“That’s just a weird thing to be happy about”: A Backstage Magic ABD TR! UPDATED 11/24 X3 & COMPLETE

[dolewhipdreams]

Still want that new iphone though

The night mode on it is incredible!! It's still no good for dark rides since you need to hold the camera still for like 2 seconds but if you want a castle shot or something like that then it's amazing.

 

[NJlauren]

WOW i didnt realize how behind i was! But here i am all caught up just to be able to say see ya later!

After the shock wore off, my new buddy and I looked at each other while we both wiped the tears from our eyes and our husbands looked on in disgust. Sorry guys, you picked us, celebrity freak outs and all.

HAHA love this! I mean so fun!

And with that I’ll leave you until the next installment, which should have many more photos than this one because after Imagineering we left for Disneyland!

YAHOOOOOO

We got to the part where Flynn sneaks into the tower and Rapunzel ties him up in her closet. She repeatedly says “There’s a person in my closet!” and the little boy on the trip (who was sitting next to his new bff, the little girl on the trip) said “That’s just a weird thing to be happy about.” Which is hilarious and also very true.

Omg love this kid!

A little over an hour later we pulled up in front of the Grand Californian, our home for the next couple of nights. Our guides told us that our rooms were all ready and they had checked us all in and that bell services would bring our luggage up to us (another reason why ABD is worth the price). We were given a time to meet in the lobby for dinner (by the vase. Pronounced vahse and not vayce, because vahse is fancier) and then let loose on our own.

OMG love, so jel, your pics and the entrace right into DCA amazing... now to convince the husbands we should stay here all the time that is the trick!

We started in Town Square and just took a ton of photos. It’s seriously so cool to see an empty – like actually completely empty – park. I’ve been to DAH at the Magic Kingdom where we say it’s empty but we really mean there just aren’t as many people as normal. But here it was just us and some CMs.

OMG this is amazing! This is like worth the price of ABD alone! look at those pics!

Jon grabbed his fork and announced that he was going to eat and Lesley audibly gasped and said, “Before the picture??”

OMG LOVE THIS i am so bad at food pics, but this is the sign of a true DIS-board PRO!

Don't recognize it? I'd tell you more, tell you more but I don't wanna brag. It's where the Summer Lovin scene from Grease was filmed. And now I hope that song is stuck in your head all day.

OMG LOVE!

I loved this trip report! Sorry i fell so behind but i so enjoyed following along and hearing about this trip!

 

[TNjester]

We met our special CM who would be the key to all of our special backstage access. And I’m the horrible person that forgot to write his name down. But he was great. 10/10 would recommend.

Just for the sake of completeness, for some reason I made a note of his name, it was Amar.

 

[pkondz]

Just some spoil-free fun.

You like your fun like I like my food.

However, the Disney part of the trip is over so if that’s all you care about then it was nice knowin ya, see ya next TR.

Bye!!!

JK, please don't leave. My fragile ego requires constant stroking.

Oh, okay... here:

I was worried it would be too loud but I put my earplugs in and didn’t hear a thing!

What?

That's nice!

Very much a 70s vibe going on there. I like it.

the only way to get into the Magic Castle unless you are invited by a member of the club. We know no such members, so a hotel reservation was needed.

oh! Thanks for the info. I'd love to go some day.

One of those perks is all the free snacks. Everything on this list can be requested, in any quantity, at any time from the front desk.

Whoa!!!

I'd be sooooo fat.


Well... fatter.

The Popsicle Hotline

I need this in my life.

Unfortunately we never got a chance to try the Popsicle Hotline but we for sure got our share of the snacks.

How could you not at least try it???? How????????????

It consisted of tea, peanut butter M&Ms, crackers, and a Coke.

Um... what about that bag of honey butter popcorn??

We celebrated six years of marriage by eating candy for breakfast, watching a children’s movie, and dressing up to see magicians perform in a Victorian mansion. Pretty typical Ann & Jon stuff.

Oh, yes. That's listed.
5 years is PB&J, a rerun of Mr. Rogers and a stroll down the street. 6 years is candy, children's movie and magicians. 7 years is crackers & cheese, reality TV and a ferris wheel.

