Tales From The Turntable: Still Swooning

Celebrities. Some people claim to not care about them, but come on. They are a thing we can all talk about because by their very nature they are famous and we are not. We know way too much about some - like the Kardashians (seriously, I don't get it.) - and them some try to keep more to themselves, which makes them interesting for that. Because they are known names we can all recognize, I'm going to share some celebrity encounter stories at Disney in my blog. I should probably start small and build up to this one, but I'm not going to. I've seen and talked to a whole range of celebs, on-stage and off, while I was working and while I wasn't. But there is one that will always be THE story that will be shared and that makes 3 of us still turn into junior high girls when reminiscing ...

We had two that day. One was Demi Moore. The other? *excuse me, I just fell down swooning again* BRUCE WILLIS.

Don't even try to kid yourself and say he isn't swoon worthy. Remember Moonlighting? We all know Die Hard. Pulp Fiction. Just him being himself. And of course Demi is beautiful and very well known on her own. On this particular summer day in 2002 we had both of them right there on our turntable!

Some celebs come through the line incognito. Some have a Guest Relations Cast Member with them. Some require the entire ride area being emptied and Secret Service sneaking into the ride area to monitor thing. This was my only occasion for a non-political celebrity group that we paused the line of guests and had our turntable clear. Bruce, Demi and their daughters were brought down by their Guest Relations escort as they were celebrating the birthday of one of their girls. They had come from backstage I heard, which might explain how my particular conversation even came to be.

Loading was much more casual than it is when we have a full queue and are loading 12 people into sometimes 4 rafts at a time. This time we just had one group going into one raft and any intensity of hurry, hurry, hurry get in and buckle up was tossed out the window. I was standing by the podium, Sarah was next to me near the ramp. And then in happened.

THE Bruce Willis was walking toward us. He had a drink up in his hand that had come from elsewhere. How do I know? It wasn't a Disney cup and it had a lid and straw. Lids and straws were a no-no in Disney's Animal Kingdom due to the possibility of them getting in animal enclosures. A cup like this would not be allowed in our rafts, so naturally it had to be thrown away. Bruce could have handed it off, I'm sure, but then he and I wouldn't have become best friends. He came over to Sarah and I, flashing that Bruce Willis smile. He kind of held up his cup and asked if we had a garbage can anywhere. Did we? Yes, yes we did. It was holding me up so I wouldn't pass out over this moment. And I knew the odds on it being the home of many cockroaches was very high. Did I care? Heck no. I flashed back a smile and said, "Sure, right here!" as I stuck my hand IN that garbage can to open the side panel, allowing him to throw it away.

And then I probably froze in a state of shock and oh my gosh what just happened did I seriously talk to Bruce Willis and did he talk to ME?

Kevin - our resident hottie.

Once their raft was away from the turntable and out of sight Mike, one of our hilarious interns from Chicago, came running over. He saw what happened. He ripped open that garbage can so he could find the straw and/or lid and keep it as his own. I'm not even kidding. I later learned one of his college roommates threw it away. Poor Mike.

Bruce and Demi got to go on the ride a couple of times non-stop because they are Bruce and Demi, and we sure as heck weren't going to even think of telling them no! But then the lightning came. Once there is lightning near Kali we would have to cycle out the guests and close the ride until it passes. So sadly they DID have to end their time with us.

The typical males working the turntable rushed over to hang out as they exited and tried to dry off. Demi was in two thing tank tops, white over a light pink one. She forgot to put a bra on that day. We were all VERY aware of this. Meanwhile, with our jaws agape, Sarah, Kevin and I stood so close to each other we were practically holding each other up while our knees buckled in pure swoon-dom. Swoon-dom is officially a word. I just made it. The three of us gazed upon the beauty of Bruce. He looks even better in person. Nice bald head, great smile, perfect build - not too big, not too small. He's Bruce f***ing Willis!

How Sarah and I felt after our experience!

The day after that is blank. Did the day go on? I don't even know. But I do know that I had a major effect on Bruce and he probably tells the story to friends all the time about how fascinating this young woman was that helped him out in Florida one day. He's probably reading this .... Hey Bruce! What's up! Text me, we'll do lunch!

See ya real soon! °o°