Third Time's a Charm PTR - May 2012 - I should give up on planning trips.

[franandaj]

So this VIP tour is included in our upgraded membership, in fact we get five each year and can take up to nine people on each tour. I have a feeling that we will find a lot of new friends! So I roused the two out of bed. Arline was feeling much better and having only single vision so we decided to go ahead with plans. We headed towards guest relations where we would meet our guide “John”. He was waiting for us, a tall and handsome man, I think his badge said Redondo or Hermosa Beach.

Now keep in mind that these VIP tours are freeform, there is no set itinerary and the guides take you where YOU want to go. We decided on DL first and Fran dreams big. While John said he would do his best, she dreamed a little too big for her britches and while on our way to our first destination we got a “No you have to clear that through corporate days in advance.”

So we headed towards Finding Nemo, this ride doesn’t have a FP and we can’t get on there quickly unless John exercises his magic. So we pull up, Fran waited behind as the stairs were too much for her, but Arline, John and I went on the ride. He got us in the exit and on the next boat! Wow!

The only shots that I got were before we really hit the Finding Nemo part since flash photography is annoying and the shutter speed required for that kind of lighting doesn’t work .

We decided our next stop would be It’s a Small World. They added Disney Characters a couple years ago and due to health problems Fran and I were never able to view this one. I read here on the DISboards that they had an accessible vehicle and our guide confirmed that they had it working today. So we decided on this as our next destination.

We were in the line ready to board when we found that there was pixie dust on our side today. John got a call that our request had been approved and when would we like to show up?

OK talk about OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We decided that 1:00 was a good time and then we could have lunch after that. But for now we were going on IASW.

Here was the loading process

And we were on our way

And on our journey….

Next up….the surprise!

 

[PrincessInOz]

You leave us hanging like that???


AWESOME upgrade. I wanna be one of your new buddies!!!

 

[ACDSNY]

You leave us hanging like that???

She's getting very good at that.

 

[franandaj]

You leave us hanging like that???


AWESOME upgrade. I wanna be one of your new buddies!!!

You already ARE one of my buddies!

She's getting very good at that.

OK here is comes!

 

[franandaj]

After we finished on A Small World we headed to our next destination. Yes we were back on Main Street.

See that little light up in the window…

This is it

Yep. Walt’s Private Apartment above Main Street.

We spent about half an hour receiving the tour. Our guide Kristen talked all about Walt the man and why he chose the various items which were in his apartment.

Walt really liked grilled cheese sandwiches and he had this sandwich press in his little kitchen for that purpose. Almost like a DVC studio huh?

This phonograph was a possession that he really liked.

It played these wax reels, pretty cool.

This is where Fran and I sat for the tour.

This telephone is still connected to the Disney phone system and if you call any extension, it shows up as Walt’s Apartment.

This is a photo of young Walt and Roy that is not original to the apartment but the people who redecorated (the family took some of the photos for the Walt Disney Museum) thought it was appropriate to display.

Walt used to love to serve Tom & Jerrys to his guests.

His bathroom was cutting edge (at least the shower was)

We were then able to go out onto the patio where he would sit with his grandchildren.

This fence was put up later, Walt never saw it, so when he sat out on the patio he could see all of Town Square.

Later that day, I posted this picture to my Facebook account with the phrase, “Where am I” I was pretty amazed at how quickly someone figured it ou!

And finally a shot with our group and guide.

 

[rentayenta]

It's official. I cannot wrap my head around this.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Looks like you had a great time. All the food I havent eaten any breakfast yet. I have seen his apartment, its cool HUH!? Thanks for sharing.

 

[ACDSNY]

How awesome you got to tour Walt's apartment. Now that's something to cross off the bucket list.

I almost had to wait until next Tuesday to know this as we're suppose to be on the road to the coast, but instead I'm waiting for a set of new tires to be put on.

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW!! That is some VIP tour. I'm trying to imagine me being back in the 1950's and feeling that the apartment was the most up to date and modern of its time. Right now...the decor just seems nostalgic. I guess it would have been an oasis in the crowds at Disneyland for Walt and his family.

 

[Angel16]

Magic :yes: Awesome Talk about exciting!

Talk about a dream come true! That is a awesome gift you were given with you VIP tour. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be in a room which was Walt's personal and private living area. It is really quite pretty and well thought out in space and usage. Was there a bedroom in the apartment? Just wondered if Walt ever spent the night in DisneyLand?

Fran sure knows how to dream big and make requests!

Thank you so much for talking us along.

Angel16

 

[franandaj]

It's official. I cannot wrap my head around this.

