Our day starts off with breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Buffet style. Dave grabs a plate of fruit and bacon while Allie isn't really hungry but still grabs something as we are unsure what time our next meal will be served.
After breakfast, we all head to the Hollywood and Highland Centre to make our way to the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Graumann's). Stopping along the way for photos on the stairs leading up to Dolby Theatre (where the Oscars take place). Many celebrities have also walked these stairs dressed in their finest attire.
Dave also takes the opportunity to get a photo with Muhummad Ali's walk of fame star. The only star mounted on a wall so as not to be walked all over (religious reasons).
Once at the theatre, we were whisked inside and given a small popcorn and water to eat and drink on our tour.
The tour included movie costumes that are displayed in the lobby and a short video of the theatres history. We were then given free time out the front and instructed to meet back up shortly in the hotel lobby.
The Chinese Theatre is famous for having hand prints and shoe prints of many Hollywood Stars out the front. Upon completion of the tour we had some time to take photos with our favourites and compare sizing. Dave just had to get Robin Williams and Allie directed him to play some twister to do hand prints and shoe prints in the same shot. While Allie chose to compare hand size to the one and only Mary Poppins...oh sorry Julie Andrews. We both took photos with Donald Duck's (originally voiced by Clarence Nash) square and then proceeded to hand sanitise afterwards cause we did not want to risk getting sick as this is a highly populated and touched area.
Once our group had all conjugated back in the hotel lobby, we boarded a bus to transport us to Jim Henson Studios. At the time of this article being published, the only way you can tour this studio is with Adventures by Disney. Jim Henson studios was originally built by Charlie Chaplin and they honour his memory by having his picture out the front by the opening gates. The tour started off with a short welcome video and then we were separated into 2 groups due to sizing of buildings we would be touring. The tour is conducted by a Jim Henson Company puppeteer.
The studios have a few photo ops outside with a giant Kermit the Frog and a dinosaur used in the live action Flintstones movie. We were also able to tour one of the production buildings but no photos were allowed.
We were also allowed entry to the reception office which also had some fun props from past Jim Henson movies and quite a few Kermit the Frog plushes sprawled throughout as well as a big display of all the awards the studio have won over the years. We were also lucky enough to be able to have a photo opportunity holding an Emmy.
We were then taken onto a soundstage for a puppet display by the puppeteer. She asked for a volunteer and Allie was nice enough to volunteer Dave. He had a blast in front of the camera working the puppet to his will. He was surprisingly good at it and shortly thereafter claimed Sweetheart as his own.
After the puppet games, we were back on the bus headed to the restaurant we will be dining at for lunch, the Tam O'Shanters. On the way we passed a little building that used to be the the offices for Walt and his animators when they were first starting off (before the Hyperion Lot and the current location in Burbank, which we will be touring tomorrow...eek). The Tam O'Shanter restaurant was popular with Walt and his animators back in the day and many lunches were taken here. We both had salads for appetisers (although Dave's varied due to allergies) and prime rib for main (forgot to take photo until half way through meal so please enjoy the in progress shot).
After our meal the tour guides took our photo at Walt's table. Although we only got 1 photo together as Dave got a phone call and left (Allie was unsure what that was all about, but she'd find out tomorrow), so Allie got photos of just her and the table. To find Walt's table, once you enter the room with the fireplace at the end, look to the back left corner. Allie was lucky enough to dine at this table back on her 2009 trip on a free day before it was a part of the itinerary.
The tour at this point has officially finished, but there were a few surprises tacked on. We were able to go to the Griffith Park Carousel which every Disney fan knows as the place that Walt originally started thinking about Disneyland or so the story goes. Sunday was Daddy/Daugher day and he would take them to the Carousel and he would sit on a bench and think there needs to be a place where grown-ups can take their kids and have fun themselves, hence the idea of Disneyland was born.
Our free time that night was spent at a random restaurant, located at Hollywood and Highland Shopping Centre, the California Pizza Kitchen. The service was slow and Allie was stressed about being late for the movie Christopher Robin that was showing at The El Capitan theatre (we purchased tickets earlier this afternoon). Dave got a main meal of some kind of chicken dish while Allie opted fora cocktail to calm her nerves, as well as an appetiser (she was still full from the ice-cream earlier that day). Unfortunately they brought out the wrong appetiser but said we could have for free, while she waited for the Mac and Cheese Balls that she did order. This ended up being an ordeal as when the check came, they had charged us for the extra appetised and we had to wait for this to be sorted...all the while it is getting closer to the movie starting.
We ended up making it to Christopher Robin just as the opening credits were finishing. It was a cute movie and we both enjoyed being able to see a movie at the Disney owned theatre. After the movie, we then proceeded to take some photos with the displays set up. We then headed back to our hotel to get some rest before another early start tomorrow.
https://www.hensonsoundstage.com/
https://www.lawrysonline.com/tam-o-shanter/
https://www.laparks.org/griffithpark/griffith-park-home-page#attractions
https://www.ghirardelli.com/StoreLocations-Hollywood
https://hollywoodandhighland.com/
https://hollywoodandhighland.com/California-Pizza-Kitchen/
https://elcapitantheatre.com/
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