Disney Animation Studios The Concert

GT Network Happiest Pod on Earth
#1

Originally published at: https://happy.geektherapy.com/2023/08/17/disney-animation-studios-the-concert/

#34: Join Ariel and Stefanie in a magical evening under the stars for Episode 34 of HPOE. Relive their enchanting experience at the Disney Animation Studios The Concert at the Hollywood Bowl, celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary. From the melodies of the LA Philharmonic to the emotional resonance of Disney classics, immerse yourself in their journey through this musical extravaganza. This episode is a blend of nostalgia, joy, and insights into creating inclusive experiences for all Disney enthusiasts.

Read the blog post for this episode for additional references and resources.

Become a member of Geek Therapy on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/geektherapy

Summary

HPOE34

  1. Introduction (0:10): Stefanie and Ariel introduce the episode, focusing on their experience at the Disney Animation Concert at the Hollywood Bowl for Disney’s 100th anniversary.
  2. Personal Experiences (2:07): The hosts share their personal stories from the concert, including the effects of the SAG-AFTRA strikes and making it a special girls’ night out.
  3. Disneybounding (3:07): Discussion about dressing up in Disney-themed outfits for the event.
  4. Concert Atmosphere (6:08): The hosts talk about the magical ambiance at the Hollywood Bowl, including the attendees’ Disney-themed attire.
  5. Transportation and Accessibility (7:02): Tips and experiences regarding transportation to the Hollywood Bowl, emphasizing convenience and accessibility.
  6. Picnic at the Bowl (8:06): Insights on the unique picnic experience at the concert venue.
  7. Concert Highlights (14:30): Impressions of the LA Philharmonic’s performance, featuring songs from Disney movies.
  8. Sensitivity and Inclusion (18:04): Reflections on the cultural sensitivity of the music presentation, avoiding problematic scenes.
  9. Emotional Moments (20:34): Discussion on the performances that were particularly moving and emotional.
  10. Community Engagement (24:10): Observations on audience behavior and the importance of inclusivity for all attendees.
  11. Accessibility and Accommodations (29:31): The significance of utilizing available accommodations for an enhanced experience.
  12. Managing Stimuli at Public Events (34:25): Insights into attending large events with children and managing various stimuli.
  13. Audience Behavior (39:13): Thoughts on concertgoers’ expectations and creating an inclusive environment.
  14. Educational Value (45:10): Stefanie’s perspective as an educator on the educational benefits of such events.
  15. Closing Thoughts (50:21): Final remarks on the concert experience and an invitation for audience interaction.
Transcription

Stefanie Bautista 0:10
Hello, everyone, welcome to the Happiest Pod On Earth. I’m Stef . I’m an educator who uses passions and fandoms to help my students grow and learn about themselves and the world around them.

Ariel Landrum 0:19
And I’m Ariel, I’m a licensed therapist who uses clients passions and fandoms to help them grow and heal from trauma and mental unwellness.

Stefanie Bautista 0:27
Here at happiest pod, we dissect Disney mediums with a critical lens. Why?

Ariel Landrum 0:31
Because we are more than just fans, we expect more from the mediums we consume. So what Disney experience are we dissect interface Stef?

Stefanie Bautista 0:39
So it’s definitely an experience and it’s a experience that’s kind of very specific. If you live in Los Angeles. I had the pleasure of actually being Ariel’s date to the Walt Disney Animation Concert at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s called Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Concert. I thought that this was just, you know, one off Disney event. But of course, why did I forget that it was Disney’s 100th anniversary. So they’ve been celebrating all year since last September or August. And of course, this is one of those promo events. Part of course, you know, they have concert series and everything like that, but this was very Disney 100-forward, which was great. Just to give you a little bit of background. The LA Philharmonic is the resident at the Hollywood Bowl for the summertime. They hold lots of different concerts, classical music concerts, pop music, concerts, reggae concert, hip hop concerts, but the LA Philharmonic they do, they’re scheduled there. And during the winter, they go to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Even though they’re at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. They don’t specifically do Disney things. It just happens to be that way. But I thought that it was really interesting that we went to a Disney Concert, not at the Disney Hall, but at the Hollywood Bowl? You know? Fun times! It covered a wide range of just Disney animation movies. So we didn’t see any live action movies. We didn’t go into Star Wars. We didn’t go into Marvel. This was strictly old school animation. And a lot of people were really excited for that, right?

