Questions about ABD California Backstage Magic

[myladyfae]

We did not visit any Soundstages, btw.

Thanks for reporting back! If they have a feedback card of any sort, maybe I'll make a note that it would be a great thing for future ABDs

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

We saw a soundstage on the tour of the Jim Hensen Studio in L.A. When we hit the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, there honestly was not time to see any soundstages and even if they were, most were in use with productions being filmed. Where our bus parked, it was right next to the soundstage that was being used to film MasterChef Junior. A lot of the soundstages are rented out to various productions, other than just Disney/ABC productions, like MasterChef and they have closed sets. Plus you see so much when you are at the Walt Disney Studios that seeing a soundstage is the last thing on your mind.

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for reporting back! If they have a feedback card of any sort, maybe I'll make a note that it would be a great thing for future ABDs

There is always a survey once your Adventure is done. Also, don't hesitate to let your guides know of any problems or suggestions during your trip. Feedback is very important to them.

 

[scottmel]

Sorry. Just wanted to make sure I answered the right question.

There are lots of slight differences that are awesome, and will throw you off if you are very familiar with one park over the other.

BTW... it is extremely out of control hot here. I mean HOT. Today was a "cooler" day, upper 80s. Ugh....and no afternoon rainstorm to cool it down. It seems more ride queues are uncovered for part of the way, or more outdoor time like splash and it's a small world. I would expect when it is not a heatwave, it is very very lovely. Last time we came in October the weather was much cooler and chilly at night. When it gets close to your trip watch the weather forecast closely when deciding what to bring.

Glad you are having so much fun! Who are your guides??? We were there in July and the weather was so balmy, DD wore flannels during the day! How crazy is that as we normally go to WDW in June and of course SOOO hote there. Your temps ar unseasonable for sure!

 

[scottmel]

Is it feasible to get a taxi from Holly
wood to Beverly Hills to eat, then head back? Or would there be horrendous traffic and a high cost for the cab?

I would highly recommend toursbylocals website. We hired a local LA tour guide who picked us up and toured us everywhere we wanted to go. Beverly Hills shopping, LA Tar Pits, Graystone Mansion, Farmers Market, Whimsical Alley, etc. We picked the places before hand and pointed out movies we loved and made filming stops along the way - saw the American Horror Story house film site, etc. Honestly this day was a HIGHLIGHT of my ABD trip and had nothing to do with ABD. It was fantastic. We figured we traveled ALLLL This way we wanted to see as much as we could. Private tour, just your family

 

[White Rose]

Glad you are having so much fun! Who are your guides??? We were there in July and the weather was so balmy, DD wore flannels during the day! How crazy is that as we normally go to WDW in June and of course SOOO hote there. Your temps ar unseasonable for sure!

We had delightful Dean and awesome Adriana. They played well off each other. Great trip! It is starting to cool down...I am hoping the temps stay out of the upper 80s.

 

[White Rose]

The optional activities on our California Adventure day were tickets to see Aladdin and the Frozen Sing-A-Long. We had just seen the Broadway Aladdin during it's Toronto run leading up to it's Broadway premiere so didn't really see the need to see the shortened version and with all the Frozen stuff offered at Disney World we were "Frozen"ed out. Also the one ride I REALLY wanted to go on and had been talking about since we booked the trip was California Screamin'. We opted to spend the time in the afternoon using our fastpasses and enjoying some of the rides. We actually rode California Screamin' twice in a row we loved it so much. We didn't find missing the optional activities to detract from our trip enjoyment at all.

Looking back if I was to do this trip again, I would skip these optional activities again as well as the wax museum on the first night.

Aladdin was very different from the Broadway show...glad we spent the time to see it!

We did all the optional surprises and we are glad we did...so fun to be treated like a VIP. I would strongly suggest you do all the optional activities. Seriously there were times I wanted to go to bed but I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo glad we did ALL the optional things. Closing the park with an awesome spooky surprise...wow! Even Extra surprises during the surprises...wow. One included an extra pin...hehe...if you knew what to order...

I know some people suggest skipping the extras...but I do not understand why not do them...even if it includes seeing something my hubby was less then enthusiastic to see...we still had fun. Why pay to do something else, or just sit in the room?

One thing, before we went, I wasn't sure if the extras were free or if you had to pay additional for them....they are included in what you already paid for in the trip. Just do it! We only spent about $40 for entertainment or food during the trip, not including TWO exclusive shopping trips were we went very insane.

 

[White Rose]

There is always a survey once your Adventure is done. Also, don't hesitate to let your guides know of any problems or suggestions during your trip. Feedback is very important to them.

