A Once in Lifetime Adventure in Walt's Wonderful World-lots of pics-COMPLETE [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Disneygrl36

12-18-2008, 12:59 PM

Originally we were going to fly out on Dec 6th & spend a few days in San Diego, but those plans had to be changed because of some things that DH needed to finish up at work before this trip. So instead we flew out on Monday December 8th in the late afternoon so that we could be there the night before the Adventures by Disney trip started. That gave us Tuesday morning to do some exploring on our own which I had planned out long before we knew we were going to have to shorten the trip. So this arrangement made me happy & DH happy all at the same time...what's not to like about that kind of compromise?:confused3

Our flight left the Knoxville airport at 5:05pm.
Here is Eric in front of the fountains at the airport ready to start our adventure.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4516.jpg
We had a quick 30 minute flight to Atlanta & then grabbed a quick bite to eat while waiting for our flight to LAX to depart. The entertaiment system on the plane was not working properly & I was amused at how upset some people were about this. We both had our books with us so it was no big deal to us. Around 4 1/2 to 5 hrs later, we landed at LAX at around 9pm LA time. We were met at baggage claim by our driver arranged by Adventures by Disney. We chatted with him on the way to the Renaissance Hollywood hotel & he shared with us some about the famous people he had driven including Sheryl Crow & a very disheveled Jack Nicholson. It was fun looking out the window & seeing things we recognized. It wasn't long before we arrived & were checked in to the hotel which has a wonderful location right beside the Hollywood & Highland Center.
This is it during the day....not at 9pm when we arrived.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4535.jpg
The first room they put us in had a nice big king size bed.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4517.jpg
But, it smelled horribly of fresh paint so after heading out to stretch our legs a bit at the H & H Center & coming back & that smell hitting us in the face, we called to see if we could change rooms. They did change us but didn't have another king bed.....oh well at least we knew we could sleep without paint smell giving us a headache.
View out of our window after we moved.....that Christmas tree is on the Tower Records building.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4521.jpg
Low & behold the next morning we wake up very early like 4:50am since our bodies are still on eastern standard time. We watched the sun come up out the window & realize that low & behold the move has given us a room with a view of the Hollywood sign. Yippee :cool1: The other room had a view of the H & H center.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4525.jpg
So Eric decides to go work out & I go exploring.
The hotel lobby-does anyone else want to start singing Blue Christmas when they look at this photo?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4542.jpg
I wandered around & went up to the pool area which is way cool & has an awesome view.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4527.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4531.jpg
There was an area leading out of the pool into the Hollywood & Highland Center so I just kept following it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4533.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4534.jpg
I followed it all the way around to where I could see Hollywood Blvd.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4538.jpg
A security guard came & told me I wasn't supposed to be over there. I said sorry, but there wasn't any signs or ropes or anything so how was a girl supposed to know :confused3 . I was only taking pictures, he said no problem but head on back to the hotel now, so I did. Eric got a kick out of me getting in trouble!
We ate a quick bite in the room out of the breakfast/snack things I had brought & then headed to the Hertz rental car counter in the lobby to get the car we had reserved. We decided to go ahead & add the GPS system to the car as well, because we always manage to get lost & end up in the bad part of town. It was great. They gave us a red Ford escape & we were on our way to explore.

Up next..........adventuring on our own & what all did we find?

Disneygrl36

12-18-2008, 01:06 PM

I'm first!!!! :banana: popcorn::

I'm No. 2! Say... wait a minute..... :rotfl:

:welcome: Beth!!!!!!! You are first!!!!
:welcome: Carrie...........:lmao: Glad you are here!:goodvibes

Sleepless Knight

12-18-2008, 02:20 PM

And so the report begins. Woohoo!

mommaU4

12-18-2008, 02:35 PM

Wow, day one and you're already in trouble. :rolleyes1 Cool. Can't wait to read more. ;)

wendylady36

12-18-2008, 03:37 PM

Silly girl, getting in trouble at the beginning of your adventure!

That is quite the view from your room! I don't know what it is about Hollywood, but I love, love, love it. I even love all the advertisements, more so then in Times Square. There's just something so magical about Hollywood.

I'm ready to read more! popcorn::

kmab00

12-18-2008, 04:20 PM

Sounds great so far! I love the view from your room, too!!!! That's funny you got in trouble! Whoops!! :) I can't wait to hear more!

Jennifer48

12-18-2008, 04:32 PM

I'm here!

First day in trouble, :sad2: what are we going to do with you?! :laughing:

Great start and great view! :thumbsup2

Aburns8

12-18-2008, 04:55 PM

Followed you over! Let me know if you need anything filled in since I was the geek taking notes.:cool1:

SoonerGirl

12-18-2008, 04:58 PM

Your hotel looks beautiful! That stinks (literally!) about the paint smell and that you lost your king sized bed, BUT you were able to get a GREAT view in exchange!

OK, I'm ready for more! popcorn:: popcorn::

MickMan

12-18-2008, 08:44 PM

Disneygrl36

12-18-2008, 09:21 PM

And so the report begins. Woohoo!
Yes, the saga begins.:rotfl:

Wow, day one and you're already in trouble. :rolleyes1 Cool. Can't wait to read more. ;)
I know, I know. I couldn't believe it.

Silly girl, getting in trouble at the beginning of your adventure!

That is quite the view from your room! I don't know what it is about Hollywood, but I love, love, love it. I even love all the advertisements, more so then in Times Square. There's just something so magical about Hollywood.

I'm ready to read more! popcorn::
Wendy, I thought it was pretty magical too & was really happy when we woke up & saw the view. I had always thought the Hollywood sign was illuminated at night so when I looked out in the dark & didn't see it, I figured we couldn't see it from our room.

Sounds great so far! I love the view from your room, too!!!! That's funny you got in trouble! Whoops!! :) I can't wait to hear more!
I will try to get another update up for you tomorrow Karen.

I'm here!

First day in trouble, :sad2: what are we going to do with you?! :laughing:

Great start and great view! :thumbsup2
I have no idea what you are going to do with me. Ask Andrea & Mark they met me in real life.:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Followed you over! Let me know if you need anything filled in since I was the geek taking notes.:cool1:
Hey Andrea......I was thinking it might be cool to get a copy of those notes. What do you say to lending me a copy of your crib notes. They will come in handy here & in my scrapbooking. My brain is not what it used to be.:lmao:

Your hotel looks beautiful! That stinks (literally!) about the paint smell and that you lost your king sized bed, BUT you were able to get a GREAT view in exchange!

OK, I'm ready for more! popcorn:: popcorn::
The Renaissance was gorgeous. I highly recommend it if you ever get to Hollywood. The location was fabulous.

Disneygrl36

12-18-2008, 09:23 PM

We got in trouble from the security guard also. We saw a sign that said hotel guests could go up to that level but the security guard told us we could not be on that level.

Cant wait to relive the whole trip again with your report.

See I am not the only one that got in trouble. I felt kinda weird when he stopped me & kept on saying there wasn't a sign, there wasn't a rope like defending myself. I said I am staying at the Renaissance right next door & dude was like well this isn't part of the Renaissance. I just didn't feel like I was doing anything wrong but oh well.............whatcha gonna do?:confused3
Can't wait to relive it too!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna go back already.

Disneygrl36

12-18-2008, 09:24 PM

I changed a few of the pictures in my post as when I was looking at the larger ones, I found better ones.

Aburns8

12-18-2008, 11:37 PM

I will work on the notes tomorrow. I have to rewrite them before I forget everything! I keep looking at my pictures wishing the trip wasn't over!

travelmel

12-19-2008, 02:29 AM

Wholley molley! I didn't get the "moved thread" memo till just now! Doggone it. :rotfl2:

I figured you were resting on your Disney VIP laurels and not posting anything yet! I should have known better!

I can't read right now, gotta go to bed but I'll catch up SOON

popcorn::

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/smileybluebanana.gif

tinkermell

12-19-2008, 10:24 AM

Oohh! I'm on board and looking forward to lots more!! popcorn::

tinkermell

12-19-2008, 10:26 AM

BriarRosie

12-19-2008, 12:58 PM

Low & behold the next morning we wake up very early like 4:50am since our bodies are still on eastern standard time. We watched the sun come up out the window & realize that low & behold the move has given us a room with a view of the Hollywood sign. Yippee :cool1: The other room had a view of the H & H center.

Hi Melanie! We had that same view from our room. :) And I was up every couple of hours the first night, with the same time zone thing, but I forced myself to go back to sleep each time I woke up. :headache:

I wandered around & went up to the pool area which is way cool & has an awesome view.

There was an area leading out of the pool into the Hollywood & Highland Center so I just kept following it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4534.jpg
A security guard came & told me I wasn't supposed to be over there. I said sorry, but there wasn't any signs or ropes or anything so how was a girl supposed to know :confused3 . I was only taking pictures, he said no problem but head on back to the hotel now, so I did. Eric got a kick out of me getting in trouble!

I found that pool area entry into H&H, took the same photo from that vantage point. But it was the afternoon of the main arrival day and no security guards chased us off. ;)

Great report so far!

FauntleroyFAN07

12-19-2008, 02:11 PM

great start, i hope you went into that disney store in that picture...

i always get in trouble on our trips as well, mostly by the wife for going into places i am not suppose to...this trip i got in trouble for going in the back entrance to the lua at the polynesian, the gate was open so i went up to the stage...
:goodvibes

Disneygrl36

12-19-2008, 03:49 PM

I will work on the notes tomorrow. I have to rewrite them before I forget everything! I keep looking at my pictures wishing the trip wasn't over!
Thanks Andrea that would be great. I wish it wasn't over too, but we have great memories to treasure forever.

Wholley molley! I didn't get the "moved thread" memo till just now! Doggone it. :rotfl2:

I figured you were resting on your Disney VIP laurels and not posting anything yet! I should have known better!

I can't read right now, gotta go to bed but I'll catch up SOON

popcorn::

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/smileybluebanana.gif
Melissa, hope you enjoy when you come back to read........glad you found me.

Oohh! I'm on board and looking forward to lots more!! popcorn::
:welcome: I have lots & lots more to come.

Hi Melanie! We had that same view from our room. :) And I was up every couple of hours the first night, with the same time zone thing, but I forced myself to go back to sleep each time I woke up. :headache:

I found that pool area entry into H&H, took the same photo from that vantage point. But it was the afternoon of the main arrival day and no security guards chased us off. ;)

Great report so far!
Hey Lori :wave: That was an awesome view to have!!!!!!! I am glad you didn't get in trouble too. Maybe it was because it was so early morning that I did who knows. :confused3

great start, i hope you went into that disney store in that picture...

i always get in trouble on our trips as well, mostly by the wife for going into places i am not suppose to...this trip i got in trouble for going in the back entrance to the lua at the polynesian, the gate was open so i went up to the stage...
:goodvibes
Yes we did go into the Disney Soda Shop & fountain Dan. More on that later.
I am glad to know I am not the only one who gets in trouble on vacation. You just have that mischevious look about you so I imagine you get in lots of trouble.:rotfl:

Hey Beth..............
Did it really snow in Vegas????????

Ok, so I was going to do my update this morning & our power went out. It has been crazy windy here today...........

Update coming right up.

Disneygrl36

12-19-2008, 04:14 PM

So we left off with us picking up our rental car & heading off to explore.
We got the Never Lost system on the car (don't you love that name) & I plugged in the addresses as Eric drove. It was kind of cool having a computer tell you how to go. I had printed off directions on MapQuest (which I was glad to have the addresses) but sometimes the Never Lost took us a different way & I would say.....uh that's not what the directions say....we laughed :rotfl: & decided we would just trust the Never Lost & it didn't ever take us wrong.

Our first stop was the Griffith Park Observatory.
The drive up there was magnificent.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4548.jpg
It is a steep drive up into the hills. It was easy to see why they have fires in California though as every thing was so dry. Once we got there we parked & walked over to the Observatory.
We could see the Hollywood sign quite well here too.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4551.jpg
We wandered around & explored the views. It was too early to get inside or see the Planetarium show.....so we will have to go back & do that some time. It really is a beautiful building & considering it was built in the 1920's it is very well preserved.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4572.jpg
My attempt at an artsy shot on the back of the observatory.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4558.jpg
Another beautiful view
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4564.jpg
They have a tribute to James Dean since he filmed Rebel Without a Cause here. There is a plaque stating that Rebel Without a Cause was the first to use the observatory as itself in film.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4567.jpg
Griffith Park Observatory also has a Disney connection as it is featured in the Rocketeer as well.

Next we drove further into Griffith Park to find the GP Merry Go Round where Walt used to take Sharon & Diane on his Daddy's day with them. This merry go round was part of Walt's inspiration for building Disneyland because all he could do was sit on a bench & watch the girls & he thought the parents should be able to go have fun with their kids. The Merry Go Round is only open on weekends now, so all you can see is the building here but it was still cool to know Walt had been there sitting on one of those very benches.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4576.jpg

Our next stop was still in Griffith Park at the LA Steamers train museum. We went here just in case the ABD tour didn't get to go because it is open only by volunteers & usually only on the 3rd Sunday of the month. I just wanted a peak at the barn just in case we didn't make it there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4577.jpg
Walt's Barn
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4586.jpg

The next destination on my list was Forest Lawn Cemetary. It might seem odd to go visit a cemetary while on vacation, but this is where Walt Disney's ashes are interred. I really wanted to go & pay my respects to the man who has meant so much to me over the years & who has given us so much. It is a very large memorial garden-over 300 acres.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4590.jpg
Walt & family have their own little garden outside the Court of Freedom.
It is back in the very left corner behind the small gate.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4599.jpg
You can open the gate & go in which we did very respectfully. The garden is very quiet & peaceful.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4592.jpg
There is a small bench there & we sat there for a few minutes. We had a silent moment of reflection together before saying a big thank you to the man upstairs for making Walt Disney & a "Thank you Walt for all you did" before leaving. It was a very touching moment for us both.

We had a lunch reservation at the Tam O'Shanter Inn which was recommended to us by Lurkyloo aka Carrie :wave:. It was a restaurant frequented by Walt & his 9 old men. Walt also brought Lillian to dinner here quite a bit.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4604.jpg
Me in front of the Tam O'Shanter Inn
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4603.jpg
It has a very Scottish/English feel & is very warm & cozy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4607.jpg
My lunch was a delicious chicken pot pie.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4608.jpg
Dessert was sticky toffee pudding & a complimentary English triffle since it was our first visit.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4609.jpg
This was the room Walt usually was seated in & his table was in the left hand corner beside the fireplace. There was a big party set up in that area, but I took a picture of the area anyway.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4612.jpg
This was in the lobby & had been given to the owner by the Disney animators that used to come here to eat.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4611.jpg
It was a wonderful lunch & we would go back again in a heartbeat for the great food & for the wonderful connection it has to Walt Disney.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4613.jpg

Up next.......
Hollywood Stars & our Adventures by Disney trip starts.

FauntleroyFAN07

12-19-2008, 04:21 PM

wow i dont have time to read all of that now, but it looks cool, i will read it on monday,

yep i get in alot of trouble, all good trouble of course, and nothing that would hurt anyone, just maybe going into behind scenes places im not really allowed to but go into.
:confused3 :goodvibes

yep it did snow in vegas, we had people in my company that had to switch there flights out there because of the snow, they could not land or take off the other day.

wendylady36

12-19-2008, 04:22 PM

What a beautiful update. I got all teary eyed when you were talking about Walt (carousel, barn, cemetery). It was all so magical to see and read about your experience. I'm happy that you and your hubby took some time to explore these places. :goodvibes

The observatory pictures made me nauseous! :rotfl:

Can't wait for more! popcorn::

mommaU4

12-19-2008, 09:19 PM

travelmel, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to steal your Tinkerbell pic. I love it!! :cloud9:It's cute, but I just had to say.....Tink looks like she has implants in that pic!! :rotfl:

Hey Beth..............
Did it really snow in Vegas????????
Sure did! Check out these pics I took near our house: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29192260&postcount=106
Schools were closed, and all flights out of McCarran were canceled. It was a mess. Of course it was all gone the next day.

Our first stop was the Griffith Park Observatory.

Next we drove further into Griffith Park to find the GP Merry Go Round where Walt used to take Sharon & Diane on his Daddy's day with them.

We had a lunch reservation at the Tam O'Shanter Inn which was recommended to us by Lurkyloo aka Carrie :wave:.

Up next.......
Hollywood Stars & our Adventures by Disney trip starts.
OMG, I am loving your report! It's so fun seeing all my old haunts. :goodvibes
Ruben and I had our first date at the observatory. I was 16. We'd go there every year on our anniversary.

And that Merry Go Round was the one my stepdad would take my brother and I to on Sundays, then we'd go to McDonalds.

I've driven by the Tam O'Shanter many times but I had no clue of it's connection to Walt and I've never eaten there. I'm glad you were able to and that is was good.

Can't wait for more!! :yay:

DangerMouse

12-20-2008, 10:41 AM

Disneygrl36

12-20-2008, 10:56 AM

I'm subbing late! I don't usually read much on the TR board, but the ABD trip you went on is one of my dreams. I read some of your pre-trippie and eagerly anticipated hearing all about your adventure! Lovin the pictures so far and living my dream vicariously through you.

Thanks for sharing in such great detail. Sounds like an awesome time so far! :goodvibes
:welcome: Dangermouse. It was a dream trip. Glad you decided to read along.

It's cute, but I just had to say.....Tink looks like she has implants in that pic!! :rotfl:

Sure did! Check out these pics I took near our house: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29192260&postcount=106
Schools were closed, and all flights out of McCarran were canceled. It was a mess. Of course it was all gone the next day.

OMG, I am loving your report! It's so fun seeing all my old haunts. :goodvibes
Ruben and I had our first date at the observatory. I was 16. We'd go there every year on our anniversary.

And that Merry Go Round was the one my stepdad would take my brother and I to on Sundays, then we'd go to McDonalds.

I've driven by the Tam O'Shanter many times but I had no clue of it's connection to Walt and I've never eaten there. I'm glad you were able to and that is was good.

Can't wait for more!! :yay:
Beth, what a wonderful place for a first date. So romantic, but Wendy wouldn't like it because it is so high up......:lmao: It really is up there & I have to admit when we were around the back of the observatory & I looked over my stomach did the swirly thing. I love that you used to hang out at the Merry Go Round. I remember reading about a restaurant near the studios that Walt liked, but I figured it was long gone. Thanks to Lurkyloo---she suggested it to me since we were doing a whole Walt morning. You should go when you go back.

What a beautiful update. I got all teary eyed when you were talking about Walt (carousel, barn, cemetery). It was all so magical to see and read about your experience. I'm happy that you and your hubby took some time to explore these places. :goodvibes

The observatory pictures made me nauseous! :rotfl:

Can't wait for more! popcorn::
Thanks Wendy. I was getting a little misty when I was writing it, because it took me right back there. I am really glad that this was the way we decided to spend our morning. It really was the perfect way to start off this trip that was mostly devoted to Walt's dreams & his world.
See above about the observatory. I could see how someone with a problem with height would be really upset there.

wow i dont have time to read all of that now, but it looks cool, i will read it on monday,

yep i get in alot of trouble, all good trouble of course, and nothing that would hurt anyone, just maybe going into behind scenes places im not really allowed to but go into.
:confused3 :goodvibes

yep it did snow in vegas, we had people in my company that had to switch there flights out there because of the snow, they could not land or take off the other day.
The only time it's a problem going places you aren't supposed to is when you get caught, right?

How crazy is that snow in Vegas. Loved your pictures of it Beth. You have a gorgeous view.

SPOILER ALERT-----If you are planning on taking this trip in the future & don't want to know about all the surprises be advised that I intend to tell the whole story!!!!!

Aunt Cawa

12-20-2008, 11:33 AM

What a great start to your trip report! :thumbsup2 Dh and I did this trip in June. I can't wait to hear your impressions of this adventure!

Disneygrl36

12-20-2008, 12:00 PM

When last we left our travelers, we had just had a very yummy lunch at the Tam O'Shanter Inn & had experienced a wonderful morning exploring together. We had directions thanks to mapiglet fan to drive up closer to the Hollywood sign but by now it was getting to be around 1pm & we had such a great view of it from our room & from Griffith park that we decided we wanted to explore a bit more of Hollywood around the hotel before our meeting time of 4pm with the group. So after a quick stop at a convenience store to get some water & soft drinks for in the room, we decided to head on back & return the rental car. We went back to the room for a brief time & found these treats waiting for us.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4614.jpg
This was our special book with all our meeting times & our itinerary.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4619.jpg
After admiring our loot, we headed out again stopping by the lobby to check in with our adventure guides Diana & Kristin. They told us to meet up with them in the Canyon room at 4pm.

Off we went to explore Hollywood boulevard.
I am a huge Julie Andrews/Mary Poppins fan so I was excited to find her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame & then her hand prints at Grauman's.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4623.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4631.jpg
Eric with Jimmy Stewarts hand prints......he loves him. In fact we are seeing "It's A Wonderful Life" at the Tennessee Theatre tonight.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4629.jpg
Another attempt at an artsy shot at the Chinese theatre.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4633.jpg
This one was especially poignant as we just lost Paul Newman not that long ago & I love that his & Joanne Woodwards are together.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4635.jpg
How's this for love & devotion........getting down on the sidewalk in Hollywood to have your photo taken with your favorite star.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4648.jpg
Did you know that no one has been nominated more times for an Academy Award than Walt Disney? He got 59 nominations & earned 26 awards. I think that more than deserves a star. In fact, he has 2 one for film & one for TV.
Another cute saying on the Road to Hollywood sidewalk in the Hollywood & Highland Center.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4650.jpg
At the end of the Road to Hollywood or how some of us got here sidewalk is a big couch with the Hollywood sign in the background. Is it a casting couch????????????? What a great sense of humor Hollywood has.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4655.jpg
These elephants are at the H & H center as well & we would see them again later. When they decided to build the H & H Center they wanted to recreate a movie set so this set with the big arch & the elephants was built in Hollywood in 1916 for the film Intolerance.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4651.jpg
So it was getting close to time to meet up with our fellow adventurer's for the first time. We headed back to the room to freshen up & change clothes. We followed the signs to the Canyon room. They had cheese, crackers, veggies & sodas for us. We sat at a table with Andrea & Brian from Michigan. I had gotten to know Andrea on the thread for our trip & it was great to meet her & her husband in person. They gave us a little ice breaker game to do, but we were too busy talking & when Diana said you have a few minutes to finish your answers to the top portion we were like :scared1: we better get to work. The top portion asked questions about you like what you were most excited to see etc. & the bottom portion was designed to make us get up & move about the room to get to know each other. We were supposed to find someone who had met a celebrity, could name all 7 dwarfs, had never been to Disneyland, had been to a studio lot & had visited all eleven Disney theme parks. We got all of them but the last one, although we did have a group member who has been to 8 of the 11. After this Diana & Kristin told us a bit about their background with the company & then they went around & asked us all to introduce ourself, where we were from & what we were most excited about seeing. We were a group of 24 adults as this was an adults only version of this trip. We had 2 mother/daughter groups, 1 mother/son group & 2 friends that were together & the rest of us were couples. We ranged from as far away as Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, to 2 couples from California.

After our getting to know you session, we were headed to dinner at the Trastaverte Italian Restaurant in the H & H Center. We walked across from the hotel after having our photos taken with a clapboard & this was the first appearance of the infamous Adventures by Disney paddle that we would follow for the rest of our trip.
We stopped & had a nice photo made.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4656.jpg
We had our own private dining room in the back for the restaurant.
They served us red or white wine, 2 kinds of salad, antipasta & flatbread.
We were able to choose our entree of salmon, penne pasta with tomato basil sauce, veal scaloppini or chicken marsala. Eric & I both had the salmon & it was very tasty. I think I was too excited so I didn't take any pictures of our food until dessert. After we had enjoyed our appetizers & salad & they worked on our dinner, we had a little Disney trivia gameshow.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4662.jpg
It was hilarious & by no means a high pressure game. The host was Matt & he was great & really funny & enjoyed having an adult audience. Our fellow adventurers that were picked seemed to really enjoy the show & I will always remember Mark & his great answers of "yes" & Karen for her frequent use of "phone a friend" for everything. It was alot of fun & before we knew it dinner was there. Diana sat on our end of the table & we had fun chatting with her & getting to know her.
Dessert was tiramisu & we were given our first pin-which became an exciting event every day. Every day there is a theme of the day & a word of the day. Today's theme was It All Started with a Mouse so our first pin was Mickey of course & the word of the day was Mickey Mouse.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4663.jpg
After that we were told to meet in front of Twist the hotel restaurant the next morning at 7:50am & were set free for the evening.
We decided to explore a bit more & wanted to go get ice cream at the Soda Fountain since neither one of us really like tiramisu.
So we headed out across the street to the Disney Soda Fountain.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4672.jpg
They have cool pictures of famous people that have stopped in & this was one of my favorites.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4675.jpg
We both had an ice cream. I had the make your own sundae with one scoop of peppermint ice cream & hot fudge. The ice cream here is made by a California family & you can tell it's homemade premium ice cream. There were little pieces of peppermint in it. So yummy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4677.jpg
Eric had a double scoop sundae with chocolate & cookies & cream with hot fudge.
In prepartion for tomorrow when we would visit Jim Henson studios here a couple of pictures taken this night.
Inside the soda fountain....the Muppets.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4676.jpg
And look who's star we found.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4668.jpg
Once outside we noticed how cute the Christmas windows were.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4680.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4681.jpg
We would be touring the El Capitan in the morning so is a fitting shot to end this day.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4670.jpg
Exhausted from our long day, we headed back to the hotel & relaxed in the room. I did some journaling & did a live posting to my pre-trip report.
It had been a great day & we had a lot to look forward to tomorrow.

Up next---an organ, a famous person & a frog oh my

Disneygrl36

12-20-2008, 12:13 PM

What a great start to your trip report! :thumbsup2 Dh and I did this trip in June. I can't wait to hear your impressions of this adventure!

:welcome: Aunt Cawa.......glad to have a past Backstage Magicer along. It was such a wonderful trip.:goodvibes

Aburns8

12-20-2008, 01:33 PM

Still working on those notes for you! I think it is funny that I took pics of Jimmy Stewarts hand prints as well. He is my all time favorite!

MA pigletfan

12-20-2008, 05:02 PM

WOnderful start Melanie! :)
Nice view..no wonder you didn't have to drive to the sign!!!! This is going to be wonderful to read!
I am so bummed that we didn't get to Griffith Observatory..it looks like a lot to see..and Greg would have loved the steam train area...that just means we HAVE to go back sometime, oh darn ;)

Looking forward to the next day! :goodvibes

Sarah84

12-20-2008, 06:59 PM

Sounds like a wonderful trip so far, love your pics :)

mommaU4

12-20-2008, 10:12 PM

Wow, y'all did a lot in one day. It all sounds like so much fun. I love how organized it all is. I would love to do an ABD one day. The Alaska one really appeals to me. But with a family of six........um yeah, I'd need to win the lotto first! :rotfl:

I was curious, what part of TN are you from? I have relatives in Morristown and they fly out of Knoxville too when they travel.

travelmel

12-21-2008, 01:10 AM

travelmel, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to steal your Tinkerbell pic. I love it!! :cloud9:

That's funny! When I saw your siggie I said to myself, "Hm.. somebody else has the pretty tink.. I think I'll change mine."

:rotfl2:

No worries!

My attempt at an artsy shot on the back of the observatory.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4558.jpg

I love your artsy shot. I absolutely love your first moments of your vacation. You can tell by my silly Twilight TR that I just love the hunt for things like this. Not that your TR is silly, by any means, but I'm just saying that I respect and can relate to the quest for places of interest. I'm loving it.

:cloud9:

P.S. My cousins and I used to drive up to the observatory for the laser light shows.. I'm not sure how we managed to survive *coughbadkidscough* the road down.

I want to eat at that place! Too cute. Thanks to Lookyloo for pointing it out to you and to you for pointing it out to me!

travelmel

12-21-2008, 01:28 AM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4631.jpg
Eric with Jimmy Stewarts hand prints......he loves him. In fact we are seeing "It's A Wonderful Life" at the Tennessee Theatre tonight.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4629.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4670.jpg

I love the pics of you guys with the footprints. That would make a really cute framed pic for a wall or desk or something. :3dglasses

Hey what did you mean about the elephants and film intolerance? I've never heard of that... can you explain it to me?

It looked like the weather held out well for you. I love SO Cal at Christmas time - (Now that I don't live there anymore, that is! When you grow up there all that sunshine and blue sky can really get on your nerves when your dreaming of that White Christmas bit!) -

The Soda fountain looks so cute! I can't wait to see the El Capitain stuff. I've never been to either of these places. Great pics, what a wonderful first day. :wizard:

P.S. I like the movie It's a Wonderful Life but I took my DD's to see it a couple years ago at this really cool theater by our house and they said, "That was ok... but.... mom..... didn't you think it was a little depressing?" :rotfl: I gotta admit... I do.

hack2112

12-21-2008, 12:28 PM

Next we drove further into Griffith Park to find the GP Merry Go Round where Walt used to take Sharon & Diane on his Daddy's day with them. This merry go round was part of Walt's inspiration for building Disneyland because all he could do was sit on a bench & watch the girls & he thought the parents should be able to go have fun with their kids. The Merry Go Round is only open on weekends now, so all you can see is the building here but it was still cool to know Walt had been there sitting on one of those very benches.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4576.jpg

Just so you know, the original tour was going to take you to see the carousel, but they didn't open it so you were pretty much stuck looking at a boarded-up building. Not fun.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4662.jpg
Why does the person at the red podium remind me of someone who was on my trip?

Also, Matt is amazing and hilarious and amazing.

Disneygrl36

12-21-2008, 04:37 PM

Still working on those notes for you! I think it is funny that I took pics of Jimmy Stewarts hand prints as well. He is my all time favorite!
Eric loves him Andrea. Watching It's a Wonderful Life last night in the restored Tennessee Theater (built in 1928 just like Mickey Mouse) was AWESOME!!!!!!!! Like movies were intended to be seen. We have a Might Wurtlizer too so it was funny because Eric & I were comparing the Tennessee to the El Cap all night.
Click here if you want to compare it too.......since you've been to the El Cap. We think it's bigger than the El Cap but their organ is bigger.
http://www.tennesseetheatre.com/about-us/take-a-virtual-tour/
It was cool to know we have one of the few organs still out there close by. They are showing Sound of Music after Christmas & we are so there.

WOnderful start Melanie! :)
Nice view..no wonder you didn't have to drive to the sign!!!! This is going to be wonderful to read!
I am so bummed that we didn't get to Griffith Observatory..it looks like a lot to see..and Greg would have loved the steam train area...that just means we HAVE to go back sometime, oh darn ;)

Looking forward to the next day! :goodvibes
I know, I have a list already of things I have to go back to see. If you can plan to go where you will be there on the 3rd Sunday of the month, that is when the LA Steamers open the barn & run the trains for the public. They were nice enough to do this for ABD specially.

Sounds like a wonderful trip so far, love your pics :)
Thanks & :welcome: Lots more to come.

Wow, y'all did a lot in one day. It all sounds like so much fun. I love how organized it all is. I would love to do an ABD one day. The Alaska one really appeals to me. But with a family of six........um yeah, I'd need to win the lotto first! :rotfl:

I was curious, what part of TN are you from? I have relatives in Morristown and they fly out of Knoxville too when they travel.
Yes beth we did do alot. It was a busy day but fun. We were busy this whole trip, maybe that is why I was so tired when we got home & now have a cold. ABD is great. I cannot recommend it highly enough. You could gamble a bit there in Vegas & maybe you will win big enough to splurge on a trip. We live close to Morristown Beth. Small world isn't it?

I love your artsy shot. I absolutely love your first moments of your vacation. You can tell by my silly Twilight TR that I just love the hunt for things like this. Not that your TR is silly, by any means, but I'm just saying that I respect and can relate to the quest for places of interest. I'm loving it.

:cloud9:

P.S. My cousins and I used to drive up to the observatory for the laser light shows.. I'm not sure how we managed to survive *coughbadkidscough* the road down.

