brad192
01-16-2009, 01:22 PM
NOTE: Sorry for the delay in reports guys, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. Anyway, on with the show!
Who: Just me – my third consecutive solo trip.
When: Dec. 10-20
Where: Pop Century, room 6459
Day Seven – A Magical Backstage Tour – Part 1
Mickey & Stitch woke me promptly at 7, and I hit the ground running. I didn’t want to be late for my Backstage Magic tour! :yay: I get ready, grab an OJ from the food court, and hop a bus to Epcot where I easily find the tour gathering area. I made really good time, so I had a little while to wait. As I sat there, more and more people were arriving. Wow! This is going to be a huge group! Our guides arrive a few minutes before 9, and I realize that there were two tours assembling, and our group, while still rather large, is only about half the people waiting.
We are checked in, ID’d, nametagged, and given our listening devices. We all introduce ourselves to each other, and board the bus to start the tour. ( I won’t go into all the intimate details about the tour, ‘cause that would spoil all the fun for those who haven’t done it yet, but I’ll hit the highlights. ) We ride around the backstage road behind Epcot, and discover how close all the pavilions actually are to each other. Onstage, it would take a few minutes to walk between The Seas & The Land, but backstage it’s about a 30 second stroll. We continue around the road to our first stop, the American Adventure.
We have a large group, so we split into two smaller groups. Deena, our tour leader, takes her people and heads inside while Megan, her assistant, takes the rest of us. We walk around the building while Megan tells us all about how it was made, why it was placed where it was, etc. She also gives us some info on WS, which was still closed, very quiet, and just a little spooky with nobody around.:paranoid: As we head towards the back of the building to go inside, Deena is coming out with her group. Perfect timing! We enter the building and make our way to the “stage” area of the show. I won’t give anything away, but just let me say that the device that moves all the sets on & off is an absolute engineering marvel, and the AA’s are pretty darn cool up close & personal! We learn all about the show & how it works, and even get to touch Mark Twain’s face! :thumbsup: Too much fun! We head back to the bus to continue our journey.
Continuing around WS, we see all the backstage areas for the countries, and head into FW where we learn that when you ride TT, you actually go backstage during the high speed outside portion of the ride. Hmm, never thought about that. We then leave Epcot & head for the building that houses all the HR stuff for the CM’s (sorry, I forget the actual name of the building), and learn about the “business” of being a CM at Disney, how many people are employed at WDW, the benefits, incentive programs, etc. We see many CM’s coming & going in their various costumes for the areas they will be working in, and realize that, while the magic is always present onstage, it’s pretty much an ordinary business situation backstage. We head back to the bus and are on our way to DHS.
We arrive at DHS & work our way slowly back to ToT. Our big honkin’ tour bus has a little trouble maneuvering thru the narrow streets, but we manage. Again, our group splits and we wait on the bus for a short time asking Megan all sorts of questions about DHS, working for the Mouse, etc. Soon,it’s our turn & we file off the bus into the backstage area for ToT. We get all sorts of info on the ride, and get to inspect one of the ride vehicles up close. Let me tell you, those things are built like a tank. All solid steel & kind of ugly in the daylight. After our hotel visit, we cruise a little more around the backstage area of DHS, seeing some of the support buildings for the park & the practice area for LMA, and then head for the Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon. I had finally gained my appetite back and was pretty darn hungry at that point, so I was primed & ready for a nice lunch.:eat:
We arrived at WL and were promptly seated in our own reserved area, with our own personal wait staff! How nice! There were about 30 of us, so we took up a pretty good chunk of the dining area. The meal was the standard all-you-can-eat fare, with lots of food for everyone. Ribs, chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. – all really good. I think this place will get an ADR from me my next trip. The wait staff was wonderful, with a lot of joking around & typical attitude. I was hoping someone would ask for ketchup, but wasn’t going to do it myself.:blush: By the time dessert rolled around – an incredible fruit cobbler – we were all stuffed & satisfied. After a quick head count to make sure we had everyone, we were back on the bus for our afternoon activities.
