The Brits at the Beach Club RE-VISITED! THREAD 2 COMPLETE! About This Page:

[DawnDenise]

Another great update!!! We Beauty and the Beast too!!

[Cinderbrella]

Brother Bear was my boys' first Disney movie that they got to see in a theater. My girls enjoyed it, too. Beauty and the Beast is an excellent show. We enjoyed Hunchback, too. Wish it was still there! Looking forward to your next update!

[Tara O'Hara]

Another terrific update Cheryl!! Awesome pictures from Beauty and The Beast!!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Cheryl

[Happymommy]

Loved the pics of MGM, Cheryl!!!!!

[chezp]

Sunday 22 December – part two: stars and their motorcars!

We were aiming to get the Backlot Tour out of the way next before the parade, but with a 20 minute wait, we’d be off it, just as the parade was about due to start, so instead we decided to try Muppetvision 3D. While walking over there, we grabbed another couple of quick shots:




At Muppetvision 3D, we hit lucky. We were one of the last to walk in and catch the show, meaning no wait at all. When we came out, there was a massive queue to get into it, so we definitely got our timing right on that one!

It was time to stake our places for the parade. We decided to sit somewhere near Hollywood and Vine, so that we wouldn’t have to walk far for our Fantasmic dining package as soon as the parade was done. On the way there however, we spotted another couple of characters and had to add their autographs to our books, although we weren’t really clear on who they were – I think they were from the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Emperor’s New Groove respectively, but I’m ashamed to admit that we’ve never seen either film.



Now here is the really bad part of our day. When you get to the parade route early and get a good spot, you don’t expect someone to barge in next to you and block your view, but that’s exactly what happened to us. It’s lucky that Mark didn’t tell me until later on that the elderly couple who had barged in then spent their time kicking him and trying to stand on his hand (we were sitting, they came and stood next to us) to try and make him move up. I’d have given them a piece of my mind had I known. As it was, when we left after the parade, I made a number of comments in a very loud voice, looking directly at them, about how rude some people could be. I doubt they even realised I was talking about them. Right, rant over!

Fortunately all this didn’t really affect our videotaping of the parade and the photos came out beautifully, despite Mark’s fears (he was photographer, I was videographer for the parades this trip!) Mark got one shot with the warriors from Mulan both off the ground – an excellent action shot, as you’ll see in a moment.














This parade was excellent, but I felt very different from the usual Disney parade, in that it didn’t just feature Disney characters, but concentrated on movie characters, which was a lovely change and fitted in perfectly with the whole theme of MGM.

It was particularly nice to see the Star Wars character, although “Luke Skywalker” looked distinctly uninterested in the whole thing and poor old R2D2 nearly had a nasty accident with the slightly uneven road surface. Now that would’ve made a photo….

Next: “how does this ice cream machine work?”

[lauren-roxy]

Another wonderful update Cheryl!!! Those pictures from the parade are awesome!! Can't wait to read more!!

[DrDolphin]

I just got caught up!! Great update!! Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Tara O'Hara]

Great update Cheryl! about R2D2!! You shoud've snapped that pic!

[DopeyGirl]

Great update!!!

I asked Emilie who those characters were (as I couldn't remeber their names . . . ) She rolls her eyes and says "Mom, that's Emperor Kuzco, he got turned into a llama . . . and Kronk from Emperor's New Groove. And that's Clopin from Hunchback of Notre Dame!"

Why does a 4 year old know this and not me?!

Looking forward to finding out just how that ice cream machine DOES work . . .

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of the parade Cheryl We love Kronk and the Emperor Kuko in this house, it's one of our favorites! I wish they were still out doing meets and greets

More please

[DawnDenise]

Great pictures of the parade!!! I would have loved to see that picture of R2D2. More please!!

[chezp]

Sunday 22 December – part two: “how does this ice cream machine work?”

After the parade finished, our next stop was the Hollywood and Vine, much needed, as I was about to faint from hunger, I joke you not! When we arrived to be seated, I even asked if I could sneak a bread roll, but I was told that they did not serve food until it opened for dinner at 3.30 p.m. I really did think I would collapse, so I couldn’t wait for opening time to come around.

Fortunately, once we got inside, the selection of food was excellent, with some very good salmon and seafood pasta and a number of veggie options. I was impressed with the selection they had on offer that was suitable for me.

I came unstuck with dessert though. I couldn’t figure out how to operate the ice cream machine, despite watching lots of kids use it. How come they could master it and I couldn’t? In the end, Mark had to get our server to show me how it worked. How embarrassing was that! Still, at least I got my ice cream, so I was happy!

Hollywood and Vine Me DH
Starter 8.5 8
Main course 9 8
Dessert 9 N/A
Service 8.5 8
Atmosphere 7 8
Value for money 7.5 7.5

Average: 8.09


Inside Hollywood and Vine…

… and outside looking out to Echo Lake

After dinner, we aimed to do the Backlot Tour, the last major attraction we hadn’t done, but a 20 minute wait for that put us off. We’re just not used to waiting at the moment! Instead, we grabbed a photo with Sorcerer Mickey, with barely any wait…



… then we went to get some photos at the Sorcerer’s Hat and try out the Stories Behind, which are part of the 100 years celebrations…. We found that, having now visited One Man’s Dream, which we hadn’t when we tried the ones at Epcot, we got a lot more answers correct.

Mark then decided to buy his own Sorcerer’s Hat, which lit up, an expensive treat at around $30, but he hadn’t spent a lot, compared to me up until then! It proved to be very useful for keeping together in the evening, as there weren’t that many, so I just kept an eye out for the hat!



(Of course those of you who met us on our December 2004 vacation will now understand that Mark obviously has a fixation with fun hats with flashing lights!)

Then it was off towards Fantasmic, grabbing some photos along the way:


Looking back towards the entrance….

..and just past Oscars, as we made our way down to the amphitheatre, some flowers ready to go out

Getting the Fantasmic dining package is the best way of seeing this show. When we got there about 40 minutes before the show started, the rest of the theatre was already about 80% full and the seats left weren’t very good ones. It was a different story in the dining section, where there must’ve been less than thirty people seated, so we had the pick of the seats and got some very good ones, not too near the front, so we wouldn’t get wet, but not too far back either.

The show was a lot better than the version we’d seen three years ago, which we hadn’t been at all impressed with. This one seemed to be a lot faster moving and a little less reliant on the moving images on the wall of water, something which we found out three years ago doesn’t work very well in windy weather, as you can’t see them very well. With the new version of this show, I can see why everyone rates it as not to be missed, although Illuminations remains our favourite night time show by far.







Next: lighting up Christmas at the studios

[Tara O'Hara]

Gosh Cheryl, I sure am glad you got to eat!! Mark looks adorable in the sorcerer hat and great pictures of Fantasmic!

[DrDolphin]

HOw cute does Mark look in his blinking sorcerer's hat??? Great pics of Fantasmic!!