Day 3 – Part 1: Destination D: 75 Years of Feature Animation

As great as the Destination D weekend was and as much as I enjoyed sitting up front for all presentations and entertainment, it was the Monday events that prompted me to go for the Diamond level ticket.  Only 100 of these tickets were available and snatched with moments of going on sale.

After the wonderful Alan Menken concert to end the regular Destination D event, it was off to bed to rest up for the very busy next day.  Originally, check-in for Monday’s for Monday’s bus trip from the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank was scheduled for 7:00 AM with a prompt departure at 7:30.  However, with all that was happening at the Studio, and check-in and departure time was moved up to 6:15 and 7:00 AM.  So, along about 5:30 the ole eyes slammed open, and with a rapt anticipation I jumped out of bed, showered, and dressed and was out the door by a little after 6:00.  No coffee in the room, no news, no email, I wasn’t going to take any chance on missing the bus.  Beside, we’d been promised breakfast items and coffee would be awaiting us downstairs, though I did stop at the coffee shop for my quad shot latte, I did have to make sure I jump started my daily caffeine requirement.  J  First it was a check-in so D23 knew I was present – yeah, like I was going to miss this… and then off to the pastry and coffee table, yup, I needed more caffeine.  Found some seats for my friends, and enjoy a bite to eat and discussion of our mutual anticipation of the day’s activities.

By a little passed 7:00 two buses were on the I-5 heading north to Burbank and the Studio.  When Disneyland was first built, it was about a 2 hour drive from the Studio to the Park, and vice versa.  It is roughly a 40 mile trip, one way.  Fifty seven years later, with all the improvement in roads and vehicles, today it is about a 2 hour drive from the Park to the Studio, longer sometimes depending on how clogged the traffic.  It’s somewhat ironic that as much as things change, they manage to stay the same too.  So, at just about 9:00 we pull into the Studio, not the studio proper but the buildings across Riverside from the main complex, The Roy E. Disney Features Animation building and the ABC TV Headquarters building.  As we disembark the bus, we are each tagged with one of four Disney character stickers, as learned… to signify the tour group we would be assigned.  Again as with the assembly point at the Disneyland Hotel, there was a table with pastries and drinks for us to enjoy.  After about a ½ an hour to eat and use the rest facilities, we were off to begin our touring of the Features Animation building.  First up, we all gathered on the second floor between to Pods, for a quick video welcome and personal greeting from Disney Animator Darrin Butters, then it was time to form up in our groups and head off to explore this amazing place.

First stop down to the basement floor and a visit to one of the animation rigging labs were they build wire frames.  You probably already know this, but, much of today’s animation is done on the computer.  Each of those clever characters we see on the theater screen is a computer program called a wire frame rig.  Artists of the electronic world of bits and bytes take painstaking time and effort to build wire frame structure of these characters so that they can move for us on the screen.  This lab has about 2 dozen computers and we were all directed to take a seat in front of one.  On the computer monitor in front us, and on the screen at the front of the room, was one of these wire frame models of Ralph – the title character from the upcoming new movie ‘Wreck-It Ralph.’  After some basic instructions for the gentleman at the front of the room, we were encouraged to create our own little animated sequence which was really cool.  When I got done, I am sure I violated certain anatomical rules and my sequence had Ralph signaling for a touchdown while doing a rather impossible side kick, but, it looked cool!  J  I’m not sure what software we used and I forgot to ask, so I don’t know if it commercially available, or a proprietary custom application, but it was a lot of fun.  Next it was off to the recording studio where we got to participate in some ADR (or Auto Dialog Replacement), at least that what I thought I heard.  A few people from our group got to go into the recording booth and redo some lines from ‘Wreck-It Ralph.’  Then there was a quick trip down the hall to the art studio.  Nothing really exciting, but, they hold regular art classes at the facility, where artist on site can come to learn or practice new techniques.
 

