Disneyland Backstage Tour Report

[Kayla's Mom]

Day One (day before tour)

DH and I arrived at Disneyland on Friday (the day before the tour) and got to DL about 3:00. The first thing we did was go to the Blue Ribbon Bakery so I could get a coconut macaroon. Then we had to get DH an ice cream sandwich. Next on the list was grabbing a fast pass for Splash Mt. I was so looking forward to doing the canoes for the first time (we always go in the off season), but for some reason they weren't operating. I thought they ran daily in the summer, but maybe I was wrong? So we then did:

Small World (sign said 20 minute wait, was less than that)
Buzz (sign said 20 minutes, was about 10)
Autopia (25 minute wait -- only about 15-20)
Monorail (haven't done that in years, about 10 minute wait)
Rode Buzz again (10 minutes or so)
Jungle Cruise (5 minute wait -- was a little longer than that)

We then had dinner at Carnation Cafe (had to get my Loaded Baked Potato soup!).

Next we did:

Pirates (15 minute wait -- I believe it was about that long)
HM (practically walked right in)
Pooh (just about walk on)
Then used our FP for Splash. I have NEVER gotten so soaked riding SM, I was drenched!

By this time it was about 8:15 so we decided to sit on the curb around the hub and wait for Magical. About 20 minutes until showtime they started playing the announcement about the winds and the show possibly being cancelled. They did end up showing the fireworks but as soon as Baby Mine started playing everything shut off and the lights came back on. They had cancelled the show. I was so disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing Dumbo fly.

We then went to ride Buzz again, this time I scored just over 400k! I couldn't believe it! I usually can only score right around 100k. I also smoked DH's score! (There aren't many things I can beat him at, so I was extremely proud of myself!)

We also rode the Storyland Canal boats which I hadn't done at night before, it was really nice.

We decided to walk over to the second showing of Fantasmic. We got over there about 10:15 and stood directly behind a roped off area for wheelchairs (to the left of the entrance for the Mark Twain). In the 15 minutes before the show, we saw numerous people push their way in to that area and one verbal argument break out. Not sure where the CMs were for this area, but one didn't show up until the show already started. It never ceases to amaze me how some people have no regard to others and think nothing of pushing people to make their way to the front.

Our final stop of the night was Gibson Girl for some mint and chip ice cream. Then back to Hojo's to get some sleep before the big tour day!

We had a great day and even though there were a lot of people, it was all very manageable and fun!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Tour Day!

So, it was finally tour day! I had been looking forward to this for weeks and had been driving everyone around me crazy talking about it!

We got to La Brea Bakery about 8:15 to meet up with some other Disers on the tour. It was so great meeting everyone! Don, Jenn, Melissa, Michael, Carol and everyone else -- we loved chatting with you all! Then I got to finally meet Mary Jo and Nancy who were just awesome too!

So a little before 9:00 we all headed over to the meeting spot at the mosaic between the parks. At about 5 minutes after nine I think we all started looking around wondering what was going on. Nobody had shown up yet from the Disney Institute. Now, DH had been teasing me for days about this tour, since we didn't have much detail about the tour, what we were doing, etc. So he had teased me that we were all going to show up for this tour and there wasn't going to be anyone there to take us on it. So, you could say I started getting just a teensy bit nervous when no one was there. Pete immediately got on the phone with the Disney Institute to try and see what was going on. Carol joked that we were actually supposed to be at Disney World (that is where our original confirmation said the tour was at).

At 9:30 two people carrying Disney Institute flags started walking toward us. I felt sorry for these people because they had no idea they were late. It turned out there was a miscommunication somewhere and they had been told 10:00, even though all of our confirmations said 9:00 SHARP. So they got our wristbands on us and had us sign a sheet with our email addresses for a survey.

Bruce and Ryan were the facilitators. DH and I were with Bruce's group and he apologized profusely for the misunderstanding on the time.

The first spot we went to was to the right of the kennel (which is to the right of the Disneyland entrance). We went to costuming which I can only describe as HUGE. It looked like a monsterous dry cleaning business with the rows and rows of shirts, pants, etc. stacked on top of each other. This was not, unfortunately where they had the character costumes. I kind of wanted to see rows and rows of princess costumes, but they were for security, Tomorrowland Terrace CMs, Critter Country, etc.

