disneyboy98
04-15-2009, 01:25 AM
We are back in the room, again, after an awesome day here at WDW. Well, not so much weather wise. The temp was cool, rainy, and really windy. However, we were still at Disney and it was great!
We started off the day by heading over to DHS and sprinting to get a FP for none other than Tory Story Mania. When we got closer the attraction we found the the FP line was lined up right beside One Man’s Dream and that it would take about 15 minutes for us to get our FPs. Today though, nothing was going to stop up from getting onto that attraction. So, when we got our FPs they were from 11:45 to 12:45. The nice thing though, and I guess this was a stroke of luck, there was a cast member right at our FP machine. I showed her our tickets and she just punched them right out of the machine for us. Yes, that means that technically we had not used our passes to get FPs yet. So, Beckie and I ran over to RRC and used our passes to get FPs for it from 11:45 to 12:45.
Well, as we were heading back, Beckie said to me, “why don’t you go and try to audition for American Idol?” As most people know, I do love to sing. I lead worship service at my church, I am involved in our high school’s annual musical as an instructor. Music is a huge part of my life. So, I thought, “go for it and try it.” Now, trust me, this ends happily! I made it onto the American Idol stage as one of the three finalists for the 1:00 pm show. It was an awesome experience that I honestly will never forget. For crying out loud, I got to perform “Footloose” (ha ha ha) in front of over 1000 people. That's right, over 1000 people! I can finally cross that one off my bucket list!
For those of you that have not been able to actually experience the attraction (let alone actually performing on the stage which, for me, was an experience I will never forget.) I will try to explain it to you as best as I can:
1. You go to the back of the attraction (across from the ABC Commissary) and go through the audition line. The production crew meet you there and explain that you have to have two 30 second songs ready for the casting person. Also, as you can tell from the pics (link at the bottom) the rest of the family went and did other stuff while I auditioned because I think we honestly felt that the audition would be over in the first round, ha ha ha! So, that is why there is pics of Playhouse Disney and Mike and Sully. I was not there but the rest of the family was!
2. You then go in and sing for the casting person and they say whether or not you are going through. I got to go through!
3. I was then lead to a small conference room with ipods and sofas and tables and was asked to pick two songs that I would sing for the second audition. I chose “You’ll Be In My Hear” (I thought I should at least go with a Disney tune), and “Footloose” (it’s catchy and a different style, plus, I knew it!)
4. I was then lead into the second audition room and sang to my two songs with the help of an LCD screen. The casting director asked a few more questions and then Ryan Seacrest appeared on the screen to tell me that I was “in the show!” Very cool!
5. I then had to shoot a few promo shots for the camera, answer a few more questions that they used in the show, and was told when to show up for make-up, vocal coaching, and a run through of how the show will look so that we knew.
6. My show was at 1:00 in the afternoon. I had to be back at the AIE for 11:50 to get everything done. My parents, Beckie, Kevin, and Chloe got special VIP seats to watch from during the show (still in the audience but they got to come in first). Also, before I went back, we went at around 11:30 and received another round of FPs for Toy Story Mania. The return time was for around 6:10 so yes, the rain did keep the crowds down at there was still FPs available at around 11:15 this morning.
7. I was then presented a lanyard (which I got to keep) that stated “AIE VOTE FOR ME” so I got to where that around the park which was really cool. I then left to meet my family at the back of the building.
8. I didn’t have much time to relax (I did go and ask if our TSM FPs would still be good because we would not get there for our scheduled time. The lady at the FP entrance said it would be no problem, so that made us feel good.
9. After about 50 minutes I returned to the back of the AIE auditorium and was lead into a room with two other contestants (both really friendly girls). I didn’t realize that there was only three contestants during the course of the day and then the final seven at the end, so that was kind of neat to know that there was only three of us.
10. I was then lead into my vocal coaching for a 10 minute warm-up and instruction with Mario. He was awesome and so friendly and gave us pointers of what to work on before going out on the stage.
11. Then it was time for make-up. For me, some stuff on my face (don’t know what), some lip stuff (don’t know what), and then some hair gel which the lady told me that it was the stuff that the High School Muscial performers swear by! Oh good! Ha ha ha!
12. The three of us were then lead backstage to a three person sofa and there was also a LCD TV there so we could watch the show from backstage as we were performing. We were taken through all the cues, how the show was going to work, and then we were hooked up with some kind of remote that was pinned to our shirts that let the spotlights know to move if we moved around on the stage. So if I walked left, the spotlights would know to follow me! VERY COOL!
