Theme Park Architects

Posted on by Thor

Jerry Izsak grew up in Canada. Both of his grand parents immigrated from Hungry in 1902. He went to school in Toronto.

Jerry was 25 years old when he moved to America. He moved to Tampa. He later moved to California and saw an ad for Disney who was hiring. He met his wife Marta at a party of one of his Disney architect friends.

Disney then moved Jerry to Florida which is where he worked on designing and building Walt Disney World. He helped design Main Street. Marta was working on Adventure Land.

As an architect, they helped with the theme park design. Work wasn’t that hectic. It was a fun time. You couldn’t have a mustache. Eventually they changed that policy. Disney was a fun time in both of their careers. In Florida Jerry worked for Disney for 20 years. His entire Disney career was 30 years part in California, France, England.

Marta was also an architect. In Florida she also got a job at Disney so they had cubicles right near each other. She learned Auto Cad. Though she liked hand drafting she saw the advantaged of Auto Cad for quick changes.

They purchased a property  north of Disney and build a custom house which they designed and built themselves. The house took two years to build and everything was paid for in cash. When they got a paycheck, they went to home Depot and bought some 2 by 4s and got to work. They were in a pop up camper while the house was being built. They then brought an adjourning property and they build a second home which they now live in.

On the day this interview as conducted, The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. I remember wanting to only bump elbows with Jerry and Marta. Jerry bumped elbows but Marta insisted on shaking hands. Out of politeness and habit I shook her hand. I was already carrying hand sanitizer for just such an occurrence. I’m thankful we all spoke on the open air back porch of their home. It was a beautiful day with birds chirping and the start of a new normal for us all.

Disney to Re-Open as COVID-19 Cases Spike

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Disney is known for it’s magical thinking. The company plans to re-open Walt Disney World and Animal Kingdom on Saturday July 11, 2020 as new cases of COVID-19 surge in Florida. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are set to reopen July 15. As the theme parks prepare to open their gates, Florida has recorded the largest weekly increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Orlando, on the doorstep of Disney, has the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in Florida. Florida has over 10,000 new cases of the virus every day. 266 hospitals in Florida are reporting less than 10 hospital beds available. As of Wednesday July 8, 2020, the Florida Department of Health reported a total of 223,783 cases. It reported 10,140 new cases in the last 24-hours.

More than 10,000 Disney Cast members signed a petition urging Disney and government officials, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, to reconsider opening Disney World. “This virus is not gone, unfortunately it’s only become worse in this state,” the petition posted on MoveOn.org reads. “While theme parks are a great way to relax and enjoy free time, it is a non-essential business; it is not fair to the people who work there to risk their lives, especially if they are at risk or have family members who are at risk. People are more important than making a profit. As individuals who work in the bustling tourism industry in central Florida, we are responsible for ensuring the safety of our guests and our fellow magic makers. Keeping ourselves and our visitors safe is our No. 1 priority, in every theme park. This includes our health and well being. We are encouraged to say something when we see something that we deem is unsafe so we’re speaking up.”

When Disney CEO Bob Capek was asked about how many guests would be allowed into the park each day and he did not respond with a number of guests or a percentage of maximum park capacity. Instead he said they will try and maintain 6 feet of distance between guests. As he said, “Unlike Shanghai, where there were strict government mandates in terms of what capacity could be when we reopened, we don’t have that here at Walt Disney World.”  As he explained, “Well, we won’t open up a park unless we can cover our variable costs — essentially our cost to operate the park. So then beyond that it becomes a question of trying to cover your overhead and your capital expenses that you have.” Expecting a business to self regulate for public safety doesn’t work if profits are at stake. Disney will not loose money. What are you prepared to loose?

While some safety concerns have been addressed around areas like temperature checking for employees, the park was slower to offer responses on whether they will offer the COVID-19 testing that the labor union requested. Actors Equity said that Walt Disney World is retaliating over their demand for COVID-19 testing for actors, who have been “locked out” because of their desire for safe working conditions. The union represents about 750 park employees. Employees dressed as characters are represented by the teamsters. Equity actors appear in staged productions such as Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

The reopening plan was approved unanimously last month by the county’s economic recovery task force, prior to the huge surge in COVID-19 cases in Central Florida. Disney World is reopening with only limited park reservations available for people with annual passes or tickets that were purchased before the pandemic. No new tickets are being sold for 2020. Other theme parks have already reopened their gates to the public in Central Florida, including Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando and Gatorland, that reopened back in May.

