The tour here began looking at the famous handprints across the forecourt of the theatre. Again, I had to get my picture with a few of the famous names featured:


We were then joined by the tour guide for the theatre, Levi, who began by telling us a little bit more about the exterior of the building and explaining how the famous handprints became a tradition for the theatre. The very first concrete slab actually happened purely by accident as the Hollywood star Norma Talmadge accidentally walked through the wet cement so theatre owner Sidney Patrick Grauman jumped on the opportunity to quite literally leave a mark by asking her to also provide her handprints and the tradition was born.

The tour then proceeded inside to the main foyer of the theatre where popcorn was provided whilst we viewed some of the well known costumes from movies that premiered there. The architecture in here was astounding and the paintings that covered the walls were just stunning, reflecting upon Chinese culture.

That architecture followed through into the main screen room which had recently upgraded to support IMAX. Unfortunately they were unable to show us anything on the mammoth screen as they were working on some equipment ahead of a premiere but that allowed us a little more time to marvel at the beautiful ceiling sculpture and artwork. I cannot really explain in words just how beautiful it was in there. It was breath-taking and certainly a far cry from the multi-plex cinemas of the modern age. They really do not make them like this anymore and that is a crying shame. There was a feeling of glamour and opulence in this building which I can only imagine would make the cinema going experience a true event. If more venues had this level of detail and beauty perhaps more people would head out to a cinema?

The stunning ceiling in the screening room of the TCL Chinese Theatre

The Chinese Theatre and attached multi-plex rounded off our walking tour for the morning before heading back to the hotel to board a coach to our next destination, The Jim Henson Studios.


The Jim Henson Studios were originally built in 1917 by film star Charlie Chaplin and he can be seen standing just outside the entrance in a mural painting. Jim Henson's children actually purchased the studio in 2000 to be the new home of the Jim Henson Company. For me personally, I couldn't think of a better company to have moved into the original 'home' of Chaplin, given their stock and trade in making people laugh. There is a certain poetry to it that makes me feel that the Henson Studios truly belong there.

This studio lot was definitely in stark contrast to that of Warner Bros. which we had visited. Naturally, we expected the Henson to be a lot smaller but there was also a very different atmosphere within the grounds. The whole backlot felt more personal, like a family business would. The Jim Henson Studios have always been very much a family run business and I am glad to see that ethic and atmosphere has endured at the lot with Mr. Henson's children operating the business.

Our large group was split into two in order to get around this smaller studio with our group heading off to a meeting and rehearsal space to get a masterclass in puppetry. It is incredibly fascinating watching how much life can be brought to the characters with what is essentially two sticks and a well dressed 'sock-puppet'. Of course, I am being glib and making this sound far more simplistic than it really is, as we soon discovered when the guide opened up for the floor to have a go. He directed the volunteer in how to control the arms and mouth and how the body language would suggest certain things. As a puppet master, you cannot directly see the puppet so you would also be required to watch the puppets performance live on screen in front of you in order to make sure everything is looking good. There is a great deal of multitasking involved and what seems like a relatively simple task in making the puppet perform really does turn into how to breathe life into (and out of) a character and show off their personality. It is remarkable to watch and was great fun learning a very quick lesson in puppetry. I'd certainly love to give it another go someday.

When the groups switched over we were taken to a small archive space where a very large Kermit plush and a real Emmy Award Trophy was waiting for us to have pictures with.


I should also point out (and you may have noticed in the pictures) that I paid my own respects to the studio that brought us the most wonderful film of my childhood, a film that I still hold in my ‘very top favourite movies of all time’. The Jim Henson Company released Labyrinth in 1986 (UK) and has become a cult classic to boot. Naturally, I was there wearing my movie artwork shirt with David Bowie as The Goblin King emblazoned across the front. They had a fantastic cabinet filled with Labyrinth memorabilia both young and old, some of which I'd love to get my hands on. I'd quite happily give my little brother to the Goblin King to do so.

