No Work and All Play – Disney on the Company’s Dime! (8/1 There and Back Again)

[thecapells]

Strolling back into the Animation Courtyard, it was time to explore another area than is hardly used or visited anymore – the Magic of Disney Animation

I still remember the good old days when this was basically part of the Backlot Tour.
And then when the movie was Walter Cronkite and Robin Williams.
And there was always a trailer at the end that whet your appetite.
I recall seeing the opening of Lion King here and thinking “Wow, this makes me want to see a Disney movie again”
But alas, that was then.
Now, a live cast member sits at a drawing table and discussing animation while Mushu (from Mulan) is the animated character that he interacts with.
It’s a cute show and not very long and I may even bring the kids next time.
But it’s no Walter Cronkite and Robin Williams.
There’s also a “Characters Only” entrance now so you can bypass the show and go straight the characters.
I found this humorous as I’ve always done that but I made my own entrance.
A little know fact is that if you go through the giftshop in the Animation Building, you can go straight through the door and past the Snow White display.
That will put you right into the character area as well.
No tour or anything required – you just have to know where it is.

I also noticed that movie posters for the upcoming movie Up were scattered all over the Animation Courtyard.

Anyway, after the Animation show, I headed into the character area and stopped by Sorcerer Mickey first.
It always amazes me how there’s never any line here (or at least longer than like 5 families) yet at Mickey’s House, waits can be insane.
Photopass was there of course:

But I also asked them to take a shot on my camera – I wanted to make sure one pic of Mickey came out…

Next stop was the new “Pixar Showcase” as I like to call it.
There’s a new area over here which has turned into the Meet and Greet for whatever new Pixar movie is out.
It’s gone from Ratatouille to Wall-E to Bolt to Up to name a few.
But since this TR is from last spring, I had the pleasure of seeing the gang from Bolt.
The queue is behind the Meet and Greet and is made up of movie posters.
I was actually surprised that the line here was so long but that was probably due to the fact that this was to be Bolt’s last week in the parks.
So I had time to kill which usually equates to more pics for you.
Here are the posters from the queue:

Finally it was my turn.
Now this part really confuses me.
There were no Photopass photographers here.
But there is a Bolt Photopass border you can add to your pics.
When else would you want to add said border if not for a picture of Bolt and his friends!??!!?

Anyway, I got a friendly CM to take the pics and she snapped away.
Which was awesome because she caught the entire interaction with me and the gang.
From the introductions

To a big hug!

Bolt loves Indiana Jones

but apparently Rhino is afraid of snakes…

and so is the Super Dog himself...

But joined in our Snake Hatred, the trio stands ready to defeat evil!
LET IT BEGIN!

After my super encounter, I headed back into the Studios.
My day was far from over and I just happened to catch a glimpse of something that I just had to do for my littlest son...
Any guesses?

 

[All7OfUs]

Ummmm.... make a light saber??

Draw him a picture??

Eat a Mickey bar??

 

[dawnbu40]

We always have great luck with photo ops in the Animation Building. You're right there is hardly ever a big line. Maybe the PP for Bolt had just taken a break? We had PP pics taken with them that week

My guess is you stopped by Playhouse Disney?

 

[thecapells]

Ummmm.... make a light saber??

Draw him a picture??

Eat a Mickey bar??

Too small for a lightsaber, might not care about the picture, and the Mickey Bar would be for me!

We always have great luck with photo ops in the Animation Building. You're right there is hardly ever a big line. Maybe the PP for Bolt had just taken a break? We had PP pics taken with them that week

My guess is you stopped by Playhouse Disney?

Very good guess but not quite. I wasn't planning on sitting through that show if I didn't have kids.
But there is a way to "experience" some of that without sitting on the floor...

 

[All7OfUs]

Hmmm... you have me totally confuzled then. Could it be stop by the pin place under the hat??

or get a picture with other characters?? maybe Mater or Lightening?

 

[WrightFamily06]

Very nice update We have never gone in the Animation building , after seeing so many pictures here on the dis of the great character interaction over there including yours , it's a must do for our next trip ! I'm guessing your gonna do Playhouse Disney for your son ???

 

[thecapells]

Hmmm... you have me totally confuzled then. Could it be stop by the pin place under the hat??

or get a picture with other characters?? maybe Mater or Lightening?

Confuzled? That's pretty funny.
But the 2-yr old is too small for pins.
Mater & Lightning is a decent guess but that's not it.

Very nice update We have never gone in the Animation building , after seeing so many pictures here on the dis of the great character interaction over there including yours , it's a must do for our next trip ! I'm guessing your gonna do Playhouse Disney for your son ???

I definitely recommend the Animation Building.
It's a nice place to hang out while waiting for a Fastpass or the next Mermaid show.
As for Playhouse Disney, very close but no cigar!

