**CELEBRATION 25 Complete and Total Coverage Thread!**

Disney_Freak429

New Member
Jenn I know how you feel about getting back from the event. It's tough but it does pass a bit more everyday. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. :)
 

ZapperZ

Well-Known Member
THANK YOU for this !! This is EXACTLY what i was looking for! YAY!!

Thanks for making my day a bit happier...

:eek:

You are more than welcome.

BTW, if anyone wants the higher resolution version of this, please PM me with your e=mail address and I'll get it to you by tonight when I get home from work.

Zz.
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm feel so badly that you are having a post-hurrah letdown. It'll pass a little every day. I felt that way too when I first got home, but I didn't get to do nearly as much as you did, so I guess it was shorter for me.

Maybe when you have time you could start planning next years trip down here, and next years event. That might could help :D

BTW, I'm dying over here waiting for the report from Oct. 2nd to find out what happened!


Hey there SweetMagic, thanks so very much or your concern and well wishes. Yeah, it has been a tough couple of days lately for me. Part of it is the natural "post-Event" crash, but another part of it was learning about some of the "behind the scenes" kudos i missed out on. When the "rewards" were given out, i was, well....left out somewhat. It hurts a little bit, but life goes on and i have to step back and look at the whole picture. The overall experince was incredible and fantastic...but there is a bittersweet element to it as well, and that has me a little blue.

Life goes on though...and as suggested, i am already planning my next trip: My anxious return to DISNEYLAND! I am hoping to head out to CA again in the Spring. I need to hunt down Tony Baxter and let him know how much he was missed at the 25th Bash... Ha ha! I probably won't be back to WDW until next Autumn....but ya never know.

Wow...so there is interest in hearing the rest of my adventures after Oct 1st? Cool.....i will get right to it now that i know i have a eager reading audience!

Thanks guys, your kind thoughts mean the 'World to me.

:eek:
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jenn's "Next Day" adventure - October 2nd!

Here is the continuation of my tale that i started a few pages ago....starting with Sunday, moving onto to Monday...and now my post-Event adventure on Tuesday. October 2nd.

So if leaving EPCOT after midnight on the 1st was not enough......the next morning guess where i was?? Yep...EPCOT again! Talk about being obsessed....heh heh......

No, seriously....i ended up in EPCOT by mistake really, as that day Post-Event i had slated to visit the Magic Kingdom. That changed a little when i saw how huge the lines were at the bus stops outside of my Resort (ASMusic).

The line for the MK Bus was crazy that early ( probably all Breakfast reservation Guests..) but there was no one waiting or the bus to EPCOT. Being the educated Disney Park nut that i am, i knew i could just go to EPCOT and hop the Monorail to MK with no problem. It sure beat standing around in a long line for the bus in the humidity. So.....after leaving EPCOT 8 hours ago, i am back!

Since i am there, i decided to visit the 25th Gallery again to spend even more time examining all the displays. The place is deserted...a stark contrast to yesterday when they had huge lines just waiting to get into the room. It was nice...and it gave me some time to enjoy everything again. A few CM's came in ( off duty) to check out some of the goodies..and they seemed just as engrossed in things as i was.

After the Gallery, I checked out the new post-show area in SSE. I liked it quite a bit. The theming was very sharp...and the futuristic appearence inside was very cool.

After taking the displays in, i headed out to the Monorail station for my trip to the Magic Kingdom. As i walked up the ramp i could not take my eyes off SSE. It looked so BEAUTIFUL without that terrible eyesore bolted to it. Every time i was in the Park, and SSE came into my view i could not take my eyes off it. It was hypnotic. As i stood there waiting for the Monorail i just admired the glorious view....though trying hard to imagine the Classic EPCOT music playing instead of the Ratatouille music....

As luck would have it, Monorial SILVER glides up into the station. Squee! I had noticed how Silver was in use on the EPCOT beam since my arrival mis-week and i thought it was a nice nod to the Silver Anniversary. There are only about a dozen or so Guests waiting to load, so i had my choice of cars with no people whatsoever. I chose one near the back end.

