Thursday night we jetted out from Seattle (after a 60 minute delay to fix a bad light on the coffee maker or something) and winged it on one of the only two direct flights from SEA to MCO. We both wanted to get to Florida early, because finding alternate flights at the last minute from Seattle is both difficult and wicked expensive. So we arrived in Orlando early Friday Morning and made the long trek to the airport Hyatt, where we both went to work remotely. Luckily, the view wasn’t about to distract either of us. While the view of a runway may not be everybody’s choice of perfect, the walk from the security exit of the terminal to the hotel is all of about 75 feet, and we were able to check into our room and then walk down to baggage claim and still get there a few minutes before our luggage came out. The free wifi is nice too.

This morning we got up early-ish and marched down to get in line for the ship. The amount of baggage in the halls of the Hotel was impressive, and so was the line when we got to the lobby. The first bus full of people (the Capt. Mickey bus) left just as we got into line, and the second bus (Pluto) filled just before we got to the front of the line. That put us as the first people on the third (Goofy) bus.

As we left on the bus I sent a simple text message to several of the rest of our party that were already on their way toward the port in a town car, simply saying “The bus is rolling”. This started a text-storm the likes of which has never been seen outside of the popular girl’s lunch table at the middle school of your choice. I was not involved, but Beci was getting what seemed like several texts per mile, and sending as good as she got. A few thousand messages later, we rolled into the port, about 5 minutes behind Deb’s group in the town car. Beci had managed to get us into the first row of seats on the bus, so we were first off, and right into the right-hand security line, which was surprisingly short. As we neared the front of the line I spotted our other group who had been ahead of us on the road swamped near the back of the left-hand line. So Karma had balanced out our line experience for the day. By the time the other group had made it through the security line, we had finished our check-in.

Boarding was the normal smooth Disney process, and shortly after noon we were were starting to board. This was my first experience with the (relatively) new numbered boarding card method, and while some of us went right at the start, most of the group were in the 11th and 12th sets. Those of us that got on early went right to Parrot Cay for lunch, claimed our table, and started the feeding frenzy.

  

After lunch we predictably started to run out of steam, so the night was quite and short. We did the sail away party, had a nice dinner at Lumier’s, and then went to bed. I did get some nice clean cabin pictures and a look at the swag they gave to Castaway Club members for this special sailing.

  

More tomorrow.

Thursday night we jetted out from Seattle (after a 60 minute delay to fix a bad light on the coffee maker or something) and winged it on one of the only two direct flights from SEA to MCO. We both wanted to get to Florida early, because finding alternate flights at the last minute from Seattle is both difficult and wicked expensive. < more... >

Although I love Walt Disney World and it is like home to me (wink to the CA girls), I find myself giddy to get to place where it all began. I’m heading to Disneyland this month before my Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise to pay homage to Walt.

I’m returning to the Grand Calfornian, which I had the pleasure to stay the first year it opened. I was so impressed with just the front door to this resort (and of course all that is beyond it) that I have a pin to commemorate it. The whole resort is done in the Arts and Crafts style and was designed by Peter Dominick, who also did the Walt Disney World Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. The door to which I refer is a gorgeous sliding glass door that I literally have sat in the lobby and watched open and close as the guests arrive.

The private entrance to California Adventure and being in such close walking distance to either park is a special perk that I savor. But once I’m off for the day, it is the charming dark rides that draw me. There was a time when I’d head straight for Soarin’ Over California. But this time, being a bit older and more sentimental, my first stop following Main Street USA will be to photograph my foot on the spike that marks the center of the "land" just past Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Watch for that photo at the end of the month!)

From there, I must take a spin on those rides I just can’t find at the "World". Alice’s Mad Tea Party, Pinocchio’s Daring Adventure, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and Storybook Land Canal Boat are at the top of my list. And yes……….there’s the Toad. I have to admit, I fell in love with Mr. Toad at Walt Disney World. And although I do enjoy an occasional ride on "the Pooh", I feel Mr. Toad’s departure from Walt Disney World did leave a gaping hole where wild used to live. There’s a little bit of a dark side with this ride that appeals to me. I mean, where else can you have such a great time in hell? I’d like to know how come I never get to experience the heaven ending to this ride??!! What kind of secret meter did the Imagineers invent to determine that this is where I should end up?

And of course, there’s the modern dark ride that I will experience in a row until my travel mates scream "no more"! Indiana Jones Adventure is hands down one of my favorites at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World. And my timing couldn’t be better!! With the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Skull to theaters on May 22nd, I’m hoping to ride IJA until my body gives in to my vertigo-esque motion sickness and then swoon over a still adorable Harrison Ford for a late show that evening!

