A Fistful of Fastpasses: Disneyland with the DIS and ABD! (Final Day post #205-10/4)

[khertz]

Oh man, those wax museum photos were cracking me up!!! Looks like it turned into a pretty fun time.

That's kind of disappointing about the podcast team not being very social. And here I figured the younger guys would be. Now I'm kind of wondering if it's worth waiting for them to eventually announce the one for our ABD trip... Although I don't know which podcasters (besides John & Kevin, if any) will be on that trip. Who knows, I'm sure we'll still have a great time, just like you & DW did!

 

[skier_pete]

Oh man, those wax museum photos were cracking me up!!! Looks like it turned into a pretty fun time.

That's kind of disappointing about the podcast team not being very social. And here I figured the younger guys would be. Now I'm kind of wondering if it's worth waiting for them to eventually announce the one for our ABD trip... Although I don't know which podcasters (besides John & Kevin, if any) will be on that trip. Who knows, I'm sure we'll still have a great time, just like you & DW did!

I would still wait and do the DIS exclusive trip. I was still very glad we did. First off, I think John & Kevin WOULD be more social, but secondly if really was about doing the trip with a bunch of fellow DISers. Not to say other groups wouldn't be social, but you get the opportunity to "meet" the folks doing the trip ahead of time, and you know that you will have a bunch of serious Disney fans on the trip and as you can see from this you'll get a bunch of new TR followers. I did NOT at all regret choosing the DIS exclusive trip, and I choose that again over just going solo. (Plus they usually get a little better rate than the GP - which doesn't hurt.)

 

[disneykiwi]

Hi Pete

Am loving this report - so many memories. You just have me cracking up at you comments.

The wax museum was so much fun wasn't it, I was surprised we were allowed to get up close and personal with them all. I went to Mdm T's in London over 20 yrs ago and found it boring and you couldnt touch them back then so wouldnt have ever thought of going if the guides hadnt suggested it.

You know I agree with your comments re the podcast team, I think its probably a shame they had been away for a few weeks as they were very tired by the looks of it, but it did appear the boys were very shy. However when you did talk to them they were lovely.

I would do a DIS one again as I think the extra bits are worth it, but the best part was meeting you and Ulana and the rest of the gang - we all seemed to gel and have fun.

Reading your report is making me miss you all again - but its great to see your personal photo's as well

How is Ulana - tell her hi. Have the Tim Tams been eaten?

Take care

 

[skier_pete]

Have the Tim Tams been eaten?

We've eaten one package so far. We are trying to savor them a bit. Once a box gets opened - they don't last very long!!

 

[skier_pete]

Time for our first full day of our Adventure. We met for breakfast at Preston’s in the Loews Hollywood. It wasn’t quite as early a day as we expected, I think we actually had to be down at like 7:30 AM. We ended up sitting on our own. The breakfast was very good for a buffet. We both had omelets and some fantastic bacon (no pictures – sorry DISers). I am trying not to go nuts at breakfasts on this trip, and managed to not go back for seconds.

The first part of our trip involved a tour of the El Capitan theatre across the street. First we walked through the Hollywood and Highland complex and they showed us where they come in for the Academy Awards. It was designed so the view through the main outdoor concourse sees this:





This was actually very interesting, as for 50 weeks a year it is a shopping mall, and for two weeks a year they dress it up as a grand ballroom for the Academy Awards. The “red carpet” actually runs down Hollywood boulevard and then turns into the theatre itself. Here’s the ABD group on the steps to the theater. (Notice the red sparkle inlay on each of the steps, this allows them to "red carpet" only the tops of the steps.





You can also see some evidence of the shops on either side, which are shut down completely for the academy awards.

We then crossed the street for the El Capitan theatre.



I’m going to say right up front that while a little bit interesting, this tour was not particularly well done. It felt almost like a fill-in tour. We started in the lobby where we met Mike Bandy, the tour guide.





He gave us bit about the theatre, and then all of a sudden, they had us go out into the street because they brought a group in to prepare for the AFI graduation ceremonies. We were relegated to the outside of the theater for some talk of the history of it. So instead they took us down into the basement and took us down to the Birthday party room for pictures (LAME!)



and then took us down below to see the “Mickey lift” a lift that’ll take you up on stage in about 2 seconds (the way that they get Mickey to appear instantly on-stage in Fantasmic!, as well as the Wurlitzer organ under the stage.





The theatre had a bunch of stuff from Stan Lee’s collection for Iron Man 3:









They wrapped things upstairs, so we were able to see the theatre and the stage.





