My Trip to the 2011 D23 Expo - TR Complete!
- Thread starter franandaj
- Start date
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
It was after 10PM when the Dick VanDyke performance ended. We knew that not much would still be open, Anaheim being the sleepy little town that it is! But while in the queue we had already decided a hearty (hot) meal was in order. We had called Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen and knew they were open until 11PM.
We took our many bags of stuff (remember we bought out Mickeys of Glendale this morning and we didnt have a moment of spare time to take the stuff back to the room. Too bad we didnt know about checking things at the Lounge) back to the room unloaded our cooler and that stuff and headed right back on over to DTD for some yummy hot food.
Though DLR and DTD are not far from the Convention Center, it seemed like miles away. I know a lot of people stayed there for the Expo and I would have hated to walk/ride that far every day. But we passed through the lobby of the GCH and made our way out to DTD. We arrived about 10:35 to find
Open and waiting to serve us!
We were seated out on the patio and there were still a few people mulling around DTD.
After such a long day, I really wanted a drink. Since oysters were on the menu, I went with my standard Belvedere Gibson Up. They didnt have any onions, so I said they could make it a Martini as long as they brought the olives on the side! Fran went with a Margarita on the rocks.
Weve been to this restaurant before, but weve never had an entrée! And as usual we decided to eat from the appetizer menu again. I started off with the Oysters on the Half Shell. These were OK, but I probably wont order them here again. I prefer oysters from Northern Regions that are small and briny. These were fairly large and a little chalky. I really dont like to have to chew my oysters, or if I do, just a little. These required multiple bites and were not quite to my tastes. However I ate them anyways.
We also had the stuffed mushrooms. These were really good and different than any other stuffed mushrooms that Ive had. They were filled with pork sausage and rice. Obviously they had a New Orleans kick to them. Very tasty, I would order these again.
One shouldnt make a trip to Brennans without ordering some of this garlic cheese bread! Just make sure everyone (or at least anyone you might get close to) eats this as well!
Next up they brought us the Fried Calamari. This is really good, nice and crispy and what I love about it is you get both the ringlets and the little tentacles (or whatever you call them). These are some very tasty morsels!
This trio of soups was excellent. Gumbo Ya-Ya, Onion Soup (totally different than the night before) and a Potato Bacon soup. They all had a little kick, but next time, I think well skip the soup of the day and just get full orders of the onion soup and the gumbo, theyre THAT good!
So after this little parade of appetizers we were soon becoming full, however I made sure to save up some room for the best dish ever, Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle! I dont know how they make a soufflé out of bread pudding but this one is just to die for! So light and fluffy with a crispy bread pudding topping, and once you get to the bottom, its ooey and gooey. But to accompany such a heavenly dessert, you definitely need an equivalent drink and they have got it.
A Chocolate Wine Martini! Now some of you may have seen this Chocolate Wine at your local megamart. I saw it last spring and was intrigued. It turns out that it is more a liqueur than an actual wine. However this drink combines that Chocolate wine with a little Vanilla Absolut was the perfect companion to my decadent dessert!
Here is a live action shot of the drizzling of the Chocolate & Vanilla Sauces
Perfection on a plate!
Fran got the bread pudding, which was tasty, but paled in comparison to my dessert!
Exhausted, full and satisfied, we motored back to the Hilton to crawl into bed. It was well after midnight and we had a 6:30AM wake up call to get up and start it all over again the next day, which by this point, was now just a few hours later that same day!
We took our many bags of stuff (remember we bought out Mickeys of Glendale this morning and we didnt have a moment of spare time to take the stuff back to the room. Too bad we didnt know about checking things at the Lounge) back to the room unloaded our cooler and that stuff and headed right back on over to DTD for some yummy hot food.
Though DLR and DTD are not far from the Convention Center, it seemed like miles away. I know a lot of people stayed there for the Expo and I would have hated to walk/ride that far every day. But we passed through the lobby of the GCH and made our way out to DTD. We arrived about 10:35 to find
Open and waiting to serve us!
We were seated out on the patio and there were still a few people mulling around DTD.
After such a long day, I really wanted a drink. Since oysters were on the menu, I went with my standard Belvedere Gibson Up. They didnt have any onions, so I said they could make it a Martini as long as they brought the olives on the side! Fran went with a Margarita on the rocks.
Weve been to this restaurant before, but weve never had an entrée! And as usual we decided to eat from the appetizer menu again. I started off with the Oysters on the Half Shell. These were OK, but I probably wont order them here again. I prefer oysters from Northern Regions that are small and briny. These were fairly large and a little chalky. I really dont like to have to chew my oysters, or if I do, just a little. These required multiple bites and were not quite to my tastes. However I ate them anyways.
We also had the stuffed mushrooms. These were really good and different than any other stuffed mushrooms that Ive had. They were filled with pork sausage and rice. Obviously they had a New Orleans kick to them. Very tasty, I would order these again.
One shouldnt make a trip to Brennans without ordering some of this garlic cheese bread! Just make sure everyone (or at least anyone you might get close to) eats this as well!
Next up they brought us the Fried Calamari. This is really good, nice and crispy and what I love about it is you get both the ringlets and the little tentacles (or whatever you call them). These are some very tasty morsels!
This trio of soups was excellent. Gumbo Ya-Ya, Onion Soup (totally different than the night before) and a Potato Bacon soup. They all had a little kick, but next time, I think well skip the soup of the day and just get full orders of the onion soup and the gumbo, theyre THAT good!
So after this little parade of appetizers we were soon becoming full, however I made sure to save up some room for the best dish ever, Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle! I dont know how they make a soufflé out of bread pudding but this one is just to die for! So light and fluffy with a crispy bread pudding topping, and once you get to the bottom, its ooey and gooey. But to accompany such a heavenly dessert, you definitely need an equivalent drink and they have got it.
