The Walt Disney Studios – Scene 2
Sunday, March 4th, 2007
Continuing with our incredible tour of the Disney tours – as begun here:
Following our walking tour of Dave’s work area, we continued along our interweaving path through the Disney buildings. We next came upon the building in which models are crafted for film and animatronic characters. There was one lone worker in there, toiling away at some project, sawdust flying every which way. Dave asked if it would be okay if we looked around and he said “Sure. No problem.” So we spent the next fifteen minutes or so gaping at the marvels of the Disney imagineers. Above left is me posing with some head models for the animatronics in The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. Read the rest of this entry »
After our long day in the hot, tepid weather at Stone Mountain, retiring to the hotel restaurant with our pals Jimmy and Dave really hit the spot. Ashleigh had won a $75 gift certificate to the eatery at the banquet the night before, a result of our scavenger hunt victory. She and I splurged on some fine food and dessert, including my steak that looked like the United States of America, and was almost as big (above left). While we were eating, Ed Greim strolled through the restaurant chatting with the diners. 
One of the most interesting things I saw during my California trip was the Walt Disney Studios – and it was virtually the first item on the docket. After Jimmy and I killed a couple of hours in Santa Monica, we headed to Burbank to find the Walt Disney Studios and meet our friend David Rodriguez for lunch. When we drove up to the gate, I immediately recognized the surroundings as seen in several Disney documentaries, as well as in the 1941 Disney feature The Reluctant Dragon. David works as a colorist for the studios and had given the front guard our names as visiting guests. 
Just one day before the world’s tongues were abuzz about the untimely death of super-whatever Anna Nicole Smith, a man of infinitely more character and wisdom passed away on February 7, 2007. Bob Cline was my Dad’s first cousin, being the son of my Grandma Range’s brother Ira. As far as I recall, I never got the chance to meet Bob. I had talked about making the trek to his hometown of Evansville, Indiana on several occasions to visit with him, but like many things we plan to do, it never happened.