We were given a little brochure with interesting facts about costuming. (For example: there are over 900k individual costume pieces!) Another interesting thing they had was similar to a brochure rack, they had a little laminated card for what each outfit should look like. It showed the specific pants, shirt, hat, etc. Kind of like a little cheat sheet. Each garment has a barcode on it which tells when the garment went into use and how many times it's been laundered, etc. On the outside of this building they had signs posted showing guidelines for jewelry, makeup, facial hair, cell phones, etc. They said "Good Show" and "Bad Show" and showed pictures as examples. So one side would show how the makeup should look (Good Show) and one side would show how it should NOT look (Bad Show)!

On to the next location....next we went to Main Street by the Train Station. Bruce explained to us about the trash cans and how back in the early days they were just plastic bins with the word Waste on them and how much this bothered Walt. One of the trash can companies ended up coming up with the design you see today which hides the waste from guests. We also learned how all light bulbs get replaced at 80% of their life expectancy so they get changed before they are burned out.

We made a quick stop on Main Street to see the newest windows that were installed honoring imagineers, I am sorry to say I don't remember their names.

We headed over to the Small World area, but by this time I was extremely hungry and when I get hungry--I get dizzy. Shannon, who was the special events CM with our group was awesome and hung back with DH and I so I could grab a churro. DH asked about the landscaping and she did confirm that every night crews come through and trim, re-plant, etc. We caught up to the group backstage to the right of Small World and went back around to where the train roundhouse is. We heard about how they use canola oil for the trains now, which makes it smell like french fries. We also got to see up close one of the train engines. This part dragged a little IMO because only a couple of people could see the train engine at a time, so it took quite awhile.

From there we went over behind Toon Town where we were able to sit down and rest and grab a bottle of water. We sat down facing a large building with parade floats in it. The doors were open, so we could see some floats, but I think we all wanted to go have a peak inside! This is also when Pete made the annoucement that the Disney Institute was going to refund us ALL of our money because of the mixup on time. I was shocked!

So here we heard about how the fireworks are shot off and saw the tubes they are shot out of. DL has their own firemen on duty during the fireworks show, I believe he said 30 of them. After sitting for a few minutes and hearing about the fireworks, we walked past the barns and original farmhouse that was there before the park opened. This is also where we saw Goofy roaming around backstage.

We went through a tunnel and ended up out in Frontierland. We were now heading over to the Splash Mt area. This is where DH couldn't take it anymore and had to grab an ice cream sandwich! We had a quick potty break and went over between the exit of Splash Mountain and Pooh's Corner (where the Pooh characters disappear to) and went backstage again. Here we came around to Outdoor Vending. They had some Splash Mt logs out on little carts in the street -- I would have loved to get in one and have had my picture taken....!

Kim from Outdoor Vending was awesome. I forgot to mention that for each little stop we did, there was someone from that department that talked to us. She took us inside and showed us how the carts had evolved over the years. She also talked about the new light up balloons a bit. She said they were having the guy who invented them come and teach the CMs how to blow them up properly. She said that they were on their third order of 1000 after only one week! Before we left this area we got to pick a sorbet or Mickey bar (or soda too). For those of you keeping track, that means that between DH and I we had already had 2 Mickey bars, a churro and an ice cream sandwich all before lunch!

From Outdoor Vending we walked around the backside of the big green buildings that house POTC, HM and Indy. We could actually hear the ball scene in Indy as we walked by. We came back around the backside of City Hall and the Firehouse and this is where we saw Goofy, Chip and Dale, but CHIP (or was it Dale?) didn't have HER HEAD ON! I think my hubby was a little traumatized but it was a highlight for me, for sure. As soon as she saw our group coming she shoved the head back on though! We passed by a full length mirror that said something about checking your costume before you go onstage and then we were out on Main Street like everyone else. But I did feel sort of special there for a minute with everyone looking at us as we came out from backstage.

So we were taken back outside the gates and given a cool pin with Walt on it that says "It's Kind of Fun to do the Impossible". This is where some random guy that wasn't with our tour decided he was going to push his way into our group and get one for himself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tour, there were a couple of parts that dragged a bit, but for a Disney fan, I loved it. DH isn't quite the fan that I am, but he said he enjoyed it too. I will say that I would have loved to have gotten to go inside more buildings (with the floats, rides, anything!)

After the tour Pete was kind enough to take us all to Naples in DTD for lunch. Thanks again Pete! We had a great time and a great visit with Lara (Forevercrusing).