So Jon ordered the tickets and said something like “Levi said to let you know he sent us here.” And the guy at the box office looked at us funny, then picked up the phone and started calling someone. Jon and I looked at each other with a small amount of fear in our eyes and we realized the guy thought we were trying to get free tickets. So Jon interrupted him and let him know that we were trying to buy tickets and thought there was a discount but it was totally fine if there wasn’t. He said he misunderstood and got us our (full price) discount.

I wanted In N Out because that’s what you do when you’re in SoCal.

There’s one a few blocks away from Hollywood Blvd so we decided to walk.

Been to that one twice now.

It's where the Summer Lovin scene from Grease was filmed.

Never seen the movie. I have no idea why not.

When we got to In N Out the lines were so far out the door it was nuts. There was barely even room to stand.

Yeah... it was busy both times I was there too, but the line moves fairly quickly.

Isn’t there a Mel’s Diner at Universal? Am I making that up in my head?

There is:

She looked at us and said, “Oh yeah, all the time! The Stranger Things kids were just in here yesterday.”

FOILED. AGAIN.

D'oh!

I ordered a short rib grilled cheese

Short rib grilled cheese??????

We had also stocked up on some of the free snacks from the hotel before we left so we were snackfully prepared.

Smart. You saved over $3,200 there.

the really great part of the experience was seeing a movie in the Chinese Theater.

That would be so cool!

The Magic Castle has an insanely strict dress code

Really! I kinda like that, actually.

ckr

You guys look great!!

And we got a first-hand account of how seriously they take the dress code. A woman checked in right before us and she was wearing slacks with a cardigan over her top. They wouldn’t let her in because the dress code states that if you wear slacks you have to wear a blazer. A cardigan is not good enough. So she had to borrow a blazer from their emergency stash for people who don’t take the dress code seriously.

Wow! Bet she was less than happy about that.

I guess if we just had to eat another delicious meal then we would take that one for the magical team.

I soon realized that we would not be seeing him because our server let us know that we were sitting in his regular booth.

Well... poop.

I guess if I couldn’t see NPH I could at least put my butt where his has been.

Did it feel any different? Talented or something?

The way the shows work is there are multiple rooms/stages around the building and there are shows going pretty much all the time.

cool!

We both waited anxiously for them to be filled and when they were it was by…a couple of normal people.

Sorry about that, though.

The one show that Jon knew he wanted to see was the close up show so we actually got in line for it as the show before was starting. Which meant we stood in line through the whole first show, then for the time in between. So like 45 minutes. But even with all that waiting we still got two of the last seats in the room.

I would do the same. Good close up magic is stunning.

right before he released the dove he whispered “Don’t freak out.”

Our waiter at dinner told us we had to get the banana cream pie at some point in the night since it was the Castle’s specialty dessert. We got some in between some shows and OH MY GOODNESS no other banana cream pie will ever compare.

Really! High praise indeed!

one was a painting of Walt and the creator of the Magic Castle with their respective castles in the background. It was really cool.

I like that! Too bad you couldn't get a photo.

We ended up spending almost 7 hours at the Magic Castle between dinner and all the shows. It was an amazing experience and we are both so glad we got to go!

I so want to do this now! Wow!

We don’t have many of those where we’re from (in fact we have zero, because I refuse to count lakes).

Really? I only count lakes. There seems to be a lot fewer sharks in them.

But as soon as we got out of the car we realized our beach day probably wouldn’t look the way we planned it in our head.

Because it was cold.

Nooooo!!

the breeze off the water was quite cool. It was also quite strong, which meant my cute sun hat was a no-go for the day.

No cute hat? This is a travesty!

Hey did you know that weekends in July are crazy busy at LA beaches? Cuz we didn’t. But oh did we find out.

uh oh...

At that point we had been trying to park for over an hour.

we decided to get lunch before going down to the water.

But then you can't swim for an hour...
oh... nevermind… it'll take you an hour to get there still since you're so far away.

I think we paid like $43 for this.

Um.... What else did you eat, other than what's on your trays????

when he bites on your thumb, takes a chunk of your bum,
that's a moray

Doesn't look too bad. Lots of people in bathing suits.

[I almost got one of these instead. Frozen cheesecake on a popsicle stick?? Amazing]

Unless it's Key Lime... and at Disney. Yuck.

It was funny because here was Jon carrying this banana split as big as his head through the crowds of Manhattan Beach. He turned some heads, let me tell ya

(I mean he turns my head all the time but that’s just cuz he’s awesome).

