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

[HollyH]

Great update! Soarin' is my all time favorite attraction and your behind the scenes experience was so cool! Love Goofy and Minnie in their aviator costumes. But I have to agree with Dawn......that was quite an interesting mix of characters at Goofy's .

[JulietsStars]

Wow! Thanks for helping me blow my 1/2 day at work this was my most favorite TR. Your trip in California brought back tons of memories when I went there in 1996. I miss the smell of Eucalyptus!

Did you see any people making things out of the drift wood (in Santa Monica)? Or the bubble guy on the pier? I imagine them being there whenever I go back to visit. From the Griffith Observatory you can see Nicholas Cage's home that looks like a castle. I was working there with a friend who has a landscaping business (still in Burbank) and the turrets were still being built.

Also, the hotel you stayed at the with elephants outside, if I remember correctly either that hotel was being built while I was there or an awards show was taking place. I watched The Exorcistat Grauman's, went to the Hollywood Wax Museum and Museum of Death. Also, I completely forgot that I went to Universal City walk. Did you notice a tin toy shop there?

I would love to go on these tours you took - they look and sound fantastic. I'm so glad you had the opportunity to go!!!

[KMB733]

More great adventures Sharon!! I'll admit that I didn't recognize the name John Lasseter and then I saw the picture and knew who he was!! How exciting to be in the same room as him.

[MinnieJen]

John Lasseter!! Holy cows that is cool. I would have been very excited. I am kicking myself for not finding that yummy cheddar soup when we where in DCA during F&WF, it sounds wonderful. Great update....more please.

[chezp]

Wow - another absolutely amazing day!

[tammyd_rn]

Wow, you do some great advertising for ABD. I am sold! Where do I sign up? Sharon what a great trip! Look forward to more.

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by dsteiny23

Goofy, Dale, Mulan, Snow White and Baloo??? Is there a connection here I am missing? Or just a random breakfast buffet of characters? LOVE Goofy and Minnie in their aviator-wear. I don't think they realized you've already been onto her for a while now otherwise they may have seen the obviousness (is that a word??) of their 'matching' outfits.
Wow, there seem to be soo many more seats in AA in DL than in WDW. That is a new fave of ours in WDW and I love it there. That must have been very tempting with all of those FPs in your hot little hands. My feet would have been itchin' to get out of there too.

Yes, the character meals at DL are often just a mix of characters. I know Goofy's Kitchen is like that, and Minnie's breakfast, too. It's weird, but I am happy to see some of the rarer characters, so I don't complain. Michael didn't know I'm the FP Queen, so he didn't know what a risk he was taking giving me that huge stack.

Originally Posted by dsteiny23

I should alreay by on my way to pick Jason up at day care...but hey, I'm sure he'll be fine.

I would be geeking out as well over Lasseter How Cool!! and What's the MInc. ride?? Looks cute from the cars.

The Monsters Inc. ride is a very cute dark ride with scenes from the movie. And my apologies to Jason.

Originally Posted by disney_duke

John Lasseter!!!!! I would have been ecstatic!!!! What a day so far. Love the info about the screen on Soarin'. That is not at all what I thought it would be. Good girl, you didn't swipe the FP's!!! omg, John Lasseter!!

I was tempted to beat feet with the FPs. The little angel on my shoulder was fighting with the little devil on my other shoulder.

Originally Posted by mommapants

Great shot of them filling the lake for World of Color show. Amazing that all that "stuff" is there for the show and once the lake is filled, you won't even know it. I love that type of behind the scenes encounters. So sorry this TR will be ending, 'm really enjoying it.

I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get a preview of WOC, but it was really cool to see all the stuff that makes it go. It looks like an amazing show and that's the thing I am most looking forward to seeing on my next visit.

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

I never would’ve guessed that the orange smell on Soarin’ was Hi-C – learn something new every day!
So totally awesome you saw John Lasseter. Did the people that looked at you crazy your non-Disney friends? We LOVE Pixar at our house – Cars is currently being watched about every day, multiple times on the weekends. J

Actually, I only told a few non-Disney people. I figured they wouldn't get it. But the Disney people I did tell didn't seem as excited as I thought they should be. That's why I love PPers. Y'all showed the proper amount of excitement.