We sit there for a few mintutes to give anyone heading up the ramp to the platform a chance to board.....when a couple of gents jog into my car. They sit next to me and chat amoung themselves while i stare out the window. We head off for the MK....and i start thinking about what i would like to do first once past the turnstile.

As we are going along.....i suddenly find myself listening to these two gentlemens' conversation. They are talking about yesterdays big event at EPCOT, and what a huge success it was. They go on to talk about how Disney needs to think up another anniversary quick to cash in, as merchandise sales alone for the other day were huge. So there i am thinking...Whoa...these guys must be from Disney Marketing or something! Well, it sure sounded that way. They went on to talk about how the next Anniversary ( Animal Kingdoms' 10th) could be a possibility, but the other noted that AK probably does not have the emotional connection with people like EPCOT does. Now i am starting to think "holy crud...what i have i started now??" Ha ha!

Well eventually Monorail Silver pulls into the station at the TTC, and it is time to disenbark. As i get up to leave, the two gents notice the t-shirt i am wearing. It is my hand-painted custom Figment shirt that i had made for the trip...with the EPCOT logos and all. They spot it in an instant and strike up a conversation. One asks if i was at yesterdays' event. :lol: I respond along the lines of "yeah, you could say that..." and soon word comes out about Celebration 25 and my involvment. Their eyes pop out of their heads and it's a rollercoaster of fun after that point. They know all about it, and want to suddenly learn all about me!

It turns out this was Jim Hill and a friend of his. They were coming to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with Ron Scheinder, who performed as original Dreamfinder at EPCOT back in the day. He is Dreamfinder in the famous "Today Show" video ( on YouTube) and had also provided some of the voicework for the original attraction. I could not beleive my luck. They asked if i had any plans, and if i would like to meet Ron. Would I??!!!

So for a good part of the day, i spent my time at the Magic Kingdom with Ron, Jim, his friend ( sorry i cannot remember!) and a CM friend who is a HUGE Haunted Mansion fan. It was a very neat day in the Park. Ron had a lot of great stories to share, and there was lively discussion about a great many topics. We spent a chunk of time at the Laugh Floor with Ron, and saw several different versions of the "live performance" segments. We then headed over to the Haunted Mansion to meet a CM who was happy to show us around the new updated attraction and share stories about how work went with the recent refurb. No "magic" was ruined i should point out...as i don't want people to think we were given backstage tours or were told anything "secret". It was all done in proper form...and utterly interesting none the less. That hour+ or so we spent at the HM was informative and fun.

After all of this, we headed over to The Plaza resturant and had a nice lunch. Jim kindly treated us all, and i enjoyed listening to them all swap stories. When Lunch was done we all parted company as Jim and his friend had to head back home. I stayed to catch the Parade, which was interesting as the rain moved in again and things were not looking good. The Parade went of though, and was fab as usual. The rest of the day i spent taking in some attractions like CoP, The Country Bears, SGE, Small World, and a few others. I had forgotten about the refurb on "Tony's Mountain" ( aka "Big Thunder Mountain") so was kicking myself for not riding it more when i was there on Friday for MNSSHP. Du'Oh!!! I consoled myself by riding the WDW Railroad a few trips to check out the work they were doing in the "Tumbleweed" town. All the water had been drained out, and someone was there working on the track.

As things started getting dark, i took in some other attractions, had a meal at Cosmic Rays so i could see my pal Sonny Eclipse in action ( a tradition). Later on i took in "Wishes" admist some very grumpy Guests and some out-of-control children ( long story...lol!). The Show was great though....and i bolted once it was over.

I returned to my hotel and hit the hay...not forgetting to read yet more of the "Disney Mountains" book.