Ariel Landrum 2:07
Yes, yes, I was definitely excited. Originally, I had bought the tickets as a package deal with my partner and another couple as way to go on a couple of date, given the SAG-AFTRA strikes going on right now, my partner is not working because he works in transportation. And he’s a 399. So they aren’t striking, but they aren’t crossing any picket lines in solidarity. And he found a job and he had to take the job in order to you know, make any money.

Stefanie Bautista 2:37
Make a living.

Ariel Landrum 2:38
Make a living. And the job doesn’t again cross the picket line. But it did involve him going all the way to Texas and being gone for like a whole month. And as a result, I needed to find a new date. So of course, I asked Stef…

Stefanie Bautista 2:52
Thank you!

Ariel Landrum 2:52
And then her friend Liz, and her husband, Benji, he was like, “Well, if you know her partner isn’t going and you have a friend coming out of town. Her name’s Dawn, how about you make it a Girl’s Day?” So we all four of us went and saw Disney Animation and even dressed up?

Stefanie Bautista 3:07
Yes, we did. We all tried. Well, me I tried to Disneybound they had their wonderful Disneybound outfits planned out, because Ariel had bought these tickets months in advance. So Ariel if you want to go first because mine was very last minute.

Ariel Landrum 3:23
So I had bought a dress that had a purple scallop top, and a very green, light green bottom. So you know, Ariel The Mermaid, and long dress covered my feet. And halter tops so no straps. And the scalp shaped did look very much like the seashells and that’s that’s what I were. Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 3:46
Yeah, it was beautiful. I love that. And it was such a steal. Right? You didn’t even spend a lot of money on it.

Ariel Landrum 3:52
No, it was like, you know, talk about fast fashion. It was about six or seven bucks. So I figured even if it’s not like that cute, maybe I could like put pins on it. Or I could put like a cardigan like maybe I could make it look better than $7 but it did not look like dollars.

Stefanie Bautista 4:07
Oh, not at all the quality was actually really good. And it was perfect Disneybound. The shade the hue all of it was perfect. She didn’t have to do anything. She just had to let her hair go. And boom. Ariel was Ariel. Yeah. And so Liz, she and her friend Dawn. They both dressed up. They both did Disneybounds as well. Liz reprised her Jasmine Disneybound which you were to Dapper Day I believe, right?

Ariel Landrum 4:32
Yes. And if you listen to our Dapper Day episode, and we described it in in great detail, it’s down to the point of the dyes that she used for her gloves. In this case she didn’t wear the gloves, but she did bring Abu along with her Genie backpack. Her Genie Loungefly backpack.

Stefanie Bautista 4:51
Yes, yes. And then Dawn, she was lucky enough that Liz put together a Disneybound for her and she was a Mulan with the pinks and the red and the blue colorblocking. And for me, I was sifting through my closet because I had nothing to wear. And I ended up wearing these black jogger kind of loose pants. My Doc Martin sandals and like a green olive green top and I was Ping. I ended up just tying my hair up in a bun. And I remember seeing somebody Disneybound as Ping and I was like, “I can absolutely do that.” And so we had a Mulan and we had a Ping, which was pretty cool.

Ariel Landrum 5:35
Yes. And in case you you’ve forgotten remember that Ping is Mulan alter ego in the Army.

Stefanie Bautista 5:42
Yes, her alter male ego. Was her alter male ego while Mulan was Mulan. And it all worked out. I think it was really fun seeing a lot of people Disneybound for the event. A lot of little kids dressing up in their Disney Princess and Prince outfits. I actually didn’t think that we were going to see that many but then even just getting onto the bus to get to the Hollywood Bowl we saw people Disneybounding and it was great..

Ariel Landrum 6:08
Or wearing at least beautiful dresses with Disney print. I saw a lot of that. Fantasia with Sorcerer Mickey being like a very common print I remember seeing. And then lots of as the evening went on and got darker flower crowns and like wands that lit up like…

Stefanie Bautista 6:27
Yeah.