After our tour there was a final chance to get some photographs with the puppet and puppet master and one final group picture before we were soon boarding the coach to head off to our next destination.



Our next stop was called The Tam o'Shanter Inn and was our dinner stop. The Tam o'Shanter is known as one of LAs oldest restaurants having opened back in 1922. It had an even more significant relevance to our group because Walt Disney was a frequent patron there. Michael and Summer-Rose also dropped another bombshell whilst we were en route. We were to have a very special guest join us for dinner. Now, if I say Margaret Kelly, that probably wouldn't mean a great deal to you. What about if I mention Tinkerbell, one of Walt Disney's most famous pixie creations? Well, Margaret was the original actress upon whom Tinkerbell was based. Yes, the absolute original Tinkerbell would be joining us for dinner! To say the group was excited would be a ridiculous understatement. For those who don't know, the Walt Disney animators would have actors come to the studio to perform the character parts so that they could observe the way in which the actors moved to ensure they were translating all of the character and personality (as well as accurate movement) to the animated character.

Once we arrived it struck me that this truly was just like an old Scottish (or British pub), everything from the wooden beam architecture, right down to the smell of roasting meats and pub food as we entered. The name of the inn comes from the epic poem of the same name written by Robert Burns. In it, Burns evokes a very vivid image of the drinking classes back in the old Scottish town of Ayr in the late 18th century. This was 'theming' at a level I would imagine Walt Disney would have admired.

The Tam o'Shanter, CA 90093

We all made our way around the tables with Marc and I joining Adrienne and Vince for a nice table of four. Shortly after, Tinkerbell introduced herself to the group and explained that she would be joining us at each table and was very clear that we should have lots of burning questions to ask. I will add here that Margaret is 88 years old, not that you could tell. There was an abundance of energy and vitality just beaming from this lady.

We didn't wait too long for her to arrive at our table and when she did, we realised that between the four of us, we had no questions ready. We were all nervous about eating whilst Tink herself was with us for starters. I threw the question about how much involvement Walt had when she was performing in front of the animators and she enthusiastically fired off into telling us all about the experience, full of anecdotal stories whilst also reminding us to actually eat our dinner throughout. It was really hard to pay attention to food when she was retelling these wonderful experiences and her enthusiasm was infectious. We did not want to miss a word. It didn't seem very long before she was being guided to the next table and we were left, jaws dropped, at just how wonderful she was.

No sooner had we finished our food (which I should add, was absolutely delicious) the four of us were taken into an adjoining room and taken to a very specific table. The table had a plaque bearing the words:


We were invited to take a seat and as ridiculous as it sounds, I felt a little uneasy, it was like I was being given permission to put my hands on the Mona Lisa. For someone who once worked in a museum this was pretty much as sinful as it gets. Of course, this Inn was no museum or gallery but has a very definite historical significance, especially to a Disney fan. To know that Walt would have sat there with his imagineers, in what I can only describe as humble settings, making plans for Disneyland was somewhat mind blowing!

Marc and I at Walt's Table. Note the poster at the top of the image with the slogan 'Imagineers of the Tam'

At this point everyone had eaten, had visited 'Walts' table and had conversations with Margaret but the surprises did not stop there. Margaret, or should I say Tinkerbell, took to the floor to give a live demonstration of a specific scene that she acted out back when they were making Peter Pan. The scene was one in which Tink is ignoring Peter’s requests to find his shadow when she comes across a mirror and is less than impressed in the reflection of her hips, showing her distaste with her trademark tempered arm crossing. Margaret performed it perfectly. Every little nuance of the movement was absolutely spot on. She really was Tinkerbell! After some rapturous applause, we were then invited to each have a picture with her and receive two parting gifts; one was a signed picture featuring an image of Tinkerbell and a corresponding shot from the original animation session. The other gift was a signed copy of Margaret's autobiography, 'Tinkerbell Talks! Tales of Pixie Dusted Life'. Again, I haven't started to read this yet, but once I do, I will post a review.

