After visiting the Studio a few years ago with Adventures by Disney, the first thing I began doing was plotting (a la Pinky and the Brain) how to go back. This is not an easy task; compounded by the fact that California is on the complete opposite side of the country. When I read about these special preview screenings, I knew this was the opportunity for which I'd been waiting. I justified the expense by making it an early, early milestone birthday present. So I got an awesome gift, and the joy of not turning fifty for another seven months.
Right after dinner, we rushed over to the Studio. We drove through the main gate, which was great (last time, our tour bus took us through the old gate, seen in the movie and trailers). I'd always wanted a photo of the main gate; I now have two, both from inside the lot.
A quick word about the Disney lot. It can be easily divided into two sections: the original lot that Walt built (which looks like a college campus), with names on the buildings, such as "Animation" and "Ink & Paint." Actual animation is no longer done in the old Animation building (which is just offices), so there are actually two Animation buildings now. The new section, which includes the Frank Wells building, Team Disney (aka the Michael Eisner building), and the new Animation building, used to be the back lot containing the outdoor sets (such as the Zorro TV show).
The guards directed straight to the underground parking garage of the Frank Wells building, which sits right at the main gate and houses the Disney Archives. I was stunned at just how big the underground garage is. You can't even tell it's there from the outside. After we parked, we took an elevator up to the ground floor where they ushered us straight to a conference room that had been set up as a welcome center. I looked for some familiar sights, such as the huge multiplane camera (a Disney invention) on display in the hall, but didn't see anything familiar.
I'd originally hoped to get over to the studio store before the movie, but they meant to keep us corralled until nearly show time, likely because it was a work day. Inside the welcome center, we checked in and were given rubber wristbands as our "studio pass," a voucher for a free DVD of Mary Poppins to pick up when we left, and a map of the studio for our self-guided tour after the film.
There was also a display with Mary and Bert's carousel horses from the film, posters of many Disney classics on the walls, a big Saving Mr. Banks backdrop where you could take your picture, an iPad station promoting the new (and free) Saving Mr. Banks iBook about the making of the film (which I couldn't wait to get home and download), and a concession that sold snacks and souvenirs. This is the one area where I felt they dropped the ball. I really wanted to get something, like a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or anything, that said Walt Disney Studios. I was prepared to spend money. Instead, they only had three items: a movie poster, a tote, and an umbrella (the latter two were from the Broadway production of Mary Poppins).
When it was time, they let us head through the lobby, where I immediately spotted the multi-plane camera and the Archives. We followed the crowd to the Theatre, which sits right across from the original Animation building. Mickey was outside posing for pictures.
The theatre itself is quite nice, though a little small compared to the one on the Paramount lot (see next post). They'd just had the premiere there a week earlier, so when it was showtime, we watched a quick video where all the stars were introduced, including Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. It had taken place on the very stage upon which we were watching the video. Very meta.
Then rows of light along the ceiling flashed and the film began. I don't want to go into a full review here, but suffice it to say that I loved it and can't wait for the Blu-Ray (more on why in a minute). I could nitpick a few things (like a speeding golf cart ride to a building that sits across the street and Winnie the Pooh being out of place), but my quibbles were few.
When the lights came up, everyone applauded and then it was off to explore the very studio we'd just seen in the movie! Again, very meta.
For our first stop, we followed the crowd and went straight across the street to the old Animation building. Walt's offices were on the 3rd (top) floor. When I was here last, they only let us walk through the first floor, which is decorated with tons of artwork from Disney animated films and a big Steamboat Willie picture in the flooring.
So I was stunned to discover that we were given free reign of all three floors! The second floor had more artwork on the walls, this time representing the history of the Walt Disney Company. This is where we saw the famous photos of the Kingswell Avenue storefront and the Hyperion Avenue studio.
On the top floor was the major attraction: they'd recreated Walt's offices and the conference room containing all the storyboards using the film sets. Outside this area was a nice display of Mary Poppins merchandise from the 60s.
I had hoped that someone from the movie might be on the lot each night (please Richard Sherman!) and actually got my wish, techically speaking. He was a tall, blond guy who looked and sounded like Owen Wilson. He was carrying an iPad with the iBook open, and offered insider various insights, such as the transformation of Tom Hanks' facial hair from Captain Phillips to Saving Mr. Banks. He got a lot of mileage by asking "Is there a FastPass for this line?" which we heard about three times.
At the end of the hall was the former location of Walt's actual offices, which (like every other room in the building) is now an office for a production company. The guard here was really nice, very enthusiastic, and clearly had a lot of respect for Walt. There was also a large TV showing a video of Director John Lee Hancock conducting a tour of the Studio, featuring interviews with Richard Sherman (and a visit to his former office with Hancock and the current occupant) and others. I'm sure it will be on the Blu-Ray. We got so engrossed in the video, we almost ran out of time for the tour.
With only fifteen minutes left, we rushed back downstairs and out to Stage A, the first soundstage built on the lot. Since Disney only made animated films at the time, it was (and still is) used strictly for scoring. In addition to all the sound boards and recording equipment, they displayed much of the Mary Poppins artwork used in the movie.
Trivia Note: In Saving Mr. Banks, P.L. Travers arrives at the studio and meets Don DaGradi and the Sherman Brothers in front of Stage A. They then hop in a golf cart and speed across the studio lot to meet Walt in his office in the Animation building, which is actually right across the street.
From there we rushed past the Disney limo to the Hyperion Bungalow, one of the buildings moved over from the former lot. I was really excited to get to go inside, which contained the set pieces for P.L. Travers' office used in the film.
With just over ten minutes left, we rushed over to Stage 2, aka the Julie Andrews stage, which is where Mary Poppins was filmed. I'd been in there last time, but this time they just had a photo-op set up with Mary and Bert.
Finally, we rushed over to Legends Plaza, which sits in front of the Team Disney building. This is where Disney honors all of its Legends with handprints mounted on the columns. At one end is a giant statue of the Disney Legends award. At the other is one of the three Partners statues (the other two are at Walt Disney World and Disneyland).
Our 10:30 deadline soon arrived, so it was back through the Frank Wells building where we picked up our DVDs before leaving. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have more time. Now it's time to start plotting on how to go back.
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