There was a visit to a storyboard room in the story department.  In any other company this would be a conference room with a large table and chairs surrounded by tack boards, white boards, and drawing pads around the rooms.  We got to see some of how a story goes through its development with the use of storyboards, and group discussion and brain storming.  We even participated in a short brainstorming session to continue the development of a story that had been planned for this event… more on this in a bit.  It was then back upstairs and through the Frozen Pod to a Feature Animations Building equivalent of the old sweatbox viewing rooms from across the street in Walt Disney original Animation Building.  Like the old sweatboxes, this is where the artists, animators, directors, and producers come together to review and critique the day’s production.  Today, we got to see some to the early animation of Wreck-It Ralph’s Vanellope von Schweetz, and listen to the young animator, her first animation assignment with the Studio, explained her process and efforts to animate her character, along with an animation supervisor and a director explain the critique and review process.  And now to the pods… 

The center of the second floor of the Roy E. Disney Features Animation building is divided into what our tour guide described as two pods.  I never thought to ask if pod was an acronym, but, I’ll have to remember to ask if I ever get another chance.   Each of the Pods houses the productions and direction staff for one of the two Animated Features currently in production.  Each pod is design and decorated by the staff to reflect the story and feeling of the film being produced.  In the Frozen pod there are renderings and art on the walls that reflects some of the research done by the staff on locals, characters, concepts for the story.  In the middle of the pod is a central meeting area were producers, directors, artists, and animators can come together to discuss the project.  The décor again is representative of that feature’s concept and story.  In the Frozen pod, the walls are in muted colors of winter.  Across the hallway is the Wreck-It Ralph pod, where their central meeting area is designed to look like a video arcade, big surprise there…  As we exit the Wreck-It Ralph pod we are directed to a room at the end of an open meeting area.  There we meeting and attractive young artist with a distinctly Latin accent who explains how the Wreck-It Ralph team researched and developed the color palette some of the building features for the film.  Turns out, like we learned in the Frozen pod, artists and designer are sent on trips to locals that represent the film to draw inspiration.  In the case of Wreck-It Ralph trips to Spain (hence the accent of the young artist giving this talk) to sketch the building that would represent one of the worlds in the movie, and many trips to candy stores to draw insight into the world of Vanellope von Schweetz.  As l look around and notice the room is round, I look up to see that the ceiling ends at a conical point.  We’re in the HAT!!!  If you’ve ever driven by or seen any of the many picture of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, you’ll know this, but…  When the Feature Animation building was originally constructed, it included a large Sorcerer Mickey’s hat.  Inside the building this was Roy E. Disney’s ceremonial office, while still maintaining a working office in the old Animation building across the street, where he would meet with important dignitaries or special guests.  There will be more on the Hat when I get back to my history posts in the near future.

After a couple of wonderful hours exploring the Roy E. Disney Feature Animation Building, we were, all the tour groups, ushered into the theater.  In each seat was a bag of goodies for us to commemorate our visit, along with a copy of the group photo we’d taken earlier in front of the building.  With Darrin Butter, our MC at the beginning of the tour, leading the way, we talked about what we had seen, and had a nice little question and answer session.  The gentleman who led our story brainstorming session came up and told a raw concept story based on all of the tour groups’ input.  I know I won’t be able to do it justice, but…  It’s the story of a time-traveling young lady who stole a teddy bear from a young man, who with his dog, chased her down the slope of an active volcano flowing with lava, in his fire proof boots.  I don’t expect to see this at a theater near me any time soon, if ever.  J  But, it was a great example of brainstorming.  The schedule had originally called for a shopping opportunity in the Feature Animation Building company store, which didn’t happen.  I believe smarter heads prevailed, when it was realized that funneling 100 people through their store would add hours to an already very busy schedule.  I didn’t see the store in this building, but, I’ve been in the company store – Mickey’s of Glendale – at the Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) facility, so I’d assume they are similar in size, and the store at WDI is not that big.  Yes, it would have been nice to get some of the more specialized merchandise, but, the gift bags were a nice compromise.  

It’s now time to leave this wonderful building and head back to the buses for trip across the street to the main studio lot, and lunch.  But…  I think I’ll make that a part 2 entry, as there was quite a lot that happened there which may take up several more pages.

 

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

Day 1: Destination D: 75 Years of Feature Animation

Even though I had reserved seating for the day’s events, I know how even in the reserved seating areas the lines begin to form early.  Beside, for a guy who was not a morning person, and in his youth could sleep away a day without a problem, I find myself an early riser.  These days’ sleeping in for me is 7:30; so, my eye popped open 15 minutes before the alarm was set to go off at 6:00 AM.  Slip the little pod into the pot and add water, and after my shower, there’s coffee awaiting me, passable, but not great.  A little coffee and a little morning news, and I remember… there’s a little coffee shop downstairs right next to Goofy’s Kitchen.   Besides, it about time to head down for the always present Disney queue.