Me with Margaret Kelly

Overall, meeting the original Tinkerbell was an emotional experience. To actually sit and talk with someone who had a massive impact on not only a classic Disney movie but also a character which has been synonymous with the company ever since was awe-inspiring. I was so very close to the happiest tears but apparently, the day was not over.

Upon boarding the coach I thought that we had now finished up the day and would be heading back to the hotel and Hollywood itself, however I was mistaken and the adventure guides had yet another surprise in store. We were now driving up to Griffith Park. Again, this in itself would not mean very much to many people but where we were going was incredibly significant.

Griffith Park is a very large (4,310 acres) municipal park at the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains with many attractions including the observatory where you can also view the famous Hollywood sign. That is not where we were heading though, instead we were heading for a traditional merry-go-round or as some know them, a carousel and here is a bit of language trivia for you. The term merry-go-round is the traditional English (U.K.) name and they travel clockwise, carousel is the U.S. (and European) term and they travel anti clockwise. In other words the traditional U.K. versions travel on the left and in the U.S. they travels on the right! Just like on the roads. Every day is a school day right? (It should be noted that in more modern times it is highly likely that many U.K. 'merry-go-rounds' have been purchased from the U.S. and vice versa). That it makes very interesting that the signage all referred to this as a Merry-Go-Round.

The Griffith Park 'Merry-Go-Round'

This carousel was originally built in San Diego in 1926 before moving to its current location in 1937. It has 68 hand carved horses, all of which jump and a custom built Stinson 165 Military Band Organ and is very much famous in its own right, having being used in an incredible list of film and tv credits. That said, this was not why it was significant to us. This traditional carousel was so important to many as it is famed as being the place in which Walt Disney first struck the idea for what would become Disneyland. Walt would take his two daughters to the carousel and would become an onlooker from a bench whilst they took the ride. It was here that Walt thought that there ought to be something built, some kind of family park where parents and children could have fun together. This was the true birth place of the concept for Disneyland!

Images of Walt's Daughters at the Carousel!

You would think that not much could be said about a carousel but it truly is a beautiful piece of history. Each of the horses and the whole structure was in a very good condition, thanks to the current operator, Julio, who started out working as an attendant as a part time job. He was later gifted the carousel in the previous owner’s will. Julio greeted us and gave us an introduction to the carousel before inviting us aboard. Apparently he had selected a special song to play on the organ from the 1500 plus that were available. The majority of the group climbed aboard when invited and both the ride and the organ sprung into life. As the very first notes played out I viewed the scene to witness everyone with absolutely beaming smiles. Again, I felt a huge swell of emotion and I was comforted to see that I wasn't the only one. Looking around I could see a couple of others with the happiest tears rolling down their faces as 'Feed The Birds' from Mary Poppins played.

One of original hand-carved horses.

To experience something that was such a pivotal moment in my idol’s work and even his life was incredibly humbling and inspiring. This single carousel sparked Walt's imagination and led to what is dubbed the 'happiest place on Earth' - and for me, it truly is. I was filled with such a strong sense of happiness, both for myself but also for Marc and all the other Disney fans who were all sharing this moment.

When the ride came to an end, Julio then took the time to tell us more about the carousel, showing off its inner workings and inviting us to observe the finer details on both the carousel and the organ. His knowledge and reverence for the history of this small attraction was fantastic. He had made his life around keeping the carousel operating and still has such a passion for it which convinces me that it will continue to operate for many years to come.

It was now time to head off and I think several of us were ready. The last few hours consisted of strong emotions topped with even more strong emotions and I wager we were all a little dumbfounded. I know I certainly was. I remember thinking that I had had plenty of jaw dropping experiences for one day. Thankfully this was the last activity for the day although Michael and Summer-Rose had invited us to Ghiradelli for an evening ice-cream. Now, ice-cream, that I could do!