Ariel Landrum 6:28
Little sparkly star wands.

Stefanie Bautista 6:30
I did see a lot of Disney ears, which was cool. I think at the Hollywood Bowl, it’s totally appropriate to wear something like that because it is a bowl it is looking down. So even if you wear ears, you’re not going to be blocking anybody’s view. So at the very least, people were wearing ears or even just things that they would wear to the parks. I feel.

Ariel Landrum 6:50
Yes, yes. I think I saw some people carrying their own popcorn buckets, like Disney popcorn buckets that they collect. So certainly a crowd of Disney aficionados.

Stefanie Bautista 7:02
Yeah, for sure. I mean, even on the bus right there. We just kind of felt like we were on the tram ride in ways. Just a bunch of Disney adults going to a concert. It definitely felt like right at home. For us, we there’s a couple of ways to get to the Hollywood Bowl. If you ever want to do anything like this, you could definitely drive there, when you park. Just kind of know that it’s stacked parking. So once you park in there, you can’t get out until the person behind you gets out. But because we live kind of close to the venue, we take a bus, we park and ride basically. And you can either park on the street or you can park to another parking lots, which is also stacked parking. And you can get to The Bowl that way through their bus or you can take public transportation, it drops in the middle of Hollywood and you have to take a little quick hike. So if you people want to experience hiking in LA, but also want to go to The Bowl, that’s your chance to do it. Won’t guarantee that you’ll look cute at at the top, but you’ll get there.

Ariel Landrum 8:06
We did We did take the bus and it dropped us up at the top, we got to also pack and bring our own food. With the Hollywood Bowl if it is a non leased event, which usually means if it’s not a big celebrity concert like like I think the Lumineers are coming to play at some point you can’t bring your own alcohol or food. And so with this event, you get to bring your own alcohol and food and so we packed a picnic for us four. We split it up. Stef and I brought the food and Liz and Dawn brought the drinks.

Stefanie Bautista 8:42
And also in planning to bring the food you can even you can either do what we did in that’s when we planned it, we packed it and we ate it at our seats. Or you can get there really early and basically do like a tailgate situation, which many many people do where you can drink your wine and have your beer and all your snacks and stuff outside of The Bowl before you go in. But we decided to just bring everything inside because we didn’t have time to be there all day.

Ariel Landrum 9:07
Well and there are restaurants nearby that you can actually order packaged meals that are called like Hollywood Bowl baskets. So if you have a sort of like favorite food bougie place, see if they if they have a meal pack that you can pick up that’s also an option as well.

Stefanie Bautista 9:24
Or if you just want to plan any of that you can buy it all there but you are going to be spending a lot of money because they overcharged everything there. So we had a couple of days to prepare for this. So I headed on over to our beloved Whole Foods to get some fruits, some cheeses, some charcuterie type things basically a charcuterie on wheels is what I was going for. So we had crackers we have different types of cheeses, grapes, blueberries, raspberries and the great thing about Whole Foods is that you can get all of these things already packaged for you and then you just have to put them in your cooler. Um, Ariel has a nifty little cooler and picnic basket that includes not paper plates, plastic plates, and silverware. And yeah, it’s just basically super convenient. Everything locks inside so I think you can get I did you get yours at Amazon?

Ariel Landrum 10:17
Yep, I got mine on Amazon.

Stefanie Bautista 10:19
Yeah. And yeah, basically we loved everything there because our friends were gonna bring the drinks. And we didn’t really pack too too crazy. I know some people do cooler backpacks. Some people bring like an actual cooler. But knowing that it is sort of a steep hill to go up there, you’ve got to be mindful of what you’re carrying. Because know that it will be on you until you sit down at your actual seat.

Ariel Landrum 10:44
Yep. And then I had packed some Pocky I had packed crackers to go with the cheese’s some dried fruit trail mix. And then we had a last minute contribution from your mom.

Stefanie Bautista 10:57
Yes, that’s right she made turon which is basically um, Filipino sweet lumpia. It doesn’t have any meaning. It’s saba, which is a type of banana. It’s a sweet banana that is rolled in sugar and then wrapped just like lumpia or egg rolls. And she made a ton of just coincidentally before we left, and so we grabbed like 20 of those suckers and put them in our bag.

