Walk In Walt’s Footsteps

Walt’s apartment above the Firehouse. Light in window is a tribute to Walt.

Something we had been wanting to do for a long time was the Walk In Walt’s Disneyland Footsteps Guided tour.  This is a tour that is unique to all the Disney parks as this is the only park that was complete before his passing in 1966.  The tour takes guests around the park and over the areas where Walt walked and envisioned this magnificent place that would become the gold standard in theme parks.

At the beginning of our tour, each guest was issued a headset that provides clear communication from our guide and the sound clips of Walt explaining areas of the park.  We then met our guide Sam who would take us back to the early days of Disneyland.

We began outside the Firehouse.  This is significant because the top floor houses “Walt’s Apartment.”  This was an area where he could work, rest and Continue Reading →

80 Years of Animation

As D23 members, we spent an afternoon at the Disney Animation Studios in Burbank celebrating 80 years of animation with a viewing of Disney’s 50th animated full length feature, “Tangled.”

Disney Animation Studios Theater

Seated in the private theater on the Animation campus, the day began with a presentation by Disney Archivist, Dave Smith.  He recapped the 56 animated feature films by breaking them down into eras of Disney history.

He described these eras as:

1937-1942:  The Golden Age.  This was the dawn of animated movies and set Walt on solid footing for his studio.

1943-1949:  War & Reinvention.  These years Continue Reading →

Tour of Disneyland Railroad

There are many who lament the loss of Big Thunder Ranch and the subsequent shutting down of the Disneyland Railroad, The Mark Twain Riverboat, the Columbia Sailing Ship and Fantasmic while the imagineers and contractors build the new Star Wars Land.  But we found a serendipitous opportunity that would have never come along without these closures – a special up close tour of the Disneyland Railroad.

Disneyland has brought out the locomotives and cars for guests Continue Reading →