Max's Backstage Magic Dress Rehersal Tour, March 25-30, 2008

Hi, my name is Max Ackerman and I rock at life. I am in no way affiliated with any theme park except for my cousin, who works for Adventures By Disney and helped me get onto this trip. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. That's why I'm here.

Monday
I arrived at LAX at 12:30 and then went to the Paramount Pictures Backlot at 3:00 for a tour. Not really part of the tour, but the beginning of my vacation.

Tuesday
We started the day by going to Mel's Drive-Thru (which was just OK. Nothing to write home about.) and then went back to the hotel to check in with the Adventure Guides (Well, really it was Adventure Guide Michael (Who is working in Costa Rica with ABD and does Disneyland VIP tours the the rest of the time) and Adventure Guide Shadow Quinn). They told us that dinner started at 4:00, so with that in mind, we headed over to Universal Studios Hollywood, which was fun, but nowhere near as good as Universal Studios Orlando is, except for the Backlot Tour, for obvious reasons.

After USH we went back to the hotel via the Metro, (A great way to get to Universal City from Hollywood and Highland!) and changed to meet everyone at the hotel's restaurant for appetizers and a little game to get to know everyone better. (You also order what you want to eat for lunch the next day at The Jim Henson Studios.) After that we took family pictures and went to the Italian restaurant Trastevere at Hollywood and Highland. We then played 2 games of Disney Trivia. Our host's name was Matt and he was hysterical. The trivia was at times rather difficult, but overall it was a great time. Dinner itself took a long time to be served, but that is being worked on. The food was good, though. After dinner we went to bed to rest up for tomorrow's festivities.

Wednesday
After meeting in the lobby of the hotel, we went to the Disney soda shop for breakfast. The meal was good and so was the service. After breakfast we headed right next door to the El Capitan theater for a tour of its creation, its restoration, and how it looks and operates behind the scenes. It was a very informative tour with a very knowledgeable guide.

After the El Capitan we headed over to Jimmy Kimmel Live! where we met up with some of the show's crew, and Uncle Frank. The tour included a look at how they made Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a backstage tour, a tour of the green room, a tour of the stage, and a tour of the outside stage. We were able to take pictures of ourselves on the stage, which made Jimmy Kimmel Live! that much better.

After JKL! we boarded our bus and headed over to The Jim Henson Studios. The Jim Henson Studios is the former Charlie Chaplin Studios. At the studios, we were broken up into two teams, Team Mickey, and Team Minnie. I was in Team Mickey. Our team headed over to the theater where we watched an old Charlie Chaplin film on how to make movies. However, the film you'll be watching was being filmed that very day, so I can't comment about it. After that we toured the studio and the soundstage, where we learned about the use of the building in its former years, and what its use is today. We then toured the Jim Henson Creature Shop, where they create the puppets used in various productions. The person who gave the tour of the Creature Shop was Michael. He was extremely funny and laid back. He made our stop at the Jim Henson Studios that much better. After the Creature Shop we ate lunch at the courtyard. After our meal we were able to take pictures with one of the puppets that Michael brought out to the courtyard for us. After saying goodbye to "Sweetheart" we boarded our coach for a bus tour that was so bad that I won't even mention. The horrible bus tour has since been replaced with a tour of Hollywood landmarks that I know nothing about.

We then went back to the hotel where we walked to the Grauman's Chinese Theater and looked at stars at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

After the walking tour we were on our own for the rest of the night where I enjoyed dinner with my cousin.

Stay tuned for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!

Until then,
Max Ackerman