Things have been pretty good. Family Fun Hobbies is moving right along! Summer is in full swing again with our central air still broken, so we are still using our window units, and I still hate 'em, lol. I've lost 19.6 pounds using My Fitness Pal on my phone and online at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. Which I'm quite proud of, it's going slow, but that's ok.
So what's got me feeling motivated today?
I just learned about the Adventures by Disney Back Stage Magic Tour http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/destination?name=HollywoodDLRLandingPage) and I'm here looking for sponsors for our trip. Ok, sponsors is a stretch, but I'm here to say I soooo can't wait until we can do this tour. Of course, I won't say no to help. Disney Gift Cards are always accepted. On 11/23/12 we will hit our 10th Wedding Anniversary! Is that really possible? To celebrate we have been planning a trip to Walt Disney World. We love Disney! We even trade/sell Disney Pins in our store to help feed our addiction while not in the 'World'. Our plan is to hit Universal Studios and see Harry Potter and then spend 7 days in a DVC Villa at our favorite resort the Animal Kingdom Lodge and tour WDW in late November/early December. We have two couples that are hoping to join us and we so can't wait, but this is WDW, a place I've been many times and I've only been to Disneyland once for 1 day with my dear friend Leann! California Adventure wasn't even open yet. Rob has never been...
Which is where the Back Stage Magic Tour comes in. You arrive in Hollywood and tour various sites including the Jim Henson Studios. Next off is Disney Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering. Oh man, this is like seeing the motherland for me. My dream job is to work for WDI as a park/resort planning Imagineer. You also get access to their Cast Member only merchandise stores (can we say Disney Pins?) and the not open to the public Disney Archives Museum. Then it's off to Disneyland itself, staying 3 days in their Grand Californian Hotel where you walk right into the Parks. You are then given private tours of both parks including visiting Walt Disney's personal apartment on Main Street and behind the scenes tours of rides and the parade floats and on and on. Reserved seating for the Parades and Fireworks are included too.
I'm beyond giddy at the thought of this tour. Those of you who know me, know I love Disney history, the Parks, the Movies, the Music, etc. This tour gives it to you all VIP style. Plus it has special bonuses if you are lucky, like getting to go to the barn where they store Walt's trains he rode in his backyard. They even let you ride on them! You also might get to meet Jim Henson's son for a tour if he's free the day you hit Henson Studios. Lately Marty Sklar and imagineer who worked closely with Walt has been joining the tour groups for lunch one day.
Sure I love touring other places too, don't get me wrong I am a Geographer afterall, but how can we pass this up? No word yet if it's been renewed for 2013, but they added a week for 2012 so things look good. It's pricey though, which is why I'm looking for those sponsors, lol. From everything thing I've read in the last 3 days (yes I've gone nuts over this), it's worth double what you pay. Many people are repeaters.
I so can't wait for WDW. We'll be there while they tape the Mickey Christmas parade, I hope we get picked to sit for that. You give them 4 hours of your time by applying for it (it's a lottery to get in) and they give you a Free day in the Magic Kingdom. We'll see all the xmas decorations and go to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and eat at our favorite restaurant Boma. I have always wanted to go for all the Christmas festivities! Those are for sure, now it's time to get ever so slightly more into planning mode. Early yes? not for me though, a planner. And now, I get to dream of standing in WDI watching the imagineers in action. Talk about inspiration!