Ariel Landrum 11:20
Ate some on the bus.

Stefanie Bautista 11:21
Ate some on the bus. Really great dessert or appetizer.

Ariel Landrum 11:27
And then Liz and Dawn, they brought was it red wine or white wine?

Stefanie Bautista 11:31
They brought red wine and also ginger ale, some sparkling water. And I think I’m I don’t even think we had regular water, I just drink the ginger ale because I was so thirsty. And me and Liz just destroyed that bottle of wine. So it was great.

Ariel Landrum 11:47
Having your own food there. You can eat it again before or even during the performance. During the performance it is very dark. And so if you cannot see your plate, that that could be a barrier. Also, if you’re eating when it’s light out, and you can see your food, people are still getting to their seats. So you’re often having to stop like what you’re eating to get up to let people get through. Because the seats are bleachers style where we were sitting at least.

Stefanie Bautista 12:15
Yeah, though the majority of those seats are bleachers style in the very back, it’s just green grass, and you just lay out a blanket, in the very front, if you are able to get tickets there, they have tables. And in the very, very front, they have like bigger tables. So you can get one of the box seats is what they call them. And you can split it with a group, I’ve done it many times, it does make a huge difference than putting everything on your lap, you feel very much privilege just having a table in front of you. But I mean, people have a lot of different ways that they enjoy their food at the Hollywood Bowl, if you ever want to do one of these events, but it’s non least events. Look it up on Google and a lot of people have tricks and tips that they use to have a great time themselves.

Ariel Landrum 13:01
Yes, people who go to the Hollywood Bowl, often I’ve learned are called Bowlers. I would say that it is a very affordable, fun, fancy date. So if you’re trying to find something to do with somebody you are wooing, I think going to these non lease events is a really good one, especially if you’ve packed your own food because you’re definitely saving money and doing that. And then if you get the bleacher seats or even the grass, you’re further away, yes, but live performances and music, being able to just enjoy each other’s company. Being outside. The those are things that I think are priceless. And these these tickets are within an affordable range, I would say.

Stefanie Bautista 13:44
Yeah. And I think they make it really accessible because the Hollywood Bowl is such a big venue. And I think in recent years, I want to say in the last like decade or so they’ve really been opening it up to more family friendly events and also kind of geeky inspired events. Before it used to just be the LA Phil which is great. The first couple times I ever went was to do assignments for college. And before that it was concerts that I would attend with my family. So I’ve seen like Earth Wind and Fire there. I’ve seen Chicago they’re like, you know, a lot of old school artists, but I think as more families are wanting to do these things together and it’s becoming more accessible for them. They have events just like this the Disney Animation concert.

Ariel Landrum 14:30
Yeah, yes. So the you have the La Phil the orchestra playing in front of you. You also have giant screens that are playing the animation that they are doing the music to. And then there were even singers there were Broadway singers that we’re singing the Disney Princess Songs, the villain songs, the songs that we sort of know and love. And one of them happened to also voice and sing a very specific character. And it was interesting to watch her sing the song and look at the animation that aligned to her voice. But she’s right there in front of me. But also, it’s the same person.

Stefanie Bautista 15:10
Isn’t it so magical? I think, the way they arranged many of these songs. So even though these Broadway artists aren’t the original ones, with that, with her as the exception, they did a wonderful job arranging these tracks and mixing them together so that they kind of held true to what they actually sound like. And I think it was very masterful that the way that they did it, just the whole program from start to finish. The conductor Thomas Wilkins, who was the conductor for the night, with was even really playful with the singers and they interacted a lot with each other. So I have the artists list in front of me, so I’m gonna kind of go down and list them: Adasa, who was in Encanto. She was one of the hosts along with Susan Egan, who we were talking about who played Meg in Hercules was also one of the hosts. James Monroe Iglehart. He was a special guests along with Adam J. Levy, Shoba Narayan, and Anneliese van der Pol, Cindy Winters, and the biggest guests were the students from the Orange County School of the Arts. I didn’t know that they played a huge role in this particular concert. And apparently a lot of alumni of Disney are also alumni of the Orange County School of Arts, but that also isn’t surprising seeing that Disneyland is an Orange County.