Cherry Danish and a large quad shot latte in hand, and I’m in business.  I head off the few 100 feet to the hotel convention center rooms to grab a spot in line.  Anyone who is familiar with the Disney Parks knows about the queue – that’s the line, with the serpentine stanchions and chains, at the beginning of most rides.  The larger D23 events are no different.  In the main seating queue there were at least tape outlines of the queue on the floor, for the Diamond members, only the sign was present to indicate where the line started, and about a dozen other people.  Half an hour earlier and I might have been 5^th or 6^th in line, but I’ll explain more in a minute why it doesn’t make a lot of difference.  As I’m standing in line, I strike up a conversation with an attractive redhead names Regina, a very sweet young woman from New Jersey… and yes, my wife knows!  :P  As Regina and I talk, another Disney friend of my rolls up in a wheelchair, with an interesting story as to why she is in the chair.  I met Diana at the Museum for the first time, and we’ve seen each other at several other Museum and D23 events.  As we are talking she begins to introduce me to Regina, as they had ridden to the resort on the bus.  I think Diana may somehow be connected to everyone. J  About this time my friend Heather from the Museum shows up with her friend, she’d messaged me on Facebook, to save her a place in line.  Heather and I have a little competition going on to see who can be first in line for Museum events, and I think to this point she still has the edge on me in wins.  Okay, back to my line explanation.   Unless you can manage to be first in line at any of these events, no matter where you might start out in the line, you going to find yourself further back.  Spot saving is the normal, I was even saving a couple of spots, so even though I started out about 12^th, by the time they opened the doors we were probably about 30 spots back.  But, since we had reserved seating up front, I was too worried about where we were in line.  Just before the doors opened, Diana left us to head up front.  They were letting in, or in Disney parlance, loading wheelchairs and ECVs first.  Regardless of our place in line Heather, being short and stealthy, managed to get us four seats, at this point Regina had be adopted into our group, in the second row center aisle.  Only drawback, poor Heather got stuck behind a rather large person in an ECV and couldn’t see anything.  I offered to change places with her, but she ask a D23 person who told her to just move her seat out into the aisle a little.  All was good.

After a Welcome from D23’s leader, Steven Clark, a little dance by some D23 fans and volunteers, and a welcome message from John Lassiter, himself… just a bit of a disappointment as the crowd was hoping for a live appearance, and treated to one on video, the first program of the day – WALT AND THE FIRST GOLDEN AGE OF DISNEY ANIMATION.  Current Walt Disney Archives Director, Becky Cline, hosted Disney Legend, and famed animation layout artist - Burny Mattinson, film producer – Joe Hale, and documentary director – Ted Thomas.  Ted is also the son of one of Walt’s “Nine Old Men” Frank Thomas.  The first golden age of Disney animation started, here’s a surprise, 75 years ago with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  The studio’s land and many of the building today, are a direct result of the amazing success of Snow White.  We all know that Walt was told that no audience would sit through a ninety minute cartoon.  Thankfully, like so many of his other endeavors, Walt chose to ignore his critics, and the movie went on to earn almost 8 million dollars in its first theatrical run, and has earned a $185 million domestically since.  Over the hour we heard wonderful and funny stories about working with Walt’s “Nine Old Men.”  For those who don’t know, Walt’s “Nine Old Men” were a group of his original animators.  They were Les Clark, Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnson.  From Snow White on, these are the men that helped to bring Walt’s storytelling visions to the screen, and who he looked to, to mentor his next generation of artists, animators, and story men.

