The Life of a VIP - Adventures By Disney Backstage Magic About This Page:

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by disneydani

That was an absolutely fabulous day with so many wonderful stops along the way! I think this would be a fabulous tour to take and you are only on Day One so far. BTW, AJ heard you ~gave away~ tix to Jimmy Kimmel....he wants to know who were the guests????

danielle

The guests were Alyssa Milano, Jerry Weintraub and The Specials, I think. Nobody I was really interested in seeing. Alyssa Milano's the only one I've even heard of.

Originally Posted by mcc0313

Ok, now that I got to read about the end of your day (yes I was just so excited from reading your TR that I did not have the pateince to wait to read the final entry of the day before I posted) I have concluded I NEED TO TAKE THIS TOUR You dinner from In n Out Burger looked delish...and glad to hear that you were not lost in the "unsavory"part of town. Hope that you get some sleep (well at least past 4 am) because it sounds like you will need it....tomorrow sounds even more filling then your first day.

I will tell anyone expressing an interest in this tour - do it! You won't be disappointed, I guarantee!

Originally Posted by dsteiny23

I kind of feel bad now that I've ruined the "butt crack..." and "crack of..." comments for those on here who know me. I gave Melissa (Mestitch) some grief once too.

What a great day!!! The pic you took of your shrimp lunch almost looks like some artsy menu photo. And "old barn paint"...is that Benjamin Moore?? What a cool train ride. And I would have ridden it as many times as they would let me. I won tickets on PLJ to see Nickelodeon Jr. Live at Radio City and we saw some busted up Mickeys and 3 or 4 Elmos looking for some cash for photos too. Jason was a bit confused by that.

Yes, I've seen them in NYC too! Some kids don't care, but I guess Jason was smart enough to know it was a scam.

Originally Posted by BeckiO5

Love the update. It looks like a fantastic day! I love the picture of you with Kermit. My DH had a stroll down memory lane seeing your picture with him. How wonderful you got to see Walt's Train. Too bad we didn't know about it when my DBro was a huge train fanatic or else that would have been so worth taking him to see for himself. How cool you got to ride it. More please Sharon.

Train fanatics would love Walt's Barn. I am amazed that it's free to visit and ride the train, even though it's only one Sunday a month. I wanted to give them some money! I guess I did, since I bought some stuff.

Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy

All caught up now and boy had I missed a lot! So excited to hear about the next day, come back soon - K??

Barb, I am going to be posting so many updates this week, you'll be sick of me!

Originally Posted by chezp

Oh wow, your intro to your next segment says it gets better - it can't do, after Walt's barn, surely? That's the most amazing experience and looking at those photos was just fascinating.

Chez, I know you and Mark would love to do the tour. If you ever decide to do it, let me know. I may join you. Yes, I liked it so much that I would do it again!

Originally Posted by doccoc2002

Great update!! Next time I am in Cali...I am going to the El Capitan Theatre...I can't wait to see a movie/show there! Thanx now I have so many things on my to do list that I missed my first time out there!

That's the problem with reading TRs. You always find something to add to your list!

Originally Posted by Jillybean

Me thinks you've got another trip coming up soon since you are rocking out on the updates! I just loved, loved, loved the pictures and stories by Walt's barn. And I loved seeing you on that train! What a great trip (and that cheeseburger looked yummy)!

Jill

You aint seen nothin' yet as far as rocking out the updates. Lots more to tell and I want to get it done since my next TR will be a long one, too.

Originally Posted by Minnie Lor

Oh wow! You're doing a superb job sharing your trip with us. So wishing that I could sign up for the ABD with the Dis in July.

Lorie, I was tempted to sign up again! In fact, if I had the vacation time, I just might have signed up to go again.

Originally Posted by MEM

I'm relieving my adventure in Nov 08 through all of your pictures, Jaime was one of my guides as well and he was great. I know you had an amazing time. Hurry back with your next update!

Jaime's great isn't he? The guides really make it an even greater experience.

[PrincessSharon]

Standard disclaimer: This is a detailed TR with many spoilers. If you don’t want to know all the details, stop reading. Also, there are some things listed on the itinerary and some things not listed on the itinerary. For things not listed, I will post an additional spoiler warning, in case you want to read about it but not spoil all the little surprises.

Day Six – Thursday, April 15
It gets even better

I was up at 4:45, the latest so far. I figured I was at least making a little progress. I got ready and finished packing up my suitcase and then headed down to Twist for breakfast. It was a buffet and we had a bunch of tables on one side of the restaurant reserved for us.