Next up – Part 2 – Costumes, carpentry, utilidors, and VIP parade viewing.:mickey:
Who: Just me – my third consecutive solo trip.
When: Dec. 10-20
Where: Pop Century, room 6459
Day Seven – A Magical Backstage Tour – Part 1
Mickey & Stitch woke me promptly at 7, and I hit the ground running. I didn’t want to be late for my Backstage Magic tour! :yay: I get ready, grab an OJ from the food court, and hop a bus to Epcot where I easily find the tour gathering area. I made really good time, so I had a little while to wait. As I sat there, more and more people were arriving. Wow! This is going to be a huge group! Our guides arrive a few minutes before 9, and I realize that there were two tours assembling, and our group, while still rather large, is only about half the people waiting.
We are checked in, ID’d, nametagged, and given our listening devices. We all introduce ourselves to each other, and board the bus to start the tour. ( I won’t go into all the intimate details about the tour, ‘cause that would spoil all the fun for those who haven’t done it yet, but I’ll hit the highlights. ) We ride around the backstage road behind Epcot, and discover how close all the pavilions actually are to each other. Onstage, it would take a few minutes to walk between The Seas & The Land, but backstage it’s about a 30 second stroll. We continue around the road to our first stop, the American Adventure.
We have a large group, so we split into two smaller groups. Deena, our tour leader, takes her people and heads inside while Megan, her assistant, takes the rest of us. We walk around the building while Megan tells us all about how it was made, why it was placed where it was, etc. She also gives us some info on WS, which was still closed, very quiet, and just a little spooky with nobody around.:paranoid: As we head towards the back of the building to go inside, Deena is coming out with her group. Perfect timing! We enter the building and make our way to the “stage” area of the show. I won’t give anything away, but just let me say that the device that moves all the sets on & off is an absolute engineering marvel, and the AA’s are pretty darn cool up close & personal! We learn all about the show & how it works, and even get to touch Mark Twain’s face! :thumbsup: Too much fun! We head back to the bus to continue our journey.
Continuing around WS, we see all the backstage areas for the countries, and head into FW where we learn that when you ride TT, you actually go backstage during the high speed outside portion of the ride. Hmm, never thought about that. We then leave Epcot & head for the building that houses all the HR stuff for the CM’s (sorry, I forget the actual name of the building), and learn about the “business” of being a CM at Disney, how many people are employed at WDW, the benefits, incentive programs, etc. We see many CM’s coming & going in their various costumes for the areas they will be working in, and realize that, while the magic is always present onstage, it’s pretty much an ordinary business situation backstage. We head back to the bus and are on our way to DHS.
We arrive at DHS & work our way slowly back to ToT. Our big honkin’ tour bus has a little trouble maneuvering thru the narrow streets, but we manage. Again, our group splits and we wait on the bus for a short time asking Megan all sorts of questions about DHS, working for the Mouse, etc. Soon,it’s our turn & we file off the bus into the backstage area for ToT. We get all sorts of info on the ride, and get to inspect one of the ride vehicles up close. Let me tell you, those things are built like a tank. All solid steel & kind of ugly in the daylight. After our hotel visit, we cruise a little more around the backstage area of DHS, seeing some of the support buildings for the park & the practice area for LMA, and then head for the Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon. I had finally gained my appetite back and was pretty darn hungry at that point, so I was primed & ready for a nice lunch.:eat:
We arrived at WL and were promptly seated in our own reserved area, with our own personal wait staff! How nice! There were about 30 of us, so we took up a pretty good chunk of the dining area. The meal was the standard all-you-can-eat fare, with lots of food for everyone. Ribs, chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. – all really good. I think this place will get an ADR from me my next trip. The wait staff was wonderful, with a lot of joking around & typical attitude. I was hoping someone would ask for ketchup, but wasn’t going to do it myself.:blush: By the time dessert rolled around – an incredible fruit cobbler – we were all stuffed & satisfied. After a quick head count to make sure we had everyone, we were back on the bus for our afternoon activities.
Next up – Part 2 – Costumes, carpentry, utilidors, and VIP parade viewing.:mickey: