Tales From the Turntable: 9/11 Evacuation

I wasn't sure where to start, so I thought back to the start of my time at Kali River Rapids. I began my time in Anandapur in August 2001. I had been at Kali for nearly a month when it was mid-September. To us Americans that month had something pretty major happen... and that is today's post.

It could go without saying, but this starts out in the very early morning of September 11, 2001. I was in my apartment getting ready for work. Uncommon for me, I turned on the morning news. A plane just hit a huge tower in New York? What the heck? That's crazy! It was so bizarre I had to call my mom in Oregon, who happened to be awake watching the same thing with the rest of the country. After we hung up I stood in my living room watching as the second plane crashed into the building. I was glued to the television, but I also had a new job to get to.

On my drive to Disney's Animal Kingdom I was listening to the radio. The airwaves were filled with people in shock, speculating on what would happen next and why was this going on. What was the next target going to be? And as I was listening I couldn't help but wonder what on Earth was I doing? I'm driving to a theme park that gets visitors from all over the world. Wouldn't this be a great target? Should I turn around and go home?

I continued to work and the day only became more surreal. I parked in the Cast Member lot and began my walk to the front entrance. On the way I was approached by confused guests that were told the park was now closed. They didn't understand why or what was going on. Immediately I remembered hearing how a Pecos Bill Cafe co-worker inadvertently told some British guests about Princess Diana dying, and their horrible reactions. Did I want to repeat that by saying, "oh yeah, no biggie, the country is being attacked by airplanes and people are dying in collapsing buildings. Hakuna Matata!" Of course not! So I handled those situations as best as I could and assured them that if the park was being closed it was for a good reason and their Disney resort would be a good place to return to.

We had three types of park evacuation plans at Disney. I learned about them, and would end up teaching people about them as a trainer. When I was taught these plans it was kind of a "this never happens, but I am required to tell you about it" type of thing... except it really WAS happening! This particular instance was Plan A, a Fast Close. My first duty of that day was not to report to the ride and be in character as an Expedition Guide sending people off on a rafting adventure. No. I was there to help get the park empty of guests around 10 o'clock in the morning, versus our standard 5pm closing time. Daylight hours without guests in our area is a very strange thing to experience.

September 10, the night before things changed.

When Asia was empty we all gathered by the FastPass Distribution machines at the Kali entrance. Our managers gave us the latest update with information they had learned about the events in New York. I couldn't help but notice how aside from the couple of managers, I was the only American in this huge group of people. And while people outside of our group were getting all racist about who did this and who can we trust, yada yada yada, I was there with my new friends from Southeast Asia, of many different religions, who were all affected and in shock just like I was. We cleaned up Anandapur to get it ready for the next day and then we all just sat together. We couldn't get picture on the tv in the break area, but if we sat outside we could hear the reports. And that's what we did for quite a while. We sat on the ground close to each other, nobody speaking. Just listening and covering our mouths in shock. Kind of a strange way to bond, but it sure brought us all together.

Rumors were going around, and who knows where they came from or if there was any validity to them, that Disney was on some sort of target hit list, and that is why we were closed. It wasn't just Animal Kingdom that closed, it was everything - all 4 theme parks, the two water parks, ESPN Wide World of Sports and Downtown Disney. We were all going to be paid for the day as if we had worked our full shifts, and we were also given the option of going to any of the Disney resorts to help out. I chose to go home. I know my mom was worried, and would be happier if I was safely in my apartment.

After the park closed - the only way to get a daytime photo in a costume with NO guests around. Eerie.

As the rest of America did, I sat in front of my tv watching everything unfold. Heck, to this day I still watch anything related to 9/11 even if I have seen it before. When it became evening I got to experience the eeriness of an empty Walt Disney World. A college program girl I befriended during Traditions that lived in Vista Way (remember that from my first internship!) and I decided we may as well hang out together and watch a movie or something since we were all basically stuck home inside. She didn't have a car so I drove to get her. When I went by Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney it was so creepy. There were barricades blocking all of the entrances. The parking lots were completely empty. All of the lights were off. If it was the day of iPhones I totally would have gotten photos to share with you in this blog.

Back at my apartment again, we invited Vinny over to join us for a viewing of Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion. We all remember Vinny, right?!? You couldn't possibly forget him. I mean he's Vinny! Maybe we were supposed to sit at home and be somber all night due to the events happening, but we needed a break, so this one night of just forgetting life and watching a silly movie was what we needed.

Taking the girl (I feel so horrible that I can't remember her name - Jodi! I looked it up!) home allowed me to get an even different view of Disney. Now that it was dark out, it was really obvious how empty things were. Spaceship Earth wasn't lit up. Downtown Disney was completely dark. You know those photos you see of abandoned theme parks and malls? That's what it felt like.

The next day it was business as usual, except for some amount of time we were a no-fly zone. That was kind of nice, not having any planes or helicopters flying over the park. But I very clearly remember one day in 2002 when that changed. I was in our temple area of the Kali queue. It is so beautiful and peaceful. If you get a chance to visit and go on the ride, really take time to enjoy the queue while you are waiting! I was sweeping and all by myself. Suddenly I heard an aircraft coming, and it was coming in close. Like way too close. I'm not kidding, I dropped my broom and ducked in the corner. Clearly nothing happened, but that first unexpected experience was one I will obviously not forget. And I learned that everyone on the turntable had pretty much the same response, so it wasn't like I was the one person overreacting.

Tiger Tree - NOT on 9/11. Not even 2001.

For the next few months, heck, probably a year, it was then a thing of having guests trying to get special favors because of September 11th. The line is 2 hours long? Oh, but my husband is a police officer in New York, we should just be allowed to go to the front.  No. That's not how it works. Over at Flights of Wonder we would get requests for special one on one photos with Hope, the Bald Eagle.... because they were from New York. Not gonna lie, for a long time I groaned when New Yorkers came through because the only reason I knew they were from New York was because they insisted on telling you and always wanted some special treatment. To give the a slight pass, I also got requests to bypass the long waits by others over the years - like the family that drove all the way from Utah. What was my response? "Oh really? Cool! I drove all the way from Oregon. An interesting drive, isn't it!" And they did NOT get to jump right on. Homey don't play that!

Other things I experienced post-September 11 was seeing men come in full body outfits to remove suspected Anthrax from the Maharajah Jungle Trek. False alarm. It was just powder from some candy that had been dropped. I was walking to Caravan Stage by the Tiger Tree and I noticed a backpack shoved down under the branches. Nobody was in sight. There was a tag from Israel on it. I stood there looking at it, and looking around. A Food & Beverage manager came by and saw me staring. She was kind enough to take over, calling for Security to come assist so I could get back to work. I never heard what happened with it, but it was certainly a unique experience to be frozen with indecision and concern just because of a simple backpack!

So that was my September 11, 2001 experience. A whole range of emotions, once in a life time experiences (I hope!!), and memories that will stay with me forever.

See ya real soon! °o°