Jeffrey made me do it, but it’s almost free for our three!! **Updated 5/19** About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great job Dyan

[Earkid]

Awesome video!

[mcc0313]

Loved the video....so happy to see an update Dyan

[DyanKJ130]

for your compliments on the video, everyone! Believe it or not, Jeffrey even laughed when I showed it to him! Of course it was followed by, I'm never going to talk to you again. He hardly talks anyway, but I know he can't resist my ramblings, so the delicate flower shall stay!! Here we go...

Now playing: Walking in Walt’s Footsteps!


SPOILER WARNING: The latter portion of this update contains the first of two installments containing information about the “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tour. If you are planning on taking this tour and do not want it to be spoiled, please do not read once we get to the start of the tour!


Monday, February 18, 2008 – Day 4/Part 1

I woke early again this morning and did not have any trouble getting the boys up & moving as today was our first official Disney day!! We all showered and were soon on our way.

We opened the car and realized that my dinner from the night before was still in there. We drove over to the Denny’s next door, threw it away and then went inside for breakfast. It was before 7:00am and we were the only ones there! We all ordered the standard breakfast food; I don’t have any photos, but I’m pretty sure Kyle had some kind of pancakes, Jeffrey had a Belgian waffle and I had eggs & toast. We were out of there lickety split and on our way to DL!

We drove around the corner and through a couple of lights to get to DLR. (Well, we stopped if the lights were red. I just asked Jeffrey to refresh my memory as to how we got there since he did all of the driving and that’s what he told me we did) We went through the entrance on Disney Way off of Harbor Blvd.

Not quite the same gates as we experience in WDW, but they were gates to an entirely different Disney world!!


We paid $11 for parking at the booths by Timon’s Parking lot. (We could have used a shuttle bus at a cost of $3/person per day, but for $2 less we had more control over what time we arrived & left the park each day. Paying for parking definitely worked for us.) We were given directions to the Mickey & Friend’s parking garage and were instructed that we needed to park there. This turned out to be the routine nearly every day, so we really got to know our way. We probably could have gotten to the Mickey & Friend’s garage more directly off of Disneyland Drive, but we never did figure out how to do that exactly!

Anyway, we liked the garage. It was clearly marked to help you find your way back. We took photos each day to remind us where we were parked exactly.




We took the escalator down, which was quite an impressive system, with a separate escalator for just about every level. At the base of the garage was the area to load for the tram. I don’t believe we ever took a photo of the area, but I did take these while we were on the tram.




The tram dropped us off near Downtown Disney and we walked through there to get to the Esplanade & the entrance to DL.


When planning our trip to DL, we knew that our first day touring would fall on Presidents’ Day. In wanting to maximize our day, which would probably be crowded, we opted to try the “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tour. We figured it would help familiarize us with the park, while avoiding the bulk of the crowds. When I booked the tour, I was given a choice of 8:30am or an afternoon time – I want to say 2:30pm. I chose the morning tour, in hopes of witnessing ‘The Running of the Guests’ as the girls did on their trip in February 2007. In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the afternoon tour as our tour began at 8:30, which is normally prior to park opening, but seeing that today was a holiday, DL opened at 8 instead of 9. So, ‘The Running of the Guests’ was not to be seen by us! We did have a wonderful time though, but I do think the afternoon time would have been better, as we could have maximized the lighter crowds in the morning and been on the tour when the crowds were larger. Just a note for anyone who may wish to try this tour in the future.

In any event, since we were taking the tour, we were allowed into the park when we arrived – around 7:50am. After entering, we walked just to the left to the Guided Tours booth (this was also where we ate lunch at the end of the tour).


We were the first ones there and waited for the CMs manning the booth, so we could check in. Once they arrived, we checked in and placed our lunch order. We were told to come back in 20 minutes to get our headsets, in order to be ready for the start of the tour at 8:30am.

We didn’t want to go too far, so we went to explore the Fire Station. There was no one in there, so we were able to get some decent photos for my firefighter husband!




The inside of the fire station isn’t set up as a store like the one at WDW. It is more like a fire station – complete with a harness room and stalls for the horses. There was a lot of neat stuff to look at. I took about 2 dozen photographs in there and probably would have taken more if we didn’t have a tour to get back to.


I can’t believe Jeffrey actually posed like this when I asked him to!


There is something about this photo that I just like.


The horse stalls


Jeffrey climbed up here on his own. There was absolutely no prompting from me. Honest! He was in firefighter heaven , while also remaining completely silent the entire time!


We headed back to the booth and met our tour guide, Karen. We were amongst a group of 15 – 5 couples, a mother & son (about 12), and the 3 of us. We all got our headsets and did a radio test, to make sure they were working. Then we were off on our first ever Disney tour!

Karen began with an introduction and then we started up Main Street. We stopped at the Partners statue and she explained a lot about Walt and the creation of DL.




We ventured through Adventureland and into Frontierland.


She explained all of the buildings and the prestigious events that were once held there.

