For football fans, it’s the Super Bowl. For guys who collect comic books, it’s San Diego’s Comic-Con. And — for Disney dweebs — it’s the National Fantasy Fan Club (THE club for Disneyana enthusiasts) ‘s annual convention.
But — if you’re a serious ABC soap opera fan — there’s only one place that you HAVE TO be this coming weekend. And that’s at the Disney-MGM Studio theme park, where the eighth annual “ABC Super Soap Weekend” is being held this Saturday and Sunday, November 8th and 9th..
The lovely lady that I live with — the ever-wise and patient Nancy Stadler — is one of these hardcore ABC soap fans. How hardcore? To date, she’s only missed one year of Disney-MGM’s “Super Soap” events. And Nancy’s now determined never to miss another.
How determined. Well, this coming Saturday is my parent’s 50th anniversary party. Which means — of course — Nancy and I will be attending this shin-dig (As will my ex — Michelle Smith — and my darling daughter, Alice). Mind you, the party is due to break up around 4 p.m. Which is why — at approximately 4:01 p.m. — Nancy and I head off for Manchester Airport. Which is where I’ll place my significant other on an early evening flight bound for Orlando. So that Nancy can at least catch the last day of this year’s “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event.
How’s that for dedication? Or obsession? (To be honest, I’m not sure which it is at this point.)
Anyway … Nancy and her good pal — Angela R. — have been doing these “ABC Super Soap Weekend” for so long now that they’re really old pros when it comes to working these events. These two now know how to get the utmost out of their days at Disney-MGM. They know exactly where to go to get the best pictures of the soap stars. How to avoid standing in extremely long lines. How to get into the shows that they most want to see. Where to catch a quick (and affordable) bite to eat before charging off to the next show.
So — seeing as these two have such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Disney-MGM’s “ABC Super Soap Weekends” — I thought that I’d quiz Nancy and Angela. To see if I then couldn’t put together a tip sheet for those folks who are thinking about attending their very first “Super Soap” event this coming weekend and/or to help out those people who have been to previous WDW soap events and didn’t have all that great a time.
What follows is a distillation of my conversations with these two ladies:
The first key to having a good time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” at Disney-MGM is: Advance Planning.
Head out to the store NOW and pick up all the supplies that you’re going to need during your days at the theme park. The essentials are:
Plenty of film for your 35MM camera and/or additional batteries for your digital camera
Sunscreen
A big bottle of water
Some sort of breakfast item (As is usually the case on “ABC Super Soap Weekend,” the folks at Disney-MGM will throw open the gates to the theme park at 8:30 a.m. The only problem is that none of the shops or restaurants in the park will actually open ’til 9 a.m., Disney-MGM’s official opening time. So — if you’re looking to grab breakfast once you enter the theme park — you’re really out of luck here. Particularly since — by 9 a.m. — you’ll probably already be in line for your first show of the day. So be sure to eat breakfast before you arrive at Disney-MGM and/or bring a breakfast item into the park with you.)
Plenty of pocket money. (Once you get in that “ABC Super Soap Weekend” groove, you’re not going to want to break away to run to one of the park’s two ATMs. Speaking of Disney-MGM’s ATMs: The first one is located right outside of the theme park, just to the right of MGM’s main entrance. The second is located deep inside the park, inside the arcade area at the Toy Story Pizza Planet restaurant.)
A light jacket. Once the sun goes down, it can get kind of cool at Disney-MGM. So — if you’re planning on staying ’til the theme park closes to take in the Grand Motorcade as well as the Colgate Total Street Jam — you’re going to want a light jacket or a sweater to pull on to ward off a chill.
Your second key to having a good time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event at Disney-MGM is: Arrive Early!
You’ve heard that “it’s the early bird who gets the worm,” right? Well, in this case, it’s the ABC soap fan who doesn’t sleep in who gets to make the most of her “Super Soap” experience. Which is why — since Disney-MGM is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. this coming Saturday and Sunday — you need to be driving into the studio theme park’s parking lot no later than 8 a.m. And be getting on line at the park’s entrance no later that 8:15 a.m.
Why so early? Because — as I mentioned earlier — the operations staff at Disney-MGM typically starts allowing guests into the theme park on “Super Soap” weekend around 8:30 a.m. And because — this year — there’s that whole new confusing FastPass situation to deal with.
What’s the problem with “Super Soap Weekend” and FastPass? Well — in years previous — if you wanted to get a certain soap star’s autograph, you just raced to the back of the theme park at rope drop, found the appropriate line and stood there. Sometimes for hours in the broiling hot Central Florida sun (Angela R. actually stood in line once for 2½ hours just to get her picture taken with “All My Children” hunk Cameron Mathison. She still maintains that it was worth the 3rd degree burns to spend a few moments up close with Cameron AKA Ryan Lavery). Just to be certain that you got some quality time with your favorite ABC daytime star.