Ghiradelli can be found at both of the U.S. Disney resorts (amongst other places) and if you have never tried it, I strongly suggest you do. I finished up our evening with what I can only describe as the largest ice-cream I have ever had. Mine was called 'Ocean Beach' and was Vanilla ice cream, sea salt, caramel sauce and handmade hot fudge topped with whipped cream, sea salt and a Ghirardelli SQUARES Milk Chocolate. Marc had one called 'Muir Woods' which was Black Cherry Vanilla ice cream and handmade hot fudge topped with whipped cream, Ghirardelli Mini Dark Chocolate Chips and a cherry. Their deserts are beyond heavenly and were a perfect way to finish off the day.

Thankfully, we had already planned for this eventuality by making sure we had an early slot on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. Our ABD welcome dinner wasn't until the evening so we had most of the day to continue getting into the La La Land swing of things. We had plenty of time to get ready and have coffee, sitting outside as the morning sunshine beat down on us. It was a beautiful morning. 

Pete joined us shortly after, coffee in hand and we were chatting about the DisUnplugged shows and how we came across them a number of years ago. The feeling that we knew Pete so well but we were strangers to him was disappearing. Could I be so bold to think that a great friendship could come out of this trip? Marc and I both thought so.

Unlike on previous U.S. trips, this time we didn't need a car just yet so Marc got his first experience of the taxi service, Uber. I was hardly a pro at it either but we got there and our first Uber was booked. We can certainly see why it has become a success.

The Warner Bros. Studios were an interesting experience. As with many studio tours, we boarded a tram bus thing and they took us around the back lot. For a lot of the tour we were looking at totally undressed sets, as there was no filming taking place. There were glimpses of buildings that had featured in movies we had seen but it was quite hard to picture. Also, a lot of what had been filmed more recently were U.S. sitcoms that I had never watched or never even heard of. Still, one set did still remain as seen on screen which made me very happy as I had only watched the movie a couple of days before on the flight out. Eagle eyed readers will recognise this as the cafe in La La Land.

Our next stop was one of the highlights for me which was the Costume department, on display downstairs were many of the costumes from the recent Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad movies and the Harry Potter movies upstairs. Seeing just how detailed costumes are these days was impressive. Obviously, HD film techniques necessitate the costumes to be of the highest standard in order to look as realistic as possible on screen. I was in awe of the size of the costumes, displayed on mannequins of the same scale as the actor, giving them a real sense of perspective. I would seriously need to bulk up in order to fill one of them. One small experience did bring a massive smile to my face and that was actually being sorted by the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter. My house; GRYFFINDOR of course!

We then got to walk through a hot set. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in the sound stage for that reason but it was fantastic to see the set of The Big Bang Theory. One thing that really struck me is how small and confined the sets look compared to what the audience sees on screen. That, and the abundance of IKEA furniture used in the set. There is an IKEA in Burbank just 3 miles away from the studio and given the characters of the show, of course, it made sense that they have IKEA furniture. It was just fun to see.

Another major highlight was The Picture Car Vault. When we visited there was a major focus on the vehicles from the Batman movies so I went full on bat-geek getting pictures with every single one of them. My absolute favourite was the Tumbler from Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy.

Again, the scale of these machines, most of which actually fully work for the purposes of filming, was very impressive to me.

Our final stop was in Stage 48, where they demonstrate the process from script to screen. However, the real attraction here was the Central Perk set from Friends. To actually sit on that sofa and pretend to drink coffee was brilliant. Friends was a massive part of my teen TV viewing and even after all these years, I can still watch the show with so much fondness and laughter.

Also within Stage 48, was a special effects area where I had the opportunity to ride a Batpod against a green screen and I even have the video to show for it. Of course, it looks very little like the film because it hasn't had all the clever editing but that video is a fantastic keepsake for me pretending to be Batman, just for a little while. That pretty much concluded our studio tour so we made our way back to our hotel area via the wonder of Uber. On reflection, the tour was fun but it was not necessarily a tour we would repeat in the future.