The Shooting Exposition – when this was first opened, guests were allowed to shoot using real guns (or shotguns…whatever they were), with real ammo! I think that was one of the bits of information that floored me the most! I can’t imagine that would be a good thing, and I guess that’s probably why they don’t do it anymore!






It was here that Karen also told us about an anniversary wish that Lillian Disney once had. When she and Walt were married, she never received a diamond engagement ring. She wished Walt to give her a rock for their anniversary. And, so he did…a petrified one!


(We went back later, so I could get a good shot of the plaque. I didn’t notice our reflection until I was deciding which photos to upload. I kind of like the effect.)


While we were standing there and Karen was telling us the history of Frontierland, I also took some photos.




Karen then led us into New Orleans Square to the door of Club 33, a private club. She spoke to us about Club 33 and told us she would see if we could get in to see the lobby. She said she was almost always allowed to, but sometimes it was a no-go. She then disappeared to some unknown location to see if we could enter the lobby of this prestigious club.


Up Next: Will we be allowed to enter Club 33??

[TheMadonna3]

Bah!! I kept waiting for the DL days to come and they finally came and you left me with that teaser!!

OMG, finish the story!1

[CountryTink]

Great update and I loved the video. Can't wait to hear more about the tour. Hurry back!

[MyRapunzal]

Yay! And update! It was totally worth the wait for the last two! DISNEYLAND! I keep telling Rob that when we get married I want to go to Hawaii so that we can make a quick weekend stop in DLR first! lol! Can't wait for more!!!!!

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Dyan!!! Don't leave us hanging

[chezp]

Interesting to see you drive into Disneyland - we stayed onsite, so never saw the parking lot on our trip, so that intrigued me.

The tour sounds awesome - and what a great day to pick to do it. I like your thinking. I hope you are allowed into Club 33.

[DyanKJ130]

Originally Posted by CountryTink

Great update and I loved the video. Can't wait to hear more about the tour. Hurry back!

Stephanie! I had a difficult time remaining motivated to finish that video. The downfall of taking so many photographs

Originally Posted by MyRapunzal

Yay! And update! It was totally worth the wait for the last two! DISNEYLAND! I keep telling Rob that when we get married I want to go to Hawaii so that we can make a quick weekend stop in DLR first! lol! Can't wait for more!!!!!

Melissa! You & Rob would DLR. We spent 4 days there and saw nearly everything we wanted to experience. Going before Hawaii would definitely be a good idea, so you could relax after all of the park touring.

Originally Posted by chezp

Interesting to see you drive into Disneyland - we stayed onsite, so never saw the parking lot on our trip, so that intrigued me.

Originally Posted by chezp

The tour sounds awesome - and what a great day to pick to do it. I like your thinking. I hope you are allowed into Club 33.

Cheryl!We always use the transportation system at WDW, so the whole process intrigued us, as well. The dork in me actually found the ride to the parking area to be quite an exciting experience every day! The tour turned out to be a great introduction to DL. I hadn’t been in 20 years, so things had changed a lot, so it gave us all a feel for ‘the land.’ We also learned some things about Walt that we didn’t know. DS was also able to answer some trivia questions, thanks to the biography he read back in the 6th grade – which has fueled his desire for knowledge about Walt over the years.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great update Dyan!!! Don't leave us hanging

Originally Posted by TheMadonna3

Bah!! I kept waiting for the DL days to come and they finally came and you left me with that teaser!!

Originally Posted by TheMadonna3

OMG, finish the story!

Marnie & Madonna!! End of story coming right up!!

[DyanKJ130]

Now playing: Will we be allowed to enter Club 33??


SPOILER WARNING: This entire update contains the second of two installments containing information about the “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” tour. If you are planning on taking this tour and do not want it to be spoiled, please do not continue reading until the next installment.


Monday, February 18, 2008 – Day 4/Part 2

It seemed like we stood there for quite some time. The 15 of us were all kind of looking at each other, looking in the direction she went and began asking where she might have gone. Silently, I was wondering if there was a problem and we wouldn’t be allowed in. No sooner had I thought that, when the door to Club 33 swung open and Karen was inviting us into the lobby.


She told us a lot about the history of Club 33, as we could hear preparations taking place upstairs. You could hear the clanging of dishes and silverware. It was very exciting to be there, while learning all of this interesting information.

She spent a great deal of time talking about the lift and the significance of it. Everyone was in awe of being in the lobby, but imagine our surprise when she opened the door to the lift and invited us to get in to take pictures, if we wished. (She told us, that she isn’t always able to offer this opportunity, but I don’t know how true that is.)

We waited our turn and then I sent Jeffrey & Kyle in so I could take a photo.


I asked Kyle if he would take a picture of me & Jeffrey in the lift. Me asking to have my picture taken is a rare event, so he readily agreed! We waited for the next couple to come out and then Jeffrey & I went in. (Don’t mind the really weird expression on my face – I was trying to smile, while talk to Jeffrey at the same time – Kyle seemed to be taking forever to take the photo and I was contemplating getting out to see what was wrong, when the flash finally went off. )


Before leaving Karen allowed us to take some photos around the lobby. It’s not like there was a lot of room in there with 16 of us, so I only took a couple. I did take a photo of this though – it reminded me of the Girls Trip last year.