But this year — with the hope that they can actually reduce the amount of time that soap fans have to spend in line at Disney-MGM in order to get their picture taken and/or an autograph from their favorite performer — the folks at WDW have decided to fold FastPass into the mix for this year’s “ABC Super Soap Weekend.” So now — in order to secure a spot in line (which guarantees you a chance to meet your favorite daytime performer at one of Saturday or Sunday’s “On Location” autograph sessions) — you’re going to need to get a FastPass.
This one rather significant change in the way the event is run — Nancy and Angela predict — will surely lead to disaster. At least on Saturday. Why for? Because the only soap fans who are aware that this change has been made are those folks who have read the October 28th issue of “ABC Soaps in Depth” magazine and/or those ladies who were smart enough to keep on checking out the “Super Soap Weekend” preview page over at ABC.com. Which you can now get to by following this link.
This means that there are literally tens of thousands of ABC soap fans who are — even as you read this — already en route to Orlando. Who have absolutely no idea that this major “ABC Super Soap Weekend” operating policy change is now in place. Then factor in that few — if any — of these folks have ever used FastPass before. And you have a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
Compounding what is sure to be already a difficult situation, there are only going to be three distribution points for all of these “ABC Super Soap Weekend” FastPasses. Folks who want passes to meet performers from “One Life to Live” only have to go as far the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” theater, while guests who want to see stars from “General Hospital” will have to hike on over to “Star Tours” in order to pick up their FastPasses.
It’s the “One Life to Live” fans who are sure to raise the biggest stink about this change in the “ABC Super Soap Weekend” operating policy, though. For their FastPass distribution point is actually located all the way towards the back of Disney-MGM, near the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — Play It!” soundstage. And given the great distance that these ladies are going have to walk (hell, run!) in order to secure a FastPass to see their favorite “OLTL” performer, Nancy and Angela predict that a lot of these women are going to head over to Guest Relations at the end of their day. To complain bitterly about how they missed out on the chance to see their favorite “One Life to Live” star because they A) couldn’t find the right FastPass machine or B) the machine was already out of passes by the time they finally got to the back of the theme.
Mind you, Nancy and Angela say there is an upside to this situation. For — in the past — the folks who actually run Disney-MGM’s “Super Soap Weekends” have shown that they learn quickly from their mistakes. So typically what’s going wrong on Saturday is usually fixed by Sunday morning. So — hopefully — by this coming Sunday — the crack crew at WDW Operations will have sorted out all of the bugs that are inherent in this new “ABC Super Soap Weekend” FastPass distribution mess.
But — that said — anyone who’s thinking of attending this year’s “ABC Super Soap Weekend” needs to be aware that Saturday is going to be absolute bedlam at that theme park. As thousands of ABC soap fans only learn about this significant change in the event’s operating procedure AFTER they’ve made their way through the turnstiles. Which means that there’s going to lots of confusion, lots of angry soap fans stomping around …
Which brings us to our third key to having a great time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event at Disney-MGM, which is: You have to attend both days of the “Super Soap” event.
This — Nancy and Angela insist — is a must. Why for? Because Saturday is both your and the staff of Disney-MGM’s learning day. Disney isn’t really going to know which soap stars the fans are most excited about seeing things until things actually get underway on Saturday.
Take — for example — last year, when MGM cast members were caught flat-footed by the huge number of ABC soap fans who desperately wanted to get their picture taken with / get an autograph from “General Hospital” performers Steve Burton (who plays Jason Morgan) and Vanessa Marcil (who played Brenda Barrett). The crush of the crowd got so great that Disney started handing out wristbands in an attempt to keep things under control.
Of course, that was something that Disney-MGM employees threw together as a stop-gap maneuver on Saturday. By the time Sunday rolled around, these WDW cast members finally had their act together, Which is why the next set of autograph sessions with Burton and Marcil went much, much smoother.
But it isn’t just the WDW cast members who are going to be learning things on Saturday. You too — the newby ABC soap fan — are going to learning the ropes too. Where to stand along Hollywood Boulevard to get the very best pictures of the ABC daytime stars as they ride in their motorcade. (Here’s another tip from Nancy and Angela: Go behind the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat in front of the Chinese theater. This is where the soap stars climb out of their cars before heading off to their “Star Conversations.” You can often get some great candid shots of the performers back here as the actors exit their autos.) When to get in line to guarantee yourself a seat for Linda Dano’s “Super Soap Talk Show,” etc.
