LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Thank you so much ladies! And thank you so much for sticking with me during my horribly long absences!
And now it's finally time for our ABD portion of the trip report!
Wishes in Catsablanca: 7.22.13 Epcot Wedding PJ&TR! Updated 03/09/15
- Thread starter LittleKittyMarie
- Start date
Thank you so much ladies! And thank you so much for sticking with me during my horribly long absences!
And now it's finally time for our ABD portion of the trip report!
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Day 13 -
Needless to say, from here on in, a blanket spoiler alert is in effect. If you're planning to go on the Adventures by Disney: Backstage Magic tour, there are several big surprises that you might want to keep a surprise.
We were scheduled to meet our transfer into Hollywood at 8:00 a.m. at LAX. We didn't know what to expect, a bus, car or horse. It turned out to be a private car that took us through L.A. to Hollywood, and dropped us off at Loew's Hollywood Hotel. It was undergoing construction at the time, so on the inside it didn't look much different than a Holiday Inn. Still, it's perfectly located at Hollywood and Highland, with direct access to Hollywood Boulevard, the Hollywood and Highland Center, and Graumann's Chinese Theatre. (Also, because of the construction we were gifted free internet access during our stay. Bonus!)
The Hollywood and Highland Center is designed to look like the set of the silent film Intolerance, an epic movie known for its excess. The original set was built on Sunset Boulevard and left standing for several years before being declared a hazard and torn down.
It was in the Loews' makeshift lobby that we met our two tour guides, Christian and Summer Rose. They were, predictably, extremely welcoming and nice, and their enthusiasm for the tour rivaled ours. We chatted for a spell, and it looked like were the first of the tour group to arrive. Our rooms weren't ready yet, so we left our bags with them and ventured out into the Hollywood wilderness.
It was a Sunday morning, and even Hollywood Boulevard was deserted and naked enough to see the garbage, dirt and tawdry little souvenir stores. It was hard to believe that we were at the nexus of the movie world, past and present. The story of Hollywood is the cheap made luxurious, the ugly made beautiful, and the ephemeral made mythic. If there's a single building that embodies these things, it's Graumann's Chinese. It's visual shorthand for Old Hollywood, and we found many a familiar footprint, but the old place is definitely showing its age. Immediately next to the old theater is the newer, colder Dolby Theater, formerly the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are staged.
We had avoided seeing Monsters University upon its release, because we'd purchased VIP tickets to the early showing at the El Capitan theatre. The El Capitan is owned by Disney, and its feature films are frequently premiered there. Even before Disney, the theatre hosted vaudeville and films, including the premiere of Citizen Kane. Disney has even restored the theatre to its original Art Deco glory, including an authentic silent picture-era organ, and each film they show there begins with an organist, a live stage show, and a curtain show.
But with time to spare before the picture began, we wandered, taking photos.
Yeti will be enrolling at MU in the fall.
Not knowing how brisk business would be at the box office, we pre-bought our VIP tickets online. It turned out to not be necessary, because, apparently, people don't like watching movies at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, no matter how nice the theatre is. Our VIP status, however, did get us a collectable popcorn bucket and drink, and pre-arranged seats. The movie, of course, was a delight.
It was after the show that we were looking forward to, because the theatre is attached to Disney's Soda Fountain & Studio Store.
If the El Capitan is the site of Disney's movie premieres, the Soda Fountain & Studio Store is the site of Disney's pin premieres, and some can only be found there. We bought some goodies at the store before setting down at the soda fountain for some lunch. (But before anyone who isn't in the know gets too excited, we've taken so long writing this trip report that the Soda Fountain no longer stands as it did during our honeymoon. It's now a less a unique 1950's soda fountain and more of a Ghirardelli ice cream food court. We were very disappointed to hear the news, but glad we made it in before the changeover!)
The inside is decorated like a soda fountain from the 1940's with employees in candy-striped vests and chrome stools. The menu is straight-forward diner fare with some Disney touches. They know their audience, and there are two Disney-themed sundaes on the menu, including Mickey's Masterpiece, served in a Sorcerer Mickey hat, and the Pintrader's Delight, a milkshake glass filled to brim and beyond with ice cream, fudge, marshmallow and whip cream. The Pintrader's Delight also comes, naturally, with a limited edition pin that changes every couple of days, as they sell sundaes and run out. We literally got the last pin in the edition (Mushu) before the pin changed over to Roger Rabbit.
