Bob Gurr’s Disney History Trail Bus Tour

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The awning was pretty easy to spot!

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I got there nice and early (for once) and had time to chat and look at the wares for sale: DVDs and some cute Autopia cars – the latter sold out pretty quickly.

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The large artwork on the table is by Noe Valladolid.

Everyone chatted and signed in and exchanged cards and emails and caught up with each other since the last event, and wondered if they’d gotten their email from D23 about tickets that day, yet, while we waited for everyone to arrive.

At ten sharp, we hit the road and headed for a beautiful old high school that you’ll hear all about when you take the tour (hint: Raiders of the Lost Ark! Card Walker!) and took a stroll to Lyric Avenue, where two mail-order houses awaited us:

This one was Roy’s:

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This one was Walt’s – the studio was in the garage:

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If you look at the window above Bob’s head, you’ll find a little royal crest.  Can you see it?

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Next up, the Mayfair Gelson’s Market on Hyperion where the Hyperion Studios (or Hyperios Studios, if you follow the DVD that plays on the bus). We take a look at the historical landmark sign, now placed high enough that it doesn’t get stolen as often as the larger, lower version that would often disappear in the 1980s, when I would visit my brother, down the street at Harmony Terrace.

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This was followed by a windows-only look at the 1931 Ben Sherwood Tudor apartments, which have been used in many film and television productions, but were also used as a studio annex by Disney during their tenure at Hyperion. Can you see the influence of Sherwood’s buildings on some of the architecture in Disney’s earliest films?

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Next stop, the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round!

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It was my first time here, so I was pretty excited. We met Bob’s friend Julio, the owner, who was camera-shy. There’s also a very special bench there, over by the concession stand.

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Riding a carousel turns just about anyone into a kid, and Bob is certainly no exception:

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The carousel is in the midst of a loving (and quite lengthy) restoration right now, but is still operational in the meantime. Hey – look at their tails. Have you ever seen carousel horses with tails like that before?

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One chariot bears a plaque that states: “Restored in memory of Walt Disney through the generosity of the Walt Disney Family Foundation”

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A better look:

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A photo of Diane and Sharon hangs in front of the bench.

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Some of the amazing details of the Merry-go-round:

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There are all sorts of souvenirs for sale, from gold passes and magnets to coloring books and shirts.

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In front of this gate, on the opposite side of the concession stand, is where benches 7, 8 and 9 sat. It was at those three benches where Walt always planted himself, eating peanuts and watching his girls ride. The bench with their names is actually on the opposite side of the merry-go-round.

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Mary Jo on the Merry Go Round!

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Lunchtime! We got box lunches from the Gene Autry museum. I had a turkey sandwich with really great cheese and no condiments, Lay’s chips and a spectacular cookie. There were no napkins nor any way to wash our hands, and not much water for a hot, dry six hours, but it was our first flight, and they were still getting used to their programming. I worked for years as a tour guide in Hawaii, so I notice things like that. If you asked anyone who took the tour, though, I will bet you anything all they would say is that they had an incredible time, because, honestly, the hiccups were so tiny as to be unnoticeable. In fact, that’s what I’m seeing on the Bob Gurr’s Disney History Trail Facebook Page – nothing but raves. Go look.

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We ended up at Walt’s Barn after eating lunch next to a Disney Pin Trading group in the park;

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Randy Thornton was there signing the vinyl release of A Day at Disneyland,

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which came with a 60th Anniversary poster.

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Because of the signing, the Disneyland Anniversary, and the coolness of Walt’s Barn, it was pretty packed, and Mitch said you had to wait in line to get into the barn.

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So, I didn’t get into the barn this time, because we only got a limited time there. Good excuse to come back. Check out this kid being interested in cool historical scientific stuff. Yay Walt!

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I got to finally see the Combine me and a whole bunch of other extremely cool people helped to save! It’s beautiful!

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It was a fun and festive event!

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I couldn’t leave without going around the corner

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To check out Ollie Johnston’s little yellow Railroad Depot.

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Time to get back in the bus!

But before we take off – I actually took copious notes, and they’re sitting in my notebook, unused. There’s some fantastic stories there. Stories you should really hear. From Bob himself, not from me. And you can do just that! There’s another tour August 21st. I’ll tell you how you can book it at the end of the article.

Off we zoomed to faraway Glendale, California…two, three blocks away at most.

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This building does not wear a Disney name tag, as some of the neighborhood buildings do, however, it is painted in the Studio color scheme, which has been used since the S. Buena Vista Street studio opened and hasn’t changed since. This particular building is home to WDI’s CAVE technology, which is so realistic at this point, that many testers won’t even step off a fake balcony in the simulation, even though they know that it’s perfectly safe to do so. You’ve come a long way, baby! Wish I could see you again, now, but I know that’s not likely and I am way certain it’s not worth risking anybody’s livelihood.

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Bob talks about the backside of 1401.

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You can ask anybody: this is the moment when the tour went from great to spectacular. It became personal. Bob said, “This tour isn’t just about Walt Disney. It’s about him and me and some other people.” Well, yes. And when Bob really started opening up about his own stories here, at the air terminal, that’s when we all wanted to pull up blankets in a circle and just listen, hot sun be damned. He’s done some fascinating stuff! I wasn’t kidding when I said we should end up in a bar. It should be 12-16 people, 21 and over, and end up at a bar at a big round table with Bob telling all those incredible stories about his life outside of Disney because while the Disney stuff is fabulous, and believe me, I know from fabulous, the stuff he was telling us about his own life was wonderful to hear. The love story between a kid and a great big giant mechanical vrooming thing is a timeless joy and wonder, and he tells it extremely well, and he’s got a lot more where that came from, and they’re all really, really good.

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Last but not least, here:

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Almost no security guards, operators or companies were notified in advance that we would be visiting. I had a pretty funny thought. I mean, what’s Disney going to do, fire him…again?  Back we went to the Zoo, where Bob signed photos for us!

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Do you want one? What’s your favorite Disneyland vehicle? Tell me in the comments below, and this signed Bob Gurr head shot could be yours! Winner will be chosen at random after midnight Sunday.

 

For more information, call 866-446-7803 or visit http://www.DisneyHistoryTrail.com.

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Shelly Valladolid
Shelly Valladolid, aka Fab, has been writing about Disney and theme parks for about two decades. She has written for various fan and pop culture sites, Disney Magazine and OCRegister.com and participated in several books, including Passporter's Disneyland and Southern California and Disney World Dreams. She was co-founder and president of the Orlando, Florida chapter of the NFFC (now Disneyana Fan Club). She taught a class on theme park history at a Southern California University. She is creator and co-owner of Jim Hill Media, one of the creators of MousePlanet and was a consultant on MSNBC, The Motley Fool and others about Disney and various media matters. She was a Heel wrestling manager on TV and a voice artist on the radio in Honolulu, HI, where she grew up. She has a blog and a podcast with her daughter, Mission:Breakout Obsessive Alice Hill. She and her husband, MiceChat columnist Noe Valladolid, live in Southern California with Alice.