My First Trip to Disneyland, Plus the D23 Expo and Walt Disney Studios

[Captain Hank]

I took some time to explore the Treasures of the Archives exhibit. I was really impressed with the Disney artifacts on display. I think I was most impressed with this little guy, the plush Mickey that rode with Walt on the train during Disneyland's opening day broadcast.


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Beautiful artwork used in the book that opened Sleeping Beauty.


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And, I'm rather a bit of a LOST nerd, so I geeked out over the LOST costumes and props, both in the Archives exhibit and around the show floor, namely the DHARMA van.


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Despite some of the logistical challenges, my whole group had an awesome time, and we're planning on coming to the next Expo.

On the last day of our trip, we had made arrangements to visit the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Most of us were Florida-site Cast Members, so we were able to gain clearance into the studio by requesting to visit the Archives. In addition, one of my friends happened to have a connection with someone who works in Feature Animation who offered to give us a tour of the rest of the studio. Not to belittle Disneyland or the D23 Expo, but of all the things that were planned for the trip, this is what I was most excited about. I've had the good fortune to visit the Pixar studio in the past, so I was really interested to compare the two. Also, there just isn't anywhere as rich in tangible Disney history as the studio.

First off, we parked in the Zorro parking structure. As we later learned, it's built on the former site of the portion of the backlot where the Zorro films were shot.


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Here's the Zorro parking structure itself, easily the prettiest parking garage I've ever seen.


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Here's the lot.


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After a bit of wandering, we made our way to the Frank Wells building, home of the Disney Archives.


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[Captain Hank]

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The archives is incredible. What we were actually allowed to visit was the Archives reading room which is full of Disney publications as well as display cases with many artifacts from all facets of the Walt Disney Company.

Maquettes from numerous animated features.


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An original cel of Jiminy Cricket (my favorite character) from Pinocchio.


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The bedknob from Bedknobs and Broomsticks.


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The snowglobe from the "Feed the Birds" sequence in Mary Poppins. While the water has long since drained out of it, the birds are still in there.


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Coming a bit more into the present, the cursed Aztec coin from the first Pirates movie.


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The wardrobe and Mr. Tumnus from the Chronicles of Narnia.


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The mechanical bird that inspired Audio Animatronics.


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Finally, a sort of overview of the reading room. Visible at the end of the bookcase is Dave Smith's office. He kept wandering in and out while we were there.


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We spent over an hour in there. I even ran across the very first issues of Eyes and Ears (the Walt Disney World Cast Newsletter), and took the time to read through them. The staff was very friendly and accommodating.

 

[Captain Hank]

Afterwards, we walked across the street to Disney Legends Plaza, which is located in front of the Michael Eisner/Team Disney Burbank building.


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A close-up of Ward Kimball's plaque. Note that he added an extra finger!


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There is a giant Legends statue on the opposite end of the plaza from the Partners statue.


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[Captain Hank]

Finally, we met up with our guide from Feature Animation. First, he took us on a tour of some of the surrounding buildings, such as the old Animation building.


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It was such a cool feeling being in the same building where Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Bambi and pretty much all of the other classic Disney animated films were drawn. You could just feel the history inside the building--this is the building that was built using the profits from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. One thing I was a bit disappointed in--the building really isn't used by Disney much any more. Mostly, it's rented out to other animation and film companies to use as offices and studios. We got to go through all of the floors of the building, including getting close to Walt's old office. Before we left, I asked if this was the building with the tunnel in it. Well, it is, and we even got to walk through the tunnel! For those that may not know, a tunnel was built between the Animation and Ink and Paint and Camera buildings so that the animation cells could be transported from building to building even in rainy weather. For the record, the tunnel is very similar to the Utilidor under the Magic Kingdom, except that it's quite a bit narrower and smells better. Otherwise, I felt like I was under MK.

Also interesting to note, the entrance to Animation was used in many productions, Disney and otherwise, as the entrance to numerous high schools and universities.

Of course, we stopped for a picture at the intersection of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive.


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The signpost is a prop left over from the production of the Reluctant Dragon. It doesn't actually reflect the real placement of departments on the lot, by the way.

We then wandered through the Studio lot, looking at the exteriors of soundstages and other buildings. He kept pointing to different spots on the lot saying "this is where Passamaquaddy was" or "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was filmed there. Unfortunately, most of these locations are now administration buildings. Finally he asked, "I'm not sure if you have time, but would you like to see Feature Animation?" Uh, yeah, we totally had time.