A Chocolate Wine Martini! Now some of you may have seen this Chocolate Wine at your local megamart. I saw it last spring and was intrigued. It turns out that it is more a liqueur than an actual wine. However this drink combines that Chocolate wine with a little Vanilla Absolut was the perfect companion to my decadent dessert!
Here is a live action shot of the drizzling of the Chocolate & Vanilla Sauces
Perfection on a plate!
Fran got the bread pudding, which was tasty, but paled in comparison to my dessert!
Exhausted, full and satisfied, we motored back to the Hilton to crawl into bed. It was well after midnight and we had a 6:30AM wake up call to get up and start it all over again the next day, which by this point, was now just a few hours later that same day!
DizNee Luver
Luver of all things Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2009
Loved seeing some of the different choices at the Jazz Kitchen, we ate there for the first time in March & can't wait to go back!! I think I'll stick to the appetizer menu.....hubby got the trio of soup & I got the crab cakes & we shared them. When the entree came, I was already filling up. While my jumbalaya was good.....the apps were so much better!!! We ended with the Banana's Foster....now that's a wonderful dessert with a fun floor show!!! Thanx for sharing more pics!!!
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
I can't believe the boards censor that! He was so much fun, he might have missed a few lines, but his heart was there!
You're welcome, I know you won't see this for at least 17 days! I'm so jealous!
Thanks, lots more to come!
I'm just glad that I bought some T-shirts. I'm usually always too warm so all I brought was tank tops, I would have really been freezing!
Thank you! I would love so read some others that are out there. I barely scratched the surfact on presentations!
That's a great update....and I'm still hanging out for the food porn.
And THANKS for the pictures of the VanDyke. I'm such a HUGE HUGE fan of his. Awesome!
Great models of the MK expansion and Carsland. But none of those models have any people/crowds in them!
And please tell Fran that whilst the Easter Bunny is not real, not only is YENSID real but Santa is real too!
Afterall, we're all getting our early Christmas present with your fabulous TR.
Why are you even reading any others?????
(With due respect to the 'others'...no offence intended...sometimes my fingers gets away from my brain. If I only had a brain....)
You are too funny!
Thanks for posting. I've been starting my day off with your updates. Looking forward to the food porn!
Oh, and I'm beginning to understand the scope of Fran's collectibles.
Nice big installment just added. You'll have to wait for the end for the rest. For the most part, we almost starved ourselves for the next day and a half. Not for any reason other than we were too exhausted to eat!
Aren't you glad we live close enough that we can get them when we want to! I love
both of those items on their menu!We'll have to try the crab cakes sometime. Banana's Foster that does sound good. Maybe we'll try them when we're not closing the place down!
bangzoom6877
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2007
Yay, food porn!
OK, first of all, I LOVE fried calamari, but I am very picky about it...I actually prefer the tentacles to the ringlets. The tentacles, to me, seem much crispier than the ringlets. But, I eat all of the pieces when I have it! The reason I am picky about it, is because I can't stand chewy, overcooked calamari. It has to be tender, crispy and just right. There is a place about 20 minutes from our house that makes the absolute best fried calamari I ever had, besides my sister's! It's called Lenny's Clam Bar, it's in Queens, NY. It's been there for many years, and a lot of celebrities have gone there over the years when they come to NY (or if they live in NYC). There are pictures all over the walls when you first walk in, various actors, professional athletes, singers, etc.
Second of all, yes, I have had chocolate wine and it is delicious! Last Fall, we were upstate NY, apple picking with the family. My mom found this chocolate wine at a liquor store there, and we all fell in love with it! You are right, it tastes much more like a liqueur than a wine, but it is so good. Your bread pudding souffle looks fantastic too! Perfect pics too, as always!
OK, first of all, I LOVE fried calamari, but I am very picky about it...I actually prefer the tentacles to the ringlets. The tentacles, to me, seem much crispier than the ringlets. But, I eat all of the pieces when I have it! The reason I am picky about it, is because I can't stand chewy, overcooked calamari. It has to be tender, crispy and just right. There is a place about 20 minutes from our house that makes the absolute best fried calamari I ever had, besides my sister's! It's called Lenny's Clam Bar, it's in Queens, NY. It's been there for many years, and a lot of celebrities have gone there over the years when they come to NY (or if they live in NYC). There are pictures all over the walls when you first walk in, various actors, professional athletes, singers, etc.
Second of all, yes, I have had chocolate wine and it is delicious! Last Fall, we were upstate NY, apple picking with the family. My mom found this chocolate wine at a liquor store there, and we all fell in love with it! You are right, it tastes much more like a liqueur than a wine, but it is so good. Your bread pudding souffle looks fantastic too! Perfect pics too, as always!
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Food...porn....
....Food....porn.....
OMG! That Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle looks divine.
I had to google to see if I could find a recipe. I found two types - one where you cook the bread pudding first and then put the souffle topping over it...pretty much like a lemon meringue concept....
...and the other where you soak the bread in the yolk/cream mixture and then add it to the whipped whites. By the look of your pudding, I'm guessing its the second variety.
I wonder if I need to starve myself this weekend to try out a recipe so that it fits into my diet plan.....
Peepster
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2005
Wow, what a great trip report! I was there and I learned things! (I am, however, heartbroken to learn that Mickey wasn't really playing the drums...and I'm reserving judgement on the E-Bunny comment.)
Have to go now and get something to wipe the slobber off the screen from the Brennan pics!
Thanks for documenting this, Alison! What a great rememberance for all of us!
A tired (but happy) Peepster
Have to go now and get something to wipe the slobber off the screen from the Brennan pics!