Wednesday i headed off to EPCOT again to revisit some favourite attractions for the day. I headed over to the Universe of Energy, and after helping a CM convince a Guest with his family to give UoE a try i bumped into none other then MARTIN and the misses! Woo Hoo! Martin was there to film the attraction in it's entirety, so i advised him on where the best spot would be to catch the best views of the Dinosaur Diorama segment. We had a grand time riding...and afterwards parted ways and headed off to do different attractions.

I spent the day and night there.....and finished up with Illuminations...another usual tradition when i am down there. EPCOT is always the "finale" so it was no different this trip.

When i returned to my hotel room, i was elated to discover a little towel animal sitting in my bed! It was made to resemble a little bird, and tucked in it's tail was a small business card that had this passage:

" A little bird told us that you are leaving! We hope all your DREAMS came true, and that you had a magical stay! We look forward to seeing you again soon." The Housekeeping Cast Members

Needless to say this evoked a big "Awwww...." from me...and i got all emotional. It was the perfect foil to the conclusion of one of the most amazing trips to WDW ever. It has been ages since i found a coveted towel animal...and this trip i was graced with two!

That night i had to pack up...peel all the EPCOT paraphenalia from my hotel window...and get ready to leave. My feet and legs were very sore...i had some bad blisters and sore muscles..and left feeling pretty wiped out physically. It had been a blast though.....and it was the perfect send off though it is always sad when you have to go "back to reality". Thankfully my "reality" is not too bad.....i can only imagine how horrible it must to for those that have to go back to "real life"....for real!

So there's my tale.

Something i forgot to mention that happened the night before the 25th Event: John Corigliano, our own Celebration 25 History Walk star, had a bonifide "Magical Moment" at the Canadian Pavillion!

I was hanging out with John, Jackie ( bkgnews) and others in Canada. We were spending some time enjoying to view of the "canadian rockies" and the lighting was perfect that night for some handsome photo taking. We all decided to go into "O Canada" and check out the new updated Circlevision film. John struck up a conversation with the CM on duty and one thing led to another. Before you could say "bugaboo creek"...John was doing the speil before AND after the film! Woo Hoo!

After the film, John's closing speil even included a nice little plug for Celebration 25...and he wished all the Guests in attendence to have a great night ..." here at EPCOT CENTER"! Man it was awesome.....and he was awarded a official "Magical Moment" cetificate from the CM. YAY!

All of this was captured on film ...so watch for it on the forthcoming dvd release !

Alrighty....i think i have covered those 3 days to the fullest i can recall at this point. If i happen to remember anything more i will post it!

:wave:
 

SweetMagic

Oh Meyla Weyla
Life goes on though...and as suggested, i am already planning my next trip: My anxious return to DISNEYLAND! I am hoping to head out to CA again in the Spring. I need to hunt down Tony Baxter and let him know how much he was missed at the 25th Bash... Ha ha! I probably won't be back to WDW until next Autumn....but ya never know.

It's so funny you should say that today because when I woke up this morning, for some reason the first thing that popped into my head was... it's time to plan a trip to Disneyland!

I only wish it didn't cost so darn much just to get there!

It turns out this was Jim Hill and a friend of his. They were coming to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with Ron Scheinder, who performed as original Dreamfinder at EPCOT back in the day. He is Dreamfinder in the famous "Today Show" video ( on YouTube) and had also provided some of the voicework for the original attraction. I could not beleive my luck. They asked if i had any plans, and if i would like to meet Ron. Would I??!!!

So for a good part of the day, i spent my time at the Magic Kingdom with Ron, Jim, his friend ( sorry i cannot remember!) and a CM friend who is a HUGE Haunted Mansion fan. It was a very neat day in the Park. Ron had a lot of great stories to share, and there was lively discussion about a great many topics. We spent a chunk of time at the Laugh Floor with Ron, and saw several different versions of the "live performance" segments. We then headed over to the Haunted Mansion to meet a CM who was happy to show us around the new updated attraction and share stories about how work went with the recent refurb. No "magic" was ruined i should point out...as i don't want people to think we were given backstage tours or were told anything "secret". It was all done in proper form...and utterly interesting none the less. That hour+ or so we spent at the HM was informative and fun.