Ariel Landrum 16:29
Yes. And with the Orange County School of The Arts we had one of those songs they did was like a Peter Pan medley, and they had performers dancing, as if they were going getting ready to fly. And then they even did a Lion King performance. And it was “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” and orc, I mean, the choir, they were Simba. They were all singing Simba’s line versus having like one person be Simba and someone else be Zazu. They they were Simba and then one person Zazu. So you I thought that was really unique.

Stefanie Bautista 17:07
The soloist was Zazu. I was like, “Okay, a little b-side action like we never highlight Zazu.” But I mean, I think that’s wild. And they really took creative leaps in the arrangement of these songs. And I think it really paid off because it made these classic songs very fresh. And even though us as longtime Disney fans have heard these songs a million times, they were so dynamic in the way that they presented them.

Ariel Landrum 17:33
Yes and I they were also very mindful. So there was the “Everybody Wants to be a Cat,” by that the song in Aristocats. And there is a very racist scene with the Siamese cat playing the piano. And they didn’t include that. So they were very mindful of like updating what they were going to present so that we could honor like this legacy and enjoy this fun music without also having to be harmed by what then was a lot of stereotyping.

Stefanie Bautista 18:04
And I mean, that was part of the you know, the fact checking and all of this right, we wanted to make sure that Disney was aligned to how it’s been evolving in the years of late.

Ariel Landrum 18:13
One of the performances that really took me by surprise. Were the songs that were in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I don’t remember that movie or the songs apparently because I was blown away!

Stefanie Bautista 18:28
Yeah, I mean, they sang “God Help the Outcast,” which I didn’t even know was like in the Disney repertoire at all. All I know, is the one that he sings while he’s swinging across Notre Dame. And I don’t even know what that’s called. And I was like, I think we need to rewatch this. And I still haven’t, but I will get there. It’s one of the forgotten ones. But seeing seeing the animation on the big screen and the orchestra play. It was so moving, how beautiful it was, it was as if we were in Paris, looking, you know, at Notre Dame and looking at all the stained glass inside the church. And it was it was very, very beautiful. And I was like, “Okay, I think this is a moment where a lot of people can rediscover Disney movies.” Because we all know the ones, you know, that have been recently, you know, in vogue, which is Frozen. And I mean, we’re always thinking stuff from Aladdin and Little Mermaid but Hunchback of Notre Dame has not been in anybody’s mind for a very long time.

Ariel Landrum 19:29
Yes, yes. I think that was another another reason to go to events like this to be reminded and be reintroduced to things that you’d forgotten that that should have should take space in your mind. I think that it was it was so beautiful. There were plenty of moments where I don’t know about you, but I was just like tearing up.

Stefanie Bautista 19:54
I cried many times, I’m already in my feels all the time. All the time. Any single little thing will make me cry. And I was crying from beginning, middle, and end. So many tears, so many emotions. I did not bring my kids this time because of course, this was a girls night. So it was my time to kind of relax and unwind with girlfriends. And I think when moms get that little time to themselves, all the emotions just come out and I was like, “Oh my God, Muana’s signing, I’m gonna cry now.” And yeah, I started crying. And then the princess medley happened then I started crying even more. So unless it was like a comedic thing, or like a villain thing. I was probably crying.

Ariel Landrum 20:34
Well, the comedic thing. You were really surprised and the villains medley that…Oh, who is this?

Stefanie Bautista 20:44
Anneliese van der Pol?

Ariel Landrum 20:45
Yeah, so yes.

Stefanie Bautista 20:46
I know her from that. So Raven, because she was ravens best friend. And I had no idea she was such a talented singer. And so just like all around amazing in her delivery, her humor, and she did not hold back. I feel like some of the singers, you know, they have a little bit of finesse when they sing. And especially if they’re doing a Disney princess song. They’re very elegant and graceful and that. Oh, no. When she went into the villains medley she went all out. I think it was the part where she was singing Ursula’s parts?

