Inside the animation exhibit

I had already been warned that I would need a few hours to completely experience this entire attraction, so I just wanted to pop my head in and look. Wow..... this is one pretty pretty building. I could easily spend several hours in here. I was surprised to see Paul Pressler and Michael Eisner were in there as well, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Paul Pressler and Michael Eisner

There are three basic areas inside. One is a Gallery of Disney Animation art - paitings, sketches and maquettes. This collection is centered on the development of a character, so you find a lot of rough sketches of characters in the early stages. Did you know that Meeko the raccoon was going to be a turkey? (OK, maybe you deluxe Pocahontas laserdisc box set edition owners did) The second room is a presentation about animation, but we didn't have time to see it. The third room is the fun, interactive area, and is divided into sections. The first section allows you to play with creating your own animation - pencils and paper are provided. In the next section, the Beast's Library, you can learn which Disney Character you most resemble. Or, you can just spend 10 minutes watching the room around you transform in amazing ways, which is infinitely more fun. In the last section, you can put your "voice over" talents to the test and provide the sound for an animated clip. (My host from yesterday e-mailed to to say: In Animation, you forgot about "The Animation Screening Room", a FOURTH section that shows the "Back to Neverland" 8 1/2 minute film from Florida with Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite.) Opps - sorry. 

Hyperion Theater entry stairways

With great reluctance we dragged ourselves out of this attraction, and followed Ms. Cruella DeVil into the Hyperion theater. There are three seating levels, and you get to choose where you're going to sit at the beginning. Look at how great the costumes are. Inside, the CMs are dressed as formal ushers. If you've been watching as the theater was built, you've no doubt noticed the giant stairwell on the outside. We've all thought that was an emergency exit. Guess what? That's the entrance! Yep - if you can't do stairs, make sure you choose the orchestra level, or take the elevator. 

Hyperion Stage

The "Disney's Steps in Time" show is also very hard to describe. I like comparisons, so here's the best one I can think of: The Grammy Awards, as choreographed by the person who does the Gap commercials. This is not to say that I didn't like the show. The singing is awesome, the costumes are.... unique, and the dancing is energetic. I'm just not sure that I'll be able to adjust to that particular version of Hakuna Mattata. I think I'll need to see it a few more times to know one way or another. The theater is stunning, and I look forward to seeing is used for other functions, like Broadway Musicals? Hint Hint? (Just as soon as they build restrooms in there....) 

Tim Allen in Superstar Limo

After we left the theater, we headed over to Superstar Limo. I would have gladly traded this ride in for another trip on California Soarin'. The premise of this ride is that you are the Next Big Thing, and you've just landed at LAX. You must navigate the highways and byways of Hollywood to get to your Premier. Along the way, the "voice" that you presume must be your limo driver points out the sights, while your agent calls every minute to tell you to hurry. For some reason which is never really explained, the sights are all movie stars standing on the side of the road, doing bizarre things. Cindy Crawford is spraying cars with perfume, Drew Carey is selling maps to the stars homes, and Jackie Chan is... I'm not sure WHAT he is doing.

Of course, you reach the Premier party on time, and companies start naming breakfast cereals after you. It's just a miserable ride, which is too bad because it could be really cute. It's never going to be Rock n Roller Coaster, but it could at least make sense. This is like Mr. Toad through the Hollywood Wax Museum, with your Tour Guide, Mr. Don Pardo. Well, I guess they can't ALL be winners...

After that disappointing journey, we decided to do something FAR  more exciting - we went to see "It's Tough to be a Bug." I did not see this in Florida, so it was new to me. By contrast, we did see Muppets 3-D in Florida, so I decided to skip it here. Bugs is short and cute. In case anyone else is under the same impression as I was - it IS all animated. We had skipped it in Florida because a friend was bug phobic, but I think even he could have handled this. 

Just a note: When we visited WDW, we were under the mistaken impression that "It's Tough to be a Bug" was a mix of animation and real life footage of creepy, crawly bugs. This is why the bug-phobic members of the group decided to skip it. If anyone else was under this impression, I wanted to clarify that the show is a mix of 3-D animation, animatronics, and "special effects". Every bug in there is as cute as the "Bugs Life" characters - no "National Geographic" footage here to offend the squeamish.

Tortilla Making

After that, we visited the Tortilla and Bread Making exhibits. I'm sure it's no surprise that these weren't the highlight of the day, but they weren't terribly boring. The Mickey Mouse faces made from Sourdough Bread were even amusing...

Avalon Cove

Finally, it was time for dinner. Unfortunately, Wolfgang Puck has left the restaurant by the time we got there... drat! We started with a shrimp cocktail to split. I may have neglected to mention that a benefit of the Cast Preview was 50% off food. This discount made the meal quite reasonable, so I "splurged" on scallops. They were quite good. My friend ordered the shrimp pasta, which was much tastier once they brought the shrimp.

Inside Avalon Cove

Avalon Cove is a gorgeous room, with a stunning view of Paradise Pier. There is balcony seating with a perfect view of the California Screamin' launch area. It was really neat to watch the sun go down over the Pier, and to see the lights on the attractions become more prominent.

Alas, it was time to go. I needed to do some fast and heavy shopping on the way out of the park, so we headed off to the main gate. You'll wonder why I haven't spent more time talking about the merchandise? Well, I had to promise to be on my best behavior, which meant no running into every store I saw. (And believe me, I saw a LOT of stores) There is literally too much to tell you about in one column, so look for a whole series of DCA merchandise articles once we visit a few more times and then as the park opens to the general public. Look at is this way: you've got a whole month to save up.

And that was the end of my day! I hope you enjoyed the tour. Keep checking back as more MousePlanet staffers checking in with their own Trip Reports. We've only scratched the surface of this new park!

Someone asked me what my overall thoughts of the park were. In general, I like it, and I'm looking for some good Crow recipes to share with the other MousePlanet staffers... ;o) I am very much looking forward to my next visit, to spending more time in the Animation Building, and to spending hours and hours exploring the incredible merchandise that I saw. I have yet to visit with my husband, so I'm holding back my remaining thoughts until we get a chance to visit together. I'm especially curious to see how the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements were met in this park. 

I don't regret upgrading my pass one bit. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at how well themed the park is. There are little details ALL over which will distinguish this park from a Six Flags or Cedar Point venue.  While parts of it do feel like you're in a non-Disney park, it is still a clean, well presented, well themed park. It's not a coaster park, and it's not Fantasyland. Maybe it's just a new type of park. I was happy - let's see what other people think. 

If there is something I didn't cover, or you have questions about what I did and saw, please drop me an e-mail at avp@mouseplanet.com. I'll try to answer these in a Reader Mail Column later this week. 

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The complete photo tour of inside DCA is now up!

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