For our next session – ROY E. DISNEY AND THE SECOND GOLDEN AGE OF DISNEY ANIMATION – Noted Disney Historian, Tim O’Day hosted a panel composed of Roy E’s son and former Imagineer Roy Patrick Disney Producer, Don Hahn, writers, directors, and producers John Musker and Ron Clements, and Disney creative director Dave Bossert.  Anyone, who’s read the earliest entries of my blog, knows that it was really Roy E. Disney who initially inspired this blog.  During the tumultuous history of Disney in the 80s, animation at the Studio came close to being lost.  After a management change in 1984, Roy volunteered to take on leadership of the animation group at Disney rather than seeing it closed down.  Had that happened, there are, as of this coming November, 26 animated features which Disney would not have brought to us, most notably among them, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.  As part of this little celebration for Roy’s bringing of the second golden age to Disney’s animation group, Roy Pat was presented with a Mouscar, a posthumous award for his father’s many contributions to the company.  You can expect to hear more about Roy E. and the 80s and 90s as I return to my history pieces in the future.  But, suffice to say, Roy E. Disney is a great figure in Disney History.

In the first afternoon session we got a look INSIDE WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS TODAY, where Disney Animator Darrin Butters gave us a look at some coming attractions.  Any of you who attended the D23 Expo last summer knows about Wreck-It Ralph, coming to a theater near you in November, the story of a video game bad guy, exploring his softer side.  We were treated to a couple of first looks at this movie, and I must say I am looking forward to it.  We were also treated to most initial development of a new Disney Animated Feature coming to the screen in 2013.  Frozen, a story based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of The Snow Queen.  First looks are good, and I think the anticipation will built.  Also shown were a couple of new shorts.  First, Tangled Ever After, and cute little short based on… you guessed it… Tangled, and the marriage of Rapunzel and Flynn… err… Eugene.  Next, Paperman and this was the first public showing of this new short.  If I heard correctly this new short will play with Wreck-It Ralph when it premiers in November.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  Next up, was THE GREATEST DISNEY ANIMATION YOU NEVER SAW, hosted by Don Hahn and Dave Bossert.  For the next hour or so, we were shown various animated clips and commercials for the Disney video vault.  They were cute and enjoyable but nothing I would think is that spectacular.  Finally for the last session before the dinner break – ANIMATING THE DISNEY PARKS, with Becky Cline and Tim O’Day hosting famed Imagineer and SVP of Creative Development, Tony Baxter;  Imagineering VP of Creative Development, Tom Morris; and former Imagineer and noted designer Eddie Sotto.  Simply put, I don’t think many people know or appreciate how Walt Disney influenced Imagineers like Herb Ryman, John Hench, Claude Coats, or Marc Davis, who went on to influence Imagineers like Tony, Tom, or Eddie, who have gone on to influence current and future Imagineers.  Or, just what disciplines the term imagineer encompasses; artist, engineer, architect, designer, builder, and on and on, I’m sure I’ve missed many, sorry.  Walt never really wanted the guests to see the backstage, as he felt it would spoil the illusion.  To this fan and guest, it only serves to enhance the experience knowing the efforts and talents that go into creating the magic.

On to the evening dinner break, but, before that…  Those of us with the Diamond level ticket got a special meet and greet session.  I bolded and italicized special because it really wasn’t that special.  Not that I don’t appreciate hanging out with Disney luminaries, but the only people in the room that I hadn’t met before were Dave Bossert, and  Bill Rogers – the Voice of Disneyland – which was cool!  Yup, all those special announcements you hear in the park, that’s Bill.  He was at Destination D making all the announcements for the event too.  And, like most all Disney people, he’s a really nice guy.  But, Don Hahn, Steven Clark, and Dave Smith, I’ve met before at other events.  One plus, I was able to get my copy of Dave’s new book – Disney Trivia from the Vault – signed…  Thanks Dave!
After dinner, it time for big event of the evening.  For anyone who was at the last D23 Expo, you’ll remember probably the hardest event to get into.  As soon as the audience for the preceding session entered the room, the queue began to fill for the next, which was not schedule to happen until about 8:00 PM, it was now about 3:00 PM.  Before the hour was out, the queue was at capacity of the room.   Dick Van Dyke and The Vantastix.  Well, we had them there at Destination D to perform for us, and no 5 hours standing in a line to get in.  So at 8:00 PM we enjoyed a barbershop medley of music from Dick Van Dyke, Mike Mendyke, Bryan Chadima, and Eric Bradley, and being in the front row… well actually second row, right behind Marge Champion and David Frankham… made the event that much more special.  At 86, I don’t think Dick has missed a step, and even if he has, the guys he’s singing with are so good they cover it and no one really notices.  As fun as the day was, this was one of the best hours of the day.