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Unfortunately, and understandably, photography was not allowed inside the building as this is where animation is currently under production. It was neat learning about the process--films start on the third floor, where initial story development takes place. Once they're green-lit, they move down to the second floor where the actual production happens. The second floor is split into two production "pods" each dedicated to a specific film. Once the production is finished, the film moves down to the first floor, where editing and post-production happens. We got to see the pods as well as the recording studio and other facilities. There's tons of artwork all over the building--lots of murals celebrating current, past and legacy productions. One neat little tidbit: the building wasn't originally designed to have a communal gathering spot. Once John from Pixar took over, he brought along the idea of having some sort of common space, much like the Pixar atrium. So, some offices on the second floor were demolished to make way for the "Caffeine Patch," a coffee shop whose name references Meet the Robinsons.

Here's one last look at Feature Animation, taken from our car leaving the studio.


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So, in summary, it was an absolutely incredible experience and the ultimate end to a fantastic vacation.

 

[captainkidd]

We were scheduled to take our 1st trip to DL next July. I had a meeting tonight with our new financial adviser, who is a long time WDW veteran and went to DL for the 1st time last year. He told me in no uncertain terms, I would be wasting my money. Said it was very ghetto and way too congested. Says once you've been to WDW, DL can't do anything but disappoint you.

Now I'm all confused.

 

[DryCreek]

Wow!

We were scheduled to take our 1st trip to DL next July. I had a meeting tonight with our new financial adviser, who is a long time WDW veteran and went to DL for the 1st time last year. He told me in no uncertain terms, I would be wasting my money. Said it was very ghetto and way too congested. Says once you've been to WDW, DL can't do anything but disappoint you.

Now I'm all confused.

Did you ask specifically what he meant by those comments? I hear people say they don't like this food or that color, yet I find them pleasurable. Maybe he went during the wrong time of year, stayed at the wrong offsite hotel, or was put off in some other way? I had a co-worker tell me that his trip to WDW this summer was pure misery for him. Turns out trying to do "The World" in only three days, with three kids, and ZERO pre-planning took its toll on him. Another co-worker sat down with me and we planned a trip for him last year with his wife, 3 DD's, and BIL & Sister. Once I explained the Ins and Outs of WDW, he understood how important planning could be. He came back and thanked me profusely - he finally believed me about how staying on site and doing the meal plan would make his stay much better than having to break away from the magic and slog through the real world every few hours.

I haven't been to DL since 1992*, but I cannot imagine that anything Disney is involved in could truly be classified as "ghetto".

*returning in Feb. 2012 - 20 year reunion? Hadn't put it together until just now!

 

[Captain Hank]

We were scheduled to take our 1st trip to DL next July. I had a meeting tonight with our new financial adviser, who is a long time WDW veteran and went to DL for the 1st time last year. He told me in no uncertain terms, I would be wasting my money. Said it was very ghetto and way too congested. Says once you've been to WDW, DL can't do anything but disappoint you.

Now I'm all confused.

Really? Wow. I definitely didn't feel that way. Everything seemed to be in tip-top shape inside the park. Now, some of the surrounding areas...eh...different story (though there are plenty of those around WDW if you know where to/not to look). Don't go there expecting the grand scope of WDW. It's a different, but very intimate, worthwhile and high-quality experience. Sure, it's smaller, but it's also more densely packed with attractions. Also, you can't beat park-hopping by walking about 50 yards.

On the flip side, I could definitely see how Disneyland could have difficulty dealing with large crowds on busy days. The walkways are extremely narrow in some areas as compared with MK.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

It's in Burbank. Normally, in order to gain clearance to the Studio you need to either be a Walt Disney Co. CM/employee or be escorted by one. I know that they will sometimes do special tours for D23 members, though.

So you can't just pay an admission and waltz in there huh? It just seems like a neat and historic place to visit.

 

[Captain Hank]

So you can't just pay an admission and waltz in there huh? It just seems like a neat and historic place to visit.

Nope, alas not. I think there'd definitely be a market for it, but at the same time, the studio isn't really set up in a way to accommodate large tour groups. It's actually rather a bit smaller than I expected, and many of the buildings are very limited access due to production activities.