To put it bluntly, folks: There’s a real learning curve to the “ABC Super Soap Weekend.” And on Saturday … Well … Both you and the staff of Disney-MGM aren’t going to have your act together yet. So don’t despair if you don’t get to do everything that you really wanted to do on the event’s first day. That’s what Sunday is for.
Which brings us to the fourth key to having a great time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event at Disney-MGM, which is: There’s just no way that you’re going to be able to do everything. So don’t even try.
While it’s true that some ABC soap fans are truly dedicated (Last year, while waiting for Nancy and Angela to exit the event, I actually struck a conversation with a woman who had flown in from Nome, Alaska just to attend that year’s “Super Soap” festivities at Disney-MGM. Now that’s what I call dedication), it’s also true that there are limits to the amount of abuse that the human body can take in one day. One can only stand in the hot sun waiting to get an autograph for so long. Likewise, you can only listen to some many actors say (in an obvious attempt to curry favor) that “ABC soap fans are the best fans in the whole world” before you barf.
So try and be nice to yourself. Don’t stretch yourself too thin by trying to take in every single event. Look over the “ABC Super Soap Weekend” master schedule and just select the shows and events that most appeal to you. Then ignore everything else on the schedule (No matter how tempting some of these other MGM programs may seem) and just concentrate on getting into the shows you’ve already selected.
Keep in mind that — when it comes to “ABC Super Soap Weekend” — it’s quality, not quantity, that counts.
But — that said — you have to keep in mind that some shows at the event are going to be a lot harder to get into than others.
After looking over the entire schedule for this year’s event, here are the shows that Nancy and Angela believe will be this “ABC Super Soap Weekend” ‘s hot tickets:
:: The 9:45 a.m. “Motorcade and Star Conversation” with Kathy Brier, Kassie DePaiva, Dan Gauthier and Trevor St. John.
:: The 10:20 a.m. “Casting Call” with Michael E. Knight (Saturday only)
:: The 12:10 p.m. presentation of the special “ABC Super Soap Weekend” edition of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — Play It!” with Rebecca Budig and Alicia Minshew
:: The 12:30 p.m. session of Linda Dano’s “Super Soap Talk Show” with Mellissa Archer, Kathy Brier, Kamar de los Reyes and Kassie DePaiva
:: The 1:30 p.m. “Motorcade and Star Conversation” with Chad Bannon, Tyler Christopher, Rick Hearst, Natalia Livingston, Greg Vaughan and Alicia Leigh Willis.
:: The 1:50 p.m. presentation of the special “ABC Super Soap Weekend” edition of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — Play It!” with Kassie DePavia and Trevor St. John
:: The 2:45 p.m. session of Linda Dano’s “Super Soap Talk Show” with Michael B. Jordan, Michael E. Knight, Susan Lucci, Eden Riegel, Jacob Young and Walt Willey.
:: The 4:05 p.m. presentation of the special “ABC Super Soap Weekend” edition of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire — Play It!” with Eva La Rue and Aiden Turner
:: The 5:15 p.m. presentation of Linda Dano’s “Super Soap Talk Show” with Cameron Mathison, Aiden Turner, Kamar de los Reyes, Tyler Christopher and Ingo Rademacher (Saturday Only)
:: The 5:15 p.m. presentation of Linda Dano’s “Super Soap Talk Show” with Cameron Mathison, Alicia Minshew, Trevor St. John, Kassie DePaiva, Rick Hearst and Kelly Monaco (Sunday Only)
:: The 6:30 p.m. “Casting Call” with Rick Hearst (Saturday only)
:: The 6:30 p.m. “Casting Call” with Cameron Mathison (Sunday only)
So — if any of the presentations that we’ve listed above appeal to you ABC soap fans — be sure and mark your dance card accordingly.
Which brings us to the fifth key to having a great time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event at Disney-MGM, which is: Always try and keep your sense of humor about you.
According to Nancy and Angela, these “ABC Super Soap Weekends” at Disney-MGM can often get pretty ugly. With shoving matches suddenly erupting between WDW guests and/or people screaming at the top of their lungs at one another, each soap fan accusing the other of cutting in line.
Obviously, people can get pretty passionate when it comes to their favorite soap stars. But Angela and Nancy would like to remind all of you who are thinking about attending this year’s “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event that this all is really just make-believe. That just because Jax and Greenlee and Nora and Erika come into your home five days a week doesn’t mean that they’re real. After all, not matter how glamorous these people may appear to be on the small screen, in the end they’re just actors who appear on a daytime TV show.
