Working at a major theme park is a dream job for many people. Some eagerly await application season for the Disney College Program, while others save their pennies to move to Florida and take a retirement job at the parks. When you’re a theater kid growing up in Central Florida, though, the question isn’t IF you will work for the parks, but WHEN, and which specific job(s) you will hold. Like many people I know, I did the rounds: selling ice cream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, tech”knowledge”ist for Epcot’s Innoventions, safari driver at Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safaris, and educator for SeaWorld Orlando.
But my true love, the one I couldn’t ever really leave, was Universal Orlando. I kept going back to Kongfrontation until it closed, with a brief stint at Triceratops Encounter, and then moved on to Earthquake (now Disaster) and scare actor for Halloween Horror Nights. This is an insider’s look at what it’s really like to work for Universal Orlando based on nearly two decades of experience. My first job ever was at Kongfrontation in 1992, right after I turned 16.
Getting hired at Universal Studios Florida
Universal’s Human Resources center is not nearly as themed as Disney’s Casting Center, but it is no less efficient. It all begins inside a large central reception area, where the friendly receptionist will provide you with a list of open positions. In my case, I was very happy to see that Ride and Show (Universal’s term for Attractions) had openings.
The application packet includes the standard forms that you might expect, such as a job application and an availability sheet. I was surprised to learn that it also includes a simple math test. I’m not sure whether all applicants must pass the test, or only those going for certain positions.
If you want a customer service oriented role, make sure you are big and bold. Although I had already been hired for Attractions at Walt Disney World (a job I had to decline when the company could not hold the position for my two-week family vacation), the receptionist at Universal asked if I was sure I wanted a job in Ride and Show. She said I was very quiet, and she wasn’t sure if I would be happy in such a customer facing role!
I had just a few minutes to collect myself before I was called back for my interview, and I resolved to go out of my way to be big and open and talkative. It worked, and I was offered a job in Ride and Show. After that, everything happened so fast that I don’t remember the order. I know I turned in a medical history form and chatted with a nurse (standard procedure, and I had no significant medical history), got fingerprinted, and filled out a pile of paperwork. I was scheduled for orientation a couple of days later.
Orientation day
Orientation started at 8 a.m. I have never been a morning person, and I had an hour-long drive from my home in Lakeland. Fortunately, I was too excited to get much sleep, and I was up ahead of my alarm.
No matter how much you think you know about the parks, orientation is a bit of a shock. When we introduced ourselves to the group, I was overwhelmed by all the different job classifications everyone was going into. It was the first time it really sunk in just how many people and how many different talents and skills are required to make a theme park function.
The day is the perfect mix of videos, live presentations, games, and teambuilding activities, changing directions every hour or so to keep things fresh. You will break for lunch at the Employee Grill, where more than a few of the people in my class geeked out as we dined with costumed characters, high-level managers, ride techs, Merchandise team members, Ride and Show attendants, and so many more.
Late in the day, we took a behind the scenes walking tour of the park. It was incredible to walk through backstage doors, check out employee break rooms, go on rides without waiting in lines, and see how some of the jaw-dropping special effects were done.
Interestingly, I was only hired for “Ride and Show,” an overall job classification that includes all of the attractions in the park. In later years, would-be spielers had to pass an audition, and were assigned to a specific spiel attraction at that time. But in 1992, Ride and Show team members did not find out our actual work locations until the end of orientation. I almost fell over when my orientation leader announced that I was going to Kongfrontation, Universal’s then signature attraction and my favorite theme park ride ever.
The end of the day is dedicated to wardrobe fittings and meeting with a trainer to discuss your schedule. Wardrobe is a massive building that holds costumes for every employee in the parks. In those days, we were only issued one costume at a time, trading it in for another at the end of each shift. Now, you are allowed to check out up to five (depending on work location), but you still drop the dirty one in the laundry chute at the end of each shift. I greatly appreciated not having to wash my own costumes! In most cases, your trainer will meet you at Wardrobe to make sure your costume fits properly and you know how to find your locker, and then hand you a training schedule.
Opening a new attraction
Today, Universal Orlando’s training program runs like a well-oiled machine. You are assigned a trainer who sticks with you throughout the entire process, which takes about a week for more complicated positions. By the end of the spieling era, spielers also had to go through training and sign-off with a performance coach to make sure their acting chops were up to snuff.