Mayor Jerry Demings said, “At this point, I’m fairly comfortable with the decision that Disney has made to reopen because of the extent that they have gone through to ensure it’s a safe environment. Again, we saw something positive today in terms of the lowering of the positivity rate within the last week and some of the other things. So we have to take the good news where there’s bad news, as well, and we have to try to get our economy stimulated. But we don’t want to do that at the expense of risking people’s safety.”

Florida State Governor Ron DeSantis remains solidly behind the re-opening. He believes attending a Florida theme park would be safer than going to a large private gathering. It is also safer than jumping off a ledge at the Grand Canyon.

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the CDC, senior citizens and Guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. By visiting Walt Disney World Resort guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.

Stay Home. Stop the spread. Save lives.

The Deadliest Place on Earth

Posted on by Thor

Walt Disney World has plans to open July 11, 2020 followed by Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom on July 15, 2020. The Orlando parks will have social distancing and wellness measures, including temperature screenings, wearings masks, keeping guests six feet apart while lining up for attractions and a guest reservation system to limit capacity.

Fireworks, parades, and character meet and greets have been suspended. Disney World also isn’t selling any new tickets for now, it will focus on guests who have existing tickets and reservations, like those who made bookings prior to the pandemic and had to postpone, as well as annual pass holders.

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground on June 22, 2020. Disney Springs shopping and dining area reopened May 20, 2020 with limited parking, fewer entrances, temperature screening before entry, masks required, physically distanced lines and barriers, reduced hours, no entertainment and more sanitation and disinfectants. Plenty of images circulated online however of guests not wearing their masks. One rumor circulated is that if you are holding a drink you don’t need to wear the mask. The bottom line is that enforcement seemed lax to non-existent. Americans in particular seem to resist the idea of protecting others by wearing a mask.

I spoke with one character actor who dreads the idea of getting back into a costume. Universal Studios opened the week of June 1, 2020. Many of the character meet and greets will still exist, but the characters will be kept in areas separate from the guests. Additionally, the characters will be wearing masks. This allows for picture-taking and conversation to continue, without any of the contact.

Universal Character actors will not share the same costumes throughout the day. Each costume must be laundered before someone else can wear them. Typically there will be more than one of each costume so multiple performers can be the same character on the same day.

It seems smart of Disney to wait and see if the way Universal is showcasing characters will result in a spike in Covid-19 cases among talent and or the guests. Though the Disney parks will have enhanced health and safety measures, guests are advised to follow all posted instructions while visiting. There is an inherent risk of exposure to Covid-19 in any public place where people are present. Covid-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the CDC senior citizens and guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. By visiting theme parks all visitors voluntarily assume all risks of exposure to Covid-19. I assume that character performers also sign away any liability for possibly being exposed to the virus when they get in to their costumes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the pandemic is worsening globally after new cases reached a record high on Sunday, June 7, 2020. Have a great vacation!

Flooding into the Country

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When President Donald Trump announced a travel ban on flights from international countries into the United States, Americans abroad panicked and rushed to get back into America before the deadline. More than 40,000 people flooded into US airports. These Americans were forced to wait in long lines in the airport, crowded together, which of course was an ideal place for the Covid-19 virus to spread. Some people had to wait 7 hours to get through customs and health screenings. People with symptoms were not separated from the crowd. Workers did not have protective gear. It is hard to imagine a better scenario for spreading the deadly virus all across America.



Walt Disney World made the right decision to close all its theme parks, but on Sunday, (3-15-2020) the final day Walt Disney World was open, they decided to go out with a bang by having the huge crowd press together for a fireworks show. Abigail Disney, the niece of Walt’s brother Roy Disney, saw a photo of the huge crowds and commented on twitter “Are you fucking kidding me?” Since that comment, Disney has taken down the photos from Twitter.

As I write this, there are 203,521 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the world. At 9 am today there are already 6,417 new cases of people infected with the virus. 8,205 people have died. President Trump announced that there are to be no gatherings of 10 people or more. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer suspended the sales of all alcohol at any bars, clubs, restaurants, and hotels, or other venues where alcohol is typically consumed.

