...and so we left Backstage Disney and headed back with weary feet.
Or is that the end?
My, this will be a long tale.
In the beginning there was Bridge Day, this magical thing that was given to us lucky few. At least that was how I, and I'm fairly sure we, all felt. It really had sounded like a gift of a day from the start, and with the scholarship having allowed me to even attend at all, it was the icing on the cake.
Post jetlag and ready for Bridge Day I set off. We were divided into groups, A, B, C, Pink, Blue, Green. By happy coincidence I was shipped out with the blue group....
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Our first stop was to listen to a Disney Logistics talk from three Disney developers entitled 'A Day in the Life of a Disney Developer'.
First up we learned about the IT structure of Disney IT, about the Business Technology Partners and job roles and progressions. I mused to myself that it was interesting they viewed IT development careers as leading to increasing mentoring roles to support those newer or less experienced. This was a nice way to view senior roles; mentoring not managing. I was not so pleasantly struck by the discovery that all Disney staff are called 'cast members', this was a new concept for me, but clearly one entrenched in the Disney culture.
We then heard more about the Disney development lifecycle (a topic which fascinated me but I'll not blather on about it here) and this was followed by a series of short demos.
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Then lunch, which I would have enjoyed more had it not been tempered by my realisation I had lost my phone. It isn't just needed for twitter; it is my camera, alarm clock and back-up email reader. Mid-way through the talk on Disney Imagineering, and the excellent sounding ImagiNations competition (which I wish I had known about while I still qualified), I realised where my phone must be. Under that table, over there. I admit I was distracted, biding my time until I could cross the room, whip up the tablecloth and look under.
Fortunately by the time the talk finished and I fought my way against the tide over there it had been discovered and placed on the table. It was a quick find and my peace of mind was saved for a brief while.
Fortunately I found it just in time to take photos of our traipsing out for the group photo.
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Then we were whisked off to Epcot (my first time!) where we got to hear all about the little exciting things they do with technology. I'm a fan of ubiquitous computing, so became quite excited when they moved on from talking about the biometrics they use for ticket verification to ways they are using infrared and wifi technology to create a more interactive environment. Epcot has 90% wifi coverage which makes POS systems which can be linked up to your room card, or cameras which can upload images to a central store accessible to all, possible and usable. They use RFID tagged cards to monitor queue times, and infra red
ipods, headphones, and 'Pal Mickey' plush speaking toys to create an interactive experience (language options available) around the site.
And then we got to go on Mission: Space. I bypassed all the repeated and repeated warnings about motion sickness etc, and went for the orange 'more intense' version. On getting in I realised I was afraid. Not for me you understand, but for the precious thing in my bag, my laptop. I'd taken my laptop on the ride with me. Oops. All the warnings flashed back through my mind. ...and we were off.
(Thankfully, and I'm ruining the story here, I'm now typing on it perfectly well and all is fine.).
It was a good ride, not the most stressful or scary, just pleasant.
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The final stage of our journey was to the Magic Kingdom. I loved the opportunity to go on the Haunted Mansion ride and see the Disney that I had heard about since I was a child.
I also really enjoyed the chance to go backstage but, as they say, what happens at Backstage Disney stays at Backstage Disney.
(Either my lips are sealed, or I have just written much too much about Disney for now.)
...and so we left Backstage Disney and headed back with weary feet.
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After arriving back late, we rushed into the introductory talk then on to the reception and posters. Phew, what a day!
And well worth it. It was a lovely opportunity and lovely to have been allowed to participate.
The day is done. Now I just need to find time to go through all the photos I took!
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Johanna Hunt
Official GHC 2007 Blogger
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