Thanks for documenting this, Alison! What a great rememberance for all of us!
A tired (but happy) Peepster
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
Yay, food porn!
OK, first of all, I LOVE fried calamari, but I am very picky about it...I actually prefer the tentacles to the ringlets. The tentacles, to me, seem much crispier than the ringlets. But, I eat all of the pieces when I have it! The reason I am picky about it, is because I can't stand chewy, overcooked calamari. It has to be tender, crispy and just right. There is a place about 20 minutes from our house that makes the absolute best fried calamari I ever had, besides my sister's! It's called Lenny's Clam Bar, it's in Queens, NY. It's been there for many years, and a lot of celebrities have gone there over the years when they come to NY (or if they live in NYC). There are pictures all over the walls when you first walk in, various actors, professional athletes, singers, etc.
Second of all, yes, I have had chocolate wine and it is delicious! Last Fall, we were upstate NY, apple picking with the family. My mom found this chocolate wine at a liquor store there, and we all fell in love with it! You are right, it tastes much more like a liqueur than a wine, but it is so good. Your bread pudding souffle looks fantastic too! Perfect pics too, as always!
Eat it up now, because this is the last you'll see of food porn for a while!
I can't stand chewy overcooked calamari either, but this is nice and crispy without being dried out.I think we're going to have come back here for dessert when we visit in October!
OMG! That Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle looks divine.
I had to google to see if I could find a recipe. I found two types - one where you cook the bread pudding first and then put the souffle topping over it...pretty much like a lemon meringue concept....
...and the other where you soak the bread in the yolk/cream mixture and then add it to the whipped whites. By the look of your pudding, I'm guessing its the second variety.
I wonder if I need to starve myself this weekend to try out a recipe so that it fits into my diet plan.....
Oooooh tell me how it works out for you! I'm back on my diet plan as well. At least I've found ways to make it work. My latest thing is strawberry soup, I found the recipe on allears.net for the one at 1900 Park Fare and almost
Heavy Cream, Sour Cream! I found a recipe in my Border's Healthy Recipies book that uses lowfat yogurt, lowfat milk and is still tasty and creamy! I'm glad you two made it home safely! Just wait until I get to Sunday, I have a ton of pics and I took very copious notes!
Food porn! Yummy yummy. My bagel with cream cheese and tomato is looking pretty darn pathetic.
I know what you mean. My multigrain Cheerios, V8, and Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Feta really pales in comparison. However I have a dress that I want to get into in 35 days!
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
I've decided I'm serious about losing weight; so the Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle recipe will have to stay in the ethernet world for a bit longer.
Going to resurrect that Boo to Us thread on the Wish board this week (maybe today).
Going to resurrect that Boo to Us thread on the Wish board this week (maybe today).
Leshaface
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
Okay first off,
Your necklace is GORGEOUS! I'm super jealous and i'm thinking that I may need one now. Gotta get Dan on here to see it
Second, I LOVE the picture of you and Deb! That's awesome that you got to meet her. Have you met her before?
Third, those pictures of Snow White, Captain Hook, etc are FABULOUS! Those would look amazing in my Disney room.
Fourth, the Disney Princess's blog that I read about here on the boards....OMGOSH! That would have been something I would have LOVED to see. Just reading about it got me all wishy-washy, and you just HAPPENED to experience no less! Very jealous right now. And you got some amazing pictures!
Fifth, i've never been to RBJK before, but I may have to now!
Your necklace is GORGEOUS! I'm super jealous and i'm thinking that I may need one now. Gotta get Dan on here to see it
Second, I LOVE the picture of you and Deb! That's awesome that you got to meet her. Have you met her before?
Third, those pictures of Snow White, Captain Hook, etc are FABULOUS! Those would look amazing in my Disney room.
Fourth, the Disney Princess's blog that I read about here on the boards....OMGOSH! That would have been something I would have LOVED to see. Just reading about it got me all wishy-washy, and you just HAPPENED to experience no less! Very jealous right now. And you got some amazing pictures!
Fifth, i've never been to RBJK before, but I may have to now!
skiingfast
<font color=teal>Has had no bacon<br><font color=b
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2010
The oysters don't look good at all, I agree I don't want to chew them. What is the translucent sauce for them? Hot I hope.
Chocolate Martini looks good. I'll be on the lookout for the chocolate wine.
Chocolate Martini looks good. I'll be on the lookout for the chocolate wine.
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
Saturday morning came a lot earlier than it was welcome. We were out the door at 7:15 on Friday, today I think we were out of bed at 7:15. We did make it into the line before they let the Premiere package holders in, but I just barely caught Fran before the line started to move. I had stayed behind to make our Chefs Salad, Turkey Sandwich and pack the cooler full yet again with Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Chips, everything we had.
This morning we left the cameras and cell phones in the room. Our plan was to do the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives Exhibit and then go to the Studios Presentation. Because of the nature of the Studios and the fact that they were showing clips and other scenes that had not yet been seen outside of Pixar/Disney studios, they collected any electronics at the door. If you surrendered your electronics (only choice if you wanted to go in) there was a HUGE long line to get them back after the show.
We arrived on the second floor at the Archives Exhibit by 8:30 and were second in the line. I had skipped the coffee at Starbucks (there was too long a line), so I got one upstairs. We sat with a nice gal named Marla, whom we had sat in line with at both the previous Destination-D events at one time or another, so we had a nice chat again while we waited to get in. The exhibit opened promptly at 9:00 and we entered. I was dismayed to find out that this year they were allowing photos, just not flash photos. I decided we would come back and take a few shots, but the lines were much too long for me to get back there again.