However, there was an organist in our group, and he wasn’t allowed to play the organ because they weren’t prepared. This portion of the tour was very disorganized, and we later learned that they don’t normally do this part, as it is typically an open-air Hollywood tour, but the guides knew that Pete Werner doesn’t care for that so they tried to change it up. (I am actually sorry they did, as we didn’t really tour around Hollywood before this because we thought that’s what they’d be doing here.) So, the lesson is, not all DIS ABD surprises are good ones!

To be continued in next post...

 

[skier_pete]

Next up was the trip over to Jim Henson studios, which also happens to be Charlie Chaplin’s original studios. This is the first portion of the tour that I am going to consider “backstage” so I am going to limit my discussion to a few pictures and a comment or two.
The entrance to Jim Henson studios:





Charlie Chaplin’s footprints in the cement outside the studios:



An animatronic head from “Where the Wild Things Are”



I forget what these guys are called, but they are from the Dark Crystal:



This is the film vault where Chaplin used to keep the film reels, and also where they stored his “Little Tramp” shoes:



A mural in one of the conference rooms sort of showing the history of Jim Henson:



Our picture with the puppeteer who guided this portion of the tour:



Overall, this tour was below what I expected. It did not really go “behind the scenes” enough and what they did show you seemed sort of like they weren’t really prepared for a large group with a good presentation space. This was probably the most disappointing portion for me because I am such a huge Muppets/Jim Henson fan, and it was really underwhelming. Not bad, just kind of OK. Honestly, this portion of the tour made me a little nervous as to what was going to come ahead. I needn’t have worried, though.

On the way to our next stop, they swung us by the original Disney Brothers studio location (didn’t have a chance to get a picture), as well as the house Walt and Roy stayed in with their Uncle when they first moved to LA, seen here:



Once we were done with that, we headed out to visit the Tam O’Shanter, a famous Hollywood landmark that was one of Walt’s favorite restaurants and even had his own booth there:







There were a couple of drawings signifying their history with Disney:





They got pictures of each of us sitting in Walt’s Booth.



There were three selections on the menu, but the house specialty was the prime rib, which we couldn’t resist. It was really delicious, but I cannot tell you what the price was or whether the meal was worth the cost, since it was included.



They had a manager come out and tell us a little of the history of the restaurant, which of course being a Hollywood landmark made it interesting. The food was excellent, and we had a nice time with it. So far, really this might’ve been the highlight of our day.

I ended up being pleasantly surprised by our last stop, which I wasn’t thinking would be that interesting but ended up being my favorite part of this first full day.

However, you are going to have to wait a bit to see what that is….

 

[OKW Lover]

However, there was an organist in our group, and he wasn’t allowed to play the organ because they weren’t prepared. This portion of the tour was very disorganized, and we later learned that they don’t normally do this part, as it is typically an open-air Hollywood tour, but the guides knew that Pete Werner doesn’t care for that so they tried to change it up. (I am actually sorry they did, as we didn’t really tour around Hollywood before this because we thought that’s what they’d be doing here.) So, the lesson is, not all DIS ABD surprises are good ones!

We did that tour as part of last year's BSM. Trust me, you're better off without it. All we did was to drive around the hollywood hills at a fairly fast speed, followed by creeping by some "homes" leaving us a bit nauseated. For the most part all you see is a gate behind which some star used to live. Occasionally we saw a gate to a home where a star currently lives. I think it was our feedback that prompted ABD to change this part of the trip.

 

[skier_pete]

We did that tour as part of last year's BSM. Trust me, you're better off without it. All we did was to drive around the hollywood hills at a fairly fast speed, followed by creeping by some "homes" leaving us a bit nauseated. For the most part all you see is a gate behind which some star used to live. Occasionally we saw a gate to a home where a star currently lives. I think it was our feedback that prompted ABD to change this part of the trip.

Well, I must say I wasn't all that keen on THAT idea, but after what we ended up doing, I think it would've still been better than the El Cap tour.

 

[ymxbfalcon]

Well, I must say I wasn't all that keen on THAT idea, but after what we ended up doing, I think it would've still been better than the El Cap tour.

I think you may be right about that. Actually, as late as we ate lunch that day, we may have been better off going to Jim Henson's a little earlier and not doing anything else that morning, which would have allowed us to get to Tam O'Shanter sooner.

I believe that this morning used to be when ABD would tour behind the scenes at Jimmy Kimmel, but that became difficult to schedule, so they dropped it from the itinerary. They seem to be having a hard time finding a good replacement for that part of the tour.