French Dip
Hot Pastrami
Pin Trader's Delight and Mushu pin (it was the last one of edition and the server put it aside for us when she heard we wanted to order the sundae after our sandwiches!)
With our bellies full and wallets empty (there were limited edition Marie pins!), we retired back to hotel to rest and wait for the welcome dinner with our fellow travellers. But not before we ran into a couple of familiar faces:
Minnie! Donald! Wait… that's not… Oh god why?!
Our bags had already been delivered to the room. We had a south-facing room that looked past Hollywood Boulevard towards downtown L.A. A north-facing room would have had a clear view towards the Hollywood sign.
The Dolby Theatre: home of the Academy Awards ceremony
Needless to say, from here on in, a blanket spoiler alert is in effect. If you're planning to go on the Adventures by Disney: Backstage Magic tour, there are several big surprises that you might want to keep a surprise.
We were scheduled to meet our transfer into Hollywood at 8:00 a.m. at LAX. We didn't know what to expect, a bus, car or horse. It turned out to be a private car that took us through L.A. to Hollywood, and dropped us off at Loew's Hollywood Hotel. It was undergoing construction at the time, so on the inside it didn't look much different than a Holiday Inn. Still, it's perfectly located at Hollywood and Highland, with direct access to Hollywood Boulevard, the Hollywood and Highland Center, and Graumann's Chinese Theatre. (Also, because of the construction we were gifted free internet access during our stay. Bonus!)
The Hollywood and Highland Center is designed to look like the set of the silent film Intolerance, an epic movie known for its excess. The original set was built on Sunset Boulevard and left standing for several years before being declared a hazard and torn down.
It was in the Loews' makeshift lobby that we met our two tour guides, Christian and Summer Rose. They were, predictably, extremely welcoming and nice, and their enthusiasm for the tour rivaled ours. We chatted for a spell, and it looked like were the first of the tour group to arrive. Our rooms weren't ready yet, so we left our bags with them and ventured out into the Hollywood wilderness.
It was a Sunday morning, and even Hollywood Boulevard was deserted and naked enough to see the garbage, dirt and tawdry little souvenir stores. It was hard to believe that we were at the nexus of the movie world, past and present. The story of Hollywood is the cheap made luxurious, the ugly made beautiful, and the ephemeral made mythic. If there's a single building that embodies these things, it's Graumann's Chinese. It's visual shorthand for Old Hollywood, and we found many a familiar footprint, but the old place is definitely showing its age. Immediately next to the old theater is the newer, colder Dolby Theater, formerly the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are staged.
We had avoided seeing Monsters University upon its release, because we'd purchased VIP tickets to the early showing at the El Capitan theatre. The El Capitan is owned by Disney, and its feature films are frequently premiered there. Even before Disney, the theatre hosted vaudeville and films, including the premiere of Citizen Kane. Disney has even restored the theatre to its original Art Deco glory, including an authentic silent picture-era organ, and each film they show there begins with an organist, a live stage show, and a curtain show.
But with time to spare before the picture began, we wandered, taking photos.
Yeti will be enrolling at MU in the fall.
Not knowing how brisk business would be at the box office, we pre-bought our VIP tickets online. It turned out to not be necessary, because, apparently, people don't like watching movies at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, no matter how nice the theatre is. Our VIP status, however, did get us a collectable popcorn bucket and drink, and pre-arranged seats. The movie, of course, was a delight.
It was after the show that we were looking forward to, because the theatre is attached to Disney's Soda Fountain & Studio Store.
If the El Capitan is the site of Disney's movie premieres, the Soda Fountain & Studio Store is the site of Disney's pin premieres, and some can only be found there. We bought some goodies at the store before setting down at the soda fountain for some lunch. (But before anyone who isn't in the know gets too excited, we've taken so long writing this trip report that the Soda Fountain no longer stands as it did during our honeymoon. It's now a less a unique 1950's soda fountain and more of a Ghirardelli ice cream food court. We were very disappointed to hear the news, but glad we made it in before the changeover!)