 

[thecapells]

No, I didn’t find Tim Allen hiding in a corner somewhere.
But as I walked back through the Animation Courtyard, I spied a new Meet and Greet location.
It is basically the corner of the Playhouse Disney building and has a sign that looks like a TV Set.
I’d include a pic here but I totally forgot to take one.
I wandered over and there was Handy Manny taking pictures with a child with another waiting behind.
Now Handy Manny is one of my little guy’s favorites so I hopped in line and felt a bit strange.
But when it was my turn, I told Manny that he was my son’s favorite and Manny was all excited!
Your friendly neighborhood Photopass photographer was hanging out so we took some nice shots.
And I couldn’t wait to show the kids when I got home…

After a quick meeting with Mr. Fix-it himself, it was back into Pixar Place.
And yes, there was a lot of back and forth today but it was no big deal since I was on my own.
I headed past Toy Story and checked for Luxo but he wasn’t out.
So I continued on and around the corner to spy another item my kids would love!
I headed over the corner across from the Power Rangers and saw the kids playing in the rain.
Anyone up for a song?

 

[boxmaster]

Now Handy Manny is one of my little guy’s favorites so I hopped in line and felt a bit strange.

What, Mr. Lopart... er... Pop-Pop... wasn't there? Shame!

 

[dawnbu40]

Aww I bet the kids were thrilled to see you with Handy Manny!

Too bad you missed Luxo! Hope you caught him on your last trip!

 

[thecapells]

What, Mr. Lopart... er... Pop-Pop... wasn't there? Shame!

Aww I bet the kids were thrilled to see you with Handy Manny!

Too bad you missed Luxo! Hope you caught him on your last trip!

Unfortunately, we're 0-for-2 catching Luxo.
Maybe next year...

 

[MEK]

wow....you are a regular character magnet. You got so many great shots!

 

[thecapells]

wow....you are a regular character magnet. You got so many great shots!

Thanks!
I tend to make a note of which chars are around which locations so I can swing by on my way.
And since I'm not much of a thrill ride guy, Studios is essentially mostly a character park for me.

 

[3girls4me05]

Yeah, it's song time! I can already here it playing in my head (earworm!). This was an area I meant to get to on our last trip but didn't. Can't wait to read all about it.

 

[boxmaster]

wow....you are a regular character magnet. You got so many great shots!

Heck, depending on the day/time you catch him, he's a regular character.

 

[thecapells]

Yeah, it's song time! I can already here it playing in my head (earworm!). This was an area I meant to get to on our last trip but didn't. Can't wait to read all about it.

Then it's time to sing!

Heck, depending on the day/time you catch him, he's a regular character.

Yep That's me - a real character

 

[thecapells]

After a little while of playing in the “rain” (it was a hot day), the parents collected their kids and began to head out.
Before leaving, I asked them to take my picture as Gene Kelly:

This was a big deal since my daughter’s last ballet recital was “Singing in the Rain.”
She had the cutest outfit – complete with umbrella.
Besides the questionable decision to give 5-year olds umbrellas (think: weapon), it was a lot of fun to watch.
They even incorporated the umbrella into the routine.
Before her big day, I found a clip of Gene Kelly on Youtube and she watched it over and over again convinced she would look just as good!
So when I got home and showed her this picture, this “attraction” became her #1 thing to do on our next visit.
As I planned our November trip, her one and only reminder was “Dad - don’t forget we need to go the umbrella!”
And somehow I think this will be visited each and every trip from here on.

For those not in the know, here’s some spoilers…
The umbrella is attached to a pole on the corner of the street.
And the street bears a resemblance to the one Gene Kelly danced down while performing “Singing in the Rain.”
Here in Disney, there is a spot on the floor which will activate a magical “rain” feature.
(You can see it in the picture - my foot is standing on it.)
The area is usually crowded with kids just jumping up and down on the floor trying to get wet – especially on hot days.
(You can see the radius the "rain" covers by checking out the pavement in the picture).

So besides having to wait to get the umbrella all to yourself, it’s not an easy picture.
As I found out, it’s actually pretty hard to take a picture of rain from far away.
Most pics simply look like you are holding a random umbrella.
But if my 5-year old knew what it was, I imagine most people will get the idea.
So next time you are in the neighborhood, be sure to check it out!

I, however, needed to keep moving.
After my sing and dance act, I decided to pay a visit to Monstropolis.
Open your closets and come along!

 

[thecapells]

BTW, who else is snowed in?
We got 33 inches today and it's still going...

 

[dawnbu40]

That homage to Gene Kelly is one of those little Disney details that I love! Singin in the Rain is one of my favorite classic films!

33 inches?! Yuck! We're in metro Detroit and so far this winter we've had maybe 3 inches of snow total! (and I'll be very happy if it stays that way!)

 

[MEK]

33 inches??? Yikes. I think we got about 24". And to think....I was originally scheduled to drive to a soccer tournament in NC. Thank goodness they called it off on Thursday.

I love your umbrella picture. That is so cute that your daughter wanted to watch Gene Kelley over and over. I have yet to take an umbrella picture, but I have seen so many here that its on my "must do" list for next trip!