I want to eat at that place! Too cute. Thanks to Lookyloo for pointing it out to you and to you for pointing it out to me!
Glad you are enjoying my side trips. It really was a great day & I wanted to pack as much in before the ABD trip started as I could. I was pleased we were able to fit it all in, but I am already starting on a list of what we need to see next time. The Tam O'Shanter is a lovely place to eat & you can make a reservation on line.

I love the pics of you guys with the footprints. That would make a really cute framed pic for a wall or desk or something. :3dglasses

Hey what did you mean about the elephants and film intolerance? I've never heard of that... can you explain it to me?

It looked like the weather held out well for you. I love SO Cal at Christmas time - (Now that I don't live there anymore, that is! When you grow up there all that sunshine and blue sky can really get on your nerves when your dreaming of that White Christmas bit!) -

The Soda fountain looks so cute! I can't wait to see the El Capitain stuff. I've never been to either of these places. Great pics, what a wonderful first day. :wizard:

P.S. I like the movie It's a Wonderful Life but I took my DD's to see it a couple years ago at this really cool theater by our house and they said, "That was ok... but.... mom..... didn't you think it was a little depressing?" :rotfl: I gotta admit... I do.
Let's see. At the Hollywood & Highland Center, they recreated a set from the film Intolerance which I believe was a silent film. There is a big arch that is Egyptian looking seen here from across the street
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4690.jpg
& then 2 huge elephants on pedestals.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4651.jpg
These are copies of the sets they made way back then..........a nod to old Hollywood when they built the center.
The weather was good while we were in the Hollywood area, but it was a bit cold in the evenings at Disneyland & it rained on us our last day. All in all, though we were prepared with jackets/ponchos etc so we were fine.
You should go see a movie & then get ice cream at the soda fountain next time you go. We were going to go see Bolt while there, but decided to do other stuff. Wish we had had more time to do all we wanted to do.

Just so you know, the original tour was going to take you to see the carousel, but they didn't open it so you were pretty much stuck looking at a boarded-up building. Not fun.
Why does the person at the red podium remind me of someone who was on my trip?
Also, Matt is amazing and hilarious and amazing.
Hey Max & :welcome:
That would be awesome if they could get them to open it up, but I agree not so fun just staring at it all boarded up. That would be a nice addition.
I don't know why that reminds you of someone on your trip. I think this was her first ABD trip.
Matt was great & really funny. It was a great way to start out the trip.

More to come. I am uploading photos from Day 3 right now.

Disneygrl36

12-21-2008, 06:25 PM

We met the group in front of Twist this morning & headed out to the Disney Soda Shop for a special breakfast. They are not usually opened for breakfast, so this was a treat for us.
Here is our menu
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4691.jpg
Eric had a Mickey waffle & I had scrambled eggs & bacon. His was cuter so you get to see it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4694.jpg
The ceiling in the Soda shop
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4696.jpg
We had time to browse the store after breakfast. It was like a small Disney store-I looked at some pins but didn't buy anything, although later wished I had bought the CD of Disney music played on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
Then, it was time for our tour of the El Capitan theatre.
We had a tour guide named Mike whose love of the theatre was evident in the way he talked about it. We started out in the lobby & he talked about the history of the theatre & how at one point it closed & was boarded up. Disney bought the theatre & restored it to the way it is today & now they show movies complete with the organ playing, a stage show, a curtain show & then the movie being played. What a great way to see a movie!!!!!!!!
We went into the theatre & here are some detail shots. T
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4703.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4708.jpg
The organist was playing Disney music as we came into the theatre.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4702.jpg
He talked to us about the Mighty Wurlitzer of which there are not many left.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4706.jpg
It is an amazing instrument & has all the various instruments up in the rafters & when he presses the buttons those instruments are actually played-as in a drum stick strikes the drum, etc. Amazing. There is one organ pipe that he demonstrated for us that is able to shake the whole theatre. Really fascinating.
Here's a little video of him talking about the organ.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_4707.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_4707.flv)
He played a few name that Disney tune songs & 2 people in the group won that CD I wish I had bought.
After that we were treated to the curtain show.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_4712.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_4712.flv)
We were also able to go up on stage & see some of the riggings that work all the various curtains.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4723.jpg
Eric on stage
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4720.jpg
And my foot on a peformer's mark
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4722.jpg
As we were leaving that part of the theatre, the singers came out to do a sound check for the holiday show they are performing.
We next went upstairs to the Hall of Fame & talked abit about the restoration project with Ed who had been instrumental in getting the project going. I am so glad that they did this & did not let this beautiful theatre just sit there & rot away-that would have been a real shame.
They had some great photos & memorabilia up there.
The 40th anniversary of Mary Poppins.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4729.jpg
Monster Inc.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4733.jpg
A shot of the theatre from the balcony.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4735.jpg
After this we were taken downstairs to the lounge area & then got a group photo taken on the stairs. I really enjoyed our time at the El Capitan & wish we had been able to go back to see a movie there, but we just ran out of steam/time. A lot of our group did go see Bolt & saw the holiday stage show.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4687.jpg
Then, we went right next door for our tour of the Jimmy Kimmel live shows set. We were not allowed to take any photos in there because it is a working studio. It is in an old Masonic temple that has been bought by Disney/ABC. Before it was Jimmy Kimmel live, they used to use it to set up events that went along with the movie they were showing next door-like a Toy Story set up with Woody's line dancing lessons in the front room. Here we met Uncle Frank who is the security guard on the show & who is really Jimmy's uncle & our tour guide on of the associate producers on the show. We saw the control room & I could not believe how small it was. They all sit together in there looking at lots of screens. The funniest thing was the huge bottle of Tums in the middle of the room. We also went into the sound/tape room which was even smaller & had a lot of complicated equipment in it including a sound board that had so many different buttons & knobs on it, I would have been really scared to touch it lest I ruin everything. We also went to the editing area & saw some people working on editing tapes to run on the show.
We then went upstairs to the make up room, which was once again really small-do you see a theme-with one chair. They had lots of stuff in there like fake eyelashes, wigs & various forms of facial hair. We could also poke our head in some of the guest dressing rooms. I was struck by the fact that some of them had showers in them. Up here was where the elevator was as well & this brought up some ghost stories-a woman has been seen along with a guy in a zoot suit many, many times. Pretty spooky. We went down to the green room which had a very hip/loungey type feel too it. They have video games, a pin ball machine & a pool table to keep the guest entertained, along with a bar of course. They said lots of people that aren't even on the show just like to come hang out in the green room & Uncle Frank was proud to tell us that their green room was the most popular one in town. Then they took us in the studio & Uncle Frank talked abit about Jimmy & how down to earth he is. He has several family members working for him. Uncle Frank said it was his "fault" Jimmy was in show business. He & his family moved to Vegas after he left the police force. They took Jimmy's grandmother with them, so soon Jimmy's Mom decided to follow them to Vegas. While there Uncle Frank did security for Frank Sinatra & Jimmy caught the show business bug. He told us some funny stories about his time there-including one about when Snoop Dog was on the show & Jimmy told him Uncle Frank only made 6 arrests in his 20 years as a cop & then Snoop Dog coming over to hug him & tell him he was his kind of cop.:lmao: He was a real character. While we were in there, who should pop his head in & say "What the heck is going on in here?" but Jimmy Kimmel. He told us not to believe a word Uncle Frank said & waved to us all. Our guides said that had never happened so pretty darn cool.:thumbsup2
We were able to have our picture made on the stage with Uncle Frank taken by our guides. This is a picture of our picture that they made into a photo postcard for us.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1337.jpg
After that we went outside in the back of the studio to where they do the live music concert segments-they also have a small intimate lounge in the front for music acts as well. Out back, they have a bigger stage & lots of lights & speakers. They told us about how crazy it was when the Jonas Brothers performed out there & how the girls were trying to bribe people to let them in & then how later Walt Disney World called them to discuss how best to handle their security. It was cool to be back behind the studio & we could see the parking area & there was a school ball field right across from that side of the studio.

Next we were loaded onto our awaiting motor coach where Don our driver was waiting. Our guides had water/snacks if we wanted them for the bus ride.

Next up, we are headed to Jim Henson studios--finally the frog oh my!!!!

SoonerGirl

12-21-2008, 06:46 PM

The theater looks AMAZING! And how cool that you got to eat breakfast at the Soda Shop. Loving your report so far, keep it coming!

travelmel

12-21-2008, 07:51 PM

Ha! A Jimmey Kimmel Drive-By!

Nice work!

hack2112

12-21-2008, 08:45 PM

The night the Jonas Brothers were there was the day we had our tour of the studio. There was already a line outside the entrance to the outdoor stage.

And Uncle Frank is amazing. And funny. Did I mention how amazing he was?

prettyprincessbelle

12-21-2008, 10:27 PM

Great TR so far! (that rhymes!)

I love that you guys went to see Walt at the cemetary. What a beautiful gesture from you 2. :)

Adventure's by Disney looks so MUCH FUN! The whole thing and I love how they do little things for you guys like leave all those treats out! Wow! So exciting!!!!

mommaU4

12-22-2008, 12:42 AM

Yes beth we did do alot. It was a busy day but fun. We were busy this whole trip, maybe that is why I was so tired when we got home & now have a cold. ABD is great. I cannot recommend it highly enough. You could gamble a bit there in Vegas & maybe you will win big enough to splurge on a trip. We live close to Morristown Beth. Small world isn't it?
It is a small world! I'm sorry you are sick now. I hope you feel better soon.

Great update. Love those Mickey waffles. So cute.

FauntleroyFAN07

12-22-2008, 10:24 AM

wow some realy cool things so far, do you have to be a DVC member to go on this or can anyone do this adventures by disney

Jennifer48

12-22-2008, 12:37 PM

Mel,

I love the add-ons that your and your DH did before the ABD trip began. I actually got goosebumps reading when you went to see Walt's grave, creepy!

The theater looks amazing. What a wonderful purchase by Disney! :goodvibes

It looked like no one was in the Soda shop with you guys. Was it really that empty?

Keep up the great work! You are REALLY making me want to go now! :upsidedow :flower3:

Disneygrl36

12-22-2008, 05:47 PM

The theater looks AMAZING! And how cool that you got to eat breakfast at the Soda Shop. Loving your report so far, keep it coming!
The theatre was amazing & really beautiful-it really did make you stop & think, what if they didn't save this.:confused3

Ha! A Jimmey Kimmel Drive-By!

Nice work!
Yeah, we were really lucky to see him. He is pretty cute in person too.

The night the Jonas Brothers were there was the day we had our tour of the studio. There was already a line outside the entrance to the outdoor stage.

And Uncle Frank is amazing. And funny. Did I mention how amazing he was?
I bet there was.....the guys that lead our tour told us it was NUTS & that some of the girls even fainted. Uncle Frank is hilarous. I am so glad we got to meet him. :thumbsup2

Great TR so far! (that rhymes!)

I love that you guys went to see Walt at the cemetary. What a beautiful gesture from you 2. :)

Adventure's by Disney looks so MUCH FUN! The whole thing and I love how they do little things for you guys like leave all those treats out! Wow! So exciting!!!!
Yes, the little extras that ABD gave us were really cool. ABD is AMAZING & we will be booking another one, I am sure.

It is a small world! I'm sorry you are sick now. I hope you feel better soon.

Great update. Love those Mickey waffles. So cute.
I know I love Mickey waffles too. We have a MM waffle iron, but don't seem to pull it out very often....we do always have them Christmas morning though so I get Mickey waffles soon. :mickeyjum Thanks for the concern....I hate having a cold!!!!!:sick: I am trying to rest, drink plenty of fluids etc.

wow some realy cool things so far, do you have to be a DVC member to go on this or can anyone do this adventures by disney
No Dan anyone can do Adventures by Disney. You should go check out the ABD portion of the Disney website. We did use DVC points to pay for one of us & cash for the other one so you can use DVC points to book the trips.

Mel,

I love the add-ons that your and your DH did before the ABD trip began. I actually got goosebumps reading when you went to see Walt's grave, creepy!

The theater looks amazing. What a wonderful purchase by Disney! :goodvibes

It looked like no one was in the Soda shop with you guys. Was it really that empty?

Keep up the great work! You are REALLY making me want to go now! :upsidedow :flower3:
The pre-tour adventure was alot of fun.......I got goosebumps several times this trip. I am glad everyone enjoyed reading about it so much.
The Soda shop was empty that night. It was around 7 or so & they close early so we were really the last ones in there eating ice cream.....can you imagine anything at DTD being like that?
Glad you are enjoying & if you have never been to Disneyland, you must go.

Disneygrl36

12-22-2008, 05:48 PM

No update tonight.....I promise one tomorrow though. Between this darn cold & some Christmas mischief for DH that I have been doing today, I am just too pooped.

Check back tomorrow for adventures with a frog............

travelmel

12-22-2008, 10:59 PM

Looking forward to it! popcorn::

I wish I had that Cinderella Waffle Maker.. that would be my new Xmas tradition, too! Maybe New Years.. LOL

lurkyloo

12-23-2008, 12:16 AM

Wow! How did I miss all these updates? I just love reading your report - partly because I get to hear about all the events leading up to when we met at DCA, and partly because it makes me realize how dang glamorous my life in Los Angeles is! :rotfl: And I loooove the peppermint ice cream at the Disney Soda Fountain - my favorite thing to get there is a peppermint milkshake!

We wandered around & explored the views. It was too early to get inside or see the Planetarium show.....so we will have to go back & do that some time. It really is a beautiful building & considering it was built in the 1920's it is very well preserved.

When you come back (cuz you have to come back!) definitely check out the inside. They just completed a 2 1/2- or 3-year renovation of the Observatory and dug out a huge space underneath that's filled with cool new exhibits! :thumbsup2

Disneygrl36

12-23-2008, 08:27 AM

Looking forward to it! popcorn::

I wish I had that Cinderella Waffle Maker.. that would be my new Xmas tradition, too! Maybe New Years.. LOL
More coming right up. I am such a sap for traditions!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! How did I miss all these updates? I just love reading your report - partly because I get to hear about all the events leading up to when we met at DCA, and partly because it makes me realize how dang glamorous my life in Los Angeles is! :rotfl: And I loooove the peppermint ice cream at the Disney Soda Fountain - my favorite thing to get there is a peppermint milkshake!

When you come back (cuz you have to come back!) definitely check out the inside. They just completed a 2 1/2- or 3-year renovation of the Observatory and dug out a huge space underneath that's filled with cool new exhibits! :thumbsup2
I am glad you are enjoying the report Carrie. It is very, very glamorous in LA. I must get back to explore more & maybe see some celebrities-besides Jimmy Kimmel, you & Patrick :rotfl:
That peppermint ice cream was to die for.....wish I could have them ship me some of it for Christmas dinner.......wouldn't that be a wonderful dessert to serve?
Yes, we do have to come back. I wasn't sure what Eric would think about CA & Disneyland, but he is soooo ready to go back too!!!! Maybe you & Patrick could be our tour guides next time & then we could really see how the locals do it LA style.:banana: :cool1: :banana: :cool1: :banana:

Disneygrl36

12-23-2008, 09:39 AM

So after leaving Jimmy Kimmel live, we headed towards Jim Henson studios via our very nice motor coach driven by the ever cheerful Don. He talked to us about old Hollywood some & played appropriate music like "Hooray for Hollywood".
We passed by some points of interest & I tried to get a few pictures through the windows of the bus.
That's the Chateau Marmont hotel where lots of stars have stayed & like to hang out. Lindsey Lohan even lives there. Why do you live in a hotel?:confused3
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4745.jpg
Kat Von D's tattoo parlor LA Ink as seen on the reality TV show which I have to confess I have watched a few too many times.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4755.jpg
The Comedy Store where lots of famous comedians got their start.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4749.jpg
The Whiskey A Go Go where Goldie Hawn got her start as a go go dancer.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4751.jpg
Proof that we were on Sunset Blvd
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4750.jpg
We passed lots of other interesting things as well like the Scientology Center, the Viper Room & lots of building that used to be cool things like the Hollywood Athletic Club where Walt Disney was a member.
Before long we pulled up to Jim Henson's studios. Diana said they used to be able to see it from far away because of the huge Kermit statue dressed as Charlie Chaplin, but he is being refurbished.
It is a very charming set of buildings & I wouldn't have thought of it as a working studio, but it is a hopping & busy place. They were having some kind of casting there that day so there were all these extra people around carrying scripts.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4757.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4758.jpg
P.S. I know someone who participates in Puppet Up now :banana: :cool1: & it is now on my list of have to go see it sometime things.:goodvibes

We gathered in the courtyard & just kind of soaked up the area abit before they split us into groups Minnie & Daisy to go off & experience different things. We were in the Minnie group with Diana as our guide.
We went to watch a video in the little comissary building first which kind of showed us how Jim Henson started out & showed some cute & hilarious muppets clips all the way from the show Jim Henson started out with, Sam & Friends where Kermit the Frog was born, all the way up through the Muppet Movies & Labyrinth.
I think it only fitting here to pay a little tribute to the man who made the Muppets possible. Did you know that the Muppet show was filmed in London at first because the networks here didn't see it's potential? :confused3
http://www.autoblog.com/media/2005/12/Jim-Henson.jpg
I read some great things about Jim Henson before this trip in anticipation of getting to see the studio, but my favorite was about his memorial service where a group of puppeteers sang "Just One Person" in their character voices & started out one by one scattered throughout the audience until they all ended up on stage together. This was said to inspire the director of the comedy "Love Actually" to incorporate this idea in the wedding scene in that movie where various members of the congregation get up & sing/play instruments to seranade the happy couple. Now I will never be able to watch that scene without thinking about Jim Henson.

Next we went out & Diana showed us around the studios.
If you don't know, this studio has tons of history. It was built in 1918 by Charlie Chaplin & he used it up until the 1950's.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4764.jpg
There are lots of cool touches left at the studios as a nod to his contributions. Red Skeleton also owned the studio for a time. A&M recording studio was here as well.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4795.jpg
This is the vault where Charlie Chaplin kept films & his famous Little Tramp shoes.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4786.jpg
A mold was taken of the original shoe/signature print which is in a museum somewhere now.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4789.jpg
This unassuming building is what used to be A&M recording studios but is now the Jim Henson recording studios. It is booked & used by lots of people in the recording industry. Diana said they had seen Justin Timberlake here on one tour. There were a lot of people around that I am sure I should have recognized, but alas I did not spot any celebrities-at least human ones.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4792.jpg
How did I get stuck up here?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4799.jpg
This cutie was outside of the building where we went to watch another video.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4763.jpg
This poster was in the small theatre where we watched the film. One of my favorite Muppet movies.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4774.jpg
The movie was hilarious. It starred Bobby & Samson telling us all about the studios & their history.
I found this picture of Bobby (the pig) & Samson (the moose/bull????)....
http://www.henson.com/images/alternative/tinseltown/header.jpg
Brian Henson actually puppeteered Samson for this film & it was made for ABD exclusively as they do not have tour groups in to the studios as it is usually closed to the public. I heard later from a very reliable source that the ABD dress rehearsal tour was there the day they were making the video & that the crew at Jim Henson's studios was so excited to have them there.:goodvibes It was a very funny video & at the end they get kicked out because Bobby goes nuts when he realizes all the famous people that have worked there. Too funny!!!!

We also were able to go into the soundstage since it wasn't currently being used.
Just a big empty box that can be made into anything.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4769.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4773.jpg

Continued in the next post...........

Disneygrl36

12-23-2008, 09:40 AM

We also went into the reception building where alot of the awards are kept that the studios has won.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4785.jpg
I found a very familiar face there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4775.jpg
And a beautiful Christmas tree underneath which lay something very interesting.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4776.jpg
Underneath the tree.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4779.jpg
Something else cute.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4784.jpg

Now after that we got the treat of all treats. We got to go to the creature shop where all the magic happens. We had to lock up our cameras at this point because there is top secret superduper new stuff in there.
We were met there by a puppeteer named Michael. There was lots of neat things to look at in there. The baby from Dinosaur was there-you know "Not the Mama", a dog from Snow Dogs, pigeons from the Producers, Bobby & Samson from the video we watched, fraggles & all sorts of cool puppets. Some of them are really old & falling apart because of the materials they are made out of so you can't really touch them now. Michael talked abit about the building that houses the Creature Shop now-it is an old barn where they used to build sets in Charlie Chaplins days. He showed us with a puppet & a set up camera & tv some of the basic principles of puppeteering. He picked Eric my DH & let him play with a puppet to see how they work. I loved watching him try to do it-he said he was making the most common mistake of newbies which was moving the upper part of the head/mouth too much which makes you loose the eyes-so you should use the lower face/mouth more than the upper so that the eyes stay more stable so your character is more believeable. He also showed us some computer puppetering as well with a dog done in the computer & a special rigging that the puppeteer can use & move the characters face around & make different expressions. It was fascinating watching the dogs face change based on what Michael was doing. We had time to ask him questions as well, but before we knew it our time was up in the Creature shop.
This is the Creature Shop building.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4800.jpg
And me with a new found friend outside the creature shop.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4802.jpg
Even the bathrooms have a Muppet touch-the signs outside to indicate which facility one should use.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4796.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4797.jpg
We were supposed to get to see Brian Henson's office, but he was there that day and using it. Can you imagine-how rude to be using his own office. :lmao:

Next we had lunch, which was catered by the studios. We had made our choices the day before from a set menu. I had chosen lentil soup, an Joe's salad which had grilled chicken, walnuts & olives. Eric had a salad & a cheeseburger. They also had yummy chocolate chip cookies for us. It was a nice lunch & we enjoyed chatting with our fellow adventurers as we ate under a tent on this beautiful California day.

After lunch, we got a visit from Michael & Sweetheart.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4806.jpg
He answered our questions & just had a good time interacting with us with Sweetheart.
Here is a bit of video of him talking with us. Some of it is pretty bright because the sun was right behind him.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_4807.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_4807.flv)
What he said right after I clicked off the video, was that each of the original muppets was worth 20 to 30,000$--WOW & that there are only a very few of each character made & as one gets too old to use for close up work, they are used as "stunt puppets" like Gonzo flying through the air & crash landing. Great stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a picture of one of the postcards that we received from our guides.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1338.jpg

It was a wonderful time at the Jim Henson Studios!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe all that we were able to see & I loved hearing about the history of the place. Charlie Chaplin's ghost is said to haunt the studios & I don't blame him because it seems like a great place to be.

As we were leaving I found this Hidden Mickey.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4810.jpg
Bye Charlie!!!!!!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4811.jpg
In the bus on the way to our next stop, they were playing music inspired by the places we had been & one of the songs happened to be the ma nam a na song from Sesame Street which I love & of course I had to sing along.

Up next.........a surprise destination-what could it be?????

Aburns8

12-23-2008, 09:54 AM

I totally missed Kermit!

Disneygrl36

12-23-2008, 10:19 AM

I totally missed Kermit!

Well, I would say how could you miss him he was huge, but there was so much to look at that I can see how you could miss it!!!!!!!!!!!

mommaU4

12-23-2008, 11:59 AM

Loved your date with a frog update!! :)

Jennifer48

12-23-2008, 12:00 PM

Why do you live in a hotel?:confused3 When you have oodles of money to buy a house :confused:

I read some great things about Jim Henson before this trip in anticipation of getting to see the studio, but my favorite was about his memorial service where a group of puppeteers sang "Just One Person" in their character voices & started out one by one scattered throughout the audience until they all ended up on stage together. This was said to inspire the director of the comedy "Love Actually" to incorporate this idea in the wedding scene in that movie where various members of the congregation get up & sing/play instruments to seranade the happy couple. Now I will never be able to watch that scene without thinking about Jim Henson. I :love: that movie! Thanks for sharing that. I'll prob think of Mr. Henson too. I've always had a small place in my heart for the Muppets. They are awesome.

Diana said they had seen Justin Timberlake here on one tour. OH...MY...GOSH I would have died. I :lovestruc :love: JT! That would have been wicked awesome!

We got to go to the creature shop where all the magic happens. We had to lock up our cameras at this point because there is top secret superduper new stuff in there. Do they literally take your cameras/phones and lock them up?

lurkyloo

12-23-2008, 01:11 PM

Diana said they had seen Justin Timberlake here on one tour.

Patrick saw J T-lake there too! He also saw Miley Cyrus there once, and the Jonas Brothers, and Kanye West, and that guy Randy Jackson from American Idol has an office at Henson and hangs around a lot. It's funny because Patrick doesn't know who most of these stars are and people around him freak out and have to explain to him why they're freaking out. :rotfl:

I also got a little thrill watching your video when Michael mentioned the invitation-only puppeteering classes that Henson does - that's the one Patrick teaches!

jacksparrowfan

12-23-2008, 02:30 PM

I'm enjoying the part on Michael. He was there for us. Our visit with him was one of my highlights on our trip! Looking forward to more reading!

Aburns8

12-23-2008, 03:40 PM

Well, I would say how could you miss him he was huge, but there was so much to look at that I can see how you could miss it!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw the big one (if I missed it I would have to be blind he is so big :rotfl: ). I missed the one in the reception area!

hack2112

12-23-2008, 03:55 PM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4795.jpg
I seem to recall a picture of me doing the same exact thing.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4806.jpg
AHHH!!!! MICHAEL HAS A MUSTACHE!!!!!!!! He is hilarious.

And yes, we were there when they were filming the video, so we never got to see it.

stacyz

12-23-2008, 06:53 PM

Great trip report so far! It's like doing the ABD tour again (well, almost). Henson Studios was the best - it was our tour that someone saw Justin Timberlake on. The time spent at Henson Studios is not long enough - what a cool place that would be to work at.

I'm looking foward to the rest of your trip report.

jns

12-23-2008, 07:16 PM

http://bestsmileys.com/christmas1/11.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/MMM120/micmin.jpg

:santa:

Have a great Christmas and a Very Happy New Year

Jackie and Michael and boys xx :santa:

Disneygrl36

12-24-2008, 09:23 AM

Loved your date with a frog update!! :)
Awww thanks Beth. I loved my date with the frog--just wished it was longer.

When you have oodles of money to buy a house :confused:
I :love: that movie! Thanks for sharing that. I'll prob think of Mr. Henson too. I've always had a small place in my heart for the Muppets. They are awesome.
OH...MY...GOSH I would have died. I :lovestruc :love: JT! That would have been wicked awesome!
Do they literally take your cameras/phones and lock them up?
Yes, they literally did make us lock our cameras etc in a box at the Jim Henson studios when we were headed to the creature shop. They said they usually lock them up other places too like when they take you backstage at Disneyland, but they learned they could trust us & didn't bother.

Patrick saw J T-lake there too! He also saw Miley Cyrus there once, and the Jonas Brothers, and Kanye West, and that guy Randy Jackson from American Idol has an office at Henson and hangs around a lot. It's funny because Patrick doesn't know who most of these stars are and people around him freak out and have to explain to him why they're freaking out. :rotfl:

I also got a little thrill watching your video when Michael mentioned the invitation-only puppeteering classes that Henson does - that's the one Patrick teaches!
I love that Patrick sees famous people & has to be told who they are.....so cute. I remembered you mentioning that class too. Michael was awesome & I really enjoyed listening to him answer all our questions.

I'm enjoying the part on Michael. He was there for us. Our visit with him was one of my highlights on our trip! Looking forward to more reading!
:welcome:. Glad you are here & reading. He was fascinating especially with Sweetheart.

I saw the big one (if I missed it I would have to be blind he is so big :rotfl: ). I missed the one in the reception area!
D'oh, there were so many Kermit's in the post, I didn't know which one you meant. Silly me..........I can blame it on the fuzzy head that the cold has given me.

I seem to recall a picture of me doing the same exact thing.

AHHH!!!! MICHAEL HAS A MUSTACHE!!!!!!!! He is hilarious.

And yes, we were there when they were filming the video, so we never got to see it.
Max, that's really cool that you got to see them filming the video. I would have loved to see the puppeteers at work.

Great trip report so far! It's like doing the ABD tour again (well, almost). Henson Studios was the best - it was our tour that someone saw Justin Timberlake on. The time spent at Henson Studios is not long enough - what a cool place that would be to work at.

I'm looking foward to the rest of your trip report.
Thanks Stacy & :welcome: Glad I could help you relive your memories. I agree that the time at the Henson Studios was not enough-but just remember it's better than anybody else has ever gotten which is none. :goodvibes I agree that it would be an awesome place to work.

http://bestsmileys.com/christmas1/11.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/MMM120/micmin.jpg

:santa:

Have a great Christmas and a Very Happy New Year

Jackie and Michael and boys xx :santa:
Thanks for the Christmas cheer Jackie....same to you guys.

I have a ton of cooking to do today for our family dinner tonight. If I have time I will be back later with an update, but most likely it will be Friday before I get one up.

Disneygrl36

12-24-2008, 09:26 AM

http://disney-clipart.com/christmas/Mickey/Christmas-Disney-Train.jpg
We had a wonderful time spending part of our holiday season at Disneyland. We hope your Christmas is filled with peace, joy & extra pixie dust!!!!!

Disneygrl36

12-26-2008, 10:54 AM

So when last we left our travelers, we were back on the bus & headed for a surprise. We were taken to Griffith Park where the LA Steamers were going to open Walt's barn up for us & give us a train ride on a miniature train like Walt had in his backyard. If you will remember, this is something I really wanted to see so we had taken a special trip on our own out there just to see the barn from the outside just in case we didn't get to go because it is opened by volunteers so Adventures by Disney isn't always able to have this experience for the tour.

Of course, the way this barn got to Griffith Park, is that Diane Disney Miller was able to talk the people that bought Walt & Lillian's property in Holmby Hills into not tearing it down & letting her get it moved to Griffith Park so that it could be enjoyed by generations to come. This was done in 1999. Walt's backyard railroad, the Carolwood Pacific, was a light in his life & something that he really enjoyed working on in his backyard & this barn was where he did alot of that work. The barn was built in 1950 & can be credited with being a place where many wonderful ideas for a little place called Disneyland were hatched-so many have called it the birthplace of Imagineering. Also of course, Walt wanted it to be the right scale so the doors appear larger than they are & there is even a sag in the roof & over the door to give the appearance of age & settling. The paint was made specially so it appeared more weathered as well & they were able to get the same landscape designer to come & landscape around the barn once it was moved. Thank goodness it was saved, because it is a gem & since the house is no longer there at least you can still see a part of what Walt Disney's home world looked like. Walt & Lillian even had a formal legal agreement about the train & the track as she knew if she didn't have things in writing he would take over the whole back yard & she would not be able to have any flowers & trees like she wanted. I think she was a real smart cookie.:rotfl:
Here is the plaque outside the barn from the dedication
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4868.jpg
This is a collage of pictures of that opening day with Diane Disney Miller.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4879.jpg
There we several members of the LA Steamers there to talk with us about the history of the barn, trains & Walt.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4821.jpg
We were able to go inside the barn & look at all the memoribilia in there. There were some amazing things.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4824.jpg
Things that Walt touched, worked on & built himself.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4827.jpg
His nametag as a charter member of the LA Steamers
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4828.jpg
I am standing beside an actual Carolwood Pacific car from the train here.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4857.jpg
This is the pot belly stove from the Lilly Belle. Walt's train was 1/8 scale just like the track/train that runs around his barn at Griffith Park now.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4861.jpg
The switch for running the train.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4862.jpg
This is his actual track that has been preserved.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4845.jpg
Gotta love this hat.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4837.jpg
Touches like this is what made this barn so special-you could really feel Walt's stamp all over it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4841.jpg
Eric in front of Walt's shaving mirror. He actually used to go down to the barn in the morning & shave.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4863.jpg
A great old photo of Walt & Lillian.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4864.jpg
Inside the barn they had some memoribilia from Ollie Johnston's train days as well.
I loved this because this was some of his drawing paper & pencils.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4851.jpg
This is Ward Kimball's Firehouse 5 Plus 2 hat used during a performance-besides being a top animator & train buff, he was a musician as well.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4853.jpg
This is a Disney Legends Statue tucked over into the corner-we would see a huge version of this at the studios the next day.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4856.jpg
They have also moved Ollie Johnston (one of Walt's 9 old men) train depot here as well & refurbished it. Ollie & Ward Kimball (another of the 9 old men) were involved in trains & helped Walt to get the train bug.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4878.jpg
Well, after exploring the barn, we were broken into groups & the Daisy group went first to ride the train. We were able to mill around some more & talk with the volunteers while they rode. They had a table set up with tshirts, hats, books & pins. I bought some 2 pins & this book called Walt's Happy Place-which is a children's book about Walt's railroad. I love the painting that is featured on the front of this book. Walt young & old smiling!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/000_0051.jpg
Eric & I really enjoyed talking with the volunteers who were passionate about the trains & Disney in general. I asked about Ollie's depot & how much we loved being able to see that as well. We were then treated to a story about Ollie's celebration of life service that this volunteer had personally attended. It gave me chill bumps to hear about Ollie & his last trip on board his train the Marie E that John Lasseter (yes that John Lasseter) has bought & refurbished. John made arrangements to take the Marie E to Disneyland & Ollie was able to drive it around Disneyland 3 times. The great thing about it is that this train had never made a full circuit before because it had been an out & back train in it's work life & in Ollie's back yard as well. Soooooo wonderful!!!!!!!!! I have since looked up several things about Ollie's service on the internet & have seen many wonderful pictures of that day & the smile on Ollie's face was priceless.
So we were quite content while the Daisy's were riding the train, but guess what? The train pooped out & we were not able to ride...the Daisy's broke the train (foreshadowing for future events). So they were able to at least bring the train around for us to have our picture taken like we got to ride.:lmao:
Eric & I on the train.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4881.jpg
It was a lovely visit & this was the first of many times on this trip where I will say that I could truly feel Walt Disney's presence!!!! It was wonderful to be inside the barn knowing all the hours he spent there. It was a great "surprise".
Here is a picture of the postcard of our whole group at the barn & the pins I bought.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1335.jpg
As we left, they gave us this cute picture of Donald & this really cool sticker.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/000_0053.jpg
Once back on the bus, the people that were going to Jimmy Kimmel live were given the information that they needed to meet each other in the lobby at 4:45pm to go over to the studio. The tickets were all under one name. We had opted not to do this, as we still had some areas of Hollywood we wanted to explore, but the ones who did go said it was great. They got to see Courtney Cox, Brian Austin Greene & musical guest Adele.
They also gave us our pin for the day since all of us would not be back together that day.
The pin was the theme of the day "Lights, Camera, Adventure" & it features Miss Daisy Duck. Diana said it was the only ABD pin with Daisy on it so it's extra special.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1354.jpg
We were all excited when we caught a glimpse of the Disney Studios where we would be going tomorrow on our way back to the hotel.