The inside is decorated like a soda fountain from the 1940's with employees in candy-striped vests and chrome stools. The menu is straight-forward diner fare with some Disney touches. They know their audience, and there are two Disney-themed sundaes on the menu, including Mickey's Masterpiece, served in a Sorcerer Mickey hat, and the Pintrader's Delight, a milkshake glass filled to brim and beyond with ice cream, fudge, marshmallow and whip cream. The Pintrader's Delight also comes, naturally, with a limited edition pin that changes every couple of days, as they sell sundaes and run out. We literally got the last pin in the edition (Mushu) before the pin changed over to Roger Rabbit.
French Dip
Hot Pastrami
Pin Trader's Delight and Mushu pin (it was the last one of edition and the server put it aside for us when she heard we wanted to order the sundae after our sandwiches!)
With our bellies full and wallets empty (there were limited edition Marie pins!), we retired back to hotel to rest and wait for the welcome dinner with our fellow travellers. But not before we ran into a couple of familiar faces:
Minnie! Donald! Wait… that's not… Oh god why?!
Our bags had already been delivered to the room. We had a south-facing room that looked past Hollywood Boulevard towards downtown L.A. A north-facing room would have had a clear view towards the Hollywood sign.
The Dolby Theatre: home of the Academy Awards ceremony
Last edited:
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
At 4:45pm, we went back down to the lobby/convention centre. Summer Rose and Christian were there with the other guests. For the most part, the makeup of the was families with grown or teenaged children. There was only a single child in the group, and the activities definitely skewed more to the adult Disney fans in the group, though the guides did find some kid-specific things just for her.
The evening began with an ice-breaking activity that involved organizing ourselves according to distance travelled. It was all very first day of school, but harmless fun. Then, as we entered the small banquet hall for our dinner, each family had its portrait taken with goofy, over-sized props. Again, it's all in good fun, but it may not be the ideal experience for the overly self-conscious. For the ABD experience to be 100% successful, everyone needs to be all in for whatever happens.
Let's get into that Hollywood spirit!
Seating for dinner was banquet-style and pre-determined with our tour lanyards ready at our place settings. We sat with two other families, a mother and son on their fourth (!) ABD tour, and an aunt and nephew.
The dinner was buffet-style, with soft drinks and wine included. It was pretty standard catering fare, nothing Disney-themed because it came from the hotel. As we moved to dessert, we did introductions, and a short Disney trivia game with each table competing against the others. Technically our table won (we really were amping up on our trivia prior to the honeymoon for this very moment), but everyone got a prize: our first day pin!
Again, these were quick ice-breaking exercises, but, as we were to learn, essential to establishing a positive group dynamic. If you read about ABD tours, they always say that, by the end of the tour, everyone feels like they've been friends for years. It's true, and it doesn't happen by accident.
And we got another special pin for our honeymoon!
Dinner finished fairly early, around 7:00, and there was still plenty of time to do more site-seeing on our own. Some of the families had plans to see Monsters U at the El Capitan, but with that checked off our list, we decided to head a block west to the historical Roosevelt Hotel. We'd read that it was one of the big inspirations for the design of the Hollywood Tower Hotel a.k.a. the Tower of Terror ride, and the actual site of the Academy Awards ceremonies in the 1930's and '40's. On our way out, we received ABD-branded water bottles and a travelling bag.
The Roosevelt Hotel is almost oppressively dark and atmospheric, and you really feel like you're stepping back into the 1940's. We grabbed drinks at the bar, a watermelon mojito for DB and a gimlet for me (because that's what Phillip Marlowe drinks in The Last Goodbye) and soaked in some of the old Hollywood ambience.
Coincidentally, probably in conjunction with the re-release of The Little Mermaid on DVD, they were holding a Little Mermaid merchandise event for selected members of the press. We debating trying to crash it, but didn't want to get ourselves into any trouble on the first day of the tour.