 

[TP2000]

We were scheduled to take our 1st trip to DL next July. I had a meeting tonight with our new financial adviser, who is a long time WDW veteran and went to DL for the 1st time last year. He told me in no uncertain terms, I would be wasting my money. Said it was very ghetto and way too congested. Says once you've been to WDW, DL can't do anything but disappoint you.

Now I'm all confused.

Your financial advisor's feedback on Disneyland makes it sound like he has no ability to do any planning or research when making an investment of his own time and money, and even less ability to pick up on the finer details and nuances of a masterfully designed product.

Those traits he has now exhibited would seem to be waving bright red warning flags if he is your personal financial advisor and is handling your money for you. :lookaroun

I am only half joking here. I would either dig a bit deeper with him for additional information on what went so horribly wrong at Disneyland, and/or strongly reconsider your financial relationship with a guy who can't succesfully plan a family vacation to Disneyland or appreciate and identify what it excels at.

 

[Captain Hank]

Your pics are great, what kind of camera?

Thanks! A GE X500.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

We were scheduled to take our 1st trip to DL next July. I had a meeting tonight with our new financial adviser, who is a long time WDW veteran and went to DL for the 1st time last year. He told me in no uncertain terms, I would be wasting my money. Said it was very ghetto and way too congested. Says once you've been to WDW, DL can't do anything but disappoint you.

Now I'm all confused.

Well that's a rather odd assessment :veryconfu We were there is 2006 and while there are significant differences between DL/DCA/Anaheim and WDW, I would hardly call it "ghetto".

The DL resort area is very small compared to WDW and sits smack in the midst of a southern Cali city. It's surrounded by city streets on all sides, but the city of Anaheim has put forth a lot of money and effort to make the area immediately surrounding DL very attractive. At no time did we see or experience anything that resembled "ghetto". It sits right off the interstate, so it's not like you have to drive through questionable areas to reach the resort either. The city streets do become congested and if you stay offsite and have to drive, I have no doubt you do have to face traffic. That's the very reason we stayed at the DL Hotel so we could just walk out of the hotel into lovely resort property and stroll through DTD and onto the Esplanade to the parks.

Setting expectations is key. It's not a huge, "isolated from the real world" resort area. It sits in the midst of a city. The resort itself - the hotels, DTD and the parks -is lovely and meet the Disney standards we WDW vets would expect. Right now, DCA is a huge mess of nothing but walls of course, but that will be gone by next summer.

Ultimately, only you and your family can decide if you are open to experiencing this vacation. We're very excited about going! My only issue right now is the $400 rate at the DL Hotel. I definitely want to stay there, but that's just too much and I'm kinda bummed about it.

 

[captainkidd]

Is 7 days too long to spend at DLR?

 

[KingdomofDreams]

I'm not a DL vet as others that post here are, but imho I'd say yes, 7 days is beyond what you'd need to experience the 2 parks. I'd say 4 days max, but that depends on your family and how you usually tour the parks. As a general rule, we arrive before opening, take advantage of early opening when available, and stay till closing.

We plan to arrive in SoCal on a Sunday morning, spend the day touring a few local sights, ending the day at one of the two hotels at Universal Hollywood and enjoying City Walk that evening. Monday we're doing the Universal park, driving down to Anaheim that night to check in at the DL Hotel (hopefully) to stay for the next 4 days. That leaves Tues, Wed and Thurs full days for Disney. Friday, we hope to experience a whale/dolphin watching cruise, followed by a nice meal at some oceanfront restaurant and then wrap up the day with whatever we want to do at DL/DCA. We'll head home on Sat.

As of right now, that's our plan. There's a lot more to do and experience in SoCal and I'd love to stay and do it all, but I'll only have a week and I want to focus on DL/DCA with just a couple of other things added in where I could allow the time.

 

[Blueliner]

We were scheduled to take our 1st trip to DL next July. I had a meeting tonight with our new financial adviser, who is a long time WDW veteran and went to DL for the 1st time last year. He told me in no uncertain terms, I would be wasting my money. Said it was very ghetto and way too congested. Says once you've been to WDW, DL can't do anything but disappoint you.

Now I'm all confused.

I have been to WDW dozens of times and to DLR only once (December 2009), but I loved DLR, and I can't wait to take the whole family once the DCA construction is finished.

I think the major differences are: a) the transition from the "real world" to the immersive, highly-themed world of DLR is quite abrupt; and b) DLR lacks the breadth of non-theme park recreational opportunies that WDW offers. In other words, WDW could be considered by some as a stand-alone, all-inclusive vacation desitination, while it might be a stretch to treat DLR that way.

