In the days before the World Wide Web, finding information about Disney theme parks was nearly impossible. There were some books and TV specials, but beyond that, unless you knew somebody with inside information (i.e. someone who worked or had worked for the Mouse), you probably didn’t know much.
Today, of course, every nook and cranny of the parks is fully documented. You can find photos and videos of backstage areas, scans of ride maintenance manuals, attraction audio files and more just by typing a few words in a search engine. You can even find endless videos from inside the “secret” Club 33 which, before the World Wide Web, most of us didn’t even know existed. Heck, even *I* have photos I took inside Club 33.
But before the modern Internet, things were different. If you didn’t live in California or Florida, you probably did not encounter many (or even any) people who worked for Disney. Everything I knew about Disneyland and Magic Kingdom was from my family taking me to both several times as a kid in the 1970s.
Finding Disney information in the early 1980s…
But that started to change when home computers and telephone modems became a thing. In the early 1980s, I learned about computer Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes). I could dial in to some other kid’s computer and read messages from other users that called in at other times. Unlike a real bulletin board on the wall at a local book shop, this computer bulletin board could be accessed by anyone in the local area code! (Or around the world if they wanted to pay long distance phone charge to call some random kid’s computer in Houston, I guess.)
It was through one of these BBSes I met my first former Disney employee. He had worked at Magic Kingdom in the maintenance department. The stories he shared were my first glimpse “behind the magic” of Disney theme parks.
For example, he explained the projectors that made the singing busts and the Madam Leota’s face on the table in the Haunted Mansion. He described how the face surface was mostly flat with a bit of shape for where the nose and eyes and such would be. He mentioned they used a fan to blow air to keep dust from being in the projection beam. He said they used special lenses that refocused it around the shape. He also mentioned “angel hair” (though I still have no idea what this meant) for Leota’s crystal ball.
Was any of this true? A decade later, thanks to the World Wide Web, it sure seemed like most of it was.
But, not all of his stories checked out. He said that the Disney designers had been wanting to do a similar Leota type projection effect for 20,000 Leagues under the sea involving an octopus. Have you ever heard of such a rumor or experiment?
Even before the internet, there were rumors, and Disney cast members heard plenty of of them — some true, but most were not (just like today).
Finding Disney information in the late 1980s/early 1990s…
The 1980s also brought us national text-based services like CompuServe, The Source, Delphi and GEnie. Instead of just being able to interact with folks who were calling in to some random kid’s computer in same town, now you could dial a local number and be connected to a series of mainframe computers connected across the country (or even around the world).
I was a member of a few of these services in the later 1980s and early 1990s. It was on one of these services in the early 1990s that someone sent me a list of Disneyland radio codes. Thanks to my dad, I had already become familiar with some of these. His van was loaded with radio equipment and police scanners. When we’d drive to Walt Disney World, we’d sit in the parking lot listening to Disney radio chatter. (Have I told the story about carrying around scanners in the park, listening in? If not, I will have to sometime…)
He had written down a list of codes and what they meant. He had also gotten some more codes and information from Disney security staff. I am pretty sure I must have asked my Disneyland contact about these codes to see if I could get a complete list for my dad.
So below, I present to you a slightly redacted (just in case he still works for Disney in some capacity) of these codes. I wonder if any of these are still in use? I certainly recognize a few of the more famous ones… But back then, I don’t think any of us know what a ride going “101” meant.
Enjoy this trip back to the early 1990s…
Sub: Disneyland's radio codes...
Allen,
I'll bet you thought I forgot you! Well, do be honest, I did, but I ran
across the printout I made, so now I remember! :-)
Here are all of the codes I have...
Common Radio Codes Used At Disneyland
10-1 Receiving poorly
10-2 Receiving well
10-4 OK or Acknowledge
10-6 Busy
10-7 Out of service (usually used when going to lunch)
10-8 In service (when back from lunch)
10-9 Repeat last transmission
10-14 Escort or convoy (I've never heard this one used)
10-19 Return to office
10-20 What is your location?
10-21 Call x (where x is the telephone # given following the code)
10-22 Cancel last message/assignment
10-23 Stand-by
10-28 Registration request (never heard this one, either)
10-87 Meet __________ at __________
10-96 Request test of select call
10-97 Arrive at scene
10-98 Finished last assignment
10-99 Undesirable person (add to 10-99 the following codes)
Code C = Caucasion
Code B = Black
Code L = Latino
Code O = Oriental
11350 Possession of Dangerous drugs
11357 Possession of Marijuana
5150 Mentally disturbed
211 Robbery
240 Assualt
242 Battery
314 Indecent exposure
390 Drunk
408 Counterfeit bill
415 Disturbing the peace
417 Person with weapon (add following codes)
Code G = Gun
Code K = Knife
459 Burglary
486 Petty theft
502 Drunk driver
503 Stolen vehicle
594 Malicious mischief
901 Traffic Accident, unknown if injury
901-T Injury traffic accident
902 Accident, non-injury
904 Fire
921 Prowler
925 Suspicious person
982 Bomb threat
999 Officer needs help, any unit respond
Code 1 Routine
Code 2 Urgent
Code 3 Emergency
Code 4 No further assistance needed
Code 5 Stake out
Code 7 Lunch
Code H Call home
Code 100 Attraction delayed opening
Code 101 Attraction down - routine
Code 102 Attraction down - urgent
Code 103 Attraction down - emergency
Code 104 Attraction up - Normal operation
Code 105 Attraction up - reduced operations
Code 106 Attraction up - Full capacity
GC Guest Complaint
There are many more that I can't think of off the top of my head, but this
will give you alot to listen for. Please don't indiscrimanantly reveal
these codes, i.e. 'in the RT'. This is _not_ for public knowledge,
although with a little investigation by anyone, they could find most of
these out. ;-)
[Redacted]
Until next time…