 

[DisneyBelle99]

Hello, I am enjoying this report. Been following MeMom for about a year, I guess, and someone on her trip report recommended stopping by. Glad I did, l love behind the scenes stuff. Never been to Hollywood or Disneyland, so thanks for the tour so far. Deb

 

[skier_pete]

I think you may be right about that. Actually, as late as we ate lunch that day, we may have been better off going to Jim Henson's a little earlier and not doing anything else that morning, which would have allowed us to get to Tam O'Shanter sooner.

I believe that this morning used to be when ABD would tour behind the scenes at Jimmy Kimmel, but that became difficult to schedule, so they dropped it from the itinerary. They seem to be having a hard time finding a good replacement for that part of the tour.

That's not a bad suggestion. For my sort of negative review of the Henson studio, I was still glad that was included. I don't think that spending MORE time there would be better though.

I think the El Capitan tour COULD have been very interesting. If they had (1) got the organ working, (2) allow us to see the pre-show - which DW and I got to see that night before Iron Man, and (3) didn't shuffle us into the basement to see the birthday party room.

You are probably right - backstage at Jimmy Kimmel would be MUCH more interesting than any of the other choices. How about a tour of the Kodak Theatre?? I think that could've been much cooler. They DO allow public tours, so a morning private tour wouldn't have been so tough to arrange.

Hello, I am enjoying this report. Been following MeMom for about a year, I guess, and someone on her trip report recommended stopping by. Glad I did, l love behind the scenes stuff. Never been to Hollywood or Disneyland, so thanks for the tour so far. Deb

Wow - being talked about in another TR! I feel special. I'm glad you're joining in. They're will be a lot of things I can't discuss, but when we get to DL they're will be a LOOOTTTT of pictures! I'm trying to get another update in before the end of this week.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Skeksis. Loved that movie.

Pity the tour didn't really work out to your expectation.

 

[Lee Disney]

Hey Pete,

Completely agree with you about the El Capitan. That tour was Terrible with a capital T! And I, too, was looking forward to it and felt it could have been an awesome tour. So much history there. That was mucho disappointing. I think I'd have preferred the open air bus tour too.

Would have loved to get inside the Kodak or Dolby, whatever its called now.

But, I did like the Henson studio. With no formal tour it felt like we were friends just stopping by. I loved roaming around in the offices and seeing the things the general public does not get to see. And the studio itself was so cute and quaint. I loved the atmosphere.

And Tam O'Shanters was fun too.

 

[Disneygrl36]

When we did the tour 5 years ago our EL Cap tour was much better organized. They had an organist there to play & we got to see the curtain show. We also go to tour Jimmy Kimmel & that was quite interesting to see where a live show is filmef. I agree our morning was disappointing! I think the open air bus tour would have been better but if it stinks then ABD needs to come up with something better.

I enjoyed Henson's & we got to see some things we didn't last time like Brian's office.

The lunch at the Tam O'Shanter is a great addition. We had gone there on our own last time.

 

[skier_pete]

Skeksis. Loved that movie.

Pity the tour didn't really work out to your expectation.

Did you have to look that up? I am so impressed!

Hey Pete,

Completely agree with you about the El Capitan. That tour was Terrible with a capital T! And I, too, was looking forward to it and felt it could have been an awesome tour. So much history there. That was mucho disappointing. I think I'd have preferred the open air bus tour too.

Would have loved to get inside the Kodak or Dolby, whatever its called now.

But, I did like the Henson studio. With no formal tour it felt like we were friends just stopping by. I loved roaming around in the offices and seeing the things the general public does not get to see. And the studio itself was so cute and quaint. I loved the atmosphere.

And Tam O'Shanters was fun too.

I agree - if they'd demonstrated the organ and showed the pre-show it would've been awesome, but just felt disorganized. I think the issue may be time limitation too. They only have a few hours until the Henson tour, so there's only so far they can go.

I do want to stress that I LIKED the Henson studio tour a lot. I just was expecting something...more. I don't know, it just felt underbaked.

When we did the tour 5 years ago our EL Cap tour was much better organized. They had an organist there to play & we got to see the curtain show. We also go to tour Jimmy Kimmel & that was quite interesting to see where a live show is filmef. I agree our morning was disappointing! I think the open air bus tour would have been better but if it stinks then ABD needs to come up with something better.

I enjoyed Henson's & we got to see some things we didn't last time like Brian's office.

The lunch at the Tam O'Shanter is a great addition. We had gone there on our own last time.