We made the long trek (completely uphill, I might add) back to our car to find a very lovely surprise in the form of a parking ticket. And not just a parking ticket. A $53 parking ticket.

Oh...…. crap.

I guess we parked in a 2-hour zone. We had been gone about 3 hours and 40 minutes but the real bummer was that we only missed the ticket by 20 minutes. So if we had been 20 minutes sooner we would have been fine.

That's for stealing the use of the facilities and water at Lemonade.

I booked the latest flight possible, which left LA at 8:30pm and got us to our home airport at 1:45am. Gotta love the time change.

The best part? We both had to work the next day.

Why do we always do these things to ourselves???

And with that, this TR is officially at an end! Thank you for letting me relive this phenomenal trip with you all. It was truly one of the coolest trips of my life and I already can’t wait to do it again.

Thanks for a very entertaining and enjoyable TR!!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

HAHA love this! I mean so fun!

It was a dream come true!!

now to convince the husbands we should stay here all the time that is the trick!

Right?? I highly doubt I'll ever get that lucky hahaha

i am so bad at food pics, but this is the sign of a true DIS-board PRO!

It's not a TR without food photos!

I loved this trip report! Sorry i fell so behind but i so enjoyed following along and hearing about this trip!

Thank you for hanging in!

Just for the sake of completeness, for some reason I made a note of his name, it was Amar.

THANK YOU! I thought it was something like that

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Oh, okay... here:

You have no idea how much I needed that. Thank you.

I'd love to go some day.

You should!

I need this in my life.

Everyone needs this in their life.

How could you not at least try it???? How????????????

We hadn't the time!!

Um... what about that bag of honey butter popcorn??

That was just for looks.

7 years is crackers & cheese, reality TV and a ferris wheel.

Oh man I can't wait!

Short rib grilled cheese??????

It was as magical as it sounds.

Smart. You saved over $3,200 there

I'm always on the lookout for a good deal.

You guys look great!!

Thanks!

Did it feel any different? Talented or something?

Naw just normal. I don't think that's the source of his talent

I so want to do this now! Wow!

YOU SHOULD!

There seems to be a lot fewer sharks in them.

But significantly more brain-eating amoebas.

What else did you eat, other than what's on your trays????

That was it. All $43 worth.

when he bites on your thumb, takes a chunk of your bum,
that's a moray

Why do we always do these things to ourselves???

#disney

Thanks for a very entertaining and enjoyable TR!!

Thanks for your very entertaining and enjoyable responses!

 

[pkondz]

You have no idea how much I needed that. Thank you.

You should!

okay!

We hadn't the time!!

MAKE THE TIME!!!

That was just for looks.

Ah.

Oh man I can't wait!

Just under a year to go!

YOU SHOULD!

OKAY!!!

But significantly more brain-eating amoebas.

Yeah, there's that.

That was it. All $43 worth.

#disney

Valid point.

Thanks for your very entertaining and enjoyable responses!

 

[Araminta18]

Just binged your entire report! Thanks for sharing--sounds like an amazing time. And I love your writing style--you have a great voice! I kept giggling to myself at your quips. Someday, when we've saved enough money, we'll have to do this ABD trip. I'm an archivist by training and the thought of being able to go in the Disney Archives....

Hopefully your trip in November was awesome too, and you got to do all the SWGE stuff that you didn't get to do this time!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Thanks for sharing--sounds like an amazing time.

Thanks for binging!

And I love your writing style--you have a great voice! I kept giggling to myself at your quips.

Ah thank you My joy in life is to entertain and I try to write like I would say it out loud. It's nice to know that it's working!

I'm an archivist by training and the thought of being able to go in the Disney Archives....

Oh my goodness you would love it! You don't get to see a ton in the archives but even being in the presence of what you can see is incredible.

Hopefully your trip in November was awesome too, and you got to do all the SWGE stuff that you didn't get to do this time!

It was so much fun! I did all the Star Wars things!!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I really enjoyed reading about your ABD trip. I’ve never been to Disneyland but I really hope to one day. I think the Backstage Magic would be great too. I wonder if that’s a good idea for your first trip though? It could also be my only trip. Ah well, hopefully some day I’ll have that choice to make.

