The fabulous 'Tony Baxter Tour of Disneyland' - a venture

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wh
And try not to have to much fun on Indy. You'll make the rest of us jealous.

Well you know what they say, a 'shared experience is more fun'....so while i am away, here is something you can enjoy:

Use this photo of the Indiana Jones Adventure model on display at Tony's home to take a 'virtual ride'!
Put your finger against the screen and trace it around the track as if you were driving through on your own transport vehicle!

Happy exploring....and watch out for the snakes!


 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks raven..I am already!

Well i made it....here now reporting to you from Orange County.
Long trip getting here..but the jetlag is working to my advantage ( was up at 5:30am !)

Have all my gear for the day...Baxterland map..and high spirits.
Been waiting for this week for a long time....as today i get to play 'tourist' and let Tony show me his world....so to speak.

I will report back some highlights at some point in the future....stay tuned!
 

IndianaJones

Well-Known Member
Thanks raven..I am already!

Well i made it....here now reporting to you from Orange County.
Long trip getting here..but the jetlag is working to my advantage ( was up at 5:30am !)

Have all my gear for the day...Baxterland map..and high spirits.
Been waiting for this week for a long time....as today i get to play 'tourist' and let Tony show me his world....so to speak.

I will report back some highlights at some point in the future....stay tuned!
Have an awesome time!
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thank you Dr. Jones!
I rode 'your' ride three times yesterday....one extra time for you!
Some effects not working ( fire effects, smaller items..) but the new Mara effects are awesome. Love how the room fully changes for each different version ( not something you see through videos at ALL..)
Will ride another three or four times today, no doubt.

Here is a update for everyone on how the 'Tony Baxter Tour of Disneyland' is going..

Yesterday was quite awesome.
Lots of 'happy accidents' and chances of delight that presented themselves.
Lots of fun photos...will be sharing in the weeks coming.

The big news is that i am happy to report that the on-ride photo shoot from 'Tony's River Run' was a big success!
The pic came out better then i thought it would.
Had a lot of fun talking about Mr. Baxter when i went to pick up my photo with the CM who was curious as to who the gent was i was holding a photo up of.
She thought it was pretty cool that i had thought it all out in advance ( laminating the pic, knowing right where to look at the camera...etc..).
When she realized he was the guy who came up with the concept of the ride, she found the coolness factor go up even more notches.
So yeah..any excuse to talk about my 'mentor' is a valid one.

I feel justified in my geekiness now....'officially'.
:)


LOTS to talk about...but i will save that for post-venture.


Off now for Day 2

Still need to have that ice cream on Main Street!
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Glad your "Tony's River Run" picture turned out so good!

Thanks!
It is good, and i look forward to sharing it with everyone here post-venture.
I will be riding today with 'Tony' for another photo....i decided to re-try the move in hopes of an even better photo.
:)



Latest update:

The Park closed early last night (5pm) due to a special event, and on my way out i happen to notice there was quite a long line at Guest Relations.
My guess is some folks were caught by surprise by the early closure and were voicing their opinions about it.
The line went all the way out to Main St. Found that rather interesting...

The CMs looked nice in their special uniforms for the event ( whatever it was for ).
The fireworks for said event were pretty impressive noise-wise. Felt like i had a pyro show going on in the shower last night!

Really feeling like a celebrity thanks to the 'Single Rider Line' at the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Radiator Springs Racers.
Pretty epic being able to be slipping in ahead of the masses when the wait times are fairly substantial for both of these.
Maybe it is just a special perk for members of the 'Tony Baxter Fan Club'...!
:D



More to come....i have been lucky to have been able to post while here.
Was not at all expecting to have easy access, but then again, i am forgetting everyone in the world but me has a cell phone these days.

I expect the Parks to be packed today, with the special Villians Party tonight and the seasonal overlays for Space Mountain and The Haunted Mansion opening this morning.
9am to 1am...yow...!

Oh...and Captain Eo is still open.
I was under the impression this was slated to close on the 10th?
Sure was a nice surprise to learn otherwise. The CMs there have been making the showings fun with the small captive audiences.
 

lego606

MagicBandit
Disneyland held a lavish cast dinner party in Disneyland last night to celebrate those who had hit 10, 15, 20, 25 and higher service anniversaries with the company.

