So I finally got to see The Princess & the Frog (Nov. 28th) @ the Walt Disney Studio & it was amazing! The movie was awesome & I have to say that I got a bit teary-eyed too.
First things first. I went w/ my DPs & we were running a little late. The movie started @ 1 & we left the house @ 12:30, so when we arrived, it was 1. I also wanted to bring my camera & when my DM said it wasn't in her bag, we assumed it was in my DDad's backpack. So when we got to Burbank, I checked his backpack & it wasn't in there. It was in my DM's bag (she didn't check it very well
) so I had to use a disposable camera that was in the backpack.
When we turned into the gates of the studio, we showed our parking pass that we had to print out & were directed into the Zorro parking lot. After, there were many cast members & security guarding the trail & corners to make sure we were on the path & didn't stray. We also had to follow the frog prints that were on the floor so that we knew where we were going.
We first entered a soundstage that had the will call to pick up the tickets and there was also a consession stand. Since we ate breakfast before we got there, we didnt' need any snacks & we didn't want to be any later for the movie. When we picked up our tickets, they gave us a wristband & purple necklaces w/ a plastic pendant on the bottom that says "The Princess & the Frog."
Once we got our tickets, we left the soundstage to go to the theater & there was another security guard to check our wristbands. It was a little silly since he could see us enter & get our wristbands (everything was by the entrance of the soundstage) but I guess he was just doing his job. So we were walking to the theater hoping that the previews would still be running, but the walk to the theater was SOOOOO long! It was like a maze. So we're walking & walking & then we FINALLY get there. Then before entering the theater, there was MORE security, well they were more like those ppl who check you in an airport for metal stuff, but were checking for cameras. I didn't think a disposable camera would matter being in there, so I stuck it in the back of my pants pocket. The man had to check through my DM's bag & then he had a handheld metal detector. I'd have to say that it was very intimidating. Then he had to check me & I had to stick my arms out. Then the detector went over the camera & in a scary voice the man said, "Can you check your back pocket" so they had to take it away
. They were giving everything back @ the end of the movie of course, but I felt like I was busted for drunk driving or something. They were really taking everything seriously, especially since the movie hasn't been publicly released yet. When they took the camera, they put it in a sandwich bag & we had to give them an ID to put it so we could get it later. Then he went on to check my DDad. All that he had was his fanny pack stuffed w/ cards & papers, but when the metal detector went over him, it apparently found something it didn't like. By that time I was fed up w/ the whole checking like I'm going on an airplane business & wanted to watch the movie before missing a lot of it. One lady was going to bring us inside w/out him, but then he caught up & we were finally stepping inside the theater.
We were led to our seats by an usher & I could hear the sound of someone talking from the movie screen & it didn't sound like a preview. In my head I was thinking, "I really hope we didn't miss too much" & when we turned to where the screen was, the title of the movie just appeared so I was a little relieved. The tickets we bought were reserved so our seats were kinda towards the back, but in the middle & since no one tall was infront of me, it was perfect. Then it was time to relax & watch the movie.
-insert TP&TF movie here (no spoilers!)-
After the movie was over, everyone went out to retrieve their stuff back, so my DDad went to go get it. My DM & I stood on the other side of the theater & an animation building & what did we see running around the grass & trees? SQUIRRELS!!! They are one of my favorite "woodland" animals, so when I saw them, I was super excited. I've been on the Walt Disney Studios lot before & I saw a lot of squirrels then & they're not afraid of ppl. So when we saw them, we got close enough to see them & then they saw us! They were so cute & I felt bad bc they were thinking we had food for them. They came towards us & stopped about a couple feet away from us. I was a little scared that they were going to get too close, but they knew how to keep their distance! Once we told them we didn't have any food, they just turned around & kept searching in the grass. I had brought my DDad to go & look @ the squirrels & I had him give me my camera so I could take a pic of them. Then when we left, other ppl started to notice them & I think some tried to feed it popcorn.
So then we were off to another soundstage where the after movie things were. When we walked in, we saw a lot of princess around for meet & greets (Belle, Snow White, Mulan, Pocahontas, Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, & Tiana). It was cool how they set it up bc each girl had their own platform w/ a senic background that had their movie's title on it. Before we went out to explore, we picked up our lithographs that were included w/ the ticket package we bought. The pic was from the scene where Naveen & Tiana are frogs & they are dancing in the swamps of the bayou. It's really pretty bc of the pinks & purples that were used. Then we went to look @ some of the archive things that were on display like old Disney merch & figurines, animation cells, & costume pieces from 101 Dalmations, Enchanted, The Princess Daries, & HSM. Then a CM came up to us & asked if we wanted our pic taken w/ a P&TF background & that it was free. There were 3 boarders to choose from (P&TF cast, Tiana, & Louis) & we decided to have the cast one. We took our pic & a CM gave us a card so that we could upload our pic from home. Next to it was a mini gift shop w/ TP&TF merch, but there was nothing that I was interested in & it was stuff that I could get @ DLR. Then next to that were long tables with crafts to make origami frogs, mardi gras masks, & coloring pages. Then next to that in the corner of the room was an animator that was teaching ppl how to draw & when I was there, it was Dr. Facilier. So we were done w/ that portion of the room & I wanted to have my pic taken w/ Tiana, so I went into the huge line. I noticed that the cart where we got our lithographs said that they were giving studio tours, so I had my DDad check it out. He told us that it was going to be 24 min. long & that the next one was going to be @ 3, which was in a few min. My DDad put our names down on the list, so we left the line to go to the studio tour!
The tour guides were led by CMs from DLR & they were doing the tours for the studio. He showed us the original building that was brought over from Walt's Hyperion Studios, the animation bldg. where Snow White was created & we got to go through the hallway where there was an art exhibit, we went to the area where the Ledgends plaques are & saw the bldg w/ the dwarves holding up the roof, & a bldg where the archives are housed & saw displays of hats (ex. Davy Crockett, MM Club, Mary Poppins, Dick Tracey, POTC, The Princess Diaries, etc), a display of Mickey merch from the past-present, the multi-plane camera, & a few more costume pieces (ex. Bedtime Stories, Prince Caspian, Hannah Montana, HSM, etc). Then we went back outside & was shown the spot where Walt's office was (the top corner of one of the bldgs). Then in the distance, I saw Mickey himself (it's like Walt was speaking to me. lol). So the tour ended, yes it was only 24 min., & I went in line to see Mickey. He had a little platform & a background that said TP&TF.
After I took a pic w/ him, we decided to go back to the bldg. where the princesses were & Tiana didn't have a huge line! But just my luck, my DDad had the camera & he went to the restroom.
So then we had to wait for him to come back & luckily, there were only 2 parties before me. Then I got to meet Tiana! She was so cute & her dress was pretty. I told her that I wanted to try some of her benignets & w/ her Southern drawl, she told me that I could go down to Tiana's (her restaurant) anytime. After that, we went towards the other part of the soundstage where they had games. They were free, but there were no prizes either. Then on the other corner was a cupcake stand & they were selling TP&TF cupcakes (they were just pretty cupcakes w/ rings of Tiana & Naveen as a frog). They also sold other kinds of cupcakes, but I felt that TP&TF ones were special, so we got 1 of each for $6.50 (seperately they were $3.50). Since we had to be somewhere @ 6 & we had pretty much seen everything in the bldg, we decided to go home & had to walk through the long trail to get back to the parking lot.
) to see it.
It sounded great!