Originally Posted by disneydani

Another awesome day with a great update! This really sounds like such an amazing ABD experience; I am curious how long it will take you to book another ABD experience!

danielle

Umm, probably August, when the 2011 booking opens up.

Originally Posted by jagmom08

DCA sounds like so much as changed since they first opened.

A lot has changed since my last visit in 2008! And a lot is still changing!

Originally Posted by doccoc2002

Great update!! OK I know who John is but I didn't know he had a winery...I would so try that! Can't wait to hear more!

They were serving one of the wines at a restaurant while I was there. The label had Pixar characters on it! I think that was specially created for the Food & Wine Festival, though.

Originally Posted by BeckiO5

What a wonderful day Sharon. So sorry to hear this is the last day of your ABD Trip. Wonderful pictures and the ones of you with Goofy are my favorite! More please Sharon!

I was proud of myself. I didn't act all doofy when I saw Goofy.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

There are so many more seats at the Animation Academy than there are at WDW. Guess that was a lesson learned! That is way cool that you were in the same room as John Lasseter!

Yes, the theater is much bigger! And they hand out clipboards instead of having people sit at desks, so everyone in the audience can draw.

Originally Posted by JulietsStars

Wow! Thanks for helping me blow my 1/2 day at work this was my most favorite TR. Your trip in California brought back tons of memories when I went there in 1996. I miss the smell of Eucalyptus!

Did you see any people making things out of the drift wood (in Santa Monica)? Or the bubble guy on the pier? I imagine them being there whenever I go back to visit. From the Griffith Observatory you can see Nicholas Cage's home that looks like a castle. I was working there with a friend who has a landscaping business (still in Burbank) and the turrets were still being built.

Also, the hotel you stayed at the with elephants outside, if I remember correctly either that hotel was being built while I was there or an awards show was taking place. I watched The Exorcistat Grauman's, went to the Hollywood Wax Museum and Museum of Death. Also, I completely forgot that I went to Universal City walk. Did you notice a tin toy shop there?

I would love to go on these tours you took - they look and sound fantastic. I'm so glad you had the opportunity to go!!!

Welcome aboard! I did see the driftwood artists while I was in Santa Monica, but now I don't remember if it was when I was on the pier or down on the Third Street Promenade. I missed the bubble guy, though.

Wish I had known to look for Nicolas Cage's castle! That's cool! And I didn't notice a tin toy shop at City Walk. I must have missed that!

Originally Posted by MinnieJen

John Lasseter!! Holy cows that is cool. I would have been very excited. I am kicking myself for not finding that yummy cheddar soup when we where in DCA during F&WF, it sounds wonderful. Great update....more please.

Sorry you missed it. The soup was yummy, but so was the bowl!

Originally Posted by tammyd_rn

Wow, you do some great advertising for ABD. I am sold! Where do I sign up? Sharon what a great trip! Look forward to more.

I really should get some kind of discount or something! Or a free trip!

[PrincessSharon]

Day Eight, Part Two
But wait! There’s more!

I spent a little time relaxing and getting my stuff organized to get it ready to pack up. Then I freshened up and got ready for the farewell dinner. I met the group in the lobby at 5:55 and we all headed over to the convention center at the hotel, where our dinner was set up in one of the conference rooms. I didn’t think to take pictures but luckily, I was able to borrow some pics from Lynne and Heather.













The food was delish and so were the desserts.





During dinner, Pete made a little speech, we found out before everyone else who the special guests were going to be for the podcast cruise, and the group presented Walter with the birthday present we’d all chipped in for. Our guides said their farewells and told us they’d be coming around to us individually to inform us of our departure arrangements.

SPOILER WARNING! Skip to next post to avoid mini spoilers. We were introduced to one of our special guests, Disney animator Stacia Martin. Then we got the wonderful news that she’d be doing a sketch for each party of whatever Disney character we wanted that she was able to draw – from what I saw, she isn’t able/allowed to do live human characters with one exception, Mary Poppins, and she also can’t do 3-D animated characters.