In 1992, though, it was a very different world. Universal had nearly closed right after it opened due to its disastrous opening day. The company was pushing the limits of what was technologically possible, and its signature attractions were still regularly going down for technical difficulties. Jaws had closed at the end of its first summer for a radical overhaul and had not yet reopened. Universal had rallied, but it took an immense amount of teamwork and dedication to keep things running smoothly. In many ways, the team was still learning how to put together a world-class experience as they went along.
That was drilled into my head from the moment I arrived at my new home. Kong required an intricately choreographed dance between tram drivers, control tower attendants, and ride technicians. In addition to everything else, from the long script to the general training manual, I was handed a thick technical manual. I wasn’t required to memorize it or be tested on it, but my trainer for the day strongly suggested that I become familiar with it. The more we knew about how the ride worked, the better information we could relay to the techs if something went wrong.
This process remains similar today when a new attraction opens—the techs and managers have more experience under their belts in figuring out what might go wrong and planning for it, but no one really knows exactly what will happen under the constant challenges of daily operations, so opening crews must be prepared for anything.
Ride experience
Naturally, every ride is a bit different, with its own storyline, vehicles, and technology. However, as one of Universal Studios Florida’s original Big 3 attractions, along with Earthquake and Jaws, Kong set the stage for later attractions to follow. With that in mind, take a moment to relive the full ride experience.
It began as you entered the stunningly detailed queue, which was designed to resemble a Manhattan subway station and city block. Real graffiti artists from New York were brought in to create elaborate works of art, to which an endless stream of park guests added their own signatures and drawings as they waited. A series of TV monitors set the stage with news reports by then-current real life anchors. These details, along with the incredibly realistic replicas of more than 50 Lower East Side buildings, truly anchored your experience in space and time.
As a ride operator at Universal, you will be expected to memorize and understand the details of your attraction. Guests can and will test your knowledge every day, asking in-depth questions about the most obscure hidden secrets, so make it your mission to learn as much as possible.
Pro tip: Never fake it. If you don’t know the answer to a question, find out from someone who does. Inventing a great story might seem like a good idea at the time, but will only make you look ridiculous and untrustworthy. In addition, not only does Universal employ “mystery guests,” but high-level managers have been known to make undercover appearances. Making something up could get you fired on the spot.
Rotations and break system
At the theme parks, every work location has its own system of rotations and breaks. Employees rotate through a series of positions, followed by a break of a designated length. This keeps everyone fresh, and avoids the glassy eyes and tendency to zone out that can occur when standing in one spot for a long time. I have consistently found, however, that spiel attractions have the best rotations.
In my opinion, the 1992 Kong system was the best of the best. Unless we were short staffed or something unusual was going on, each rotation had three positions: two non-spieling spots and a tram. We were at each position for 15 minutes (3 tram cycles) before moving on to the next. This meant working for 45 minutes before going on break for 15…not a bad schedule, in my opinion.
Lunches were officially 30 minutes long, but most of the time everyone in a rotation agreed to 45s. So even if everyone ahead of you took lunch on the same rotation, you would work 2 hours and 15 minutes before taking your own 45 minute lunch.
At Kong, the non-spieling positions included Queue 1 through 3, Pre-board, Load 1 and 2, Unload 1 and 2, and Tower, and we had 4 trams. In general, these positions have not changed much over the years. Queue 3 gave way to Express Entrance, and each ride has specific duties, but the positions are very similar across all rides at all theme parks today.
Queue 1 is the attraction’s greeter, and is responsible for maintaining the queue ropes and rails. Queue 2 was my favorite, as it handles VIPs and special guests who use the back entry. Queue 3 was only staffed on very busy days, as it covered the extended queue. Though it is hard to believe today, we sometimes had a line upwards of 2 hours long—and there was no such thing as an Express Pass!
Load positions are generally responsible for boarding guests onto trams, making sure their laps are clear of all items that could interfere with the lap bars, closing the load doors, and making a final safety check before dispatch. Likewise, the unload positions are responsible for getting guests off the trams and out the exit, closing the unload doors on the tram, and helping Load conduct safety checks. Unload 1 also counts and logs the number of guests on each vehicle. In addition, Load and Unload have to coordinate to save rows for VIPs boarding from the back entrance.
Pre-board is another fun position. Standing at the top of the queue ramp, Pre-board is responsible for asking guests how many people are in their party and assigning them to the correct rows. At Kong, it required a certain level of diplomacy, though, because larger guests could not fit under the regular lap bars, so we had to assign them to the back row, where there was significantly more room. I had more than a few awkward conversations with larger guests who wanted to sit up front, although most were very nice and understanding. You might run into similar situations at the roller coasters, where specific seats are assigned to guests who need a bit more room.