The final event of the day was the screening of WALT & EL GRUPO – THE DIRECTORS CUT, with a prologue by director Ted Thomas (you might remember him from earlier – Frank Thomas’ son) and producer Kuniko Okubo.  Even though I have seen this documentary at the Museum, and have the DVD in my collection, I stay with a new friend who hadn’t seen it yet.  Beside, the director’s cut has an additional 20 minutes in it, and I want to see if I could identify them…  I couldn’t.

By now, it’s 11:30 PM and I tired, so it’s off to bed, to get a good night’s sleep to prepared for another busy day tomorrow.

Next, Destination D – Day 2. 

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

 

 

 

Prologue: Destination D: 75 Years of Feature Animation

On August 11 and 12, The Walt Disney Company and D23 celebrated 75 years of Feature Animation with their 2^nd Destination D at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

On Friday August 10^th, after dropping my lovely wife off at work and quick stop to top off the gas tank, (No, you don’t have to worry; Pam got picked up from work Friday evening by our youngest.  J)  With a full tank and the trays loaded with a Book on CD in place, I hit the freeway and started motoring south.  About 8 hours later, after hitting a couple of choke points along the route, and the requisite traffic jams inherent to the L.A. driving experience, I was pulling up in front of the Disneyland Hotel.  A half hour later, after checking into the hotel and a very nice room overlooking Downtown Disney, I was in the check-in line for Destination D.  One of these days I will learn to read all the signs behind the check-in desk.  After giving with the gal in line for A-to whatever my name and not finding it on the list, she ask if I was a Diamond level guest?  With my yes, she point me the nice young lady (Karen) sitting in front of a sign with a great big diamond on it.  Doh!!!  Checked in for the next day’s event, and sufficiently merchandised, it was off to the room to drop off my booty and on to DCA.

For those of you who may not know, Disney California Adventure has been undergoing a major retrofit for the last couple of years.  I won’t go into my deeper thoughts on the subject, but, suffice to say that, to me, DCA has never really felt that much like a Disney Park.  Yeah, there were a few things in there that I liked, but we never spent a lot of time in that park.  Well, this is the first trip ever, mostly because of the short time I was there and my commitments elsewhere, which I actually did not make it into Disneyland.  A real bummer, but, I will survive; I wanted to see the new additions to DCA, and my beloved Corn Dog Castle was back in operations.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Red Wagon at Disneyland too, but, a stop at the Corn Dog Castle has been a tradition since DCA opened.  It was one of the things that drew us to DCA in the early day.  So, after renewing my annual pass at the ticket booth, it was off to the DCA turnstile.

Approaching the entrance to DCA, you’ll immediately notice the absence of the C*A*L*I*F*O*R*N*I*A letters.  Next, one see the new turnstiles which have a similar design to those of Disney Hollywood Studio in Florida, and a more 30’s feel to them.  Also now missing is the Golden Gate Bridge which I’d always felt looked a little out of place.  As I walked into the park, I was fortunate to have one the new Red Car Trolleys stopped at the end of its run near the gates adding to the ambience of walking onto a 1930’s styled Los Angeles street, with its stucco storefronts.  As I came around the corner, gone was Sunshine Plaza with its brass disaster of a sun, replaced by a beautiful recreation of the Carthay Circle Theater – home to Walt Disney’s 1937 world premier of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  This rendition of the Theater houses a new Disney Dining experience called Club 1901 on the second floor with a Lounge on the first.  On what is now know as Buena Vista Street, in front of the entrance to the Hollywood Backlot, sits the newest sculptural addition to the Parks, the Storytellers statue.  This is another statue of the Walt and Mickey, with Walt appearing to the dress in an attire of his 1920’s arrival to Los Angeles and Hollywood.  But, unlike the Partners Statue, raised and fenced in, in the hub over at Disneyland, the Storytellers Statue is at ground level and accessible for guests to have their pictures taken with it.  All in all, my impressions of Buena Vista Street are wonderful, with the shops along the street well themed to that of the 1930’s.  A future trip will be need to give review to the new restaurant in the Carthay Circle Theater, but, the reviews I have read are very good and give my experiences with Disney’s other fine dining offering, I would expect nothing less than excellence in 1901.  Since it was still well before dusk, and I was hungry, I bypassed Cars Land and headed off to the Corn Dog Castle to satisfy that craving that had be building for the entire drive down.  I’ve had corndogs at many places around the country and we have a Dog On A Stix here locally, but, nothing is quite the same as a Disneyland corndog – dark, crunchy, and about 10 inches in length.  Fresh and hot, dipped in mustard, it is pure nirvana.