The thing that I found most remarkable was how tiny all these actors and actresses are! The props and costumes were really neat. The costumes from Zorro were so ornate and beautiful. Since I dont have pictures, I scanned these out of the Treasures of the Archives book they gave us as a souvenir. While this is not one of the more ornate costumes, it was the classic Zorro look.
I have to say my favorites were the items from National Treasure II, the resolute desk and all the papers from the movie were really neat. Unfortunately the book didnt have any pictures of the Resolute Desk, but here are a couple pics from the first movie. I checked out this Declaration of Independence really closely. I think Ive seen the original about 25 years ago (geez! Showing my age) on a trip to DC, this was a pretty cool recreation!
And then Nicolas Cages outfit that he wore. Again, these people are so skinny!
They had stuff from the first three Pirates movies which I looked at in detail. I really liked looking at the compass that Jack Sparrow used.
We also spent a good deal of time looking at the costume that Bootstrap Bill wore. Im sure this could not have been comfortable to wear!
I sort of skipped over the stuff from Lost as I dont watch the show. I also skimmed through the Tron room. There was a room of old Mickey memorabilia that was really cool. Outside the rooms in the corridor, they had 101 Dalmations items. This outfit worn by Glenn Close in the movie had such intricate detail.
Also in that corridor was artwork from the finalists from the fan art contest. Their task was to do something memorable for the 50th Anniversary of 101 Dalmations. I really wanted to take a picture of one which had the classic Pirates of the Caribbean scene with the dogs, but its Cruella and her Henchmen in the jail and the Dalmation puppies holding the keys!
We made a quick trip through the Treasures store, and of course purchased a few more things. While Fran was paying I noticed that the S/P lounge was already open, so I popped in there and they had the cheese out and some coffee. The coffee was GOOD! Much better than the swill I purchased, and I munched on a few cheese and crackers, since all I had was a yogurt while waiting in line for the Archives.
By now it was time to head to the Arena for the Studios Presentation. As we were riding through the lobby there was a HUGE line of general attendees waiting in line for the presentation. Im not talking just a big line, but one that was extending through the entire lobby of the convention center (keep in mind the Arena seats 4,000). As we passed about halfway through the queue, we heard the CMs telling the people in line that they would have to cut the line at that point because they were already well past the Standby Capacity. There were some very upset people there!
We rode into the theater and this time they placed scooters and handicapped in a different area than the previous two sessions. Since we were in the back row, I stayed in my scooter instead of transferring, otherwise we would not have been able to sit next to each other. This presentation was supposed to go from 10:30 to 1:00 so we were all set with meal bars, snack packs of crackers and 100 calorie packs of dessert, as well as beverages.
The presentation began with a large scale media presentation featuring snippets from all sorts of Disney and Pixar movies. Action scenes, love scenes, iconic scenes, each one lasted around 1-2 seconds and it was fast paced and packed hundreds of movies into the 3-5 minute introduction. The President of the Studios came out and introduced John Lasseter who covered Pixars portion of the program.
The first project he talked about was Planes. With the success of the Cars franchise they are planning a movie about a crop duster named Dusty played by John Cryer. Hes just a little guy but has big ambitions.
The next project on the table is Wreck It Ralph
This is a story of a 8-bit video game character, named Wreck it Ralph. And will be played by John C. Reilly
Ralph is really a good guy, but in the video game Fix-it-Felix is the hero. Ralph wrecks the buildings and Felix comes in and fixes them. At night once the game is over Felix is brought gifts by the townspeople, they make him dinners, cakes and pies and its always a party at Felixs house because everyone loves him. Felix is played by Jack McBrayer who appeared on stage at the presentation.
Once the arcade closes we see what an awful life poor Ralph leads. He sleeps at the trash dump, and he really wants more out of life. So he leaves the 8 bit world through Game Central Station where he finds a world of other video games. His first foray is into a space game where he meets Sgt. Calhoun voiced by Jane Lynch of Glee fame. They showed us a clip of her in the studio doing some voice over work and she was hilarious! She makes a great overbearing commander. Unfortunately he finds that as an 8 bit character in a digital world, hes not quite cutting it.
He tried to make it in the game Sugar Rush and there he meets Vanellope (voiced by Sarah Silverman who also appeared on stage). It sounds like a heartwarming tale as are most Pixar movies and had some very funny little jokes in the clips we saw, but I could only write down so much!
Next up they talked about Brave. A tale set in the Highlands of Medieval Scotland. Merida is the main character, who is the defiant daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. She is pursued by three suitors, but she wants to carve her own path. She learns that the Willow the Wisps can change your fate, so she follows them to the witches cottage. She gets a spell from the witch, but the forest changes from her home and friend to become a detriment to Merida and her family. She must undo the beastly curse before it is too late so that she may save her family.
Merida is played by Kelly MacDonald who appeared on stage.
Her father King Fergus will be played by Billy Connoly, and mother Queen Elinor will be played by Emma Thompson. She also has triplet brothers Harris, Hubert and Hamish who are constantly getting into trouble.
The three suitors are Lord MacIntosh played by Craig Ferguson, Lord Dingwall played by Robbie Coltrane, and Lord Maguffin played by Kevin McKidd. The hilarious comic element of this Lord will be that we will never be able to understand a word that he says! Everything will seem to be in Scottish gibberish. Kevin McKidd also came out on stage and when John Lasseter asked him a question his answer was thoroughly unintelligible! It was hilarious!
I can't remember who plays the witch but she is quite formidable
This will be a movie not to be missed!
This is going to be a prequel to the movie Monsters Inc. In that movie we know that Mike and Sulley are fast friends, but in this movie we are going to find out HOW they became such good friends. Basically it is going to be a coming of age college movie set in the monsters world. Both of the main actors John Goodman and Billy Crystal are back. They met in Elementary school and were HUGE rivals back then. Evidently both wanted to be the scariest and that created a big rift between them. Both characters have been redesigned to a younger version see below.
