08/31/2023
Adventures by Disney Disneyland and SoCal day 2!
ABD started our day off with a delicious breakfast spread before our first stop, the El Capitan Theater, which hosts most Disney movie premiers. Adventures by Disney is known for many unique experiences, including exclusive access to places otherwise not open to the public. We were invited to step inside the Sherman Brothers dressing room which hosts the most high profile celebrities, got an up close look their famed Wurlitzer Organ, and we saw one of only 3 “Mickey Lifts” in the world.
We hopped right across the street to tour the historic TCL Chinese Theater next, and got to explore the Forecourt of the Stars privately, where we learned Donald Duck is the only animated character with the honor of having their footprints in the legendary cement squares.
From there we boarded a private coach to Jim Henson Studios, another exclusive access point only for ABD guests. On our tour of the studios we were welcomed into Brian Henson’s office, which was filled with awards and the history of the studios starting from the time it opened as the Charlie Chaplin Studios, and while we were there Angus Young from AC/DC arrived to rehearse at Henson Recording Studios 🤩! We were all quite starstruck to see the rock legend!
Our next stop was The Tam O’ Shanter, a historic restaurant in Walt Disney history. This was Walt’s favorite restaurant in LA, and where he conducted many meetings that would shape the future of his company. This is where we also got to meet imagineer, Matt McKim. Matt told us about his and his father’s time with the company. Matt’s father, Sam, was also an imagineer, and has since been recognized as an official Disney Legend. He even has his own window tribute inside Disneyland!
After providing lunch, our guides took us back to the El Capitan for a screening of Cinderella, part of their 100 movie marathon to celebrate 100 years of the Walt Disney Company. We got to witness the Mickey lift in action when Cinderella appeared onstage before the movie!
We were given the rest of the evening to explore Hollywood on our own, as well as some restaurant recommendations and activity suggestions from our adventure guides. We took this time to try more unique Hollywood dining options, and then finished our evening with a tour of the Hollywood Hills, before heading back to pack up in preparation to change hotels on Day 3!
