Back Stage Magic June 2016 - Mini Trip Report - Finally Back to Finish Up

Did you have to book the VIP tour far in advance? I'm intrigued with front of the line passes and the special back lot tour. Since this will probably be my only trip out there, it may be worth the splurge. It definitely sounds like it was worth the money.

We did book ours in advance - probably two months ago. You can book day of, but certain days and times can sell out. It was worth the splurge to us as likely it is a one time visit. The tour, breakfast and lunch plus multiple front of line trips made it well worth it. Plus we were there on a very busy summer weekend only 2 months after Harry Potter opened.

Another option is simply a Front of the Line ticket. I believe it gives you a front of the line pass once for each ride and access to the reserved seating section for the shows. It does not include the special backlot tour or the meals.
 
Day 1 of ABD

We had a great breakfast at the Ivy. Another great foodie place and good place to soak up the LA Vibe. Service was very good and all of us enjoyed our meals.

Next we drove down to the Grand to drop off the car. The valet staff was a little confused but followed our instructions as provided by ABD. We had about 45 minutes until the ABD driver was due to pick us up. We walked over to World of Disney and browsed around. It definitely threw the kids off to be at Disneyland at the Grand and not be able to stay! No problems with the car and after riding through typical unpredictable LA traffic, we arrived at the Loew's. Our guides are Christina (who has also guided Greece and Wyoming) and Lorie (who is in her first year, but has been with Disney for many years). The group is smaller than we were quoted when we signed up at 33 people - much smaller than our Central Europe trip two years ago.

Our group wasn't due to meet until 5:00, so DH and I walked around through the adjacent shopping center and down to Hollywood Boulevard. I lived in LA for 4 years during college and have never been to Hollywood Blvd. - it is just not might thing. It was packed and hard to even move around. We headed back through the mall and to the hotel. We walked through the pool area which seemed pretty nice and even had a little place for pool snacks. The meet and greet seemed pretty early at 5 pm but it may have been because so many were coming from the east coast and had the time change to deal with. We were able to meet our fellow travels, get our lanyards and pins and introduce ourselves. It seems like a lively group with a few couples, a large family group, an adult mother daughter duo, a mother with a younger daughter who has never been to any theme park (I think we are all excited to see her experiences to Disney) and several other family groups. Several are repeat ABDers. I think my 11.5 year old daughter may be the youngest of the kids.

Dinner was typical hotel buffet fare but beer and wine were included. It was just way too early for dinner for me and I am starving right now :) Dinner was done about 6:20 and we were given the option of doing a group activity right down the street. It was something I would never have done on my own, but my kids had a blast and I ended up enjoying it. I won't go into details as it is considered a "surprise" activity.
 
The meet and greet seemed pretty early at 5 pm but it may have been because so many were coming from the east coast and had the time change to deal with.
We've done BSM three times and 5PM is typical for the first day. As you found, they want to have everybody meet others and take some pictures before dinner starts, while leaving time after dinner for those surprise events.
 


We did book ours in advance - probably two months ago. You can book day of, but certain days and times can sell out. It was worth the splurge to us as likely it is a one time visit. The tour, breakfast and lunch plus multiple front of line trips made it well worth it. Plus we were there on a very busy summer weekend only 2 months after Harry Potter opened.

Another option is simply a Front of the Line ticket. I believe it gives you a front of the line pass once for each ride and access to the reserved seating section for the shows. It does not include the special backlot tour or the meals.

Thanks so much for the information and the recommendation ! We've decided we'll definitely be doing this the day before our BSM next year!
 
Day 2 - Hollywood Day - SPOILERS IN BOTTOM PART OF POST

Breakfast was served from 7 to 8:15 and was a private room in the hotel's breakfast restaurant (Preston's). The breakfast was a buffet and was quite good. We then gathered at 8:30 for a short walk from the Hotel to the the Chinese Theater. Along the way, our guides told us some of the history and procedures related to the Oscars as we walked through the exterior entranceway to the Dolby Theater. As I previously mentioned both of guides have previous experience with Disney and one is an actress/performer. Both were able to share personal experiences with the Oscars. We then had a private tour of the Chinese Theater led by the manager of the theater. The tour was fascinating and they provided us with snacks and drinks. Afterwards he took us out into the courtyard where we had to fight the tourists to look at the handprints/footprints out front. We then were given 25 minutes to either look around more or freshen up back at the hotel before boarding the coach. It was interesting down on Hollywood Boulevard as they were setting up for the premier of Tarzan which was taking place at the Dolby theater tonight.