This is my first report and I am sure I missed some things here and there, so go easy one me, but hopefully others from the tour will post their reports!

Edit: Forgot to mention that someone did ask about the dragon in Fantasmic and when it will be fixed. They told us they HOPED to have it fixed by the 4th of July.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

This is the BEST TRIP REPORT EVER!!!

 

[pycees312]

I suppose you could not take pics on these kinds of tours? thanks for sharing

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Unfortunately no pictures allowed backstage.

 

[Eeee-va]

Thank you for the AWESOME trip report! It was so much fun to hear about the tour, and how amazing that it was free! I particularly love the pin; it sounds so neat! And costuming would have been a dream (though I'm with you; princess dresses would have been way neater!). I saw a bar code on someone's jacket today or yesterday, actually, and I'd figured that was the system they used.

I was at the abbreviated fireworks on Friday, too...had no idea we could've done 2 things and still made Fantasmic! We did get pretty nice "seats" for working our way through the post-fireworks crowds, though. Dumbo didn't fly on Saturday either, so you didn't miss him, at least.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

It was wonderful finally meeting you guys too! I'm so sorry I didn't have more time to talk, but maybe we can do another get together!

You wrote a wonderful wrap-up of the Tour! I thought it was terribly cute when the "sweeper" CM brought you backstage with your churros. We knew Walter had stopped, but didn't realize you had too!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

It was wonderful finally meeting you guys too! I'm so sorry I didn't have more time to talk, but maybe we can do another get together!

You wrote a wonderful wrap-up of the Tour! I thought it was terribly cute when the "sweeper" CM brought you backstage with your churros. We knew Walter had stopped, but didn't realize you had too!

We should definitely meet up again sometime. Your girls are absolutely beautiful by the way!

Shannon was awesome for staying back with us and letting me get my churro.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I'm going to hop on Kayla's report and give some of my own impressions. I did take a few pictures. We weren't allowed to take any backstage, but I wish I had taken some pics while we were allowed to. I just didn't think of it at the time.

The night before the tour, some of us got together at the Lost Boy's Bar.

Here I am, then SFBayDon (Don), Walter, WebmasterPete, & YellowMickeyPonchos (Nancy)

In here are ?, Tony's wife Chrissy, oc_tony (Tony), and Teresa. Teresa is part of the Podcast team, and Tony is one of the Disneyland correspondents for the Podcast, along with Nancy & Wendy (wendyinoc).

Here I am with Walter & rtobe (Ros). I took Ros along as a flattie on our recent Podcast cruise. She was a rascal on that cruise, and we had fun. She was on business in San Diego, and came up to DL to meet up with us on Friday night.

Saturday

My daughter, Kelly (Daisuke on the boards), and I got to the La Brea Bakery a little after 8am, and saw some of our fellow DISers getting their breakfasts. We also got some breakfast, and sat at a different table because the main one was full. But, in typical DIS fashion, everyone told us to "come on over" and made room at the main table. We had quite a group with DISers from the DL board, like Kayla's mom, Tink33, and DISers from the Podcast board, like SFBayDon, Zzizzy, and DISers who frequent both boards like YellowMickeyPonchos and me. We had a nice breakfast where we kind of got acquainted or reacquainted. Soon it was time to make it over to the Main Esplande and the Compass Rose in the middle.

There was quite a group there already, and now we had Podcast listeners added who don't really come on the boards at all.

Like Kayla's Mom said, the Disney Institute guides were late, and by 9:10, Pete was on the phone with his contacts to find out what was going on. They finally made it by 9:30, not realizing that we had been told 9:00 SHARP. Walter got my email confirmation to show them, and they took full responsibility.

Once everything was squared away, and we were broken into two groups, each guide told us what to expect on the tour.

Here is Bruce, telling us we are in Group A (little did we know Ryan was saying the same thing to Group B).

Here is Ryan with his group (Group A according to them)

At costuming, one of the managers, Harvey, gave us a talk about the importance of making sure that the cast members are treated well, and there they are called guests. They want the cast members to feel good when they go to work. Kelly noticed that when you first go into costuming there is a picture of Cinderella getting fitted, and as you move along there are different pictures of her getting dressed until at the end she is in her ball gown. There are a lot of neat details in there, and I thought it was a great idea to have little cards showing the cast members what exactly was needed for their costumes.