Later on in the trip we told our tour guides about the Little Mermaid event and they said we should have called them to help us crash it! Like no other employees I've encountered in the entire Disney corporation, these guides are dedicated to the magic!
Oh, and just one last sight from our first day: only in Hollywood?
The evening began with an ice-breaking activity that involved organizing ourselves according to distance travelled. It was all very first day of school, but harmless fun. Then, as we entered the small banquet hall for our dinner, each family had its portrait taken with goofy, over-sized props. Again, it's all in good fun, but it may not be the ideal experience for the overly self-conscious. For the ABD experience to be 100% successful, everyone needs to be all in for whatever happens.
Let's get into that Hollywood spirit!
Seating for dinner was banquet-style and pre-determined with our tour lanyards ready at our place settings. We sat with two other families, a mother and son on their fourth (!) ABD tour, and an aunt and nephew.
The dinner was buffet-style, with soft drinks and wine included. It was pretty standard catering fare, nothing Disney-themed because it came from the hotel. As we moved to dessert, we did introductions, and a short Disney trivia game with each table competing against the others. Technically our table won (we really were amping up on our trivia prior to the honeymoon for this very moment), but everyone got a prize: our first day pin!
Again, these were quick ice-breaking exercises, but, as we were to learn, essential to establishing a positive group dynamic. If you read about ABD tours, they always say that, by the end of the tour, everyone feels like they've been friends for years. It's true, and it doesn't happen by accident.
And we got another special pin for our honeymoon!
Dinner finished fairly early, around 7:00, and there was still plenty of time to do more site-seeing on our own. Some of the families had plans to see Monsters U at the El Capitan, but with that checked off our list, we decided to head a block west to the historical Roosevelt Hotel. We'd read that it was one of the big inspirations for the design of the Hollywood Tower Hotel a.k.a. the Tower of Terror ride, and the actual site of the Academy Awards ceremonies in the 1930's and '40's. On our way out, we received ABD-branded water bottles and a travelling bag.
The Roosevelt Hotel is almost oppressively dark and atmospheric, and you really feel like you're stepping back into the 1940's. We grabbed drinks at the bar, a watermelon mojito for DB and a gimlet for me (because that's what Phillip Marlowe drinks in The Last Goodbye) and soaked in some of the old Hollywood ambience.
Coincidentally, probably in conjunction with the re-release of The Little Mermaid on DVD, they were holding a Little Mermaid merchandise event for selected members of the press. We debating trying to crash it, but didn't want to get ourselves into any trouble on the first day of the tour.
Later on in the trip we told our tour guides about the Little Mermaid event and they said we should have called them to help us crash it! Like no other employees I've encountered in the entire Disney corporation, these guides are dedicated to the magic!
Oh, and just one last sight from our first day: only in Hollywood?
Aschenputtel
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2013
Love everything! I read about your tour and can't wait to see how it turned out - seems pretty great so far!
Disneyducks12
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 14, 2013
Glad your back! Your ABD looks to be off to a good start can't wait to hear more 
sager1969
Mickey Momma
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2012
I found your link under the ABD section the proceeded to spend the next few hours enjoying your report. I could have commented about so many amazing things. Here are a few of my thoughts...
1. Congratulations! This is my 20th year of marriage and it was still the best thing I ever did. It is very obvious how much you love each other. I loved seeing the groom POV.
2. You guys are so talented. Thanks for sharing your the details that made your wedding so wonderful.
3. Your Disneymoon made me tired! I am so proud of you for resting during your cruise. DCL cruises are our favorite resting vacations. That Backstage Magic tour is pretty grueling but amazing. We did that as a surprise for some for his 14th bday. On Oscar night, we were all FB and texting about being there! We got to tour is as part of our adventure.
4. You and your wedding party looked amazing. That dress and veil was spectacular especially on you.
5. Mostly thank you sharing. My dream was to have Disney wedding but that was not an option for us. We did ISD the music from Cinderella as our music. We made it to WDW in 2008 and have been on many Disney vacations to make up for it. However, your details made me feel that I was able to a part of a Disney wedding.
Again it was nice to be part of your day!