Well perhaps if you manage a solo trip or can get away from your kids, you can come along with us on one of these. I know you had to ditch the tour you were planning on your last trip. I can't make any guarantees, but we can always dream!

Looks like you had a great time. All the food I havent eaten any breakfast yet. I have seen his apartment, its cool HUH!? Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! I'm still full from all the food!

How awesome you got to tour Walt's apartment. Now that's something to cross off the bucket list.

I almost had to wait until next Tuesday to know this as we're suppose to be on the road to the coast, but instead I'm waiting for a set of new tires to be put on.

I had been up there before a long time ago, but this time having the camera was priceless!

I hope you arrived safely at your destination tonight!

WOW!! That is some VIP tour. I'm trying to imagine me being back in the 1950's and feeling that the apartment was the most up to date and modern of its time. Right now...the decor just seems nostalgic. I guess it would have been an oasis in the crowds at Disneyland for Walt and his family.

Yeah, I'm sure it was cutting edge for his time, very cool! Especially the sandwich press!

Magic :yes: Awesome Talk about exciting!

Talk about a dream come true! That is a awesome gift you were given with you VIP tour. I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be in a room which was Walt's personal and private living area. It is really quite pretty and well thought out in space and usage. Was there a bedroom in the apartment? Just wondered if Walt ever spent the night in DisneyLand?

Fran sure knows how to dream big and make requests!

Thank you so much for talking us along.

Angel16

The apartment was constructed as part of the first DL construction. Walt lived in Holmby Hills (where Michael Jackson rented his mansion) and in those days was a VERY long trek from Anaheim (as it still is today, maybe longer because of traffic). The apartment was constructed so that he could stay overnight and supervise everything that went on. The couches were actually day beds that he and Lillian slept in. The CM told us all kinds of stories about how he loved his morning orange juice and even though they provided him with a juicer, he used to go down to the shop on Main St that juiced oranges fresh because he said that it tasted better from their press than his own.

 

[skiingfast]

Do they have an elevator to get ups stairs?

 

[franandaj]

Do they have an elevator to get ups stairs?

Which stairs? The hotel? or what?

 

[rentayenta]

I just read the solo trip part to DH and he said "you better take a solo trip". I could easily leave 2 of my kids and DH but not sure I could enjoy it without my sweet Chloe (DD 13). She's as big of a Disney fan as we are. your photos gave me the chills. Seriously. I'm loving the photos and glad you guys has a great time.

 

[franandaj]

I just read the solo trip part to DH and he said "you better take a solo trip". I could easily leave 2 of my kids and DH but not sure I could enjoy it without my sweet Chloe (DD 13). She's as big of a Disney fan as we are. your photos gave me the chills. Seriously. I'm loving the photos and glad you guys has a great time.

Well who knows? Maybe it will work out sometime. I intend to get our money's worth out of these perks, and I'm sure it won't be hard to find friends who will want to go on these tours. Maybe a handful of 3D friends, but I'm sure lots of DISers would be happy to take us up, if we offered!

 

[franandaj]

We were pretty famished after the tour, and I forgot to mention that they gave us a special pin that you can only get when you tour the apartment. I’ll have to take a picture of it and post it, but it was the lamp and supposedly it kind of glows in the dark. Arline really wanted to try the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich at the Hungry Bear Restaurant so we headed that direction.

On our way, just as we were turning off Main Street, Fran’s scooter started to malfunction. It kept stopping and beeping. By the time we reached New Orleans Square we realized that she had run out of battery. She and I switched scooters since I am lighter than she is and hoped that I could make it to the restaurant. We knew from a previous visit that there were some outlets where we could charge because when we met Hawleys there in October, we made note of that for future reference.

However as we went over the hill in front of Splash Mountain the scooter wouldn’t go any farther. I put it in neutral and John, our guide was so sweet to push the thing until we got over the hill. I put it back in gear for the downhill, but it was completely gone.

I headed downstairs while the others headed upstairs. I was having a hard time finding the outlets, but eventually did.

Our guide asked the employees if it was OK to charge the scooter and of course they said “No”. So Fran calls me and tells me this.

She also tells me, “Let the scooter sit and maybe some of the charge will come back by itself, you know how that works…”

“So I plug it in or not?” I ask.

“Yes, you do. Just come up here, we’ll eat and see how it does after lunch.”

So our guide left us for about half an hour, the scooter was downstairs charging. I always get paranoid so I was distracted when the food came. Fran and I split a cheeseburger, but I didn’t think about taking a picture until we were almost halfway through our bites. We substituted Onion Rings for the Sweet Potato Fries and they were awesome.