 

[missangelalexis]

The Magic Castle hotel looks so quaint and cute! And free snacks? Nice!

You guys look so lovely all dressed up for your night out! Sounds like it was so much fun!!

I'm sorry the beaches were so crowded! And ugh between the overpriced food and parking ticket, you guys spent more than you imagined I bet!

Thanks so much for sharing this trip, I had so much fun reading along!!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I really enjoyed reading about your ABD trip. I’ve never been to Disneyland but I really hope to one day. I think the Backstage Magic would be great too. I wonder if that’s a good idea for your first trip though? It could also be my only trip. Ah well, hopefully some day I’ll have that choice to make.

Disneyland is amazing, I definitely would encourage any Disney fan to visit! If it's for sure your only trip then I say go for the ABD. It won't ruin your first experience, by any means! But if you think there's at least a moderate chance that you'll go back, I would say do a regular park trip first, then go back for an ABD. That way your first trip can be complete tailored to what you and your family want to do, rather than laid out by the guides. You can do things on your own time and do your own exploration to find what you love about Disneyland. Then when you go back for the ABD you can experience those things from the backstage angle!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

The Magic Castle hotel looks so quaint and cute! And free snacks? Nice!

It really was so cute! It's not amazing in terms of the rooms but it's got such amazing charm and the service was incredible. Plus it's a really reasonable price for the location and access to the Magic Castle.

I'm sorry the beaches were so crowded! And ugh between the overpriced food and parking ticket, you guys spent more than you imagined I bet!

Yeah it wasn't necessarily the best way to end a trip but it really wasn't so bad. At least we got to see the ocean! That's not a regular occurrence for us Midwesterners hahaha

Thanks so much for sharing this trip, I had so much fun reading along!!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[Mathmagicland]

We also passed by a screening theater, which I can only assume is full of screens

it’s one theatre of about 400 seats.

I remember that they told of a particular item that was neat that someone found down there but, alas, I did not write it down. So you’ll just have to use your imagination. Something in the back of my mind tells me it was a snow globe of some kind that had special meaning…

Recently found this TR and have read since this AbD is on my future trip list. Great report, best I’ve seen about this AbD!

Since I don’t recall seeing anyone provide the info on the Archives snow globe find in the Disney Studios underground tunnel, here you go -

Disney Legend and original Disney Archivist Dave Smith was wandering the studio looking for artifacts and noticed the snow globe up on a shelf; he realized what a special find it was - it is the St Paul’s Cathedral snow globe from Mary Poppins that Julie Andrews helps when she sang “Feed the Birds”! PS they had a replica made for the recent Mary Poppins Returns attic scene.

From the D23 website -


The fact that the snow globe made it into the Archives in the first place is a pretty remarkable story itself, as recounted by Disney Legend and Walt Disney Archives founder Dave Smith: “Shortly after I founded the Archives in 1970, I started searching through attics, closets, basements, and storerooms to find any items or files that I felt had historical value and should be in the Archives,” Smith says. “The basement of the Animation Building held a treasure trove, with hundreds of boxes and file cabinets stashed down there and forgotten. Everywhere things could be stored, they were. There were even huge air-conditioning ducts in which boxes had been placed when there was no space for shelving.”


One day, while speaking to head janitor Roy Geysor in his office, Smith happened to notice something interesting on a shelf above Roy’s desk. “Looking closer, I realized that it was the actual snow globe containing a model of St. Paul’s cathedral in London which had been used as a prop in Mary Poppins. I asked Roy if he knew what it was, and he said no, that he had just found it in the trash one day and thought it looked cute.”

Rescued from the trash(!) and then recovered from the janitor’s shelf, the beloved prop became part of the Archives collection. “We’ve had the snow globe ever since the Archives started,” says current Archives director Becky Cline. “It doesn’t have water in it and the base was missing, but it has the little birds.”

 

[dolewhipdreams]

it’s one theatre of about 400 seats.



Recently found this TR and have read since this AbD is on my future trip list. Great report, best I’ve seen about this AbD!

Since I don’t recall seeing anyone provide the info on the Archives snow globe find in the Disney Studios underground tunnel, here you go -

Disney Legend and original Disney Archivist Dave Smith was wandering the studio looking for artifacts and noticed the snow globe up on a shelf; he realized what a special find it was - it is the St Paul’s Cathedral snow globe from Mary Poppins that Julie Andrews helps when she sang “Feed the Birds”! PS they had a replica made for the recent Mary Poppins Returns attic scene.