There will be all sorts of characters, cool monsters, nerd monsters, the goth crowd, strange professors, the creepy track coach, everything that we all remember from our college days. They will explore a time of life when young folk are discovering themselves. Much of the campus is based on the Pixar studios in Emeryville, but they are trying to find ways to make the buildings look more collegy and monstery. They are trying to create as many locations on campus as possible. They are truly romanticizing the college experience with quad areas, spacious grounds, and of course the Scaring School which will be the elite part of the college program.
Well be joined by past favorites like Dave Foley, Joel Murray, Julia Sweeny and Steve Buscemi (of Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire). As mentioned earlier both John Goodman and Billy Crystal will play the main roles. Like so many other stars who couldnt make it there, they recorded a snippet for the fans, talking about how excited they were to be a part of this. John Goodman mentioned that we both really wish that we could be there with you fans, but
But what? Billy Crystal Interrupted I made arrangements and walked off the screen to a stunned looking John Goodman, and he entered the stage to raucous applause! He didnt stay long, but at least he acted like he was happy to be there (which is more than I can say for a later actor).
Then Pixar introduced two new projects never before discussed outside the Pixar studios.
The first is a film coming out for Holiday 2013. It will be Produced by Tom Walker of the Incredibles and Directed by Bob Peterson who is known for the voice of Roz (Monsters Inc.), Mr. Ray (Finding Nemo), and Doug (Up). After a hilarious monologue featuring the voices and personalities of each of these characters they talked a little bit about the film which is completely in the concept phase.
The movie is inspired by the animatronic dinosaurs in primeval world at Disneyland. If I remember correctly they are going to take the premise that the dinosaurs were all wiped out by a asteroid/meteor and tell a different story.
The next movie had even less information but it is Directed by Pete Docter and Produced by Jonas Rivera. It is scheduled to come out in 2014 and it is about the inside of the mind. What the mind goes through when performing every day tasks. They say this film will answer the question, What were they thinking?
[Continued in next post]/B]
This morning we left the cameras and cell phones in the room. Our plan was to do the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives Exhibit and then go to the Studios Presentation. Because of the nature of the Studios and the fact that they were showing clips and other scenes that had not yet been seen outside of Pixar/Disney studios, they collected any electronics at the door. If you surrendered your electronics (only choice if you wanted to go in) there was a HUGE long line to get them back after the show.
We arrived on the second floor at the Archives Exhibit by 8:30 and were second in the line. I had skipped the coffee at Starbucks (there was too long a line), so I got one upstairs. We sat with a nice gal named Marla, whom we had sat in line with at both the previous Destination-D events at one time or another, so we had a nice chat again while we waited to get in. The exhibit opened promptly at 9:00 and we entered. I was dismayed to find out that this year they were allowing photos, just not flash photos. I decided we would come back and take a few shots, but the lines were much too long for me to get back there again.
The thing that I found most remarkable was how tiny all these actors and actresses are! The props and costumes were really neat. The costumes from Zorro were so ornate and beautiful. Since I dont have pictures, I scanned these out of the Treasures of the Archives book they gave us as a souvenir. While this is not one of the more ornate costumes, it was the classic Zorro look.
I have to say my favorites were the items from National Treasure II, the resolute desk and all the papers from the movie were really neat. Unfortunately the book didnt have any pictures of the Resolute Desk, but here are a couple pics from the first movie. I checked out this Declaration of Independence really closely. I think Ive seen the original about 25 years ago (geez! Showing my age) on a trip to DC, this was a pretty cool recreation!
And then Nicolas Cages outfit that he wore. Again, these people are so skinny!
They had stuff from the first three Pirates movies which I looked at in detail. I really liked looking at the compass that Jack Sparrow used.
We also spent a good deal of time looking at the costume that Bootstrap Bill wore. Im sure this could not have been comfortable to wear!
I sort of skipped over the stuff from Lost as I dont watch the show. I also skimmed through the Tron room. There was a room of old Mickey memorabilia that was really cool. Outside the rooms in the corridor, they had 101 Dalmations items. This outfit worn by Glenn Close in the movie had such intricate detail.
Also in that corridor was artwork from the finalists from the fan art contest. Their task was to do something memorable for the 50th Anniversary of 101 Dalmations. I really wanted to take a picture of one which had the classic Pirates of the Caribbean scene with the dogs, but its Cruella and her Henchmen in the jail and the Dalmation puppies holding the keys!
We made a quick trip through the Treasures store, and of course purchased a few more things. While Fran was paying I noticed that the S/P lounge was already open, so I popped in there and they had the cheese out and some coffee. The coffee was GOOD! Much better than the swill I purchased, and I munched on a few cheese and crackers, since all I had was a yogurt while waiting in line for the Archives.
By now it was time to head to the Arena for the Studios Presentation. As we were riding through the lobby there was a HUGE line of general attendees waiting in line for the presentation. Im not talking just a big line, but one that was extending through the entire lobby of the convention center (keep in mind the Arena seats 4,000). As we passed about halfway through the queue, we heard the CMs telling the people in line that they would have to cut the line at that point because they were already well past the Standby Capacity. There were some very upset people there!
We rode into the theater and this time they placed scooters and handicapped in a different area than the previous two sessions. Since we were in the back row, I stayed in my scooter instead of transferring, otherwise we would not have been able to sit next to each other. This presentation was supposed to go from 10:30 to 1:00 so we were all set with meal bars, snack packs of crackers and 100 calorie packs of dessert, as well as beverages.
