June 5, 2008
Day 3 -Making the Magic
Word of the day - WED Enterprises
Part One

Our day began with our luggage pick up at 7am for transfer to the Disneyland
Grand Californian Hotel. Breakfast was at the Hotel's Twist restaurant and was a buffet served from 7 - 8:15 am.

At 8:15 we all met in the lobby and boarded our coach for the part of the trip that many had been anticipating...our visit to Walt Disney Imagineering.
We given ID Badges that we had to wear at Imaginerring and the Disney Studios.
This place is so off limits to the rest of the world, that as we approached the turn off, Robyn had to make a call on her cell to announce our arrival and our guide Dave for the tour at Imaginerring met us at the entrance to the building.
If you were driving down the street where imagineering is, you'd drive right past it. It looks like any ordinary set of buildings except the address markers
resemble cast member name badges.
As with other stops on our adventure cameras were off limits and left on the bus. However our guides, were allowed to take pictures in areas we were not.
Dave, who is a writer on the Imagineering team walked us through a long corridor of offices to a room where a video presentation was to be given. The offices we walked by didn't look like any office I have every worked in or seen.
There was pixie dust all over, things hanging off the ceilings , toys and miniatures of everything Disney imaginable. I thought what a cool place this would be to work at, oh yeah the dress code..not ties...jeans and any kinda shirt they pulled out of the closet that morning. Well back to the tour & video.
It educated us on what imagineers do, they do every . Think of almost an discipline that could be involved in a new attraction and over the course of time they all will be involved in some respect. Dave spoke about being an Imagineer
and all things WED Enterprises is involved in.
At the end of the video a small side curtain in the room was pulled back and
there stood before our big ,very big eyes Lucky the Dinosaur. The newest in audioanimatronics. He had just return from a visit in NYC ,so we were so fortunate to have an private audience with Lucky. He moves , he walks, interacts with guests, makes moaning sounds and even signs his name with a pen drawing a 4 leaf clover.
We were all allowed a few minutes with Lucky and had photo's taken with him.
After Lucky, and what really could follow him, we went to the sound room
which featured a new sound technology . We sat in this room and had head sets placed on and then the lights were turned off, and it was black in the room.
We listened to some great sounds like paper crumbling over our head, doors opening and closing, a buzz haircut in process. The sound is recorded in such way that you think you are listening in 3 D. The haircut you felt it was so close that it was your hair being cut.
Great experience in new sound technology.
Next we moved on to room where the premolds or maquettes are kept. The room was lined with tall glass enclosed cases with hundreds of maquettes. Everyone was able to find the premold for their favorite character.
In the center of the room secure to pillars were the original Snow White and the 7 dwarfs that once sat in snow whites grotto at disneyland. These were carved from marble. Years of exposure to the elements began to show erosion , so
duplicates were made from a different material that could weather the test of time better then the original marble pieces. The duplicates now sit in snow white's grotto. We also got a lesson in forced perspective, since Snow White was casted the same size as the dwarfs this technique was applied when she was placed in the grotto. She appears larger then the dwarfs, but she is not.
The next stop was a performance by an audioanimatronic who had been named Joe Cocker, by his imagineer. He was just wires and plastic but sang a complete version of "Feelin Alright". When leaving Joe we walked down the hallways with contained sketches on the wall and Dave said...this is a great place to work..you can write all over the walls.
Dave led us into a courtyard and on other the side was "Mickey's of Glendale" the employee only imagineer shop....We had been given a 40% off coupon for one item.....we have 30 minutes to shop ....................
to be continued

June 4,2008



Day 2 - Lights, Camera, Adventure!



Word of the day: Hollywood







The day began at 7:50 am as the group met Robyn on the mezzanine of the Hotel and she guided us with the use of the famous paddle to our first stop of the day. As short walk to the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Tour were we



had a private breakfast before the store opened. I did find it truly amazing the things that Disney was able to open specifically for this group.
Breakfast was a choice menu of "mickey waffles, scrambled eggs, or oatmeal
along with fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, juices, yogurt, bagels and beverages.


It was very neat to have the store and soda fountain all to ourselves.
There is some great flip clip artwork and stain glass ceiling panels in the store.
The store also sells limited edition "Disney Soda Fountain Pins" as well as other
Disney merchandise.


As we were leaving the store through theside door all the servers and staff lined up and wished us a magical day as we entered the El Capitan Theater.



Our guide for this part of our tour of the El Capitan was Ed, who was part of the team the undertook the restoration of this beautiful theater.
The lobby of the theater was decorated with props used in Narnia - Prince Caspian and you felt like you were on a movie set , not a movie theater.


