This is a very short post about a very short journey. It starts with a new (to me, as of today) theme park fact:

The code name for Disney’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area was “Delos”, and the code name for its Rise of the Resistance attraction was “Alcatraz”.

(Ok, maybe this is known thing, but I didn’t know!)

How did I learn this? Just another night on the internet!!

1. I learned about a company

While listening to an interview with Greg Combs, a former Walt Disney Imagineer, he mentioned a company called American Scenic that does a ton of work on attractions as consultants. These kinds of companies always seem to pop up when WDI fires their whole staff during downtime, I’m always interested in them, so I went to check them out.

2. I wondered about the owner

His name is Philip Bloom and he has a lot of really amazing experience working on some of my favorite attractions, the kind of person I’d love to meet someday. But when Googling his name, I came across his photo…

3. I zoomed in

Oh, interesting. Yes, that’s (spoiler alert!) definitely the Rise of the Resistance ride layout behind him, but…

…what the heck is this logo?

“Wild!”, I thought. “That must have been the code name — and code logo — for Rise of the Resistance!”

But was it?

4. I fact checked

I did a real quick Google search for “DELOS ALCATRAZ” which, at the time of this writing (up until the moment I publish this post?), only gave one relevant hit — on a page of permits issued in Anaheim, California!

And hey, will you look at that:

That’s it all right. Delos Alcatraz!

5. I lost a couple of hours!!

Uh oh, turns out this Anaheim Permit website is the perfect Cabel honeypot — a goldmine of thousands of nerdy permits issued to Disneyland over the past few years. The web Gods had blessed me and there was no going back.

Now, I won’t link to the web page directly because it will kill the Perl script (!) that generates it, but here, enjoy a 192 page (!) PDF:

Yes, it just goes on and on. Permits forever. ELE- for electrical, SGN- for signs, GRA- for grading, etc.

But, one of the best surprise things about this permit page is that it also seems to log any time someone called into report permitting or life safety concerns.

And that’s how I came across this gem:

RP SAYS THAT RECENTLY HE WAS IN LINE FOR GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 4 PM AND HE SAYS AS YOU ARE STANDING IN LINE THERE ARE NO FIRE EXITS AND IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN IT IS INESCAPABLE AND EVERYONE’S LIFE IS IN DANGER. HE SAYS THAT AN INSPECTOR HAS TO GO OUT BETWEEN 3PM AND 4PM AS THAT IS WHEN THE RIDE IS CHANGED OVER. HE SAYS HE IS A RADIO PERSONALITY, AND IF SOMETHING ISN’T DONE ABOUT THIS, HE WILL EXPOSE IT PUBLICLY AND ALSO HIRE AN ATTORNEY. HE SAID HE SPOKE TO 3 DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN THE PARK INCLUDING GUEST SERVICES AND HE SAYS THEY WERE NOT HELPFUL OR DID NOT TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY. 

—FRS2019-00144

Incredible.

Who is the mystery “radio personality” who was deeply concerned they might die while waiting in line for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout specifically between 3PM and 4PM?

We may never know.

But now you know what I do in my downtime!

Best,
Cabel

PS: Who amongst you is making the Delos logo t-shirt?
PPS: Update! Philip Zastrow made the t-shirt.