1. Congratulations! This is my 20th year of marriage and it was still the best thing I ever did. It is very obvious how much you love each other. I loved seeing the groom POV.
2. You guys are so talented. Thanks for sharing your the details that made your wedding so wonderful.
3. Your Disneymoon made me tired! I am so proud of you for resting during your cruise. DCL cruises are our favorite resting vacations. That Backstage Magic tour is pretty grueling but amazing. We did that as a surprise for some for his 14th bday. On Oscar night, we were all FB and texting about being there! We got to tour is as part of our adventure.
4. You and your wedding party looked amazing. That dress and veil was spectacular especially on you.
5. Mostly thank you sharing. My dream was to have Disney wedding but that was not an option for us. We did ISD the music from Cinderella as our music. We made it to WDW in 2008 and have been on many Disney vacations to make up for it. However, your details made me feel that I was able to a part of a Disney wedding.
Again it was nice to be part of your day!
elphie101
Left my heart in Tomorrowland
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2008
I love you recap on the ABD part of the tour - I can only dream of getting to do one of those someday. It's especially fun for me to see Hollywood and so many familiar sights from our DL trip nearly 2 years ago!
Always here, waiting to see what happens next
Always here, waiting to see what happens next
librarygeek
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
I didn't read all of the details because I don't want spoilers - I have no idea if we'll ever be able to afford an ABD trip, but if we ever do Backstage Magic is hands down the one I would pick! But scrolling through your pictures it looks absolutely amazing.
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Thank you! It's going to get better, technically it hasn't started yet…
Glad your back! Your ABD looks to be off to a good start can't wait to hear more
Thank you, thank you! I have a bunch already written, so hoping to get it out in a more timely manner, except for the photos, there are around 4,000 from just the tour that I still need to sort through.
Thank you so much for joining in and being part of my wedding journey, and thank you so much for your compliments! BSM is amazing, and I talk and dream a lot about going on another ABD or even BSM again. I can't praise ABD enough, although I'm definitely going to try in this trip report. I did exactly the same thing on Oscar night. But were you guys actually there during Oscar season? That would be pretty spectacular I imagine. We had our own Hollywood moment, but it would not even come close to an Oscar time tour.
Also, I'll just add, if you hang around the Dis wedding board long enough you'll see it's never too late for a Disney wedding, and being married already is nothing to stop you. That's what vow renewals are for, and I'd be a liar if I didn't say I hadn't jokingly (not so jokingly) already mentioned it to my DH.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed your visit to my TR!
I love you recap on the ABD part of the tour - I can only dream of getting to do one of those someday. It's especially fun for me to see Hollywood and so many familiar sights from our DL trip nearly 2 years ago!
Always here, waiting to see what happens next
Thank you!
I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Since this tour was also nearly two years ago, I know exactly how you feel! Thank you for visiting, even if there are spoilers. The first post didn't really contain any spoilers, because only the dinner part was actually part of the tour. The rest was all DH and I just looking for as many Disney experiences as possible. I know how you feel about spoilers though. I actually had a few things spoiled for me before our honeymoon, including the BIGGEST surprise. But that was okay for me, I still experienced it all through my DH.
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Note: There are no official BSM spoilers for this part I'm posting now, there will be later on in day two, but I won't be getting to that just yet (there are a lot more photos I need to sort and edit first.) But it's going to be pretty detailed, so the blanket spoiler warning is still in effect.
Day 14 - Lights! Camera! Yeti!
Our first full day of the tour began with a buffet breakfast at the hotel, followed by a short walking tour of Hollywood Boulevard. Even though most of it was ground we'd covered ourselves the day before, our tour guides added a lot to our knowledge of the area.
Once again we started just outside the Loew's Hollywood Hotel, which has an entrance to the courtyard of the Hollywood and Highland Center and previously mentioned Intolerance-inspired set pieces.
We walked a short distance to a viewing area for the famous Hollywood sign, and got a brief history lesson. Here is a briefer recap: built in 1923, the sign intially read "Hollywoodland." You used to be able to hike up to the sign, but after it became a site of numerous suicides and acts of vandalism the area was gated off. The sign fell in complete disrepair, and in the 1980s was saved by donations from numerous famous actors, musicians and others.
