I got to DL with the 10 minutes to spare before my 14:30 start. I checked in the tour gardens, got my personalized nametag (two actually as they accidentally made up two) and sat down to wait for the guide to show up. Steven from Pasadena was to be my guide on the Walk in Walt’s Footsteps tour. His enthusiasm was astounding. During the course of the tour, I found out he had started out in Tomorrowland, had done Nemo, and Star Tours, and then moved up to City Hall, and then onto tours. We started with a meet and greet in front of City Hall. There was a group of four from Canada, a family of three (two of whom it was their first day ever in DL, an older couple who were DVC members, and a gentleman my age name of Sean. We started out by venturing over to the town square, where he recounted for us the opening day debacle, and played some clips of Walt’s dedication speech.
From there, we ventured down Main Street to the Hub, where we had some additional stories told. I knew everything he was telling, so I had to restrain myself from answering every question he posed to the group to give other’s a chance to answer. From there, we went via the western entrance through Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Once in Fantasyland, we stopped outside of the Peter Pan Exit while he went and arranged our trip on the attraction. A short wait, and we were boarding the ships through the exit and were OFF to NEVERLAND!!! I learned that there’s a Mickey Silhouette in one of the London Windows after you pass Big Ben. I’ll have to find it next time.
By now, it was 15:10, and we traveled to Frontierland via Big Thunder Trail over towards NOS. Steven went on to describe Walt’s original vision for NOS, including the residence which was to become the Dream Suite, Club 33, as well as the currently under construction Salon Nuevo Jazz Club. Once done with the history lesson, and a brief history on the original concepts for Pirates and HM, we were guided towards the NOS train depot, and we boarded the train… instructed in no uncertain terms to get off at Tomorrowland, NOT Toon Town. On the way, they almost had to stop the train because a kid kept hanging off the side trying to touch the tunnel running through Splash Mountain.
Upon arrival at Tomorrowland, we disembarked, and were allowed a 3 minute bathroom break. While there, I struck up a conversation with Steven about whether anybody has ever tried to eat the landscaping in Tomorrowland. He said “yes actually”. Steven also leads the Cultivating the Magic tour, so he was familiar with exactly what I was talking about. He mentioned how the carrots were coming up the other day, and how a guy ate an apple off of one of the trees. For those who don’t know, most of the landscaping in Tomorrowland is edible or can be harvested.
After the bathroom break, we meandered towards the monorail, and he explained the history of it, and how Walt landed on the perfect conveyance which was quiet, and who’s structure could blend in to nearly any area of the park. On the way back through Fantasyland, we were talking about the fireworks and he mentioned how the canal boats are the PERFECT spot to watch the fireworks, and if you time it right, they’ll stop in the middle of the ride while the fireworks are going on. Apparently it’s a MAJOR proposal spot, eclipsed only by the hub in front of SB’s castle.
We made our way through the hub and over to Adventureland with a brief comment on how it’s the only land without a weenie because you need to make a turn to discover the ADVENTURE which awaits you. We got a quick history on the inspiration for the Tiki Room (While antique hunting, Walt came across a cage with a little automaton bird and thought his Imagineers could surely plus it). After we went into the waiting area, Steve and I had a quick chat. At the Toon Town Depot, I expressed concern that I may need to cut out early and would the tour really take 3.5 hours that he had told me on the train? Yes was the answer, which was going to put me EXTREMELY tight on making my flight as I had to gas up the rental car, get to John Wayne, Check a bag, get through security, etc. It was 16:37, and my flight was supposed to be wheel s up at 19:10. So while we were at the Tiki queue, he called his supervisor, and arranged for me to pick up my lunch to go, AND…. See Walt’s apartment all by myself. Talk about Disney accommodation. There was a parade going on, so I had to snake through the shops to get back to tour gardens.
I was greeted there by Angie from Chino Hills. She would be my personal tour guide to Walt’s Apartment. She took me over past the firehouse, by the CM gate, and told me to hold on, because she needed to go get the key. A few minutes later she was back, and told me to please keep the lens cap on the camera as we were going back stage. We climbed the modern stairs, and got to the door at the top, which is where she started the tour. She explained the manual doorbell inset into the door. I told her how my neighbor has one being that we live in a 1920s subdivision, and how I loved the era. We then entered the apartment. I commented on how wide the door was. Maybe a 40-42” opening judging by my eye. Wonder what that was all about. I was told to use the coat rack for anything I wanted to hang up, so I slug my bag, camera, and hat.
Angie went into the tour pitch as we reached the main room. We talked about the decorations, the beds, the music makers, the kitchenette, opening day, etc. I was sort of leading her with my eyes, as I’ve read so much about the apartment, and watched several videos of it all that I knew where everything was going. We had a laugh about it all. She then took me down the back hall into the closet/bathroom. Got to see the modern (for 1955) bathroom, with the four shower sprayers, and learned something new I’ve never read or heard. In the built-in chest of drawers, they used to keep crayons and paper for Walt’s grandchildren to scribble on. Walt would take their scribbles and turn them into a character. How neat. After all that, she took a picture of me in the apartment with the lamp in the background. With that, my tour was over. I collected my things, and we headed for the door.
After we got back on stage, the flag retreat was going on. It was PERFECT timing. I’d always wanted to see it. We paused for a few moments, and then returned to tour gardens where my lunch was packed to go, and I got a bag with all my tour swag in it. I thanked her profusely for letting me get to see Walt’s apartment and for accommodating my abbreviated schedule. Disney sure knows how to do it. With that, I was gone… I crossed the turnstiles at 17:00 and rushed towards the tram pickup.
I quickly jumped in the car, went all the way around the parking structure, until I found the exit ramp, and was to the intersection of Ball Rd and Disneyland Dr by 17:18. Hopefully traffic would not be bad, otherwise I would be in for a world of hurt. Luckily, there were on a few slow-downs, so I made it to John Wayne and grabbed some fuel for the car, and went to return it. That being done, I hauled my now increased load (all those souvenirs and my lunch) up to the terminal, and finally found the ticketing agent to check my bag. Feeling as though I had enough time to wolf down my lunch, I tore into the turkey sandwich I had ordered. The fruit and Macaroon would have to wait for the plane. I rushed through security… well I would have if the app on my phone with my boarding pass didn’t decide it needed to be completely reinstalled, reregistered, and the pass re-downloaded to get past the first check. I finally make it to my gate with only 15 minutes to spare…. and….. my flight is delayed due to some mechanical problem. Seriously? I rushed, rushed, rushed, and now I’m looking at a 90 minute delay.
To make the best of a bad situation, there’s nothing like a beer, some tunes, and charging the electronic devices. The plane did get fixed, and I think our pilot turned the normal 70 minute flight into a 45 minute flight (the engines never powered back the whole time, and we came into Phoenix HOT on the glide path. Collected my bags, got home, and CRASHED. It had been a LONG week.
Now on to the fun stuff. The wife had sent me a list of stuff for the kids. The eldest, a pirate princess costume. Thank heavens for my healthy AP discount… that was pricy for a kids costume. The middle girl got a baby Tinkerbelle plush. The youngest, a Peter Pan figure set. She REALLY loves Peter Pan. I got myself two tiki mugs for the collection from the drinks I had at Trader Sam’s, and the wife got the aforementioned Vera Bradley bag.
And the eldest sporting her costume. I don’t think it’s been off of her other than to sleep and bathe since.
I can see how you can get so much done in so little time.