Joanne
Joanne at MouseFanTravel dot com

Although I love Walt Disney World and it is like home to me (wink to the CA girls), I find myself giddy to get to place where it all began. I’m heading to Disneyland this month before my Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise to pay homage to Walt. < more... >

Of course, Beci has been out and about at least once per month so far this year. I think she’s already been to Disney World three times, on a cruise once, and two weeks ago she was in LA on the Backstage Adventure. But the last time I saw any of the Magic was at MouseFest 2007, where I surprised Beci by showing up when I was in the middle of trying to release my latest game.

So where is the magic leading us this time? Well, to the Magic of course. Or maybe the Wonder. I can never remember which is where and doing what any more. But whatever ship will be taking me from Port Canaveral thru the lovely Malarially de-infested waters of the Panama Canal is the ship I’ll be on. I suppose I should figure out where exactly we’re going, and how long we’ll be gone, sometime soon.

So I’ve got my new camera that takes lovely little videos also, and if the bandwidth on the ships has been improved I may try posting some video to YouTube. If the bandwidth is the same as the last time we were on-board together (The Mediterranean last year) I may try posting some thumbnail photographs instead! Here’s my first picture posted with the new camera. I’m the one behind the Pepsi can…

And if you’re on the ship too, look for Beci and me in the Vista Spa every day. Heck, join us on the treadmill or a bike and pre-discount that night’s dessert!

Of course, Beci has been out and about at least once per month so far this year. I think she’s already been to Disney World three times, on a cruise once, and two weeks ago she was in LA on the Backstage Adventure. < more... >

Breakfast today is on your own anytime from 7-9am in Storytellers Café inside the Grand Californian Resort hotel.  Some people have already left for their flights, mine is earlier and others are staying on to see more.  They did give us a 4 day Park Hopper so you could use it all day today and play in the parks.   Again a wonderful mix of buffet breakfast food with characters, bears and entertainment running around.  I have a short window and eat really quick then say goodbye to all of my friends.  Sad moment but I’m glad to be going home, I miss my family tons! I catch a towncar at the front, and get to say goodbye to Diana before heading to LAX.  You have to just sit and take it all in.  We had so many laughs, so much fun (maybe too much !!) and have fond memories to share with others.

I truly believe its not the “magical moments” or the “surprises” albeit all wonderful, it is the amazing people we be-friend and its seeing their reactions to the “Ah” moments, that makes these Adventues unforgettable.  They will be memories and most of us will stay in touch.and be friends going forward.

I highly recommend this if you are a Walt History buff, want a great family trip, Love Disney or anything Disneyland!   Where to next?
 

Breakfast today is on your own anytime from 7-9am in Storytellers Café inside the Grand Californian Resort hotel.  Some people have already left for their flights, mine is earlier and others are staying on to see more.  They did give us a 4 day Park Hopper so you could use it all day today and play in the parks. < more... >

Again, our meet time is 7am for breakfast. We head over to Goofy’s kitchen today. This is a lunch/brunch buffet featuring very goofy items like peanut butter pizza and rice crispy cereal treats etc. More characters, more pictures, more fun.

From breakfast we walk back to the hotel and are escorted into CA Adventure, yes, only ones’ in the park again. We wave to all of the guests waiting beyond the gates to get in. Hee Hee ~ Love this~ Our backstage tour today is at *Spoiler Alert* Soarin Over California. The Mickey group gets to ride first and we all by ourselves. The host reminds us to look at the "gliders" and notice they are modeled after Erector sets. We are then taken backstage and wow what an event. I don’t want to spoil all of the fun for future groups so I’ll leave out some details. The host then shows us the beads of orange and pine that are like mini-bath oil beads that they change out every month. Next is Turtle Talk with Crush and its cool how he interacts, I’ve never seen this before. We then get to go into Animation Academy and draw with a real cartoonist instructing us. We of course draw Mickey and then in this hall then hand out Mickey ears to all guests who are having birthdays in April or May. That’s me ! We are then given 5 more fast passes and get the afternoon on our own. Our little groups decide to head to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (no, I was pulled kicking and screaming almost ). Even though I do not like this ride I do it and actually besides being a little shaky, its was fun… We ride Monsters Inc too with Nate’s family and then head to the Hyperion since we are given VIPs seats for the Aladdin show. We have front row seats, first floor, back section and wow this show still is one of my favorites. The Genie is funny and the venue is great. After this show we head back to the hotel for some down time. I got shopping and try out the gym. The hotel has a great gym with lots of top of the line bikes, steppers, treadmills and weight machines. It is attached to the Mandara Spa which smells fabulous. I love to come work out here so I can then take a shower in the spa area and use all of their lotions and sprays etc. The pool was packed today since it was 90 degrees and I’m wishing I had time to go.