From costuming we went out again, and met up at the train station, where Bruce talked to us about Loyalty, and also where he talked about the lightbulbs being changed out at 80%, and the trash can covers being made especially for Disneyland - these same styles are now used throughout the world.

Here is a pic of half our group with Bruce in front of the train station.

From the train station we walked down Main Street, past the Matterhorn, down the Small World Mall, through the double gates where the parade comes out (or exits, depending on that day's parade). I was thinking to myself that I never imagined walking through those gates. We then walked up to the train roundhouse (the monorail roundhouse is right above it), and the manager talked to us. I wish I remembered his name. He was formerly in charge of the other transportation vehicles, and had just been transferred to trains just a week before our tour. He was able to give us some details about the trains that were interesting, and showed us how the boiler works to power the steam engine. Then whoever wanted to get on the CK Holliday (engine #1) were able to go up & check it out. More than one person rang the bell.

From there, we went to an area behind Toontown. Wherever there was an opportunity for guests to see the buildings, the buildings were camouflaged to look like part of Disneyland - example: the green hills of Toontown. There were chairs set up, and both groups were able to sit & relax a bit. We needed to sit down since we had been walking quite a bit. We were also offered ice water. Then Bruce talked to us about the pyrotechnics that are used for the fireworks each night. He told us how years ago the guys would have flares and light all the fireworks, while listening to the music so they could set the fireworks off in time to the music. It was loud and dangerous since those fireworks could (and did on occasion) explode on the ground. Now, there are a group of six who sit in a bunker and the fireworks are set off by computer. There are also firemen who stand on the roofs and in the berm area where there are trees to put out any fires that may start. Bruce also said that the area is littered with debris once the fireworks are done. This is very carefully orchestrated, and they have to do everything they can to make sure the debris doesn't fly out in the street or over houses.

While Bruce talked, we could see the floats in the building behind him. (I always wondered where they stored them). Kelly was the one who asked him about the dragon for Fantasmic, but neither he nor Ryan would tell us why the dragon wasn't working. They just said he wasn't ready to come out of his cave yet. lol Like Kayla's Mom said, at this time Pete stood up and announced that because of the snafu in the morning, the Disney Institute was going to give all of us a total refund for the tour. This was so far and above what any of us had expected. NONE of us even thought that this would happen. Unbelievable, and yet, that is a reason why Disney ranks so high in quality of service.

From there, we made our way to Critter Country, first passing the Circle D Ranch where the horses are kept, and we could get a glimpse of the Pope Farm, one of the original farms in the orange grove, and the only one standing. I found out that the Pope's who lived there trained the horses at Disneyland and actually lived in their farm, even after Disneyland opened. (At least, that's what I was told)

We then walked through a tunnel and came up on the Fantasyland side. A group of girls came backstage after a performance. They all looked so cute, and I could understand why the characters must remain characters even backstage. One of the girls asked if we were their parents, and her coach said, "Do these people look like your parents?" lol

We entered Disneyland through one of the big wooden gates (north gate) that you pass when you're entering Fantasyland from the Big Thunder Ranch area. I had always wondered what was on the other side of that big gate - now I know.

We walked along Big Thunder Ranch, along the Rivers of America, past the Haunted Mansion to the Hungry Bear Restaurant, where everyone had a brief break to go to the restroom. I think that the tour would be enhanced if they had the earpieces with music or other facts about Disneyland to listen to as we trekked along.

After our break, we walked to the end of Critter Country, and slipped through the gate back there, where Pooh & his friends come through. We actually saw Pooh as he was headed for break, and he never stepped out of character. It was so cute.

We walked past the backstage of Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones to the Outdoor Vending Department is, and were met by the manager Kim. She was great. She had such a dry wit. I loved listening to her. She walked us in side, and we could see how well organized everything is in there. They even have stalls for their carts. She also explained how the department was recently split up so that some of the restaurants are now in charge of some of the carts, like turkey legs, churros, etc. Towards the end of that part of the tour she showed us the evolution of the food carts, how at first simple dollies were used, but as time went on, and more attention was spent on safety and getting more items to the cart, they have the system that exists today. We then were treated to sorbets, Mickey bars, and/or soft drinks. A welcomed refreshment after all that walking.

