Seeing (Soap) Stars at Disney: Making the Most of Super Soap Weekend About This Page:

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by Lisa Simons, Guest Columnist and Soap Opera Fan



Are you a fan of ABC soap operas All My Children (AMC), General Hospital (GH), or One Life to Live (OLTL)? Ever dream of meeting your favorite ABC soap stars in person? Now, imagine meeting them live at Walt Disney World! Dreams can come true at ABC's 9th annual Super Soap Weekend (SSW) at Disney MGM Studios November 13 -14, 2004. I attended last year for the first time and met a Super Soap Weekend veteran who showed me the ropes.



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[PassPorter News]

Weekend events include autograph sessions, indoor and outdoor talk shows, Casting Call, the Disney Stars and Motorcars parade, special editions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire -- Play It!, and the Street Jam Concert. Your park admission includes all Super Soap Weekend events. There are 30 ABC stars in attendance, 10 each from the three ABC shows. Each 45 minute talk show is held six times daily, featuring different actors each session. These shows all run at the same time as the autograph sessions and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire -- Play It. The event venues are far apart, so you can't watch the outdoor talk show at the Sorcerer's Hat Stage and then hope to get a seat for the indoor talk show at ABC Theatre next to Sounds Dangerous, because there's a line, and seats are limited. So how do you choose? Here are my tips, based on last year's experience. Note that Disney is always tinkering with Super Soap Weekend to improve things, so procedures may be different this year.

Before leaving home, access ABC's official Super Soap Weekend Website at http://abc.go.com/daytime/supersoap/
mgm/index.html which has descriptions of the weekend's festivities as well as event times and locations. A tentative list of stars attending was just posted at http://abc.soapsindepth.com/latebreakingnews/ the website of ABC Soaps In Depth Magazine, the official magazine for Super Soap Weekend. The November 23, 2004 issue of the magazine will also have Super Soap Weekend info. Disney may distribute free copies as you enter the park that weekend, but getting the schedule earlier lets you plan ahead. Fans of all three ABC shows should pick their two favorites, focusing on one show's events each day. Otherwise you will go crazy trying to do everything and seeing nothing. Last year, we went to all the AMC events on Saturday and the OLTL events on Sunday. Most of the talk shows are repeated with the same stars on the second day, so you won't miss anything.

Second, to beat the crowd if you're staying on-site, consider driving your own car, renting one, or hiring a taxi. Last year the park gates opened at 6:00 a.m., even though Disney buses started running at 8:00 a.m. for the official park opening at 9:00. (Saturday's Extra Magic Hour was changed to Magic Kingdom for that weekend). Those who had their own transportation had the advantage over those who relied on Disney transportation. Hopefully, Disney will run the buses earlier this year, but if you REALLY want that Susan Lucci autograph, plan on getting there as early as possible, before 6:00 a.m., especially because Ms. Lucci is so popular and autographs will be limited. Also, the park was filled to capacity and closed to new guests by 10:30 a.m. on that Saturday, so latecomers beware!

Third, unless you are a diehard fan of Thorsten Kaye (Zach, AMC) or Kathy Brier (Marcie, OLTL), skip the autograph lines. I won't give the details of 2003's FASTPASS system, which you can read about at last years Super Soap Weekend site, because I'm guessing Disney will again make changes. FASTPASS helped limit the number of autographs a star would sign, but the distribution process still needs retooling. It was complicated and time consuming (waiting in line for the FASTPASS took about an hour and we waited yet another hour to get the autograph). Consider getting a signed photo from one of the cast members walking throughout the park, instead. The difference is that these are signed, but not personalized (i.e. it says "Susan Lucci" rather than "To Elizabeth-Thanks for being a fan! Love, Susan, Lucci"). They are still nice keepsakes.

Next, go to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Super Soap Weekend Edition to pick up a FASTPASS. The six daily sessions will "sell out" quickly. Walt Wiley (Jackson, AMC) hosts this year and top prize each session is a leather jacket. Disney has tinkered with tradition here as well. Previously, you got to share the Hot Seat with two soap stars and the questions were all soap-related, which was a treat for longtime soap fans. In 2003, the questions were general knowledge. I hope they'll rethink this, as it was a unique experience for us soap aficionados.

You can hold both an autograph FASTPASS and a Special Edition Who Wants To Be A Millionaire FASTPASS, and still get FASTPASSes for other attractions. The Super Soap Weekend passes are separate from the normal FASTPASSes and have the Super Soap Weekend logo on them.