We meet the group at Disneyland resort at 5:55pm for our farewell dinner. This is not my favorite part of the trip but is wonderful and we are in the Sleeping Beauty’s Pavilion above Goofy’s kitchen which is wonderful. We are greeted with cocktails and make our way to very cutely decorated tables of old black/silver/gold movie reel decorations. Our special guest for the dinner is Disney Artist and Historian Stacia Martin. She sketches for us our favorite characters and then personalizes them to take home. She is an amazing person and draws people in as she is sketching and asking questions, relaying history and information~ A real treat. The food here is pastas, meats, special salads, and an array of desserts. Wonderful and tasty and I try all the desserts almost just to make sure they are all good ~ they are~ We also are given a pin that says Adventures by Disney at the table too. Then Minnie and Mickey come in to see us off and take pictures with us. If you like Characters, wow, this is the tour!!

The group at this dinner stands up and tells their favorite part of the trip. It’s sad and funny and wonderful because from the first day until now, all of the "I came on this trip to see ___" have really changed. We have bonded, and laughed, and sang and cried. This dinner concludes with a slide show made by the guides of all the fun on the trip. It seems like weeks ago that we were in Hollywood and it’s so fun to see the shots they capture of the whole trip.

We all take up our sketches from Stacia and head out to Disneyland for VIP viewing of the Fireworks. Great seats located right at the Plaza Pavilion. Beautiful show and its great to see Tinkerbell flying around for a long time, not just dropping from the Matterhorn as she used to do. After the fireworks I head with Nick, Steven and Helen to Space Mountain to ride it at night. I had promised to do this with him and it was thoughtful he reminded me before we left. We took the monorail back home after that and I headed to bed. Beci of course wanted one more night to play so she stayed out with the fun group headed to ride many more hours of rides and got done late (how are those feet?).

Again, our meet time is 7am for breakfast. We head over to Goofy’s kitchen today. This is a lunch/brunch buffet featuring very goofy items like peanut butter pizza and rice crispy cereal treats etc. More characters, more pictures, more fun.

From breakfast we walk back to the hotel and are escorted into CA Adventure, yes, only ones’ in the park again. We wave to all of the guests waiting beyond the gates to get in. Hee Hee ~ Love this~ Our backstage tour today is at *Spoiler Alert* Soarin Over California. The Mickey group gets to ride first and we all by ourselves. The host reminds us to look at the "gliders" and notice they are modeled after Erector sets. We are then taken backstage and wow what an event. I don’t want to spoil all of the fun for future groups so I’ll leave out some details. The host then shows us the beads of orange and pine that are like mini-bath oil beads that they change out every month. < more... >

We begin this day with a meet in the lobby then head out for Disneyland Park for our Character breakfast at the Plaza Inn located at the end of Main Street.  Some of the best memories I have our since we are the first group on this trip, Quinn or Diana hold up an Adventures by Disney sign as we walk around and we get the best stares as we head into the park before anyone else or just walk around. I love that. We head into Disneyland and no one else is there and we are a group of 36 walking down Main Street And no one else is there! Have a said that! Wow, it is so cool! We go to Plaza Inn and have an elaborate breakfast with lots of goodies and are inundated with many, many characters. Again, our group is off in the Bird cage room along until just before we leave. We get pictures with Chip/ Dale, Fairy Godmother, etc etc. Jim from ABD Operations has been with us on this whole trip now too and has a funny encounter with the Fairy Godmother. He really is wonderful and has been a great extra added member.

From breakfast we head to our first backstage experience at Indiana Jones. We actually are given the chance to see how the Jeeps really are moved around on the chassis which has hydraulics and moves much more than I thought. Matt, the 15yr old young man in our group is given the chance to use the joystick which moves the jeep around. We then are taken up and around and put on the ride to experience what we have just seen. I tell Nate, the youngest in our group at age 8, that I want to ride with him and Dani his sister who is 10. What a wonderful family! The kids have brought along their parents Emy and Gary and grandma Ginny who is the matriarch of the group but does all the rides and keeps up with everyone. Go Ginny!