We began our tour on the balcony , as Ed put it, so you can see the grandeur of this amazing theater. The artwork in the ceiling, walls and entrance hall in this massive theater was breathtaking.


As we walked down the stairs, a Wurlitzer Organ was playing " Hooray for Hollywood" This Organ was restored and one of only a few left for that gone by era. The organist showed how the different sounds are made and how this one organ can sound like an entire symphony. ( picture above)
The curtains were pulled and we entered the backstage area, saw the inner workings of the theater and then went on to an area used for private functions that housed many other props and costumes from Narnia- Prince Caspian.



It was time for us to move on to our next stop of the day, Jimmy Kimmel Live at the Hollywood Masonic Temple.


Two members of the crew along with Uncle Frank greeted us at the door and we began our tour which included a short clip of Jimmy Kimmel highlights, the sound room, the make rooms, the production center, and the green room, which is not green and no one knew where the term came from.
The green room had a complete bar, pool table, video games, plush couches and guitar signed by many of Jimmy's guests.
The next stop was the studio where the show is taped. This is where we had
many photos taken with Uncle Frank while we sat at Jimmy's Desk.
Uncle Frank is really Jimmy's uncle and he just loves to talk.
Uncle Frank pointed out his dressing room, which he said was a janitor's closet.
Our final stop on this tour was an area outside and behind the building where the live bands perform. This area is directly next to Hollywood High , which could be seen from the parking lot.



Now it was time to board our coach, for a short trip to the Jim Henson Studios.
This was also no ordinary bus. Our coach was complete with plush seats, overhead compartments, a bathroom and audio and video.
Our driver John, very familiar to Hollywood, pointed out famous sites and landmarks as he drove us to our next stop.



We knew we had reached our destination when the coach pulled up in front of a gated building with very large Kermit the Frog on top.
This group of buildings was once home to Charlie Chaplin Studio and on one of the doors is a painting of Charlie. This was one of the many areas throughout our six days that no camera's were permitted in certain areas.
As we entered the courtyard there was a sign" Welcome Adventures by Disney".
We broke up into two groups - Mickey with Quinn and Robyn with Minnie as we toured the different areas of Jim Henson's Studio.
We began our tour with a short film on the Henson history, next on to the creature shop where we learned about and some got to make the puppets work , had a demonstration from one of the master puppeteers on the new technology
being used in "Sid the Science Kid". Next stop was the sound studio, where we got to watch , what I would call the rehearsals for the taping of a new episode.
I never knew how much went into making an animated film or TV show. The final stop before lunch was the office the is now Brian Henson's , formerly used by his father, Jim. We were allowed to take photos of this area , since no one was there.


Lunch ( which we had preselected on our arrival day) was in the courtyard at Jim Henson's. Towards the end of lunch a puppet who the group named ,came out and spent time entertaining us and taking individual photos.
The final part of our tour was a short movie that had been designed for the Adventure by Disney groups and had Brian Henson as one of the voices.



Now it was time for the famous group shot in front of the Jim Henson sign with someone holding the Adventure By Disney Paddle.
Group shots became a regular event throughout our adventure. I still can hear
Quinn's voice saying" if you can't see me , then I can't see you and your not in the picture. "



As we left Jim Henson's Studio and boarded our coach a cooler filled with bottled water was waiting for us.
According to the printed itinerary this should have been our last stop of the day,
but there was another surprise in store for us. We were going to Griffith Park
the home of the Carolwood Pacific Railroad Historical Society and Walt's
Barn, which houses many of Walt's train memorabilia and many of his original pieces.



Walt's barn and the memorabilia were incredible. To think that many of the items were used by Walt , was, as one person put it "simply spiritual ".

The group got to ride the train 3 times and the adults were having as much fun, if not more then the 4 kids on the tour."

Robyn and Quinn had a picnic area set up with coolers of bottled water and snacks.

Roger Broggie , son of Michael Broggie, founder the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society along with his wife Sharon were on hand to tell the stories of Walt and his railroad, as well as sell limited edition merchandise and yes they do take credit cards. This was one of many shopping expenditures.
The trip to Griffith Park and the Barn was for many an experience of a lifetime.

This is not part of the printed itinerary because the opening of the Barn and the
train ride is completely dependent on the volunteers.
We boarded our coach for our trip back to Hollywood.

Jimmy Kimmel Live offered the group tickets to the live show that evening for those interested. Many of us chose the other option of going back to the El Capitan for a showing of Narnia- Prince Caspian.

Following the movie, a few of us went to dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen,
strolled around the walk of fame and called it a night after wonderful time in Hollywood.