Continued in next post...............

Disneygrl36

12-26-2008, 11:57 AM

After we got back to the hotel, I called to set up our VIP tour at Grauman's Chinese theatre that we wanted to do so we could see inside it. It was around 4:15 & I was told just to go to the box office & that there would be a tour starting at 5:00. Perfect. So we relax a few minutes & then head over around 4:45 to look for a few more hand/foot prints we had missed only to be told at the box office that the last tour was at 4:30. I said but I just called.:confused3 Oh well, next time.
So we browsed around & found a few things we had overlooked before.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4902.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4903.jpg
We decided to head over to explore the Roosevelt Hotel which has alot of old Hollywood history & is a pretty cool place to hang out. The very first Academy Awards were held here. It has been in numerous films & is said to be haunted by Montgomery Clift & Marily Monroe. This was another suggestion by lurkyloo aka Carrie & it turned out to be another great one.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4906.jpg
Me on the steps that Shirley Temple is reported to have learned how to do a tap dance number from Bill "Boganles" Robinson in the 1935 film "The Little Colonel."
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4910.jpg
This is the dance if you want to see how she did after her lesson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCFYpWDmfM&feature=related
A pretty Christmas tree
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4912.jpg
In the cool/dark/ultra-hip lobby area
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4909.jpg
From the mezzanine level
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4915.jpg
Weird I know to take a photo of a bathroom, but I thought it was really pretty.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4931.jpg
In the outside pool area where famous people or nearly famous people like reality stars from The Hills are reported to hang out.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4917.jpg
Marilyn Monroe lived in a bungalo suite overlooking the pool right above the Tropicana bar.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4918.jpg
We looked everywhere for Marilyn Monroe's mirror which hung in her room & now is supposed to be haunted. We found photos of Marilyn but no mirror so I asked someone & it has been moved out of the public areas :sad2:. It is said that her image appears in the mirror sometimes & that you can experience a cold sensation in the area in front of it.
Here is a cool little video I found that shows the mirror & talks abit about the haunting.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=33372472
We then had dinner at 25 degrees which is a burger restaurant in the Roosevelt.
Eric's house beer at 25 degrees.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4923.jpg
It is decorated with rich red wallpaper, chandeliers & leather booths. Very cool.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4925.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4930.jpg
You can make your own burger creation for a long list of toppings & sauces.
We ordered a combo of onion rings & sweet potato fries-these were too die for.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4927.jpg
My huge burger that I could only finish a little over half of. It was delicious. I wasn't very adventerous but the Farm house cheddar from England that was on my burger was delicious. Eric had a taragon aiolo sauce & guyere cheese added to his & he really liked it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4928.jpg
It was another great suggestion from Carrie.:thumbsup2
After dinner we browsed Hollywood Blvd a little more.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4938.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4940.jpg
Details at the El Capitan....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4943.jpg
Grauman's at night.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4935.jpg
Characters hanging out on the Blvd....who knows what one is but the other is Marilyn Monroe complete with her white dress blowing up from the steam in the vents.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4950.jpg
Then we went to Hollywood & Highland. We browsed a few stores including the Virgin Mega Store & got a few chocolate treats to take back to the room. We stopped in the lobby bar & had a drink as well.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4951.jpg
I had a Star is Born & Eric had a glass of wine.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4953.jpg
It was nice & relaxing to just sit & chat about our full day of fun. We ended our day relaxing in the room & turned in early because we had a 7am meet time in the morning.

Up next..........Imagineering Magic & Walt's chili

BriarRosie

12-26-2008, 01:13 PM

I saw the big one (if I missed it I would have to be blind he is so big :rotfl: ). I missed the one in the reception area!

At least you didn't miss the big honkin' white tiger under the tree. :lmao:
I had a really bad Sigfriend and Roy joke to make, but I'm not going to say it here.

I really loved the Bobby and Samson movie, to get back to that Henson Studios post. I thought Bobby reminded me of Fred Willard in his speech and delivery. He kept messing up Charlie Chaplin's name, no matter how often Samson tried to correct him. :laughing:

And I am part of the Destructive Daisy group. We broke the train. It was quite funny because we were slowing down at the first bridge, and the conductor had to ask a few people to get off the train to lighten the load. Then a little further down the track, he asked a couple more people, so it turned into ABD Survivor. I was one of the lucky ones who stayed on, and we picked up the few "hitchhikers" who got kicked off as we circled back to the station. I guess the engine wasn't charged enough or something.

I was one of the people who went to Jimmy Kimmel, and I did have a great time. Although I could have done without the creepy little guy outside tapping me on the shoulder and saying, "Hi..." to me. I'm a freak magnet, I swear. At least the crazy mumbler I saw the previous day walked past us without incident. :scared:

Looks like Melanie and Eric had a great time at the Roosevelt. Oh, my dinner that night, should you care, was actually some good sushi at the restaurant at Hollywood and Highland.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday.

SoonerGirl

12-26-2008, 09:47 PM

Great updates Melanie! What a wonderful treat to get to visit Walt's barn. I could tell how much you enjoyed it by the big smile on your face in your photos! Sounds like it was a fabulous (and BUSY) day!

Disneygrl36

12-27-2008, 10:52 AM

At least you didn't miss the big honkin' white tiger under the tree. :lmao:
I had a really bad Sigfriend and Roy joke to make, but I'm not going to say it here.

I really loved the Bobby and Samson movie, to get back to that Henson Studios post. I thought Bobby reminded me of Fred Willard in his speech and delivery. He kept messing up Charlie Chaplin's name, no matter how often Samson tried to correct him. :laughing:

And I am part of the Destructive Daisy group. We broke the train. It was quite funny because we were slowing down at the first bridge, and the conductor had to ask a few people to get off the train to lighten the load. Then a little further down the track, he asked a couple more people, so it turned into ABD Survivor. I was one of the lucky ones who stayed on, and we picked up the few "hitchhikers" who got kicked off as we circled back to the station. I guess the engine wasn't charged enough or something.

I was one of the people who went to Jimmy Kimmel, and I did have a great time. Although I could have done without the creepy little guy outside tapping me on the shoulder and saying, "Hi..." to me. I'm a freak magnet, I swear. At least the crazy mumbler I saw the previous day walked past us without incident. :scared:

Looks like Melanie and Eric had a great time at the Roosevelt. Oh, my dinner that night, should you care, was actually some good sushi at the restaurant at Hollywood and Highland.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday.
Hi Lori :wave: I loved the Bobby & Samson movie. They were so funny. I keep meaning to go search You Tube for them but haven't yet.
Was the crazy mumbler you saw the little guy dressed up as Charlie Chaplin?
Glad you are here enjoying my trippie.

Great updates Melanie! What a wonderful treat to get to visit Walt's barn. I could tell how much you enjoyed it by the big smile on your face in your photos! Sounds like it was a fabulous (and BUSY) day!
Thanks. I am glad you can tell by my smile how much fun I was having. It was a great day & it was so cool to see all those things that Walt had actually used & touched. It was a very busy day as were all the days on this trip----this trip is not for the faint of heart/lazy vacationer.

More coming up.......

Disneygrl36

12-27-2008, 12:34 PM

So once again this was to be an early day. We were to meet at 7am at Twist for breakfast. We both woke up at 5am California time & were too excited to go back to sleep-just like in the commercials. So we talked, watched some TV & tried to relax to prepare ourselves for the busy day ahead.
We went down to our breakfast at Twist which was a very nice buffet breakfast. We were better rested than alot of our fellow travelers even with our early waking time, because they had gone to Jimmy Kimmel & then after that to see Bolt at the El Capitan for the last showing of the day. We had considered seeing that last 9:55pm show as well, but we were just too tired & decided to rest instead. After a nice breakfast, we went back up to our room for a final check to make sure we didn't forget anything. Our luggage had already been collected-we were told to just leave it in our room while we went to breakfast.
Around 8:15am we loaded on to the bus & headed for our destinations.
We saw this sign not far from the hotel--which was exciting because we would be heading to Disneyland that afternoon.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4955.jpg
Along the way we also passed a few cool things.
That's Warner Brothers Studio
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4957.jpg
NBC where we saw people already lined up to get into the Tonight Show with Jay Leno
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4960.jpg
We also passed the Walt Disney Studios which would be our 2nd destination today
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4965.jpg
As we got into Glendale, we started to see a few buildings with these Disney cast member name tags on them. This is the only way to identify these buildings as part of WDI or Walt Disney Imagineering.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4969.jpg
This unassuming building is the headquarter building for WDI. It is at 1401 Flower Drive in Glendale California. There is a big name tag with 1401 on it which you cannot see in this picture.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4970.jpg
Since we had to leave our cameras on the bus for our visit here & we had some time to kill while waiting to be let in, I asked if the guides would take our picture with the sign. This started a trend & everyone wanted their picture with the sign. This is one of the pictures that I am excited to get when we get our photopass info from ABD.
So soon our guide Imagineer Dave met us outside & lead us into the hallowed halls of Imagineering. As we walked in the door there was a big Sully there to greet us & as we walked down the hallways you could see tons of posters & artwork on the walls. It was very hard not to drag your feet as we moved along briskly just to soak up all the artwork. I remember seeing old posters for attractions at all the Disney parks around the world & even a grave yard with tombstones for attractions that have been retired like World of Motion, Skyway etc. We were taken into a room where there was a big screen so that as Dave talked to us about the history of Imagineering & how it got started he could show us pictures & video. I remember one photo in particular of Walt surrounded by his Imagineers & they were all dressed alike in white button down shirts & skinny black ties. Nothing like the Imagineers of today like Joe Rohde who express their creativity freely in their appearance & manner of dress.:lmao: Imagineering was known as WED enterprises (our word of the day) back then & was a totally different company formed by Walt outside of the Disney Studios. Walt stole artists from the Studios to make into Imagineers-people like Marc Davis & Herb Ryman. We saw footage of Herb Ryman talking about his weekend with Walt drawing the initial plans for Disneyland for Roy to take to show the bankers. Fascinating stuff. We also saw quite a bit of footage of Walt talking about the "Florida project" & how it would be different from California's Disneyland. We saw different projects that Imagineering had been responsible for over the years & found out that imagineering contains something over 160 different disciplines. Dave talked about taking a project from concept to completion using Expedition Everest as an example & we got to see quite a bit of the concept art & hear the Imagineers talk about the process of doing research to make the STORY-which is the foundation of everything they do at Imagineering-come to life. He spent quite a bit of time talking about the evolution of Audio Animatronics that all started with a tiny bird in a cage that Walt found on his travels & had wound up with the newest & latest projects like Lucky the Dinosaur & the new Muppet Lab with Beaker & Bunson Honeydew that can move around & interact with guests in a new way. He was showing us video of that & then said something to the effect of well he can show you himself "Come on our Lucky." And out walked Lucky the Dinosaur who weighs in at 450lbs, is 9 feet tall & 12 feet long. I was amazed as I never got to see him when he was out & about in the parks. We were able to all gather around while Lucky signed a picture for one in our group-his signature is a 4 leaf clover of course. Then each family group got to go up & meet Lucky. It was amazing to be up close to him & see how expressive his eyes could be. He makes different sounds based on how he is feeling. He almost purrs when you touch him & can make cute little sounds that make it almost feel like he is talking to you. He feels soft to the touch as well which surprised me. The guides were able to take our picture with Lucky & here is a photo of our picture postcard that was left in our room later in the week. It also has a photo taken in the sculputing room at WDI & the exclusive WDI pins I bought.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1336.jpg

After that Lucky was getting tired-he is millions of years old after all, so we told him goodbye. They broke us up into our Daisy & Minnie groups. We went to a soundstage next & an Imagineer named Steve talked to us about the use of sound in attractions. We got to listen to a binaural recording that was done by using a dummy head that replicates a real human head with sinus cavities & things that affect the transmission of sound. It was about a new guy on the job's first day at a studio. It was really cool to hear all the different things like the haircut where it really felt like things were tickling the back of your neck & it was all just accomplished with sound. There was a hilarous photo on the wall of the dummy head in a field with real people doing a battle reenactment.

Next we were taken to an area to wait for Dave again & there was a big painting on the floor that was like the Rabbit hole that Alice fell down. It was a really cool piece of art & I was wondering what it was doing on the floor. When Dave came to meet us, he told us that it was for a new photopass idea they are working on where you can have a little device & take your own photos in the parks. So he picked me to demonstrate it & had me go stand on the painting & then told me to do something crazy-which I did & looked very ridiculous I am sure. The camera takes a series of photos & then you can view & buy them on-line at home. Pretty cool-it looked like I was falling down the rabbit hole.

Then, Dave took us into the Sculpture room that is like a storage area for all sorts of things. As you looked around the room there were some amazing things to see. Dave showed us a very small maquette (which is a small sculpture used to visualize and test shapes and ideas without incurring the cost and effort of producing a full scale product) of the Tramp.
Here is a photo I found of a maquette of Mater to show the small scale that maquettes start out as.
http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:TUaTm6KmA2V-HM:http://www.dlrpmagic.com/guides/15thanniversary/carsracerally/imagineering/model_2.jpg
That small maquette had been made into a larger sculpture maybe about 2 or 3 feet tall which was more detailed & just the way they wanted it to be. This was then scanned into a computer & could be hooked into a machine that would then break it down into pieces for the structure to built using rebar that the computer can bend & shape to form the structure which they can then turn into the huge sculpture of Tramp at the Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World.
http://albums.mouseplanet.com/WDWPopCenturyProcessed/50s_tramp.jpgPhoto borrowed from the Internet.
Dave then showed us a head & asked us to guess who it was. I guessed Johnny Depp & I was right. It was done by taking an exact mold of Johnny's head. This was of course used to make the Captain Jack Sparrow Audio Animatronics that have been added into Pirates of the Caribbean at both Disneyland & Walt Disney World. This AA is the new genertation named A100's. This lead us to a demonstartion of new generation AA's using a clear plastic model that is a lifesize human character named Joe Cocker (because the Imagineer that made him really liked Joe Cocker the musician). You can see Joe's working parts. There are also 3 heads that are Joe's back up singers. Dave went behind a curtain just like the wizard in the Wizard of Oz & Joe & the back up heads came to life & performed the song "Doin' All Right" for us. It was amazing to watch how life like his movements down to the wiggling of his fingers in time to the music were. Really cool & I think I may have even danced along. Next we talked about the Snow White marble statues that took up a prominent spot in the room. These are the originals that stood in Snow White's Grotto at Disneyland for years. He told us that the story we have heard for all these years was not true but a pretty story manufactured by John Hench to cover up a mistake. They did not know the real story either until after John died & they found a folder in his desk about the statues. Seems they were never a gift, but something Walt wanted to do at the park to honor Snow White since it was the feature that gave the company such a great success. They were ordered & the measurements were wrong so that Snow White was the same size as the dwarfs & animals. John Hench contacted the sculpture in Italy & found out it would cost $2,000 to redo Snow White so they decided that was too much so they just decided to use forced perspective instead by placing Snow White at the top & the dwarfs down levels. This just goes to show you how Disney myths are born. Great story. The other unique thing we found out is that they decided to take them out of the park because they were showing signs of wear being out in the elements. They wanted to protect them so they were packed up & put in storage, but Snow White was broken in shipping. So trying to protect them turned out to harm them worse than if they had left them where they were standing at the parks. They finally decided to bring them to Imagineering & let them at least be enjoyed there instead of in a box somewhere. You can see the break marks on Snow White's arms but they have been able to put her back together pretty nicely. It was fascinating to be in this room surrounded by all this cool stuff. I remember seeing lots of heads of Presidents including George W Bush, a maquette of the Yeti for Expedition Everest, Ham from the Kitchen Cabaret from back in the day at EPCOT, Julie Andrews head for the Mary Poppins segment in the Great Movie Ride, small world doll head, hitchhiking ghosts maquette & busts from the Haunted Mansion that sing Grim, Grinning ghosts. I could have spent hours in there looking around. But alas, it was time to move along so we could go shopping at their exclusive store Mickey's of Glendales.

As we exited Imagineering we went down a corridor that was John Hench's Imagineer art graffiti corridor where lots of Imagineers had done paintings of Mickey Mouse & dedicated them to John. We saw some amazing art & I was wishing I had my camera to capture the originality of these true artists.
We exited into a courtyard area that had tables with umbrellas. To our left was a comissary area & in front of us was the store. They had some old ride vehicles out there which was cool to see-a Skyway cab, an Autopia car, a peoplemover car. We were given about 40 minutes to shop & a coupon each for 40% off one item. This store called Mickey's of Glendales has alot of exclusive Imagineering merchandise that you cannot get anywhere else. We tried to control ourselves & only buy things that we couldn't get elsewhere. They had lots of apparel, artwork, pins, books. It was pretty easy for us to narrow it down to what we wanted. This was the most shopping we did this trip-more on that later. I am going to include pictures of what we bought because in the past when reading people's trip reports about this shopping excursion I was always curious about what kind of stuff they had at this store.
We bought Eric a polo shirt & a long sleeve t shirt. I got 2 t shirts & a sweater.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6393.jpg
Eric bought a large leather portolio & I got a smaller one that I am going to use for a journal. I got a pen & a name tag holder. We bought a John Hench art magnet & 2 pins-one with Snow White that looked like an ID badge & one with Tink & the WED letters.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6385.jpg
We also bought a piece of art that is Sorcerer Mickey who is the symbol for Imagineering & then pins that spell it out. Each pin is fashioned after a different character.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6391.jpg
After our shopping spree, we went into the comissary to use the facilities-it was really cute in there too!!!!
We then got back on the bus to head to the studios. Ever wonderful our guides had water, lemonade & snacks for us once back on the bus.

Up next...........Walt's chili

SoonerGirl

12-27-2008, 04:29 PM

VBsHustla

12-27-2008, 09:43 PM

Wow! What a cool trip. :goodvibes It all sounds awesome, and I loved the pictures. I also enjoyed the Jonas Brothers anecdote. :cool:

CangriChika

12-28-2008, 12:39 AM

Hey Melanie!!!

It's Sakina,
Hope all is well..I heard that you wrote trip reports, and I didn't really remember what site it was on, so I hopped on google and low and behold I found you!! It's great reading your trip report (as if I wasn't there to experience it as it ;) ) but it's just something that's so memorable and unforgettable you cant help but WANT to relive!

You know the funniest thing, I have the same exact picture of that SAME billboard from when we were leaving Hollywood!!

>> this is where my picture was going to be, before I got denied since I haven't made >10 posts...grr <<

Looking forward to reading ((and reliving)) the rest of the trip!!

Oh! I'll stick around and promise not to break anything like the server or something, since apparently Daisy's break everything :lmao:

Aburns8

12-28-2008, 01:15 PM

Whoo hoo! Sakina has joined in! :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

BriarRosie

12-28-2008, 04:02 PM

Woohoo! Sakina found us!
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

I had Sakina in front of me taking photos from our bus, yet I didn't know Melanie was doing the same thing behind me. :rotfl2:

CangriChika

12-28-2008, 05:43 PM

what can you say!
we were just being a bunch of tourist! :rolleyes:

yay to finding the treasure (apparently this site) yay!!!

speaking of things to be found, that pirate never found && brought us that barrel of rum....:headache:

Aburns8

12-28-2008, 06:33 PM

You're right, we never got our rum! :confused3 :confused3

Disneygrl36

12-28-2008, 06:35 PM

You are SO making me want to take this trip! I love the artwork that you bought - those pins are too cool!

I wish a trip like this would interest my DH, but I don't call him the Disney Grump for nothin' :laughing: Maybe when my oldest DS gets a little bit older he would like to go with me.............
It really is a great trip. I cannot recommend it highly enough. We had two mother/daughters & a mother/son. I think it would be a great trip to take with your child if they are a true Disney lover.

Wow! What a cool trip. :goodvibes It all sounds awesome, and I loved the pictures. I also enjoyed the Jonas Brothers anecdote. :cool:
:welcome: Glad you are enjoying it. We had lots of cool little anecdotes like that.

Hey Melanie!!!

It's Sakina,
Hope all is well..I heard that you wrote trip reports, and I didn't really remember what site it was on, so I hopped on google and low and behold I found you!! It's great reading your trip report (as if I wasn't there to experience it as it ;) ) but it's just something that's so memorable and unforgettable you cant help but WANT to relive!

You know the funniest thing, I have the same exact picture of that SAME billboard from when we were leaving Hollywood!!

>> this is where my picture was going to be, before I got denied since I haven't made >10 posts...grr <<

Looking forward to reading ((and reliving)) the rest of the trip!!

Oh! I'll stick around and promise not to break anything like the server or something, since apparently Daisy's break everything :lmao:
Hey Sakina!!!!!!!!!!!! :welcome: & so glad you found me. Google is a magical thing.:worship: Trip reports are a great way to relive the fun we had & I am having a great time writing this one. Keep posting & then you can add pictures to my trip report.
Yes, please don't break anything..............you silly Daisy you!!!!!!!!! :lmao:

Whoo hoo! Sakina has joined in! :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:
Woo hoo.......the reunion thread. :banana: :dance3: :banana:

Woohoo! Sakina found us!
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

I had Sakina in front of me taking photos from our bus, yet I didn't know Melanie was doing the same thing behind me. :rotfl2:
Yes, us crazy photo takers......snapping away. I am picture crazy. Wonder which one of us took the most out of all of us on the trip?

what can you say!
we were just being a bunch of tourist! :rolleyes:

yay to finding the treasure (apparently this site) yay!!!

speaking of things to be found, that pirate never found && brought us that barrel of rum....:headache:
hehehehehe no rum but plenty of wine :drinking1

I promise my Walt's chili update will be up tomorrow.

We went this afternoon to see my favorite non-Disney movie of all time at the Tennessee Theatre. Want to see some pictures of it???????????
If so I will include a little mini-report within a report. That makes 2 times we have been there to see a movie since we got back & I cannot help but feeling the El Cap vibe while we are there.

Disneygrl36

12-28-2008, 06:38 PM

You're right, we never got our rum! :confused3 :confused3

Why is the rum gone???????????:confused3 pirate:

CangriChika

12-28-2008, 07:28 PM

Aburns8

12-28-2008, 09:43 PM

Hey I am ready for the reunion trip. We should do the tours there as well. :rotfl: :rotfl:

prettyprincessbelle

12-28-2008, 10:24 PM

Wow, the Imagineering part looks amazing! That pretty much seals the deal that I NEED to take this ABD trip. NEED TO!

Can't wait for more!

CangriChika

12-28-2008, 11:31 PM

Hey I am ready for the reunion trip. We should do the tours there as well. :rotfl: :rotfl:

I'm absolutely qualified to be a tour guide...:cloud9:
i wish!
but I'm pretty darn close!

I can't get you backstage, but I can tell you all the useless knowledge you'd ever want to know!!

travelmel

12-29-2008, 01:39 AM

Hey woman!

I've been outta town for a couple days and just got caught up :lovestruc

Great updates! I love the video's and extras you add it is really adds extra umphta to an already packed TR. :goodvibes

I really liked that cute pic of Donald on the train. We used to get to ride a train like that all the time in the small town where I went to college. It's amazing what kind of fun you can have when you look for it.
Train Mountain. Chiloquin, OR
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/2008-6KlamathFalls175.jpg

I love seeing your happy face everywhere. The tour when you got to see all the great nostalgic buildings near Sunset Blvd looked really fun, too!

Will we get to see the pics of you falling down the rabbit hole?

Jennifer48

12-29-2008, 08:33 AM

Melanie,

You're TR is so detailed, I feel like I'm on the tour with you even without the pictures! Thanks for remembering all that information to share with us that haven't done the tour, I love it!

Keep up the great work :goodvibes

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 09:45 AM

never trust a pirate!

and you should defiantly include a mini post of the movie in the Tennessee Theatre. Where is that anyway (as in where in Tenn, because I have been to the state but I don't ever remember seeing it...hmm):confused:

since this is the reunion thread, whens the reunion trip??
:cough: orlando :cough: :rolleyes1
I will work on a post about the Tennessee Theatre after I get my next one up. It is in Knoxville Sakina!!!!
Orlando would sure be closer for a reunion tour.

Hey I am ready for the reunion trip. We should do the tours there as well. :rotfl: :rotfl:
Yeah, we could do all the behind the scenes tours & make up our own Adventures by Disney.:cool1:

Wow, the Imagineering part looks amazing! That pretty much seals the deal that I NEED to take this ABD trip. NEED TO!

Can't wait for more!
Glad you liked it. Imagineering was awesome!!!!!!!!!! There are so many things to come that will seal the deal even better I bet.

I'm absolutely qualified to be a tour guide...:cloud9:
i wish!
but I'm pretty darn close!

I can't get you backstage, but I can tell you all the useless knowledge you'd ever want to know!!
Oh what we could all do with the space in our brains filled up with useless knowledge. :goodvibes I have lots of it too!!!!

Hey woman!

I've been outta town for a couple days and just got caught up :lovestruc

Great updates! I love the video's and extras you add it is really adds extra umphta to an already packed TR. :goodvibes

I really liked that cute pic of Donald on the train. We used to get to ride a train like that all the time in the small town where I went to college. It's amazing what kind of fun you can have when you look for it.
Train Mountain. Chiloquin, OR
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/2008-6KlamathFalls175.jpg

I love seeing your happy face everywhere. The tour when you got to see all the great nostalgic buildings near Sunset Blvd looked really fun, too!

Will we get to see the pics of you falling down the rabbit hole?
Hey Melissa. Glad to have you back. I am glad you are liking my extra's. I think that makes it more fun & gives more information. What a cute train. I love the little things in life that make us happy.
Alas no pictures of me falling down the rabbit hole as that was in Imagineering & we had no cameras allowed. I don't think the guide took a picture of it BUT we still don't have our photopass info yet, so maybe I will be surprised.

Melanie,

You're TR is so detailed, I feel like I'm on the tour with you even without the pictures! Thanks for remembering all that information to share with us that haven't done the tour, I love it!

Keep up the great work :goodvibes
Thanks Jenn. I wanted to make it really detailed for you guys especially in places where cameras weren't allowed. I like looking at lots of pictures in trip reports, so I was hoping that I could keep it not too boring with it being a bunch of words.

wendylady36

12-29-2008, 10:02 AM

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 11:02 AM

Last we left our adventurers, we were on a bus headed for Walt Disney Studios. We arrived pretty quickly & were given a ticket for lunch at the Commissary & off we headed. Following the ABD sign & our wonderful guide Diana of course to point us in the right direction.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4973.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4978.jpg
We could have 1 entree, 1 side, 1 drink & 1 dessert. The commissary is like a food court.
They had several different sections you could choose from, but Eric & I had already decided that since Walt was so fond of chili & they always had it here for him that this would be our lunch. So we found the salad & soup section & found this sign.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4979.jpg
There was a cold sandwich section, a grill, a Panda express......just lots to choose from and it was BUSY!!!!!!!! We got our food & then headed to a table to enjoy our lunch. We looked all around us for people we might recognize, but alas we didn't see anyone famous, just alot of really cool people with Disney nametags that have the jobs we all dream of every day. Lunch was great!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4981.jpg
Here are some old pictures in the commissary.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5065.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4983.jpg
They even have cute stuff in the bathroom.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4984.jpg
We had a few minutes left to shop at the store across the street.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4977.jpg
So we popped over there & I got a couple of Disney Studios pins that you cannot get elsewhere & a magnet.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6387.jpg
The pins were on the left side of the store & the right side of the store was more like a regular Disney store.

After our quick shopping spree, we met in front of the Mickey Mouse topiary which we found out was donated to the Studio from Walt Disney World for Mickey Mouse's 60th birthday in 1988.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4975.jpg
Looking around there were 3 buildings that Walt had brought over from the old Hyperion studios.
This is the oldest building.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4976.jpg
The other 2 are the building that houses the store & this building.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4985.jpg
As we were standing in this area, I saw these very HEALTHY squirrels playing around. They were so cute & would come right up to you to see if you had anything for them-even though there were signs everywhere that said Do Not Feed the Squirels. We heard from 2 ladies that worked there that they see nuts spread across the grass for them regularly.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4986.jpg
Also, of note was St Jospeh's Hospital which was visible right across the street from the Studio. This is where Walt Disney died. I think it's touching in a way that the Studio was so close to where he spent his last days.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4974.jpg

Next we walked over to an area called Pluto's corner.
As we walked, I couldn't help feeling like I was stepping back in time. This place really does look like a college campus instead of a big time movie studio.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5054.jpg
At Pluto's corner, there is a fire hydrant & 3 paw prints-not four bet you can guess why.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4996.jpg
They did this to honor Pluto for a birthday, but I cannot remember which.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4999.jpg
This is also the area where the famous sign with Mickey & Dopey is. This was actually a movie prop made for "The Reluctant Dragon" but they liked it so much they kept it. This movie was a live action/animation combo that heavily featured the Walt Disney Studio's lot as a backdrop for the story.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4998.jpg
We went over to the area between the theatre & the old Animation building.
Diana talked to us about the Old Legends Plaza where people famous in Disney history left their hand prints & signatures.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5003.jpg
This was later more formalized in the new Legends Plaza, but this older one was very charming.
Here are some of my favorites-Some of Walt's 9 Old Men
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5001.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5007.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5009.jpg
Mary Poppins & Peter Ellenshaw a wonderful painter who was responsible for all those beautiful backgrounds from Mary Poppins.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5002.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5008.jpg
And who could forget Miss Price from Bedknobs & Broomsticks more lately known as Ms Potts
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5006.jpg

Continued in next post.....