From Indy we head to the Big Thunder Ranch area and are greeted by Cortney who tells us the history of Walt’s love of horses and how at one time they had horses and animals throughout the park itself, even Indians riding on horses on Tom Sawyer Island etc. This building also displays the many ribbons awarded to the horses all over California. So not only do they work here, they are also shown at County fairs etc for competition. We are given the opportunity to go in and feed the goats there are here in the petting area. They also have donkeys and a cow here. We get to walk through the park and then enter backstage to see where the Steam engines and Monorails are kept and Ed and Vern our hosts tell us more about the history of Walt and his love of trains and how these engines came to be in Disneyland. We walk through from here over to the Circle D ranch area to see the small house in site which was once the real home of the Dolly and Owen Pope. The Pope’s are the only people who ever lived at Disneyland and actually took care of the ranch which at one time had 220 horses etc. Cortney tells us how now the horses only work 2 hours / day and have 1 week off per month. They are allowed to work 5 years in total and then are sold. We get to see where all the other animals from the park live. The day is very hot and we are given time to rest here and get water too. Then we head back on stage for our lunch.

We head to New Orleans Square and Café Orleans and get to try Gumbo, Monte Cristo Sandwiches, salads and have Beignet’s for dessert. All of us are given Mardi Gras beads as we enter (yes, no one else has them) and have the pleasure of having TK the Pirate as entertainment for our lunch. He tries to recruit Nate in to becoming a pirate but Nate holds out. Nice lunch in a great location. After eating we are taken into the exit of Pirates of the Caribbean ride. All of fit into two boats and you can hear the group all singing away. Again, the bonding, the fun…

Our next two events are magical on their own since again they are never done except for rare times or VIPs. We break into 3 groups now for Mickey, Minnie and Goofy (sorry Jim). The Mickey group is escorted by a Tour Guide into Walt’s Apartment. The amazing thing here is she gives us a little history and tells us no one really ever gets to see this. The décor is Victorian with heavy pink, white and dark burgundy’s. The original grilled cheese maker is here along with glass baby bottles the Disney’s used for their grandkids. The bathroom is retro pink tile with a 4 headed shower stall. The carpet look brand new and there is an old Victorian phone with an actual working number and yes I wrote it down. Then there is the lamp that has been lit since Walt died and this sits in the window overlooking Main Street. There are only about 4 people who are allowed to change the 120v bulb when it burns out and our Tour Guide is one of them. We then get another Magical moment surprise which again brings several to tears and are allowed to take a group photo in the Apartment. It’s amazing to know Walt actually sat here at times and looked out of this window onto his park.

Just when you think you cannot take any more surprises we are given real train ticket that the conductor punches *spoiler alert* and get to ride in the Lilly Belle! This coach car has been refurbished to the original state and is decorated in Victorian again, much like the apartment with antiques and inlayed wood, brass roof ornaments and special low lighting. A conductor always rides with the coach when there are guests inside. Our conductor also relays the history of the train more and the things you see on the train like the Grand Canyon scenes etc. We all get to sign the guest book too which is so neat and not very full until we get here.   We end back on Main Street just before its time for the Parade of Dreams. Most of our group takes the VIP tickets the ABD group is given for viewing of the parade up on top of the Train station in rows of bench seats. Fabulous location. Beci and I opt not to do this and spend the afternoon on our own.

We meet up with the group later for a special viewing of Fantasmic. We are given a roped off area right in the front of Orleans café, dead center. This is a great location and a great show. Much better here than in Florida in my opinion. And we also get to see the fireworks from here. After both shows our small group (now adding Brad, Scott and Tracey to our Power Group) decide to head off for more rides. We are given 5 fast passes for any rides for the night. We head to Jungle Cruise (not boat!) and get a very funny host then from there walk over to Space Mountain. We decided to do a good deed and each give one fast pass away to guests in the standby line…Gave us a warm fuzzy before heading into Space Mountain. In the ride I must have been oxygen deprived because I could not stop laughing and it starts to catch and I think we just begin to get giddy from lack of sleep and over stimulation. ("what do you mean I can’t use a fast pass in the water line, I thought these were good for any line?") and (Fast passes from heaven, ahhh….you had to be there). We end the night by riding Buzz Lightyear
fore heading home for the night. Really the best time and with great friends.

We begin this day with a meet in the lobby then head out for Disneyland Park for our Character breakfast at the Plaza Inn located at the end of Main Street.  Some of the best memories I have our since we are the first group on this trip, Quinn or Diana hold up an Adventures by Disney sign as we walk around and we get the best stares as we head into the park before anyone else or just walk around. I love that. We head into Disneyland and no one else is there and we are a group of 36 walking down Main Street And no one else is there! Have a said that! Wow, it is so cool! We go to Plaza Inn and have an elaborate breakfast with lots of goodies and are inundated with many, many characters. Again, our group is off in the Bird cage room along until just before we leave. We get pictures with Chip/ Dale, Fairy Godmother, etc etc. Jim from ABD Operations has been with us on this whole trip now too and has a funny encounter with the Fairy Godmother. He really is wonderful and has been a great extra added member.