Here is Arline’s sandwich.

As soon as I was done eating I went downstairs to check the scooter. I don’t know what was wrong with me. We have left scooters charging for hours in the past, but this time since our guide had asked and we were told “no”, I was scared to death! Everything was fine and I sat downstairs reading up on my phone about the antics of the lasters. Fran sent me a text, “he back” and I quickly unplugged the scooter and waited for them to come find me.

She came down to use the restroom, and told me to see if I had enough charge to go up the hill and wait for the rest of them. We had talked about going to Pooh Corner and getting some sweet treats, but I said that we shouldn’t push it and go farther than we needed. John made a couple ride suggestions, and due to FPs and other considerations, we chose POTC. Though handicapped visitors can get on from the end of the ride, he got us on the next boat! What service.

And this one is for you, Jenny. I heard the Auctioneer say “Strike yer colors, you brazen wench! No need to expose yer superstructure!” I have no idea what that means and wouldn’t have even known where to find it if Sherry E had not clued me in on your TR, but I was like “Wow! He really does say that”

After this ride, Fran could tell that Arline was looking pretty exhausted, but she will never speak up if she is. So with some interrogation and reassurance that she wasn’t ruining the trip by needing to take a rest, she decided that she needed a nap. But the drama didn’t end there. John was kind enough to walk us back to our hotel. Fran tried to give him a tip, but he wouldn’t take it. Just as we passed WoD the scooter stopped again. I put it in neutral and he was kind enough to push me up all the hills. He got us all the way to the elevators at which point we said farewell. We will definitely request him as a guide for future tours, and we’d like to take one with him once everything over at DCA is open too.

Back in the room, I finally got the computer out at this point and started working on the TR. While my photos were uploading to PB, I decided it would be good to check out the lounge, maybe get a glass of wine. Arline decided to come with me, but Fran wanted to stay in the room. Here are some shots on our way over there.

I didn’t take any pictures this time because it was pretty much the exact same stuff as the night before. The only difference was the hot offering. They had a Southwestern Chicken Spring roll. I really didn’t care for them. I was mainly there for the wine and didn’t want to get too full because I was looking forward to the dinner. We brought some strawberries and cucumber slices back for Fran and as usual a couple bottles of water and sodas.

The parks were closing early, both closed at 8PM so we decided to make a quick trip to Soarin’.

OK, so I recycled these pictures from a previous TR, sue me!

There is one dramatic difference from the picture below…imagine every single person waiting in this line is gone! For those of you who know DCA’s Soarin queue. We walked all the way down to the end of the ramp, they asked how many in our party and they sent us to the 1-2-3 lines. Literally a walk on!

By the time we finished it was almost 8PM and the park was closing so we headed out for dinner.

For those who have read my previous reports, you know I love this place!

We got the crazy insane garlic cheese bread and waited for the rest of our orders.

Arline got the Gumbo

I got the French Onion Soup

Fran got the mushroom bisque

And we all split the calamari

Then the piece de resistance! Chocolate Bread Pudding Souffle!

At this point Fran and Arline sent me home for my bath while they picked up some caramel corn (a must on trips when we stay over at the parks).

 

[rentayenta]

Well who knows? Maybe it will work out sometime. I intend to get our money's worth out of these perks, and I'm sure it won't be hard to find friends who will want to go on these tours. Maybe a handful of 3D friends, but I'm sure lots of DISers would be happy to take us up, if we offered!

Oh I'm looking at a time for just me. The perks are unreal. Your offer is most kind and I really appreciate it. You have no idea. Even my Disney muggle honey gets it.


I love it: 3D friends. I met one of my dear friends right here on the DIS. Love her and her family.

 

[rentayenta]

I knew we should have got the souffle at RB's. Looks fantastic!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Pity about the scooter. But your guide sounds terrific....almost as good as the chocolate souffle.

 

[franandaj]

Oh I'm looking at a time for just me. The perks are unreal. Your offer is most kind and I really appreciate it. You have no idea. Even my Disney muggle honey gets it.


I love it: 3D friends. I met one of my dear friends right here on the DIS. Love her and her family.

Yeah, one of the things that they told us when they were explaining the upgrade was that they wanted members to feel "special". I can tell you that I definitely felt special on our trip last week!

I knew we should have got the souffle at RB's. Looks fantastic!

I ALWAYS get the souffle, it is to die for!

Pity about the scooter. But your guide sounds terrific....almost as good as the chocolate souffle.

He was great! Maybe when you come out for the gamers meet, we can do a tour that day and WoC with VIP seating!