Stop in for lunch at the ABC Commissary and peruse the official Super Soap Weekend gear for sale there. Shirts, mugs, pins, tote bags, caps and visors are all available featuring the official Super Soap Weekend logo. For under $20, I bought a t-shirt listing each actor present and the dates of Super Soap Weekend. Limited quantities of shirts are produced for Super Soap Weekend, and the larger sizes sell out first, so if you need a particular size, get there early. Also on display and for sale at the Commissary are costumes worn by the actors from each show. Each item has a tag telling which actor wore it. Take time to look through these, and note the sizes; these people are TINY! Some of the clothes are affordable, and some cost upwards of $2000, but they are still fun to look at and touch, especially if it's an outfit you recognize from the show.

The talk shows are a fun way to "get to know" the stars. There are six actors per session, and each star is introduced individually. There are great photo ops here (even indoors), so be sure to have plenty of film! Stars first chat with the host and then audience members ask them questions. Some queries are predictable, such as "What's happening next with your character?" or "Could I have a hug?" but many are original. Many of the actors are witty, and it's a great opportunity to be "in" on the joke. An example of this is when a fan asked an actor why his character still lived with his parents on the show, and the actor replied that the show couldn't afford another set. It was funny and true.

My favorite Super Soap Weekend event is Casting Call, hosted this year by Cameron Mathison (Ryan, AMC). Three selected audience members "audition" to play a scene with a star. The crowd chooses the best actor, and that lucky person gets to perform a soap scene with a star. This is especially fun if the "auditionee" is a ham! New this year is that the top six performers (one from each session) will have a chance to win a walk-on role on an ABC soap.

Each day's grand finale is the Grand Stars and Motorcars parade and the Street Jam concert. If you stake out a good spot for the parade, you won't have a good view for the concert, which starts immediately afterwards at the Sorcerer's Hat Stage. Still, I recommend watching the parade, since you'll be able to hear the concert all over the park. I stood at the traffic light by Guest Services to watch the parade, giving me a wonderful view of celebs as the cars turned the corner. My only disappointment with the parade is that the Disney characters riding with the actors block your view of the star, making it difficult to take pictures.

After the parade, go to the Sorcerer's Hat Stage for the Street Jam concert. A good view can be had by the Brown Derby. This concert lets the stars showcase their vocal talents. Some actors, such as Kassie DePaiva (Blair, OLTL) and Eden Riegel (Bianca, AMC) have recorded their own albums or appeared on Broadway, so this is a real treat. The concert is held both nights, but not all actors perform both nights, so again, if you can't attend both, you must choose.

The October 3, 2004 issue of TV Guide stated that AMC will be filming crowd scenes at Street Jam and other scenes throughout the park during Super Soap Weekend that will air later in November. Also, ABC/Disney owned SoapNet's talk show, SoapTalk, will tape the Saturday outdoor shows at the Sorcerer's Hat Stage.

In summary, plan ahead. Know in advance what you want to see and which stars you want to focus on. Be flexible. Know that you're not going to get to see everything. Above all, relax and have fun. Super Soap Weekend is a unique opportunity to get up close to your favorite stars and to learn what they are like off the set. It's also a great way to meet fellow fans and "dish" your favorite shows. Have a great time and don't forget to keep watching your favorite soaps!

[disneygrl61]

can anyone tell me who mr smee is i know it sound fimliar is just can not place him

[Dave Marx]

Mr. Smee is Captain Hook's sidekick from Peter Pan.

[Tara O'Hara]

Lisa, this is a terrific article!!

Thanks for taking the time to write it!!

[elbug10]

The official ABC Super Soap Weekend Website http://abc.go.com/daytime/supersoap/mgm/index.html
has just been updated with the stars attending, the schedule of events, who will be at what event, and the park map of where the autograph locations are.

Also, note that Star Tours, Indy Jones and The Backlot tour will all be closed that weekend, because the lines for each show's autograph FastPasses are set up in those locations.

See you at Super Soap Weekend!

P.S. If anyone has any questions about SSW, feel free to send me a p.m.!

[elbug10]

ABC has just announced that Kassie DePaiva (Blair, One Life To Live) will be selling and autographing her new CD "No Regrets" at the Writer's Stop at MGM on Friday, November 12 at 4 p.m, a day before SSW. This is the first place the album will be available for sale anywhere. Two of the songs will be used in upcoming episodes of the show. As predicted, Kassie will also be one of the featured performers at Street Jam.