From breakfast we head to our first backstage experience at Indiana Jones. We actually are given the chance to see how the Jeeps really are moved around on the chassis which has hydraulics and moves much more than I thought. Matt, the 15yr old young man in our group is given the chance to use the joystick which moves the jeep around. < more... >

Meeting at 7am proved not to be an issue today due to the fact that we all knew we would be going to the Disney Studios and Imagineering. When you have a group of avid Disney fans who really understand how no one gets to see these two places, being on time is not an issue!! Breakfast this morning is in the hotel at Twist, the hotel restaurant. The buffet included eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, omelets, breads etc. We sat with Brent, Brock and some new friends Alex and his mom Haydee. Had they known then what they know now about us crazy people, they may have moved to a new table!!! LOL. We have a little delay in getting the bus but boarded it and headed out for the Imagineers. Everyone is like kids giggling and just anticipating and singing the songs playing on the CD in the bus. We were met by Dave who will be our guide. He walked us down a hallway filled with sketches and drawings and pictures. No pictures in here as you can imagine so its all visual memory. Not knowing we would gaze and gawk it took our group a lot longer to get to the room they had set up for us… He gave us a great overview of what Imagineers do and how Walt wanted his team of people to work. Showed us a slide/video presentation and walk us through a few new things they are working on…then we got an awesome Magical Moment surprise that brought several people to tears. We split into groups and got to meet Valerie, a Sculptor, who took us into the Sculpting studio so we could see marquette’s (pre-molds) they make to then scale up or down depending on the project they are doing. In this room were Heads of Presidents, many Disney Characters and the miniature Walt and Mickey statue with Mickey holding the ice cream cone. Snow white and the seven dwarfs too surrounded us. Amazing! From Sculpting we went to sound and Steve played us a video of how they make sound really feel real just but them taking a dummy head to places and video taping on location sounds then remixing it. Very cool demonstration. We all then got to walk through where they were building mini models of things to come in CA Adventure and even though we could not see much you knew this are where it all begins. Dave then gave us a demonstration of animatronics and showed us "Joe Cocker" a bare bones person so we could visually see how the insides work. We walked through another hallway of painting and murals then out into a courtyard where we were allowed 30 minutes to shop at Mickey’s of Glendale. No one but the imaginers are allowed to go here really so for our group 30 minutes seemed so short but Beci and I broke the bank by throwing as much of and as many things we could into bags. I would say we easily as a group spent over $15000 in 30 minutes. Beci of course had the most but all for good causes!!!

We gathered back onto the bus and headed to Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. As a working studio again they do not really offer tours here and there are not cast members here but studio people. We were walked through the hallway of the art building housing some archives, paintings, sketches, drawings etc. The building we walked thru, I believe it was the Animation building has 6 - 8 wings all with outside windows and leveler shades so artists can control their own lighting. This building as a tunnel underneath connecting it to the Ink/Paint buildings next door. The tunnel is still used in movies today. We headed out and took photos in the courtyard of legends then were given 45 minutes to shop and eat lunch in the Commissary here. Marty Sklar was here also eating lunch with all of us mortals! Nick, a 13 yr old on the trip with his parents Helen and Steve, is a Disney enthusiast and very knowledgeable about Walt’s history and Imagineering. He was thrilled to see Marty.

Back on the bus now for the drive to Disneyland Resort. As you drive in the bus they play music that is selected specifically for the Adventure. I remember this too from the Southwest Splendors trip I saw. On our trip we are listening to older music from the Hollywood days, 70s tunes, Monorail music and then current Disney tunes. Then you suddenly here the whole bus starts singing as we are driving…so amazing. We have all really bonded, love Disney and just are acting like kids. As Tracy puts it she loves seeing us "all become children again" in our love of Walt and all things Disney. I hope this carries through in every group on Backstage Magic.