We boarded the coach for the short drive to Jim Henson studies. We were broken into two groups here and rotated back and forth between the activities. There were lots of photo opps here and many places where the guides took pictures of each family group. One of the activities we did was go onto a sound stage where they were in the process of creating/filming a digital puppet film. We had a very brief time in the sound stage as it was active production, but we got to see the puppeteers, voice actors, digital technicians. Very cool! We also were able to view some of the awards won by the Henson studios, see a film showing the history of the studio from the time it was built by Charlie Chaplin, and had a demonstration with one volunteer from the group on using the puppets.

We then boarded the coach for the drive to the Tam O'Shanter for lunch. We had pre-selected our lunch the day before and were seated in a private room. The Junior Adventurers all had a table together with one of the guides. We all had a chance to look around the restaurant and a photo op at Walt's Table. A couple of the staff of the restaurant gave a short speech about the history of the restaurant and recent happenings.

The next two things we did are technically considered surprises but I have seen them both discussed her previously. Please skip the rest of this post if you don't want to hear about them.






We re-boarded the coach and headed to Griffith Park to see Walt's Barn and one of the original train cars from Disneyland. The volunteers who work on the trains are very passionate about what they do and love to talk about it. It was pretty hot today so they gave us cool towels. After the visit to Walt's Barn which most in our group really seemed to enjoy, we headed back to the hotel and the guides surprised us with an Ice Cream social at Ghiradelli from 4 to 5. After ice cream some in our group headed over to line the walkways into the Dolby Theater and were able to see several stars and the rumor is that someone in the group got a selfie with a star or two. A big group of the kids hit the pool and then 4 of us families grabbed dinner together at the Italian restaurant in the adjacent mall. The group is gelling well and we had a great time.

Time to sleep - it is an early luggage pick up tomorrow.
 
This is getting me very excited for our October trip!
We've also booked the VIP Universal pre-ABD, so good to see that getting a mention too :thumbsup2
 


Enjoying the reports, please keep them coming.
 
We just left Disneyland after our post day and are on our way home. We were so busy each day that I basically fell into bed at 11 and then was up at 5 or 6 each day. I will keep adding to the updates. I am trying to figure out what to write about as so many of the things we did were deemed as "surprises" Some of them I had read about here, others were new. There was a brief moment when I questioned whether this was "worth it" for a DL regular, but as we moved into the trip, those concerns were quickly washed away. It was simply amazing and the experiences we had were so unique. We had a great group of 33 travelers and I think everyone was a pretty hard core Disney fanatic. Will keep you posted with more recaps over the weekend.
 
We just left Disneyland after our post day and are on our way home. We were so busy each day that I basically fell into bed at 11 and then was up at 5 or 6 each day. I will keep adding to the updates. I am trying to figure out what to write about as so many of the things we did were deemed as "surprises" Some of them I had read about here, others were new. There was a brief moment when I questioned whether this was "worth it" for a DL regular, but as we moved into the trip, those concerns were quickly washed away. It was simply amazing and the experiences we had were so unique. We had a great group of 33 travelers and I think everyone was a pretty hard core Disney fanatic. Will keep you posted with more recaps over the weekend.
 
Please do post about your experiences. Your trip report has been such a pleasure to read -- I keep checking back...
 
Day 3 - Disney Studios Day - Possible Spoilers Included

This trip changes so much based on what is available so please don't take anything that I have included as a guarantee and also don't read if you don't want to know what is included. The guides called some of the things we did a "surprise" but I had read about them on here so I think they are well known surprises. We did some other things that I have not read about so they may have been unique to our group - take this as your warning.