Then we also learned of two more special guests!





Funny story. Mickey and Minnie were set up for photos outside of our conference room, and as we were lined up, a mother and her young daughter, about 4 years old, decided that they wanted to meet Mickey and Minnie. At first I was all “sorry, suckers!” And then it occurred to me that the little girl would probably be very disappointed and I felt all bad. I don’t think they let her meet them either. Oh well, she’ll have to try to find them in the parks, I guess.



There were also a bunch of movie posters from Disney films like one with Miley Cyrus (can’t remember which one), Oceans, and Prince of Persia. The folks at the Disney Studios had sent them over for us and we were welcome to take one if we wanted.

Then we watched a slideshow that the guides made with photos they’d taken throughout the week. It was amazing to see how much we’d gotten to do, how many fond memories we had, and also how we had become friends. That’s something that happened on my last ABD trip as well, but even more this time, since we all had the podcast in common. We received a copy of the slideshow in the mail after the trip. We were also presented with our final pin.



And because it was my second ABD trip, I was one of the folks to get a special returning guest pin.



Because of where I was seated, I was one of the last people to get my sketch, and of course I’d decided to get Goofy, but I came this close to switching to the Beast (which Walter got) or Princess Tiana (the family just before me got that) when I saw how great each of them came out.

I took a photo when Stacia began her sketch, but became so mesmerized watching her skill (it literally took about 5 minutes for my fantastic sketch) that I forgot to take more pictures. She quizzed me on my Goofy trivia (and I impressed her with my knowledge).



Here’s a picture of my final sketch, which I’ve since had framed.



This was a lovely surprise and a fantastic keepsake (and collectible, Stacia put a Disney copyright on the back of each sketch). It was truly amazing to watch her work, especially as she was chatting away the entire time. Again, this was one of my favorite surprises of the entire trip. Here are a couple of photos of my fellow Adventurers’ sketches.





Awesome, right? I’ll talk about the rest of the non-spoilery stuff in the next post.

Continued…

[PrincessSharon]

During dinner, Michael sat at my table and told us stories about some of his more interesting guests (he’s a VIP tour guide, and often hosts celebrities and such). It was a lot of fun hearing the scoop. I also got to chat more with him while we waited for my sketch, since I was one of the last ones (only Pete was left after me).

I got my travel arrangements – I was to be ready to leave for the airport at 7:30 the next morning. It was a little earlier than I was expecting, (my flight was at 11:30) but honestly, there wasn’t much I could do between 7:30 and 8:30, when I was expecting to leave, and this way, I could ride to LAX with Pete and Walter.

Before the night ended, I got pictures with Jaime and Michael.



And one with our other guide, Joey (Joey actually works at the ABD office and only joined us since our group was so large).



I really enjoyed talking to Joey about which Adventures I’ve done, which I’m planning to do, and which ones I wish they’d add. I also talked to Michael about which other tours he guides for, and he nearly sold me on one I had no prior interest in! I think I need an ABD intervention!

Because it had taken so long to do so many sketches, it was almost time for the fireworks (they’d reserved us a spot to watch them). I’d gone up to get a jacket earlier, and by the time my sketch was done – which, by the way, they put in the tube with our sketches from the Animation Academy – I only had 20 minutes to make it to DL for the fireworks. I figured I could make it, but Michael was skeptical.

It was pretty busy in Downtown Disney and on Main Street (it was Saturday night! ), but I made it there with 10 minutes to spare! K-dubs has trained me well. My friends had saved me a seat.



While we waited for the fireworks to begin, I chatted with my friends. I noticed some dancers and was completely charmed. I’d heard about the Swing Dancing at Disneyland, and thought it was a cool throwback tradition and was happy to be able to witness it, if only from afar.



We’d been saved a nice viewing location with seats (behind a rope, but not a velvet one ). Jaime was with us, and he made sure people didn’t stop right in front of us (he’s very good at it, too ). I really enjoyed the fireworks, but the best moment by far was when a persistent older woman, who’d been chased off before, decided that nobody was looking and ducked under the rope and took a seat in the front row! The nerve! We were all cracking up about it, and Jaime politely showed her out.