The presentation began with a large scale media presentation featuring snippets from all sorts of Disney and Pixar movies. Action scenes, love scenes, iconic scenes, each one lasted around 1-2 seconds and it was fast paced and packed hundreds of movies into the 3-5 minute introduction. The President of the Studios came out and introduced John Lasseter who covered Pixars portion of the program.
The first project he talked about was Planes. With the success of the Cars franchise they are planning a movie about a crop duster named Dusty played by John Cryer. Hes just a little guy but has big ambitions.
The next project on the table is Wreck It Ralph
This is a story of a 8-bit video game character, named Wreck it Ralph. And will be played by John C. Reilly
Ralph is really a good guy, but in the video game Fix-it-Felix is the hero. Ralph wrecks the buildings and Felix comes in and fixes them. At night once the game is over Felix is brought gifts by the townspeople, they make him dinners, cakes and pies and its always a party at Felixs house because everyone loves him. Felix is played by Jack McBrayer who appeared on stage at the presentation.
Once the arcade closes we see what an awful life poor Ralph leads. He sleeps at the trash dump, and he really wants more out of life. So he leaves the 8 bit world through Game Central Station where he finds a world of other video games. His first foray is into a space game where he meets Sgt. Calhoun voiced by Jane Lynch of Glee fame. They showed us a clip of her in the studio doing some voice over work and she was hilarious! She makes a great overbearing commander. Unfortunately he finds that as an 8 bit character in a digital world, hes not quite cutting it.
He tried to make it in the game Sugar Rush and there he meets Vanellope (voiced by Sarah Silverman who also appeared on stage). It sounds like a heartwarming tale as are most Pixar movies and had some very funny little jokes in the clips we saw, but I could only write down so much!
Next up they talked about Brave. A tale set in the Highlands of Medieval Scotland. Merida is the main character, who is the defiant daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. She is pursued by three suitors, but she wants to carve her own path. She learns that the Willow the Wisps can change your fate, so she follows them to the witches cottage. She gets a spell from the witch, but the forest changes from her home and friend to become a detriment to Merida and her family. She must undo the beastly curse before it is too late so that she may save her family.
Merida is played by Kelly MacDonald who appeared on stage.
Her father King Fergus will be played by Billy Connoly, and mother Queen Elinor will be played by Emma Thompson. She also has triplet brothers Harris, Hubert and Hamish who are constantly getting into trouble.
The three suitors are Lord MacIntosh played by Craig Ferguson, Lord Dingwall played by Robbie Coltrane, and Lord Maguffin played by Kevin McKidd. The hilarious comic element of this Lord will be that we will never be able to understand a word that he says! Everything will seem to be in Scottish gibberish. Kevin McKidd also came out on stage and when John Lasseter asked him a question his answer was thoroughly unintelligible! It was hilarious!
I can't remember who plays the witch but she is quite formidable
This will be a movie not to be missed!
This is going to be a prequel to the movie Monsters Inc. In that movie we know that Mike and Sulley are fast friends, but in this movie we are going to find out HOW they became such good friends. Basically it is going to be a coming of age college movie set in the monsters world. Both of the main actors John Goodman and Billy Crystal are back. They met in Elementary school and were HUGE rivals back then. Evidently both wanted to be the scariest and that created a big rift between them. Both characters have been redesigned to a younger version see below.
There will be all sorts of characters, cool monsters, nerd monsters, the goth crowd, strange professors, the creepy track coach, everything that we all remember from our college days. They will explore a time of life when young folk are discovering themselves. Much of the campus is based on the Pixar studios in Emeryville, but they are trying to find ways to make the buildings look more collegy and monstery. They are trying to create as many locations on campus as possible. They are truly romanticizing the college experience with quad areas, spacious grounds, and of course the Scaring School which will be the elite part of the college program.
Well be joined by past favorites like Dave Foley, Joel Murray, Julia Sweeny and Steve Buscemi (of Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire). As mentioned earlier both John Goodman and Billy Crystal will play the main roles. Like so many other stars who couldnt make it there, they recorded a snippet for the fans, talking about how excited they were to be a part of this. John Goodman mentioned that we both really wish that we could be there with you fans, but
But what? Billy Crystal Interrupted I made arrangements and walked off the screen to a stunned looking John Goodman, and he entered the stage to raucous applause! He didnt stay long, but at least he acted like he was happy to be there (which is more than I can say for a later actor).
Then Pixar introduced two new projects never before discussed outside the Pixar studios.
The first is a film coming out for Holiday 2013. It will be Produced by Tom Walker of the Incredibles and Directed by Bob Peterson who is known for the voice of Roz (Monsters Inc.), Mr. Ray (Finding Nemo), and Doug (Up). After a hilarious monologue featuring the voices and personalities of each of these characters they talked a little bit about the film which is completely in the concept phase.
The movie is inspired by the animatronic dinosaurs in primeval world at Disneyland. If I remember correctly they are going to take the premise that the dinosaurs were all wiped out by a asteroid/meteor and tell a different story.
The next movie had even less information but it is Directed by Pete Docter and Produced by Jonas Rivera. It is scheduled to come out in 2014 and it is about the inside of the mind. What the mind goes through when performing every day tasks. They say this film will answer the question, What were they thinking?
[Continued in next post]/B]
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
[Continued from Previous Post]
Pixar had one more little “surprise”. We all know that it is the 25th Anniversary of Pixar.
They brought out a huge 25th anniversary birthday cake, but John Lasseter said that his mother raised him right, and he learned in grade school that if you bring treats, you need to bring enough for everyone. At that moment CMs began streaming into the auditorium with boxes full of little cupcakes.