After our time in the lobby of Club 33, we walked into New Orleans Square, stopping along the way to hear about different things. We stopped at the Disneyland Railroad station and waited for the next train. She answered questions and told us other bits of trivia, like the Morse code that we could hear and what it ‘said.’

While we waited, we also listened to these guys


When the train arrived, we were allowed to board through the exit. Karen told us, that we needed to get off at the next stop, which was ToonTown. In was an uneventful trip and we all disembarked at the station. We walked past IASW, which was closed for refurbishment, through Fantasyland and to the side of the castle near Snow White’s wishing well. All the while we were listening and stopping, when appropriate.


Kyle took this photo looking into the wishing well, which I thought was pretty cool.


Karen then told us the story of the Snow White & the 7 Dwarf statues, which were absolutely beautiful. Apparently, when they were made, the sculptor made Snow White and the dwarves all the same size. She proved this to us, but asking us to hold our thumbs up to ‘measure’ them and – sure enough – they were! She explained that the Disney Imagineers had to use creative placement to create the illusion that the dwarves were much smaller. They decided to place Snow White in a position to be looking down at the dwarves. Then they made a ginormous rabbit & squirrel to place by the dwarves and a tiny deer to place by Snow White. Pretty ingenious stuff! (There will be more in the video including some close ups of the dwarves, that Kyle thought to take)


While Karen was explaining the sculpture story, Kyle & I both took the opportunity to take some photos of Sleeping Beauty’s castle.








From here, we walked back to Adventureland to visit the Enchanted Tiki Room. The queue area is certainly different than in WDW. You entered into an outside small courtyard-type area, with some benches. The Tiki Juice Bar separated that area and the area outside the queue. You could order a Dole Whip from either side, if you so desired. We didn’t, but we did take advantage of the bathrooms located conveniently off to the side of the queuing area. While we were waiting, Karen also told us to wait in our seats after the show in order that she may introduce someone to us.

We all watched the show and then waited for everyone else to leave. Karen spoke to us about the show and everything that went into creating and running it. She asked if anyone had seen the Under New Management show at WDW. Only 1 other couple and we were the only ones. She asked which show we thought was better. The other couple didn’t really have a definite opinion (I think they liked UNM better). I said the original version was better; Jeffrey & Kyle didn’t say anything to her, but they told me when she was out of earshot that they like UNM better. Honestly, I like them both – UNM has kind of grown on me over the years, but seeing the Enchanted Tiki Room was very nostalgic and certainly something special because so much of Walt is in that attraction.

After our discussion over which show was better, Karen excused herself to get someone who wanted to meet us…

Ophelia, a ‘retired’ animatronic singing flower.


Karen explained and demonstrated the mechanisms that made Ophelia work. Yet another magical moment on the tour!

We were now about 2 ½ hours into the tour, so we left the Enchanted Tiki Room and began to make our way back up Main Street. Karen had us stop along the way and she explained the meanings behind many of the names on the windows.


Our final stop before lunch was in the building that houses the 50 Years of Magic Exhibit. (There will be lots of photos to follow in an upcoming installment and in the video)


There were a lot of interesting things displayed here. (This was also the only place where we picked up two hitchhiking guests. They kept following our group around, while straining to hear Karen. It was pretty comical, but eventually they got the idea and left.) I remember Karen mostly talking about how much of a disaster Opening Day at Disneyland was. It really is amazing that anyone went back after that!

When we were finished there, we walked across Main Street back to where we started next to City Hall.


Our lunches were set up at the 4 tables, with ours being the first one on the left side. Our names were written on a tag that was placed on the plastic lid covering our meals. Since we were a party of 3, we sat with Karen once she made sure everyone was settled and that we all received our individual “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps” pins. (borrowed pic)


Once Karen joined us, we had nice conversation about her job. We learned that she was planning a trip with some friends to WDW, so she asked us a lot of questions and advice. It was a wonderful lunch, but I do wish we were seated closer to our ‘tour-mates.’ It would have been nice to get to know everyone else a little more.

Slowly everyone began to leave after they finished their meals. Another couple asked if Karen would pose for a photo with them. They asked me to take a picture, with the offer that they return the favor and I happily obliged.

Our photo with Karen


And with that, our 3½+ hour ‘Walk in Walt’s Footsteps’ ended. It was well-worth the cost! We were very satisfied with our first-ever Disney tour!

So, where to now?? And, just who do these eyes belong to??

(hee hee, and don’t bother checking PhotoBucket! I have erased all photographic evidence! Muah ha ha!! )


Up Next:An impromptu PassPorter meet!

[Hugmonster]

You are such a tease!

[TheMadonna3]

I know those eyes.

That would be Zacksmom... aka Karen



WHAT DO I WIN?!!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great tour Dyan

[chezp]

What an awesome tour Dyan! Thanks for sharing so much detail of it with us.