Remember, Dreams Come True is a fantastic fireworks show and I’m so glad I had the chance to see it. From where we were, we had a great view of Tinkerbell when she would fly around the castle.

After the fireworks, we were on our own for good. (But we would see the guides the next morning at breakfast.) Everyone still had FPs left, so we kind of decided as a group what we should do. I had a couple of things on my must-do list: Captain EO (at the time, it wasn’t scheduled to return to Epcot) and the newly improved it’s a small world.

Most of the group wanted to ride the Matterhorn, and I thought that sounded like fun, so I headed out with them. Unfortunately, the queue was outrageous! It looked to be about 45 minutes long! And no FP. I knew if I waited, I’d only have time to do one other thing before the park closed, so I decided to skip the Matterhorn this trip. It turned out to be a good decision, because the ride went down shortly after the rest of the group got in line, and most of them ended up skipping it too.

On my own, I headed into Tomorrowland. I used to love Captain EO, and I was happy to get a chance to see it again.





It was a sweet trip down memory lane, but I don’t remember the theater shaking quite so much (it seemed to be shaking the entire time – too much, if you ask me ). Having done it again, I can see the old technology and such, and I won’t go out of my way to do it at Epcot this summer, but I am glad I got to see it.

Next I headed over to Fantasyland. They’ve updated it’s a small world to include Disney characters in the Mary Blair style. There was outrage all over the internets when it was first announced over updating a classic attraction, but having seen the end result, most people are pleased with it.







I thought it was well done myself, though some characters (the Nemo ones specifically) seem to stick out like a sore thumb. Most of them are pretty seamless, and as a test, I’m not going to point out any Disney characters. You can find them yourselves in my photos. Not all of the photos have Disney characters, though.





























I still had plenty of time to do more, so I wandered around a little, checking out wait times. The Matterhorn was finally back up, but it looked like the line was still long, so I decided not to wait. Instead, I went for Alice in Wonderland, one of my favorite dark rides not available at WDW (and I’m probably the only person that loves it so much).



I had 2 more FPs to use, so I headed over into Adventureland, figuring I’d end the night with Indy (maybe twice if there was time). Unfortunately, it was down, so I didn’t get to ride it again. So I decided to call it a night. I slowly made my way out of the park, drinking in the sights and sounds until my next trip (whenever that may be).





And as I looked at the lamp in the window above the firehouse, I said a special thanks to Walt Disney for creating the Happiest Place on Earth and so much more. I felt a special bond now, after such a magical trip. It was a fitting end to my Adventure.


“Thanks, Uncle Walt.”

I strolled through Downtown Disney, reflecting on the trip and reliving the magical moments. I can’t recommend this trip highly enough. It’s expensive, but many of the experiences cannot be purchased, so it’s worth every cent.



Back at the room, I had to have my bags ready before I headed to breakfast, so I packed up everything I wouldn’t need in the morning, set a wakeup call, and hopped in bed.

Up Next: Farewell…

[mcc0313]

What an amazing last evening, love the sketch of Goofy, what a great memory and keepsake. Glad that you got to share in the fireworks with some wonderful friends and travel mates. I love how your last moments were outside Walt's apartment, staring at his light. This has been such an amazing trip...so many great experiences. So I am curious what tour that you really were not interested in did Michael almost sell you on?

[Caldercup]

*sniff, sniff*

That picture of Goofy the animator drew for you made me get all weepy on your behalf. It's so perfectly YOU!

*sniff*

What a great experience, Shashi. And your storytelling and pictures are simply divine!
Eileen

[jagmom08]

Wow! I hope someday I can do one of the ABD tours.

[disney_duke]

The drawing of Goofy is adorable and perfect for you!! How special! Those desserts looked scrumptious. What a nice way to end the tour. Seemingly perfect!

[chezp]

What a wonderful last evening - and yet again, when you think this can't get any better, it does. I am seriously thinking about an Adventure by Disney - goodness knows when, but maybe one day...

[Colexis Mom]

What a great night Sharon! Love the pics! Sorry it's all coming to an end!