13. We were then presented with Photopass cards that would allow us to view the pics that the Disney people were going to be taking of us throughout the show! They are online right now, but I have not looked at them so I can’t wait!
14. After meeting the host (it was a girl and I cannot remember her name) we then went through a quick run through on the stage of each of our songs and then we went backstage to sit on the sofa and wait for the show to start.
15. The audience was then let in. We could hear them coming in and making noise, but we could not see them, which was kind of un-nerving.
16. I was number 2 to sing and when I walked out there it was the most amazing feeling in the world. I just let it go and had fun with it. I mean, what else could you do? I don’t really remember even what the judges said afterwards, but it was all good. They do a pretty good job of making you feel good about yourself, and there wasn’t a Simon, thank goodness!
17. Well, sadly, but not too sadly, one of the other girls won our competition and got to come back for the 7:00 finale show. She was awesome, so it was all good! Me? I got to be one of 18 people today, because there are six shows with three contestants (out of however many people at the studios that day) that got to appear on the American Idol stage! In all honesty, I don’t think I could have gotten any farther because I am, ahem, cough cough Canadian, and we aren’t allowed to win that golden ticket that let’s you skip the line at a real American Idol audition.
For me, the best part was after leaving the AIE building, after the show, and having people come up to me and saying “great job” and such. That’s the part where it was like, “oh wow, these people saw me on stage and are calling me by my name.” Throughout the rest of the day, people would still come up and say that they enjoyed the show and say how good it was. I guess today, I got to experience what having your 15 minutes of fame feels like. It was really cool, although I don’t think I would want to have all eyes on me all the time. However, it was still and experience I will NEVER forget! Only at Disney!
Well after the show, we all met up and headed over to use our FPs on Toy Story Mania. I have to admit, it is a very cool ride and well worth the wait. However, it is not worth the 120 minute wait that was posted for some parts of the day. The 3D effect is amazing. The way you play the games is awesome! It is a game that you can just pick up and play. I honestly think has a slight edge on the “easier to play” factor than Buzz because you just do the same thing over and over and you don’t have to have perfect aim to rack up your points. Anyone from 4 years old to 99 could sit down and play it and have an awesome time. I know this is the new ride, and I am glad I got to experience it. However, it is not something that I will line up for unless the stand-by wait time is less than 30 minutes or I can get a FP for it. Again, it is an awesome ride, it’s just not worth, to me, standing in line for more than 30 minutes for me. Everyone needs to try it once and make their own opinion!
**continued below**
We started off the day by heading over to DHS and sprinting to get a FP for none other than Tory Story Mania. When we got closer the attraction we found the the FP line was lined up right beside One Man’s Dream and that it would take about 15 minutes for us to get our FPs. Today though, nothing was going to stop up from getting onto that attraction. So, when we got our FPs they were from 11:45 to 12:45. The nice thing though, and I guess this was a stroke of luck, there was a cast member right at our FP machine. I showed her our tickets and she just punched them right out of the machine for us. Yes, that means that technically we had not used our passes to get FPs yet. So, Beckie and I ran over to RRC and used our passes to get FPs for it from 11:45 to 12:45.
Well, as we were heading back, Beckie said to me, “why don’t you go and try to audition for American Idol?” As most people know, I do love to sing. I lead worship service at my church, I am involved in our high school’s annual musical as an instructor. Music is a huge part of my life. So, I thought, “go for it and try it.” Now, trust me, this ends happily! I made it onto the American Idol stage as one of the three finalists for the 1:00 pm show. It was an awesome experience that I honestly will never forget. For crying out loud, I got to perform “Footloose” (ha ha ha) in front of over 1000 people. That's right, over 1000 people! I can finally cross that one off my bucket list!
For those of you that have not been able to actually experience the attraction (let alone actually performing on the stage which, for me, was an experience I will never forget.) I will try to explain it to you as best as I can:
1. You go to the back of the attraction (across from the ABC Commissary) and go through the audition line. The production crew meet you there and explain that you have to have two 30 second songs ready for the casting person. Also, as you can tell from the pics (link at the bottom) the rest of the family went and did other stuff while I auditioned because I think we honestly felt that the audition would be over in the first round, ha ha ha! So, that is why there is pics of Playhouse Disney and Mike and Sully. I was not there but the rest of the family was!
2. You then go in and sing for the casting person and they say whether or not you are going through. I got to go through!
3. I was then lead to a small conference room with ipods and sofas and tables and was asked to pick two songs that I would sing for the second audition. I chose “You’ll Be In My Hear” (I thought I should at least go with a Disney tune), and “Footloose” (it’s catchy and a different style, plus, I knew it!)
