I met Saif at Main Street. Saif was a tall, dark haired, attractive man—middle Eastern descent. He played the piano and sang there. While other pianobarists would sometimes allow others to sing, Saif had a lot of friends who were singers—he’d been a singer at Disneyland for a year or so. Many of them would come to the bar to sing when he played. Because of that it was one of the best piano bars in town. There was always a variety of entertainment, not just him—not that there would have been anything wrong with that.
Main Street was in the basement of the building it was in. Sort of a basement, like a New York apartment on the lower level but not totally below ground. There was a rear entrance off the parking lot. Or maybe it was the alley. The main entrance was on Main Street with stairs that led down to the bar. Like Cheers. The bar was at the back, the piano was at the front, with a padded counter in the shape of the piano around it and bar stools to sit on.
Saif and I became friends. At some point he convinced me to get up and sing. I wish I could remember what it was the first time. He and I would sing The Rose as a duet. My songs of choice were Wind Beneath My Wings, Bring Him Home, Evergreen. My repertoire was pretty limited. Saif convinced me to audition to become a Dickens Caroler at Disneyland.
They had four slots open. Nearly 600 people showed up to audition. Seems like the audition was maybe late summer/early fall. The 600 of us competitors gathered somewhere on the Disneyland property—in front of a large building as I recall—at like 8am! We were given a few lines to sing from some Christmas Carol. One by one we paraded through, sang our lines, then waited for cuts. I survived the first round.
After the first cut, we were then called in in groups of four. We sang as a quartet to judge how we could blend. I’d been in various groups—The Impact team, Sweet 16—so that was a bit of a no brainer for me. That went on for a while, with some of us being called back in to sing with a different quartet(s). I survived that round.
They next called the remaining survivors in one by one. We were once again put in quartets, but this time with existing Dickens Carolers. No pressure. I no longer recall how many configurations of quartets we were put in, but it was several. Then it was over. We were thanked for our time and told we’d be hearing from them. It was around 6pm. I drove home, elated that I’d made it so far, but exhausted.
I got home and told Scott all about the day. He was proud of me. We had a nice dinner. I was ready to go to bed by 9:00. The phone rang. Scott and I looked at each other. “Too soon,” I said, “you answer it.” It WAS for me, Disney calling. I was…a chosen one. As exhausted as I was, it took me forever to fall asleep.
Rehearsals started not long after that. We were at it five days a week. There was a lot of music to learn before Thanksgiving. They gave us a cassette tape a previous group had recorded to help us learn the songs. I learned the music as much from listening to that cassette as I did rehearsals.
We had to go through security to enter the park, the employee entrance of course. We were supposed to enter shortly before rehearsal and go straight to the rehearsal hall, no going into the park. Well…
The thrill of getting into the park free and breaking a rule was all it took for a couple of the others to convince me it would be fun. We rode a couple rides then decided to go on Splash Mountain. Big mistake. Big.
Even though we weren’t in the front car, we still got pretty wet. And even though we dried out some before rehearsal, it was pretty obvious what we’d done. We received a stern talking to, but weren’t punished for our rule breaking. I’m sure we weren’t the first carolers to have done so.
It was a fun group of singers to work with. Having Saif there was a big help for me. Except for the three other newbies, he knew the other singers. Being his friend helped me make friends with the others. Kathi G, Adam H—whom I tried to seduce—Rena B, Jim G—whom I got along with, but didn’t really like—Mark H, Debbie T, and others’ whose names escape me.
Kathi we met the day of the auditions. She pegged us as fun gay boys. We spent the day rehearsing and going through the auditions with her. She and Saif are the only ones I’ve stayed in contact with.
Rehearsals lasted for a couple months, drilling lyrics and parts into our heads. Unlike a lot of caroling groups, we didn’t have folders with our music in them, we sang all of our songs by memory—a skill I learned from previous groups I’d been in and that served me well when I sang with the Seattle Men’s Chorus years later. We were fitted for authentic Dickens Carolers’ costumes. The women wore huge hoop skirted dresses of various fabrics, satin blouses under matching jackets, bonnets/hats made of the same colors and fabrics as their dresses, and carried muffs. The men wore long topcoats over white tux shirts, cravats of various colors, loosely wrapped scarves around our necks and shoulders, and top hots. The girls’ costumes, we were told, each cost around $1,000—remember, this was 1987. They were very heavy and warm, especially for the girls. Singing in the park in November and December they would be toasty. One of the other girls was a former beauty queen. We often stood next to each other. She had a sailor’s mouth and would often insert dirty lyrics into a song, singing just softly enough that I could hear, all the while maintaining such a sweet, innocent smile. It was all I could do sometimes to keep my composer.
At some point, the larger group was divided into three smaller groups: a quartet to do the Radio Tour and two octets to work in the park. I was put in the Radio Tour group. At first, I was disappointed. I really wanted to sing at Disneyland. I was told, and later discovered, that “it will be a ton of fun and you’ll make a ton of money.”
Radio Tour was a weeklong tour the week after Thanksgiving to promote the Christmas season at Disney. We traveled around southern California as far south (east) as Palm Springs and as far north as Santa Barbra. Disney rented this huge, luxury motorcoach to get us around—one year driven by the cutiest 20something, boy. We took a Mickey with us, as well as a chaperone, Lilia Iles—whom I stay in touch with. We stayed in really nice hotels, not the motorcoach. The motorcoach also carried a shitload of gift baskets filled with Disney items, fruits, nuts, sweets, Disney merch, and a fruitcake to give to the stations. Yeah. In addition to our regular pay, we received overtime for our travel time, and a per diem for food and whatever, most of which we pocketed. We were well looked after. We had a ton of fun and made a ton of money that week.