After all of this, we headed over to The Plaza resturant and had a nice lunch. Jim kindly treated us all, and i enjoyed listening to them all swap stories. When Lunch was done we all parted company as Jim and his friend had to head back home.

What a neat thing to have happen. Man you have all kinds of memories of this trip! Congrats on that!

When i returned to my hotel room, i was elated to discover a little towel animal sitting in my bed! It was made to resemble a little bird, and tucked in it's tail was a small business card that had this passage:

" A little bird told us that you are leaving! We hope all your DREAMS came true, and that you had a magical stay! We look forward to seeing you again soon." The Housekeeping Cast Members

Needless to say this evoked a big "Awwww...." from me...and i got all emotional. It was the perfect foil to the conclusion of one of the most amazing trips to WDW ever. It has been ages since i found a coveted towel animal...and this trip i was graced with two!

A happy ending to a great story. Thanks for taking the time to share all of that :)
 

Disney_Freak429

New Member
Jenn all I can say is that is one magical tale. Not so much Jim Hill but getting to meet Ron must have been a total blast. John doing "O Canada" stuff is too perfect.

Don't be too down about the trip being over & not being able to do certin things. I started to think this way than realized even though I didn't get to __ or meet ___ at least I AM HERE & am enjoying this for everyone who couldn't make it.
 

ChrisFL

Premium Member
The overall experince was incredible and fantastic...but there is a bittersweet element to it as well, and that has me a little blue.

While I felt the same way, I am glad that i could put faces to so many names on here and continue the online portion of the celebration in a medium that EPCOT Center first hinted at 25 years ago...the internet.

I am very glad to share such an important piece of history with you and so many other wonderful people.

I also think it's poetic that you're Figment's Friend and you spent the day with Dreamfinder after all, how crazy is that?
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yeah....it was neat!

When we parted, Ron said "thanks for keeping the little guy alive"...

I think he wanted my t-shirt, as he wanted to know if i had the design in a extra large....:lol:.
 

Disney_Freak429

New Member
Yeah....it was neat!

When we parted, Ron said "thanks for keeping the little guy alive"...

I think he wanted my t-shirt, as he wanted to know if i had the design in a extra large....:lol:.

Thats great. Not that I would "suck up" per say to Ron I would be like "I'll make one for you where can I send it?" This way you have an excuse to stay in contact with Dreamfinder.:lol::lookaroun:animwink: But just meeting him I'm sure did the trick.:cool:
 

Figment82

Well-Known Member
Jenn, what a fantastic story! I, too, went back to Epcot the next day with my mom before I had to drive her to the airport. I don't know if you felt the same way I did, but the park seemed so empty and distant as compared to the day before. Though I can't say my day went as wonderfully as yours - what a coincidence!

Funny you should mention planning a trip to DL, as I am heading there in the coming weeks. I can't wait! :)
 

sillyspook13

Well-Known Member
Hey there SweetMagic, thanks so very much or your concern and well wishes. Yeah, it has been a tough couple of days lately for me. Part of it is the natural "post-Event" crash, but another part of it was learning about some of the "behind the scenes" kudos i missed out on. When the "rewards" were given out, i was, well....left out somewhat. It hurts a little bit, but life goes on and i have to step back and look at the whole picture. The overall experince was incredible and fantastic...but there is a bittersweet element to it as well, and that has me a little blue.