Corn dog fix satisfied and dusk rapidly approaching, it was off to Cars Land.  Standing at the entrance, I was immediately reminded of the many trips we took from San Jose to Camarillo when I was a kid.  How many of you remember that the 101 we know today was but a future notion.  The highway ran through every little town between here and Los Angeles – Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Salinas, King City… billboards advertising all the great little roadside attractions and cafes along the route.  But, looking down this Main Street, I was immediately transport into the Radiator Springs of Cars.  There’s Fillmore’s and Sarge’s, Flo’s and Luigi’s, and at the end of the street, the Cadillac Range looms in the distance… the tailfins of several years of 50’s caddies jutting out.  And then as the darkness of night began to envelop us, what I was really there the experience this evening.  The speakers came alive with “Live Would Be A Dream”, and slowly as the music played the lights and neon of Radiator Springs sprung to life from one attraction to the next.  Again, I remembered with great fondness, those many trips south, most often in the evening hours, and all the neon signs as we transited one small town to the next.  Remembering the movie and being a child how came of age in the 60’s, I had been anxiously awaiting this moment since I first learned of the building of Cars Land – I was not disappointed.  After the 400+ miles on the road, and the fatigue that often accompanies elation, it was time to turn in and prepare for the early morning events of Destination D.  Arriving back at my room, I was in time for the nightly fireworks display at Disneyland.  With the music piped into the room through the TV and a room on the 8^th floor of the Disneyland Hotel Adventure Tower – Downtown Disney side, the only place better to watch the fireworks would be in front of Sleepy Beauty’s Castle.  It was an interesting perspective to watch the show from a side angle.  If you’ve experienced the fireworks in front of the Castle, or even from the Esplanade between the parks, you would probably think that the colorful bursts in the sky were coming from directly behind the castle.  Not So… the smaller bursts do launch from the castle, but the large starbursts come from a backstage building behind ToonTown. Just an interesting side note.

So, Cars Land, done… corn dog, done… fireworks, done… time to head off to Neverland and a nights rest for a busy day to come.  One last surprise for the evening, the lights on the nightstands have two switches, one for the light and the other...  well, flip the switch and you hear “When You Wish Upon a Star,” I could be wrong on the music but, as you listen to the music, especially if the other lights are out, you notice the headboard begin to light up with fiber optic firework bursts.  There’s that special Disney touch, and a really wonderful way to slip off to Neverland for the evening.  Nighty Night Tink.

Next, Day 1 of Destination D…

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com

You can find us on Facebook at:  Discovering Disney History on FB

First Ever Destination D - Disneyland 55

I not sure who’s numbers to use, I heard 1300 to 1500, but, what do you think happens when about 1500 extreme Disney fans get together?  Well, on Friday and Saturday, September 24^th and 25^th, D23 held their first ever Destination D for a group of Disney die-hards.  Since this year Disneyland celebrates its 55^th anniversary (hey what do ya know, I celebrated a 55^th this year too), D23 put together an intensive and in depth look at Disneyland over the last 55 years, and, well, about 1500 serious Disney geeks, freaks, and fans gathered in Anaheim at the Disneyland Hotel.  I truly use the terms geek and freak with respect, as I consider myself in that category of fandom, and so far all of the fans I’ve had the pleasure of meeting are some of the nicest people.