The Democratic Primary voting went on as planned in Orlando. Five other states postponed voting, but Florida decided to proceed despite the pandemic. My polling place was in a Methodist Church. I parked near some headstones, but was afraid I might be in the wrong place, since there wasn’t a soul in sight. I noticed a woman walking past the cemetery to a building next door and decided to follow her. Sure enough this was the polling place. I approached the community room entrance with two very old gentlemen. One man looked like he might have crawled out of his death bed to get to the polling place, his eyes were so bloodshot. On a bench at the entrance someone joked that we looked criminal as we walked in. The one elderly man said he had done this many times in his life. He stressed that point several times as we walked down the hall. Yet, it was rather criminal to have the elderly going out to vote when the rest of the country was on lock down.

A line of chairs separated the community room in half with police tape tied along the line they created. Anyone on the West side of the main street the church was on, had to go to the reception tables to the left and anyone on the east side of that street were supposed to go to the other reception table to the right of the dividing line. As I stood in line I realized I was not giving myself a cushion of 6 feet behind the men I had entered with. To pick up my ballot I had to hand over my drivers license. There was some hand sanitizer on the table but the poll worker handled my card and handed it back without using it for herself. I squirted some sanitizer on my hands and rubbed it in, then put the license back in my wallet. Voting only took a second since there were really only 2 candidates. I didn’t stay to sketch, deciding to instead get back to the studio to self isolate, and finish the sketch above.

Governor DeSantis announced that the State Florida ordered an additional 2,500
test kits to supplement the resources already available to test
for COVID-19. These additional test kits will enable the Department of
Health, working with Florida health care providers, to test up to an
additional 625,000 individuals. Florida recently partnered with private laboratories around the state to expand COVID-19 laboratory testing capacity. To date there are 160 Covid-19 cases in Florida and 5 people have died. Those numbers will rise as testing begins. The Florida Department of Health reported 1,483 people have been tested for Covid-19 as of Monday (3-16-2020). To contrast that news, South Korea has been doing over 10,000 tests a day. The World Health Organization’s top official, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, criticized some nations for
not doing enough to detect and contain the deadly Covid-19. “We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test. Test
every suspected case. If they test positive, isolate them and find out
who they have been in contact with two days before they developed
symptoms and test those people, too,” Tedros said.

With little leadership coming from the President, I turn to Governors who are responsibly gearing up to the unimaginably large number of cases that are to come. New York Governor Cuomo pointed out that, “This in an extraordinary time in this nation’s history. It will go down in the history books as a moment of true crisis, confusion, and chaos. In a single moment your whole concept of life and society can be shaken. This is a character test for all of us. Life has been turned upside down. This is a hard time on every level.”

A CDC projection estimated that the U.S. Covid-19 pandemic could infect
between 160 million and 214 million Americans over a period of more than a
year, and kill anywhere from 200,000 to 1.7 million people in the United States. This is a worst case scenario if nothing is done to slow the curve of infections through social isolation and adequate testing and treatment. That higher CDC estimate is more dead than in WWI, WWII, and Vietnam combined. We are fighting a war for survival against an unseen enemy. Stay home. Stay safe. Be calm and caring.

“What did you do when all around you lost their head? – Rudyard Kipling

Joel Strack: Heart and Soul

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This article and sketch have been posted with the express written permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

At Walt Disney World, Joel started as a performer, the he moved on to become a lead, or coordinator,  then he became a character trainer. A trainer has the talents to inspire and motivate others to do the job while not quite being a supervisor. He loved being a trainer. It was a tough job being inside a costume and he tried to set up new hires for success. Being a character could be nasty or joyous depending on your attitude.

It could be difficult because of the brutal heat, and how physically demanding it was, while you can also feel under appreciated. Because of the camouflage of the costume, you can feel like a non entity. Yet you fill a need with your heart and soul.

Joel had a friend who has been a Disney Character for 35 years.  She has changed peoples lives because of her work as Cinderella. She has had an impact in the world. She is a savant in remembering peoples names and relationships. She remembers every kid and family she has ever met. In a parade she would wave to families she had seen years before shouting their names. She is no longer a princess because of her age, but she remains loved and respected among the Disney cast and repeat visitors to the parks.