I know how you feel. I missed out on the Imagination group ride and only spent about 5 minutes total in the gallery. There were other little things that people here have mentioned that I missed out on, and there were people present who I wanted to meet but never got the chance. However, those disappointments pale in comparison to the experience of Celebration 25. the memories of the event will last a lifetime. The rededication ceremony and IllumiNations tag moved me to tears. I had an amazing time at my favorite place with hundreds of people who love EPCOT as much as I do. I made several friends and even found somebody who makes my world go round!:kiss:

I was sad once the event ended, and I can't wait for our next celebration!:animwink:
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jenn, what a fantastic story! I, too, went back to Epcot the next day with my mom before I had to drive her to the airport. I don't know if you felt the same way I did, but the park seemed so empty and distant as compared to the day before. Though I can't say my day went as wonderfully as yours - what a coincidence!

Funny you should mention planning a trip to DL, as I am heading there in the coming weeks. I can't wait! :)

Yes..you are so right! EPCOT did feel pretty "empty" to me when i returned the next morning ( though for me, there were other reasons why this may have been so..). It was farily sparse, but it was SO QUIET too...it was in total contrast to the previous couple of days.

I am glad we were able to create a buzz. I know the CM's and the uppers felt it. Alex White, the Imagineer who wrote the well known "Imagineering guide to EPCOT" ( and MK..and AK ) attended our Dessert Party. He told me how many of them noticed the positive vibe from our group. It was remarkable really, and I found that pretty nice to hear coming from him.

Hey have fun in DisneyLand. I hope to make it back for my 2nd trip this coming Spring. I need a vacation after the past few days.....

:rolleyes:
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thats great. Not that I would "suck up" per say to Ron I would be like "I'll make one for you where can I send it?" This way you have an excuse to stay in contact with Dreamfinder.:lol::lookaroun:animwink: But just meeting him I'm sure did the trick.:cool:

Well you know what they say, hindsight is always 20/20. I probably should have offered to make him one...but he may not have realized this was a hand painted and draw effort..and not a "quickie" design that i could point, click, print and then iron on! :lol: He liked it though probably because it was "his" Figment...old school elongated version from way back in the day, not the chubby cutesy version featured on today's merchandise.

It was neat having the chance to hang out with him. I probably should have asked more questions ( actually, i don't think i asked him any!) and had partaken in more of the conversations, but i was content just listening to him tell us things.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
What a fortnight.....

Michelle and I are home. Jetlagged to infinity and beyond. I`ve just spent an hour on this one thread alone, it`ll take a week to catch up with you all. Not even begun to unpack yet. Nor check out the 7gig of still photos or 29 hours of video I shot.

I`ll be brief since I`m missing 5 hours of the past day somewhere over the Atlantic, but I wanted to say what an experience that was. To everyone we finally met, the pleasure was all mine. I have so many memories that will last a life time. I`ve so much to say, to ask, to share, but I need to be half awake to do so. Catch you later,

-Martin
 

dajatje

New Member
I am going through all the HD footage I made of Celebration 25 slowely.

I might have missed it somewhere, but I wonder to whom and how I can send my footage of celebration 25. I can downsize to widescreen DV, but it will be PAL.

Dajatje.
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hey there Martin!

Glad to hear you made it back home! I know exactly what you mean about the entire experience: It really does take a week or so to completely digest what you just experienced!

It was a pleasure to meet you in person, and spend some extra time with you and the misses that Tuesday on UoE! I hope the footage you captured came out nice from the front row!

Looking forward to your reviews and stories from your trip!

:wave:
 

Disney_Freak429

New Member
Huge News!!!

Ok everyone remain calm some of us can actually be seen in something by Disney. *cough* Jenn *cough* :animwink: (and a few others) Download Disney Link & the welcome video is about EPCOT's 25th. I won't ruin whats in it but it does include a small clip showing the crowd for the 4:30 Marty session which is where Jenn & a few others pop up. So if you have it log on & if not download it. I will let you know if I find it anywhere on the actual Disney site.:cool:

Note I would have been it in if that lady didn't walk in front of me since I was sitting right next to Lou. grrrrr lol

Here is where you can download Disney Link. http://cdn.directmessagelab1.com/do...m/download/disney/download.aspx'&originID=198
 

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