We asked if we could visit the muppets sound stage and were told you can not enter any of them, but we did see the plain wood side of what we were told was the back on Kermit's office. Only thing we saw was a window and blinds that were closed. We saw signs for code black, and what might have been a hospital ER admittance desk from afar, but did not enter any sound stages on the Disney studios lots. We saw dr teeth and electric mayhem van hiding behind vans and code black trailer for 2 seconds when we were in the bus leaving. We got to see the empty sound stage at Henson...but no stages that were in use with props or decorated for a show.

Oh....did I mention, Bob Iger was walking into the archives building while we were getting pictures at the Team Disney building. No pictures, it was literally a second, and he was walking with people. If we had left the Achives 10 minutes later, we might have gotten lucky.

 

[OKW Lover]

We asked if we could visit the muppets sound stage and were told you can not enter any of them,

Perhaps there was a production going on right then. We've done this trip 3 times and have visited the sound stage on at least 2 of them.

 

[scottmel]

Perhaps there was a production going on right then. We've done this trip 3 times and have visited the sound stage on at least 2 of them.

I wonder if I was on a sound stage during my trip? That muppets day was such a snore, I have blocked it from memory! LOL! I enjoyed seeing the grounds and the cute building but the technology seems SOOOOO outdated. We were in a building where the puppet guy did a mini demonstration on the white screen or whatever that is and it was in an abandoned looking warehouse....Was this the sound stage? If so, honest you don't miss much if you don't see it...

 

[OKW Lover]

We were in a building where the puppet guy did a mini demonstration on the white screen or whatever that is and it was in an abandoned looking warehouse....Was this the sound stage?

Sounds like the place. Huge interior space? Pretty empty? That's a sound stage.

 

[scottmel]

Sounds like the place. Huge interior space? Pretty empty? That's a sound stage.

Yep that was it

 

[White Rose]

Sounds like the place. Huge interior space? Pretty empty? That's a sound stage.

At henson studios we did see the empty big black room (empty soundstage) with the motion capture technology that is used for digital puppetry....the actor wears sensors and the digital puppet will mimic human (or dog, we were told) motion live. Also we saw the hand controls used for advanced facial digital puppetry on screen. (It has the same name as the animated character from the Muppet 3d movie in Hollywood studios.)

At Disney Studios we did not visit the Muppets sound stage. It was not in use, we were just told we were not allowed to see the sound stages. The filming for muppets is done at the Disney studios, not Henson. I was underwhelmed with the visit to the disney studios..not bring able to visit any sets...was not my favorite part of the trip. I have been on other studio tours and you normally get to see something. I guess after how amazing everything else was, this was a bit of a disappointment to me. I enjoyed everything, just would have been better, more memorable, if we got to see something in one of the soundstage sets.

 

[White Rose]

We went in the barn where we saw the facial digital software that was glove controlled...Waldo! Then we went in to the empty soundstage where the Muppet demo was done.

 

[meryll83]

Any recommendations for restaurants when staying at the Loews Hollywood?
We're also tagging an extra evening on here at the start of our trip.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

We ate at the Wildfire Grill in the Hollywood & Highland Centre. Great barbecue and a good selection. I believe it was on the second level. We also ate at Johnny Rockets, also in the Hollywood & Highland Centre. The Lowes Hotel is attached to the Hollywood & Highland Centre.

 

[OKW Lover]

Any recommendations for restaurants when staying at the Loews Hollywood?
We're also tagging an extra evening on here at the start of our trip.

There's a great burger at the bar in the Rosevelt Hotel called 25 Degrees.

 

[myladyfae]

Musso'so is a classic old Hollywood steak place near there! Umami burger is also delicious.

If you want some adventure, the subway is right there and a few stops down will take you to little tokyo for some amazing food and shopping!

 

[scottmel]

Any recommendations for restaurants when staying at the Loews Hollywood?
We're also tagging an extra evening on here at the start of our trip.

We ate at Roosevelts the one night and NONE of us thought it was that good. We went to in and out the next night and loved it!!!

 

[myladyfae]

You are not allowed to switch hotels for this Adventure.

The Adventure is contracted through the Grand Californian. You are not allowed to book additional nights through your ABD reservation for anywhere but the Grand Californian.

Everyone gets a 4 day park hopper ticket that expires at the end of the day of your Farewell Breakfast. You have full access to both parks that day, but the ticket can not be extended, upgraded, transferred or sold.

Any additional days at the parks will require separately purchased tickets.

I feel a little dense asking this, but with the 4 day pass that is included, does it actually expire on the last day of the tour itself *specifically* or is it a regular park hopper that essentially gives you 4 days and expires in 2 weeks?

It seems likely the DL park would close by 8 or 9 our first night there, and likely no F!, WoC, or fireworks. If dinner ended up outside the park at 55 say (because no Big Thunder either) it seems like there'd be little opportunity to go into the park the first day. I'd hoped if this happened to us, we could just use that 4th day during our post-ABD stay (which is only one extra night.)