Disclaimer, this picture was taken in my hotel room and not in the Arena presentation. No electronics were present during said screening
Next up was the Disney Studios Presentation. The first movie that they talked about was the John Carter movie which will be released on March 29, 2012. It is Produced by Jim Morris and Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton. The story is based on the 1912 series of books written by Edgar Rice Burroughts. It looks like an excellent Sci Fi action flick.
The storyline is about a disenfranchised Civil War Hero who moves out West after the war is over. He enters some caverns and is transported to Mars, where he finds that he has superhuman strength, especially jumping ability. John Carter is played by Taylor Kitsch.
He meets Tars Tarkas (played by William DaFoe) who becomes his fast friend, and is a member of a native Martian species. Dafoe filmed the entire movie on stilts as his character is about 8 feet tall and it was important to Stanton that the eye contact in the filming was true to the actual heights of the characters.
Carter’s love interest Deja Thoris is played by Lynn Collins. Another important character is Sola (also a native) who is played by Samantha Morton. John also meets Wolla, who is sort of his “man’s best friend on Mars”. Not really a dog, but has all the qualities. They played a humorous scene where John meets this “friend” while he is trying to break free from his captors.
When Deja Thoris and Carter meet, he rescues her from a fall from a martian ship. She views him as a savior of her people due to his super human abilities. She has an arranged marriage, however her relationship with John complicates matters. This is about all the plot that they revealed to us, but it looks like quite an interesting movie.
Next up is Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie which comes out in October of 2012. This movie is done completely in Black & White, 3D Stop Motion. Evidently he did another version of this movie about 30 years ago. This is a classic tale of boy meets dog, dog gets killed, boy resurrects dog!
In Tim Burton’s own way this will be a heartwarming story set in (something) Hollow which is a cross between Burbank and Transylvania. Some of the voices will be played by Martin Landau, Martin Short, Catherine O’hara and Winona Ryder.
In the Odd Life of Timothy Green starring Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, a couple who is unable to conceive decides to start all over.
They write down all the qualities that their kid would have, stick them in a box and bury the box in their backyard.
During a rainstorm a muddy kid emerges in the yard.
Turns out this kid has a sort of specialness that captures the heart of the townspeople and through his differences and specialness they teach a lesson to everyone.
Bear with me there were four more movies that they talked about but I was getting pretty tired, so my notes are getting bad. Plus I’m getting tired now after working on this update all day!
Another movie to be released in March of 2013 is “OZ the Great and Powerful”
This is a story about how the Wizard became the Wizard. I wrote down these names and perhaps they will mean things to people.
Director – Sam Saimi
Producer – Joe Roth
Production Designs – Robert Stromberg
Oz – James Franco
Evanor – Rachel Weisz
Theodore – Mila Kunis
Olnela – Michele Williams
Frank – Zach Braff
The last movie I really paid attention to was the Muppets. It’s coming Thanksgiving 2011 and I’m sure it will be really cute. Jason Segal (who appeared with Kermit) is helping the Muppets make a comeback. They will be fixing up their old theater and the clips that they showed had some hilarious 80’s jokes. I’m sure they will go over the heads of most kids nowadays, but I had some serious belly laughs with the clips they showed.
After this they previewed a movie called Chimpanzee, it’s part of the nature series. Then they turned the floor over to Marvel. They showed some clips, and some actors walked out on stage with Robert Downey Junior being the last one out. As soon as he stepped out on stage, he said, “Let’s run that again.” They played the clip once more, some of them stayed out on the stage, some walked back stage. Once the clip was over RDJ walked back out and said “See ya!”
Obviously the D23 fans were not of any interest to him since he has already reached the pinnacle of stardom. After that they said goodbye to us and we all proceeded to leave the Arena.
I went back to the room for our electronics immediately while Fran ran around the showroom floor, but this is a whole nother story that I will get to later!
Pixar had one more little “surprise”. We all know that it is the 25th Anniversary of Pixar.
They brought out a huge 25th anniversary birthday cake, but John Lasseter said that his mother raised him right, and he learned in grade school that if you bring treats, you need to bring enough for everyone. At that moment CMs began streaming into the auditorium with boxes full of little cupcakes.
Disclaimer, this picture was taken in my hotel room and not in the Arena presentation. No electronics were present during said screening
Next up was the Disney Studios Presentation. The first movie that they talked about was the John Carter movie which will be released on March 29, 2012. It is Produced by Jim Morris and Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton. The story is based on the 1912 series of books written by Edgar Rice Burroughts. It looks like an excellent Sci Fi action flick.
The storyline is about a disenfranchised Civil War Hero who moves out West after the war is over. He enters some caverns and is transported to Mars, where he finds that he has superhuman strength, especially jumping ability. John Carter is played by Taylor Kitsch.
He meets Tars Tarkas (played by William DaFoe) who becomes his fast friend, and is a member of a native Martian species. Dafoe filmed the entire movie on stilts as his character is about 8 feet tall and it was important to Stanton that the eye contact in the filming was true to the actual heights of the characters.
Carter’s love interest Deja Thoris is played by Lynn Collins. Another important character is Sola (also a native) who is played by Samantha Morton. John also meets Wolla, who is sort of his “man’s best friend on Mars”. Not really a dog, but has all the qualities. They played a humorous scene where John meets this “friend” while he is trying to break free from his captors.
When Deja Thoris and Carter meet, he rescues her from a fall from a martian ship. She views him as a savior of her people due to his super human abilities. She has an arranged marriage, however her relationship with John complicates matters. This is about all the plot that they revealed to us, but it looks like quite an interesting movie.
Next up is Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie which comes out in October of 2012. This movie is done completely in Black & White, 3D Stop Motion. Evidently he did another version of this movie about 30 years ago. This is a classic tale of boy meets dog, dog gets killed, boy resurrects dog!