I did really enjoy Tam O'Shanter. It helped that the food was really good...though I might've been the only one at our table that enjoyed the popover! (Though Lee Disney probably did too - it's a New England thing I think.)

Still working on that next update. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for reading and commenting!

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Dark Crystal was on our PayTV channels two weeks ago. I watched it for "old times sake". And I am happy to report that my Old Fogie memory stretches back at least 2 weeks.

 

[skier_pete]

I couldn't get the full rest of the day up today, but thought I would post this portion anyways....expect the rest next week.

So, before I go into the next stop on our tour, I wanted to set this up with a little (Walt) Disney history. Walt Disney always had a fascination for trains, ever since he worked on one as a teen. He shared this obsession with some of his lead animators/designers. Two of them, Ollie Johnson and Ward Kimball to the point that they worked on miniature steam railroads on their property. So, when Disney Studios was finally having some steady success around 1950, he and Lillian bought a large property for their home, and Walt Disney wanted to build a 1/8 scale steam engine line on the property. Well, you can research the history of this, but suffice it to say that Walt ran the Carolwood Pacific railway on his property for about 3 years, and was the true precursor to the construction of Disneyland

This is relevant in that our last stop was to the facility of the LA Steamers Association, a group of train aficionados who maintained old steam trains. Kimball, Johnson and Walt himself were founding members of the group, and they normally operate a few days a week but open up special for the ABD tour, undoubtedly while getting a donation for their efforts. They have quite a collection, but most notably they happened to have obtained Walt Disneys Original barn from his property, as well as a 1/8 scale steam locomotive that is in part made up of Walts original track from the Carolwood Pacific.

We were again split into two group. Our group they took first into one of the original combine cars that had been on the tracks at Disneyland on opening day. This car actually rode the tracks around Disneyland. I didnt realize it until this trip, but the Railroad at Disneyland is a 5/8 scale railroad, and thus everything was built special for it. (WDW RR is a full-scale railroad). There are only a few of these cars left in existence  when they put the Grand Canyon Diorama in at DL, they which the cars to all side facing cars, so these original more realistic cars were removed.





Then they took us on a ride on the 1/8 scale railroad that was similar to (and parts of it were from) the one that Walt built on his property.







I never would have guessed that I wouldve felt this way going into it, but riding this train was sort of amazing. Folks talk about how going to Disneyland feels different because that was Walts park, but I didnt feel that when we visited Disneyland. But riding this little train around the backwoods of Southern California did exactly that for me. It made me think about what it would be like to be Walts guest at his house, to feel like we were really experiencing a piece of history. This portion of the tour really became my favorite part of the day.

They the two groups switch and they took us into Walts Barn. Being Walts it is of course designed with forced perspective to look smaller on the outside than it is on the inside.





The barn was Walts at-home workshop and also the central control point for his train. Inside the barn they showed us props and models from Walts collection, as well as Olly Johnson and Ward Kimballs as well.







This is a piece of the actual switch track and one of the cars Walt used on his train:





This is a 1/8 scale model of one of the Disneyland trains:



A picture of Walt working on a train in the barn.



A model of the barn, in the barn?



This was the actual central display for the Carolwood Pacific that Walt had installed in the barn. You can see the layout of the track around his property. Also notice the name of the main area: Yensid Valley. (Most anyone reading this should get that.)



While there, we also got to hold a Disney Legend award. This is the award given by the Disney Corporation to those who they deem worthy. I cant for the life of me remember WHOSE this is, though!



We then headed back to the hotel, it was around 5 PM when we got back. Matt and Dean had arranged for us to have dessert at the Disney Soda Fountain. After going back to our room to wash up, we stopped by and got a couple of Malts (We were still pretty full from lunch.)






Still more to come from Day 3!

 

[Lee Disney]

Wasn't it George Burns Legend award? I think I remember hearing that.

 

[skier_pete]

Wasn't it George Burns Legend award? I think I remember hearing that.

I heard someone say that too...but that was after the fact so I wasn't sure if it was true.

 

[disneykiwi]

Wow - being talked about in another TR! I feel special. I'm glad you're joining in. They're will be a lot of things I can't discuss, but when we get to DL they're will be a LOOOTTTT of pictures! I'm trying to get another update in before the end of this week.

hey Pete - I was asked if i would do a trip report on memom's latest report and suggested they read yours as I had my shoulder surgery last week so wouldnt be able to get one together - also I am hopeless at writing reports whereas yours are funny and gives heaps of details.

I cant believe you guys have only eaten 1 packet of Tim Tams - you are so good - I dont think i would be able to be that disciplined.