It is not unusual for the day’s team members to work together to create and staff each day’s rotations. For example, if someone who is not yet spiel-trained is working, that person might be frozen in a specific non-spieling position, with someone providing periodic breaks during the day. On the other hand, if a few people without spiel training are on duty, you might create a non-spiel rotation that functions as normal. It is all very loose and friendly, and everyone generally gets what they want.
Accommodating guests with disabilities
The Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, but theme parks were given time to come into compliance with its provisions. Prior to our compliance date, we were not wheelchair accessible. To become compliant, the system had to be reprogrammed to have the trams sit level with the load and unload platforms. The trams also had to be retrofitted with foldable rear seats and wheelchair securing clamps.
Then there was the issue of how to get wheelchairs from ground level to the ride. The queue ramps were steep, with sharp turns, and our VIP entrance involved three flights of stairs. But, the exit ramps were not quite as steep or sharply banked, and they were significantly wider than the queue ramps.
So Queue 2, previously a cakewalk position, gained a new task—pushing wheelchairs up the exit ramp! Unload 2, previously an extra position used only on busy days, became the wheelchair loader. We all learned to strap down wheelchairs, securing them against the ride’s bounces and dips, within the 30 seconds allotted for each dispatch. There was definitely a learning curve for everyone, and we truly appreciated how kind and patient our wheelchair-using guests were with us as we figured out how best to accommodate them.
Today, of course, accommodating guests with disabilities is all part of a day’s work. Even Kong’s replacement, Revenge of the Mummy, now has an elevator. You will learn the specific procedures for your attraction, including transfer requirements and things you might be able to do to assist, such as slowing a moving walkway.
Shifts and scheduling
Although there is never a guarantee, in my experience, theme park jobs generally have three basic crews: opening, which works from early morning until shortly after lunch; mid, which works from late morning until early evening; and close, which works from mid-afternoon until an hour or so after closing. I quickly became part of the Kong closing crew. I also began signing up to stay for evening special events, when a corporation would rent out part or all of the park for a party. Those evenings are some of my fondest memories, as the crowds were thin, the guests were in a great mood, and leadership was relaxed.
Very early morning shifts are usually optional, and may provide an opportunity for overtime, which is otherwise notoriously hard to get approved. I let myself get talked into my fair share of those. These shifts generally involve cycling the ride vehicles to ensure that everything is working properly. At Kong, it meant sitting in the driver’s seat of a tram for hours, going around and around in circles to check out all the details of the special effects and call in any issues.
Pro tip: If you are a night owl, try staying up all night for a 6 a.m. shift. The Employee Grill is open all night, and the overnight maintenance crew is generally very cool and easy to get along with. You can even take a late night stroll through the park, relishing the darkness and quiet.
Ride operations
Naturally, each ride vehicle operates a bit differently. But what they all have in common is that they are normally controlled by a computer system, with the crew having very little to do with actually making them run. On Kong, the tram drivers did have a button known as a deadman. We had to hold that down during the times that Kong was interacting with the tram to prove to the system that a human being was alive and in control. We also had to push a button to acknowledge minor faults, such as a loose door latch. Failing to do either of those things would result in a safety stop. Otherwise, though, the trams basically drove themselves.
However, many ride vehicles can also be operated manually, typically to move them around during opening and closing procedures or after a major system fault. On Kong, the manual controls consisted of a series of four knobs: up and down; back and forth; front and back roll; and side to side roll. Those were particularly useful when a tram ended up stuck in an awkward position. Depending on your attraction, you might have more or fewer controls.
One of the biggest challenges in a spiel attraction is learning to spiel over the radio chatter. At Kong, we wore large headsets with microphones whenever we were on a tram. The microphones allowed us to spiel to our guests and be heard over the noise of the attraction. We were responsible for keeping our spiels timed to the show audio, which was louder than everything else.
But the headsets were actually connected to the building’s radio communication system, so what we heard in our ears were the various conversations going on between team members, techs, leads, and supervisors. Each tram had a small microphone, similar to a CB, that was also connected to the building’s radio system. But we had to be careful to move the headset microphone first, so the guests on the tram would not overhear our conversations. Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safaris ride has a similar setup, as did Universal’s Jaws. I would assume that the Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios does as well, although I don’t have firsthand knowledge of that attraction.
