The Skipper Stand Up Show

Tonight, Tim surprised me with a night out he's been planning for weeks. It was a big mystery and all I knew was that we were going with Darrenn and Jenny.

We started off at the Spaghetti Factory (Darrenn's choice and a very good pick) and then proceeded off, who knows where.

We pulled up to a small theater called Mavericks Theater. I was trying to judge by the crowd waiting to get in what kind of show we were in for. Tim knows I hate musicals, so I didn't think that would be it. I didn't think it would be a concert, since the four of us do not agree on music. Finally we guessed it was a comedy event and had something to with Disney.

It wasn't until we arrived inside that we were told it was a group of former and present Jungle Boat operators doing stand up comedy! Tim had found out about it by reading a MousePlanet.com article. The main MC was a professor from Vanguard of all places with a doctoral degree in history and talent for making people laugh. He was a former skipper who worked for the mouse in his spare time. There were nine skippers in all. Most were very funny and their acts flew by. A couple were somewhat painful and they seemed to be up on stage for an eternity.

The funniest parts were those that related directly to their Disney experiences. They interspersed video into their acts with one clip showing a skipper, dressed as Indiana Jones, breaking into the Aladin Show next door and stealing the magic lamp while yelling, "This belongs in a museum." Another funny video gave a tour of California Adventure on it's first day of opening, pointing out failures such as the Superstar Limo saying, "That should be around for at least a year and a month." One former skipper discussed the stereotypes he found reinforced while working for Disney. He came to believe that desperately waving both hands in front of a Chinese driver on Autopia must mean, "Speed up and run me over" in his native language. And he proudly identified with the white redneck who wondered if the water on the Jungle Cruise was real. Myths such as Walt Disney's frozen head was buried under Sleeping Beauty's Castle were dispelled. Apparently his whole frozen body is part of the Indiana Jones ride, and it looks suspiciously like the frozen Han Solo from Star Wars.

Overall, it was a great night, with a lot of laughs both in and out of the comedy club. What a treat to have my husband plan a very fun evening (childcare and all)!