Having done with Magical Kingdom in the early afternoon, we hurried off to the last theme park on our list – MGM Studio, a movie theme park drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood.
We were just in time for the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade. It was drizzling during the parade.
Ratatouille!
The Toy Story!
The Muppets!
Mulan!
Star Wars!
Monsters!
Aladdin!
The Villains…
Lilo and Stitch!
The Little Mermaid!
Go Go Power Rangers! Spot the tiny red Power Ranger.
Playhouse Disney.
Snow White!
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger!
Finally, the Stars arrived!
Sunset Boulevard
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – we didn’t queue for this thrilling free fall ride at a 13-storey high tower due to long queue. We should have tried it.
Instead, we lined up for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. It was a very fun though short ride. The big thrill ride simulated the force of a supersonic F-14; its initial speed was so fast that we were flung backward. The track was so dark that we couldn’t see what was ahead of us except flash lights. We could never get ourselves mentally prepared on which direction we were heading to, whether there was a bent or a slope ahead, and we were bracing ourselves at high speed throughout the ride! I was sitting in the last row of a single file, feeling so helpless!
A “movie director” in action, with children joining him for the show.
Backlot
Mann’s Chinese Theater. Also best-known for the hand and foot prints of famous people in its forecourt.
Mickey’s and Minnie’s hand and foot prints in the cement.
Cardboard buildings appearing so real.
This time, Miss Piggy is Miss Liberty.
Kermit the frog singing “Rainbow Connection”, filling the air with musical notes at the Muppet studio.
Toy Story.
The tiny soldier in Toy Story was not tiny after all. In fact, many kids were scared off by this giant green man.
Another queue for taking photo with Woody and getting his autograph at AL’s Toy Barn.
The macho Buzz Lightyear with a wannabe.
The iconic steep slope.
The babe.
Disney Pixar Cars.
Staying away from the scorching sun underneath Mary Poppins’s umbrella.
The best show of the day was Lights, Motors, Action! Stunt Show. We were lucky to grab two good seats for ourselves in the theatre. It was a live stunt spectacular that gave a behind-the-scenes look at how action stunts were created for the movies.
The cars and motorcycles used throughout the show were highly modified. The hero cars were painted red, while the pursuit cars were black to easily allow guests to tell the difference between them. One car had the interior situated backwards to allow the driver to appear as if he was driving in reverse, and the other had a seat and steering wheel bolted onto the side of the car, giving the appearance that the car had no driver in the driver’s seat.
Inflating the air mattress for the flying car to land on.
The flying red car from roof to roof.
Tires screeching and a white car was “shorn” into half but there was still a driver maneuvering it.
The show also featured two men riding on jet skis in the small canal at the front of the theatre and gun shots among the men. The finale of the show was complete with a big explosion and eventually a guy was on fire but it was quickly put off by the extinguisher.
Illusions! The seemingly real buildings and slope.
Dinosaur ice-cream booth.
The XXX…L Mickey’s Wizard Hat! This photo was voluntarily taken by a helpful Kodak photographer who saw us trying hard to capture the best angle.
We completed our tour in the Studio with a visit to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth, the gallery exhibits archival footage, inventions, innovations and audio interviews of Walter Elias Disney.
Disney’s office.
We also watched a history show about Walt Disney in a theater, and someone sitting beside us snored throughout the show!
Warren was seemingly right. It was easier to cover Disneyland than Universal Studios, though the latter only has two theme parks where Disneyland has four. We spent most of the time taking photos and strolling leisurely in the parks. The rides in Disneyland are milder and kids will enjoy them; adults can revive their childhood fantasies and have lots of fun there too.
Back to Disneyland Magical Kingdom
Listen guys, I love these photos. Real great that you guys care so much about the parks 🙂
Points I MUST make; It’s not called Disneyland. It’s called Walt Disney World. Disneyland Resort is the Anaheim, California resort and Disneyland Paris is the Paris, France resort. What you referred to as the ‘Magical Kingdom’ is actually the Magic Kingdom, and that ‘white car’ you described as being sheared in half, is only Herbie; the most famous Volkswagen beetle number 53 ever to grace our screens! Anyway, all this aside, I enjoyed looking through these photos, I think my favourite one is the photo of the Green Soldier!