On Tuesday morning our bags were collected at 7 am and breakfast was from 7:00 to 8:15. The Loew's has a pretty good breakfast buffet and you could also get specialty coffee drinks: lattes, mochas, etc. We boarded our coach at 8:30 to head to the Studios. We did receive confirmation that several in our group had star sightings while watching the arrivals for the Tarzan premier. Jon Voight was apparently very generous with his time with fans. The drive to the Studios did not take long (we were given water when boarding the bus and I would recommend taking it with you). Our guides were very knowledgable about Disney history and shared many facts along the way. We stopped just inside the gates for the first of many photo ops and a restroom break. Our guides were really big on taking family photos. I am sure we will be glad for it once we get the pictures but there seemed to be too many group photo stops. We then did a walking tour of many of the open spaces and a few of the buildings. There was quite a bit of interesting artwork and animation cells turned into art which was fun to see. My husband and son had been to the studios before to interview a family friend who worked at the Disney Channel for a school project so they had seen some of the sights before. One thing they had learned on that tour and that was downplayed a bit by the guides is that the Studios are not used much as a working studio for shooting. A few of the sound stages are active and obviously some exteriors for Saving Mr Banks and Muppets were filmed there, but you are not going to really see active filming. The campus is a huge creative and administrative complex and walking through some of the buildings, looking at the titles on the doors (animation, voice, etc) really made us want to see even more. We were not allowed to take photos inside, but everywhere outside was fine. We then were able to tour the archives (not sure if this is done each time, it was billed as a surprise) which was amazing beyond words. We had an additional special surprise here that I won't mention but was quite a memory maker. We spent quite a bit of time taking photos and exploring the Legends Plaza and then headed back to the front of the campus a little before 11. We were turned loose with 15 minutes in the studios gift shop and told to meet across the street at the Commissary at 11 for lunch (we were told we would have time after lunch to finish shopping). The studio gift shop had several great and unique things and we loaded up.

For lunch we were given vouchers for the Commissary to buy an entree, side, and dessert (and drink). The Commissary was set up similar to the Silicon Valley cafeterias that I am used to with different stations for things (grill, deli sandwiches, mexican, huge salad bar). Everyone in my family had something different and I think we were all happy with lunch. This was actually probably one of the better meals (aside from Carthay Circle). We had lots of time to eat so people were able to finish shopping, rest, or go take more pictures outside.

I think it was about 12:30 when we got back on the bus to go to Imagineering. Imagineering was a short drive away and is housed in a group of non-descript buildings (for security). We met our host at Imagineering who had worked there for 30 years and his co-host who was celebrating his 5th Anniversary that day. We were given the strict no photos speech and then led into the building. Just walking down the hallways (and peeking into working rooms) was amazing. Our first activity was as a group where our two hosts described what Imagineers do and then some extra magic took place and a bunch more photos were taken! After that we were split into our two groups (the groups worked well as all of the families with kids (all tweens/teens) were in one group and the adults only families were in the second). We then rotated through three different stops within Imagineering. They were all fascinating and one was so special and not something I thought we would ever do. I will keep that one and the other big stop a secret, but the middle stop is probably not as "secret." As we moved from stop 1 to 3 we were led through a hallway with a giant work room with little models of various park attractions. We stopped and chatted with a cast member that was working on a project with our guide for an attraction at Tokyo Disney. We had a chance to see him working on a model and ask questions. The last stop that our group made let us into the world of ride/attraction development and allowed us to be immersed in some really cool technology (we also found out later on that it tied into something we would do in the parks).

After the third stop we went back to the common area of the main building which was a beautiful garden courtyard that had been decorated to celebrate the opening of Shanghai Disney. We were allowed time to shop in the gift store (each person received a 40% off one item coupon) and again we stocked up on unique souvenirs that can't be found elsewhere. We also had enough time to get a treat from the Imagineering Starbucks (how cool is that, and the chalk board had an Imagineering Logo Mickey holding a Frapp - this was the only inside photo we were allowed to take). We then boarded the coach at about 3:00 for our drive to Disneyland.

A couple of concluding thoughts on the two Hollywood days. Everything on Tuesday was amazing and one of the big reasons to do this tour. The things you see, the interactions with Imagineers, the gift shops etc, these all made the trip worthwhile just on that one day. The Hollywood sights on Monday were more of a mixed bag. All good and unique and things I probably would not have done on my own but Tuesday was obviously the big ticket day. DH and I talked about how it would have been nice if they could have worked seeing a taping or an active set into the mix. The Jimmy Kimmel show tapes right across from the Loews so it seems like that could have been done. The backstage tour we did at Universal did not include any live tapings, but because the studio and back lot are active it seemed to give a lot more flavor to the actual workings of making movies/shows. I think the VIP tour at Universal is a really nice add-on to to the ABD in that respect. The other thing is (and hopefully I won't sound too snobby) that Hollywood Boulevard around the Chinese Theater and El Capitan is just nasty. I lived in Southern California for 4 years in college and never once went there. It has definitely been cleaned up since my college years, but still is just gross. I felt bad for the people on our tour who had come with the thought that Hollywood is glamorous and then were thrown onto Hollywood Boulevard. The Loews itself is a very nice hotel and it was certainly convenient to do our Monday morning tour as a walking tour, but part of me wishes they would stay closer to the Westside/Beverly Hills or even over in the Universal Area which is right down the street from the Disney Studios.