I did not find DLR itself to be "ghetto" in any way, and I was amazed at how immersive the environment at DLR was, just after about 50 paces from Harbor Boulevard onto the Esplanade.

The way I look at it, we are going to make a major vacation investment when we head west. For that investment, I think it would be foolhardy to try treat WDW and DLR the same way. In my opinion, even though DLR is packed with attractions, it does not have enough "things to do" to sustain a full week of touring.

Maybe your financial advisor attempted to make a 7-8 day vacation out of visiting only DLR, and that led to his disappointment. Our strategy is going to be to spend 3-4 days at DLR and 3-4 days "out and about" in other parts of California. That is different approach from what we take at WDW, where we get on property and stay there for an extended period of time. However, I think that is the way to get the most of a trip to DLR.

 

[Blueliner]

I'm not a DL vet as others that post here are, but imho I'd say yes, 7 days is beyond what you'd need to experience the 2 parks. I'd say 4 days max, but that depends on your family and how you usually tour the parks. As a general rule, we arrive before opening, take advantage of early opening when available, and stay till closing.

We plan to arrive in SoCal on a Sunday morning, spend the day touring a few local sights, ending the day at one of the two hotels at Universal Hollywood and enjoying City Walk that evening. Monday we're doing the Universal park, driving down to Anaheim that night to check in at the DL Hotel (hopefully) to stay for the next 4 days. That leaves Tues, Wed and Thurs full days for Disney. Friday, we hope to experience a whale/dolphin watching cruise, followed by a nice meal at some oceanfront restaurant and then wrap up the day with whatever we want to do at DL/DCA. We'll head home on Sat.

As of right now, that's our plan. There's a lot more to do and experience in SoCal and I'd love to stay and do it all, but I'll only have a week and I want to focus on DL/DCA with just a couple of other things added in where I could allow the time.

I'm sorry I sounded repetitive of this post. I must have been typing.

 

[Mickey_777]

Is 7 days too long to spend at DLR?

Yes. I believe even the most hardcore DL fans will tell you that you'll never need more than 4 days to see and do it all even while really taking your time to soak it all in. After all, it's really only a park (DL) and a half (DCA).

KingdomofDreams gives a great example of the other great things you can do around SoCal if you do choose to go out there for a week. Southern California has plenty to do although the highlight, especially for us Disney fans, will always be DLR.

With respect to being told it's ghetto, the resort itself is not. Your friend may have encountered ghetto people at the park (I did as well) but that can happen anywhere. Even people with money can act ghetto. You should know though that many parts of SoCal are pretty seedy but DLR and the parks are not.

 

[TP2000]

Is 7 days too long to spend at DLR?

Yes, it's too long if you expect to only stay on DLR property. A casual fan would be perfect with 3 days at DLR to hit all highlights, a more diehard Walt Disney fan would be best with 4 days at DLR to do almost everything and take in the Walk In Walt's Footsteps Tour.

But 7 days is perfect for a SoCal vacation where you use the fabulously central location of DLR as a base camp to explore the rest of SoCal; Hollywood, Universal Studios, Los Angeles museums and icons, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, San Diego beaches and museums, Laguna Beach, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Reagan or Nixon Presidential Libraries, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland, Catalina, etc., etc.

 

[TP2000]

I did not find DLR itself to be "ghetto" in any way, and I was amazed at how immersive the environment at DLR was, just after about 50 paces from Harbor Boulevard onto the Esplanade.

The way I look at it, we are going to make a major vacation investment when we head west. For that investment, I think it would be foolhardy to try treat WDW and DLR the same way. In my opinion, even though DLR is packed with attractions, it does not have enough "things to do" to sustain a full week of touring.

That's exactly the approach to take! Your family will have the time of their lives, and using DLR as your base camp for a broader SoCal vacation is guaranteed to create wonderful family experiences in SoCal.

 

[DryCreek]

Still there?

But 7 days is perfect for a SoCal vacation where you use the fabulously central location of DLR as a base camp to explore the rest of SoCal; Hollywood, Universal Studios, Los Angeles museums and icons, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, San Diego beaches and museums, Laguna Beach, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Reagan or Nixon Presidential Libraries, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland, Catalina, etc., etc.

Although I was last there in 1981, I was wondering if Magic Mountain was still there? They had some pretty awesome roller coasters "back then".