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 11:08 AM

Next we were able to walk through the old Animation building-Animation has a brand new building so this is no longer the spot where the magic takes place, but this building has so much history as all our favorite Disney classics were animated right here.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5000.jpg
I found this directory interesting.....Marty Skylar's office is in here!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5011.jpg
They had a nice etching of Walt.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5010.jpg
And this plaque about Animation.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5012.jpg
Along the corridor were priceless examples of all the wonderful work done here over the years.
An example of rough & then cleaned up animation.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5015.jpg
An example of the front & back of a cel.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5022.jpg
Artwork from Cinderella
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5018.jpg
What I looked like falling down the Rabbit hole........if I was as cute as Alice
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5019.jpg
The Ballroom sequence from Beauty & the Beast
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5024.jpg
I could have stayed in this hallway for hours & I will have to admit that this was one of the only times where I felt really rushed.
They had this great homage to Steamboat Willie on the floor.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5017.jpg
we found out there were tunnels between this building & others so that the freshly painted cels could be protected from the weather.
Walt Disney's office was in the Animation buildings & it was in that right upper corner.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5027.jpg
Next we wound up in Legends Plaza & saw the Team Disney Building which gives a special tribute to Snow White by having the dwarfs holding up the building because that movie gave them the money to fund the new studios.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5025.jpg
The famous water tower
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5029.jpg
This building is part of the studios as well & is cute-but I am not sure what it is used for.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5026.jpg
In this plaza area, you can get up close & personal with the Partners Statue & also the statue of Minnie & Roy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5053.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5033.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5036.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5037.jpg

Here is where you can find the plaques with handprints of people that have been named Disney Legends & given the Disney Legend statue to honor their contribution to Disney history.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5050.jpg
Richard & Robert Sherman who wrote so much wonderful Disney music including "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins which was Walt's favorite.
Me trying my hands in Frank Thomas' hands--now if only a little of his artistic talent could have rubbed off on me.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5042.jpg
Bill Justice whom I had met as a child & who drew my picture of Snow White that I treasure.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5034.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_2943-2.jpg
It is fascinating to see all the different disciplines represented-artists, actors, musicians & even business people. Really cool.
This is the Legends Statue. The individual parts stand for different things.
The spiral stands for imagination, the power of an idea.
The hand holds the gifts of skill, discipline and craftsmanship.
The wand and the star represent magic: the spark that is ignited when imagination and skill combine to create a new idea.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5044.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5043.jpg
I found a cute little hidden Gus-Gus here thanks to tips from Sleepless Knight.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5046.jpg

Getting close to my image limit again......continued again in next post

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 11:37 AM

So after our time in Legend's Plaza, we walked back up towards the commissary..I couldn't help but think to myself Walt Disney actually walked here & this was another of those places where I could feel his spirit. It is just a beautiful place & it has to be an inspiring place to work.

We were met by a nice lady who showed us around the soundstages.
We went inside Soundstage #4 where a show called Eli Stone was being filmed. It was very cool to go inside a working soundstage & see the sets. This is a 2 story set of an attorney's office & it looked very realistic down to sticky pads & personal photos on the desks. We could not take pictures in there as it was set up for an actual production.
We also went inside Soundstage #2 which is very famous & was the Features soundstage.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5055.jpg
Of particular interest to me as a huge Mary Poppins fan, this is where that was filmed. Cherry Tree Lane was built right inside there by Tony Walton. Did you know that he was Julie Andrews husband at the time & was a brilliant set decorator which Walt found out when Julie came out to California to discuss Mary Poppins & Walt hired him? When Julie Andrews came back to film scenes for Princess Diaries here, they dedicated the Soundstage to her.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5064.jpg
Soundstage 2 was also where all the Pirates movies were filmed. There was new insulation in there which was white instead of faded & that was due to some of the crew that were working on sculpting on the set forgot to use flame retardant glue & the set caught fire & burned up some of that area including insulation & roof trusses.
It was empty now & getting ready to be set up to film scenes for a new Sandra Bullock movie.
They only have the 4 soundstages so they do only their own productions there whereas some of the other studios have such huge lots with many soundstages that they are able to rent them out to other studios.
Saw this along the way & thought it was really funny. They had bicycles all over the lot for people to use, but this one was special.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5059.jpg

That finished our tour of the studios. It was like walking in history. I remember standing outside on the sidewalk back in 2001 & so wanting to go in. Now I had been there & walked down the streets & in the buildings where Walt & his team had created so much magic. It felt wonderful to have been somewhere where I had always dreamed of going!!!!!!

Now it was time to head back on the bus......but not before me getting Eric to beg for another bathroom break. That would be my only complaint of the touring set up--not enough time out for necessities :teeth:. After being granted our break, we headed back to the bus to go to Disneyland. They played Disney music on the way there & most people just relaxed as we had been going strong since meeting at 7am.
We passed this scene of downtown LA on the way. Thank goodness we asked for the break, as it took us over an hour in traffic to get there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5067.jpg
Up next............Hello Disneyland!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 02:06 PM

Thank you for sharing your trip with us! It all looks so awesome, and I so cannot wait for the day that I get to go...if I ever get that chance! :rotfl: It looks like you got to take very special memories home with you! :goodvibes
Thanks Wendy!!!! Glad to still have you around. I have memories of this trip that will last me a lifetime.

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 02:16 PM

Here's the mini update on the Tennessee Theatre. It was built in 1928 in Knoxville Tennessee. Like the El Capitan it sat empty for awhile in the 1970's
but has been restored in grand fashion in the 2000's. It is on the national register of historic places & has been named the official state theatre of Tennessee. It is a wonderful place to see a film or a live production.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6474.jpg

Inside in the main lobby
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6478.jpg

From the balcony
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6481.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6483.jpg

The mighty Wurtlizer organ
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6493.jpg

Us happy to be at the Tennessee
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6501.jpg

And the reason we were there.....my favorite non-Disney movie
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6496.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6497.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6499.jpg

jacksparrowfan

12-29-2008, 02:17 PM

[QUOTE=Disneygrl36;29356533]Last we left our adventurers, we were on a bus headed for Walt Disney Studios. We arrived pretty quickly & were given a ticket for lunch at the Commissary & off we headed. Following the ABD sign & our wonderful guide Diana of course to point us in the right direction.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_4973.jpg

Yay, Diana!!! She is so wonderful! :)

Ok, where was the hidden Gus-Gus? I will have to look for it next time.

MA pigletfan

12-29-2008, 02:32 PM

HOLY MOLEY GUACAMOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! :) Melanie..thank you so much ( again ) for sharing..i can't believe Walt's Barn..I NEED to go there someday...what an amazing trip so far! :)

beansf

12-29-2008, 04:11 PM

I can't wait to read the Disneyland portion of your trip report. Stupid L.A. traffic - always getting in the way!

Disneygrl36

12-29-2008, 04:39 PM

prettyprincessbelle

12-29-2008, 07:52 PM

jacksparrowfan

12-29-2008, 10:30 PM

Hi Melanie!

What did you think of Walts chili? Good? Spicy? It was crazy busy for us too, and we were running late, so we had to kind of hurry to eat.

I almost ran into Marty Sklar there. He had his tray and was grabbing something in the middle of the room. I sort of stood there in awe while he walked by me. Silly me!

Thank you for the info on Gus-Gus! On my list, along with chili for next time.

travelmel

12-30-2008, 12:59 AM

Cute little Gus-Gus!

I know you must have been in 7th Heaven there in that historical place. Congrats on a wonderful day.

Jennifer48

12-30-2008, 08:25 AM

So we popped over there & I got a couple of Disney Studios pins that you cannot get elsewhere & a magnet.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6387.jpg
The pins were on the left side of the store & the right side of the store was more like a regular Disney store. Is that Mary Poppins? So cool! I have to take a picture of the pin I bought this month at WDW. Its Mickey and Minnie dressed up as Mary Poppins and Bert! So fun. :goodvibes

Here are some of my favorites-Some of Walt's 9 Old Men
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5007.jpg
Does Ward have 6 fingers on each hand?! Or is it early and I'm seeing things?? :confused:

The Sound of Music is my favorite non-Disney movie too! I love Julie Andrews :flower3:

Disneygrl36

12-30-2008, 09:09 AM

YAY! Amazing amazing amazing!!!!!! Did I say amazing? AMAZING!

Yeah, so Sound of Music is my favorite Non-Disney movie too.

I was just watching some thing on TCM about Disney live action movies and the Sherman brothers were on talking about how much Walt loved "Feed the Birds". I think just Richard was on, I don't remember Robert talking, I need to go back and re-watch it.

But anyways, wonderful! I just love love love this TR!
I saw that special on TCM too. I wish I had thought to tape it as we had to leave & miss the last 30 minutes to get ready to go see Sound of Music.

Hi Melanie!

What did you think of Walts chili? Good? Spicy? It was crazy busy for us too, and we were running late, so we had to kind of hurry to eat.

I almost ran into Marty Sklar there. He had his tray and was grabbing something in the middle of the room. I sort of stood there in awe while he walked by me. Silly me!

Thank you for the info on Gus-Gus! On my list, along with chili for next time.
I knew someone saw Marty Skylar but I couldn't remember who. Lucky you!!!!
I liked the chili-not too spicy & a good amount of beans & meat. The salad bar was great too!!!!
I might have to send you some of my unaswered questions to ask when it gets closer to the time for you to go.

Cute little Gus-Gus!

I know you must have been in 7th Heaven there in that historical place. Congrats on a wonderful day.
I was on :cloud9: It was an amazing day!!!!

Is that Mary Poppins? So cool! I have to take a picture of the pin I bought this month at WDW. Its Mickey and Minnie dressed up as Mary Poppins and Bert! So fun. :goodvibes

Does Ward have 6 fingers on each hand?! Or is it early and I'm seeing things?? :confused:

The Sound of Music is my favorite non-Disney movie too! I love Julie Andrews :flower3:
That is Mary Poppins. Sorry that pic is so fuzzy. It is her with a sign that says Stage 2 where the movie was filmed. I have decided pins are hard to take good pictures of. Your pin sounds really cute.
I don't think Ward Kimball has 6 fingers, my guess is he was being funny like Ward seemed to like to be.
You can see in this picture that he did the same thing-but I think it is more obvious here that he is adding a finger.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5041.jpg
I :love: the Sound of Music & Julie Andrews!!!!!!!!! Did you know I got to see Julie in Atlanta this past summer. She was doing a tour called Julie Andrews: the Gift of Music. It was an amazing evening!!!!!!!!

Disneygrl36

12-30-2008, 09:51 AM

So after driving through alot of traffic, we finally arrived at our destination-Disney's Grand Californian.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5070.jpg
We all gathered in the lobby (which is amazing) & the girls had someone come over from the desk who gave us all our packets & tickets. It was a very quick & efficient check-in process. We asked about being able to stay in our same room & not have to move for our 2 extra days. They said it shouldn't be a problem & we would just have to sign a new registartion card & get new keys on Sunday. We headed out to check out our room.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5145.jpg
We didn't get a king sized bed here either. Oh well no big deal.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5071.jpg
The vanity area
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5078.jpg
The toiletries
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5087.jpg
The cutest shower curtain eva!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5079.jpg
Followed by the most adorable do not disturb sign eva!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5085.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5086.jpg
The balcony
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5074.jpg
And it's funny because about that time our fellow adventurer's started coming out on their balconies too & we are all out there waving to each other.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5076.jpg
The view
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5075.jpg
So not very long after we finished exploring, our luggage was delivered. We unpacked & rested a bit before getting cleaned up for dinner.
We met in the lobby at 5pm to go over to the Disneyland hotel for our welcome reception.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5088.jpg
Before we left, we were met in the lobby by Liz a 2008 Disneyland ambassador who welcomed us to the Disneyland resort. She told us that Walt Disney started the program when he realized he couldn't always be everywhere he needed to be & so he had ambassadors that could be an extension of him. So on behalf of Walt she welcomed us to Disneyland. Really nice. She also gave out our pins for the day which were Making the Magic-which was our theme of the day.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1359.jpg
So then, we headed out to the Disneyland hotel for our welcome reception & dinner.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5093.jpg
We went to the Disneyland Hotel Wine Cellar where they had 3 wines we could taste & a spread of snacks including cheeses, crackers, bread with olive taponade & grilled veggies. It was all really yummy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5096.jpg
We had a reisling, a chardonnay & a pinot noir to taste. I tasted all 3 & liked all three. We had a good time sitting & chatting with our fellow adventurers sipping our wine. The Wine Cellar was a cozy & intimate area that was perfect for us to all enjoy our time before dinner. Diana proposed a toast to new friends & adventure which was very appropriate.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5095.jpg
We were able to all fill our glasses one last time with our favorite to take up to dinner at Hook's point.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5101.jpg
Captains Hook's nemesis
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5098.jpg
I had the chicken which came with a risotto. It was very tasty.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5102.jpg
Key lime pie for dessert-yummo.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5103.jpg
Dinner was really nice. We sat at the smaller of the two tables & had a quieter conversation than the big table. They were having a gay old time & we kept saying everyone in the restaurant was going to wonder who that rowdy group was........why, we were the Adventures by Disney group of course. :rolleyes1

Continued in the next post..........

Disneygrl36

12-30-2008, 09:52 AM

We regrouped outside after dinner where Kristin held us all together by making sure we were paying attention to the almighty paddle.:worship:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5104.jpg
At this time, they gave us our 4 day passes to the parks & then we headed over to go into the Magic Kingdom!!!!!!!!!! Yippee, we are going to Disneyland.
They took us in a side gate so we didn't have to wait in a line & we all scanned our tickets quickly & we were there!!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5107.jpg
We walked along following the leader & Diana lead us over to the Haunted Mansion, where we got to go in through the exit without waiting.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5141.jpg
We had a stretching room & then the entrance hall practically to ourselves. I was so excited to see Haunted Mansion holiday that I could hardly stand it.:dance3:
In the stretching room
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5111.jpg
Before you get on the ride
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5112.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5113.jpg
Our fellow adventurer's Mark & Mindy took this picture of us in our doom buggy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/Doombuggypicfrommark.jpg
Bye Sally-we'll be sure to hurry back.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5143.jpg
After our ride, they gave us a special fastpass to use on Haunted Mansion again & 1 extra fast pass to be used tonight. We immediately headed to Pirates as I wanted Eric to experience how much better it was here than at the World. We had a swashbuckling good time. Then we decided to use our Haunted Mansion fast pass & rode it again. Picked up more of the details this time & enjoyed it so much. We decided to use our other fast pass to ride Space Mountain. We got a bit lost trying to find it which was funny, as we would never get lost at Disney World. But this was a new park to us & it was dark. We finally found it & had a great ride on Space Mountain which is also better than at the World. I love the soundtrack & sitting side by side.
That's us in the back.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5144.jpg

After that ride, we decided that even though the park was open until 11 that we were just too tired to hang in there much longer, so we sauntered down Main Street & stopped at the Firestation to say goodnight to Walt (this would become a tradition for us) before heading on back to our room.
Turn down service
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5147.jpg
The very last of the fireworks from our balcony
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5148.jpg
We had a very full & exciting day & we knew tomorrow was starting bright early again. So we showered & got ready for bed. We both fell asleep in a flash with big smiles on our faces.

Up next: Walt's World

Jennifer48

12-30-2008, 09:59 AM

That is Mary Poppins. Sorry that pic is so fuzzy. It is her with a sign that says Stage 2 where the movie was filmed. I have decided pins are hard to take good pictures of. Your pin sounds really cute.
I don't think Ward Kimball has 6 fingers, my guess is he was being funny like Ward seemed to like to be.
You can see in this picture that he did the same thing-but I think it is more obvious here that he is adding a finger.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5041.jpg
I :love: the Sound of Music & Julie Andrews!!!!!!!!! Did you know I got to see Julie in Atlanta this past summer. She was doing a tour called Julie Andrews: the Gift of Music. It was an amazing evening!!!!!!!!

Ahhh that makes sense. You can see it much better in that photo.

I didn't know you got to see her! Thats so awesome! I hope you were able to take your picture with her. Thats so cool. I've debated whether or not to purchase her autobiography. Have you read it?

FauntleroyFAN07

12-30-2008, 01:23 PM

wow those wree some great updates i really enjoyed them and thanks for sharing them with us.

did you get a pin each day, if so that woud be worth it right there.

wendylady36

12-30-2008, 01:32 PM

I'm still SO super jealous of your trip! It's hard to read your updates. :rotfl: Someday that WILL be me on that tour, darn it!

Everything looks so wonderful, and I can tell you two had a wonderful time. I'm eager to read and see more. :goodvibes :hyper:

Disneygrl36

12-30-2008, 03:18 PM

Ahhh that makes sense. You can see it much better in that photo.

I didn't know you got to see her! Thats so awesome! I hope you were able to take your picture with her. Thats so cool. I've debated whether or not to purchase her autobiography. Have you read it?
I wish I could have had a picture made with her. We just attended the concert. It was at a huge ampitheatre in Atlanta. I thought she would just narrate/introduce music because of her throat issues, but she SANG & I got chill bumps. It was a wonderful evening. There was a limo waiting out front when we were leaving & people were asking if it was for her & were told no.....I should have waited to see if it was & then I could have at least seen her closer. I have her autobiography & I liked it. She left out right at the good part though.....getting ready to make Mary Poppins. I hope she will get on with the next part soon.

wow those wree some great updates i really enjoyed them and thanks for sharing them with us.

did you get a pin each day, if so that woud be worth it right there.
Thanks Dan. I have had fun writing them. Yes we were given a pin of the day every day of the trip. I think all ABD trips do that. I have done something fun with them all & I will show you guys that at the end.

I'm still SO super jealous of your trip! It's hard to read your updates. :rotfl: Someday that WILL be me on that tour, darn it!

Everything looks so wonderful, and I can tell you two had a wonderful time. I'm eager to read and see more. :goodvibes :hyper:
pixiedust: for you Wendy that you can take this trip some day!!!! I am thinking if they change it up or add more things that I will so want to go back again!!!! I will have another update tomorrow. I have to upload the next set of pictures.

travelmel

12-30-2008, 04:12 PM

DisGal520

12-30-2008, 05:13 PM

Great that you got pins everyday and the guides took photos for you.

Did you find that you liked the character breakfasts? - Were the characters different at each of those breakfasts?

Loving your report!

DisGal

kmab00

12-30-2008, 05:32 PM

I bet that the Haunted Mansion Holiday is SO neat to see!! I do agree with you....I like Space Mountain and Pirates much more at Disneyland than I do at Disney World! We rode each of those rides 3 times because we loved them so much and we weren't sure when we'd be back!

I love the Grand...so pretty inside! I'm glad your first day at DL went great!! :)

SoonerGirl

12-30-2008, 06:29 PM

I too, agree that Space Mtn & POTC are better at DL. I could have ridden SM a hundred times, it was so much fun! I hope they referb the one at WDW sometime.

I'd love to see the HM holiday overlay - it looks so cool!

CangriChika

12-30-2008, 09:19 PM

Dinner was really nice. We sat at the smaller of the two tables & had a quieter conversation than the big table. They were having a gay old time & we kept saying everyone in the restaurant was going to wonder who that rowdy group was........why, we were the Adventures by Disney group of course. :rolleyes1

I wonder who the crazy loud people that were sitting at that big table were!?
:confused3 :confused3 :confused3

lets hear it for wine tasting! :thumbsup2

((off topic))did you get your photopass letter yet? We got ours in the mail today!

MAGICFOR2

12-31-2008, 02:27 AM

Melanie! I've been wondering where you were and if everything was alright:rotfl2: I am blonde, so didn't think to look back at your siggie - I saw you on Dan's TR - now I have alot of great catching up to do on your TR:banana:

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 08:50 AM

Woo Hoo Haunted Mansion Holiday!!! I'm not a big fan of change.. especially Disneyland change but I LOVE THAT RIDE! It's wonderful and even more special since it's only temporary and it won't be there everytime you go.

I'm looking forward to hearing about how you liked IASWAA (SMall WOrld!-I never get those ititial thingy's right :lmao: ) in its holiday glory. I love that one, too. I am partial to seasonal changes. Pirtates with a permanent Johnny Debb invasion... I wish that hadn't happened. I miss my old pirates on the ship fighting!! Ah well.. go with the flow, right?!

Did your DH like the Pirates better?? What did he think about all the newness of the rides??
I loved the holiday layovers on both rides & Eric enjoyed them too.
We are big fans of Captain Jack Sparrow so I actually liked that change at Pirates too because I think it still keeps enough of it's originality whilst throwing in good ole Jack. Eric did like Pirates & Space Mtn both better at Disneyland. I wasn't sure how he would feel about DL overall since it's so much smaller, but he really liked it & could see that it has it's own brand of charm.

Great that you got pins everyday and the guides took photos for you.

Did you find that you liked the character breakfasts? - Were the characters different at each of those breakfasts?

Loving your report!

DisGal
:welcome: DisGal
I did like the character breakfasts. Since we were a group of adults, the characters didn't always spend alot of time with us which was fine when you wanted to eat. More coming about our first character breakfast soon. We did have different characters at each breakfast & the DL character breakfast aren't as themed as the ones at WDW so you never know who might show up.
At one we had Tigger, Rabbit, Pooh, Eeyore, Chip & Dale, Captain Hook, Minnie Mouse & White Rabbit.

I bet that the Haunted Mansion Holiday is SO neat to see!! I do agree with you....I like Space Mountain and Pirates much more at Disneyland than I do at Disney World! We rode each of those rides 3 times because we loved them so much and we weren't sure when we'd be back!

I love the Grand...so pretty inside! I'm glad your first day at DL went great!! :)
The Haunted Mansion Holiday was really neat & so wonderfully done. I wish my pictures were better-but I did them on the ride without the flash & most turned out fuzzy. I think we rode Space Mountain 2 times & Pirates 3 times & Haunted Mansion 4 times. I agree you don't know when you will get back so you gotta maximize your favorites. There were still things we didn't do that are unique to DL that I wanted to do so you know what that means-I gotta go back.

I too, agree that Space Mtn & POTC are better at DL. I could have ridden SM a hundred times, it was so much fun! I hope they referb the one at WDW sometime.

I'd love to see the HM holiday overlay - it looks so cool!
They need to redo SM at WDW just like at DL. That would be great!!!! Christmas time at DL was beautiful.

I wonder who the crazy loud people that were sitting at that big table were!?
:confused3 :confused3 :confused3

lets hear it for wine tasting! :thumbsup2

((off topic))did you get your photopass letter yet? We got ours in the mail today!
Oh........so the photopass info is coming via a letter-for some reason I thought it was coming in an email. Hope it's here today!!!!
Sakina, I say yeah :yay: for the wine tasting too!!!!!!!!! That was fun & you were too funny going around with your Hook all night!!!!!!!!!!

Melanie! I've been wondering where you were and if everything was alright:rotfl2: I am blonde, so didn't think to look back at your siggie - I saw you on Dan's TR - now I have alot of great catching up to do on your TR:banana:
Glad you found me Tammie! I was wondering where you were. I was afraid I might throw some people off with the new thread. Let me know what you think when you get caught up.

Jennifer48

12-31-2008, 09:02 AM

I wish I could have had a picture made with her. We just attended the concert. It was at a huge ampitheatre in Atlanta. I thought she would just narrate/introduce music because of her throat issues, but she SANG & I got chill bumps. It was a wonderful evening. There was a limo waiting out front when we were leaving & people were asking if it was for her & were told no.....I should have waited to see if it was & then I could have at least seen her closer. I have her autobiography & I liked it. She left out right at the good part though.....getting ready to make Mary Poppins. I hope she will get on with the next part soon. Thanks to you, I just purchased her book on Amazon. It was a good deal :rotfl: Thank you! :flower3:

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 09:24 AM

This morning we had another very early meeting time of 7am in the lobby. We were headed for Disneyland so no one seemed to mind the early hour too much. We followed the paddle & were soon being checked in at a side gate to go on in to the Magic Kingdom.
I like this shot of the California letters without people in the way as they will be going away with the California Adventures Layover.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5153.jpg
You know you are really there when you see the Train Station.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5155.jpg
This sign says it all doesn't it?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5158.jpg
It was really cool to be the first guests in the park. I was just taking pictures & marveling at the quietness of the place.
Let's take a stroll up Main Street together.
The Firestation where we would be going later today to see Walt's apartment.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5161.jpg
The HUGE Christmas tree
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5160.jpg
Detail of the tree
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5162.jpg
Cars & a cutie on Main Street.........
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5163.jpg
How cute is Santa making the popcorn?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5171.jpg
The hub uncrowded
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http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5173.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5175.jpg
We got to the castle & were all able to get pictures without people in them. I was one of the last ones there because I was trying to take photos of the quiet early morning on Main Street.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5179.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5176.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5180.jpg

So we needed to head on over to our Minnie & Friends breakfast at the Plaza Inn.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5212.jpg
What a beautiful restaurant & the cool thing about it is that some of the elements in the restaurant come from a 1870 Victorian mansion called the St James mansion that Walt bought in Los Angeles. The cut glass front door is one of the items from the mansion.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6286.jpg
My breakfast
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5191.jpg
Before long, characters started coming to visit us. The character interaction here was the best we had!!!!
Tigger was an absolute mess. This was the BEST Tigger I have ever seen. He WAS Tigger!!!! Bouncy & playful & fun, fun, fun. He stole the ABD sign
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5197.jpg
Rabbit was pretty fun too. He took Eric's sunglasses off his shirt & put them on him.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5196.jpg
Rabbit also wouldn't let Tigger back in when he went outside.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5193.jpg
I went to the bathroom at one point & came back where Chip was sitting in my seat having a little chat with my DH. Wish I had the camera to get a picture of that as I came back.
How cute are Eeyore's ears over our heads.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5200.jpg
How cute are these 3?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5206.jpg
Kristin & Eeyore somehow got put outside too?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5207.jpg
This photo shows better the room we were in, which they said Walt used to entertain guests in from time to time.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5202.jpg
As we were getting ready to leave we also got a visit from the White Rabbit who of course was LATE, LATE, LATE!!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5210.jpg

Continued in the next post......

SoonerGirl

12-31-2008, 09:26 AM

They need to redo SM at WDW just like at DL. That would be great!!!! Christmas time at DL was beautiful.

I've never been to a Disney resort at Christmas time - but that's about to change! The Disney Grump has agreed to a 2009 WDW Christmas vacation! :woohoo: :banana: :cool1: I'm so excited - I can't wait to see WDW all dressed up for the holiday! Now, I just have a year to wait............

ETA: Wow - you got an update in there while I was posting this. Great pictures of main street. AND you get to go into Walt's apartment?? I can't wait to hear about that!

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 09:50 AM

After breakfast, we went over to Adventureland & went backstage at Indiana Jones.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5213.jpg
We were taken into a big warehouse like room & they had one of the ride vehicles there. The mechanic in charge talked to us about how all the movement we feel on the ride is generated from the ride vehicle itself & not the track at all. The track just acts as a guide for the vehicles to move along. Each ride is different as the car can do random changes as it goes along. One person from our group got to handle the controls & see what the car could do. We all decided we did not want to ride if Heinz was in control because the car was bucking worse than any bucking bronco I had ever seen. But WOW did he have a big smile on his face playing with it. It was cool to see how it worked. We were then taken in the exit & got to ride the ride together. We sat in the front of the car. It was a great ride full of unexpected turns & twists & one area where it was completely dark. I loved every minute of it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5214.jpg
We took a little break in Adventureland & this is my attempt at a funny picture.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5221.jpg

Next we headed over to Big Thunder Ranch where we were able to go in before everyone else & had the area to ourselves.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5223.jpg
It was adorably decorated for Christmas.
Eric in front of Santa's cabin
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5235.jpg
Me inside in Santa's chair
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5240.jpg
Nice puppy.....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5242.jpg
I love the reindeer feed buckets
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5243.jpg
Us being so very silly
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5246.jpg
The reindeer were adorable with a capital A
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5234.jpg
They also have the turkeys that President Bush pardoned for Thanksgiving. We found out these guys are flown 1st class to Disneyland & then picked up & brought here in a limo. Swanky. If you pardon the reindeers booty & look behind him you will see said turkeys.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5248.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5254.jpg
I love this mound of horse shoes. This area is really cute & detailed.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5253.jpg
We enjoyed our time at the ranch!!!! Now we were ready for a whole lot backstage experiences.

Coming up next: Backstage Disneyland!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 09:57 AM

I've never been to a Disney resort at Christmas time - but that's about to change! The Disney Grump has agreed to a 2009 WDW Christmas vacation! :woohoo: :banana: :cool1: I'm so excited - I can't wait to see WDW all dressed up for the holiday! Now, I just have a year to wait............

ETA: Wow - you got an update in there while I was posting this. Great pictures of main street. AND you get to go into Walt's apartment?? I can't wait to hear about that!
Yeah for the Disney Grump........:banana: :cool1: :banana: :cool1:
You are going to love it. The decorations are incredible & you must go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Yippee for you!!!!!!!!
I loved being on Main Street when it was so quiet & peaceful.
Walt's apartment coming up later....this was one of the things I was most excited about seeing & it didn't disppoint.

MickMan

12-31-2008, 10:33 AM

The CM told me that the pile of horse shoes was from the old Mule Pack Ride.
They saved all of them and did not know what to do with them so they piled them up.

I thought they looked way cool also.

MAGICFOR2

12-31-2008, 10:49 AM

prettyprincessbelle

12-31-2008, 10:50 AM

Your character pictures are just way too cute. Especially the one where Rabbit locked Tigger outside! :rotfl:

:cheer2: for going backstage, I can't wait!

Oh, I love your Mary Poppins shirt! Is it from the merch they released for the musical? I want one!! :thumbsup2

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 11:15 AM

The CM told me that the pile of horse shoes was from the old Mule Pack Ride.
They saved all of them and did not know what to do with them so they piled them up.

I thought they looked way cool also.
Thanks for that info Mark. That is a great little tidbit. I was too busy wandering around taking pictures (imagine that) that I did not hear that.

Your character pictures are just way too cute. Especially the one where Rabbit locked Tigger outside! :rotfl:

:cheer2: for going backstage, I can't wait!

Oh, I love your Mary Poppins shirt! Is it from the merch they released for the musical? I want one!! :thumbsup2
That Mary Poppins shirt came from zazzle-if you go there & put in Mary Poppins some different designs come up & I just loved that one!!!!!!!
I'll try to get some more up this afternoon if I have time. I am taking down my Christmas decorations blah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! & I might just need another break later after lunch.

I went to the mail box all excited that my photo pass letter might be there & it wasn't. :sad2: Oh well, guess maybe I'll get it Friday.

MAGICFOR2

12-31-2008, 11:21 AM

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 10:13 PM

Melanie - Fantastic!!!! I don't know where to begin:

Loved your Hollywood experience - it is so fun to think about all the stars who've been there, and what they've done - just seeing the Hollywood sign in person is great. I love your car trip around, and that you got to go into El Capitan! I love seeing the local "hangouts."

Walt's Barn! OMG! They had so much in there, and not everyone gets to see all of that! I was thinking what a wonderful father he was, to make so much fun for his daughters - Disneyland was inspired by his desire to make fun for his girls!!!!! It gives you so much respect for him.:lovestruc

Your trip to the studios was so fun, too! My dad's cousin is a retired Imagineer - he worked on the "ride workings." Whatever that entails. I've only met him twice, but it was really fun to hear his explanation of how things work - you got much more info than I have!:goodvibes

We also know a guy who does the digital animation for Disney Channel, but he works in Burbank - he doesn't talk much about what he does, but he gets us some cool perks sometimes.

Even your meal at the commissary was so cool - loved the old pics!:thumbsup2

We loved the GC!!! I'm so thankful to have DVC, or we would never have stayed there! We ate at Hooke's Point last Summer, and loved it!

What did Eric think of Pirates? We love it so much more at DL, but it seems longer at MK. As for IJ - It is my all time favorite ride!:banana: :banana: :banana: I love that it is a different ride every time, and it is so fun when there are "newbies" in your car!!!