From the D23 website -


The fact that the snow globe made it into the Archives in the first place is a pretty remarkable story itself, as recounted by Disney Legend and Walt Disney Archives founder Dave Smith: “Shortly after I founded the Archives in 1970, I started searching through attics, closets, basements, and storerooms to find any items or files that I felt had historical value and should be in the Archives,” Smith says. “The basement of the Animation Building held a treasure trove, with hundreds of boxes and file cabinets stashed down there and forgotten. Everywhere things could be stored, they were. There were even huge air-conditioning ducts in which boxes had been placed when there was no space for shelving.”


One day, while speaking to head janitor Roy Geysor in his office, Smith happened to notice something interesting on a shelf above Roy’s desk. “Looking closer, I realized that it was the actual snow globe containing a model of St. Paul’s cathedral in London which had been used as a prop in Mary Poppins. I asked Roy if he knew what it was, and he said no, that he had just found it in the trash one day and thought it looked cute.”

Rescued from the trash(!) and then recovered from the janitor’s shelf, the beloved prop became part of the Archives collection. “We’ve had the snow globe ever since the Archives started,” says current Archives director Becky Cline. “It doesn’t have water in it and the base was missing, but it has the little birds.”

Yes, that's the story! Thanks for refreshing my memory

If you have any questions about the ABD just let me know!

 

[Cloe Colton]

Man I got so behind!! But I have successfully read it all! Sounds like such an amazing trip!

GC definitely seems like the best place to be staying if you are going to ride a water ride! lol I think the last time I rode one was Kali River Rapids and I only agreed because I was already soaking wet from the rain! haha

Also sups jealous that you got a water view for your Lamplight Lounge reservation. We were seated inside and I was definitely bummed about that!!

The Magic Castle seemed like such a fun night! And a perfect way to give Jon something he would want to do!! Bummer no celebs though. We didnt see any when we were in LA either! I was so annoyed when I was on the same flight home as my best friends Mom from LA and she saw a bunch of Bravo celebs during her trip the same weekend! What the heck! lol Although I dont even know what I would do if I actually saw a celebrity lol I guess it would depend on who it was!!

That stinks that you got a parking ticket! Your comments about LA parking were definitely ringing in my head during our LA stay! haha I mean $53 is a lot but we were sitting next to a girl in the Charlotte airport on our way to Aruba who was calling Boston about a parking ticket she got for parking in a handicap spot on the 4th of July that was going to cost her $1200!!!! Lol! She literally had her friend call and say that they didn't know it was handicap and it was only for 5 minutes....yeah okay lol great people watching/listening thats for sure!

So glad you had a great trip!! ABDs sound so fun!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Also sups jealous that you got a water view for your Lamplight Lounge reservation. We were seated inside and I was definitely bummed about that!!

What did you think of LL? Besides being sat inside haha

Although I dont even know what I would do if I actually saw a celebrity lol I guess it would depend on who it was!!

Oh if it's someone I knew/cared about, I would 100% flip the heck out. 100%.

ABDs sound so fun!

They are! I know they're good if Jon continues to want to book them despite the price tag hahaha

 

[Cloe Colton]

What did you think of LL? Besides being sat inside haha


Oh if it's someone I knew/cared about, I would 100% flip the heck out. 100%.


They are! I know they're good if Jon continues to want to book them despite the price tag hahaha

We really liked it!! The food we ordered was spot on but we ordered more appetizers than actual entrees! I definitely wish that we were seated with a water view though. I didn’t even realize there was that much of an inside until we were seated. But you live and learn as a Disneyland newb! Haha

I feel like I would be the person who just creepily tries to take pictures of them from afar hahaha

Yeah definitely! But at least you know you’re getting your moneys worth!!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

But you live and learn as a Disneyland newb! Haha

And now you know! I would definitely go back for drinks and apps, but it's not my fave place for a full meal.

 

[Cloe Colton]

And now you know! I would definitely go back for drinks and apps, but it's not my fave place for a full meal.

We had the lobster nachos, the crab and tuna sushi and the deviled eggs and those were all very tasty!