Backstage Magic Tour 4/22 - 4/27 - 1ST POST UPDATED 4/15

[inkkognito]

Yep, Jim is also the one I spoke to, and he gave me the 818 number in case I had any other questions. I am getting more and more excited...it's hard enough to wait as it is, and then phone calls just stoke it more.

 

[hack2112]

Info on your guides:

Diana (one of my guides on the trip) is a returning Adventure Guide who has been with the company for a long time. She is incredibly nice and knows a lot about both Disneyland and the company in general.

Quinn (one of the ABD Guide shadows who was also on the trip) is new to the ABD family and the April 22nd tour will be his 1st official tour. His favorite character is Figment and ask him about the Sam the Eagle drawing he had done at the farewell dinner. (I'll get to that in a few days. I promise.)

 

[inkkognito]

I'll get along very well with anyone whose favorite character is Figment. I have tons of Figments in my entry hall and my horse is even named Figment!

 

[Politzania]

No phone call here yet... tho am not terribly surprised, since we seem to be on the tail end of everything around here...

Why yes, I am feeling a bit Eeyore-ish, why do you ask?

 

[bradk]

maybe they don't have a good contact # for you? that was my problem initially, heck i didn't even get alerted that the 4/8 was canceled (learned it from here). and then it turned out they were calling my emergency contact when they were calling me back

 

[SailingBeagle]

It's gotten very quiet on this thread. Were is everyone?

Packing??????

Anyone figured out where the dinner on the final night is?:

 

[bradk]

i should be packing.. i've been buying things this week. still haven't finished my own itinerary either. i figure i'll probably do laundry and pack tomorrow night (which translates into friday) as i have to be up by 4 am saturday morning to get my flight

 

[Politzania]

Had a nice chat with Jim earlier today & he confirmed/clarified a couple of questions/concerns I had:

He confirmed that we should be pretty much done with our Wednesday tour (El Capitan, Jimmy Kimmel & Jim Henson Studios) by 4 or so, depending on traffic; however, you may not want to plan anything specific for that evening, as they may have tickets for the Kimmel show available. He didn't know if they would get enough for the entire group, tho.
That kind of puts us on the fence for getting reserved VIP tickets for The Little Mermaid over at El Capitan - maybe we'll just take our chances.

He also said they'd try to work something out for our Sun morning breakfast -- since our flight home is at 9:40, we'd probably have to leave DLR by 6:30 or so, and Storytellers Cafe doesn't open til 7. He said he would look into room service and/or a selection of Whitewater Snacks breakfast stuff, but AbD would cover the cost of whatever the solution was.

I also mentioned that we're celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary (actually 5/15, but close enough for us!) so maybe we'll get a little something special - Disney's pretty good about that! For example: We were at WDW for our 10th & took the Keys to the Kingdom tour - at our lunch table, they sprinkled Mickey confetti around & had a set of bride & groom ears for us!

Am feeling much better now - have got a lot to do still in these last 2 1/2 days...

We also decided to go over to the Petersen Automotive Museum Sat the 19th before heading to Anaheim - will bring lots of photos & info to share with the tour group!

 

[global_mom]

Will any of you guys be "blogging" your adventure as it happens?

I cant wait to hear all about this tour. If it turns out to truly be worth the money then we will book it. Have fun!

 

[jacksparrowfan]

I received my phone call today. As soon as he said his name I told him I was so excited! I had lots of questions and he is very accomodating! I did ask about the 3-day pass and because of the dress rehearsal feedback, they are changing it to a 4-day.

Happy packing everyone!!! Don't forget your cameras, those memory cards, and your battery chargers. We need to figure out a way to share our photos. I have started to watch weather.com. We are going to have high 70's so far, but you know how it goes.

Safe travels everyone! Looking forward to meeting all next week.

 

[bradk]

however, you may not want to plan anything specific for that evening, as they may have tickets for the Kimmel show available.