Next we walked through the Dolby Theatre hall leading to the grand stairway.
The Dolby Theatre is the home to the Academy Awards and it's also hosted a couple of other things like American Idol finales and Miss America pagents. This is the second floor pictured, when you watch the Oscars all the stars walk up the grand staircase at the end of the red carpet and reach this area to enter the theatre. They then walk downstairs to the first floor. But the walk up the grand staircase makes the dresses look great on TV. We also learned that most of the stars get hotel rooms at the Loew's Hollywood Hotel for Oscar night, just so they can get dressed and glammed up, then they get in their limos and drive around the block and get out on the red carpet. Ah, movie magic! And more importantly a Hollywood star has almost definitely been the hotel room we were staying in! I'm going to say it was Leonardo DiCaprio.
Walking down the grand staircase.
Looking back up at the grand staircase. The steps are shorter for all those floor-length gowns and sky-high heels. During the telecast the store fronts that flank the staircase are covered with red curtains. On columns are all the best picture winners from the first Oscars to the present (with space for another 60+ years worth of winners).
1939 Best Picture winner Gone with the Wind. It was good year for movies.
Back at Grauman's Chinese Theatre (it was early morning again) several of handprints were being recast for maintenance. That included Humphrey Bogart's unfortunately, I had been hoping to get a photo with it.
A seven-year-old Shirley Temple's prints.
The Harry Potter kids
Donald!
Day 14 - Lights! Camera! Yeti!
Our first full day of the tour began with a buffet breakfast at the hotel, followed by a short walking tour of Hollywood Boulevard. Even though most of it was ground we'd covered ourselves the day before, our tour guides added a lot to our knowledge of the area.
Once again we started just outside the Loew's Hollywood Hotel, which has an entrance to the courtyard of the Hollywood and Highland Center and previously mentioned Intolerance-inspired set pieces.
We walked a short distance to a viewing area for the famous Hollywood sign, and got a brief history lesson. Here is a briefer recap: built in 1923, the sign intially read "Hollywoodland." You used to be able to hike up to the sign, but after it became a site of numerous suicides and acts of vandalism the area was gated off. The sign fell in complete disrepair, and in the 1980s was saved by donations from numerous famous actors, musicians and others.
Next we walked through the Dolby Theatre hall leading to the grand stairway.
The Dolby Theatre is the home to the Academy Awards and it's also hosted a couple of other things like American Idol finales and Miss America pagents. This is the second floor pictured, when you watch the Oscars all the stars walk up the grand staircase at the end of the red carpet and reach this area to enter the theatre. They then walk downstairs to the first floor. But the walk up the grand staircase makes the dresses look great on TV. We also learned that most of the stars get hotel rooms at the Loew's Hollywood Hotel for Oscar night, just so they can get dressed and glammed up, then they get in their limos and drive around the block and get out on the red carpet. Ah, movie magic! And more importantly a Hollywood star has almost definitely been the hotel room we were staying in! I'm going to say it was Leonardo DiCaprio.
Walking down the grand staircase.
Looking back up at the grand staircase. The steps are shorter for all those floor-length gowns and sky-high heels. During the telecast the store fronts that flank the staircase are covered with red curtains. On columns are all the best picture winners from the first Oscars to the present (with space for another 60+ years worth of winners).
1939 Best Picture winner Gone with the Wind. It was good year for movies.
Back at Grauman's Chinese Theatre (it was early morning again) several of handprints were being recast for maintenance. That included Humphrey Bogart's unfortunately, I had been hoping to get a photo with it.
A seven-year-old Shirley Temple's prints.
The Harry Potter kids
Donald!
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LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Following our quick tour, our ultimate destination was the El Capitan. The front theatre was, however, markedly different from the day before because the road was blocked off, and workers were setting up a long, runway-themed red carpet for the premiere of Disney's (unfortunate) Cars pseudo-sequel, Planes.
The group was introduced to the general manager of the El Capitan who revealed our first surprise of the tour: a photo op on the red carpet! Apparently, not only is it rare for an ABD to fall during a premiere at the El Capitan, it is unheard of for the group to be let onto the carpet. Truly an amazing once-in-a-lifetime surprise!
