.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Actually, most CMs can now take their costumes home. (Not Entertainment or Characters, obviously, but most of the hourly roles) It's called Cast Zooming and was part of the budget cuts that WDW adopted after Disneyland did the same thing. Main Costuming for the MK was also relocated up by West Clock. Only Entertainment and Character costuming are in the Utilidors anymore.

A CM can now have up to three costumes checked out at one time. (Or maybe it's three of the clothing items, one of any accessories) They can either wash them themselves, or return a set for Disney to wash and check out another set.

It's most obvious at Animal Kingdom, where Cast parking is in the main lot just beyond the bus stops. So you'll sometimes see Cast coming and going as your bus arrives or leaves the bus stops, or from the tram as you head out to your car. (It's also like this at the Studios, but the CMs don't walk as close to the Guest areas of the lot)

-Rob

You also can see quite a few on the Lynx bus at the TTC as well..

 

[Communicore]

Am I glad that I was a CM before these budget cuts. I felt like a NFL player dressing up for a game, when I entered that locker and put on my brand new (yes at that time it was brand new) Tomorrowland costume!

 

[mergatroid]

If your curious, here's a map of the Utilidors.

Am I right in thinking that n the original video they came out at #25 near Mickeys Star Traders?

 

[MarkTwain]

I agree. I thought in the 2000's it would've been more secured.

Realistically though, as someone who goes down there all the time, there's not much you can actually do down there, in terms of the amount of mayhem you can cause. Most of what are accessible to the average CMs are hallways, breakrooms, and stairways to other locations. Rooms containing electrical equipment or stockrooms are generally locked.

 

[Bairstow]

You also can see quite a few on the Lynx bus at the TTC as well..

Yup. A while ago I rode Megabus down to Disney and the last leg of the trip was the Lynx bus from downtown Orlando to the TTC... at 4 in the morning.
That station's a rough place at night.
Anyway, we shared the bus with a bunch of uniformed cast members.

 

[draybook]

Was checking through my watched threads to do a bit of housekeeping and found this one. After watching the original video I discovered a guy calling himself Adam the Woo who seemed to enjoy going backstage at Disney, Universal and abandoned places and filming it.

He seemed to get access to backstage at Epcot which was a bit worrying



and also the old Wonders of Life Pavillion



Seems he's now been banned from Disney World judging by another of his videos where he describes being 'arrested' in Disney Studios and served with some sort of 'trespass order' so we'll probably not be seeing many more of his Disney exploration videos from now on.

I think I've seen all of his videos at least twice. I love watching that stuff.

 

[dclick4968]

When I worked at the world ('87-'88), there would be guests unknowingly come down into the tunnels ALL THE TIME. Many times, they would go through the lines at the cast member cafeteria and sit down and eat! At that time it was MUCH CHEAPER than eating in the park! Most times, someone would say something and escort them back upstairs...no harm, no foul. There are so many people roaming around down there, it would be hard to "catch" someone that was out of place. Back then, mustaches and beards usually gave it away!

 

[Communicore]

When I worked at the world ('87-'88), there would be guests unknowingly come down into the tunnels ALL THE TIME. Many times, they would go through the lines at the cast member cafeteria and sit down and eat! At that time it was MUCH CHEAPER than eating in the park! Most times, someone would say something and escort them back upstairs...no harm, no foul. There are so many people roaming around down there, it would be hard to "catch" someone that was out of place. Back then, mustaches and beards usually gave it away!

Yea I remember there was one time I bought food to go from the Fantasyland CM lunchroom for me any my guests to eat upstairs at the park!

 

[Gabe1]

Actually, most CMs can now take their costumes home. (Not Entertainment or Characters, obviously, but most of the hourly roles) It's called Cast Zooming and was part of the budget cuts that WDW adopted after Disneyland did the same thing. Main Costuming for the MK was also relocated up by West Clock. Only Entertainment and Character costuming are in the Utilidors anymore.

A CM can now have up to three costumes checked out at one time. (Or maybe it's three of the clothing items, one of any accessories) They can either wash them themselves, or return a set for Disney to wash and check out another set.

It's most obvious at Animal Kingdom, where Cast parking is in the main lot just beyond the bus stops. So you'll sometimes see Cast coming and going as your bus arrives or leaves the bus stops, or from the tram as you head out to your car. (It's also like this at the Studios, but the CMs don't walk as close to the Guest areas of the lot)

-Rob

Yeah, my DS costume is black slacks and a white button down dress shirt. He has 3 sets. He wishes he had more then 3 shirts, be easier to drop them off at dry cleaners. He doesn't like the hassle of bringing and picking them up on his own time and just cleans them himself. Plus, they were new when he was given them, so he continues to wear basically his own clothes verses a dress shirt some other dude had on two days before. The ick factor.

 

[BobConnor]

I have heard on a documentary that MK is like the second story of a building with the utilidors. Also, main street USA looks to be perfectly level so I can see how that could be but when I went there the MK even main street did not FEEL like a second floor, there was no feeling to suggest there was anything under there. So is it just very thick concrete or are the utilidors actually further down than the surface? We went after it had stormed and I noticed CMs using squeegees to try to remove the water but with the utilidors, couldn't they just easily add more drains so its not so wet?

 

[flynnibus]

I have heard on a documentary that MK is like the second story of a building with the utilidors. Also, main street USA looks to be perfectly level so I can see how that could be but when I went there the MK even main street did not FEEL like a second floor, there was no feeling to suggest there was anything under there. So is it just very thick concrete or are the utilidors actually further down than the surface?

The utilidors are not under everywhere in the MK - think of it like a tunnel system with rooms adjacent to it.

It is on the 'second floor' in a sense.

What they did was build out the basement level of the park.. then buried it with fill dirt to build up what you see as the ground level now. So effectively, the MK sits on a man made hill

 

[DBF John]

Heres a pic that shows early utilidor construction