Ariel Landrum 21:22
Yes, her “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” that she she had sas, she had like conviction. It was. And we were, you know, we weren’t that far back. But we certainly weren’t seeing facial expressions. And yet I could see it on her from the way that it was. The music was coming out.

Stefanie Bautista 21:44
Yeah, she cackled. She cackled the biggest cackle ever. And I was like, “Wow!” It reminds me of back in the day in Fantasmic, you used to see Ursula come across the water, that she was a big animatronic, and I haven’t seen like, like Ursula come to life like that since then. And I thought that that was so impressive. And, you know, kudos to her and her partner. I think that’s Adam J. Levy, who was the male counterpart in the villains, little medley that they did. They were such a great duo. They played really well with each other, their voices were beautiful together. And it was my favorite medley of the whole night because it was so so intense.

Ariel Landrum 22:24
It was it was just lovely. Funny. The, you know, like you felt the villain energy. I was great. Then they did play off of each other well. There were a lot of times where, and particularly I think during the essentially the princess medleys, I want to say, we would see the performers be very strategic and where they’re walking and very intricate. This seemed like there might have been some ad lib and some play. It was very, or they just did a really great job of making look look like it was ad lib in play because it was just very light and fun. They did they started with Cruella, and then they had Scar’s song, a “Be Prepared.” They had Ursula song. Was there another one? Or was that it?

Stefanie Bautista 23:13
I think that was it. Because they didn’t sing. Jafar was on there for a minute.

Ariel Landrum 23:20
Yeah, he was he was Yeah, because it was singing the the part where he’s like basically dogging on Aladdin.

Stefanie Bautista 23:28
They also sang. The mom song from Tangled. Mother… “Mother Knows Best.” That was the song she also went ham on that song. Because that one is like a very Joan Crawford like, “No wire hangers!” Like, that’s what I remember if being.

Ariel Landrum 23:44
I think for me, and what I sort of like walked away from the event was one like, like that sense of camaraderie and community just seeing other people expressing, like their Disney selves, not at the park, right. And I think there’s just something about, like experiencing live music with other people that is just so touching and moving. And it’s like a synergy that it’s hard to describe.

Stefanie Bautista 24:10
It’s cathartic. Absolutely, I mean, it’s music, live music, for me is something that I do when I just need to let go mentally, because you can get so immersed in just listening to music, and then there’s the visuals in front of you. And of course, the animation is so beautiful. You get taken back to when ever whatever age you were when you saw any of those movies, so a lot of emotions come back, but you’re enjoying it also in the company of other people who not only enjoy, but also might have even worked on the film because we’re in Los Angeles. And I really liked that it was their little nod to the actors and writers strike and they did it a couple of times, right?

Ariel Landrum 24:50
Yeah, they had everyone stand up if they’d ever been if they’d ever participated in the Disney animation process, whether they were writers whether they wrote music, whether whether they were voice actors, and, you know, we all clapped for them. And I don’t know if they would have done that had the strike not been going on because this, this is a live performance, it’s not part of SAG-WGA and orchestra that that music part, I don’t think they’re part of it either. So this wasn’t a struck event for the singers who were happen also be actors and Broadway actors. But this event specifically wasn’t asking for those talents. So they were able to participate. But I think they were showing solidarity without, you know, overtly saying.

Stefanie Bautista 25:36
Absolutely. And, I mean, the Disney studios are historically located in Burbank, I mean, Buena Vista Street is just down the street from where we are. And also the main animation building is right off of the freeway that you take to get to downtown. And maybe they would have done it, but maybe in a different way. And I think honoring those people at the event was really great. The people who are next to us they have somebody who works for Disney animation, which is really great. Um, her husband stood for because she was in the restroom. And I, we all clap them as if it he was, and he was “No, no, it’s not me.” That was great for him for admitting it. Kudos to you, sir. You will have a long and happy marriage.

Ariel Landrum 26:17
Yes, yes. He she did come from back from the restroom, we found out that the work that she did was translations in multiple languages for the animations. And that apparently that is a very difficult thing to do, which I’m not surprised what also hadn’t been something that I conceptualized.