Yeti finally gets the star treatment he deserves.
Once inside the theatre, we got a private talk from the theatre's sound engineer, who discussed the restoration of the theatre and the logistics of putting on the various pre-screening stage shows. We even got a private showing of the curtain show.
The Wurlitzer Fox Special. The organ ascends from the floor.
The curtain show:
Behind the curtains and screen are the lights and giant speakers.
The Monsters University pre-show set on the stage.
Afterwards, we took a quick tour of the museum space upstairs and the exhibition space downstairs. To tie into the movie Planes, the exhibit was about early aviation pioneers, and had wholly more thought put into it than the movie Planes deserves.
The group was introduced to the general manager of the El Capitan who revealed our first surprise of the tour: a photo op on the red carpet! Apparently, not only is it rare for an ABD to fall during a premiere at the El Capitan, it is unheard of for the group to be let onto the carpet. Truly an amazing once-in-a-lifetime surprise!
Yeti finally gets the star treatment he deserves.
Once inside the theatre, we got a private talk from the theatre's sound engineer, who discussed the restoration of the theatre and the logistics of putting on the various pre-screening stage shows. We even got a private showing of the curtain show.
The Wurlitzer Fox Special. The organ ascends from the floor.
The curtain show:
Behind the curtains and screen are the lights and giant speakers.
The Monsters University pre-show set on the stage.
Afterwards, we took a quick tour of the museum space upstairs and the exhibition space downstairs. To tie into the movie Planes, the exhibit was about early aviation pioneers, and had wholly more thought put into it than the movie Planes deserves.
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
Back outside premiere build continued in earnest.
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
There is a minor spoiler in this section. It is the last photo of this post.
We walked back to the hotel and boarded our private coach. It took us just a few blocks south to the Jim Henson Studios, as seen in the Walt Disney Studios feature film The Muppets. What's really remarkable about the studios is that it's on a residential street, and if you didn't know the studio was there, it would be easy to miss. The studio is loaded with rich Hollywood history. Built by Charlie Chaplin as silent era studio, it converted into a music studio by A&M Records in the 1960's. Most famously, perhaps, it was place artists like Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and a host of other '80s music stars all gathered to record "We Are the World" in 1985. Most interestingly, the studio's façade was actually designed to look like residential houses to blend into the neighbourhood. If anything, the strip club across the street is the real sore thumb sticking out.
Coincidentally "Crazy Girls" is the name of the Jim Henson's company's next film. Joking, joking, har-har-har.
Once inside the gates, we were divided into two separate groups. Group A went to tour the production offices, while we in Group B (for "Best") saw a funny short film describing the history of the Jim Henson Studios, and got a chance to do a once-around Brian Henson's office. He wasn't there, but we were given a chance to poke around a veritable museum of beloved popular culture from the past forty years.
The original vault door where Charlie Chaplin studios kept their high flammable film stock.
This was also the first of many instances where we got to hold an actual award statuette: a primetime Emmy!
After our Emmy-winning turn as People Accepting an Emmy Award, we switched places with Group A, and headed into the production offices.
We walked back to the hotel and boarded our private coach. It took us just a few blocks south to the Jim Henson Studios, as seen in the Walt Disney Studios feature film The Muppets. What's really remarkable about the studios is that it's on a residential street, and if you didn't know the studio was there, it would be easy to miss. The studio is loaded with rich Hollywood history. Built by Charlie Chaplin as silent era studio, it converted into a music studio by A&M Records in the 1960's. Most famously, perhaps, it was place artists like Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and a host of other '80s music stars all gathered to record "We Are the World" in 1985. Most interestingly, the studio's façade was actually designed to look like residential houses to blend into the neighbourhood. If anything, the strip club across the street is the real sore thumb sticking out.
Coincidentally "Crazy Girls" is the name of the Jim Henson's company's next film. Joking, joking, har-har-har.
Once inside the gates, we were divided into two separate groups. Group A went to tour the production offices, while we in Group B (for "Best") saw a funny short film describing the history of the Jim Henson Studios, and got a chance to do a once-around Brian Henson's office. He wasn't there, but we were given a chance to poke around a veritable museum of beloved popular culture from the past forty years.
