Disney's Hollywood Studios

For the past week and all of this week I have been stationed at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.  Where as Blizzard Beach had one resident gardener, Hollywood Studios has several that specialize in specific areas / sections of the park.  I'll be rotating throughout the park for my entire stay at Hollywood Studios.  This allows me, and fellow interns, a chance to see nearly every aspect of the park in just two short weeks.

Hollywood Studios has been a much different experience from working at the Disney water parks.  Larger, more complex tasks must be completed in an even shorter amount of time in the early hours of the morning.  This creates a sense of urgency that makes achieving perfection in the park before the gates open each day at 9:00am very fun.

On the first day at Hollywood Studios I worked with Mariana.  Moving with quick speed we started off the day at 4:30am.  One of the first tasks we completed included tending to the hanging baskets along Hollywood Boulevard.  This area of the park is an amazing recreation of the streetmosphere during the golden days of Hollywood.  I learned through Mariana that hanging baskets are not a simple as they may seem.  There is a true science and art behind creating and maintaining the baskets for months at a time along with Florida weather.  Between sunlight, location, color, irrigation, position, themeing, and lifespan, many factors are taken into account when dealing with handing baskets.  No baskets can ever fail due to a limited supply of backups.  Hollywood Studios has the most hanging baskets / potted planters out of any Disney park totaling nearly 600  individually. All 600 baskets and pots are maintained by hand and monitored each day.  

Hollywood Boulevard
hanging baskets. 

Other areas that I worked with Mariana included Hollywood and Vine restaurant, 50's Prime Time Cafe restaurant, Echo Lake, Sorcerer's Hat Plaza, The Great Movie Ride Plaza, and The Golden Globes Plaza.  Each area has its own unique feel and themeing that must remain true to its intent each and every day.

I have also worked with Ralph who is another resident gardener at Hollywood Studios.  Ralph works mainly with special projects that come up and must be addressed in a timely fashion.  One project I worked with Ralph on included interior plants.  Several buildings throughout Disney's Hollywood Studios have elaborate indoor landscapes that require attention just as outdoor landscapes do.  We assessed several buildings and determined what to replace and what the new designs should be.  I was not familiar with the world of interior plants, but I have learned they are just as exciting as outdoor landscapes.  Also working inside many studio lot buildings, such as Feature Animation and Operations Management, was an awesome experience. Another project I worked on with Ralph included a quick rehab of the Animation Building courtyard.  We quickly designed and installed a coral stone pathway, shrub plantings, and installed new sod.  The project took just one short day and looked great!  

Before.

After.

Another gardener I worked with was Andy.  Similar to Mariana, Andy had specific sections of the park that we tended to on a daily basis. Watering, planting, and maintaining the theme of place were our priorities.  Andy also taught me about micro-climates throughout the park.  It was neat to learn how the similar landscapes react differently in specific sections of the park.  Sometimes the positioning difference of 2 feet can determine the successful or unsuccessful life of a landscape.  Specific areas I worked on with Andy included Crossroads of the World (aka entrance plaza), Sunset Boulevard, Tower of Terror, Victory Garden, and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.  All areas were very different and taught me new methods of designing landscapes with operations/maintenance in mind.  

                                                   

One other gardener I worked with was Joe.  The main areas I focused on with Joe included the main entrance plaza for Hollywood Studios, Theater of the Arts (aka Beauty and the Beast), and Rockin' Rollercoaster courtyard.  

 

Lastly while at Hollywood Studios I worked with Jeff who is one of the irrigation managers for the park.  I spent one day job shadowing and experiencing what it takes to operate and maintain such an expansive and complex irrigation system.  I learned about rapid responding techniques and how problems can be detected and properly managed in a timely order to ensure that minimal impact is made on the daily irrigation schedule.  A large amount of investigating is required when dealing with irrigation, because many times the problem is not visible.  Because of this Jeff taught me some various techniques to determine what is taking place beneath the surface.  We also tested certain irrigation sections via remote control which was very neat. With Jeff, I also learned how the relationships between Irrigation Professionals and Landscape Architects are managed throughout new installations. 

Spending two weeks at Hollywood Studios was a very fun experience and I learned so much in such a short time.  Being exposed to the atmosphere at this park has taught me so much about the relationships between the design of space and how space is maintained.  It has also made me appreciate the 24/7 effort that goes into maintaining such a beautiful park.  It takes an unbelievable amount of workers and dedication to achieve perfection every single day of the year.  I'll miss everyone at Hollywood Studios, but the future looks bright as I'll be moving to Disney's Animal Kingdom in just a few short days!