I am loving your ABD!!!! Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad we rented the car for half a day & explored on our own. It was so much fun & allowed us to add our own flavor to the trip.
The barn was one of my favorite moments of the trip because I loved being somewhere that Walt had spent so much time & yes he was a wonderful father. I cannot imagine how he could balance it all, but I think he tried.
Wow you are related to an ex-imagineer & you know someone who works for Disney now.:worship: I wish I could work for Disney in some capacity.
I want to go back to Disneyland & I loved the Grand but I think if we go back I might like to try the Disneyland hotel this time. But who knows when we will get back.
I know I love the DVC too........it has enabled us to stay places we never would without it.
Eric loved Pirates, funny we thought it was longer at Disneyland with all those scenes that aren't at WDW.
Thanks for coming along for the ride with us.

Disneygrl36

12-31-2008, 10:14 PM

http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/img/holidays/new-years/party-animals.gif

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's to a 2009 filled with lots of fun, magic & pixie dust for all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jennifer48

12-31-2008, 11:33 PM

Happy New Year!!:goodvibes

Aburns8

01-01-2009, 12:35 AM

HAPPY NEW YEAR :cool1:

CangriChika

01-01-2009, 02:00 AM

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!
:dance3: :woohoo: :dance3: :woohoo: :dance3:

MAGICFOR2

01-01-2009, 02:52 AM

I am so glad we rented the car for half a day & explored on our own. It was so much fun & allowed us to add our own flavor to the trip.
The barn was one of my favorite moments of the trip because I loved being somewhere that Walt had spent so much time & yes he was a wonderful father. I cannot imagine how he could balance it all, but I think he tried.
Wow you are related to an ex-imagineer & you know someone who works for Disney now.:worship: I wish I could work for Disney in some capacity.
I want to go back to Disneyland & I loved the Grand but I think if we go back I might like to try the Disneyland hotel this time. But who knows when we will get back.
I know I love the DVC too........it has enabled us to stay places we never would without it.
Eric loved Pirates, funny we thought it was longer at Disneyland with all those scenes that aren't at WDW.
Thanks for coming along for the ride with us.

We stayed at DLH in June - we loved it also! The rooms were larger and it was alot like the GF in the world.:thumbsup2

HAPPY NEW YEAR!:yay: :yay: :yay:

MickMan

01-01-2009, 03:57 PM

We have stayed at DLH twice and just loved it. We thought DLH being the original hotel added more to the magic.

Happy New Year everyone!!!:wizard:

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 09:01 AM

Happy New Year!!:goodvibes

HAPPY NEW YEAR :cool1:

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!
:dance3: :woohoo: :dance3: :woohoo: :dance3:

We stayed at DLH in June - we loved it also! The rooms were larger and it was alot like the GF in the world.:thumbsup2

HAPPY NEW YEAR!:yay: :yay: :yay:

Hope everyone had a great New Years. Ours was quietly celebrated at home.

We have stayed at DLH twice and just loved it. We thought DLH being the original hotel added more to the magic.

Happy New Year everyone!!!:wizard:
You know me Mark, anything that adds to the magic will be just the thing for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update coming up.

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 10:50 AM

So last we left our travelers we were getting ready to go back stage after our fun time with the reindeer at Big Thunder Ranch.
We walked over toward It's a Small World & went behind the scenes via this gate-this picture was taken later in the trip at night, but this shows you how we got backstage.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5812.jpg
On our way to our first stop, we saw Minnie Mouse & Pluto walking towards on-stage & we all waved excitedly to them!!!!!
Our first stop was the round house where they get the trains ready & store them. Above where the trains are stored is where they store the monorails. They had a train that they had to take apart to see what was wrong with it-they had let the water get too low-& it was cut away so you could see the inner workings. Then, they brought out a train so we could see it up close. It was the Ward Kimball which is the newest train they have & is named after one of Walt's 9 Old Men who shared Walt's love of trains & also had his own backyard train set up. The unique thing about this engine is that it has Jiminy Cricket painted on the lamp up front because that is one of the characters that Ward animated. The engineer & his assistant (who was fairly new & very enthusiastic about working on the train) told us abit about running the train. They demonstarted a "blow down" for us which is when they let off excess steam. When they first start the train in the morning, they have to do this very often & then as the day goes on they do it at least once an hour. If I remember correctly, it takes about 150 gallons of water daily to run the train. It burns biodiesel now as well to be more friendly to the enivronment. There are 5 trains in total & they were bringing the Ward on line as train #3 so far that day. It depends on attendance how many they have running. We had quite a few train buffs in our group & you could tell they really loved this part. They asked some great questions-including one about whether they had the sand spreaders like other trains. Did you know trains have a pipe like thing that can spray out sand in case they need to get more traction if the tracks are wet, icy etc? Well they do & we know that thanks to one of our fellow adventurers.
This is a photo of a picture taken by the guides of us with the train.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/102_6503.jpg

After our time with the trains, we walked further back stage. We ran into a pirate who offered us "free purse cleanings" & who also offered to take my gold necklace for me because it looked to heavy for me to carry around all day. He was great!!!! We passed a big yellow building which is an administrative building & apparently where you go if you are looking for a job at Disneyland. Another building was dedicated to school groups that come in to perform at Disneyland & there was a group of children there getting ready to do some kind of performance. How cool is that?

We went back to the fireworks area where we learned all about the nightly fireworks presentations.
The area is fenced in & has a bunch of black tubes sticking straight up in the air with walkways between them. We were able to go up on the walkways & each tube has a label for the kind of firework that goes down in it. We found the Mickey Head canister on the row we looked at. They have about 360 of these canisters & it several people about 3 hours to set up the show. They have a very small control room that we got to take a peak into. The board has a picture of Tinekrbell on it. They do a test every day called a "zoom-zoom test" to check the cannons. One of our group got to initiate this test & it was really cool to hear all the cannons testing in rapid succession. Very interesting & it really shows how much work goes into those beautiful fireworks we see.

We were close to the parade float storage facility as well. They had brought out a float from the Christmas parade so we could look at it & the guides were able to take our picture with it as well. It was Mrs Claus' float. The doors were open to the storage facility & you could look back through & see all kinds of floats. I could spot the Gepetto float & the Alice float from the regular parade & I wish we would have had time to walk back through there to see some of those floats up close.

Next we made our way over to the Circle D Ranch. This area was much bigger than I had imagined it to be. We were able to go into the Pope House which still has original furniture there in the front room. The Pope's were a family that Walt Disney met that worked with horses. He offered them a job at Disneyland managing the animals & they moved this house, which was one of the original houses on the property when it was bought, onto the ranch area for them to live in. So they actually lived at Disneyland. How cool is that? We saw one of the old stagecoaches that was used in the original Frontierland that was built by Mr Pope. We got to meet one of the Disneyland cats that hangs out at the ranch so he is much tamer than the cats that are sometimes spotted out in the park. His name was Larry & he was very friendly & liked coming over to us for attention. They have a several different corral areas-one had a cow in it, one had goats & donkeys & then a huge one for the horses. The horses were out playing with handlers. They were running & chasing balls around. It was amazing to think this was all within Disneyland. We went over to pet the goats which are usually at Big Thunder Ranch but were having a bit of a break now while the reindeer are there. They were really cute & friendly. This area was really fun to get to see. I have decided if there is reincarnation, I would like to come back as a Disneyland horse. They are big draft type horses-I think she said there were 3 different breeds. They work 3hour shifts 3 days a week for 5 years & then they retire. We saw one horse, all ready to go to work on Main Street & can you believe it-they don't walk to work, they put them in a trailer & drive them to work. What a life!!!!!

After our time at the ranch, it was getting to be lunch time. We headed over to New Orleans Square for lunch at Cafe Orleans.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5275.jpg
We had a set menu to order off of & I chose a salad & monte cristo sandwich. Eric had gumbo & a chicken sandwich.
My montecristo.......so very yummy but I could only each 2 1/2 of the 4 pieces.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5257.jpg
For dessert they brought out Mickey beignets for us.......oh my goodness was that heaven on a plate. I made a hidden Mickey with the sauce.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5260.jpg
We had a special visit from a pirate.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5258.jpg
I believe his name was Latham. I missed alot of this because I went to the ladies room & when I came back we were heading over to Pirates to ride being lead by the pirate. We went into the exit & got right on & rode Pirates together.
Dead Men Tell No Tales
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5262.jpg
I really loved pirates at Disneyland. I loved the 2 drops & it just seemed more detailed to me. I tried looking for the pirate that is supposed to have Walt's face (which I had asked our Imagineer Dave at WDI about earlier in the week & which he would not really answer me about-he said something to the effect that it was an interesting myth) but I never did see it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5273.jpg

We walked back towards Main Street & they split us up into our two groups again at this point. We were standing in front of the fire station & there was a band there playing.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5276.jpg
Our group stayed in the area there which I knew meant we were going to Walt's apartment first. We were met right there by our guide Cindy, who took us through the door & backstage. It was a really tight small backstage area there with the steps leading up to the apartment to our left & trees in front of us. She told us that Walt's grandchildren used to come down out of the apartment & hide in the trees there & scare people riding the Jungle Cruise. Pretty cool to be his grandchild & have Disneyland as your big play ground. I have to admit that I was feeling misty just knowing we were getting ready to go up to the apartment. This was something that I had been looking very forward to seeing & is one of the reasons that I booked this trip. We walked up the stairs & went into the apartment which is really just one big room. It is VERY Victorian which is a style that Lillian loved. Walt was spending alot of time there while Disneyland was being built & so Lillian finally decided that she was going to have it decorated & make it comfortable so she could stay with him. She used Emile Kurie who had been the set decorator on Mary Poppins. It is done in deep reds & greens with velvets & lace. The carpet is a floral pattern. There are knick knacks on all the tables. There are 2 red velvet couches,one on each side of the room, that made into beds. They had a photo of Walt over one & Lillian over the other to indicate which one slept in which, but those family photos have been replaced by mostly photos of Walt. Cindy talked about all the different photos around the room & their significance. Some of the things in the room were Walt's presents to Lillian-a beautiful Baldwin music box & a phonograph. The lamp was not in front of the window because at Christmas they put a small Christmas tree there to light the window instead. The lamp was on a side table instead. The tradition of the lamp being on goes back to when Walt used to stay in the apartment. The cast members would look up & see the lamp on & know that Walt was there. So when Walt died they decided that the lamp would always be left on to symbolize that Walt was always there. My eyes welled up with tears just walking into the apartment, because I knew this was a place where Walt had spent alot of time. I went over as Cindy was talking & looked out that same window overlooking Main Street just as I know Walt did many times & I started to cry (not just well up but really cry). I was overwhelmed with emotion & I just couldn't hold it back. I felt his presence very strongly & it really touched me to know that I was somewhere that had meant so much to him. Eric saw how affected I was & he came over to pat me on the shoulder.:lovestruc I tried to calm down & listen. I didn't want to miss anything. Cindy talked about the little kitchenette area which has the original small refridgerator still. On the counter was a press that Walt used to make his favorite grilled cheese sandwiches & which he also used to heat up his favorite cans of chili. There was a set that said "Tom & Jerry" sitting out as well. Someone asked about it since Tom & Jerry certainly aren't Disney characters. It was a set used for a drink called the Tom & Jerry that she said was a mix between egg nog & a hot toddy. There is a small bathroom in the apartment as well that has a shower with 4 shower heads which was really swanky at the time, probably to help soothe Walt's polo injuries. I went back over & looked out the window again before we left & was overwhelmed again. We spent quite a bit of time there & our guide Cindy was wonderful & her love of talking about Walt & the apartment was evident & I think she was touched at how respectful & in awe of what we were seeing that we all were. It was a very special experience & one that I will treasure all my life.
This is the picture that Diana was able to take of us in the apartment-you can see how red my nose & face is from all that boo hooing I did.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1334.jpg
Cindy gave us each a pin in honor of our visit to Walt's apartment. It is a lamp that has a small light that you can turn on in it. You can see it in the photo.

So next we had a little break to go to the restroom. These are the pictures I took during that time as I was trying to calm myself down as I was still feeling very misty & very touched about what I had just experienced.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5278.jpg
Inside the firestation.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5279.jpg
The fire pole used to go up into the apartment but they had to close it off as some over zealous visitors would try to climb up it to get into the apartment.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5280.jpg
And one of our horse friends from earlier at work.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5284.jpg

Next up..........riding the Disneyland railroad in style & a Christmas parade.

epcotisdabomb

01-02-2009, 10:54 AM

Whew......I get tired just reading your trippie.....no wonder we were exhausted at the end of our days!!! Great job on remembering and documenting what we did....you da best:thumbsup2 :woohoo: :love:

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 11:08 AM

SoonerGirl

01-02-2009, 12:08 PM

Awwwww, Melanie you had me misty just reading your update! What a wonderful thing for you to get to experience.

jacksparrowfan

01-02-2009, 12:18 PM

Awwwwwww honey :welcome: to the trippie. Glad you are enjoying it. We did do alot in a day so no wonder we were tired!!!!!!!! Thanks for patting my shoulder in the apartment & understanding my emotions. You are the bestest husband ever.

Aww, you two are just the cutest!! :love: For those of us who experienced that tour, we understand your feelings in Walts apartment! It's amazing! Especially looking out that window! Wow! I got chills. I'm reliving my experience with you! Thank you!

Wasn't Cindy the greatest? My husband and I took a holiday tour with her one year. She was excellent! It was fun to see her again.

And, being tired...isn't it a great tired? We experienced so much. And, like you said, it's a lifetime of memories!

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 12:36 PM

Awwwww, Melanie you had me misty just reading your update! What a wonderful thing for you to get to experience.
Thanks for the kind words. I was really afraid I wouldn't be able to fully express in words how I felt about it all.

Aww, you two are just the cutest!! :love: For those of us who experienced that tour, we understand your feelings in Walts apartment! It's amazing! Especially looking out that window! Wow! I got chills. I'm reliving my experience with you! Thank you!

Wasn't Cindy the greatest? My husband and I took a holiday tour with her one year. She was excellent! It was fun to see her again.

And, being tired...isn't it a great tired? We experienced so much. And, like you said, it's a lifetime of memories!
It's an incredible experience & one as I said above that I wasn't sure I could do justice.
Cindy was awesome. Her love for all things Disney just shone through. It was a great tired......one of those ahhhhhhh I am so tired but I can't stop smiling tireds.

Jennifer48

01-02-2009, 12:45 PM

aww you two are so cute! :hug:

Great job describing Walt's apt! I got goosebumps while reading! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 Man I wish I had the money to book this ABD trip right now!

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 01:01 PM

Next we switched with the Daisy's who didn't break the train this time thank goodness. We went over to the train station. They had some really cool Walt train memorobilia there & we had a very nice cast member that talked to us about the things in the display cases.
Walt on his Carolwood Pacific in his backyard
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5292.jpg
To the trains.....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5293.jpg
We got to ride the Lilly Belle which is a special caboose car that was done as a VIP car. Lillian picked out all the interiors. It is very Victorian & has that same feel as the apartment. Lots of famous people have taken a trip around Disneyland in this car-people like Johnny Depp & presidents of foreign
countries, but the cool thing is that if you are there & the Lilly Belle is running you can always ask to see if you can ride.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5301.jpg
We had a cast member who rode with us & shared some of the history of the car with us. She was great.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5308.jpg
This is me with my special Lilly Belle ticket completed with a special train punch by a great photo of Walt & Lillian.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5309.jpg
Diana with a coat that belonged to Walt Disney.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5313.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5314.jpg
As she pulls away.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5317.jpg
It was really cool to ride in the car & we enjoyed seeing all the sights along the way. That mural of the Grand Canyon is very impressive & the Primeval Whirl diarma is really neat. We were told that Walt named the 3 small dinosaurs drinking out of a pool Huey, Dewey & Louie.
After we were finished with our ride, we were given our pin for the day-which was Walt's World.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1348.jpg
We also were told about special viewing for the parade. We were to meeet back up at the train station for that at 3:15 if we wanted to see the parade. It was around 2:30 then so we decided to stay in the area.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5321.jpg
Dediction plaque
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5325.jpg
We got a coke & just sat on a bench & people watched for a little while.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5322.jpg
We also took this time to enjoy Disneyland's 50th Anniversary exhibit.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5326.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5327.jpg
They have some great memoribilia in there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5328.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5331.jpg
Even a tiny Walt in the castle
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5334.jpg
Maquettes like we had seen at WDI
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5332.jpg
Something I enjoyed looking at this trip.......I will share more about windows later
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5336.jpg
Name tags.......
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5337.jpg
Model of DL the way it looked on opening day
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5340.jpg
The movie here stars Steve Martin who started out working in the Magic Shop on Main Street & Donald Duck. Really funny & some great footage of Walt as well.

Continued in next post as I am getting close to my image limit.

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 01:22 PM

Now it was time to head to the train station to watch the parade. Our guides had saved us the benches up there to watch the parade. Now that is what I call SWEET. Arriving 15 minutes before the parade & having a prime viewing area.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5350.jpg
Goofy was warming up the crowd
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5347.jpg
The Christmas Fantasy parade was beautiful. I looked for a CD with the music but couldn't find one.
A ballerina & teddy bear lead the way.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5356.jpg
The toy soliders that I love so much
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5357.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5357.flv)
Mickey & Minnie Mouse were ice skating on a pond.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5366.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5367.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5367.flv)
Cute little snowmen
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5368.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5368.flv)
Clarabell Cow & the gingerbread men
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5370.jpg
The romantic princes with their princesses
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5376.jpg
A toy workshop
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5382.jpg
Good ole' Santa Claus-who signed We Wish You a Merry Christmas
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5394.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5396.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5396.flv)
After the parade, the guides told us to meet them around 8:45 in New Orleans square area for special viewing of Fantasmic & we all set off on our own adventures.
We headed straight to the castle & walked through it for the first time & saw the Disney family crest.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5402.jpg
We also found this beautiful statue.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5405.jpg
We went to ride the carousel & I wanted to make sure to get a picture with Jingles the horse that Disneyland dedicated this past summer to Julie Andrews since I had on my Mary Poppins Practically Perfect shirt.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5416.jpg
Someone else was riding Jingles, but after they got off, I was able to get my photos.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5418.jpg
These are the upclose details that show that this is Mary Poppins/Julie Andrews horse of course.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5420.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5421.jpg
After that we rode Pinocchio which we thought was really cute.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5429.jpg
I found this painting in a store by Pinocchio that was selling crystals & I thought it was gorgeous.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5436.jpg
Next I had to visit the little marionette's room & I thought the sign was adorable.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5437.jpg
We then took a ride with Snow White.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5443.jpg
Who lived Happily Ever After
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5449.jpg
About now we decided we were getting cold & knew we were in for a long night so we headed back down Main Street to go to the room & get warmer jackets & gloves.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5452.jpg
And of course we stopped on the way out to say "We'll be back Walt" & it was all the more special because we had been up there earlier.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5453.jpg

Up next..........Rides, rides, rides & Fantasmic

Disneygrl36

01-02-2009, 01:29 PM

aww you two are so cute! :hug:

Great job describing Walt's apt! I got goosebumps while reading! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 Man I wish I had the money to book this ABD trip right now!

Thanks Jenn!!!! I am glad that everyone is enjoying reading about Walt's apartment. It was such a special time.
I wish you did too!!!!!!! It is so worth it.

kmab00

01-02-2009, 06:14 PM

Ok so your description of Walt's apartment had me in tears! Wow...what an AMAZING experience! I love that pin, too!

Great great great update! :banana: I just love Disneyland!!! :goodvibes

MA pigletfan

01-02-2009, 07:48 PM

i got misty eyed just hearing about your visit to Walt's apartment..how amazing that must have been. That pin is great too!
I can't believe how much you got to take in and learn on this adventure!!!

TheTXTaylors5

01-02-2009, 10:03 PM

:goodvibes Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For this "magic"al Trip Report. :wizard: This is exactly what I was looking for when I wandered over to the Disneyland threads.

:rolleyes1 We have gone to WDW numerous times (three times just last year). I am in the beginning planning stages of a "surprise" Disneyland trip for DH's birthday this June. I was 50/50 whether I wanted to fork over the extra $$$$$ and go with ABD or go on our own. Your trip report has me sold. DLR is all new to me and I've heard the traffic in LA is crazy. I may just leave all that up to Disney and actually relax and enjoy my vacation for once. ;)

Thanks again for a great trip report and I can't wait to read the rest. :surfweb:

pirate: Jennifer

PS - Thanks for the photo of JA horse. We will definitely look for it. :thumbsup2

MAGICFOR2

01-03-2009, 12:20 AM

MAGICFOR2

01-03-2009, 12:23 AM

Melanie, your TR is so magical! Thanks for sharing Walt's apt. with us. I am thinking I would really love a "behind the scenes" tour! Your adventure on the Lillie Belle looks so special!:thumbsup2 ABD really went all out for you guys - lots of VIP treatment! Can't wait for more!:surfweb:

Tink rules

01-03-2009, 02:28 AM

Melanie... I am LOVING this TR!!! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

& I'm dying to book it for myself!!!

Thanks for all the fantastic and I really do mean FANTASTIC info in the Trippie!!!

TheTXTaylors5

01-03-2009, 11:52 AM

Hi Jennifer! If you do decide to fly in on your own by some chance, fly into Orange County - John Wayne Int. instead. It is 20 minutes from DL, and not bad on traffic - especially easy on weekends.

:goodvibes Thanks for the tip! Is that the same as ... SNA - Santa Ana John Wayne International Airport? I have been pricing flights and it seems to be cheaper to fly into SNA than LAX. I am also contemplating a roadtrip. The ABD price I was quoted did NOT include the flight. We drove many moons ago from Texas to Las Vegas, NV. We loved the drive and stopped off at the Grand Canyon. Now with the three kiddos, we may try it again. They travel VERY well in the car (nine driving trips to Orlando (WDW) in four years and three roadtrips to Massachusetts). I have planned out a "tentative" itinerary (TX - Albuquerque, NM - Grand Canyon, AZ - Las Vegas, NV - Los Angeles, CA - Anaheim, CA/DLR - San Diego, CA/Legoland & the Beach - NM - TX (Home) Okay after reading all that myself, we may fly! ;)

:surfweb: Jennifer

DisGal520

01-03-2009, 12:34 PM

Disneygrl36 -

Do you have to dress up for any of the dinners on this trip? Or are nice T-shirt and shorts OK like in the WDW restaurants?

We are getting so tempted the more we read about your fabulous trip!

Disneygrl36

01-03-2009, 02:40 PM

Ok so your description of Walt's apartment had me in tears! Wow...what an AMAZING experience! I love that pin, too!

Great great great update! :banana: I just love Disneyland!!! :goodvibes
Well I didn't mean to make everyone misty but really then I think I have done my job in describing how it was for me. I love Disneyland too & there is just a different feeling there than at WDW.

i got misty eyed just hearing about your visit to Walt's apartment..how amazing that must have been. That pin is great too!
I can't believe how much you got to take in and learn on this adventure!!!
The pin is really special. My husband wanted something special done with the pin so he could take it to work & have that to remind him of the trip. When I get to the end of the report, I will show you guys what I did with the pins.

:goodvibes Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For this "magic"al Trip Report. :wizard: This is exactly what I was looking for when I wandered over to the Disneyland threads.

:rolleyes1 We have gone to WDW numerous times (three times just last year). I am in the beginning planning stages of a "surprise" Disneyland trip for DH's birthday this June. I was 50/50 whether I wanted to fork over the extra $$$$$ and go with ABD or go on our own. Your trip report has me sold. DLR is all new to me and I've heard the traffic in LA is crazy. I may just leave all that up to Disney and actually relax and enjoy my vacation for once. ;)

Thanks again for a great trip report and I can't wait to read the rest. :surfweb:

pirate: Jennifer

PS - Thanks for the photo of JA horse. We will definitely look for it. :thumbsup2
:welcome: Jennifer!!!!
I am so glad that I could help you decide on a Disneyland trip. ABD is wonderful & I cannot recommend this trip highly enough. It was everything I expected it to be plus more. It was a truly Magical experience & I am sooooo glad we did it. It was wonderful to share it with each other & then the other people on this trip was Disney lovers like ourselves so that made it all the more special to share it with people who appreciated everything we were doing & seeing as much as we did. Jingles is easy to find & it is a really cool tribute for Julie & her fans.

Melanie, your TR is so magical! Thanks for sharing Walt's apt. with us. I am thinking I would really love a "behind the scenes" tour! Your adventure on the Lillie Belle looks so special!:thumbsup2 ABD really went all out for you guys - lots of VIP treatment! Can't wait for more!:surfweb:
Thanks Tammie. You would love this trip. Splurge & treat yourself. Walt's apt followed by the Lilly Belle was so special. We did get lots of VIP treatment & even just little things they thought of like having water & snacks available at times & leaving the special picture post cards as a surprise in our room at night. Lots of little touches to make things special.

Melanie... I am LOVING this TR!!! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

& I'm dying to book it for myself!!!

Thanks for all the fantastic and I really do mean FANTASTIC info in the Trippie!!!
:welcome: Michelle
I am glad so many people are enjoying my trip report. I am really having fun reliving it all with you guys & it makes me feel good to be getting people interested in Adventures By Disney.:goodvibes

Disneygrl36 -

Do you have to dress up for any of the dinners on this trip? Or are nice T-shirt and shorts OK like in the WDW restaurants?

We are getting so tempted the more we read about your fabulous trip!
You do not have to dress up for dinner. ABD recommends casual clothes for the trip. We did change several times from what we had been wearing all day but mostly because I wanted to freshen up & look better for pictures.
But it's like WDW in that there are people dressed in all different ways. If you wanted to go to Napa Rose in the Grand Californian then you would want to dress up, but most other places jeans or shorts in warmer weather should be fine.

Disneygrl36

01-03-2009, 03:22 PM

We went back to the Grand Californian & grabbed warmer jackets, gloves & a hat for Eric as it was getting chilly. We then headed back to the Magic Kindgom. I had really wanted to eat at the Carnation Cafe & get potato soup, but it is outdoors & it was cold plus that area was really crowded with people because of the parade. So we decided to eat at the River Belle Terrace for dinner so we could eat inside. I had a pulled pork BBQ sandwich with pasta salad. Eric had a turkey sandwich with lentil salad & we shared a strawberry shortcake. The sandwiches were good but the shortcake was blah.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5457.jpg
This is a really pretty restaurant on the inside with very dainty details.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5461.jpg
After dinner, our mission was to ride some rides since our guides had given us 5 fast passes that we could use for any attraction that day. We went over to Adventureland to ride Indy again.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5462.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5463.jpg
Then we took a ride on the Jungle Cruise-I don't think I had ever done this at night & it was fun. Those piranah's scared the heck out of me. We also a night time ride on Big Thunder as I always like it best in the dark.
We passed by Small World lit up in all it's glory, but decided to wait to ride it as the line looked really long.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5477.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5479.jpg
So instead we headed to Toon Town wanting to ride Roger Rabbit.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5480.jpg
But guess what, as we entered we found out it was down & guess who was on it when it broke & hollered at us sitting in their car almost back to the start?????? Some of those crazy Daisy's that were always breaking everything. :lmao: We got a good laugh out of that & decided to play around with some of the interactive things in Toon Town & take some pictures since we were there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5483.jpg
I just love Disneyland's Toon Town. It beats WDW hands down. It is so much fun to discover all the little fun things that happen.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5487.jpg
We found some really cute windows too!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5488.jpg
Since Eric is a banker........
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5493.jpg
By now it was getting time to meet up with the group for Fantasmic. We got some popcorn (which was divine) & a drink & headed over to New Orleans Square. We found our group & were taken to a great area again without having to wait. I wish they had better seating for this as our legs & tushes got pretty cold & tired, but the show was so good we soon forgot about that.
I love how they do Fantasmic here right on the Rivers of America.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5500.jpg
Monkeys do a little dance
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5504.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5504.flv)
Romance on the River......excuse my singing, because I just can't seem to help myself.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5521.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5521.flv)
The scene with Peter Pan & Captain Hook on the Columbia is awesome!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5513.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5516.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5529.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5531.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5533.jpg
It was just an all around wonderful show.
It gets me every time at the end when Mickey says..............
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5535.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5535.flv)

Continued in next post.....

SoonerGirl

01-03-2009, 03:56 PM

Disneygrl36

01-03-2009, 04:03 PM

After Fantasmic was over, we just stayed put & were able to see Believe in Holiday Magic-the holiday fireworks show from there. This would be the only time we were able to watch it from inside the park as it ended up being cancelled the other nights so we never saw it from Main Street (shhh don't tell Eric but that at the top of my list of reasons to go back).
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5537.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5538.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5545.jpg
After the fireworks, it snowed on us which was a real surprise.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5550.jpg

Next we headed over to Tomorrowland to ride some rides. We did Buzz Lightyear-which I am
horrible at, but I still love riding it.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/buzzlightyear.jpg
We took a turn on the highways of Autopia.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5553.jpg
And then rode Space Mountain & it rocked again!!!! This time we got to ride in the very front!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5564.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5566.jpg
Did you know there is a hidden Mickey made by the speakers?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5565.jpg

We were going to ride the monorail back to the hotel after that, but it was stuck somewhere & wouldn't be running again for 30 minutes we were told-wonder if the Daisy's were on there? So we walked back down Main Street & headed for the hotel to get some rest.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5567.jpg
We were tired & had another long day ahead of us tomorrow starting at 7am again.

Next up-Soarin' from a different point of view & private sessions

Disneygrl36

01-03-2009, 04:06 PM

Great updates again! I agree with you on DLs Toontown, it is so cute!

I'm sorry you missed out on the baked potato soup - it is soooooooo good, I'm getting hungry now just thinking about it! Were you able to eat there later in the trip?

I was going back to add videos & pics so if that update seemed weird you might want to go back to it.
Sadly we did not get the potato soup this trip......:sad2: We changed our dining plans & also didn't do Steakhouse 55 either. Oh well, more things to do next time.

Aburns8

01-03-2009, 04:53 PM

As I Daisy, I apologize for breaking all of the rides :thumbsup2

Oshawa

01-03-2009, 05:30 PM

What a great trip report. I am so looking forward to our first trip to Disneyland in August. :tigger: Thank you so much for sharing.

kmab00

01-03-2009, 05:44 PM

I loved Indy at DL and I loved the River Belle Terrace! It's SO PRETTY inside!!! I had Mickey Pancakes for breakfast! :rotfl: So good!! I'm pretty sure they tasted better because they were shaped like his face! Hehe!

I also love Fantasmic and ToonTown and Space Mountain better at DL!!! So neat! :)

Great update! Sorry y'all never got to see the fireworks from in front of the castle. Like you said, that's for next time! :)

travelmel

01-03-2009, 06:19 PM

Whew......I get tired just reading your trippie.....no wonder we were exhausted at the end of our days!!! Great job on remembering and documenting what we did....you da best:thumbsup2 :woohoo: :love:

Awwwwwww honey :welcome: to the trippie. Glad you are enjoying it. We did do alot in a day so no wonder we were tired!!!!!!!! Thanks for patting my shoulder in the apartment & understanding my emotions. You are the bestest husband ever.

OK, OK that's it! Now I'm crying. :sad:

I was catching up and feeling all smoozy and misty at your visit to Walts house when the next thing I see is your SWEETEST DH giving you the :thumbsup2 and you lovin' him back. I just LOVE THAT! You guys rock.

If you ever go back to DL (or plan a trip to the PNW) I would love to meet you two. Sweetest EVER people. :hug:

Ok... I'm going back to my regularly scheduled comments now. *SNIFF*

travelmel

01-03-2009, 06:22 PM

The CM told me that the pile of horse shoes was from the old Mule Pack Ride.
They saved all of them and did not know what to do with them so they piled them up.

I thought they looked way cool also.

I had to go back and look for those but HEY! That's so cool! I have never visited the ranch area. :scared1: I love trivia!

Hi "Travelme!" I saw this pic, and thought - What? She was here and didn't tell me? Then I saw it was a Summer pic! :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

:rotfl2:

:rotfl2:

That is TOO funny! I will have to tell you if we get down there again! My family will take your family out to dinner at Elmers or something!!! :grouphug:

We also know a guy who does the digital animation for Disney Channel, but he works in Burbank - he doesn't talk much about what he does, but he gets us some cool perks sometimes.

Drill him! :rolleyes1

LOL

travelmel

01-03-2009, 06:33 PM

Ok... a few things (and I'm not even fully caught up!)