The buffet was lovely with the usual offerings, including an omelet station. Once I’d finished eating, I wanted to get a picture of myself on the casting couch and so did a fellow Adventurer, and since it was right downstairs from us, we headed down.



There was a stage being set up for some kind of racing event that would be held later that day. We met back up with the group and all went down to the lobby. Another group was boarding their bus, so we had to hang out in the lobby and wait until we could board. While we were waiting, John came and told me they got my card, but they were told they threw out the bagels since they went bad. Grrr! I’m convinced they ate them.

It was finally our turn to board, so we ventured out to our bus. This put us behind and we continued to fall further and further behind as the day went on, which would end up costing us big time. But I’ll get to that later.

Today’s theme was “Making the Magic” and the word(s) of the day was “WED Enterprises.” A visit to Imagineering and the Walt Disney Studios were both on the agenda.

We drove over to Imagineering. The campus is very ordinary with no Disney touches, except the building numbers, which are shaped like CM nametags.



And one other touch is the security gate.


Sorry about the lousy picture – it was taken out of the bus window

When we got out, we had to leave our cameras on the bus, but I do have some pictures from the Photopass CD to share, since the guides were able to take a few pictures inside.

The first thing we got was our guest passes, which were really cool and I saved for my scrapbook. Then we headed into a small theater to watch a movie.



Dave, our Imagineer/tour guide talked about Imagineering, how theme park attractions are built. He showed us the plans for the Fantasyland expansion that they showed at D23, and then gave us the scoop that things have changed. They’ve decided that people want new rides rather than new character meets, so I guess there’s going to be another new attraction besides the Little Mermaid one.

Then he talked about audio animatronics and how they’ve improved over the years. SPOILER WARNING! Skip to next post to avoid mini spoiler. Then a curtain opened and Lucky the dinosaur came out. This was something I didn’t know about, and I never got to see him when he was in the parks briefly, so I was thrilled! I think not knowing about it made it even better.

A fellow ABD’er got to go up and interact with Lucky. I was amazed how lifelike he was! It was almost like he could talk. He walks, blinks his eyes, opens his mouth and can make sounds (like purrs and grunts) so you had a pretty good idea what he was trying to communicate. I almost forgot he wasn’t real. He even held a pen in his mouth and signed an autograph (which was a 4-leaf clover).


Lucky and Imagineer Dave

Then, even better, we were all invited to come up and meet Lucky. We were allowed to touch him (and he loved that – would purr like crazy ). He was a lot softer than I expected him to be. It was another “wow” moment in a long series of them over the trip.



For the short time that Lucky was in the parks, he would give a little show but not really pose for photos. Lucky’s been retired from the parks and lives at Imagineering now. Once everyone had gotten their photos we split into two groups again.

Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

We first went into an area where they keep maquettes. The guides took a few pictures in there that I can share. It was really cool to be able to get a close look at them and try to figure out what attraction they came from.








Our Imagineer, Dave, talked about the maquettes and also about how they build the animatronics. He showed us a casting of Johnny Depp’s head which was used to create the Captain Jack AAs. It was difficult to recognize without hair or eyes, but once he said it was Johnny Depp, I “recognized” it.

Then he showed us an audio animatronic skeleton, which showed all the wires and such that’s under the skin of an AA. This one was called Joe Cocker. Why? Well we found out! Joe Cocker started singing Feeling All Right. It was beyond cool! We really got to see his eyes move, his fingers wiggle, every little detail. It was a little eerie, but completely awesome. There were even a couple of backup singers (well, just their heads ). They showed Joe Cocker at the D23 Expo, so I’m sure there are videos of him on You Tube.

Dave started to tell us a story about the Snow White figures in the middle of the room (the ones just like those in the Snow White grotto or whatever it’s called next to the castle at Disneyland) but the other group came in. He decided to tell everyone the story together, so he sent us off to our next stop and told us to come back.

We went into a sound studio next. That was really cool, because all of the studios I’d been in so far (you know, being a big shot VIP and junk), I’d never been in a sound studio. They had some chairs set up for us and we listened to a presentation. It was the same one that used to be (or it could still be there ) in the area next to Sounds Dangerous at DHS.

We all put on headphones and they turned the lights off so it was completely dark. Then we listened to the show, which was us starting our first day as an executive and then we get a haircut (which was so realistic it was almost creepy) and then get to meet the big boss – Mickey Mouse.

When it ended, the Imagineer showed us the microphone they use to create the effects. It’s actually inside of a model of a human skull, built just like a human head so the microphone “hears” just the same way a real person does, and that’s how the sounds are so realistic.