I really should have asked him everything I've been asking the ABD agents because they really didn't seem to know nearly as much (not their fault of course). I bought a ticket for Wicked for that Wednesday night after talking with one of them who said after the tour there'd be an excursion choice. can't remember what the other one was, but kimmel was an option. checking with 1iota.com which handles kimmel tix, audience members are supposed to show up at 5:30 pm (the time changes on a daily basis) so I don't know what time he actually tapes, but I'm thinking 6:30 - 7:30 now. I wish I had given it more thought because I probably would have enjoyed going to the show even if I didn't like any of the guests. he is really a funny guy and although I don't watch the show religiously, I just saw the Jimmy/Ben Affleck response to the Sarah Silverman/Matt Damon video and it inspired me. if you haven't seen them, check them out on youtube (watch the Sarah Silverman/Matt Damon one first)

so hopefully I'll be able to see both. i'll be really upset if there is a guest I wanted to see too. (actually, just checked the site... scratch that:

Eric Dane, Bill Hader << GET TIX >>
VAMPIRE WEEKEND Outdoor Mini-Concert << GET TIX >>

room service and/or a selection of Whitewater Snacks breakfast stuff, but AbD would cover the cost of whatever the solution was.

awesome.

We also decided to go over to the Petersen Automotive Museum Sat the 19th before heading to Anaheim - will bring lots of photos & info to share with the tour group!

as will I (be there on Sat that is) as I mentioned on PP. Sat I'm doing the Hollywood Museum and Petersen. Sunday is my Universal day. and so on. I'll be posting an itinerary on my blog (probably) sometime soon.

Will any of you guys be "blogging" your adventure as it happens?

I will (try). PM'd mine

I did ask about the 3-day pass and because of the dress rehearsal feedback, they are changing it to a 4-day.

awesome x 2. although i still need a 5 day

We need to figure out a way to share our photos.

interesting... i will have my laptop with me and I can burn CDs. I actually have a portable DVD player too (lightscribe!). maybe i'll bring blank DVDs along? if it's a genuine interest

 

[MJGirl]

Be aware that you have to be 18 to attend the taping of the Kimmel show, so if any of you have kids or teens, you will have to make other plans. On my trip, my daughter turns 18 on the final Sunday. I'm hoping to bend the rules as she will be close to 18 on the Wednesday (in 4 days)

 

[hack2112]

I received my phone call today. As soon as he said his name I told him I was so excited! I had lots of questions and he is very accomodating! I did ask about the 3-day pass and because of the dress rehearsal feedback, they are changing it to a 4-day.

It was a 4 day for us too. I just never got to use the 4th day.

Sorry about not posting the rest of my trip yet. My computer crashed on me and most of the weekend has been deleted so I've been typing it bit by bit all day now.

Some of it should be up soon. I hope.

Until then,
Max

 

[SailingBeagle]

I just got off the phone with ABD and here is the info I have regarding
farewell dinner, park hoppers and "VIP" fastpass

Dinner is at Golden Vine Winery in the Barrel Room
The Park hoppers are 4 days and they will give them out as soon as we arrive at the Hotel.
The"VIP" fastpass......the hoppers are coded so that we do not have to wait
until you use the first hopper before getting the second.
So I asked, in theory , I could run to every fast pass attraction and get a fastpass and then use them as the times come up.


I will look forward to the maiden voyage groups info on this, cause I am still confused about it.:yay

 

[bradk]

see, that's weird... and that's exactly what the AAA enhanced FASTPASS would do, but both Tina (ABD's specialist for this trip) and Max (here) said that it'd be 3 separate FPs per day (for 2 days) and each FP is good for one attraction of your choice.

the closer we get, the more clouded the issue.

 

[hack2112]

The new update is up. Sorry about the delay. I promise to be more prompt, but my camera is a little sketchy so the pictures may have to wait a bit.

Until tomorrow,
Max

P.S. If you still don't know the website, it's MaxTAW.blogspot.com

 

[dingoballs]

The new update is up. Sorry about the delay. I promise to be more prompt, but my camera is a little sketchy so the pictures may have to wait a bit.

Until tomorrow,
Max

P.S. If you still don't know the website, it's MaxTAW.blogspot.com

Hi Max,

Very enjoyable trip report. So why didn't you just whip out the plastic (i.e., credit card) to buy more stuff at the Studio?

 

[SailingBeagle]

Hack2112
Thanks for the update and can't wait for the next installment and the pics

 

[hack2112]

Hi Max,

Very enjoyable trip report. So why didn't you just whip out the plastic (i.e., credit card) to buy more stuff at the Studio?

Because I'm 15 and the stuff there is the stuff at any Disney Store.

 

[jacksparrowfan]

By-the-way.... I had mentioned that we have "just under 40" on our tour. I also understand we will have a 9-yr-old, a few teens, some singles, and mostly couples.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?