Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:56 am Post subject: Walt's Apartment Experience - DaveyPoo's point of view.
(caution, this is very long)
ltldeb, Bug and myself had the privilege to take part in a dream of mine; a tour of Walt Disney’s Disneyland apartment. Let me first give you a little background.
As part of the Disneyland 50th Celebration, they held an auction of MANY wonderful items, one of them being a tour and breakfast of Walt’s Apartment on Main Street USA. Frank_Drakman was attending the auction and offered the 12 spots to people who he knew would appreciate (and could afford!) them. We were 3 of those spots.
Frank_Drakman was successful in winning the auction, but went a tad higher than we had anticipated. Next was a date to make this happen. We tried a number of different dates that would work for everyone, since we were coming from different parts of the country. The date decided upon was December 27, 2005. Now the waiting begins!
As the date drew near, we started to get more and more information (and more and more excited). We had our flights, our hotel, our car and a plan. We’d fly to LAX on December 26th in the morning, head to Disneyland, renew our Annual Passes, and play in the parks until they closed. The tour was on the 27th and that would be the grandest day of all, then we’d fly home on the 28th. This would be our shortest trip to California yet, but it would be worth it! (or would it?)
We arrived at the airport on time, only to find out our flight was delayed by about an hour. No worries, we’ll just have a little breakfast and be on our way in no time. Once we boarded the plane, we had to wait another 1 ½ hours after we were supposed to leave to get off the ground. We just lost 2 hours in Disneyland! No matter, we’ll make this work!
The flight was uneventful and we landed in LAX. Our trip to the parks was also uneventful and we were soon on the tram, heading to the parks. By the time we arrived, Disneyland Park was closed due to capacity. No matter, we wanted to head over to DCA anyway. We had heard that Monsters, Inc. was open and we wanted to check it out. After renewing our passes, we went to DCA and then to Taste Pilots Grill for a quick bite, since we hadn’t eaten in about 8 hours! Then off to check out Monsters.
We arrived to a long line. We took a few pictures while waiting and then, when we were about 50 feet from the entrance to the building, it went down. After about 15 minutes, we were asked to leave and come back again later. We went over to Screamin after that and then tried Monsters again. The line was shorter this time, but as we were in side the building, it went down again and after 15 minutes, we were asked to leave again. We headed over to Tower and after leaving there, we decided to try one more time. This time we made it!
After that, we went over to Disneyland Park and walked around a bit and did some shopping. We decided to ride the Railroad over to New Orleans Square and ride Mansion, but as we were waiting, we were tired and decided to just ride around once and head back to the hotel.
We got up on the 27th, and I was getting excited. We were to meet at the Grand Californian and then we’d be heading over to Disneyland at that point. We got there about 15 minutes early, and still ended up being the last ones there! After a few introductions, we were handed a FANTASTIC hat, embroidered with the event name and date, with a picture of the lamp found in the front window of Walt’s apartment (made by one of the participants as a gift to all of us! THANKS Charlie!). We were also given the latest issue of E-Ticket Magazine that had a number of Ron Dominguez articles in it (THANKS Bill!).
A few moments later, Mr. Dominguez , Timm and Martha from Event Services met us and we did more introductions and chatted a bit. Martha then told us that she’d be taking Mr. Dominguez over to the apartment and Timm would bring us through the Main Gate to Disneyland.
When we arrived at Disneyland, Timm had us waiting in the REGULAR line with all the other guests, which we all felt was a little silly, since this would take away from our experience time. Timm went to an “Early Entry” gate and we were able to enter there. Once we got to the Firehouse, we were asked to wait a few moments and we’d be led back stage.
The Object of our Desire!
A few moments later, we were led back stage to the stairs that lead to Walt’s Apartment. Before we were allowed to enter the apartment, Martha sternly warned us that we were not allowed to take ANY pictures or video inside the apartment. This was a HUGE disappointment to the entire group, and also something that NO ONE was told about earlier.
After that, we rang the bell and entered the apartment.
The entrance door to Walt’s Apartment.
The apartment was darker than I expected, but looked just like what I had expected. It was nicely decorated for Christmas and in the window where the lamp usually is, there stood a small Christmas tree. The lamp was, instead, on a table behind one of the daybeds. I immediately went to the window and looked out upon the crowds entering Disneyland. That was a very emotional moment for me. To stand where Walt Disney himself stood 50+ years earlier at the opening of Disneyland was just too much for me.
After poking around the apartment a bit and composing myself, we went out to the patio where we would be having breakfast. We were told that while outside of the apartment, we could take as many pictures and video that we wanted.
Ron Dominguez
Our wait staff
Before I got into the line for food, I decided to peek around a bit since I’ve never been backstage at Disneyland before. It was interesting to be able to watch people coming into the park from our vantage point. No one seemed to know we were even there!