After a wander around the nearby shops we were making our way back to the hotel we passed the Los Angeles branch of Madame Tussauds. We figured that as we were passing and it was reasonably priced it would be a good way to use a couple of hours before our big welcome dinner. I previously worked for the Madame Tussuads in London so I can say that the attraction was very similar indeed with the main differences being the much, much shorter queue to get in and so the attraction itself was far less crowded. This meant I could pose away to my heart’s content with all the waxworks I wanted to… 

It was now definitely time to go and get ready for the Welcome Dinner. I was adamant that I wanted to make an effort for dinner and wear trousers and a shirt. This would have potentially been a disaster given how hot it was but thankfully we were eating at the hotel and with the comfort of air conditioning. This was going to be the first time we would be meeting all the other people who would be on the trip.

We were the first couple to arrive at the meet-up point where we properly met our Disney Adventure Guides, Michael and Summer-Rose who were both insistent that we had to have a picture taken, with Disney props of course, symbolising the start of our adventure.

Once everyone was assembled we made our way to dinner. I was a little confused when we got to the venue for dinner because there was two people already there that had definitely not been at the meet-up point. I didn't think too much on it and just assumed that they had arranged to meet the group in the room. Straight away we got chatting to a wonderful couple called Danika and Leah. We were initially nervous about being the only Brits on the trip in case people mistook our sense of humour and the like. Thankfully, they made us feel completely at ease and were telling us about their first ABD trip. It turned out that for a large proportion of the room, this was not their first adventure. Some of the group were on their 2nd or 3rd trip and there was even one, Jason, who was now on his 10th ABD trip! This spoke volumes about the quality of the adventure we were embarking on.

Just as we finished up dinner our guest speaker was brought to the front of the room (one of the two who were in the room when we arrived). This evening we would getting a talk from Don Ballard. Don is a historian and a writer who has a great love of the Disneyland Hotel. His first book was published in 2005 titled 'Disneyland Hotel the Early Years: 1954-1988. Off the back of this book Don started getting contacts from numerous sources with letters, pictures, brochures and information about the hotel. It is amazing to think that even a single Disney hotel has such a rich history.

He began his talk by giving an overview of how the Disneyland Hotel came to be. Initially it was not actually operated by Disney at all, but a guy called Jack Wrather had been brought in to build and operate the hotel. However, the room fell pin-drop silent when Don revealed that he had been given a rare and virtually unseen piece of footage. Most Disney fans, and many others, will have seen the original footage of Walt Disney making his dedication speech at the opening of Disneyland back in 1955. It is often shown in any documentary about Walt. What was unique about this rare piece of footage was that it featured the very same speech but was in colour and was filmed on home video from a completely different angle but without sound. It had been discovered amongst a private collection and could have easily been lost forever! Don proceeded to show us the footage with the original audio dubbed over the top and at that moment there was almost a gasp from the room. I am not expecting everyone to understand why this moment was so gripping, but I can say, from a massive Disney fan, who has seen and heard that dedication speech countless times throughout the years, that to see a new angle, in full colour and knowing this footage had remained hidden for all these years was a very special moment. To share that incredible moment with other passionate Disney fans was something to behold. Don finished up by giving each of us a copy of his book 'Disneyland Hotel 1954-1959: The Little Motel in the Middle of the Orange Grove', signing the book and then posing for photographs. I haven't really had the chance to get into reading it, but I will be posting a review when I do.

After that wonderful talk a number of the attendees then went off to the El Capitan theatre for a screening of Cars 3. We opted not to attend this part as Marc is not a particular fan of the Cars series and we were both feeling that sitting in a cinema when we were both beginning to feel very tired possibly wasn't the best idea. Instead we stayed in the hotel bar, again enjoying a few drinks and chatting with Pete who promised that this evening’s moments were just the beginning!