#1) I love your couple's pics!!!! So many cute ones!!! The Indiana Jones, the Doom buggies (Poor Dh had his eyes closed!), and the Reindeer Round up (SO CUTE! I love your cornball pose, it turned out great!) If I was rich I would so totally steal all of those pics off the net and put them in my photobucket account then print them off and make a faboulous collage for you guys!! But, I'm poor, DARN IT! Does the thought count??? :flower3:

#2) Are you kidding about the Limo'd reinedeer??????? Is that true????? I also love the bit about the original stagecoach parts. I feel like I remember those days but I get them confused with my memories form Knott's Berry Farm (if you had grown up in LA you would surely love it just as much... it had character oozing and dripping from its every pore back in the old days)

#3) Aren't those pirate actors a hoot??!! I love them alot. I like them but I think the best part is their interaction with children who believe they are real. TOO MUCH FUN!!!!!! I love the idea of building little crazy kids who think there are real pirates !!! When I was a kid I fully believed that I was shrunken in the shrinking ride at Disneyland. 100% period. Believed.

#4)The Monte Cristo - ALRIGHT THAT'S IT! I officially ACCEPT the Monte Cristo Challenge! I am going to prove the legend of not being able to eat the whole thing is UTTERLY FALSE! I will triumph or my name is not TRAVEL- (da da da ddaaa da da) :drumroll: MEL! ::symbol crash::

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/smileybananasuperman-2.gif

I get a little worked up sometimes... :sad2:

#4b) OMG that little hidden mickey was cute! :earsgirl:

#5) The Shower in Walt's Apt - a 4 headed shower was swanky back THEN? Hmm.. the height of luxury to me would be to have a four headed shower right now! But, it's only for the swank among us... and (see observation #1) I am not one of them. :rolleyes:

LOL

You are making this TR so much fun! Thanks Melanie

Sarah84

01-03-2009, 06:47 PM

Wonderfu updates, your photos are lovely esp the Its a small world ones, looks so pretty :)

jacksparrowfan

01-03-2009, 06:56 PM

Melanie, Did you step on a Toonhole cover to see what happens? (Over by the store.) Did you step on the four plates next to the fountain? And, did you see the "WD" within the mountains? Did you catch what happens when the characters come out? Toontown is so cute! They do a great job at Christmas time!

Still enjoying your report. I keep hearing about that potato soup! Gosh, I can't wait to try it!!!

travelmel

01-03-2009, 07:05 PM

#6) The Lilly Belle - Did they tell you that the carpet in the Lilly Belle was the oriignal carpet form Walt's apt?? That made me feel really neat. When we got to ride the Lilly Belle that was so cool to have our own little tour guide (my mini behind the scenes FREE tour!). Also, I noticed that in your pics there looked to be a CUT OUT version of the needlepoint that was in the Lilly Belle when we rode....they told us that Lilly did it herself .... maybe they took it out?
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/2008-7SoCalDisneylandDAY2057-2.jpg

Just curious :confused3

What a great experience, huh!!?? Did they make you guys wave at every guest you saw? I thought that was cute. I'm a big waver. ::wave::

#7) The Xmas Parade - isn't that so Southern California to see people in shorts and a T-Shirt enjoying the Christmas parade? That was so confusing to me as a kid (I'm a native So Cal girl).. it was like we there was something wrong with us... no colored leaves for fall, no snow for winter.... we only knew how to do summer right. We are a very seasonally challenged people.

#7b) I was SO enjoying all of the little videos and when I got to the gingerbread man pic I tried clicking on it... HEY ... where's the vid??? :lmao:

#8) Fantastmic! - I love your singing! I was totally rocking out and dancing (sitting down) during the show. My DD's were a little embarrassed... DARN TWEENS!!! *SIGH* Do you remember the first itme you saw Fantasmic? I remember that even though DISNEY parades were our "hometown" parades (meaning we had the best) that seeing Fantasmic for the first time stunned even this callous (when you have the best the rest are... well.... lacking) teen. My jaw dropped at the end and I remember thinking... WOW....:eek: Whoa. Even for Disney, THAT was something.

#9) Rides - I'm glad you got to ride the front of SM.. that is a scene on it's own! Except for the watery eyes (I got smart and started wearing sunglasses) it's a BLAST!

Pinochio- didn't you just love that ride? I think it's under appreciated a little bit. The scenery is so beautiful and scary, too. Love it.

and #10) OMG I'm turning into SherryE with my long comments!!

:love: you SherryE!!!! :hug:

CangriChika

01-03-2009, 07:39 PM

i swear i didn't ride the monorail, therefore if it broke, it wasn't THIS Daisy's fault...I cannot neither confirm nor deny the fact that anybody else affiliated with the Daisy group was on it! :lmao:

SoonerGirl

01-03-2009, 08:44 PM

#4)The Monte Cristo - ALRIGHT THAT'S IT! I officially ACCEPT the Monte Cristo Challenge! I am going to prove the legend of not being able to eat the whole thing is UTTERLY FALSE! I will triumph or my name is not TRAVEL- (da da da ddaaa da da :drumroll: MEL! ::symbol crash::

OK - If you can do that I will be TOTALLY impressed! I could only manage 1 1/2 of the 4 pieces!

MickMan

01-03-2009, 11:36 PM

It soooooooooooooo had to be a Daisy that broke the monorail. :rotfl:

MAGICFOR2

01-04-2009, 01:23 AM

:goodvibes Thanks for the tip! Is that the same as ... SNA - Santa Ana John Wayne International Airport? I have been pricing flights and it seems to be cheaper to fly into SNA than LAX. I am also contemplating a roadtrip. The ABD price I was quoted did NOT include the flight. We drove many moons ago from Texas to Las Vegas, NV. We loved the drive and stopped off at the Grand Canyon. Now with the three kiddos, we may try it again. They travel VERY well in the car (nine driving trips to Orlando (WDW) in four years and three roadtrips to Massachusetts). I have planned out a "tentative" itinerary (TX - Albuquerque, NM - Grand Canyon, AZ - Las Vegas, NV - Los Angeles, CA - Anaheim, CA/DLR - San Diego, CA/Legoland & the Beach - NM - TX (Home) Okay after reading all that myself, we may fly! ;)

:surfweb: Jennifer

Yes, it IS SNA! I love a road trip, but I'm usually not driving - DH hates to drive. I wish we had taken our kids on a cross country trip driving so they could see and appreciate more - that being said - Road Trip with 3 kiddos?:scared1: J/K - actually sounds like a fun itinerary!

MAGICFOR2

01-04-2009, 01:37 AM

I had to go back and look for those but HEY! That's so cool! I have never visited the ranch area. :scared1: I love trivia!

:rotfl2:

:rotfl2:

That is TOO funny! I will have to tell you if we get down there again! My family will take your family out to dinner at Elmers or something!!! :grouphug:

Drill him! :rolleyes1

LOL

It's a date! We ARE listed in a travel magazine as one of the top 10 best places in the West to visit - Apparently they haven't BEEN to DL!:rotfl2:

I don't think our Disney friend really has any secrets - just humble. I know when it snows or there are balloons, etc. animated on the Disney Channel breaks, he is responsible.

MAGICFOR2

01-04-2009, 01:39 AM

Melanie! I loved the update - thanks for sharing the Fantasmic video! I haven't seen it at DL yet - perhaps because of the seating arrangements.

Where is the River Belle- I can't remember:confused3 It looks really good!:thumbsup2

TotallyAngelic

01-04-2009, 06:24 AM

I can't believe I have only just realised that your trip report was posted onto a new thread. I had been waiting patiently for notification of new posts on the original pre-trippie thread. In the end I gave up and went looking and wow - what can I say! What an unbelievably amazing experience. I have read the first three days and I am totally blown away! Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful magical experience and some stunning photographs!
This sort of trip would be a dream come true for me!

Disneygrl36

01-04-2009, 03:54 PM

As I Daisy, I apologize for breaking all of the rides :thumbsup2
It ok Andrea..........you didn't mean too. It sure did make for a running funny joke.:rotfl:

What a great trip report. I am so looking forward to our first trip to Disneyland in August. :tigger: Thank you so much for sharing.
:welcome: Osahwa!!!!!!!! I am loving sharing this with everyone.

I loved Indy at DL and I loved the River Belle Terrace! It's SO PRETTY inside!!! I had Mickey Pancakes for breakfast! :rotfl: So good!! I'm pretty sure they tasted better because they were shaped like his face! Hehe!

I also love Fantasmic and ToonTown and Space Mountain better at DL!!! So neat! :)

Great update! Sorry y'all never got to see the fireworks from in front of the castle. Like you said, that's for next time! :)
No, I have a list of things that I feel like we need to go back & do SOON!!!! With the ABD trip & then Walk in Walt's footsteps tour, we felt like we really only had about a day & a half to explore on our own & it wasn't enough.

OK, OK that's it! Now I'm crying. :sad:

I was catching up and feeling all smoozy and misty at your visit to Walts house when the next thing I see is your SWEETEST DH giving you the :thumbsup2 and you lovin' him back. I just LOVE THAT! You guys rock.

If you ever go back to DL (or plan a trip to the PNW) I would love to meet you two. Sweetest EVER people. :hug:

Ok... I'm going back to my regularly scheduled comments now. *SNIFF*
Awwwwww thanks Melissa. DH doesn't post on the DIS often, but he is reading along on my trippie & I love that he decided to say hello. If we get back out that way, I'll let you know. We did meet one DISer besides the few that were on our tour & that was lots of fun. That will be coming up later.

Ok... a few things (and I'm not even fully caught up!)

#1) I love your couple's pics!!!! So many cute ones!!! The Indiana Jones, the Doom buggies (Poor Dh had his eyes closed!), and the Reindeer Round up (SO CUTE! I love your cornball pose, it turned out great!) If I was rich I would so totally steal all of those pics off the net and put them in my photobucket account then print them off and make a faboulous collage for you guys!! But, I'm poor, DARN IT! Does the thought count???
That is a lovely thought. We don't usually do silly poses so I am not sure what came over us this trip.
#2) Are you kidding about the Limo'd reinedeer??????? Is that true????? I also love the bit about the original stagecoach parts. I feel like I remember those days but I get them confused with my memories form Knott's Berry Farm (if you had grown up in LA you would surely love it just as much... it had character oozing and dripping from its every pore back in the old days)
The turkeys really are flown in first class & picked up in a limo. It really is true. We were just watching one of the Disney Treasures DVD's today about Disneyland secrets & saw the stagecoaches. Really cool.
#3) Aren't those pirate actors a hoot??!! I love them alot. I like them but I think the best part is their interaction with children who believe they are real. TOO MUCH FUN!!!!!! I love the idea of building little crazy kids who think there are real pirates !!! When I was a kid I fully believed that I was shrunken in the shrinking ride at Disneyland. 100% period. Believed.
The pirates were great. I wish I had gotten that one guys picture. He was the BEST!!!
#4)The Monte Cristo - ALRIGHT THAT'S IT! I officially ACCEPT the Monte Cristo Challenge! I am going to prove the legend of not being able to eat the whole thing is UTTERLY FALSE! I will triumph or my name is not TRAVEL- (da da da ddaaa da da) :drumroll: MEL!
Good luck. It's a very heavy sandwich....really good but heavy.

#5) The Shower in Walt's Apt - a 4 headed shower was swanky back THEN? Hmm.. the height of luxury to me would be to have a four headed shower right now! But, it's only for the swank among us... and (see observation #1) I am not one of them. :rolleyes:
LOL
I know I would love to have that now too!!!!!!
You are making this TR so much fun! Thanks Melanie
Really glad you are enjoying the trippie Melissa.....I was having a hard time telling if you did or not.:rotfl:

Wonderfu updates, your photos are lovely esp the Its a small world ones, looks so pretty :)
:welcome: Sarah. Small World was gorgeous all done up for the holidays.

Melanie, Did you step on a Toonhole cover to see what happens? (Over by the store.) Did you step on the four plates next to the fountain? And, did you see the "WD" within the mountains? Did you catch what happens when the characters come out? Toontown is so cute! They do a great job at Christmas time!

Still enjoying your report. I keep hearing about that potato soup! Gosh, I can't wait to try it!!!
Hey Laura. We did step on the fountain ones & hear the music playing. Where is the WD I missed that? I wanted to make it over to Toontown early one morning to see it open up but we just never did. Yet another reason to go back!!!!!!!!!! And I too must have some of that potato soup.

#6) The Lilly Belle - Did they tell you that the carpet in the Lilly Belle was the oriignal carpet form Walt's apt?? That made me feel really neat. When we got to ride the Lilly Belle that was so cool to have our own little tour guide (my mini behind the scenes FREE tour!). Also, I noticed that in your pics there looked to be a CUT OUT version of the needlepoint that was in the Lilly Belle when we rode....they told us that Lilly did it herself .... maybe they took it out?
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc55/TravelMiss/2008-7SoCalDisneylandDAY2057-2.jpg
They did not tell us about the carpet but that's really cool. Looking at my pictures that is a whole different thing in the screen than what was in there in the pic with your DD's. How cool is that you got to see something Lillian made.
What a great experience, huh!!?? Did they make you guys wave at every guest you saw? I thought that was cute. I'm a big waver. ::wave::
They didn't make us wave. We were talking too much.
#7) The Xmas Parade - isn't that so Southern California to see people in shorts and a T-Shirt enjoying the Christmas parade? That was so confusing to me as a kid (I'm a native So Cal girl).. it was like we there was something wrong with us... no colored leaves for fall, no snow for winter.... we only knew how to do summer right. We are a very seasonally challenged people.
We've seen that at Disney World too!!!!
#7b) I was SO enjoying all of the little videos and when I got to the gingerbread man pic I tried clicking on it... HEY ... where's the vid???
I think I might have video of the gingerbread men, I will go back & look & if I do I will add it just for you.
#8) Fantastmic! - I love your singing! I was totally rocking out and dancing (sitting down) during the show. My DD's were a little embarrassed... DARN TWEENS!!! *SIGH* Do you remember the first itme you saw Fantasmic? I remember that even though DISNEY parades were our "hometown" parades (meaning we had the best) that seeing Fantasmic for the first time stunned even this callous (when you have the best the rest are... well.... lacking) teen. My jaw dropped at the end and I remember thinking... WOW.. Whoa. Even for Disney, THAT was something.
I didn't even realize how much I was singing until I uploaded that video & watched it. So embarrasing, but I love that princess part & wanted to include the video. I saw Fantasmic first at WDW of course, but yes I remember being blown away that first time. I love the Music!!!!
#9) Rides - I'm glad you got to ride the front of SM.. that is a scene on it's own! Except for the watery eyes (I got smart and started wearing sunglasses) it's a BLAST!

Pinochio- didn't you just love that ride? I think it's under appreciated a little bit. The scenery is so beautiful and scary, too. Love it.
I think Pinocchio is a little gem.
and #10) OMG I'm turning into SherryE with my long comments!!

:love: you SherryE!!!! :hug:

i swear i didn't ride the monorail, therefore if it broke, it wasn't THIS Daisy's fault...I cannot neither confirm nor deny the fact that anybody else affiliated with the Daisy group was on it! :lmao:
Glad to know it wasn't you breaking the monorail Sakina. It could have been some of your other members though.:rotfl:

It soooooooooooooo had to be a Daisy that broke the monorail. :rotfl:
I fully agree Mark!!!!!!!!!!

Melanie! I loved the update - thanks for sharing the Fantasmic video! I haven't seen it at DL yet - perhaps because of the seating arrangements.

Where is the River Belle- I can't remember:confused3 It looks really good!:thumbsup2
Tammie, you must see Fantasmic!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The River Belle was after the Golden Horseshoe & before you get to New Orleans Square. Beautiful place & the sammy's were yummy.

I can't believe I have only just realised that your trip report was posted onto a new thread. I had been waiting patiently for notification of new posts on the original pre-trippie thread. In the end I gave up and went looking and wow - what can I say! What an unbelievably amazing experience. I have read the first three days and I am totally blown away! Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful magical experience and some stunning photographs!
This sort of trip would be a dream come true for me!
Sarah :welcome: I was afraid I would loose people starting the new theread. Glad you found me. Let me know what you think when you get caught up. It is a dream come true trip.

Also, I finally got my photopass info, but the CD is too expensive in my opinion for the amount of pictures I want, so I decided to make one of their photobooks. Not sure how I can share those photos but when you only want about 30 of the ones they took, I just cannot justify paying for the whole CD. The photobook feature is really cool & I have been having fun playing with it. I will try to post about it when it comes.

Disneygrl36

01-04-2009, 04:21 PM

We met again in the lobby at 7am for our early breakfast at Goofy's. We had asked about being able to stay in our same room earlier on in the trip after Sunday & this morning asked Kristin about it again. She said they had checked on it & the Grand was having trouble locating our DVC reservation.:scared1: So Eric went back up to get our confirmations & we hung around while she went to talk to the hotel people. The rest of the group went on over for breakfast. We took this time, to take some pictures of the Grand.
The lobby in all it's magnificience
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5568.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5569.jpg
The cozy fireplace
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5580.jpg
The gorgeous doors
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5573.jpg
And the soaring Christmas tree
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5576.jpg
Details
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5581.jpg
DH enjoying relaxing for a minute..something we didn't do enough of....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5583.jpg
Before too long Kristin was back & said apparently something was messed up with a bunch of DVC ressies, but for us not to worry. We would be able to stay in our same room & it would get taken care of. Now this is another reason to love ABD-they fooled with the mess so we didn't have too. It was all worked out by the end of breakfast & all we had to do the next morning was sign a new reservation card & get new keys. Yeah for Kristin :yay:
She walked us over to breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland hotel & we were starved.
Here is the lovely Kristin with Chip
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5586.jpg
They have literally everything here-from traditional breakfast items, to peanut butter & jelly pizza to cupcakes for breakfast.:thumbsup2
Goofy's tree
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5598.jpg
My breakfast......I had a custom made omelette
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5584.jpg
Desserts we just had to try.........
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5587.jpg
Cute decor
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5595.jpg
Jasmine came by to visit & told me to pose just like her
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5585.jpg
Mulan was gorgeous.....hey wait that's my DH she's with.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5597.jpg
The chef himself
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5596.jpg
Memorobilia wall at the Disneyland hotel
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5601.jpg
And Christmas decorations.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5604.jpg
After a very yummy breakfast, we headed to the special entrance to California Adventure that is located in the Grand. Zippy, skippy & we were in the park which was so quiet because no one was there. We headed straight to Soarin'.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5609.jpg
They split us into groups again & the Minnie's got to ride the ride first. Yippee we got to go before the Daisy's could break the ride. :laughing:
We rode in the front row & it was awesome as usual. I just love smelling the pine forest & the orange groves & feeling like I have to lift my feet to keep them from getting wet. Also since we were at Disneyland at Christmas it was cool to see that last scene of Disneyland & know that was how we were seeing it now.
After that we switched & the Daisy's rode while we got to go behind the scenes & watch them from underneath the screen. Talk about cool. It was neat to watch how the ride vehicle moves & people legs & feet go up & down as they watch the film. AWESOME!!!!!!!! After that we met back up & they told us abit about making the film. They had to get special permission to shoot some of the scenes because they were in national park areas & in the bay they had wildlife so there are boats that you can see in the film when you watch it again out there to monitor & make sure none of the wildlife were harmed. We got to see the pellets that generate the smells-there are actually 3 smells-sea, orange & pine. They only have to replace the pellets about every 6 months & they are located above your head. The cast members get immune to the smells & so they have a rotating schedule to let them know when it's time to change them. They also showed us the size of the film used to do the movie which was about 3 times larger than regular movie film. Did you know they have 2 theatres at Soarin'? I didn't. Cool stuff.

After our Soarin' time, we walked over to the Animation Building.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5610.jpg
It was great to be alone in the park & get pictures without mobs of people in them.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5611.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5615.jpg

Up next.......private sessions.

jacksparrowfan

01-04-2009, 05:30 PM

Hey Laura. We did step on the fountain ones & hear the music playing. Where is the WD I missed that? I wanted to make it over to Toontown early one morning to see it open up but we just never did. Yet another reason to go back!!!!!!!!!! And I too must have some of that potato soup.

The "WD" is in the mountains behind Minnie's house. I will email you a picture.

travelmel

01-04-2009, 10:25 PM

We headed straight to Soarin'.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5609.jpg

Ha ha! Very funny, Melanie... (you didn't know if I was liking it). I'm a tough one to read, eh?? :rotfl2:

Ok, about Soarin. I'm sure you have seen the Disney behind the scenes show on the Travel channel that shows the guy who invented Soarin'???

He went into his garage and got out his old Erector Set (we actually have a museum dedicated to the guy who invented the Erector Set in Salem, OR it's very interesting... but anyway.) Ok, well he shows his miniature mock up and says that it is the one he built in his house and it looks EXACTLY like the way they built Soarin'. I have always wondered, is the mock up they show NOT his erector set or did they actually build Soarin' to look EXACTLY like his Erector Set???????? If so that is too funny!

Disneygrl36

01-05-2009, 09:13 AM

The "WD" is in the mountains behind Minnie's house. I will email you a picture.
Thanks Laura that is really cool. I did not see it, but now I have to go back & see if it shows up in any of my pics.

Ha ha! Very funny, Melanie... (you didn't know if I was liking it). I'm a tough one to read, eh?? :rotfl2:

Ok, about Soarin. I'm sure you have seen the Disney behind the scenes show on the Travel channel that shows the guy who invented Soarin'???

He went into his garage and got out his old Erector Set (we actually have a museum dedicated to the guy who invented the Erector Set in Salem, OR it's very interesting... but anyway.) Ok, well he shows his miniature mock up and says that it is the one he built in his house and it looks EXACTLY like the way they built Soarin'. I have always wondered, is the mock up they show NOT his erector set or did they actually build Soarin' to look EXACTLY like his Erector Set???????? If so that is too funny!
I love that story about the Imagineer & his Erector Set. How cool that he was able to work it all out just by playing with his old toys.

Disneygrl36

01-05-2009, 09:33 AM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5617.jpg
Once we got on through the very quiet backlot area, we were greeted by a welcome sight.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5619.jpg
We went inside the Animation Building which has beautiful Disney art changing all the time on the screens.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5622.jpg
We were going to get to have a private Turtle Talk with Crush.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5623.jpg
Here's a little video of our time with Crush....:wave: Sakina!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5624.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5624.flv)
After that we got to have a private drawing lesson in the Animation Academy.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5626.jpg
Here are our Mickey's.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5629-1.jpg
Next we went out to watch the really cool Toy Story zoetrope.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5631.jpg
Here's what it does.........it is so neat.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5632.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5632.flv)
Next, we were given 5 fastpasses to use for the day. We got our pin for the day which was Behind the Orange Grove.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1355.jpg
They told us that meeting time was 5pm for our final dinner. If we wanted to we could go to Tower of Terror & all ride together in a private elevator. Those that didn't want to ride didn't have to, but I think we all headed over there.
Diana our guide was scared to ride but was talked into it when someone else that was scared said she would do it if Diana would. So Diana gave the ABD paddle to someone & she sat next to me & held my hand. Bless her heart she was shaking.
What a fun ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5634.jpg
After our plunge, our morning was over with ABD so we were set free to do whatever we wanted. We decided since we were in the area, we would go ride Monsters Inc. This is a new one for us & was really cute!!!!!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5639.jpg
The queue line has some hilarious stuff.....anyone care for a nice crunchy bag of sugar, salt & flat with a drooler cooler?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5645.jpg
I loved the effect of all the doors. Really great animatronics too!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5649.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5655.jpg
After that we decided to pay a visit to our Muppet friends.
I loved the queue line with Beaker.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5659.jpg
Inside was pretty cute too & we loved the movie as always. I had a new respect for the characters after having been to Jim Henson's studios & finding out that each puppet is worth 20,000$.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5672.jpg
And Miss Piggy as one of my favorite characters of all time.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5673.jpg
Then we wandered back over to the Animation Building to play in the Sorcerer's Workshop.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5676.jpg
I loved how each of these was themed to a different character.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5677.jpg
Who's the fairest of them all?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5682.jpg
Eric in the Beast's library finding out what Disney character he is most like.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5685.jpg
He must have pushed the girl button because he was the Wicked Queen. I was Cinderella which was a first. I usually end up being Dot.

About now we were getting hungry, so we decided to head to the Pacific Wharf cafe. Eric had clam chowder in a bread bowl & I had the Shrimp Louie salad in the bread bowl & it was very tasty. We had a gingerbread man too!!!
We gave lunch here 2 thumbs up.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5691.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5692.jpg

At this point, all the running around had caught up to us. We decided to head back to the room for a little rest. We took a nap so we could spend the rest of the day refreshed & raring to go.

Up next.........Genie jokes & a bouncy parade

travelmel

01-05-2009, 12:08 PM

Jennifer48

01-05-2009, 12:14 PM

All caught up!

Is that you singing during the Fantasmic video? ;)

That zoetrope is awesome! I've only seen paper ones before. Too cool!

SoonerGirl

01-05-2009, 01:59 PM

Great update, as usual! Wasn't that Toy Story zoetrope too cool! I had seen a clip of what it did before our trip, so I made the boys stand there and stare at until it spun. They couldn't figure out why I wanted them to look at it for so long :laughing: They were pretty excited about it once it got going!

I don't blame you for taking a break and heading back for a nap - you guys have been going non-stop since you arrived!

lurkyloo

01-05-2009, 02:48 PM

This trip report has EVERYTHING! :goodvibes I love the video clips, the links to extra info, the meticulous documentation. And it's making me want to go be a tourist in my own town!

Another interesting thing about the Toy Story zoetrope that I just learned from DH - all the figures on it were created using one of those new-fangled 3-D printers! They just tell it what kind of object they want and it "prints" out in plastic. There's one in the new Smart House inside Disneyland's Innoventions, but whenever we go it's still cooking - I haven't seen any of the results yet! :cutie:

MA pigletfan

01-05-2009, 03:06 PM

sounds repetitive i know..BUT I LOVE THIS REPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DangerMouse

01-05-2009, 05:05 PM

sounds repetitive i know..BUT I LOVE THIS REPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me too! I am just green with envy since I know dh will never fork over the money for an ABD trip. :sad: I'm loving taking this trip vicariously through you! :goodvibes

Melanie, is that a Dream FP around your neck in the Muppet's 3-D photo? Is that what ABD gave you for fastpasses?

Sleepless Knight

01-05-2009, 06:36 PM

Disneygrl36

01-05-2009, 06:40 PM

Awwwwwww....was that your cute little southern accent????? So cute!!!

Thanks for posting that Toy Story moving thing... I didn't have the patience to stand and wait for it to go 'round again after missing it once when I turned away briefly! LOL

It's fun to see you guys enjoying stuff for the first time. I said in my TR that even though we only have two parks, we sure pack alotta punch in 'em!

Melissa

P.S. I haven't seen a cake lately. Maybe your class is over but you should still practice to keep your skills sharp (I'll PM you my home address) :cake:
Oh lord, first my singing & then my cornball accent. I didn't realize how much I was torturing you guys so!!!!!! It was fun seeing things we don't get to see at WDW & Disneyland the original has way more charm than the Magic Kingdom at WDW.:goodvibes I made a cake for Christmas but it wasn't anything special. I need to check on Class 2 & I should make one for practice. I'll see what I can do for you Melissa.

All caught up!

Is that you singing during the Fantasmic video? ;)

That zoetrope is awesome! I've only seen paper ones before. Too cool!
Oh Lord, yes that's me. I swear when I started to video tape things on the camera I really wasn't thinking about it picking up that much of me.

Great update, as usual! Wasn't that Toy Story zoetrope too cool! I had seen a clip of what it did before our trip, so I made the boys stand there and stare at until it spun. They couldn't figure out why I wanted them to look at it for so long :laughing: They were pretty excited about it once it got going!

I don't blame you for taking a break and heading back for a nap - you guys have been going non-stop since you arrived!
I know that zoetrope is worth waiting around to watch. I loved the green army guys jumping off the top & the little aliens jumping into the black hole. So neat!!!!
We literally crashed out for like 2 hrs & felt so much better after. We needed that nap-even though I felt like a 2 yr old.

This trip report has EVERYTHING! :goodvibes I love the video clips, the links to extra info, the meticulous documentation. And it's making me want to go be a tourist in my own town!

Another interesting thing about the Toy Story zoetrope that I just learned from DH - all the figures on it were created using one of those new-fangled 3-D printers! They just tell it what kind of object they want and it "prints" out in plastic. There's one in the new Smart House inside Disneyland's Innoventions, but whenever we go it's still cooking - I haven't seen any of the results yet! :cutie:
Awwwwwwww Carrie. I am glad that someone with your expertise likes my trippie. I really have enjoyed writing it & then when I am finished I will print it out & there will be all my memories all together.
How cool about the zoetrope.........we never made it to Innoventions to the Smart House. Another reason to go back. I need a printer like that at home. I bet we could make some awesome stuff.

sounds repetitive i know..BUT I LOVE THIS REPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!!!!!!!!!! I :love: you guys!!!!!!!!!!!

Me too! I am just green with envy since I know dh will never fork over the money for an ABD trip. :sad: I'm loving taking this trip vicariously through you! :goodvibes

Melanie, is that a Dream FP around your neck in the Muppet's 3-D photo? Is that what ABD gave you for fastpasses?
I still can't believe I talked DH into it either, but he saw how excited I was about it & he spoils me some.
No, they gave us paper fast passes that said good on this day only. We got dreamed walking out of Monsters Inc can you believe it & I didn't even remember to put it in the report. We already had 5 fastpasses the guides had given us & then got the dream fast passes. I have my dream fast pass for my scrapbook. We just didn't need so many fast passes & we actually gave the ones the guides gave us away to a family that was sitting next to us at lunch. I thought we should share some of our pixie dust. :wizard: Hope they were able to use them to have fun.

Disneygrl36

01-05-2009, 06:45 PM

Hi Melanie. I'm still in the midst of getting caught up, but I had to make some comments about your time at the Studios.

First, I'm glad you found Gus-Gus and that the tip helped you. Second, I believe the building you were unsure about is the Frank G. Wells Building(or at least it looks like it from your picture). That's where the Archives are located and it's also where the Multiplane camera used to film Snow White was located.

And to those who asked about Ward Kimball's extra finger on page 7, as Melanie noted, it was just Ward being funny, as he was wont to do.

Too bad you didn't get to spend as much time in the orirginal animation building as you would have liked. Our time there didn't seem very rushed and we were even allowed to go see the underground tunnels connecting that building to Ink and Paint. My guess is that's because our groups tour guide has a specific position at the Walt Disney Company that oversees a lot of things(which title or name I won't mention since my friend who arranged the whole thing asked me not to). Our "tour guide" normally doesn't give tours, but he's a good friend of two of the people who made our visit happen. When he saw me taking pics from Sleeping Beauty related stuff in the animation building, he told me that Disneyland had a few things going on for the 50th anniversary of the film, which they did.

I was so excited to find Gus!!!!!! Thanks for telling me about him.

Thanks for the info on the building name. I didn't remember the guides telling us what it was. I so wish we had gotten to see the camera & archives too, but I was happy to see the things we did.

It did feel a bit rushed, but we had so much to pack in that morning that I can see why. I would love to go back & be able to see the things we weren't able to see & have a tour more by someone that works there. Diana did a great job, but I am sure someone that works there could give you tons of info. The lady that toured us through the sound stages worked there & she was awesome.

jns

01-05-2009, 06:47 PM

Finally caught up!
what a great time you had

Hope you have a great New Year

Disneygrl36

01-06-2009, 08:38 AM

Finally caught up!
what a great time you had

Hope you have a great New Year

Glad to have you here Jackie. We really did have a great time. See why I was torn & decided on this trip instead of another cruise. It was a hard decision because both are so great.

We had a nice quiet New Years.......hope you have a wonderful 2009.