Town Square from the apartment patio
The spread they created for us was really top-notch. We were expecting a Continental Breakfast, but instead, we got a great hot breakfast, with Eggs Benedict, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pastries, fruit, coffee, tea, and juice. It was THE best breakfast I have ever had in Disneyland.
While I ate, I got up from time to time and took more pictures. It really was a beautiful spot and surprisingly quiet.
Technically speaking, this is a shot inside the apartment...just the back door area from the patio. Also pictured is Mary, who was there to answer questions and such about the apartment. HI MARY!
Once Martha felt we had eaten enough (because I was still eating and enjoying my coffee), we were led back into the apartment where we would have our time with Mr. Dominguez. We sat around in a circle and he gave us some background into how Disneyland land was purchased, how his family was approached, a great deal about the process to just acquire the land to build.
He then talked about his career at Disneyland, where he started as Ticket Taker on Opening Day and worked his way up to Executive Vice President of the park. He was a wonderful speaker, and was VERY personable. Different people asked questions about his career, the parks, and of course, Walt. He spoke very fondly about Walt and how other park Cast Members felt about Walt. He also spoke briefly about the day Walt passed away. He also spoke about the apartment and people he had hosted there, including Lillian Disney some time before she passed away.
After about an hour, Martha signaled that she wanted Mr. Dominguez to wrap up (since he would have gone on for HOURS had we wanted), and informed us that there was a special guest that wanted to visit with us. And then, in walked none other then Mickey Mouse himself! We were then asked to head back out to the patio for pictures. Mr. Dominguez also said he’d sign all of our E-Ticket magazines.
Our group picture with two Disney Greats!
Mr. Dominguez autographing some of our stuff
Overall, the experience was FANTASTIC. Initially I thought that maybe we had spent too much for this, but after being there, it was worth every penny! (Bill, you are still me hero!) Mr. Dominguez was a fantastic host and is a stupendous man. His wife was also there and was one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Mary from Guest Relations was also fantastic and answered all of our questions and was as helpful as possible. Martha was not as friendly as she could have been, and she seemed to rush us through the experience. If there is a complaint, that would be it. But aside from that, it was an experience that I will never forget.
I’d also like to mention that the other 11 people on the tour were great too. It was a joy and pleasure to share this experience with them. _________________ When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney
What a great adventure, and very well written, (for an auto mechanic). I'm glad to see all those true fans have such a memorable experience. I notice Ltldeb in the front row with the kids. Did she have to eat at the "little table" with them too? _________________ [
What a great adventure, and very well written, (for an auto mechanic). I'm glad to see all those true fans have such a memorable experience. I notice Ltldeb in the front row with the kids. Did she have to eat at the "little table" with them too?
No I didn't have to sit with the "little" people to eat. Actually DP sat there with us too. _________________ *~deb~*
What a great adventure, and very well written, (for an auto mechanic). I'm glad to see all those true fans have such a memorable experience. I notice Ltldeb in the front row with the kids. Did she have to eat at the "little table" with them too?
No I didn't have to sit with the "little" people to eat. Actually DP sat there with us too.
But I think technically, we did sit at the "kids" table..... _________________ When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney
OK, question from someone who is not totally up on the DL history. Who is Mr. Dominguez? I can kind of figure it out from what you wrote of the experience, but would you mind giving me the synopsis?
Great review - thanks for taking the time to write it up and share it with us. _________________ Kathy
"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day..."
Ron Dominguez' family owned an orange grove on the land that DL was built on. From what Ron said, his house was where POTC now is. _________________ *~deb~*
Ron Dominguez' family owned an orange grove on the land that DL was built on. From what Ron said, his house was where POTC now is.
To elaborate a little more, Ron took a summer job at Disneyland when it opened, as a Ticket Taker. Over the years, he moved up though the Disneyland management, and ended his career as Executive Vice President of Disneyland Parks.
He is now retired but still lives in the Anaheim area. _________________ When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.
--Walt Disney
Joined: Dec 20, 2005 Posts: 18 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:23 pm Post subject:
Wow! I think you had a better time on my birthday than I did! My girlfriend, parents and I went to this little 1950's soda shop in a nearby bedroom community, and it was nice enough, but no Walt's Apartment! _________________ Daily departures for Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Mysterious Island, Island at the Top of the World, and more.
Mind you not all of them were stupid (my opinion, and I'm not gauging things by what I know vs. what I don't). Maybe I should have said that certain questions that were asked seemed more to have a logical answer. At 1 point it sounded like someone was flexing their mental capacity on Disney to have a 1 on 1 with Ron.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Utilidors Audio Broadcasting / Utilidors.com / uabmagic.com are in no way affiliated with, endorsed or promoted by the Walt Disney Company or any of its subsidiaries.
All Music and requestable media Copyright the Walt Disney Company or their respective artists / Composers.
OK, question from someone who is not totally up on the DL history. Who is Mr. Dominguez? I can kind of figure it out from what you wrote of the experience, but would you mind giving me the synopsis?
with envy! Maybe some day. 
