OK, something different today: We have a very brief update about
Disneyland. very brief. What we do not have is any kind of comment on the
recent changes at Imagineering (WDI). While we're encouraged, we're still
researching that, and there may be even more happening before the dust
finally settles over on Flower Street. We also only have a brief comment on
Matt Ouimet's Saturday night red carpet appearance. I did say the update
would be brief as far as Disneyland goes, right?
So what else do we have for your perusal today? We have a concise yet
richly illustrated review of Universal's recently reconfigured VIP tour. In
short, while they are still working out a few bugs on it, for what you pay
versus what you get, there is simply no better or comparable value in the
theme park industry today, period. And by now you regulars know how picky I
am, so those kinds of compliments don't come lightly.
For those of you who are staying for the full run, get the bagel (salt
for me please) and go for the lite cream cheese. The rest of you can just
have a cup of coffee without the nosh. Ready? Action! - Al
Ah Wilderness
After we broke the story of Fort Wilderness's demise last Wednesday, the
cash spigot was officially turned on by Greg Emmer for demolition late on Friday
morning. While the original plan was to have most of
the structure torn down by the time Pirate's Lair opened this weekend, that
now won't be able to happen due to logistical and timing issues as the
Imagineering (WDI) team
races to the finish line on their Pirate's Lair extreme makeover project.
What
Memorial Day weekend visitors to Pirate's Lair will find is Fort Wilderness
still standing, but for the most part blocked off by themed construction walls
being installed this week. A small section of the fort will remain open on the
east side of the original structure, where the WDI Pirate's Lair project has
just remodeled the existing bathrooms and installed a wheelchair lift up to the
fort from the waters edge.
The Fort last November, just before we
announced the Pirate makeover of the island.
The walkways around most of the fort will be barricaded off for the first
weekend of Pirate's Lair, and then early next week the demolition crew will move
in with chainsaws and wood chippers and take the fort down as quickly as
possible over the next four days. By early June most of the fort will be gone,
and a tall log wall will be hastily installed over the same footprint as the
fort once stood.
If you plan on heading over on a raft for the opening weekend of Pirate's Lair,
make sure you pay your last respects to Fort Wilderness. It really only lasted
these last five years out of sheer neglect, and because Team Disney Anaheim (TDA) was happy to let the
expense of tearing it down be continually deferred for fiscal year after fiscal
year. We'll fill you in a bit more on how the fort got as bad as it did, and why
the sudden decision was made just days before Pirate's Lair opens when TDA has
had the past six months to do something about this historic structure.
No Pirate Hangovers
Meanwhile, at the other end of the island, the immediate buzz surrounding the
massive Pirates movie premiere at Disneyland has all been positive. Compared to
the bigger budget and more lavish Pow-Wow party back in April (yes, you read
that right), this third movie premiere was a cakewalk.
Disneyland and its operations teams have always been
good at these huge events, but after the last few years of non-stop 50th events
and previous Pirates Premieres, Disneyland really has these things down pat now.
Even the bigger scale and scope of this premiere setup, plus the concurrent
project of remodeling the island right in the middle of it all, didn't seem to
faze the Disneyland planners. It may be a monumental amount of work for Anaheim,
but it's a priceless opportunity the park can't pass up.
Have we Ouimet before?
TDA observers were trying not to get too excited about this weekends Matt Ouimet
sightings as he strode down the red carpet to his reserved seats for the
premiere. Unlike other recent TDA executives, Matt left Disneyland on positive
terms at the top of his game and he still finds the TDA welcome mat out for him
as he's invited for the Christmas Candlelight event each year or big shindigs
like this Pirates movie premiere.
Photo: Sarah Gillanders
Is there a role for Matt in the future at
Disney? That's something no one except Bob Iger or John Lasseter might know,
although his reputation as one of the best executive leaders Anaheim has ever
seen certainly bodes well if a Chairman position were to open up for him at some
point.
The fact that Matt was able to hobnob with John Lasseter and Steve Jobs
at the executive setup for the premiere party certainly doesn't hurt though...
The $199 Bargain: Universal Hollywood's VIP
Tour While Sue Kruse was doing us proud on the red carpet at
Disneyland last Saturday, I was over at Universal Studios spending the day on
their VIP Tour. It's described on the Universal website this way:
It's your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feel like a celebrity
for the day! Follow in the footsteps that only Hollywood heavyweights have walked
before. Go behind-the-scenes and visit closed-sets. Listen to stories only
Hollywood insiders hear about the making of some of the most famous films and TV
shows. Since Universal Studios Hollywood is a real, working movie studio, our
production locations and sets change everyday, which means you never know what,
or who, you might see. It's 6 hours of total movie-making immersion.
After a brief listing of what you may see on the lower studio lot, the site
goes on with the theme park VIP benefits you will also get:
- 1. Entry to the VIP Lounge - This is your time to feel like a star. Start your day
off with a continental breakfast in the luxurious VIP lounge.
- 2. Front-of-line access to ALL shows and attractions - Just like a true celebrity
you will go to the front of the line.
- 3. VIP reserved seating at ALL shows - Do what Hollywood's elite do and reserve
your seats so you can see (and be seen).
- 4. Backstage "meet & greets" with the stars of Terminator 2®: 3D,
WaterWorld® and Universal's Animal Actors. You'll be 'star-struck!' (Seasonal)
- 5. An All-You-Can-Eat pass - With your senses on overload, you're bound to work up
an appetite. Just show your All-You-Can-Eat pass and you can dine at a variety
of restaurants.