There was a rub.
Because we were doing radio stations during morning drivetime, we usually had to be at the first station around 5am. And, because we had to be in full costume, this meant we had to be up-an-at-em around 4am, maybe earlier. The girls would get into their hoopskirts once we were on the motorcoach. Have you ever been in a radio station studio? They’re not made to accommodate four singers in costume, two who were in hoopskirts, and a Mickey mouse with his(her) big head.
Yes, Mickey is sometimes a girl—they may hunt me down and take me out for that information.
We sang, we smiled. One of us, designated as spokesperson, hyped the Christmas season, and we moved on to the next station. In the studio at one of the stations, it became painfully obvious that someone had let rip a most pungent fart. Being the consummate professionals we were, we ignored it and soldiered on. We were barely out of the station when we erupted in laughter and accusations. We all suspected the DJ, but I’ve always wondered. We were done, and ready to be done, around 7 or 8am. Then on to the next town.
A word about Mickey Mouse.
Disney is very protective of that character. When our Mickey was a girl, especially so. At one of our stops, she said she had to get out of the costume, meaning she had to pee—Mickey would never say he had to pee. Not only that, but no one could see her getting out of the costume nor the costume in a heap on the bathroom floor. So, one of the girls went into the bathroom to make sure it was clear. Then Mickey went in, accompanied by one of the girls. The rest of us stood guard outside to prevent anyone from going in. There was a reason they were so protective of that image. Probably many reasons, actually.
But the one I remember had to do with visiting a children’s hospital. We had some extra time after our radio appearances one day. Might have been Palm Springs or Santa Barbra. We were asked to stop by a hospital. We visited the children’s cancer ward. Mickey was with us. As we walked in the kids went crazy. For Mickey. We sang, I think. Not that anyone cared with Mickey there. We gathered around one kid’s bed who’d just come out of surgery a while before. Mickey was standing at the foot of the bed. When the kid woke up and opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Mickey Mouse. The smile, the glee of that kid seeing Mickey had us all in tears. One of those moments you never forget.
I did Radio Tour for the three years I worked for Disney. Or was it only two? They all sort of run together now. Another precaution we had to take with Mickey, was the costume. On the motorcoach, Mickey would get out of the costume. It would be put into two or three big red canvas—or maybe Kevlar—bags and padlocked. Whoever the Mickey was had to keep the costume bags in their room. They weren’t allowed to leave the room. Room service! Oh, that’s another thing. I don’t think we had to share rooms. We each had our own room!
Oh oh oh, at the end of tour there were always leftover gift baskets. We got to divvy up the spoils. It was brutal. I still have a few ornaments and a mug or two. My favorites, though, are from the year I scored a stuffed Santa Mickey and Santa Minnie. I don’t think I hurt anyone too badly to get them. They’re part of my holiday decorations every Christmas still.
Those on Radio Tour did get to sing in the park on occasion. Subbing for other singers or breaking us up so that everyone got to work. One of my first times as a caroler in the park was for one of the first, if not THE first, Gay Night at Disney. It was special for that reason, but also because Scott and some of our friends were there. They got to see me sing with the quartet. After we were done, I was able to join them in the park for the rest of the night. What an amazing night it was for hundreds of gays and lesbians to be free to be themselves…at Disneyland!
Train Station set.
Before Train Station set…backstage—which was any area not out in the park, and where we all hung out on breaks. One time, or maybe more than once, I was cruised by Donald Duck. In costume. Minus the head. Too short. True story.
Most of the time the carolers were strolling throughout the park, singing along the sidewalks and streets, and in some of the shops. Someone, probably Saif, taught us to sing the Carpenter’s run “Merry, merry, merry Christmas…merry Christmas…darling.” I remember singing that in front of the theater for Great Moments for Mr. Lincoln.
Ok, Train Station set.
Two times a night, we did the Train Station Medley on the raised platform at…the train station. It was a fun medley and involved some dance moves. I never learned the dance moves. Maybe because of doing Radio Tour. Everyone said it was easy, just follow us. I’m not a dancer. I have never been a dancer. Following does not help me. I must have made it through when I had to do it. Or maybe I’ve blanked those performances out of my memory.
There was one big event. A big thing at the train station. Candlelight Procession? It culminated at the train station. It was the telling of the Christmas Story. I sang the Train Station Medley one night prior to the procession arriving…James Earle Jones was the narrator. Sitting in the front row was Richard Carpenter.
We always had to audition every year. Maybe because we get old? I think I was the oldest of the bunch at that point. I was going to be starting law school in ’89. But I wanted to give caroling one more go. I auditioned again. I didn’t make the cut. I might have mistakenly told the powers-that-be that I’d be going to school. I was long past being devastated by losing auditions, but I was plenty disappointed. Life goes on.
I started law school. I was going to school in San Diego. The Radio Tour was going to be in San Diego. Lillia contacted me and asked if I would be interested in stepping in for one of the guys that day. Saif, I think. We sang the same part. Interested? Fuck yeah! So I did get my one more go at caroling…wearing Saif’s costume and nametag.
Thank you, Lilia.
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