From the OVD building we walked along the backstage area, going past Haunted Mansion & Pirates. On the right of us was the "tree ride" - where the trams take guests to the Mickey & Friends parking lot. Again, I never thought I'd be walking on "that" side of the fence. We were escorted along the backside of Main Street - I totally missed the Chip experience (darn). We could see where the trolleys were kept, but all too soon it was time to leave. We walked out, and exited right at the Firehouse, and the band was playing. Nice.

We were escorted out to the Esplanade again, where we were all given a pin to commemmorate our experience.

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

For some of us, though, the tour wasn't quite over. Pete was told that six of us could actually go up and go IN WALT'S APARTMENT!! So, Pete grabbed YellowMickeyPonchos (Nancy), wendyinoc (Wendy), SFBayDon (Don), Scar (Walter), and me to accompany him, and Ryan and Paula took us up to Walt's apartment. We went up the back stairs going through his patio. We were well aware how coveted a treat this is, and very much appreciative of this opportunity.

Here are pics of the patio.

Pete taking a pic of Main Street.

And the view he had

This is the entrance to the apartment from the patio

Right next to the entrance is the restroom (must have bathroom pics on the DIS)

 

[Eeee-va]

Thank you for your added details, Mary Jo! What a great time you all must have had!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Pics around the apartment
The red couches are the beds.

These two pieces are the only real original pieces in the apartment, although there are still baby bottles in the cupboards from the Disney grandchildren.

The canisters to the right of the vitriola that Ryan is putting away are the music for it.

Here is the lamp that we all see through the window when looking up at the apartment above the firestation.

And here are some pics of us around in the apartment.

This is Paula, who also went on the tour with us.

The Lamp

After touring Walt's apartment, we went to meet the rest of the group outside of Naples. We were taken upstairs where we had a delicious lunch in the covered balcony. The food was really tasty, and the company even better. On top of that, Pete & the DIS (thanks John) treated all of us to lunch! Somewhere there's a couple of pics, and when I find them I will post them here.



What a special treat we had!

Thank you, Pete!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Mary Jo -- thank you for adding your thoughts of the tour and pictures! I can't believe you guys got to go in Walt's apartment, that is so COOL!

That is on my wishlist, along with Club 33! Someday......

 

[stampinshauna]

Thanks Mary Jo and Kayla's Mom for sharing your trip reports. It is fun to hear about even though we couldn't make it there for the tour. I love the DIS!

 

[aprincess@mail.com]

oooooohhhhhh, sooo cool!!

Thanks for sharing!!! that is sooo awesome!

 

[QueenDoOver]

Oh I agree. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I love the pin. That is really a special one.

 

[CoMickey]

Thanks Mary Jo and Kayla's Mom for the trip report! Reading it was like re-living the tour all over again! I would do a tour again in a heartbeat especially if they make a few changes.

Mary Jo - Thanks for sharing the pics of Walt's apartment! I am so glad they let you take them!


It was great meeting everyone!

 

[disneydance]

Thanks for the review
I did Disney Performing Arts that weekend and thought I saw Fire Men etc as we were leaving from our Worshop. (On Friday 30 minutes before Fireworks were about to start...) I also thought the tubes were where they launched them off since I know that's how they do it in WDW...
Thanks for the review
Sounds like an amazing oppurtunity
ETA: It was nice to kind of meet all of you I was the girl with the Star Energy T-Shirt who had to leave and couldn't go on the tour since she was performing in both California Adventure and Disneyland

 

[mnmrmustard]

Hey KM! Well despite the lack of canoes and the cancelling of Magical. At least you got a good view of Fantasmic!

Very cool that you were able to do the tour with so many DIS’ers What a start to it with the tour guides being 1/2hr late. Costuming sounded interesting but I agree – would have been cool to see the character costumes. How great that they worked with your dizzy issue. I get kind of weak and very cranky if I don’t eat regularly, so I understand your situation.

They wouldn’t let you see the floats up close, bummer. But WOW on them refunding your tour price!!! The original farmhouse still stands on the property? I had no idea. Oh how funny, a headless chipmunk!

Sounds like it was a lot of fun, even if you didn’t get to see more of the inside of the rides.

Thank you for the additional info Mary Jo – very cool pics too, especially the group shot in front of the train station Amazing the amount of work that goes into the fireworks displays and how they’ve modernized it. Funny about the characters coming back and asking if you were their parents …Hehehe.

Great tour and thank you for including the shot of the pin you received.

Walt’s Apartment!!! Lucky you – great detailed shots inside the apartment Great close-ups of the lamp! Thank you for such a special treat