It was indeed quite fancy. Black tie affair, a buffet the entire length of Adventureland, Tiana sang the whole night with a jazz band, private fireworks, and the entire West side of the park (Critter Country, NOS, Frontierland and Adventureland attractions) were all open
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Disneyland held a lavish cast dinner party in Disneyland last night to celebrate those who had hit 10, 15, 20, 25 and higher service anniversaries with the company.
Thank you for letting us know what was happening.
I suspected something special for the Cast, as during the day i kept hearing CMs ask each other if they were 'going tonight..'.
The fireworks show that evening sounded darn impressive from my Katella Ave shower bay.
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
-
Latest update :

Yesterday was Baxter-riffic..and totally in theme with the Tour.
Met three CMs and a 'plaid' who all wanted to talk about Tony when they saw my 'Tony Baxter Fan Club' pinback button.
Some fun stories to share right now about that...and all wanted to know if i was excited about him getting his window on Main Street ( what a question..! :) )

Had a Photopass shoot in front of the Castle holding up the large photo of Mr. Baxter i have been using for the Splash Mountain on-ride photo(s).
Thought it would worth doing, and afterwards the photographer wanted to know if the person in the photo i was holding 'was still with us'..!
:jawdrop:

Quite a melancholy thought...standing in the Happiest Place On Earth, in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle...suddenly having to contemplate the thought of Tony Baxter being in a state of being 'passed on'....!
:cry:

Yeah....but once i told him who it was, he perked up and offered some stories. Turns out he has met many Imagineers in the Park, and thought the photo looked a little familiar after seeing it closer. He then suddenly was reminded of the gent he met who told him that he worked on the Indiana Jones Adventure. I told him it was likely him...exspecially if the photo looked like a familiar face to him.

Went over to the Blue Sky Cellar at DCA to check it out, and met a 'plaid' stationed there who talked about seeing Tony at a special presentation they did there some time ago. The video presentation currantly playing there feature Mr. Baxter and it sparked off more conversation. He had some wonderful things to say about him.

Also a Tomorrowland Monorail loader wanted to talk about Tony which was cool ...not every day you get to do that while standing over the Subs.

The best however was after Splash Mountain went 101 yesterday afternoon ( more below ).
Went over to the Hungry Bear Restaurant for a meal and met a food service CM behind the delivery counter that was very excited and anxious to talk about Tony after seeing my pin.
He was a BIG fan and said he is aspiring to be a Imagineer himself. He asked where i was from and when i told him he seemed pretty blown away he had a Baxter fan from the East Coast who made such a long trip to visit 'his' Park. I shared the Baxterland Map with him, since i had it with me, and he LOVED it.
Sparked off some great stories.

He then wanted to know if there was a real Tony Baxter Fan Club because he wanted to join !
Hmm...maybe this needs to be addressed...?

Lots more to talk about...but it will have to wait.
I did try for another photo on 'Tony's River Run' but loggers spoiled the plan.
I was waiting in the loading gate, just about to get on a log when it went 101 and CMs went RUNNING.
Never saw that happen...everyone took off at once.

Folks were left standing around wondering what was going on, and i was geeking out since i knew what was happening and considering it a treat.
Everyone had to evac ( my guess is either a medical emergency, or someone jumped out of a log ) and when you exited i felt really bad for those folks who were perched precarioulsly at the very top of the main drop. Yikes...hope their were not small kids in that one...

Loved the fact that after everything stopped that the overall 'Zip-a-dee-Do-Da- theme was heard blasting trough the entire Mountain.
Genuis ! A nice happy song like that helps settle the nerves of concerned folks stuck mid-lift on their logs.
And to think, i MISSED THIS by a mere few steps !!
It's okay....as their have been plenty of other amazing moments during this venture.


I shall add more later...off now to try for another photo before the River Run has a chance to 'run dry'...
 
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Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
-

Well i have a great one this morning, Dr. Jones.

Very difficult to put into mere words the wonderful experience i had at 'Tony's River Run' yesterday morning.
As readers here are aware, i decided to try for a better on-ride photo with Mr. Baxter's laminated photo. Boy am i glad i did.

Having Splash Mountain go 101 the other night was actually a blessing in disguise, as it meant i had to come back the next day and try again. Because of this, i had a memorable moment that i would have otherwise surely missed.
Not only did i get to have a great experience trying to capture the perfect pic, i also had a wonderful interaction with the CM manning the photo pick up booth afterwards.