We headed back over to meet up with the other group. You’ve probably heard the story about the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs figures at Disneyland – they just showed up from an anonymous donor. They were beautifully crafted out of marble, but there was one problem – Snow White was just about the same size as the Dwarfs. They were too beautiful not to use, so using some forced perspective tricks, they put Snow White way up above the Dwarfs and put some undersized animals next to her. The Dwarfs were lower, with oversized animals. The effect is really good, especially having seen them up close.

Anyway, the Imagineer told us – that’s a big, fat, lie! I know! I was clutching my figurative pearls and I totally would’ve dropped my bag of groceries with a baguette in it if I’d been holding a bag of groceries with a baguette in it. The real story is that John Hench ordered the figures from Italy, but forgot to tell the artist to make them different sizes. To cover his mistake, he made up the story. After his death, they found the purchase order in his desk, along with some letters communicating with the artist and they figured it out.

Then he told us that they wanted to copy the statues for Hong Kong Disneyland, so they took them out of the park and made casts so there are exact copies in HKDL. They figured the statues were getting a little damaged from being out in the elements so long, so while they had them in Imagineering, they made another set and that’s what’s at Disneyland park now. The originals were right there with us in the room.

But the story doesn’t end there. (And now you know why he wanted to wait until we were all together so he’d only have to tell it once). Once the copies were made, they put the originals in a warehouse. One day, some clumsy dude was moving stuff in the warehouse and broke Snow White! I know! Clutch the figurative pearls, drop the figurative bag of groceries with a baguette!

Luckily, the statue wasn’t completely destroyed and they were able to repair it. And they moved them to where they are now, safe and sound in Imagineering. Well, they would’ve been safe if one of my fellow ABD’ers (probably related to clumsy dude) knocked one over! I know! Clutch the pearls, drop the bag of groceries with a baguette. Just kidding! No Dwarfs were harmed in the writing of this TR.


You can see where she's been repaired on her arms and waist





Then, group photo!



Actually, that’s just my half of the group (go, team Michael!), so I guess we took the group photo before we did the sound studio portion. We weren’t done at Imagineering yet, though!

Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

I need to interrupt myself here and talk about how cool it was to walk around in Imagineering. There was all kinds of completely awesome artwork on the walls (like concept art, promotional art, awesomeness everywhere!). Plus people were actually at work, creating Disney magic right there. When we’d pass offices, I’d peek in. Unfortunately, none of them had Sorcerer’s hats on. They must be embarrassed to wear them in front of company.

The next stop on the tour was a big room where they build and store the huge models. We got to see the scale model of the new Fantasyland (which, like all Imagineering projects, has changed). Dave told us how they build the models, and the most horrifying thing – they usually destroy them once the attraction/hotel/cruise ship/whatever is built! I know! Sorry, I’ll stop that. The models are confidential, with all kinds of Imagineering secrets, so they don’t want them getting out into the hands of the public, and they don’t have room to store it all, so, they’re destroyed.

While he was talking, we could see Imagineers working in the back on some large mops (like the ones in Fantasia) and someone asked about them. We were told they’re going on the Disney Dream! Later, I saw the concept art for them on the Disney Parks Blog. The figures are going to be hanging off the bow of the ship. Here’s the photo of them from the blog.


Now I can always say “I saw them being built!” and have people roll their eyes at me

Imagineering was just as cool as I thought it was going to be, if not cooler. At that point I felt like even if the rest of the trip was a bust, it was completely worth the money. Luckily, it wasn’t. In fact, it got even better! Really! But I’ll get to that.

It was time to get our shop on! We walked over to Mickey’s of Glendale, the store for Imagineers. The only people able to shop there are the people who work there (i.e. Imagineers) so this was a treat. And the best part is that there is all kinds of Imagineering exclusive merchandise! This was a group of shoppers, so this was the part of the trip many were looking forward to the most.

When we got to the door, they gave us another little surprise. We got a coupon for 40% off one item.


Let us in! I need to spend some money!

Then, a starting gun sounded and everyone trampled poor Michael to get in. Kidding! But there were 44 very purposeful shoppers entering that store at once! There was some really terrific merchandise, and the prices were great! My camera was still on the bus, but luckily, the guides took a few photos.

If you’re wondering the kind of merchandise they have, it’s kind of like a miniature World of Disney. They have clothing (lots of nice clothing), books, CDs, backpacks, computer stuff like thumb drives, artwork, pins, watches, coffee mugs, a bunch of toys and even food items like cookies, candy and coffee. They also had something unique to a Disney gift shop – lots of wrapping paper and cards, so an Imagineer can truly wait until the last minute to buy his kid’s birthday gift – like at the end of the day just before heading home. And I’m not being sexist saying “his,” because I’m aware that Imagineers are also women. It’s just that women don’t wait until the last minute. Well, I guess that’s still sexist, isn’t it?