Their is no set age for when a performer can no longer be a princess. It comes down to body type and  height range that are important in the casting discussion. At a Disney 20th Anniversary parade, a photo was taken by a Sentinel photographer of a princess on a float. The princess in the photo was thick. This caused an internal uproar and it was discovered that the costuming department had been “letting out” the dresses when a performer gained weight. Princesses can NOT gain weight. If you become too old or too fat, you can no longer be a princess.

For some reason so many of the character costumes are designed for people who are less than 5 feet tall or over 6 feet tall. That leaves a big one foot gap in which a performer could not be cast.  So much talent is lost to that gap.

Joel was the casting director for the Hercules parade. He had a really difficult time casting the character of Hercules who just had to be muscular. He had about 20 prospects in mind, but as a performer, Hercules would have to get into a furry character costume after the parade, and the pay was just $12 an hour. Not surprisingly there were no takers. Once it was clear that no one would take the part under those conditions, they brought in a equity hiring agent. They offered $250 a day for just the parade. Suddenly there were men available.

One of Joel’s favorite performers, was maybe 4 foot 10 inches and she performed as Minnie Mouse or Mickey Mouse. About two years into her employment she became pregnant. She kept going out into the park to do her job. A guest at some point, said out loud, to her handler that, “Mickey Mouse looks pregnant.” He had to pull her in and say, “I’m going to have to pull you out of costume.” She said, “No, I can still work.” He pointed out that she moved differently now that she was pregnant. She was devastated. She thought for a moment and then said, “An Ewok can be pregnant.” He said, “You are absolutely right!” Joel loved his cast.

One time he was performing as Tigger and a little boy came up to him and kept saying, “I love you Tigger, I love you Tigger, I love you Tigger.” Each time he said that, he would punch Tigger in the leg. Character performers are trained to bring a child in close when they are being aggressive, much like a rope a dope in a boxing ring. When Tigger reached out to the child he saw the child’s eyes grow wide and he flinched. Joel suddenly realized that this child was abused and the only way he could express love was through his fists. He put his paws out in front of the boy so he could feel how warm and fuzzy they were, and he gave him a hug… so the boy could know that love can be warm soft and fuzzy and he would be OK. That moment could have made a difference.

Joel Strack, 59 of Orlando, Florida, passed away Monday, July 15, 2019. His obituary stated, “In the last days of his life, when Joel was asked what he most wanted to
be remembered for, it was friendship and love. He wanted that to be his
greatest legacy.”

Nick Paul’s Impossible Feats of Fake Magic offered comedy and Magic.

Posted on by Thor

Nick Paul’s Impossible Feats of Fake Magic in the Fringe bronze venue inside the Orlando Museum of Art was a highly entertaining hour of magic. Nick is an Orlando native and this was the first time I had to sketch his act. A helium balloon was suspended in the middle of the stage. Nick eyed the balloon and with a flourish decided to cut the ribbon that held the balloon to the stage. Amazingly the balloon remained hovering where it was rather than floating to the ceiling. He then waved his hands around the balloon to show that there were no rods or supports holding the balloon in place. Next he tried to move the balloon by pushing and pulling it with no effect. I actually used to show a YouTube clip to my Full Sail students in which a mime tried to move a helium balloon. Darko Cesar, a former Disney Animator turned me on to this entertaining piece. We used it to show students how an animators job is to imply stress and strain by using exaggerated poses. When done right the unbelievable becomes plausible.

Nick asked an audience member to pick out a long word in the Fringe program. An envelope taped to the back of the trunk was opened and somehow that work was written on the sheet of paper inside. I tried to figure out the trick but in the end enjoyed simply being amazed. Nick’s wife joined him at the end of the show and somehow she was quickly transported inside a small box when behind a curtain for a minute. Her hand waved from a small hole in the box and that was the end of the show. People didn’t know if they should leave. At the exit several audience members approached Nick, concerned that his wife was still locked away in the box.  I don’t know if she ever got out. Of course all magic is fake, but Nicks physical comedy and audience participation made it a fun and entertaining show. He performs magic regularly at Walt Disney World where magic is expected.

Venue: Bronze

Length: 50 minutes

Rating: 13+

Tickets: $10 (+service charge)

Remaining Show Times:

Wednesday May 20, 2015  5:30pm to 6:20pm

Sunday May 24, 2015        8:15pm to 9:05pm