Just another day in the life
Celebrity visits are a fact of life when you work for a theme park. But you must always remember the cardinal rule: you can be fired on the spot for asking for an autograph or photo, or in any way acting like a fan rather than a professional. Still, you are only human, and celebrity visits are always an exciting time. I actually traded shifts with my coworker and roommate one day, only to find out that he got to escort Metallica onto the ride! But I got my turn a few days later, when Liza Minnelli and her entourage were on my tram. I actually had to turn off my radio, because I couldn’t give an excellent show with all the excited chatter in my ears.
Things don’t always go as planned
Of course, the theme parks never let you forget that you are working at the cutting edge of technology. Kong was especially tricky, because he actually moved “inside the envelope,” intruding into the safety radius around the tram that would normally trigger a safety fault. The temperamental ape seemed to have a mind of his own. He once knocked a fellow tram driver out of her seat, onto the floor of her tram! Fortunately, the animatronic bodies were made of giant air bags over a metal framework, so she wasn’t hurt at all.
Parts of Kong’s body frequently got stuck in awkward positions—including one memorable day when Bridge Kong decided to proudly display his middle finger to all who passed by! I’m sure that was a PR nightmare, but I had to smile. I could swear the old guy had a slight grin on his face that day.
Things may differ at other attractions, but when working with both animatronics and pyrotechnics, ride faults usually fall into three basic categories: A show stop means that the ride still functions as normal, but part or all of the animation does not. A ride stop means that the vehicles quit moving until they are reset. You will learn stall material to keep your guests happy and engaged during these times, though many ride operators resort to bad jokes in case of a lengthy delay.
An emergency stop (E-stop) is in a class all its own. It instantly turns off all power to the building, halts all movement, shuts down special effects, and plunges the attraction into darkness. It is a completely necessary safety precaution, especially at attractions with large, moving animatronics and massive explosions. But it can be terrifying when it happens to you.
Though the Kong building had several emergency lights that came on immediately after an E-stop, it was just my luck that my one and only E-stop happened when my tram was in a corner where no emergency lights were visible. There, in the inky blackness, I was charged with keeping a full tram load of people from panicking. I have no idea what I said or did, only that I was very glad when it turned out to be a false alarm and power was restored. If you find yourself in the middle of an E-stop, no amount of stall material will help. Staying calm and thinking quickly are really your only options.
I’m an urban legend!
Although the theme parks have remarkable safety records, accidents can and do occasionally occur. Most of the time, they are very minor, although for liability reasons, they are always taken extremely seriously. One example is the small accident I was involved in on the Kong loading platform. I was standing up talking to my guests, back turned to the open front of my tram, when the tram behind me overshot the unload position and tapped the rear of my tram. It was a very minor collision and no one was hurt, but naturally the supervisors and managers came running. Statements were taken, first aid was offered, and everyone on both trams got a front of the line pass for any attraction in the park.
When I returned to Kong years later, all tram drivers were required to wear a safety harness. When I asked my trainer why, her tone turned serious. “We wear these because back in 1992, there was a horrible accident. The tram at Unload rear-ended the tram at Load, where the young driver was standing up. She was thrown out of the tram and died when she hit the concrete 30 feet down in Show Scene 1!” I burst into laughter and explained what actually happened, and she just stared at me as if she had seen a ghost.
Remember this story if you are hired at the parks. It is incredibly easy and tempting to pass on gossip, urban legends, and other tidbits about those who have come before you. But before you share the latest rumor, stop and think about whether it is worthwhile. I took the rumor about myself in a lighthearted way, but someone else might really be shocked or hurt or angry to hear that they were rumored dead for nearly 10 years.
The only constant is change
If you come and go from theme park employment, as so many people do, don’t expect your job to be as you left it. Time marches on, and things change. Each time I returned to Kong, I noticed that the system was a little more streamlined, a little more corporate, a little safer, and a little more sterile. The changes were good in their own way, as they mirrored Universal’s journey from an unlikely little park to a major contender in the marketplace. But even today, I sometimes get a little nostalgic for the early days. Still, I know that what I did made a real difference.
When I went to pick up my employee ID in 2005, the girl who printed it looked at my original hire date. “Wow,” she said. “You built this park! Thank you.” In a lot of ways, she was right. What we did in the early days built the experience that was and is Universal Orlando today. And I feel honored to have been a part of that.
You might not have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a brand new theme park, but everything you do has a longer-lasting influence than you might realize. Not only are you building the guest experience each and every day, but you are also shaping the experiences of the employees who will come after you. Some days you might feel like nothing more than a cog in a giant machine, but you as an individual matter more than you realize. Keep that in mind, and it will be tough to have a truly bad day.
