Home > Pavilion > Cast Members > Memories > Gary7: Intro I consider myself fortunate to have been a Cast Member during EPCOT Center's heyday, during the mid-to-late 1980's. Some disappointing changes were in the works, but they hadn't yet been fully realized. EPCOT was still relatively new and fresh, all the original attractions were in place, and Walt Disney World was celebrating its 15th anniversary (EPCOT Center's 5th). My first assignment was at the Listen to the Land boat ride (known to Cast Members as "Land Boats"), in The Land pavilion. I'd always enjoyed this ride as a guest, and still do. But after three months of "listening to the land", I was begging for it to shut up already! It was still a great ride, and I even managed to still love the catchy, if somewhat corny theme song after hearing it thousands of times. But working the ride was mind-numbing and tedious, reciting verbatim, the same 15-minute spiel over and over. The costumes were torture (both visually and physically). And operationally, the attraction was otherwise a nightmare for various reasons. As one fellow Cast Member put it, "you don't get hired into Land Boats, you get sentenced to Land Boats." Fortunately, I was about to get a pardon. After three months, I qualified to train on another attraction--this time, one of my choice. That didn't mean I'd never sail the endless waters of The Land again, but I'd at least have some variety. My experience at The Land was actually invaluable in making my choice. I realized that visitng an attraction as a guest, and working it, were two drastically different things. My top choices, which previously would have been Spaceship Earth and Horizons, quickly fell off the roster. I wanted something a bit more laid-back, and most importantly, something with a bit more variety. Universe of Energy and Journey Into Imagination rose to the top of the list. I had some friends at each, which also helped. Club Energy At the time, Universe of Energy had the reputation of being among the most laid-back attractions, and also offered the most generous "rotations", offering a higher-than-average number of breaks. Among some Cast Members, it was known (affectionately if you worked there, or derisevely if you didn't) as "Club Energy". It was hardly Club Med-inspired, but it was definitely the break I needed from the hectic and grueling Land Boats. Add in a greater variety of responsibilities, more opportunities to interact with and "create magic" for the guests, a great crew to work with, and of course, the fact that I simply loved the attraction--and it was a pretty sweet deal. As with any job, there were good times and bad. Short-sighted managers, vicious politics, occasional problem guests, monotony, the enduring unforgiving Florida sun, in 100% polyester, and Disney's notoriously poor wages--but as Operations jobs at Disney go, it was pretty good. I have more good memories of Universe of Energy than bad. I'd like to share a few of them with you.