Arriving at the hotel we have about 2 hours of down time to check into the rooms here and relax before meeting for the welcome reception and dinner. Beci and I have a nice room overlooking the courtyard area and I just love the bedding, new flat screen TVs, bathrooms and the shampoo amenities are really nice. At 5pm we meet in the lobby and are greeted by David the 2008 Disneyland Resort Ambassador and Fred who works in ABD Operations. David the Ambassador also gives Beci and I Repeat Adventure guest pins too. I was really looking forward to this pin. We head over to Disneyland Resort Hotel and got to the Wine Cellar for a little cocktail hour. They have a guitar player hired to play music, have a selection of several wines to try and wonderful Bruschetta, veggies, dips to enhance this. Our host is Carlos who manages the Cellar and Hooks Pointe restaurant.. We head up stairs at 6pm for our dinner. One thing not mentioned before is we are always given tables away from all other guests in areas by ourselves with menus catered for our Group. It adds a nice touch and helps facilitate the bond of the group. The Guides all travel from table to table during the Adventure so you get to meet with them and know them more. We are fortunate enough to have our now core group Brent, Brock, Alex, Haydee to eat with. Quinn tells us stories of how he tried out to be a 2007 Ambassador and was a finalist.

After dinner we walk over to Disneyland Park and all the 1^st time guests take a picture before entering. We actually have a lot of guests who have never been here which is so cool. We are walked over to our first Fun Experience in the Park, the Haunted Mansion. The coolest part of this tour is not waiting for rides. We are guided into a back entrance and get right on to the ride. The host has several people lay flat on the floor while we are in the elevator which is so cool and they said it really makes for a fun experience. This is Nick’s favorite ride here and he is thrilled. We get off the ride and are have about 90 minutes so Brent, Brock, Alex, Haydee and I follow Beci across the park making the most of this time. We manage to get on Indy, Space Mountain, and Finding Nemo submarine. I loved being back on the submarines here since its one of my fondest childhood memories but the ride itself was not spectacular. Running out of time we decide to all it a night and head back to the hotel

Meeting at 7am proved not to be an issue today due to the fact that we all knew we would be going to the Disney Studios and Imagineering. When you have a group of avid Disney fans who really understand how no one gets to see these two places, being on time is not an issue!! Breakfast this morning is in the hotel at Twist, the hotel restaurant. < more... >

We load up on a bus, yes, it just magically appears, and head over to the highlight for the day for me, Jim Henson Studios.  Not a far drive and very apparent by the huge Kermit located on top of the building and dressed like Charlie Chaplin.  You see Charlie Chaplin.  Here is our guide Quinn holding up our ABD placard inside the Jim Henson Studios. 

Designed and built by Chaplin in 1917 he filmed there for many years along with renting it out to others famous people who also made movies there until 1952. All I can say is wow. The renovation is very amazing. Chaplin sold the studio in 1957 and it was again sold to Red Skelton in 1959. In 1961 CBS bought it and held it for a few years and then they sold it to A&M Records and it was a recording studio for many years and for many famous people.  They recorded many songs in this studio including, "We are the World" here. We pretty much got to walk around inside private office spaces, watched a video of the studio created just for Adventures by Disney (we were the very first group to see this) saw an entire cabinet of Emmy awards, got inside the studio set and best of all got to be in the Creature Shop with Mike one of the puppeteers. I mean wow!  Mike explained how they make puppets, how they use animal tronics, some of the people who they work with and demonstrated how the puppets work on file etc. Truly and amazing area, no one ever really get inside this building.  He later came out to the courtyard and let us take pictures with him and a puppet, so cool.

He is also part of an improv group called Puppet Up which you can find on the internet.  After touring we joined up with the whole group and ate lunch they had set up in the courtyard patio on the grounds.  We chatted wtih Andrew, ABD Operations manager during lunch and just relaxed before moving on for the day.  The food at the studios was really good too, I got a huge salad while others had hamburgers and shrimp and pasta.

The next stop we hit was a suprise for the day and a special treat available for us on this initial tour, Walt Disney’s Barn in Griffith Park.  This was opened exclusively for our group but is staffed by an all volunteer staff so may not be available very often to all Backstage Magic guests.  What a great treat!  The Disney Barn is really considered the birthplace of Imagineering and holds lots of aritifacts of Walt’s love of trains. In 1998 this barn was moved from the Holmby Hills Disney home to the Griffith Park location.  The Disney family chose this location since Walt had been a charter member of the Club here. The volunteers here are big Disney fans and really fun to listen too.  

They also offer rides on an electic, scaled down train that travel along a 12 minute loop.  The train we rode on holds about 30 guests total and it is really relaxing to sit there and ride around through the various quirky little tracks they have set up.  Its is very cute to watch big adults straddling a small train and riding around through the trees.