Disneygrl36

01-06-2009, 09:48 AM

After our refreshing nap, we headed out to California Adventure again. On the way out, I stopped to take a picture of this window because I am always dreaming of a Disney vow renewal & this makes it even more appealing.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5456.jpg
We stopped & rode Soarin' again with fast passes we had picked up on our way out of the park to take our nap. Next on the agenda & the reason we set an alarm clock before our nap, was to see the Aladdin show at the Hyperion show. It was beautiful from start to finish-the costumes, the music, the elephant & camels, the amazing effects of Aladdin & Jasmine flying through the air on their magic carpet. WOW. The genie is hilarious telling jokes with references to contemporary things-like saying he needed an economic bail out & that Al Gore would be mad because they had so much smoke on stage. Really a great show.
A big number........
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5698.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5698.flv)
Aladdin on his elephant
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5701.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5703.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5703.flv)
Jafar in all his wickedness
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5713.jpg
The finale
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5718.jpg
The curtain call
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5719.jpg
Really a great show!!!!!!!!!!!
After watching the show which is about 45 minutes long, we didn't have much time until dinner. The Pixar Play Parade was going on so we watched a bit of it & found out what a bouncy & fun parade it was so I decided we needed to see it again when we weren't looking through people's heads. We also popped in Off the Page for a browse around & I found this.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5726.jpg
We went into the Animation Building to get a picture-we had asked a man earlier in the day to take the picture but duh he didn't get the words which was the point of the whole thing. So I asked & a nice lady took it for us.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5727.jpg
Dinner was at Stage 12 in the Backlot area. I found out this used to be a food court type area but it is now used exclusively for private functions.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5729.jpg
We had a real treat tonight. Diana introduced Stacia Martin to us & said she was there to draw each one of our favorite Disney characters. They told us to be thinking about who we wanted & they would call us up individually by table. So we got our food & waited for our turn.
Dinner was a buffet & we could have wine with dinner as well. The food was good, but not long after I got my plate it was my turn to go get my drawing. So, by the time I got back to my food it was cold. I probably could have gone & gotten hot food but I didn't want to waste what I had.
My dinner-which was a buffet.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5734.jpg
It was my turn to meet Stacia. Stacia is a Disney historian & artist. She does various things for the company & has worked for Disney for over 30 years. She writes books & travels representing the company. She is on a DVD I just got called Disney Treasures Disneyland Secrets & Magic. We were watching it on Sunday & I said "Hey there's Stacia we know her!". She asked me who I wanted her to draw for me & I told her Mary Poppins. She said Mary was the only human/non animated character she was allowed to do because Mary goes back & forth between the live & animated world so easily. She was amazing to talk to as she drew. We talked about Julie Andrews. She had attended the Gift of Music concert that we had seen in Atlanta at the Hollywood Bowl. So we spent quite a bit of time gushing over Julie & how she was able to sing for us that night & what that meant to us. She said she felt she had met a kindred spirit in me. It was awesome & she drew so quickly that I was in awe.
The finished product.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5736.jpg
Eric's turn was next. He had been wanting to see if she could do a caricature of Frank & Ollie-but she cannot because they are real people, so he settled on Jiminy Cricket.
Here is a video of her talking with us as she drew for Eric. I did the same thing while she was drawing Mary for me, but you don't need to be subjected to my silliness again. It's a bit longer than the other videos about 3 minutes. I asked her if it was ok to video while she was drawing & she said sure.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5738.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5738.flv)
Here's Eric with his finished product.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5739.jpg
She was an absolute delight to talk to & had so much knowledge!!!! What a treat.
The guides had our tubes with our drawings we had done at the animation academy earlier in the day & they put Stacia's drawins in there so we could get them home easily.
Here they are at home.............
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6379.jpg
Yummy desserts
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5741.jpg
Next the guides made a toast to us & our time together. Diana gave Kristin her "D" host pin & told us that this had been her first adventure. What a surprise.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5740.jpg
Then, they showed us a slide show that they had made with the pictures they had been taking all week. It was very touching & funny all at the same time. It made me happy & sad too because I knew this meant our adventure was almost over.
Mickey & Minnie Mouse stopped by to say Goodbye to us which was great!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5745.jpg
It's rare to get a picture with both of the Big Cheese's.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5747.jpg
With our wonderful guides who had made this trip extra magical.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5751.jpg
We gave Diana & Kristin their cards with their tips & the Christmas ornaments I had made for them. They really seemed to like that personal touch & we got big hugs from both of them. I really wish I had gotten their email addresses so I could keep in touch with them.
*****Did any of you guys that were on the trip get them????????:confused3
If so will you share them with me?*****

They gave us all our final pins for the trip which was kind of sad.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1360.jpg
They told us they would have special viewing for us for the fireworks in front of the Plaza Pavillion & to meet there around 9pm if we wanted to see the fireworks.
Then we went off to enjoy the rest of our evening.
Leaving our special area.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5753.jpg

Up next: Bugs & more bugs, Pixar Crack & darn fireworks

DisGal520

01-06-2009, 10:23 AM

SoonerGirl

01-06-2009, 11:02 AM

Melanie -
as if the fabulous trip report wasn't enough to convince me, the video of Stacia sketching characters for you just totally won me over.

Ditto! WOW, what a special treat! I bet she was absolutely facinating!

I don't know when/if I'll ever be able to take this trip, but you sure have made it more than tempting! I'll have to find another Disney lover to go with me though, it would all be lost on DH and that would be a shame. :sad2:

jessily

01-06-2009, 11:55 AM

I just found your trip report and I'm loving it! Thanks for sharing your stories with us:goodvibes

Sherry E

01-06-2009, 12:44 PM

Just wanted to say I have been silently lurking and intending to subscribe to this thread for a while. Only when Travelmel randomly mentioned me and my long answers a ways back did I decide it was time to finally jump aboard!! If ever there was a trip report to really make people want to go to DLR - either folks who have never been there or people who are yearning to go back - this is IT!!! This is one of the most comprehensive TR's I have seen, just chock full o' pictures of everything! I love that! You even got really bright, clear photos in the GCH - which is hard to do because it is such a dimly lit hotel and everyone's pictures tend to come out slightly dark! Not yours!

I have been wondering this of some other people whose TR's I really enjoy lately - what kind of camera are you using to capture all these in-depth DLR shots?

Jennifer48

01-06-2009, 01:09 PM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5726.jpg I :love: this!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6379.jpg
These are wicked awesome!

I think there will be a ABD Backstage Magic tour of all DISers who read your TR. You should get some kind of commission! I need to really set money away too, this is just too good NOT to go! You're great Melanie! :flower3:

Maybe Lurkyloo can rent herself out as a personal tour guide before/after the ABD trip?! :rotfl:

FauntleroyFAN07

01-06-2009, 01:32 PM

wow so cool, i would have had her draw me a donald duck
:goodvibes :banana:

r u going to show a recap at the end of all the stuff you got including all the pins, i know you said you did somehting with all of them just reminidng you to show us.
:thumbsup2 pirate:

Disneygrl36

01-06-2009, 01:55 PM

Melanie -
as if the fabulous trip report wasn't enough to convince me, the video of Stacia sketching characters for you just totally won me over. I am going to plot out a way to afford this trip next December.

:lovestruc
Yeah for you DisGal. I am glad that you are going to go for it. You won't be disappointed. Stacia would totally sell me too!!!!!!!

Ditto! WOW, what a special treat! I bet she was absolutely facinating!

I don't know when/if I'll ever be able to take this trip, but you sure have made it more than tempting! I'll have to find another Disney lover to go with me though, it would all be lost on DH and that would be a shame. :sad2:
I hope you can find someone to go with you. It would be a shame to waste all the special goodies on someone that wouldn't appreciate it. I bet you could find a friend on here to go.:thumbsup2

I just found your trip report and I'm loving it! Thanks for sharing your stories with us:goodvibes
:welcome: Jessily. Glad you are enjoying.

Just wanted to say I have been silently lurking and intending to subscribe to this thread for a while. Only when Travelmel randomly mentioned me and my long answers a ways back did I decide it was time to finally jump aboard!! If ever there was a trip report to really make people want to go to DLR - either folks who have never been there or people who are yearning to go back - this is IT!!! This is one of the most comprehensive TR's I have seen, just chock full o' pictures of everything! I love that! You even got really bright, clear photos in the GCH - which is hard to do because it is such a dimly lit hotel and everyone's pictures tend to come out slightly dark! Not yours!

I have been wondering this of some other people whose TR's I really enjoy lately - what kind of camera are you using to capture all these in-depth DLR shots?
:welcome: Sherry. I am glad you came out of lurkdom to say hello. I am sooo glad that people are enjoying my trippie so much. I am a pretty detail oriented person so it's nice to know I am not boring you guys or giving you too much info.
Funny thing about pictures. I just used my old Kodak Easyshare. I loved my old one so much that I bought a newer one with a better zoom etc. I took it on a few trips & the pictures looked perfect on the view screen but when I uploaded them there were all these fuzzy pictures......so I am not happy with it. So, when this trip came up, I decided to take the old reliable because I would have gotten really upset if I got home & my pictures were fuzzy. I have also learned that alot of times things come out better without the flash. Most of my GCH pictures were taken without the flash.
Thanks for all the kind words

I :love: this!
These are wicked awesome!
I know I love them. I thought the simple black frame set them off the best. I was going to get them matted too, but I think they look great just like that.
I think there will be a ABD Backstage Magic tour of all DISers who read your TR. You should get some kind of commission! I need to really set money away too, this is just too good NOT to go! You're great Melanie! :flower3:

Maybe Lurkyloo can rent herself out as a personal tour guide before/after the ABD trip?! :rotfl:
That is so funny Jennifer!!!!!!! I agree that if a bunch of you guys book because of my trippie then ABD should do something for me.:cool1: Lurkyloo would make an excellent tour guide. She's coming up a bit later on this trippie too so stay tuned.

wow so cool, i would have had her draw me a donald duck
:goodvibes :banana:

r u going to show a recap at the end of all the stuff you got including all the pins, i know you said you did somehting with all of them just reminidng you to show us.
:thumbsup2 pirate:
You would get Donald.......imagine that.:lmao:
Sure I will make sure to show you the projects I did with the pins.
I am trying to choose/upload photos now to print out & get my photo album done & get started on my scrapbook. It is so hard to pick 300 pictures out of 1498!!!!!!!!!!!!:scared1:

lurkyloo

01-06-2009, 02:12 PM

Maybe Lurkyloo can rent herself out as a personal tour guide before/after the ABD trip?! :rotfl:

Just let me know where and when! :thumbsup2

Lurkyloo would make an excellent tour guide. She's coming up a bit later on this trippie too so stay tuned.

popcorn::

:rotfl:

Disneygrl36

01-06-2009, 02:37 PM

Strolling away from our wonderful farewell dinner we took in the sights of Hollywood Backlot all lit up for the evening.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5754.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5757.jpg
We decided to go explore Bugs Land because I had seen some really cool pictures of Tower of Terror at night from there on the Disneyland picture of the day thread-shameless plug for one of my favorite threads on the DIS.:thumbsup2
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5758.jpg
Along the way we ran into some bugs.
One that scared me
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5759.jpg
One that made us laugh
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5761.jpg
And one that made Eric channel Walt Disney's eyebrow lifting
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5762.jpg
We saw some huge Christmas decorations along with the T o T shot I wanted to get.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5769.jpg
And alot of cute lights.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5780.jpg
We knew we had to come back in the daylight to see this area more clearly.
Next we decided to head over to Paradise Pier.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5786.jpg
We rode California Screamin' woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5787.jpg
Then got in a relatively short line for Toy Story Mania-aka Pixar crack which is what one of our tour mates called it since it is addictive & so much fun.
Us in line-this queue had some great posters to look at.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5790.jpg
WOW what a fun game. I stink at Buzz, but I was ahead for about 1/2 this game until we got the ring toss. I think I wound up with 69,000 & Eric got 93,000. This is something I could do over & over, it is that much fun.
By then, we had done most everything we wanted to do for now at California Adventure, so we headed over to Disneyland so we could go watch the fireworks with our group. What a primo spot they got us with nice benches to sit on & everything. We enjoyed chatting about our day with the others, but alas the fireworks were cancelled. BOO!!!!! But the girls had a suprise for us. Earlier in the week, a couple of people asked them if they could get us a candy cane from the confectionery on Main Street. Apparently they are made just a couple of days during the holiday season & are a big deal. They said they would try, but didn't think they would be able to. Well, lo & behold they were able to get one per family & they gave them to us then, but then wound up taking them back for us to the hotel to give to us in the morning at breakfast so we could ride rides without them getting crushed. I forgot to take a picture of it, but this candy cane was about 15 or 16 inches long & was huge. Good job girls :thumbsup2 We ate ours after we got home.

So, since no fireworks were happening, we decided to go hit some rides. We walked through the beautiful castle again headed for Fantasyland.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5793.jpg
We were headed for a very Wild ride that we miss at WDW.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5798.jpg
Mr Toad & Mr I'm Cold :lmao:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5801.jpg
This is an example of why I like Disneylands queue lines better than WDW's. Notice the frog lamp on the podium. There are just little details everywhere.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5803.jpg
So after our ride to nowhere in particular that landed us in someplace very warm & I mean literally warm :lmao: (we wouldn't have minded a longer visit since it was chilly), we decided to go get in line for Small World since we hadn't done this yet.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5815.jpg

Continued in next post.........

Disneygrl36

01-06-2009, 02:47 PM

It is just so beautiful all lit up for Christmas & they do a little show on the facade that is really cool.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5810.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5810.flv)
Then then clock chimes these little guys come out to entertain you.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5817.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5817.flv)
Something was going on because we ended up waiting in line much longer than we thought we would be....I think it broke down.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5819.jpg
But we finally got to ride & I just love the holiday overlay here & hearing the dolls sing Christmas carols too!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5821.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5827.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5827.flv)
Santa is watching.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5822.jpg
My mermaid shot was blurry, but they were singing Jingle Shells which cracked me up. This was just sooooo cute & a neat way to jazz up Small World & let you see it in a different & fun way!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5826.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5838.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5838.flv)
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5839.jpg
By the time we finished up our ride on the happiest cruise that ever sailed it was getting to be around 11:30 so we grabbed some hot cocoa to warm our cold bones & headed for home. It had been a wonderful day & we couldn't believe that our Adventures by Disney was almost over.....we were really glad we got to stay after breakfast in the morning & then had another extra day to play.

Turndown service
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5845.jpg
Up next....bye ABD & Walkin' in Walt's footsteps

Sherry E

01-06-2009, 02:57 PM

:welcome: Sherry. I am glad you came out of lurkdom to say hello. I am sooo glad that people are enjoying my trippie so much. I am a pretty detail oriented person so it's nice to know I am not boring you guys or giving you too much info.
Funny thing about pictures. I just used my old Kodak Easyshare. I loved my old one so much that I bought a newer one with a better zoom etc. I took it on a few trips & the pictures looked perfect on the view screen but when I uploaded them there were all these fuzzy pictures......so I am not happy with it. So, when this trip came up, I decided to take the old reliable because I would have gotten really upset if I got home & my pictures were fuzzy. I have also learned that alot of times things come out better without the flash. Most of my GCH pictures were taken without the flash.
Thanks for all the kind words

Oh I love lots of detail and descriptions (and besides, details are key for other folks who maybe have never been to DLR and want to really know what to expect!) and I love lots of pictures. So it's never too much for me! Aside from your TR being a great tool to help new DLR visitors plan their trips, it is also helpful for those of us seasoned DLR visitors to see certain little details we may have missed for whatever reason. I always find that no matter how many times any of us have been to DLR, there are always little hidden things that we miss because of time limitations or heavy crowds or just not paying attention. So we can always find those little details in other people's pictures that we didn't see when we were there, and we know to catch them on the NEXT trip!!!:cool1:

Really? You got better pictures in the GCH without using a flash? That seems like it would be impossible because of the low light in there. Then again, I got better pictures in the GCH lobby on this past trip (just about 2 weeks ago) than I did in December 2007, and I am not sure why unless they changed their lighting a bit?? I did use a flash though. I was jumping around with all kinds of cameras, but nothing 'professional,' just to see what would come out best. I used an old, decrepit 35 mm (which ended up dying at DLR in the rain), a digital disposable, a cell phone camera, a black and white camera, a disposable digital video - I was all over the place, experimenting to see what worked. I have always felt that you can get really great pictures with almost any kind of camera and you don't have to have a really high-end professional camera (though we all want them;) ). It is really the photographer's eye and the subject and composition that make the photo, and that can be good on any camera.

Well, it's funny that your original Easy Share ended up being better for you than the newer model (I guess that falls under the 'if it ain't broke...' category!), but it seems to have really worked for you based on these photos! Which model of Easy Share was the original one and which was the bad one? I want to know in case I ever get and Easy Share so I can avoid the bad one!!!:rotfl:

Aburns8

01-06-2009, 04:35 PM

Hey Melanie,

I didn't get the guide's e-mail addresses, I wished I would. Brian and I are getting our drawings framed right now!

kmab00

01-06-2009, 06:01 PM

So sad this report is almost over! You did such a great job...your trip sounds amazing!!!!

prettyprincessbelle

01-06-2009, 07:59 PM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6379.jpg

Those are fantastic! What a talented woman! Wow! So awesome!

I always wondered what was in that dang empty building in DCA, now I know!!

Disneygrl36

01-07-2009, 08:51 AM

Oh I love lots of detail and descriptions (and besides, details are key for other folks who maybe have never been to DLR and want to really know what to expect!) and I love lots of pictures. So it's never too much for me! Aside from your TR being a great tool to help new DLR visitors plan their trips, it is also helpful for those of us seasoned DLR visitors to see certain little details we may have missed for whatever reason. I always find that no matter how many times any of us have been to DLR, there are always little hidden things that we miss because of time limitations or heavy crowds or just not paying attention. So we can always find those little details in other people's pictures that we didn't see when we were there, and we know to catch them on the NEXT trip!!!:cool1:

Really? You got better pictures in the GCH without using a flash? That seems like it would be impossible because of the low light in there. Then again, I got better pictures in the GCH lobby on this past trip (just about 2 weeks ago) than I did in December 2007, and I am not sure why unless they changed their lighting a bit?? I did use a flash though. I was jumping around with all kinds of cameras, but nothing 'professional,' just to see what would come out best. I used an old, decrepit 35 mm (which ended up dying at DLR in the rain), a digital disposable, a cell phone camera, a black and white camera, a disposable digital video - I was all over the place, experimenting to see what worked. I have always felt that you can get really great pictures with almost any kind of camera and you don't have to have a really high-end professional camera (though we all want them;) ). It is really the photographer's eye and the subject and composition that make the photo, and that can be good on any camera.

Well, it's funny that your original Easy Share ended up being better for you than the newer model (I guess that falls under the 'if it ain't broke...' category!), but it seems to have really worked for you based on these photos! Which model of Easy Share was the original one and which was the bad one? I want to know in case I ever get and Easy Share so I can avoid the bad one!!!:rotfl:
Thanks again for the kind words & I know what you mean as when I read people's WDW reports (since I have been there tons of times) I am always finding new things to look for.
My old camera is a Kodak Easyshare CX7530. The newer one is a Kodak Easyshare Z712IS. I hate not using the bigger, newer one, but really the older one is "Old Reliable".

Hey Melanie,

I didn't get the guide's e-mail addresses, I wished I would. Brian and I are getting our drawings framed right now!
Hey Andrea!!!! Why didn't any of us think to ask for their email? When you get your drawings back send me or post a picture.

So sad this report is almost over! You did such a great job...your trip sounds amazing!!!!
We still have Sunday & Monday to go!!!! Thanks it was amazing.

Those are fantastic! What a talented woman! Wow! So awesome!

I always wondered what was in that dang empty building in DCA, now I know!!
She is sooooo talented. I wish I could draw like that. Glad I could answer a question you had always been wondering.

Pictures uploading for the next installment now.

Jennifer48

01-07-2009, 09:57 AM

Just let me know where and when! :thumbsup2 :woohoo: *mental note* Oh and Carrie, I went to the book store last night and there were NO Destination Weddings magazines!:eek: I was so upset. I'll have to try another one soon!

Mel, I wish the IASM at WDW was that beautifully lit up at night! :goodvibes I'm so glad you have 2 more days to write. I don't want this report to end!:laughing:

Sherry E

01-07-2009, 10:19 AM

Thanks again for the kind words & I know what you mean as when I read people's WDW reports (since I have been there tons of times) I am always finding new things to look for.
My old camera is a Kodak Easyshare CX7530. The newer one is a Kodak Easyshare Z712IS. I hate not using the bigger, newer one, but really the older one is "Old Reliable".

Thanks for the info!:goodvibes I have been looking at so many pictures on DISboards and jotting down the model numbers and brands of cameras used when I can get the info because it was time for me to replace the 35 mm camera I had. I actually like using 35mm cameras for a few reasons, but I want to get a good, reliable, fairly inexpensive point and shoot digital camera just to play with and practice on and get used to so I can get back in the swing of taking pictures, and then eventually upgrade to one of the Nikon DSLR models. So I made the notation of which Easyshare you used and whcih one to avoid!!

Thanks for taking the time to upload all of your pictures and labor over this TR for us. I think we all know what a painstaking, lengthy process it can be to upload a lot of pictures (especially on a slow computer) and post them, one by one! I think we all really appreciate the great results of your time spent! I just ordered my second Photopass CD (which has 300 pictures on it) and the PP CD I got in October (with only 112 pictures on it) took SOOOOOOO long to load to Photobucket. I thought it would never end. So I know that this new CD I am expecting will probably be an all-day uploading event, but I want to add the pictures to my existing Trip Report or else I won't feel complete!!!

Disneygrl36

01-07-2009, 10:22 AM

Breakfast this morning was at your leisure in Storyteller's Cafe. We didn't have to be at Disneyland by 9:15 for the tour, so we slept in a bit before heading down. We stopped by the desk on the way to sign our new registration card & to get our new keys.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5847.jpg
Breakfast was good here & it was nice to be able to say our final goodbyes to all of our new friends & our guides.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5846.jpg

After our breakfast, we headed over to Disneyland. We picked up our tickets for the tour at Guest Services & then went inside. We checked in at the tour desk & then had a few minutes to just hang out & wait.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5852.jpg
These 2 were hilarious & I spent several minutes just watching them.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5855.jpg
They had a whole group of 20 somethings just hanging out around them & they even followed them when they left to go to another location. Which made me wonder-did they know them or were they stalking Alice & the Mad Hatter?

So when it was time for the tour, we were given head sets to wear so we could hear the guide. Our guide was named Robert & he was really great. There was only one other couple on the tour-so maybe Sunday mornings is a good time to take this tour.
First stop was the dedication plaque. Robert had us close our eyes & imagine we were at Disneyland on opening day. He played Walt's dedication speech for us-he had all kinds of stuff that he could play for us as we were walking around. It was pretty cool. We talked about forced perspective & how the castle looks very far away when looking at it from the train station-like a destination that really pulls you along. But if you are at the castle & hub & look back you see that the train station looks closer so at the end of your day it seems you don't have as far to walk. He also told us about storybook reality which was a term I hadn't heard before-meaning that the way we see things at Disneyland are the way reality should be. He discussed Walt's apartment over the firestation & how Walt loved to get the fire truck out & drive it around early in the mornings.

Next we walked to the Partners statue. Robert told us that the sculptor intended Walt's outstretched arm & hand to mean "Mickey, look what we've built." Really cool.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6091.jpg
Then we went to Adventureland & met our skipper for the Jungle Cruise. He had just gotten engaged & was all excited telling Robert about it. We had a very punny cruise around the jungle & it was fun as always.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5871.jpg

We stopped in Frontierland to see a window for Fess Parker. I am not sure if this is unique to Disneyland but I don't remember seeing windows in other places besides Main Street at WDW. It seems fitting to put his here.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5873.jpg
He also talked about Walt & Lillian's anniversary party at the Golden Horseshoe. Can you believe comedian Wally Boag did over 50,000 shows there. It is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest running stage show ever.

We then headed to New Orleans Square.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5874.jpg
We talked about the fact that Pirates was the last attraction that Walt actually saw being worked on & that the Haunted Mansion was the first attraction opened after Walt died.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5877.jpg
We found the door to Club 33 here.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5882.jpg
So Robert left us there & kept talking to us via headset. He told us that even a special knock could not get you in Club 33 but that we could try it. So Eric tried knocking.....nothing. I tried to do the Mickey Mouse club march as a knock & he was cracking up saying "Who is doing Jingle Bells?" Anyway, after all that silliness he finally opened the door & let us into the lobby.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5887.jpg
It is very dark & richly done with a "lift" that Walt found in a hotel in France that he tried to buy but they wouldn't sell it to him. So instead he sent Imagineers over to sketch & copy it so he could use it at Club 33.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5888.jpg
This Club was intended to be a place Walt could entertain people, but sadly he never got to use it. It is members only but if you know someone that knows someone they can get you a reservation. The list to become a member is currently closed-I found this out by asking the lady that came down during our tour that works at the podium.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5889.jpg
She said that once you get on the list it takes about 10 years then to get a place.
Beautiful details in here.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5891.jpg
This bust was used in the filming of Mary Poppins & there is also a table upstairs used in that film as well as a phone booth from the Happiest Millionaire. Robert says no one has been able to find the bust in the movie, but that is the story that is told.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5894.jpg
Proof that we were actually there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5895.jpg
There was great artwork on the walls-one of the Mark Twain & one of the Royal Street Bachelors group that Walt hired himself in New Orleans. There is one original member still with the group named Ernie. Coincidentally, when we came out of Club 33 they were playing there in the square. Robert said Ernie was the gentleman playing the guitar.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5897.jpg
We then talked just a bit about the now Dream Suite that was supposed to be Walt & Roy's apartment to entertain people. Of course, when Walt died the project was put on hold. Years later it was made into the Disney Gallery & then the Dream Suite.

We then rode the train to Toontown.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5900.jpg
Did you know that the train station across the tracks in New Orleans Square was actually the old Frontierland train station?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5902.jpg
It is based on a set built for the movie So Dear to my Heart. The actual set was given to Ward Kimball to use for his backyard train & then when Walt decided to build Disneyland, he wanted to use the same thing, but couldn't really ask for it back from Ward since it was installed in his yard, so they recreated it.

Once in Fantasyland, we discussed Small World being built for the World's Fair & how those projects were so great for Disneyland because it allowed the Imagineers to experiment & find new technologies while having other companies pay for it. Then, after the fair, the projects made their way back to Disneyland!!!! We also found out that Disneyland has the largest Navy fleet of submarines in the world!!!! Fantasyland was Walt's favorite land because it was filled with imagination. Here we discussed how the front of the castle was actually supposed to be the back & how Herb Ryman turned it around on the model. Walt liked it better that way so it stayed that way.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5908.jpg

Then, we headed back to Adventureland where we visited the Tiki Room which was supposed to be a restaurant in the original concept. The more they thought about this they were afraid that the show would distract people & they would stay too long so it became just a show.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5915.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5915.flv)
We stayed put after the show & Robert brought out an original flower animatronic for us to see up close.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5916.jpg
It is very delicate & has to be handled with care hence the gloves. All the birds & flowers are individually done & unique. The birds have a mechanism that even puffs out their chests to make it appear they are breathing. For the time, this was a major accomplishment & the Tiki room still holds a lot of charm.

We headed back down Main Street as our tour was coming to an end. We stopped at this special window-which is the only one on Main Street here that references Walt. It was done for Disneyland's 50th as a tribute to all the cast members & to the man that started it all.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5919.jpg
We went into the 50th Anniversary exhibit & talked about a few of the things on display there & then back out to Town Square.
We paused & Robert talked about Walt's vision & purpose for the park & left us with the thought that Walt really did for us was to make a place where we could all escape from the realities of everyday life. It is a real gift. He then played Walt's favorite song "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins as we walked to lunch. A very touching way to end the tour.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5922.jpg
We had picked out our lunch when we checked in. I had a tuna sandwich with fruit & we had 2 yummy chocolate chip cookies. Robert sat with us & chatted some more as we ate. We talked about upcoming projects & he told us to check out the Blue Sky gallery at California Adventure. He also brought out the old 1963 National Geographic magazine that had a whole section about Walt in it & showed us pictures of the apartment. I had to bite my tongue not to say, we were just in there a few days ago. I have since found this magazine on ebay & bought it so we would have that. It was part of DH's Christmas present that went with what I did with his lamp pin.

I was really glad we did this tour even though I knew alot of the information presented. It was nice to really walk in Walt's footsteps & the audio clips that Robert added to his presentation really were a great way to make you feel immersed in Walt's World.
This is the special pin we go for taking the tour.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/101_1362.jpg

Up next.........Playing on the Pier & meeting a Dis friend

Disneygrl36

01-07-2009, 10:38 AM

:woohoo: *mental note* Oh and Carrie, I went to the book store last night and there were NO Destination Weddings magazines!:eek: I was so upset. I'll have to try another one soon!

Mel, I wish the IASM at WDW was that beautifully lit up at night! :goodvibes I'm so glad you have 2 more days to write. I don't want this report to end!:laughing:
Me too!!!!!! WDW lacks the charm & beauty in Fantasyland that Disneyland has. I don't want it to end either just like I didn't want the trip to end.

Thanks for the info!:goodvibes I have been looking at so many pictures on DISboards and jotting down the model numbers and brands of cameras used when I can get the info because it was time for me to replace the 35 mm camera I had. I actually like using 35mm cameras for a few reasons, but I want to get a good, reliable, fairly inexpensive point and shoot digital camera just to play with and practice on and get used to so I can get back in the swing of taking pictures, and then eventually upgrade to one of the Nikon DSLR models. So I made the notation of which Easyshare you used and whcih one to avoid!!

Thanks for taking the time to upload all of your pictures and labor over this TR for us. I think we all know what a painstaking, lengthy process it can be to upload a lot of pictures (especially on a slow computer) and post them, one by one! I think we all really appreciate the great results of your time spent! I just ordered my second Photopass CD (which has 300 pictures on it) and the PP CD I got in October (with only 112 pictures on it) took SOOOOOOO long to load to Photobucket. I thought it would never end. So I know that this new CD I am expecting will probably be an all-day uploading event, but I want to add the pictures to my existing Trip Report or else I won't feel complete!!!
It does take a long time to do, but it's worth it to me. It helps me relive the trip & like I said before then I can print it out & read it whenever I am feeling lonely for Disneyland. Thanks for all the nice words. I have really enjoyed doing this. I will have to check out your trippie!

FauntleroyFAN07

01-07-2009, 11:46 AM

so is that club 33 now a referal by members only club? i wonder how else you can get in there:rolleyes1

Sherry E

01-07-2009, 12:26 PM

It does take a long time to do, but it's worth it to me. It helps me relive the trip & like I said before then I can print it out & read it whenever I am feeling lonely for Disneyland. Thanks for all the nice words. I have really enjoyed doing this. I will have to check out your trippie!

Printing out the TR's is a good idea. Eventually all the TR's will disappear into the ether on DISboards so a hard copy is good to have! I may not only print out mine, but I may print out some of the other DIS'ers' TR's as well!!

My TR is not even close to being the comprehensive epic masterpiece that yours is in any way, shape or form (and not even close to Mariezp's great TR extravaganza, which is a fantastic TR too!), but yes, do check it out when you can! Mine is just an okay TR, but I did put some older DLR pictures (1990's and before) in there from past DLR trips , and I plan to continue to do that, which is fun for me. I find that I love reading people's TR's, super-short or super-long, pictures or no pictures. But I love looking at all photos, professional quality or total amateur level, even if we ALL take pictures of the many of the same things over and over! I don't know if you feel the same way, but for some reason it never gets old to me being able to look at everyone's different versions of the ginormous Main Street Christmas tree or the Partners statue or any other common photo spot in DLR! I also like looking at who the people are who have gone on the trip to DLR because I like to see who really looks like they are having a blast and who looks like they want to go home!! I like looking at the posed shots and also just random crowd shots. I love it all! And it does help to relive my own trips to DLR in my mind when I read other TR's, as well as helps to plan for my own future trips by learning from other people's experiences!!

lurkyloo

01-07-2009, 01:45 PM

One itsy bitsy correction to your tour guide's story - Disneyland was said by Walt to have the eighth largest submarine fleet in the world, not the largest. :thumbsup2

And while I'm being a snob....

so is that club 33 now a referal by members only club? i wonder how else you can get in there:rolleyes1

I put my name on the waiting list for Club 33 about 7 years ago and was told the wait was 10 years. Well, about 3 weeks ago, my name came up and I was invited to join! Unfortunately, there is no way right now that we can afford the $14,000 you need for the initiation fee and your first year's dues. :sad1: It made me so sad to have to turn down the invite.