In Tim Burton’s own way this will be a heartwarming story set in (something) Hollow which is a cross between Burbank and Transylvania. Some of the voices will be played by Martin Landau, Martin Short, Catherine O’hara and Winona Ryder.
In the Odd Life of Timothy Green starring Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, a couple who is unable to conceive decides to start all over.
They write down all the qualities that their kid would have, stick them in a box and bury the box in their backyard.
During a rainstorm a muddy kid emerges in the yard.
Turns out this kid has a sort of specialness that captures the heart of the townspeople and through his differences and specialness they teach a lesson to everyone.
Bear with me there were four more movies that they talked about but I was getting pretty tired, so my notes are getting bad. Plus I’m getting tired now after working on this update all day!
Another movie to be released in March of 2013 is “OZ the Great and Powerful”
This is a story about how the Wizard became the Wizard. I wrote down these names and perhaps they will mean things to people.
Director – Sam Saimi
Producer – Joe Roth
Production Designs – Robert Stromberg
Oz – James Franco
Evanor – Rachel Weisz
Theodore – Mila Kunis
Olnela – Michele Williams
Frank – Zach Braff
The last movie I really paid attention to was the Muppets. It’s coming Thanksgiving 2011 and I’m sure it will be really cute. Jason Segal (who appeared with Kermit) is helping the Muppets make a comeback. They will be fixing up their old theater and the clips that they showed had some hilarious 80’s jokes. I’m sure they will go over the heads of most kids nowadays, but I had some serious belly laughs with the clips they showed.
After this they previewed a movie called Chimpanzee, it’s part of the nature series. Then they turned the floor over to Marvel. They showed some clips, and some actors walked out on stage with Robert Downey Junior being the last one out. As soon as he stepped out on stage, he said, “Let’s run that again.” They played the clip once more, some of them stayed out on the stage, some walked back stage. Once the clip was over RDJ walked back out and said “See ya!”
Obviously the D23 fans were not of any interest to him since he has already reached the pinnacle of stardom. After that they said goodbye to us and we all proceeded to leave the Arena.
I went back to the room for our electronics immediately while Fran ran around the showroom floor, but this is a whole nother story that I will get to later!
franandaj
I'm so happy, I could BOUNCE!
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
Yeah, if I want to get into that dress (seriously dreaming) I need to really get with the program! I'll see if I can find that thread first!
Okay first off,
Your necklace is GORGEOUS! I'm super jealous and i'm thinking that I may need one now. Gotta get Dan on here to see it
Second, I LOVE the picture of you and Deb! That's awesome that you got to meet her. Have you met her before?
Third, those pictures of Snow White, Captain Hook, etc are FABULOUS! Those would look amazing in my Disney room.
Fourth, the Disney Princess's blog that I read about here on the boards....OMGOSH! That would have been something I would have LOVED to see. Just reading about it got me all wishy-washy, and you just HAPPENED to experience no less! Very jealous right now. And you got some amazing pictures!
Fifth, i've never been to RBJK before, but I may have to now!
I'm sure they will have the necklace at the park eventually, but for now they were calling it an "Expo exclusive". I've never met Deb before and it was a total fluke that we were in line next to each other. Although afterwards we sort of crossed paths a few times (she was a Sorcerer - go figure!) and she was so nice waving at me and just asking the niceties like, "how's your day today?" instead of just ignoring me. She is definitely a nice lady and has got where she is by not ignoring her fans, unlike others at the Studios presentation!
Those pictures....
I think you've hung out and hear enough about Fran and her buying.....Yes, the princesses were amazing and totally hit me out of left field! You need to go to RBJK in November, it is totally awesome! I'm sure their entrees are good, but we will have to go there with a larger party because we need to have the bread, gumbo, onion soup and calamari every time we go there because they are so good! By that time we are ready for dessert! Not very healthy, no salad or veggie or anything but when you're having the Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle why is anyone worrying about how healthy you're eating!
I read about the Chocolate Bread Pudding on these boards and that's what brought me in, but the Calamari appetizer is what brings me back (and the Bread pudding!
)Yeah, my favorite oysters are Malpeque, but I haven't found them much recently. I keep a list in my phone and usually aks what type they are and consult my reviews before I order, but I was so giddy for food that I hadn't prepared out of the cooler that I threw caution to the wind. The clear sauce is called a Mignonette. It's really yummy and my favorite to pour on the oysters. It usually has red onion slices red wine vinegar and something else. We love Kings in DT Long Beach and that's where I usually get my oysters and they have the best mignonette.
On my DC trip last year some places didn't serve it, just the traditional horseradish and cocktail sauce.
The Chocolate wine is really tasty keep a look out at Sams or Walmart or specialty store (although they charge quite a bit for it). I got it at Sams for like $8 a bottle while the specialty store wanted $11.99
OK next up the craziness of the vendors and then the auction!
PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
Great update and info about up-coming movies. Those archives look great and such great stage props!
And did I read correctly? You moved right on past the Tron section?? Is Firefly lurking at all??
And did I read correctly? You moved right on past the Tron section?? Is Firefly lurking at all??
bangzoom6877
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2007
Love, love, love the updates!!! I am especially looking forward to the Monsters University movie! My boys LOVE Monsters, Inc. and so do I. I just always thought that was one of the most creative of the Pixar movies! 2 years ago for Halloween, my big one was Sulley and my little one was Mike! They went to the same school, and had a Halloween party...everyone got a kick out of their costumes and it was a lot of fun. The new movie is coming out in 2013, right?
Fran was on the showroom floor and the vendors were right by the arena entrance...can't wait for more updates.
DizNee Luver
Luver of all things Disney!
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2009
Out of curiousity......did you make notes thru out these presentations??? You have so many details which make it a wonderful read!!! Loving this!!
Share this page
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