[LuvMinnie]

For the update Lisa. Sounds like a great time for all. SSW 2005 here I come! I'm a big ABC soap fan too, so have a fun with all stars.

[mistermelinda]

The Nov. 9th issue of Soaps In Depth is out now. As Lisa wrote it contains the schedule of events for SSW. We picked our's up at the super market late last night.

Enjoy,
MisterMelinda

[elbug10]

I got Kassie DePaiva's CD and autograph, as well as Thorsten Kaye's (Zach, All My Children)! Pictures of both to follow, as soon as I get them developed. In addition, because I am visually impaired and was able to sit in the front row of the ABC Theatre, I got to shake hands with Vincent Irizarry, Bobbie Eakes, Michael E. Knight, and Eden Riegel (David, Krystal, Tad and Bianca, AMC) as they left the stage! I also got autographed pics that CM's were passing out of Trevor St. John (Todd, OLTL) and James Scott (Ethan, AMC). You have to be fast, but you can get some interaction with the stars if you're in the right place. Catherine Hickland (Lindsay, OLTL, real-life wife of Michael E. Knight) was by the gate of the outdoor talk show, but I wasn't quick enough.

The scenes filmed at Street Jam will air on All My Children December 2 and 3. The Saturday outdoor talk shows were filmed for SoapTalk on Soapnet, and when I hear the airdate I will post it here, and over in The Library forum, as well.

[elbug10]

Just a friendly reminder that the scenes of All My Children that were taped at Super Soap Weekend at MGM will air December 2 and 3 at 1 p.m. EST on ABC. Also, they've featured some scenes involving the characters of Babe, Jamie and baby James playing with Mickey at MK that aired Wednesday, 12/1. More scenes shot at WDW may be airing next week, so stay tuned!

BTW, if you missed these episodes but get SoapNet on cable, they repeat the week's episodes in their weekly recap marathon on the weekends. The AMC marathons air Sundays from 1-6 a.m., EST and again from 1-6 p.m. The Wednesday episode will air at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday at 4 and Friday at 5, etc.

Feel free to p.m. me if I've thoroughly confused you, or if you want more info.!

[elbug10]

The episodes of SoapTalk filmed on Saturdsy November 13 at SSW will air Monday, December 6 (AMC and GH stars) and Tuesday December 7 (AMC and OLTL stars). SoapTalk airs on SoapNet at 11 a.m. EST and repeats the same episode at 11 p.m. that evening.

[elbug10]

the dates for the 10th Annual ABC Super Soap Weekend are November 12 & 13, 2005, so all you ABC soap fans, mark your calendars!

ABC promises more stars than ever this year, but no one except Susan Lucci has been offically announced yet. According to the website, http://abc.go.com/daytime/supersoap/wdw/index.html
events appear to be similar to last year's, with the exception that the Casting Call is now being called "I Wanna Be a Soapstar" to correlate with ABC/SoapNet's reality show of the same name, which will air new episodes in Spring, 2006.

I will update here as more info becomes available. I am not planning on going this year, but am happy to answer questions for those of you who may be planning a trip during this time, so feel free to send me a p.m.!

[Cinderella072004]

Thank you so much! I am going and I can not wait. This will be the first time I am getting to go. I can not wait to see who will be there!

[elbug10]

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/news.gif[/img] Updating with all the latest news. One more week to go before this year's Super Soap Weekend! The list of attending stars and the schedule of events has been added to the webiste. More than 40 stars are scheduled to attend this year, including Erika Slezak (Viki, OLTL) who will be attending for her first time! I am so jealous of anyone going this year!

Also new this year is that the Wide World of Soaps talkshow, held inside in the ABC Theater next to Sounds Dangerous, will feature theme talk shows, along with the regular AMC, OLTL and GH shows. The themes include "We are Family", "Couples" and "Hot guys" (do they know their audience, or what?!).

Another new feature this year is that fans will be able to buy products from the Fusion cosmetic line, featured on AMC at Soap Central, located in the ABC Commissary.

Also, those soap fans who will be in the Orlando ares for Super Soap and have a car may want to venture over to the Wal-Mart on Route 27 in Clermont on Friday, November 11 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Alicia Minshew and Cameron Mathison (Kendall and Ryan, AMC) will be there signing autographs.

Check the ABC SuperSoap website for further details. Also, the new issue of ABC Soaps In Depth goes on sale this coming Tuesday November 8, and that will also have all the details.

Have fun and [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/luck.gif[/img]! Feel free to p.m. me with any questions!