So — if you accidentally miss out on your chance to meet one of these ABC stars — it’s NOT really the end of the world. So please don’t throw a tantrum in public, scream or swear just because something doesn’t go exactly the way you hoped this coming Saturday and Sunday. Please try to keep in mind that there are 24,000 other people who are also trying to enjoy the event.
Which brings us to our sixth rule for having a great time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” at Disney-MGM, which is: Be courteous and considerate of others.
You want to make a thousand mortal enemies really fast? Then — as you’re entering a theater for one of the “Super Star Talk Shows” (Which are being held several times a day in the ABC TV Theater) — just plop yourself down in the middle of the row and refuse to move. According to Angela and Nancy, you’ll soon have hundreds of women screaming at you to “Move the f*ck down!” Which — of course — can put kind of a damper on the rest of your day at the theme park.
Try and be considerate of those around you. Remember when you finally get to the front of the line and are getting that photograph taken of you and your favorite soap star and/or getting an autograph from your favorite daytime performer that there are still hundreds of people behind you who also want some time with that actor. So try and have your camera ready, or have your pen and your autograph book within reach. Just so you don’t gum up the works once you get face to face with that celebrity.
And — finally — Angela and Nancy’s seventh and final rule for having a great time at the upcoming “ABC Super Soap Weekend” at Disney-MGM: Know where and when to eat. Know where and when to shop.
Okay. We’ve already discussed how you should handle breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning. Now let’s talk about where you should get lunch and dinner while you’re at the “ABC Super Soap Weekend” at Disney-MGM. Sure, you can grab something quick off of one of the many food carts that you’ll find scattered around the theme park. But that stuff tends to be cookies, popcorn and ice cream. Which might give you a brief sugar rush, but won’t really give you enough energy to get through an entire day of slogging around a theme park.
So what are you supposed to do? You don’t want to waste all the time (and money) that you’ll need to have a proper meal at one of Disney-MGM’s sit-down restaurants like the ’50’s Prime Time Café,” “The Hollywood Brown Derby,” “Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater” or “Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano.” So what’s a famished soap fan to do?
It’s easy, really. Whenever you’re feeling hungry — Nancy and Angela suggest that you head on over to the ABC Commissary (which is located next to the Chinese Theater) and/or the Sunset Ranch Market on Sunset Boulevard (which is right next door to Disney-MGM’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith) . Here, you’ll find affordable, healthy eats that you get and gulp quickly. Which will allow you to use of your time taking in shows and/or searching for soap stars.
As for shopping … If you’re looking for those special edition “ABC Super Soap Weekend” pins and t-shirts, those items are usually on sale first thing in the morning at the shop that’s located to the left of Disney-MGM’s entrance. Which means that you actually can pick up these collectibles prior to entering the theme park and immediately take them back to you car for storage or just slip into the nearest bathroom (which is located to the left of the Guest Relations window) and slip on your new “ABC Super Soap” duds. Which means that you can be properly attired as you enter the theme park.
In closing, Angela and Nancy remind all you would-be “ABC Super Soap Weekend” attendees that the whole point of coming out to a theme park is to have fun. And that — if the crush of the crowds this weekend gets to be too much for you — just slip off for a half hour or so, find a nice air conditioned ride or attraction and relax / re-energize for a bit. (That’s one of the real ironies of the whole “ABC Super Soap Weekend” thing. With so many bodies jammed inside the park, you’d think that all of Disney-MGM’s rides and shows would be filled to capacity as well. But — instead — the opposite is true. Because all the soap fans are only interested in seeing their favorite ABC daytime performers and because most other WDW visitors tend to steer clear of the studio theme park on Saturday and Sunday because of crowd concerns, virtually every attraction in the park is a walk-on. Which is why — if you’re a Tower of Terror fan — tomorrow and Sunday would be a great day to rack up multiple rides.)
Also be aware of the opportunities around you. Take — for example — that somewhat hidden path near the bathroom over by “Star Tours.” This is the way that the Disney handlers bring the ABC soap stars to and from their “Super Soap Talk Show” sessions in the ABC TV Theater. So — if you’re looking to get some candid shots of the performers, this is a great place to hang out.
And — if after attending this year’s “ABC Super Soap Weekend” event — you have some tips of your own to share, feel free to toss them toward JimHillMedia.com. Where we’ll be sure and share them with the rest of our readers.
Beyond that, here’s hoping that everyone who attends this coming weekend’s “ABC Super Soap” event at Disney-MGM has a great time. And — if you see Angela and Nancy — be sure and tell them “Hi” for me, okay?