The Walt Disney Studios
Burbank, California
July 8, 2005

Two employees from Disney Studios, Mike and Laura, were nice enough to invite us on a VIP tour of the lot.  Disney Studios is not open to the general public, so we felt very privileged!

The entrance to The Walt Disney Studios.  Nice, huh?

Here are three of the seven dwarfs holding up the building.  I'm told that when it rains, it looks like Dopey sends down golden showers.

Stage 4 is where they shoot Alias.  All the shows were on hiatus so we didn't get to see any stars; I was really disappointed because I love Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30 is one of my favorite movies!).  And of course she's married to Ben Affleck, so I was hoping to run into him too.  I'd probably say something really witty like, "Hey, remember me?  I stalked you in Vegas a few years ago."

I don't know what shows are filmed in Stage 2, but I liked the shot of Chicken Little's butt.

That's the ABC building...I had no idea Disney owns ABC, but it didn't surprise me...everybody owns everybody these days.

Mickey flies high over the commissary, where we later ate lunch.  They had really good food, and a bulletin board where employees (or whoever) could fill out a comment/suggestion card.  The interesting thing was, management really replied to the comments and they posted replies and what actions were taken to remedy the problems.  I'd never seen anything like that and I was impressed.

Topiary Mickey and a couple of real characters...my 7-year-old niece and 11-year-old nephew.

The Silverlake Room, so named because it was Walt Disney's studio and originally on Silverlake Avenue in Los Angeles, and it was moved onto the Disney Studios lot.

A seemingly innocent sidewalk, but it should be easily recognized by diehard Alias fans.

One of many fake building fronts.

Another set used for many sidewalk scenes.

Here's the outside of the ship they're building for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3.  They're going to shoot both episodes at the same time because it's convenient, and so that the characters don't age too much.

The set guys let us climb into the ship and look around.  It really felt like we were in a dingy pirate ship.

It was very, very cool to know that we were standing where Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and a bunch of other stars would be filming soon.

Let's take a stroll down Mickey Ave.

Disney's animation building - my favorite!

The storyboard for 101 Dalmatians.

A still from Tarzan.

Beauty and the Beast, one of my favorite movies.

Touchstone Television is also in the same building.

This is called a multiplane camera.  They actually hand-drew cartoons on plates and shot them this way to create the 3-D effect.

I thought this looked really cool.

We didn't go inside the theatre.  The sign on the door read, "NO LOOKIE-LOOS ALLOWED."  I never knew the "lookie-loo" could be used in such a serious manner.  But all along the steps were autographs and handprints in the cement, just like Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Julie Andrews...she's one of my favorite things...get it?

Annette Funicello, everyone's favorite Mouseketeer.

This is the courtyard where they put up plaques of handprints on the columns.

Here's Roy Disney.

Who woulda thought Barnaby Jones was really a hillbilly millionaire?

My boyfriend said, "Kurt Russell has small hands."  (Me, rolling eyes.)  Yeah, babe...whatever.

Roy Disney, Minnie, and those kids again.

Walt, Mickey, and a couple of posers.

Mickey's hand holding the sorcerer's wand.

The Walt Disney Archives.

Entrance to the Walt Disney Archives.

Nice office!

Those are Disney characters all along the top shelf.

Minnie and Mickey, and the possessed brooms guarding the catalog shelf.

Original buggy from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Among other memorabilia, the medallion from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Original cell from Barnyard Olympics in 1932.

Time to go down Dopey Dr.

This squirrel promised to let us pet him if we gave him a nut.

Liar!

Stages B and C, the best-kept secret, because this is where all the stars eventually come to do their voice-overs and clean-up dialogues.

This unsuspecting woman is sitting exactly where Brad Pitt once parked his $25 million ass.

The chair, where Brad Pitt once parked his $25 million ass.

The entrance to the props warehouse - wow - what a collection!  These statues were "tagged" to be picked up and used in an upcoming movie.  Notice the sawed-off back part of a van?  It was a true yard-saler heaven!

Evita, placed strategically below the bull's ass, which was shot full of arrows.

The cereal bowl from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Poor guy, got his neck caught a few years ago and couldn't get out.

That toothbrush is big enough to qualify as a weapon.

We tried to wake this guy up, but I think he was dead.

The headstone for the movie Simon Birch.  It appeared to be made of real marble, or was nailed to the floor, since Mike almost broke his back trying to pick it up.

Boy, I could make a fortune on eBay selling this stuff!

Is it Robin Williams or is it flubber?

Ewww...felt like solidified Jell-O / snot / rotting flesh.

I noticed that Mike Tyson was here before me.  Robin paid me a hundred bucks to quit poking his face and go away...I should try that at work.

All right...who turned off the lights?

Insert coin and push, I mean dial, I mean...how the hell do you make a call?

The entrance to Hollywood Records, which Disney owns.

The waiting area.

Time to go shopping!

Laura promised us that the Cutting Room was the best yet.

She led us down a long corridor where Walt Disney is said to have used to transport his drawings to hide them from the prying eyes of Big Brother and spies...

...and up this lonely corridor...

...and we found ourselves back outside in the parking lot.  Thanks Mike and Laura...we'll be back soon to eat, shop, and bug the stars!

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