So how did we start this event, you may ask?  Why with the ever present Disney queue, of course.  Disney didn’t invent standing in line, but I think they certainly may have perfected it.  For anyone who has never been to a Disney park, and I really can’t fathom anyone in that group, every show and attraction has its own queue line which wind around the entrance to the event.  At the parks, there are stanchions and chains which can be continually reconfigured to control growing lines.  They don’t have this set up at the hotel, so the queue was controlled and directed by D23 Staff and Volunteers.  When we arrived at 7:30 Friday morning, the queue already contained a few hundred excited fans, and we end up a few feet away from the giant Mickey Statue that resides at the drive in entrance to the hotel.  We heard that there were people at the front of the line who had come in as early as 5:30 AM to secure their chance for choice seats at opening.  During the meal breaks they cleared the ballroom and I saw individuals head straight back to the queue line to be first to enter for the next sessions.

So the doors open, and this throng of people actually advances in fairly organized manner into the Grand Ballroom to take our seats, and then we wait for awhile as time is given for those who choose to arrive later at the schedule start time.  But that’s okay, because we had time to socialize with those around us.  Since there was no assigned seating, rarely did we end up sitting near the people with whom we’d share the queue wait.   And this was okay too, because I like meet new people, especially Disney fan, who I find almost always are willing to share the Disney passions and experiences.  So as we sit talking with the fans around us, waiting for the show to start, we are treated to some Disney background music and the occasional announcement from none other than Disneyland’s official announcer Bill Rogers.

As the lights dim, the screens at the front of the room change from the Destination D logo to a familiar sight, and then Jeffery “Disney Geek” Epstein appears on the screen with a special Disney Geek episode welcoming us, and giving a quick review on what was about to happen.  He then introduced Steven Clark, the head of D23 to the audience.  With a remarkable rendition of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle as a backdrop, Steven kicked off the day by letting us know that this inaugural event had attendees from 39 of 50 state, and 7 different countries including Australia and Japan.  Now that’s dedication to one’s fandom!!  If I were to recap all the session for both days, since blog post would be several dozen pages long, and probably a bore to most readers.  If you’d really want a recap of the event, there are two reports on the D23 website (http://d23.disney.go.com/newsfeatures.html).  And I know that DustySage over at MiceChat was posting as the event was unfolding and has a lot of info there in the MiceChat forums.

So my review is going to be a little more on my perceptions of Destination D, and some thoughts about D23 that occurred to be as we were driving back Sunday.  Interesting story there, as least to me, is that when we drive down to the L.A. area for events or Disneyland visits from the SF Bay Area, I get a LOT of time to think, as my co-pilot(s) spend most of the time sound asleep, or so engrossed in their iPods as to be almost non-present.  This blog came about from thoughts I had while returning from an event at the Walt Disney Studio.

First, let me say that my two favorite session of the weekend were Mickey Mouse Club 55th Anniversary Hosted by Tim O'Day,  and Imagineering the Magic of Disney Hosted by Marty Sklar.  And Tim, if you ever read this, I was the guy in the queue after lunch who thought you were Paul Anderson.  You’d already moved on when I figured out my mistake, so SORRY Dude!  But on the upside, you were my favorite panel moderator.   The Mickey Mouse Club invokes very fond memories of my youth.  Now since the show went off the air in 1959 and I was only 4, those memories are probably of the show in syndication, but they are fond memories none the less.  Thank you to my lovely wife, who took the time to stand in line and get autographs of the Mouseketeers for me, as my stomach decided on a mutiny at lunch.  Rin Tin Tin, Sky King, Roy Rogers, and The Mickey Mouse Club helped me get transcend some troubling time with temporary escapes from reality.  The only thing that could have made the Mickey Mouse Club 55^th Anniversary session better would have been if Annette could have been present.  My two real crushes in life, Tinker Bell and Annette Funicello.  It was really nice to hear the wonderful things said about Annette.  As with my comments on Fess Parker, it is always gratifying to learn that people you look up to are as nice in real life as the characters they play.  I will be counting the days until we get to see Cubby, Sharon, and Bobby up at the Museum next month!