Next up our first night in the Parks.
 
Enjoying your report. We left for our ABD BSM trip exactly one year ago today. I enjoyed it a lot and we arrived two days early and had hired a personal guide to tour us thru LA - very very reasonable. ABsolutely lOVED THIS DAY. As much or more as any ABD day. Enjoyed Hollywood very much with ABD but was a bit bored with the train stuff and archives etc. I too thought the Kimmell thing would be cool but ages 18 and up so maybe a little restrictive unless adults only? i think they could do more on that LA leg. As I said I adored the personal tour we got of Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive and various LA spots that I chose..wish Disney would incorporate little more of that as to me the muppet place was pretty outdated technology and not that exciting...
 
ABD used to tour the Jimmy Kimmel theater and then provide a handful of tickets to those that wanted to attend the taping of the show.

If more people wanted to go then the number of tickets available, the Guides held a lottery.

Mr. Kimmel put a stop to this and would no longer allow the tour of the studio/building or the tickets to happen. This all stopped because of him and only him. It's my understanding that he's not very friendly. This comes from some of my guests that met him as part of the tour.

If you want to see the taping, you now need to wait in line. We've been on several trips where folks have gotten in, so it is possible.
 
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ABD used to tour the Jimmy Kimmel theater and then provide a handful of tickets to those that wanted to attend the taping of the show.

If more people wanted to go then the number of tickets available, the Guides held a lottery.

Mr. Kimmel put a stop to this and would no longer allow the tour of the studio/building or the tickets to happen. This all stopped because of him and only him. It's my understanding that he's not very friendly. This comes from some of my guests that met him as part of the tour.

If you want to see the taping, you now need to wait in line. We've been on several trips where folks have gotten in, so it is possible.

Well, that is unfortunate.
 
ABD used to tour the Jimmy Kimmel theater and then provide a handful of tickets to those that wanted to attend the taping of the show.

If more people wanted to go then the number of tickets available, the Guides held a lottery.

Mr. Kimmel put a stop to this and would no longer allow the tour of the studio/building or the tickets to happen. This all stopped because of him and only him. It's my understanding that he's not very friendly. This comes from some of my guests that met him as part of the tour.

If you want to see the taping, you now need to wait in line. We've been on several trips where folks have gotten in, so it is possible.

We have been on 2 Backstage Magic trips and are looking forward to going on a 3rd in a few years. Our first was in 2009 and we did the Jimmy Kimmel tour. We met Uncle Frank, who has since passed away, and he could not have been more friendly or welcoming. It is very disappointing to hear this news. This was a very interesting highlight of our first trip.

On a side note, I love reading the trip report and look forward to the rest! :)
 
ABD used to tour the Jimmy Kimmel theater and then provide a handful of tickets to those that wanted to attend the taping of the show.

If more people wanted to go then the number of tickets available, the Guides held a lottery.

Mr. Kimmel put a stop to this and would no longer allow the tour of the studio/building or the tickets to happen. This all stopped because of him and only him. It's my understanding that he's not very friendly. This comes from some of my guests that met him as part of the tour.

If you want to see the taping, you now need to wait in line. We've been on several trips where folks have gotten in, so it is possible.


That is too bad that it has been taken out, but you are right it might be a good thing to consider for a pre-day.
 