- 6. Valet Parking - Drive up and hand over your keys just like the Hollywood
heavyweights do.
- 7. And a photo to remember your day - Capture your incredible experience with a
personalized photo that turns all your special moments into a lifetime of
memories.
The value in the $199 price (10% less if you buy online) becomes clear when
you start to add up what each of the included benefits will run if you buy them
as add-ons to a regular admission ticket:
Single day adult ticket: $61 (currently includes
admission, with a few blackout dates, for the rest of 2007)
*Front of Line pass (2, 3, 4 above) includes admission: $93
(at gate, limited number sold), $109 (online, good any day you wish to
visit), $89 (normally $99) date restricted
*All-You-Can-Eat pass (5 above): $20
*Valet Parking
(6 above): $10 / Preferred Parking: $20 *Souvenir
Photo: $12
Adding the above starred items up, per person you can spend roughly $135.
So for $64 more not only do you get all the above, you also get head of line
treatment for lunch, and your own guide that will personally walk you to front of the lines for rides
and shows. This guide will then give you a unique small group (about ten people)
personalized tram tour that is detailed on the website this way:
- Explore working soundstages where NBC's hit series Crossing Jordan is filmed.
- Tour the amazingly expansive backlot and visit actual sets like Steven
Spielberg's War of the Worlds.
- Gain entry to production locations and studio facilities not open to the general
public.
- Roam the enormous, incredible prop warehouse. (Just imagine the photo
opportunities!)
- Witness the world's first sound effects stage and more moviemaking history.
And now, the Universal Studios Hollywood VIP Experience combines craftsmanship
and cutting edge technology like never before.
- See how sets are crafted and decorated in the Staff Shop, Mill Shop and Sign
Shop.
- Watch as the Lighting Department brings dimension and life to interiors and
exteriors alike.
Considering that they also throw in the "buy a day, get the rest of 2007"
annual pass ticket deal into the package, you can see once you add all the perks
up why this is such a solid offering.
Since Universal is a real studio, and weekend tours can vary substantially
from weekday ones (due to filming), you need to take a few things into account
if you want to see particular items that are important to you.
For example, if walking around the outdoor street sets is a high priority,
your chances improve on weekends for this because there is less filming going
on. On the other hand if you want to visit a sound mixing studio or
Foley sound effects recording stage, weekdays are better for this since many of the production
facilities are usually closed on weekends.
You may also want to take into account the time of year you go. Late spring,
early summer means a quieter pace due to many TV shows going on production
hiatus - so there's less star spotting, but you get to see more of the studio itself.
Late summer, fall and winter the backlot and soundstages are busy with new shows
- so you might spot a desperate housewife or two, but the now occupied sound stages
may be off limits. Expect to do a lot of walking, as you will not only be
getting on and off the tram frequently to better see the studio, but you will be
moving quickly to see and ride more things in the park. I would suggest leaving
the kids at home (or with a guardian/family member at the park) because they may
quickly get bored with the tram part of the tour. Advance reservations are
mandatory due to tour length and the small sized groups they keep to. As the site says:
In order to provide exceptional personal attention, spaces for
the VIP Experience are very limited. Advance reservations are required. Children aged 5
and under are not allowed on this tour. Please be sure to book ahead of time to
get the VIP Experience that works best for you! Reservations are taken on a
first come, first-served basis. When you receive your voucher, call the VIP Tour office
to reserve your VIP Experience time.
I mentioned the tour has just been reconfigured a bit, it's now longer (six
hours) and is roughly a 50/50 mix activity-wise (Park/Studio). Let me tell you
what we did when we took it, and to make this concise I'll include photos of what you may get to see only
on this tour. Keep in mind since they are still ironing out the bugs in this new
setup, and this is a working facility, your itinerary may vary quite a
bit from what we did that day.
In our case our tour was to start at 11am. They asked us to arrive a little
earlier to make sure we could get checked in and relax a bit in the VIP lounge,
located above guest services off the entry courtyard. The room was cozy,
featured displays of posters and props from a few movies and TV shows, and had a
balcony overlooking the entry area to the park.
The included continental
breakfast consisted of muffins, cookies, croissants and rice crispy treats, and
there was coffee, bottled water and soft drinks available. My only quibble was
that some juices would have also been nice, as would a few breakfast pastries. VIPs
should expect to have fresh orange juice right?
We quickly found
out there were three VIP groups. One couple had bought out their own private
tour (they start at about $1000), so the two remaining groups ended up at eight
persons each. After picking up some complimentary bottled water and ponchos (for Jurassic Park),
Xavier (our guide for the day) explained what our group of eight would more or
less do, emphasizing that his pager would tell us what was up and running and
what we needed to work around should things break down. Since many of you
already know about the Universal park itself, we'll keep the description about
that part of our day brief. Basically we spent the first half of our tour
zipping into and out of the main rides and shows at the upper part of the park.
In our case we did Shrek 4-D, Back to the Future (which goes away after Labor
Day), the new House of Horrors spook-house maze and were placed in a food line for Mel's Diner before it was opened to the
public, so we could get our lunch without waiting.
After we ate we saw the 1pm Waterworld show (with special seating - finally I
could get some great head on shots of the action, as shown above - but we didn't
stay for the
special after show presentation that was listed) and then we dashed on down the
stairway escalators to ride Jurassic Park and Mummy. At Mummy we were whisked by
the lockers since Xavier put himself in charge of the belongings we would
normally check in. As with Jurassic we were boarded just as we arrived, which
was even faster than what the front of the line folks got.
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