The ABD part of the tour ended for the day at 4pm and after this tour.  Back at the hotel the group split up a little and each went their own directions exploring the Hollywood area, seeing Jimmy Kimmel or just relaxing.  I had made plans to go to dinner at Campanile where Vicki’s son Thomas works and so I just relaxed a little before heading out.  Beci needed to work so I recruited our two new friends from the Tour Brent and Brock to join me.  This restaurant is on La Brea not far from the hotel and we got a cab there for $15.  It is located right next to the La Brea Bakery.  Its an Italian restaurant and the food was so amazing it almost put us in a coma it was so wonderful.  Thomas came out to say hi and was sweet enough to give us several wonderful starters and desserts.  Again amazing with an expansive wine list.   Very Cool! 

We load up on a bus, yes, it just magically appears, and head over to the highlight for the day for me, Jim Henson Studios.  Not a far drive and very apparent by the huge Kermit located on top of the building and dressed like Charlie Chaplin.  You see Charlie Chaplin.  Here is our guide Quinn holding up our ABD placard inside the Jim Henson Studios. 

Designed and built by Chaplin in 1917 he filmed there for many years along with renting it out to others famous people who also made movies there until 1952. All I can say is wow. The renovation is very amazing. Chaplin sold the studio in 1957 and it was again sold to Red Skelton in 1959. In 1961 CBS bought it and held it for a few years and then they sold it to A&M Records and it was a recording studio for many years and for many famous people.  They recorded many songs in this studio including, "We are the World" here. We pretty much got to walk around inside private office spaces, watched a video of the studio created just for Adventures by Disney (we were the very first group to see this) saw an entire cabinet of Emmy awards, got inside the studio set and best of all got to be in the Creature Shop with Mike one of the puppeteers. I mean wow!  Mike explained how they make puppets, how they use animal tronics, some of the people who they work with and demonstrated how the puppets work on file etc. Truly and amazing area, no one ever really get inside this building.  He later came out to the courtyard and let us take pictures with him and a puppet, so cool.

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    As on my last ABD trip they get you up and out fairly early. This morning we were told once again to meet at TWIST in the Renaissance at 7:50am in order to make it to our breakfast spot.  Ah, breakfast this morning is across the street at Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store. An old fashioned ice cream parlor, located right next to the El Capitan Theatre and it has a studio store filled with fun studio merchandise. There are open this morning just for our group and set up full length tables instead of their normal smaller fountain tables.  We get a choice of eggs, oatmeal or a Mickey waffle. I opt to stick with the eggs and wait for the waffle until later in the week.  The fun surprise here is having our photo taken with Ariel who is set up in the back of the store. Other fun things going on for kids are coloring and mobile making at the counter… OK, I had to jump in and color some since the kids things seem so fun…

After eating we head next door to the El Capitan Theatre and Ed is our Host here.  He tells us about the original history of the theatre built in 1926 by Charles Toberman and more on the history of this Hollywood era of big new movie houses like the Egyptian & Grauman’s Chinese Hollywood’s home to the first spoken drama this is an amazing house of long time movie premiers, stages shows, and now even rock concerts.  In 1989 the Walt Disney Co. undertook a two year renovation to take the theatre back to its original state of the 1920s.  The only real original pieces still housed here are cast iron light the lower level old “smoking room.  One cool fact we learned is that when a Disney movie premieres, even though this is a single screen theatre, the El Capitan makes more money than any other movie theatre in the US. This is truly an amazing piece of period architecture with a Spanish influence that is not to be missed if visiting Hollywood.

Again, we are surprised by their organist who comes out and plays a huge Wurlitzer organ.  He plays an array of percussion sounds along with sirens, bells, whistles, birds you name it.  He even surprises Brent one of the guests by singing Happy Birthday to him !  Ahhhh…. We get to walk up and “behind the scenes” here meeting a Stage Manager and viewing their newly installed sound system.  Very Cool!  Heading from backstage to downstairs to a party room of sorts, that used to be the smoking room for guests who would come to this theatre.

Next on our stop is again, right next door, the Jimmy Kimmel live show.  We meet up with Chris who tells us the history of the building where the shows is held.  It’s an old Masonic temple built in the 1920s and has been many different things over the year.  One notable Disney thing is it used to be a playhouse of sorts for post movie premieres shown at the El Capitan.  During Toy Story they broke the theatre up into several subgroups rooms each featuring a fun aspect from the movie.  This is the first of a few places where we were not allowed to have any cameras at all.  BUT we really got behind the scenes at the studio and walked through each production area with full access to sound, mixing, make-up and the cool Green Room.  The cool part here was while we were looking at the green room Uncle Frank and Guillermo (World Record holder for the most Underwear worn at one time) came in to say hi.  If you watch the show, they are regulars.  Uncle Frank is a colorful character with a colorful past.  He really is Jimmy’s Uncle too.