Day 3, part 2 (arrival at Disneyland Resort)

I was worried about the traffic going down to Anaheim but it really wasn't too bad. I think it took about an hour and fifteen minutes at most which is a lot less than my normal commute home! The kids were all settled in with their electronics and Starbucks in the back of the bus and the guides put Saving Mr. Banks on for us. A little bit before we arrived at the Grand Californian, our guide Christina made an announcement. I really haven't sorted out in my mind what the current status of what they told us was or if it was something to build anticipation, but feel that I should mention it to people so that future travelers are prepared if changes come to pass for all future tours. Christina told us that they had just received word that we would not be able to go into Walt's apartment due to legal reasons and that future tours would not be going there either. She seemed genuinely upset to be delivering that news to us and promised that it was not a "joke" and that they would try to make up for it with other special magic. When we asked her about it later that evening it sounded like maybe it was an ADA/accessibility issue with the state of California. Obviously this was devastating news to most of us in the group who had really been looking forward to seeing Walt's apartment. We entered the hotel with a little bit of a pall of sadness among the group (by dinner time we are all back in good spirits though). Our guides gave us our keys to our rooms (most of us seemed to be on the third floor) and we headed out to freshen up and await our luggage. We had two connecting rooms that were on the 3rd floor on the far side of the lobby. This was the closest that I have ever been to the lobby at the GCH and I have to say it was so nice to be able to get out to DTD quickly. One of our rooms had a very large balcony with a full view of the pool, the second had a small balcony that was more screened. We love the GCH although we really missed the washer and dryer that we usually have in the villa.

At 6pm the group met back down in the lobby to head to dinner and our first night in the park. Our dinner was planned for the RiverBelle Terrace. I don't think I have ever had dinner there so I don't know what the usual menu selection is. I am pretty sure we ordered off the regular menu and had a choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert. The entrees had about 4 choices plus about 3 entree salad choices. Not my favorite park meal, but it was fine. By this point the kids were all tight so they shared one table and we sat with some new friends. After dinner we were turned loose for 45 minutes before we had to meet up at 8:30 for our parade and fireworks viewing. We quickly pulled up our wait time app and based on wait times and our location, we made a beeline for Thunder Mtn railroad with our new friends who were experiencing DL for the first time. This is DD's favorite ride so all was good in our family. It wasn't quite time to meet when we finished and the wait time for Haunted Mansion was only 10 minutes so we said why not and we made a mad dash (we were set on making the most of our time). Luckily there were none of the usual stoppages on the ride and we made it to the meeting spot only a couple of minutes late. The guides had an area roped off for us in front of the Plaza Inn along the parade route. The parade was scheduled to start at 8:45 and we all had a good time chatting and taking turns waving the ABD paddle. Right before the parade was due to start the guides got off the phone and said everyone let's go we have a surprise. We walked out onto the parade route with an escort and a lot of people trying to sneak along with us. We were led to a set of two rows of benches just to the right of the castle looking straight at the parade route where it turns to circle the hub. The parade started coming by almost immediately. This was the most amazing spot to watch the parade. I am not sure if this is where ABD always watches or if it was a "make-up magic" for us, or if a group that was supposed to be there did not show but we were all floored and truly enjoyed the parade and fireworks. It was also extra special to see how much our guides were enjoying the parade and fireworks. DL is the home resort for both of them and one of them had worked in the parade and stage shows for many years. It was very special to share this with them and share their love of DL.

Before this trip I had not been able to see the Paint the Night Parade (my DD usually wants to go,go, go on rides) so to be able to see it from such a premium vantage point was incredible. Same thing for the Disneyland Forever Fireworks show - such an amazing show and display. Quite a few people in our group shed tears. Everyone in the group was on such a high that we all just hung around our special viewing area while the crowds died down a bit, but gradually we made our way back to our rooms as the next day was going to be an early meeting time of 6:45 am in the lobby. My kids can easily sleep until 9 - 10 so I was dreading the wake up call.

Up next.... Backstage at Disneyland
 
I've been skimming your posts to avoid spoilers for my trip next month. I did see your comment about not being allowed to see Walt's apartment. While this is disappointing, I am glad for the prior notice, so I will not be caught off guard on my trip.

I wonder why they have quit allowing this part of the tour. My understanding is that the apartment has always been non-ADA compliant, since it was built prior to ADA guidelines. I wonder what has changed...

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences! I'm enjoying your reports, and they are helping to build more excitement for my upcoming trip!
 
Ugh, no Walts apartment.... Very sad that you were not able to see that. It was one of the highlights of the tour when we did it a few years ago. ABD does not/cannot go to Club 33 either. I was surprised by this when I heard that news. Luckily we did get to experience that.

Thanks again for taking the time to do this report!
 

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