Thanks to D23 I was able to tour the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank on a VIP tour, exploring the campus and learning many new facts about the hundred-year-old company. Here are the highlights and my overall thoughts on the tour.
D23, the official Disney fan club, hosts VIP tours at Walt Disney Studios throughout the year that members can register for. These tours explore the campus from the animation buildings to Walt’s office to the sound stages and the archives. It all ends with a stop at the Disney Legends Plaza and the Disney Employee stores.
The tour overall was quite relaxing and enjoyable. Our tour guide Linda was very pleasant and knowledgeable, keeping an uplifted energy to the experience that genuinely made the time go by quickly. She also paid attention to our groups’ personal favorites and would pinpoint specific facts for us. As an example, once I admitted that I am very much a Disney Parks fan above all else, she would mention certain theme park projects that were completed at the studios. She was a big part of why I enjoyed the tour as much as I did.
My favorite part of the tour was seeing Walt’s office. It is a faithful recreation with all of the items that were previously archived following Walt’s death, located in the original suite Walt worked in. He actually has two offices side by side, one being the formal office for important meetings and home to the iconic Sherman Brothers piano and the other the working office where his closest collaborates met to come up with the next big Disney project. Both of these spaces had me a bit emotional, to be honest. The formal office greatly reminded me of my own grandfather’s office which both warmed my heart and made me miss him. And the working office made me audibly gasp seeing the large Disneyland map on the wall with notes about upcoming (at the time) projects for the park as well as EPCOT concept art.
Other highlights of the tour were seeing a breakdown of the animation process while exploring all the artwork that made some of our favorite films. This included concept art for Bambi and Aladdin, cells from Sleeping Beauty, backgrounds from 101 Dalmations and The Lion King, and an explanation of how all of these elements come together to make Disney’s classic animations. On our way to Walt’s offices, we pass many historic photos of the man at work, including drawing Mickey Mouse, having tea with Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, and many historic moments from Disneyland. A big highlight was holding a real Oscar won by Walt. And the Disney Legends Plaza was a perfect end where we could see who all were inducted and see the only Partners Statue (A statue of Walt and Mickey) that you can get close to.
The Walt Disney Studios Tour hosted by D23 was a very fun and relaxed experience where I actually learned new facts about the iconic company and the man who started it all. If you are a Disney fan and ever have the chance to tour the studios, I recommend that you take it.
What behind-the-scenes look would you like to see at Disney? Leave a comment!