The Imagineering the Magic of Disney session was great, and I will take every opportunity to sit and listen to the stories told by Imagineering, past and present, and this panel was fabulous.  As Marty told us, 307 years of Imagineering experience was sitting on that stage, with current Imagineers; Tony Baxter, Dave Durham, Kathy Mangum and Kevin Rafferty, and Disney Legends; X Atencio, Alice Davis, Bob Gurr, and Don Iwerks.  Even if some of us may have heard some of the stories before, or can read them in some book, there is no substitute for an opportunity to hear these people speak, while we still have the chance.  The back and forth between Marty and X, and Marty and Bob was priceless.  I heard some comment about Marty being his irascible self with Bob, but personally, I think it more of an act that has developed between the two. Anyway, I just love hearing all the stories, which brings again to the Museum.  Alice Davis and Marge Champion will be there in December, and I am looking forward to that event as well.  The Museum is a fun place to see people as the theater there is a smaller and more intimate venue, and we usually get a chance to see the guests afterward and get autographs.  I still can’t believe it when I wait to get an autograph, 55 years old, and I didn’t collect my first autograph until I was 54, go figure.

I am currently work on one of my final pieces on Walt Disney himself, for the blog, before I move on to some of the other interest Disney history items I have discovered so watch for that one, but now, for a brief synopsis of my perception of the event and D23. 

First off, I was a bit surprised to discover that D23 only has 7 fulltime Disney CM’s dedicated to it, and I think it is rather remarkable that these 7 individuals have pulled off any many events as successfully as they have in the past year plus since D23’s inception.  While I have heard, from various D23 members, some concerns about how some of these events have come off, and that this is just another Disney market ploy, I am a bit more willing to give them a break under the circumstances.  As for the marketing ploy, I am sure there is a marketing bent to D23, but I am beginning to think there is more to it than just marketing and just something for the avid Disney Fan… Tim O’Day’s Disneyland: The Happiest Place in Pop Culture on the second day got me to thinking about one of the possible unspoken goals of D23.  Is it possible that part of D23’s charter is to present a more accurate or real picture of Walt Disney?  Is the something they were even thinking about, or could this just be an ancillary effect?

Walt Disney, as it appears to me, has been elevated to an almost mythic icon idol with a nearly Midas touch and Herculean ethic by many fans.  I cannot count the times I have heard a fan complain, “that not the way Walt would have done it,” or “current Disney management isn’t paying attention to how Walt laid it out for them.”  Go to any fan board, and I guarantee you’ll be able to find comments like these.  Many Disney Fans are amazingly possessive of the Disney experience, and many have come to believe that it was Walt, and Walt alone, who is responsible for that experience, without considering all the other people involved in the beginning or since.  Those are some extremely big shoes to impossibly difficult to fill.  It would seem to me to be prudent to find ways to positively temper the truth in an effort to mediate the corporate message.  The Walt Disney Company is still a business and responsible to its shareholders in increase their the value of their investment, and I think it may be in the best interest of all to, as judiciously as possible, to dispel any notion that their founder is anything more than a special and very creative man, who with the help of many created an special place that has continued to experience creative rebirth long after his passing.  I know there are some who will read this that think I am being blasphemous, and I do think that Walt Disney was a marvelously creative person, and probably a genius, but he would not have been successful without the creative talents of many, many people in his employ.  But I’ll have more on this in the article that is currently in the works.

I only real complaint was the seating arrangements.  There were probably only a couple 100 really good seats to be had in the venue.  Other than those, you had to rely on the screens to get a decent look at what was happening on the stage.  For most of the panels, it wasn’t that big deal for me, because I was there to listen to more than see the panelist, and the presentation slides were clearly visible.  The conference type seating was also uncomfortable to my old backside after about 45 minutes, and the sessions went at least two hours at a time.  I think a theater seating arrangement might have worked better, but, I don’t know how D23 would have pulled that off, and been able to keep the event at the Disneyland Resort.  Finally, I will be interested to see just how many video clips show up on youtube?  While they were quite clear that there was to be no video or audio recording at the event, they did allow pictures to be taken without flash.  Wonder if D23 has forgotten that most digital cameras today are also capable of video capture?  And I saw a lot of that happening.

One the last note, I heard some complain about the cost of the event, comparing the cost of the expo per day, as opposed this one.  At the expo last year, attending the sessions consumed vast amounts of idle time sitting or standing in queues waiting for sessions.  We missed a number of sessions because we couldn’t be in two places at once.  At this event you were at least guaranteed a seat for very thing.  I think that was worth the added cost, and I’d do it again.  But then, I’m a Disney Nut!

Your comments or questions are always welcome.  If you have a correction or something you think I should look at in my research, please feel free to contact me at mr.grumpyguy@gmail.com