Monday, August 10 -
Day 2
We were up at 7 and out of the room by 8:15. We were supposed to
meet at Guest Relations in front of EPCOT by 8:45. When we had checked in, I had asked
about being escorted through the International Gateway, and Alana, the CM who checked us
in, had called someone to ensure that this could be done. But, when we arrived at the
Int'l Gateway, the CM had no idea what we were talking about. She made a phone call and
despite being told that this was not normally done, she let us through. We joined the
group just in time and met our tour guide, Monte Ray. Judy said he was a spitting image
for David Letterman. His background was broadcasting and his voice can be heard in many of
the attractions in WDW.
There were 12 people in our group. We boarded a Mears coach, driven
by Rich and headed toward our first stop, American Adventure. Monte gave us an intro as we
drove around. As we turned into the lot behind American Adventure, we could see the track
from Test Track high above and could hear cars whizzing around. I asked Monte about the
expected opening, but he didn't have any firm dates.
Monte took us underneath the stage of American Adventure and showed
us how the show worked. All the audio animatronics are lined up underneath the audience in
order of appearance. Monte explained how the audio animotronics were dressed and made up
in the same way live performers were. Each night they were checked for hydraulic seepage
and repairs were done as required.
Next stop was The Living Seas. Monte turned us over to Kim and Kris who told us about the
care of the animals in the Living Seas. We went backstage to see the Manatees, but they
were out at the time. We saw the back of the hydrolaters and how they were made to appear
as if they dropped 50 feet below sea level. What I found interesting was the description
of the huge acrylic windows that make up the aquarium. They are held in place only by the
pressure of the water, with some caulking to stop any leaks. Wooden frames had held the
windows in place while the tanks were filled, then removed. I also got a kick out of how
the Disney Imagineers were able to "sign" their work. Next time take a look
around you at all the signs that are made up of letters and numbers. Seemingly innocuous,
they are the initials and significant dates of the various imagineers that worked on the
Living Seas.
From there we went to Body wars and got to see how the pods are made to move. Imagine a
huge paint mixer. What was weird was when we first arrived, we noticed the monitor used to
watch the guests on the ride. There was a single man sitting there, as if he were lost or
resting from the heat. It just looked so odd to all of us.
Next, we went to MGM Studios to learn the art of drawing and cell painting. Our
instructor, Tom, taught us how to draw Goofy and Pumba. Then Kris taught us how to paint
cells. I don't know how they do this day in and day out, Judy said it helped lower her
blood pressure, but all it did was raise mine.
It was lunchtime, which was at Mama Melrose. Although some of the servers had heard the
same rumors about its possible closing, they didn't know for sure. We were served a
variety of pizzas and pasta dishes. As we sat there eating, a loud, (in dress and voice)
woman, who introduced herself as Monte's Aunt Helen, joined us at our end of the table.
She was hysterical. At one point, she pulled me up to dance and taking a piece of ravioli
from the table attempted to recreate the scene from Lady and the Tramp with me. I couldn't
stop laughing. Monte invited Helen to join us for the rest of the tour. She was
hysterical. Other patrons in the restaurant did not know what to make of her. We drove
over to production control, where sadly, Helen left us. She introduced herself out of
character, as Donna, and explained what she did in MGM. You can sometimes see her in one
of her roles as Rosie, at the preshow for Indiana Jones.
Monte turned us over to our guide for this segment of the tour, who turned out to be
David, our guide from Hidden Treasures last year. We saw the various areas of production
control; creative costuming, tool & dye, metal, woodworking and paint (where we met
the woman responsible for maintaining the carousel in MK.)
Monte took over and led us to an area in back of the production control buildings,
where we saw the Electrical Parade Floats lined up in a narrow river. Monte hinted
that they were going to make a reappearance soon. Interesting side note, you could see the
monorail to the left and it is the only part of backstage that can actually be seen from
the monorail, but monorail riders hardly notice this area, because they are looking at
Spaceship Earth on the other side. The third and final act was in MK, where we were taken
through the utilidors and saw the color-coded map of the whole kingdom. Cinderella passed
us by, out of costume, but with wig still on and showing a touch of the effects from the
heat.