I had to ride four times in a row to get a photo that did not have hands or hats blocking my face or 'Tony' during the drop. You really had to have the 'right' combination of passengers in the log to hit the right image where you were not being blocked.
Thankfully there was minimal wait since it was so early in day. Pretty much walk-on...but each repeat ride added a slightly longer wait to load.

I think i can safely say now i have conquered my often present fear of that faster 'big drop' here on the Original.
Yay! So that in itself was a nice little personal victory.
I have to admit it was also rather surreal to ride this non-stop during that 35 minute spat with 'Tony'.
I mean, how many can say that ?
"I rode Splash Mountain with Tony Baxter"...!
Well...i sorta did...uh...yeah, kind of...

After i finally scored the perfect photo i went to pick it up and the REAL fun began.
The woman i met at the photo booth turned out to be someone who knew Tony and has had several encounters with him.
She spotted my Fan Club pin and immediately wanted to start talking to me about him.

I have to say i have never heard someone speak so warmly about another being than i did yesterday morning.
It was actually both reassuring and uplifting.
She clearly understood this personality on a deeper level then your average casual fan.

When we started talking about his recent activities, she was fully aware of what he has been up to.
When the topic came up regarding his Main Street window, i was touching on the events of how it was presented to him at D23.
She then held out her arm from behind the counter to show me the goosebumps she had just being reminded of that moment.
Wow.
Yes, it was quite moving to see that kind of reaction from someone.

We could have easily stood there and talked all afternoon, but the line behind me was starting to pile up and we both knew this.
I will say however that 20 minutes we had together talking about Mr. Baxter were quite memorable.

Nice to meet someone with the same affection and deep respect for the man and his accomplishments.
:)

This venture has had his influence in a major way and his presence has certainly been at the forefront. This experience was a highlight...and now i have not only a better photo from the ride, but i now have this wonderful experience connected to it after meeting her.

Just yet another example how it is the CMs who make the magic happen.
Sure the experience i had riding the attraction was great, and the keepsake photo is awesome, but it is the interaction i had with HER that will be the lasting memory of that experience.

Later i shall talk about other neat 'happy accidents'.....like seeing Indiana Jones himself waiting in the Single Riders line at 'his' attraction ( i kid you not)...watching fireworks over 'Tony's Mountain' instead of the Castle ( hey, ya have to during a Tony Baxter Tour of Disneyland!) and becoming a 'Honorary Citizen of Disneyland' last night in Tomorrowland.

Oh...can i just say i love the Subs at night..???
 
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Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You know I don't think I've ever done the subs at night.
Totally different experience, and better in some respects. Try them next time in the evening...i think you will be pleasently surprised!

Loved the Subs, and that is coming from someone who is not at all a Nemo fan.
The experience is COOL..and for me very nostalgic as i oh so miss the 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea attraction we used to have at WDW.

I kept thinking how much cooler it would have been if the topic was more mysterious or 'serious' , instead of hearing a cartoon fishes name 50+ times during the course of the experience.

Regardless, loved the Subs.

I Felt privilidged to be able to ride them, as without Tony's insistance these would be long gone from DL just like our WDW Subs attraction was closed.
So that was a nice thought going through my mind while gazing out into the lagoon.
Thanks for that, Mr. Baxter.
:)

I found several attractions were 'better' experiences at night.
Matterhorn Bobsleds ( exspecially the wilder TL side ), Astro Orbiter, and the Subs were all enhanced by the evening atmosphere.

Also a lot of the dark rides seemed better, mainly because your eyes were already adjusted to the dark surroundings upon entering the building.
I missed a lot of details on Pirates and Toad the first few times through during the day, but a lot more was visable to my eyes later in the evening.




Gosh i do not even know where to begin today with this update...so much has happened ( more Baxter fun with CMs ) and other items of interest.
At this moment, sitting here, i am at a loss of words.

I admit i am feeling a little emotionally overwhelmed.
This experience over the past four days has been fairly intense in that department.
Absolutely the next best experience to touring the Park with Tony himself.

Now i have to go off and try to get some rest...i have bags under my eyes right now like some famous Imagineers we all know....

More later today....stay tuned!
 
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