Membership doesn't require referral by a member, and that wouldn't get you in any faster. They go by the waiting list. Everyone keeps saying it is closed right now, but I would bet that with the downturn in the economy, more spots start opening up soon. ;)

jenny105

01-07-2009, 04:34 PM

I just found this thread and read your whole TR up to this point. I would love to do this ABD tour one day! I've never been to DL, which would be a treat itself, but to get to see everything behind the scenes....wow! And my DBF would absolutely LOVE getting a tour of the Disney & Jim Henson Studios. He's a real movie buff and wants to be a director so this would be sort of like a dream come true for him. I hope one day I get to do this! :)

SoonerGirl

01-07-2009, 05:04 PM

I can print it out & read it whenever I am feeling lonely for Disneyland.

Printing out your report is a wonderful idea, years later you won't remember all the little details, but you'll have them right there at your fingertips in your report! I printed mine out and I've already gone back and read it! :laughing: Just make sure you have PLENTY of paper and printer ink on hand when you get started - I think I used an entire ream of paper, and your report is longer than mine! I didn't print mine using the "printable" version available because that makes all the smilies just words and it took away some from the report I thought. I did shut off the signatures though while I printed it, that saved some space and ink!

MAGICFOR2

01-07-2009, 05:47 PM

Hi Melanie! I'm finally all caught up again. You have done an awesome job of sharing DL and your adventure with all of us!

I loved your final dinner - so cool to have the private drawings, and I can tell you became quite attached to your guides.

IASW was broke, huh? Those darn Daisies were probably there!:rotfl2: Your trip was so magical - I can't wait to read more of your own adventures!

travelmel

01-07-2009, 07:44 PM

One itsy bitsy correction to your tour guide's story - Disneyland was said by Walt to have the eighth largest submarine fleet in the world, not the largest. :thumbsup2

And while I'm being a snob....

I put my name on the waiting list for Club 33 about 7 years ago and was told the wait was 10 years. Well, about 3 weeks ago, my name came up and I was invited to join! Unfortunately, there is no way right now that we can afford the $14,000 you need for the initiation fee and your first year's dues. :sad1: It made me so sad to have to turn down the invite.

Membership doesn't require referral by a member, and that wouldn't get you in any faster. They go by the waiting list. Everyone keeps saying it is closed right now, but I would bet that with the downturn in the economy, more spots start opening up soon. ;)

WOW... I'll have you know this is the closest I have ever been to anybody who had anything to do with Club 33.

:lmao:

hack2112

01-07-2009, 08:18 PM

So, I'm going to pop in for a sec and explain the Studio 12 story.

So originally you were going to have the farewell dinner at the Vineyard, but they had accidentally booked the room we were going to be in that night, so instead, they decided on opening up Studio 12 to us for the night.

Once we got there, we all stated how we felt it was the perfect end to the trip, because you really felt backstage, so we requested that Studio 12 should be made the permanent end dinner location, and as you can see, they obliged.

Also, Stacia is amazing. She did Figment for me, and she even knew how to do Sam the Eagle for Quinn. She is also a treasure trove of information, and her only rule is that you be there to talk to her when she draws your character.

Also, Max Ackerman Technique. Just saying...

CangriChika

01-07-2009, 08:24 PM

I'm officially jealous about you going on the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour && going into club 33... i wish I had known about that, i totally would have stayed an extra day or two to take some tours and see some last sights :sad1:

and how exactly can you PM on this?
because I wanted to message you something but I don't know how to on here...
(pardon the n00b haha) :rotfl:

MA pigletfan

01-07-2009, 08:46 PM

Melanie..i am so sad your report is winding down ( and shame on me for having mine on hold for over a month..whoops!!!)..anyway i have the same picture of those bridal gowns at the GCH!!! i would walk by them and sigh every day..i still need to buy my gown for my October wedding, so who knows???!!!
What an amazing tour you had..I can't even handle all the stuff you got to do and see!

SoonerGirl

01-07-2009, 08:57 PM

and how exactly can you PM on this?
because I wanted to message you something but I don't know how to on here...
(pardon the n00b haha) :rotfl:

Just click on her user name right above the avatar on one of her posts, sending the user a PM is one of the options. :thumbsup2

CangriChika

01-07-2009, 09:58 PM

thanks!
i've just been schooled!
:banana: :banana: :banana:

i cant send a message unless i have 10 posts :headache:

merrrydeath

01-07-2009, 10:08 PM

1. I have been lurking ever since your pre-trip report, but either I haven't had anything to say that hasn't already been said(love all your pictures and details) or I couldn't seem to get over my jealousy enough to post :P

2. However, I was watching my new copy of the 40th anniversary edition of Mary Poppins and couldn't resist posting after I was done. If you don't already own this edition, then you should get it right away. On the Bonus Features disc there is a 50 min. behind-the-scenes making of Mary Poppins. It is full of cute details about the actors, the sets, the music, and so many great stories about Walt Disney's influence in the movie. I think you'd love it if you haven't already seen it.

Disneygrl36

01-07-2009, 11:19 PM

so is that club 33 now a referal by members only club? i wonder how else you can get in there:rolleyes1
I don't think you can just casually walk in like you did at the luau Dan.:lmao:
They have to let you in.

Printing out the TR's is a good idea. Eventually all the TR's will disappear into the ether on DISboards so a hard copy is good to have! I may not only print out mine, but I may print out some of the other DIS'ers' TR's as well!!

My TR is not even close to being the comprehensive epic masterpiece that yours is in any way, shape or form (and not even close to Mariezp's great TR extravaganza, which is a fantastic TR too!), but yes, do check it out when you can! Mine is just an okay TR, but I did put some older DLR pictures (1990's and before) in there from past DLR trips , and I plan to continue to do that, which is fun for me. I find that I love reading people's TR's, super-short or super-long, pictures or no pictures. But I love looking at all photos, professional quality or total amateur level, even if we ALL take pictures of the many of the same things over and over! I don't know if you feel the same way, but for some reason it never gets old to me being able to look at everyone's different versions of the ginormous Main Street Christmas tree or the Partners statue or any other common photo spot in DLR! I also like looking at who the people are who have gone on the trip to DLR because I like to see who really looks like they are having a blast and who looks like they want to go home!! I like looking at the posed shots and also just random crowd shots. I love it all! And it does help to relive my own trips to DLR in my mind when I read other TR's, as well as helps to plan for my own future trips by learning from other people's experiences!!
I agree if it's Disney I enjoy looking at it & reading about it.

One itsy bitsy correction to your tour guide's story - Disneyland was said by Walt to have the eighth largest submarine fleet in the world, not the largest. :thumbsup2

And while I'm being a snob....

I put my name on the waiting list for Club 33 about 7 years ago and was told the wait was 10 years. Well, about 3 weeks ago, my name came up and I was invited to join! Unfortunately, there is no way right now that we can afford the $14,000 you need for the initiation fee and your first year's dues. :sad1: It made me so sad to have to turn down the invite.

Membership doesn't require referral by a member, and that wouldn't get you in any faster. They go by the waiting list. Everyone keeps saying it is closed right now, but I would bet that with the downturn in the economy, more spots start opening up soon. ;)
Thanks for correcting the info. I think you would make a great tour guide at Disneyland. I told Eric the other day that if we move to Orlando maybe I could be a plaid instead of being a nurse. I would love to give tours & tell people all the useless Disney stuff that floats around in my head.
Oh darn Carrie. We are friends now & you could have hooked me up with a ressie. :sad2: Oh well $14,000 is a chunk of change. What do they do if you say no, do you still get to stay on the list?

I just found this thread and read your whole TR up to this point. I would love to do this ABD tour one day! I've never been to DL, which would be a treat itself, but to get to see everything behind the scenes....wow! And my DBF would absolutely LOVE getting a tour of the Disney & Jim Henson Studios. He's a real movie buff and wants to be a director so this would be sort of like a dream come true for him. I hope one day I get to do this! :)
:welcome: Jenny. If he's a movie/Disney buff this is the tour for you guys.

Printing out your report is a wonderful idea, years later you won't remember all the little details, but you'll have them right there at your fingertips in your report! I printed mine out and I've already gone back and read it! :laughing: Just make sure you have PLENTY of paper and printer ink on hand when you get started - I think I used an entire ream of paper, and your report is longer than mine! I didn't print mine using the "printable" version available because that makes all the smilies just words and it took away some from the report I thought. I did shut off the signatures though while I printed it, that saved some space and ink!
I have printed out my other 2 trippies & put them in the back of my scrapbook. It's great to have them for the memories.

Hi Melanie! I'm finally all caught up again. You have done an awesome job of sharing DL and your adventure with all of us!

I loved your final dinner - so cool to have the private drawings, and I can tell you became quite attached to your guides.

IASW was broke, huh? Those darn Daisies were probably there!:rotfl2: Your trip was so magical - I can't wait to read more of your own adventures!
Yeah, I know I bet it was those darn Daisies. It was worth the wait though.

WOW... I'll have you know this is the closest I have ever been to anybody who had anything to do with Club 33.

:lmao:
Me too Melissa.:cool1:

So, I'm going to pop in for a sec and explain the Studio 12 story.

So originally you were going to have the farewell dinner at the Vineyard, but they had accidentally booked the room we were going to be in that night, so instead, they decided on opening up Studio 12 to us for the night.

Once we got there, we all stated how we felt it was the perfect end to the trip, because you really felt backstage, so we requested that Studio 12 should be made the permanent end dinner location, and as you can see, they obliged.

Also, Stacia is amazing. She did Figment for me, and she even knew how to do Sam the Eagle for Quinn. She is also a treasure trove of information, and her only rule is that you be there to talk to her when she draws your character.

Also, Max Ackerman Technique. Just saying...
Really cool info on dinner Max. Glad you guys were able to have input into that. It was a great location. They took my fastpass everytime. Darn I guess I didn't know how to work it like you. Sakina got Figment I think. Stacia was like the cherry on the top of our perfect ending sundae.

I'm officially jealous about you going on the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour && going into club 33... i wish I had known about that, i totally would have stayed an extra day or two to take some tours and see some last sights :sad1:

and how exactly can you PM on this?
because I wanted to message you something but I don't know how to on here...
(pardon the n00b haha) :rotfl:
I wish you could have stayed too Sakina. PM me quick. Post something silly on here & then you can send me a message. How bout I send you one with my email address.

Melanie..i am so sad your report is winding down ( and shame on me for having mine on hold for over a month..whoops!!!)..anyway i have the same picture of those bridal gowns at the GCH!!! i would walk by them and sigh every day..i still need to buy my gown for my October wedding, so who knows???!!!
What an amazing tour you had..I can't even handle all the stuff you got to do and see!
Ohhhhhhhhh I forgot you have a wedding to plan. Good luck. That window made me drool. I really do want to do a vow renewal at 10 years-just 5 more years to wait. Maybe we could do one at 7 years what do you guys think? My sister in law informed me that 5 years was too soon when I talked about doing on this past year.:confused3

thanks!
i've just been schooled!
:banana: :banana: :banana:

i cant send a message unless i have 10 posts :headache:
See above........

1. I have been lurking ever since your pre-trip report, but either I haven't had anything to say that hasn't already been said(love all your pictures and details) or I couldn't seem to get over my jealousy enough to post :P

2. However, I was watching my new copy of the 40th anniversary edition of Mary Poppins and couldn't resist posting after I was done. If you don't already own this edition, then you should get it right away. On the Bonus Features disc there is a 50 min. behind-the-scenes making of Mary Poppins. It is full of cute details about the actors, the sets, the music, and so many great stories about Walt Disney's influence in the movie. I think you'd love it if you haven't already seen it.
Glad you came out of lurkdom & :welcome:
I have the MP 40th DVD & it is awesome. I haven't watched the special features in a while. I might just do that now that you have reminded me how great they are. Thanks. :thumbsup2

BriarRosie

01-08-2009, 12:13 AM

As I Daisy, I apologize for breaking all of the rides :thumbsup2

Hey now, we Daisies didn't break all the rides! We just have gotten a bad reputation. ;)

It soooooooooooooo had to be a Daisy that broke the monorail. :rotfl:

Sure, add salt to the wound. :laughing: I think we had an adventure of trying to get to the Fantasmic seating area while in the midst of the sea of humanity traveling in one-way directions. I tell you if I hadn't found you guys, I probably would never have found the rest of the group.

And I can't believe Melanie forgot to mention getting Dream Fastpasses from the exit of Monsters Inc! I rode it with Melanie and Eric, and I had to point out the sushi menu in the queue and my favorite item in the vending machine: Sugar, Salt and Fat. :rotfl2:

I think we had some amazing things to see, but if we had been able to see Club 33 and/or the Dream Suite, that would have been icing on the cake of a wonderful tour.

CangriChika

01-08-2009, 07:43 AM

she did mention the dreams fastpass...

darn things stopped being handed out as soon as we got on the ride, and it was RIGHT after you guys....

All that was left was confetti on the floor MERR...:headache:

Disneygrl36

01-08-2009, 09:29 AM

Hey now, we Daisies didn't break all the rides! We just have gotten a bad reputation. ;)

Sure, add salt to the wound. :laughing: I think we had an adventure of trying to get to the Fantasmic seating area while in the midst of the sea of humanity traveling in one-way directions. I tell you if I hadn't found you guys, I probably would never have found the rest of the group.

And I can't believe Melanie forgot to mention getting Dream Fastpasses from the exit of Monsters Inc! I rode it with Melanie and Eric, and I had to point out the sushi menu in the queue and my favorite item in the vending machine: Sugar, Salt and Fat. :rotfl2:

I think we had some amazing things to see, but if we had been able to see Club 33 and/or the Dream Suite, that would have been icing on the cake of a wonderful tour.
Well, if you guys would have broken only one ride.............:rotfl: but some of you broke others!!!!:goodvibes
I can't believe I forgot to mention it either until someone asked me about it from a picture.
I agree Lori..........they should add in lunch at Club 33 & a tour of the Dream Suite. I wonder if things will change over time. If they do, I might have to take the tour again. Shhhhhhhhhhh don't tell Eric I said that.

she did mention the dreams fastpass...

darn things stopped being handed out as soon as we got on the ride, and it was RIGHT after you guys....

All that was left was confetti on the floor MERR...:headache:
Sorry we took all the fastpasses Sakina!!!!
I think what Lori meant is I forgot to mention it until somebody asked me about it. D'oh.
I just noticed your ticker............have you been on a disney cruise before????? I :love: DCL. Which one are you going on?

Disneygrl36

01-08-2009, 10:12 AM

So we left Disneyland & walked over to California Adventure. We wanted to finish up there today since we still had a park hopper & tomorrow we were just buying a one day non-hopper ticket since our ABD pass would be all used up.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5923-1.jpg
We got a fast pass to ride Soarin & some hot chocolate because it was getting chillier by the minute. I don't know what I was thinking with my clothing choice for the day, but the hot pink sweater & the jacket looked horrible together---but I was cold so who cares right?:confused3
We went to Bugs Land again because I had to get a few pictures there & one of them had to be of Dot.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5927.jpg
See back when I went to Disneyland with my family in 2001 every time I did the what character are you I was DOT--good grief. Then the first time Eric & I went to WDW & I did it there I was DOT. So it's been a running joke between us that I am Dot the optimistic little bug. This time I was Cinderella!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1:
We rode Heimlich's chew chew train just because it was so darn cute.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5930.jpg
I love how everything has been chomped on by Heimlich.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5933.jpg
Then went to see It's Tough to Be a Bug because we just love this movie so much.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5938.jpg
Do you smell that?
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5939.jpg
My favorite part is the bugs exiting the theatre.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5942.jpg
We went by the Blue Sky Cellar to see what kind of plans they have for the remake of California Adventure-some really cool stuff is coming.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5943.jpg
I had to take a photo of this memo because it references Joe Cocker the audio-animatronic we saw at Imagineering. Really cool.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5945.jpg
Pinot noir is my favorite wine so I thought this was a funny play on that.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5949.jpg
Loved this model.........still hate the ferris wheel because it scares the heck out of me with those moving cars.:scared1: But it looks really cute with Mickey in the middle.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5947.jpg

Next we headed to Paradise Pier to ride some rides, especially since some of these are going away or being reimagined.
We rode the Orange Stinger
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5952.jpg
The Maliboomer........which I totally love. You can see for miles up there.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5953.jpg
California Screamin' & this time we were in the front row!!!!!! Oh Yeah!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5963.jpg
Then we rode on King Tritons carousel because the animals are just so darn cute. DH isn't bad either. :love:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5961.jpg
Soooooooo lurkyloo aka Carrie had emailed us while we were in Hollywood & asked if we would still be around on Sunday & we had agreed to meet around 3ish at the Tiki Room. I realized we were still going to be in California Adventure at that time, so I called her. She said they had to check in for the night at the Grand anyways, so they would come over & meet us. We were in line for Soarin' so she said call her when we got off. Which we did & then we waited for them outside Soarin'. It wasn't long before I saw she & Patrick walking along towards us. It was like meeting up with long lost friends. I know I hugged her & then I wondered does she think I am crazy for doing that. She & Patrick are just like they seem from her trippies & their photos. Patrick went to get them a hot cocoa & we found a table so we could sit & chat.
It was great talking with them & finding out about what they do. They really wanted to hear about our experiences with ABD & we were excited to tell them all about it. Patrick especially wanted to hear about Jim Henson Studios-since he does work with them. Which by the way, Patrick has the coolest job ever being a puppeteer!!!!!!!!!!! We chatted for a long time & it was really great to meet them & for it not to be in the least bit awkward. It really was like meeting old friends. They had a dinner reservation to get ready for & we wanted to watch the parade...so we went & found a photopass photog to take our picture & then went our seperate ways.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5965.jpg
Looking at this picture makes me feel really short--happy but short.
We really enjoyed our time with them & I would love to get back out to Hollywood area some time & spend some more time together.:thumbsup2
Continued in next post........

Disneygrl36

01-08-2009, 10:14 AM

Then we went & found a spot for the Pixar Play parade. This is a really cute parade with lots of bouncy acrobatic elements. The music was infectious. I enjoyed seeing all my favorite characters.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5967.jpg
Jack Jack's head on fire!!!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5973.jpg
Mice bouncing on spaghetti
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5977.jpg
Crush dude......
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5980.jpg
I loved this puffer fish.........he would shrink down to normal & then open the umbrella up & pouff up.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5983.jpg
Toy Story float......those acrobats were amazing!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5995.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5995.flv)
And silly old Heimlich
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5984.jpg
A little bit of video of the bugs
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/th_100_5989.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/?action=view&current=100_5989.flv)
This parade had a lot of movement & different things that we hadn't seen before so it was fun for us.

We had a couple of things we wanted to do one more time before we left. I wanted to ride Monsters Inc again since they don't have it at WDW. We also went back to the Animation Academy & drew Goofy this time.

After that, we went back to the room so we could get gloves & a hat for Eric because it was COLD. We were supposed to have dinner at Steakhouse 55 but we had been eating so much food that we decided to forgo this & just have something from White Water Snacks in the Grand instead. So I had a chicken sandwich. I think Eric had a steak sandwich.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6002.jpg

I left my camera in the room when we went back. We went into the Magic Kingdom to basically just walk around & soak up the atmosphere. We did ride Pooh & got a snack from Pooh's corner to eat. I got my Tigger Tail-yummo & Eric had a smore. Alas no photos. My feet were killing me this night. I think it had all just caught up to me & the Walk in Walt's footsteps was about 3 hours of basically uninterrupted walking or standing. So we called it an early night, just enjoying walking around the Magic Kingdom. We walked over to Tomorrowland & took the monorail back to the Grand.
We went to the Hearthstone Lounge to have a glass of wine to relax before bed. We were all cuddled up on one of the sofas when a man came in with his 2 little girls who were bouncing all over the place & plopping around on the sofa across from us. The Dad came over & said "Sorry, if we just ruined your romantic evening. But hey this is some of the best birth control you could ever get." :lmao: :rotfl: :lmao:
So we finished up that glass of wine & got another to go for in the room. We ate a snack & drank our wine while chatting about our trip!! Not long after we were dead to the world & for the first time this trip, we did not set the alarm clock to get up the next morning.

Up next............Rainy Day fun

FauntleroyFAN07

01-08-2009, 10:53 AM

mmmm wine, and that chicken sandwich looks really good

CangriChika

01-08-2009, 12:05 PM

I just noticed your ticker............have you been on a disney cruise before????? I :love: DCL. Which one are you going on?

I've NEVER been on a disney cruise :scared1:
surprising huh?

I'm going to Bahamas && Castaway Cay, its the 3 night one I think. I'm so excited!!! :cool1:

Aburns8

01-08-2009, 12:09 PM

I'm going to Bahamas && Castaway Cay, its the 3 night one I think. I'm so excited!!! :cool1:

Sakina, Brian and I want to go! Could you imagine all of the trouble we would get into!

CangriChika

01-08-2009, 12:45 PM

Sakina, Brian and I want to go! Could you imagine all of the trouble we would get into!

you should definatly go!
that would be exciting, they'd end up kicking us of the boat :lmao:
we leave feb. 26 fyi ;)
there should be time to still book it hehe

jns

01-08-2009, 02:39 PM

just loving your TR

Thanks again for sharing

When's the next holiday pre trip report comimg out ?

lurkyloo

01-08-2009, 03:22 PM

Hooray! Now I know what you guys did before and after we met you. I liked my hug :hug: ...

Also, I think your red and pink looked great together - but then, if you look at our pic together, you may notice that I'm wearing a red scarf and pink gloves! :rotfl:

jenny105

01-08-2009, 04:08 PM

I've NEVER been on a disney cruise :scared1:
surprising huh?

I'm going to Bahamas && Castaway Cay, its the 3 night one I think. I'm so excited!!! :cool1:

I've never been on one either and I'm sooooo excited too! :) Yours is a lot closer than mine though!

CangriChika

01-08-2009, 06:32 PM

I've never been on one either and I'm sooooo excited too! :) Yours is a lot closer than mine though!

ohh! where you going and when?? :woohoo:

TheTXTaylors5

01-08-2009, 10:00 PM

I've NEVER been on a disney cruise :scared1:
surprising huh?

I'm going to Bahamas && Castaway Cay, its the 3 night one I think. I'm so excited!!! :cool1:

:love: You're going to love your cruise! DH surprised me in 2006 for our Tenth Anniversary with the Land/Sea Package. :love: DS3 was still so little. So, he wanted to include the kids in our "second" honeymoon. We have been on one every year since. Needless to say ... :worship: We're hooked! We just went on our third this past September. I want to live on Castaway Cay. Serenity Bay is soooooooooo peaceful. :cloud9: I was surprised how quiet it is down there. The family beach was loud and chaotic. Once you board the tram ... you are on your way to pure paradise. :beach: On our first and second cruise, we did the couples-cabana massage on CC. :thumbsup2 I HIGHLY recommend this. Also, we have done dinner and brunch at Palo. Brunch was amazing. We met up with other DISers onboard and booked Palo's private room for the brunch (It helped that one of our DISFriends was in a Suite ;) ). The 3-night cruise doesn't have the Palo brunch, but dinner is "a must". The lobster ravioli is now my favorite. Yum! Yum! We have to wait until November for our next DCL cruise. :guilty: It seems sooooooo far away. We are taking my Mom, nephew and our three kiddos. :dance3: My Mom lost her husband this past Spring. They were suppose to go on a cruise the month after he passed. Of course she canceled it. So, DH and I wanted to treat her with the cruise as a sort of pick-me up. We are bringing my nephew along as a High School Graduation present. It will be a "mini-Grand Gathering". We need one more person (8 minimum) to be considered a Grand Gathering at WDW. :rolleyes:

Have a "Wonder"ful cruise. :goodvibes

:surfweb: Jennifer

TheTXTaylors5

01-08-2009, 10:18 PM

Melanie,

Your trip report lit a fire under my butt to make a decision about DH's birthday trip this June. After pricing everything and taking into consideration our children, I decided to wait until DS3 is older to do an ABD. With that said (written) ... I booked us at the Disneyland Hotel!!!!!! :woohoo: I can't wait! This will be DH's first trip to Disneyland. What better way to spend his 40th Birthday? We WILL be there on his actual birthday. :cake: I got the park-hopper tickets with our package. So, we will probably use the celebration FastPass option for his birthday present from Disney.

Look out Mickey ... Here we come! :mickeyjum

:surfweb: Jennifer

CangriChika

01-08-2009, 10:51 PM

:love: You're going to love your cruise! DH surprised me in 2006 for our Tenth Anniversary with the Land/Sea Package. :love: DS3 was still so little. So, he wanted to include the kids in our "second" honeymoon. We have been on one every year since. Needless to say ... :worship: We're hooked! We just went on our third this past September. I want to live on Castaway Cay. Serenity Bay is soooooooooo peaceful. :cloud9: I was surprised how quiet it is down there. The family beach was loud and chaotic. Once you board the tram ... you are on your way to pure paradise. :beach: On our first and second cruise, we did the couples-cabana massage on CC. :thumbsup2 I HIGHLY recommend this. Also, we have done dinner and brunch at Palo. Brunch was amazing. We met up with other DISers onboard and booked Palo's private room for the brunch (It helped that one of our DISFriends was in a Suite ;) ). The 3-night cruise doesn't have the Palo brunch, but dinner is "a must". The lobster ravioli is now my favorite. Yum! Yum! We have to wait until November for our next DCL cruise. :guilty: It seems sooooooo far away. We are taking my Mom, nephew and our three kiddos. :dance3: My Mom lost her husband this past Spring. They were suppose to go on a cruise the month after he passed. Of course she canceled it. So, DH and I wanted to treat her with the cruise as a sort of pick-me up. We are bringing my nephew along as a High School Graduation present. It will be a "mini-Grand Gathering". We need one more person (8 minimum) to be considered a Grand Gathering at WDW. :rolleyes:

Have a "Wonder"ful cruise. :goodvibes

:surfweb: Jennifer

OHH!! your making the anticipation worse!!
thanks for the advice, i cant wait to go and relax && stuff my face :cool1:
we have more then 10 people going with us...
impending mess! oh jeez! :rotfl2:

travelmel

01-09-2009, 12:18 AM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_5965.jpg
Looking at this picture makes me feel really short--happy but short.
We really enjoyed our time with them & I would love to get back out to Hollywood area some time & spend some more time together.:thumbsup2
Continued in next post........

So actually, you were closer to somebody who was on the waiting list for club 33. I am one step behind as I have only TEXT reference to her. :lmao:

Disneygrl36

01-09-2009, 08:19 AM

mmmm wine, and that chicken sandwich looks really good
The sanwich was good & you can never go wrong with wine. I did think it was cute how they turned the wine barrels into things appropriate to imagineering since that venue used to be all about how the Robert Mondavi company made wine.

I've NEVER been on a disney cruise :scared1:
surprising huh?

I'm going to Bahamas && Castaway Cay, its the 3 night one I think. I'm so excited!!! :cool1:
You are going to have a blast Sakina. Is it you & your Mom again? Maybe someone better call & warn the entertainment staff that they have two live wires coming so they can get some rest before you guys go.

Sakina, Brian and I want to go! Could you imagine all of the trouble we would get into!
Now add in you two too & watch out!!!!!!!!
Hey I have an idea for the reunion tour.........land & sea baby!!!!!!!!!!!

just loving your TR

Thanks again for sharing

When's the next holiday pre trip report comimg out ?
Aww thanks Jackie. Well our next trip in May is a week beach with a short stay at the Boardwalk of just 2 nights & we will go into EPCOT one day. Not much to report on but I might do a mini trippie.

Hooray! Now I know what you guys did before and after we met you. I liked my hug :hug: ...

Also, I think your red and pink looked great together - but then, if you look at our pic together, you may notice that I'm wearing a red scarf and pink gloves! :rotfl:
That is hilarious. I didn't even notice in the pictures that you had a pink/red thing going on too!!!! I am sooooo glad we got to meet that day.

Melanie,

Your trip report lit a fire under my butt to make a decision about DH's birthday trip this June. After pricing everything and taking into consideration our children, I decided to wait until DS3 is older to do an ABD. With that said (written) ... I booked us at the Disneyland Hotel!!!!!! :woohoo: I can't wait! This will be DH's first trip to Disneyland. What better way to spend his 40th Birthday? We WILL be there on his actual birthday. :cake: I got the park-hopper tickets with our package. So, we will probably use the celebration FastPass option for his birthday present from Disney.

Look out Mickey ... Here we come! :mickeyjum

:surfweb: Jennifer
Yeah :banana: you are going to Disneyland. I would love to go back & stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Good for you & that will be a great place for a 40th bday. I spent my 40th on a Disney Cruise-which I think you enjoy too!:lmao:
I would definetly wait on ABD until your 3yo gets older-too much walking standing & not enough rest time.

Disneygrl36

01-09-2009, 08:22 AM

So actually, you were closer to somebody who was on the waiting list for club 33. I am one step behind as I have only TEXT reference to her. :lmao:

Oh yeah I was..........:lmao: but at the time I had not idea about the Club 33 invite. We never got around to that when we were talking 90 miles an hour.

tinkermell

01-09-2009, 09:12 AM

Wow! I finally caught up on your whole report.:goodvibes

It was wonderful and really well written. I cried when you wrote about Walt's apartment.:sad1: So touching. :cloud9:

There is so much more I could comment on, but it would take toooooooo long. :rolleyes1

I just wanted you to know, that I really enjoyed it. :love:

Thankyou!:flower3:

jenny105

01-09-2009, 09:12 AM

ohh! where you going and when?? :woohoo:

I booked the land and sea package.
9/20-9/24 I will be staying at POR
9/24-9/27 3 nights on the Wonder! I can't wait to see Castaway Cay :)

I think I'm also going to stay at WDW for a couple of nights after the cruise. I work in a TA and we can sometimes get complimentary 2 day hoppers so all I'd have to worry about is the hotel!

Disneygrl36

01-09-2009, 09:21 AM

We slept in this morning & didn't get in any hurry for the first time this trip. We had a quick breakfast in the room as we looked out the window realizing it was raining cats & dogs. We looked at each other like what do we do now? Well, of course, we put on ponchos & off we went since it was our last day at Disneyland.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6010.jpg
We started off with a slow stroll down Main Street as I really wanted to look at some of the windows & details.
Roger Broggie who helped Walt build his Carolwood Pacific Railroad
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6013.jpg
Marc Davis.......animator & Imagineer extrodinarie
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6014.jpg
Emile Kurie.....set designer & interior designer of Walt's apt
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6017.jpg
At one of the side streets we found the Hotel Marceline-a nod to Walt's favorite place to grow up.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6018.jpg
And a dentist's office & we could hear drilling etc. Too funny!!!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6019.jpg
Bill Justice-who drew my Snow White picture all those years ago.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6020.jpg
Rain is kind of nice for being all alone on Main Street.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6021.jpg
Master artists every one
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6024.jpg
We then visited Snow White's Grotto which I have to say is a gorgeous area.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6027.jpg
Make a wish & hear a song.....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6031.jpg

We went over to Fantasyland as we wanted to do the attractions there that we had missed-Alice, Storybook land, tea cups & Casey Jr but alot of them were down I guess because of the rain?:confused3 So we never did get to do them-darn it. Reason number I don't know what to go back to Disneyland.
There was no line to do the Sleeping Beauty castle walk through & this was something I really wanted to see so that's what we did instead.
Really cool effects & I just loved winding my way down into the castle depths. I am really glad they decided to reimagine this attraction & bring it back.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6036.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6037.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6041.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6042.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6043.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6044.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6046.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6047.jpg

We went into a really cute shop that had an Alice in Wonderland theme.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6060.jpg
We played with some hats.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6059.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6061.jpg
And got to see the Cheshire Cat appear in the mirror
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6062.jpg
Empty tea cups
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b147/Disneygrl36/100_6064.jpg

Up next.........do we finally ride something or are we going to just walk around all day?