BACKSTAGE MAGIC BY ADVENTURES BY DISNEY

Caution: This blog contains spoilers, if you do not wish to know some of the surprises or magic involved with this trip please do not read any further.

June 3, 2008
Day One - "IT ALL STARTED WITH A MOUSE"
The word for the day is Mickey Mouse

The day began with a 4am wake up call from our phila. hotel to get us up and moving in time for our 6:55am flight to LA. Since the excitement had been building for weeks , I don't think either of us slept very much..so excited , too much anticipation of what the next week would hold.United Airlines was on time and the flight was relatively smooth. A little over 5 hours and I am now in California. Lax is a large and confusing airport, I would opt for the other airport for this trip if possible. We made our way to baggage claim and there was the man holding the sign I was waiting to see "ADVENTURES BY DISNEY" with our names underneath, how exciting. He introduced himself as John and said he would be our driver to Hollywood and would handle our luggage. Off we went outside the terminal to our Town Car that was waiting, when a woman came running up behind us and said " Hi, I'm Robyn, one of your adventure guides and we are so excited to have you on this adventure. John will take care of your luggage and take you to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, where Quinn your other adventure guide is waiting. After a short ride in our town car we arrived at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and there waiting inside was Quinn, with a bigger then life smile on his face and few welcoming words.
He gave us our story book ( which is the detailed itinerary for the week)
handed us our room keys,( no checking in at the front desk , it was all taken care of by Quinn) instructed the bellman to take our luggage upstairs and reminded us that all gratuities for bellman, driver, housekeepers are all ready included. We asked for directions to the Kodak theater and the Disney soda fountain & studio shoppe ...he gave us our directions which was to walk to the corner, turn left and we'd be there
Reminded us to met the group at 4:00 pm on the mezzanine of the Hotel for our welcome reception.
We were escorted upstairs to a lovely and well appointed room.
One the desk we a few gifts from adventures by Disney. Mouse ears luggage tags,
cooldanas, H2O lip balm, H2O mist, portable fan, Adventure by Disney pens, folding duffel bag, which comes in handy later in the week and a Disney Rubik cube.

We unpacked the one bag for Hollywood quickly and headed out to see Hollywood. We had a quick lunch at the Disney Soda Fountain and Studio shoppe, the food was very good , browsed the merchandise and then headed to the Kodak theater (home of the Oscars) for a 45 min. tour. We found the tour to be interesting and the areas we were shown included the backstage areas, dressing rooms, wall of fame, and the private VIP lounge . At the end of the tour the give you a commemorative postcard that can not be purchased.

Tip: If you are interested in this tour...go to the Kodak theater web site and print a coupon for discount on the admission.

After our tour of the Kodak theater we walked down to Grumman's theater, took photos of many of the old time stars hand and foot prints and then strolled back towards our hotel looking for famous stars on the Hollywood walk of fame.
We found Donald Duck, Snow White, Roy O. Disney and many many more.

It was nearing 4pm , so we hurried back to our room to change for the welcome reception and dinner.
A t 4pm we met at Twist Restaurant in the hotel for cocktails, soda and snacks and what I would call a met and greet session.
The entire group, all 19 of us and our 2 guides Quinn and Robyn who we fast grew to love mingled snacked and drank.
We were given a questionnaire that we had to go around the room and ask the other adventures questions, many Disney related. We had about 10 minutes for this and then Quinn ( our MC) reviewed the answer with the group.
I must say it is a nice way to meet and introduce yourself to others.
Following a few more minutes we headed thru the hotel to the Hollywood & Highland center for our first dinner as a group at Trastevere Restaurant.

Dinner began with antipasto and salad served family style and of course wine.
Entree orders were taken and there was choice of chicken, veal, salmon or pasta.
While we waited for dinner we played the craziest game of Disney Trivia.
The MC had many of us laughing so hard , tears we're falling down our faces.
While everyone was eating Robyn and Quinn moved around to all the tables and chatted with everyone. Dessert which was Tiramisu or cheesecake was served and shortly thereafter most people left for a good night's sleep
But not before Quinn's nightly reminder of where and when we were to meet in the morning. This became a ritual , as well as the theme for the day, and the word of the day, which you will see as the days go on.

Tip: If feasible come in a day or two earlier if traveling from the east coast,
it will help with the time change exhaustion and there is plenty to do in the area
before the tour actually starts.

Summary: It was a great start to a wonderful vacation. We felt like once we were in Disney's hands, well more specifically the hands of Robyn and Quinn we
were well cared for and the only thing we had to do was have one of the best vacations of a lifetime.