I’d gotten a $200 Visa gift card as a gift and had been saving it for Mickey’s of Glendale. I ended up buying 3 t-shirts (hey, I couldn’t make up my mind and they were only like $12 each), a jacket, a polo shirt, a Passport cover, a couple of luggage tags, some pins, a couple of lanyards, some sticky notes in a nice leatherette case for my desk, a few ID holders, and… I think that was it. I was concentrating on stuff that had the Imagineering logo on it. In the end, I spent a little more than what was on the gift card. Oh, yeah, I also got a reusable bag (which I have an unintentional collection of). My besties will get to see some of that merchandise first hand this weekend (), because I bought them all gifts. Yay!

You know how the worst thing about Black Friday is the lines? Well, yeah. There were only 2 registers, so it took us a long time to check out.




It seemed like I mentioned a lot of stuff, but it all fit in one bag, so I can say I didn’t buy much.

So I spent about $250, but it was quite a haul. I named a lot of stuff in that list, right? And I wasn’t close to the highest number. One couple spent almost $2,000! They told us later that thanks to our group, Mickey’s of Glendale had its highest single day sales numbers ever! Hooray for us! Um…

Our long shopping trip had put us even further behind, so once everyone had checked out, we boarded our bus and were on our way to our next stop – the Walt Disney Studios. Oh, I forgot to mention, this was the day that Joey joined us. Joey works at the ABD office (he actually writes the storybooks they give you on your Adventure among other duties) and was helping out because the size of our group. Here’s Joey with a CM (I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t remember her ).



Up Next: Walking among Legends

[mcc0313]

What an amazing morning, I already thought the tour was worth it but it just keeps getting better and better. Everything sounded so interesting, I can't believe that they destroy the models but I guess I can understand it in a way, if it got into the wrong hands....but it is really sad to think about as the few models that are in One Man's Dream they are just so cool to see, but I do guess they do so many that there really aren't enough safe places to keep them all. Love that you all got to enjoy some shopping....adn what great deals you all were able to get.

[DawnK]

Oh man are you one lucky gal!! I kept creeping closer to my computer like I was trying to get in there with you. Don't stop now!!! What a haul at the gift shop you got!!! I am sooo jealous.

[Tink and co.]

What a great morning! Love the shopping photos!

[disney_duke]

Oh my, how could you not buy everything in that store!!! How cool is THAT??!!! I agree, that stop at Imagineering is worth the entire trip. Completely awesome!!! If your story thus far wasn't enough for me to want to take this trip - it's definitely happening now! (ok, maybe not right now, but in a few years. )

[zacksmom_1993]

Shashi, I'm lovin' your trip report finishing motivation (especially because I can't wait for what's motivating you to get here. ) I'm so excited that you got to meet Lucky. Zack and I were lucky (and I totally didn't get that until I just typed the word) enough to meet him when he was at Animal Kingdom. Zack did get to go up to him and get a picture and interact with him just a bit. I still think it was the coolest thing I've ever seen in a Disney park so it's a bit of a shame that he's now behind closed doors at Imagineering. And can I just say that I've been cracking up all morning about Miss Nosy Pants getting her comeuppance at the In 'n' Out Burger Drive-Thru. that! Can't wait for more, and if I'm calculating correctly I won't have to wait long!

[doccoc2002]

Great update can't wait to read more!!!

[OhToodles!]

OMG! This ABD just gets better & better!!

[KMB733]

What an amazing start to the day! That's so cool that you got to meet Lucky. I remember my friend and I looking everywhere for him at AK, but never got to see him. Sounds like you made some great purchases at the store!

[HeatherD]

OMG - I want/NEED those bags!!! But, knowing my luck, I'd sign up for an ABD and they won't take us to the store that day because of some unforeseen calamity or something...

I'm gonna go all Veruca Salt on you, PSha - I want more and I want it NOOOOOOW!

[chezp]

Oh wow, this trip is just getting better and better - so many magical moments!

[BeckiO5]

I completely agree with the others, wonderful morning. The tour looks amazing. Lucky looks so cute. So glad you finally got to meet him. I too am sad that they destroy the models after they create the real thing. Understandible that they don't want it getting into the wrong hands and don't have enough room for it all. Congrats on all of your purchases. Sounds like you made out like a bandit in their shop. Looking foward to more please.

Side note, Sharon, I am so sorry to hear your trip wasn't when the Yankees were playing the Angels in Anaheim. That would have been so cool for you to see. I hope you are able to make it out tthere another time to see one though.