4. I was then lead into the second audition room and sang to my two songs with the help of an LCD screen. The casting director asked a few more questions and then Ryan Seacrest appeared on the screen to tell me that I was “in the show!” Very cool!
5. I then had to shoot a few promo shots for the camera, answer a few more questions that they used in the show, and was told when to show up for make-up, vocal coaching, and a run through of how the show will look so that we knew.
6. My show was at 1:00 in the afternoon. I had to be back at the AIE for 11:50 to get everything done. My parents, Beckie, Kevin, and Chloe got special VIP seats to watch from during the show (still in the audience but they got to come in first). Also, before I went back, we went at around 11:30 and received another round of FPs for Toy Story Mania. The return time was for around 6:10 so yes, the rain did keep the crowds down at there was still FPs available at around 11:15 this morning.
7. I was then presented a lanyard (which I got to keep) that stated “AIE VOTE FOR ME” so I got to where that around the park which was really cool. I then left to meet my family at the back of the building.
8. I didn’t have much time to relax (I did go and ask if our TSM FPs would still be good because we would not get there for our scheduled time. The lady at the FP entrance said it would be no problem, so that made us feel good.
9. After about 50 minutes I returned to the back of the AIE auditorium and was lead into a room with two other contestants (both really friendly girls). I didn’t realize that there was only three contestants during the course of the day and then the final seven at the end, so that was kind of neat to know that there was only three of us.
10. I was then lead into my vocal coaching for a 10 minute warm-up and instruction with Mario. He was awesome and so friendly and gave us pointers of what to work on before going out on the stage.
11. Then it was time for make-up. For me, some stuff on my face (don’t know what), some lip stuff (don’t know what), and then some hair gel which the lady told me that it was the stuff that the High School Muscial performers swear by! Oh good! Ha ha ha!
12. The three of us were then lead backstage to a three person sofa and there was also a LCD TV there so we could watch the show from backstage as we were performing. We were taken through all the cues, how the show was going to work, and then we were hooked up with some kind of remote that was pinned to our shirts that let the spotlights know to move if we moved around on the stage. So if I walked left, the spotlights would know to follow me! VERY COOL!
13. We were then presented with Photopass cards that would allow us to view the pics that the Disney people were going to be taking of us throughout the show! They are online right now, but I have not looked at them so I can’t wait!
14. After meeting the host (it was a girl and I cannot remember her name) we then went through a quick run through on the stage of each of our songs and then we went backstage to sit on the sofa and wait for the show to start.
15. The audience was then let in. We could hear them coming in and making noise, but we could not see them, which was kind of un-nerving.
16. I was number 2 to sing and when I walked out there it was the most amazing feeling in the world. I just let it go and had fun with it. I mean, what else could you do? I don’t really remember even what the judges said afterwards, but it was all good. They do a pretty good job of making you feel good about yourself, and there wasn’t a Simon, thank goodness!
17. Well, sadly, but not too sadly, one of the other girls won our competition and got to come back for the 7:00 finale show. She was awesome, so it was all good! Me? I got to be one of 18 people today, because there are six shows with three contestants (out of however many people at the studios that day) that got to appear on the American Idol stage! In all honesty, I don’t think I could have gotten any farther because I am, ahem, cough cough Canadian, and we aren’t allowed to win that golden ticket that let’s you skip the line at a real American Idol audition.
For me, the best part was after leaving the AIE building, after the show, and having people come up to me and saying “great job” and such. That’s the part where it was like, “oh wow, these people saw me on stage and are calling me by my name.” Throughout the rest of the day, people would still come up and say that they enjoyed the show and say how good it was. I guess today, I got to experience what having your 15 minutes of fame feels like. It was really cool, although I don’t think I would want to have all eyes on me all the time. However, it was still and experience I will NEVER forget! Only at Disney!
Well after the show, we all met up and headed over to use our FPs on Toy Story Mania. I have to admit, it is a very cool ride and well worth the wait. However, it is not worth the 120 minute wait that was posted for some parts of the day. The 3D effect is amazing. The way you play the games is awesome! It is a game that you can just pick up and play. I honestly think has a slight edge on the “easier to play” factor than Buzz because you just do the same thing over and over and you don’t have to have perfect aim to rack up your points. Anyone from 4 years old to 99 could sit down and play it and have an awesome time. I know this is the new ride, and I am glad I got to experience it. However, it is not something that I will line up for unless the stand-by wait time is less than 30 minutes or I can get a FP for it. Again, it is an awesome ride, it’s just not worth, to me, standing in line for more than 30 minutes for me. Everyone needs to try it once and make their own opinion!
**continued below**