 During lunch the guides hold a lottery drawing for the 10 VIP tickets they have been given for some of us to be part of the audience at the Jimmy Kimmel show for tonight.  Guests playing are Eric Dane  from Grey’s Anatomy (McSteamy) and the band Vampire Weekend.  On our way out of the studio we stop by a permanent band venue in the backlot of the show house.

Next stop is Jim Henson’s Studio…but that will have to wait until Part II 

    As on my last ABD trip they get you up and out fairly early. This morning we were told once again to meet at TWIST in the Renaissance at 7:50am in order to make it to our breakfast spot.  Ah, breakfast this morning is across the street at Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store. < more... >

Well to say I could not sleep is an understatement. There is always the fear I’ll miss the flight or wake up late, etc. Luckily I set both my phone and an alarm clock at my sisters and I was only flying in from San Francisco, so no huge time change. One of the best things I did on this trip so far was book Virgin America for my flight from SFO to LAX. All I can say is wow! The airline also had a few 1st class available for only a $50 upgrade charge so of course I had to do it. When you walk in all the cabin shades are shut and they have black lighting overhead so its almost like walking into a lounge or club. The stewards are all dressed in black on back with Red accents, even the pilots which was very contemporary and cool. The massage seats are amazing as are the video consoles in each chair. The 1st class seats even have a power outlet plug in for your laptop. I think this could become my new favorite airline for any cross country travel and will definitely compete with low cost carriers out west. And since it was Earth Day they handed out green reusable grocery bags with small gifts inside.

Ok - so now the fun stuff. I landed in LA and was greeted by one of our Adventure Guides Diana holding an ABD sign. She got my luggage and we headed over to Terminal 3 to wait for Beci to land from Seattle. We talked alot about ABD, Disney, family and had a lot of fun. Once Beci landed we were then met by our Towncar driver Nelo from ITS -Intl. Travel Services who wisked us off, as best you can in LA traffic to our hotel in Hollywood.  The old Hollywood has definitely changed and cleaned up nicely in this area of town. The Renaissance Hollywood hotel sits adjacent to the Hollywood & Highland Center and Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars, the Hollywood walk of fame, and is also across the street from the El Capitan Theatre, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and Jimmy Kimmel Live show. Great shopping and food area. This hotel is very comtemporary, with colorful geometric decor throughout, nice outdoor pool and brand new Spa opening May 1st.  Request a room with a view of the Hollywood sign for added fun.

We meet with our second guide Quinn upon on arrival at the hotel. The ABD guides have a table set up in the lobby and hand us our Adventure Storybook (Daily Itinerary and Meeting time Bible!) and room keys. This is really the true plus of these vacations. You are pre-checked in to every hotel and they handle your luggage!!  The rooms are nicely renovated with gold tones, and what they call modern comtemporary 50s style decor.   There are gifts in your rooms from the Adventure guides but I don’t want to spoil all the fun of what’s included.

We have about 2 hours to relax, work, chat, work…before having to go to our first Meet and Greet at 4pm in the Twist lounge. This is a full Adventure with about 36 guests on it.  We pick up an ABD lanyard, name tags and get some snacks provided by the hotel. The first icebreaker is fun and gets you moving around the room to meet other guests on the trip. The first people we meet are Brent and Brock both from Nashville, TN.  Once that is over we all make our personal introductions add tell what we are most excited to see on the Adventure….

Moving from the ice breaker we head into the Highland center to our dinner spot Trastevere. We are escorted to a private room and sit down to tables decorated with toys and gifts, all from recycled material. Again, my second earth day theme for the day.  They start us off with salad and breads and wine/ beer for the adults too. Our menu choices consist of Salmon, Veal, Chicken Marsala or a Pasta dish, I choose the Veal which was very good. We are seated with a family group from Massachusetts and again Brent and Brock. *spoiler alert* While waiting for our dinners we are entertained by a local comedian of is the host of a mock trivia game show set up. Matt, the comedian, is very funny and has the crowd definitely entertained while waiting for food. We also get our first Pin for the day! which is a really cool Mickey Mouse one. Once dinner is over and dessert served we sit around and chat with our new friends and Quinn. Lots of fun! Beci and I walk around the Highland Center more, then around the hotel to see the Gym, pool and other areas.

Back home now in our room, I’m very sleepy so will sign off until tomorrow and our first full day of studios and tours! Can’t wait!

Well to say I could not sleep is an understatement. There is always the fear I’ll miss the flight or wake up late, etc. Luckily I set both my phone and an alarm clock at my sisters and I was only flying in from San Francisco, so no huge time change. < more... >