The driver then drove us over to Loews Hollywood Hotel which is where the Adventures by Disney portion of our trip would begin. The hotel is located just behind the Dolby Theatre so we had a fantastic view of the huge arches and shopping centre which accompanies the theatre which plays host to the annual academy awards.

I should drop in, for those that do not know, Adventures by Disney, or ABD to the frequent users, is an excursion trip. The aim of ABD trips is to provide culturally immersive, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The trips are hosted by two Adventure Guides who attend to all the details and enable you to experience cultures and traditions in ways that show more than just the sights. You get to experience parts of the world through the eyes of a storyteller and in many cases, get access to opportunities that are not actually available to the general public. Our trip was called Backstage Magic and it really focussed on the career of Walt Disney from his arrival in Hollywood through to the opening of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

Our Adventures By Disney trip was booked through Dreams Unlimited Travel. Their slogan is that they are 'experts at helping you plan the perfect Disney vacation' and they certainly did not disappoint - more on that later.

We got checked in very quickly and then had the rest of the evening to get settled in, so to speak. My first stop was to locate the smoking area before showering and generally freshening up for the evening. Within minutes I spotted somebody who would also be on the ABD trip. Pete is the owner and anchor host for 'The DisUnplugged'. The DisUnplugged is essentially the podcast and video show part of the 'The Dis', a website that covers absolutely everything you could want to find out about vacations in Walt Disney World, Disneyland California and Disney Cruise Line. If you can't find what you need in the multitude of articles, there is plenty of people to ask in the 'DISboards', an expansive forum frequented by one of, if not, THE largest Disney fan groups outside of the official Disney fan community, D23. The DisUnplugged is also supported by Dreams Unlimited Travel.

It was a little nerve wracking approaching someone I have been following for years. It felt like I knew him really well but I was nothing but a stranger to him. I am not sure what gave it away but Pete instantly knew exactly who we were the moment we went over to introduce ourselves. Perhaps the British accent was a giveaway. We had a brief chat before heading up for that shower. We had been on the go for several hours after all and we also had until the following evening before our ABD expedition begun.

For the rest of our evening, I had arranged to catch up with a colleague who is based locally. We had never actually met in person and only conversed through email and FaceTime as part of our jobs on either side of the water. He was going to take us to somewhere called 'WeHo'. At this point I would like to point out my naivete about what WeHo was. I thought it was some fancy Hollywood restaurant and it certainly didn't occur to me that it was an abbreviation for West Hollywood. WeHo, as I very quickly discovered, is also a vibrant LGBT district, in fact it is actually considered to be one of the most prominent 'gay villages' in the United States. I could definitely fit in here and found it very exciting to be in an LGBT space outside of the UK. The people were incredibly friendly and I don’t think I will ever tire of being told, "they love my accent".

We started out at PUMP for a couple of drinks. The self proclaimed sexiest restaurant in LA is also owned by Lisa Vanderpump of Real Housewives fame (amongst other things). The venue itself is a very interesting place, almost like you are sitting in a very rich person’s patio garden with fancy and ornate chandeliers and tableware. It had a wonderful relaxed vibe and the bar team were fantastic. It was actually a really good icebreaker so that we could chat and get to know each other better and gave my husband a little more insight into the world of my job. After some fantastic food at a place, the name of which I can not for the life of me remember, and possibly too many drinks considering the lack of sleep, we were driven back to our hotel and I just about made it up to our room to get some well earned sleep!

It was a little disconcerting returning home to find it cold and raining after two weeks of incredible sunshine in California. It is safe to say that the post holiday blues have well and truly set in.

This holiday was one of the most amazing experiences and we have met and made friends with a lot of people over the last couple of weeks. 

I am currently pulling together all of my thoughts and feelings, along with my favourite pictures so I can start sharing another new feature for the blog. There will soon be a new tab on the page called the 'Journal'. It is here I will be writing about our various trips and days out. I only hope that reflecting on our most recent trip will help keep the happiest of memories alive and help ease the blues. The first part should be ready in the next couple of days - I can't wait to share our adventure with you.