The original vault door where Charlie Chaplin studios kept their high flammable film stock.
This was also the first of many instances where we got to hold an actual award statuette: a primetime Emmy!
After our Emmy-winning turn as People Accepting an Emmy Award, we switched places with Group A, and headed into the production offices.
LittleKittyMarie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
I'm totally projecting here, but if a bunch of tourists came to my workplace and started poking around my office and taking photos, I'd be a bit annoyed. But at the Jim Henson Studios (and everywhere else we went on the ABD tour) the employees were just as happy to have us there as we were to be there. The Jim Henson Studios is a real studio--there were production meetings happening, and real productions being rehearsed and shot. I saw a gorgeously-dressed woman who may or may not have been Rashida Jones walk by. The receptionist at the studios was an actual receptionist with real telephone calls from real industry people to place on hold, and I'm sure that entertaining tour groups isn't in her job description. And yet she was so patient, and wanted to make sure that every one of us got a chance to hold the Emmy and get a good photo. She isn't even a Disney employee, but she still made us feel incredibly welcome. That's the real magic of Backstage Magic.
No pictures were allowed, because top-secret, copyright-protected creative stuff was happening. And not all of it involved felt! We got a sneak peek at some concept art for a variety of children's television shows, and a demo of the live CG puppetry that's used to have a character interact with a live audience, like Crush's Turtle Talk and the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We ended in the boardroom, where we were shown a sizzle reel of Jim Henson Studios works of the past, and what's in store for the studio's future. Naturally, there was a mural of Jim Henson's Sesame Street and Muppets characters seated in a theatre. Naturally, we all got pictures in front of it.
We rendezvoused with Group A at one of the large soundstages on the lot, and got a live demo of old-school Sesame Street-style puppetry from one of the puppeteers. Our last stop was the studio courtyard where we had a photo op with the puppeteer and his puppet. These kinds of photo ops are a big selling point for ABD tours, and with good cause. Even though we were never without our own cameras, getting photos with just the two of us would have been difficult, so it was nice to have our tour guides always on hand for a quick photo. The results were serviceable, but still much appreciated.
Charlie Chaplin Stage
Day Two TBC with a Hollywood tour, lunch, a surprise location and maybe... a premiere?
No pictures were allowed, because top-secret, copyright-protected creative stuff was happening. And not all of it involved felt! We got a sneak peek at some concept art for a variety of children's television shows, and a demo of the live CG puppetry that's used to have a character interact with a live audience, like Crush's Turtle Talk and the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We ended in the boardroom, where we were shown a sizzle reel of Jim Henson Studios works of the past, and what's in store for the studio's future. Naturally, there was a mural of Jim Henson's Sesame Street and Muppets characters seated in a theatre. Naturally, we all got pictures in front of it.
We rendezvoused with Group A at one of the large soundstages on the lot, and got a live demo of old-school Sesame Street-style puppetry from one of the puppeteers. Our last stop was the studio courtyard where we had a photo op with the puppeteer and his puppet. These kinds of photo ops are a big selling point for ABD tours, and with good cause. Even though we were never without our own cameras, getting photos with just the two of us would have been difficult, so it was nice to have our tour guides always on hand for a quick photo. The results were serviceable, but still much appreciated.
Charlie Chaplin Stage
Day Two TBC with a Hollywood tour, lunch, a surprise location and maybe... a premiere?
White Rose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2003
Thank you again for some wonderful pictures! looking forward to seeing more!
Aschenputtel
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2013
librarygeek
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
I love that the tour takes you to the Jim Henson Studios! I am a huge Muppet fan and that would just be the coolest thing
charliegirl76
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2012
Yay! I'm all caught up!! The seasickness seemed a little crazy! Makes me a little wary of going on a cruise, but I've got to try it at least once, right?! I love how you both enjoy the food so much.....I wish I enjoyed mine more, but I'm sure no one cares about seeing photos of pizza and chicken all the time. LOL Congratulations on the new house!! I can't wait for the next update.
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