Stefanie Bautista 26:35
Yeah. Super sidenote. I know, last time I was at the parks there. I think it was the firework show that they have recently. It’s them singing “Let It Go,” or is it “How far I’ll Go..?” In different languages. It’s like a medley that they do, like during the fireworks are doing the projections. And it’s always like them in like Japanese in Spanish. And I was like, “Oh, they’re really incorporating this into the regular shows, which is I think awesome, because a lot of people are introduced to Disney films in other languages such as Spanish when they re aired them on regular channels here.

Ariel Landrum 27:08
If you go on Disney plus, and you click on Mulan, the animated not the live action. And you put it in Chinese the person who voices Shang is Jackie Chan, also sings the song.

Stefanie Bautista 27:20
Wow. Because as you all know, Jackie Chan is a C-Pop artist. He sings a lot of songs in Chinese. I believe it’s Mandarin that he sings in, right?

Ariel Landrum 27:30
Yes. And it says the, it says Chinese in two different options. And then that’s written in English. And then it’s in characters, which I’m assuming are Mandarin. And then the other characters might be Cantonese. But it’s the first option. Yeah, and then the my other my other very interesting hack is if you go to Ant Man, the first movie, and you go into extras, you can actually pull up Ant Man with a sign language interpreter who is do who has is interpreting ASL on the screen in real time, so…

Stefanie Bautista 28:06
That’s cool. They haven’t done that for any other Marvel movies. Just Ant Man?

Ariel Landrum 28:10
Not that I have seen. And I don’t know why Ant Man was the one. But yeah there’s there’s an interpreter. There they are. They’re making the facial expressions or they’re moving really fast. I haven’t had a chance to watch the whole thing to see if they switch. So if you go to a live event with an interpreter, they usually have more than one because you start to get tired. You do have to switch back and forth and they give each other breaks. But because this is recorded, I’m assuming it’s the same interpreter and the whole time that they’re able to do they’ll do the whole movie.

Stefanie Bautista 28:44
Yeah, so you’re telling me I can listen, I can watch an ASL interpreter. Do Michael Pena’s whole like yes, story is like prediction of how the heist is gonna go. I need to see this becase that is one of my favorite monologues of all time.

Ariel Landrum 28:59
Yes, yes, it is. It is awesome. And you can still put the subtitles up and you can still have sound out and so but it’s a real treat the interpreters just in the in the bottom right corner, just torso up just doing interpreting.

Stefanie Bautista 29:14
I think that’s really great. I hope Disney does that for a lot of films moving forward. Because that’s really helpful for the ASL community to see that. And I think that’s in post something super easy to impose on the screen that you’re watching. And I hope that more people catch on to that because I think that’s really cool.

Ariel Landrum 29:31
Yeah, it’s always beautiful to see and experience work in your your native language and ASL is a language.

Stefanie Bautista 29:39
Yeah, absolutely. And speaking of, you know, accommodating people with you know where they are, Ariel and I use a different way to get into The Bowl that day. Because me I’ve been going for a long time but I’ve been going with with the masses in mass. So I am usually the one trekking and I’ve done this many times. From the subway station, all the way up to my seat at the top of the bowl. Yes, I burn a couple calories. Is my hair messed up? Is my makeup messed up? Yeah, probably. So this time because you know, we are being kind to ourselves lately, and it is our Girl’s Day and we knew we were going to take a lot of pictures. She had a really cool way of getting in there. Without having to do all of that.

Ariel Landrum 30:24
Yes. So as I’ve mentioned, a couple of podcast episodes, I’m allergic to my own sweat. And I can break out in a rash. And hives on a good day, I can start to hyperventilate, my throat close on a bad day. And so anytime I can avoid sweating, I try to, and the Hollywood Bowl does have an ADA line, they have accommodations. And so we got in the ADA line, you take the elevator up, you walk around the stairs, and then you can take another elevator up to the higher seats or just take a smaller stair. And that’s it. You’re basically in and about maybe 10 to 20 minutes?

Stefanie Bautista 31:06
I’d say 8. It took us like less than 10 minutes, we were in the tunnel. And we did get there fairly on time, I’d say on time and on time is like having a minute to sit down, prepare all your food, not have to do a bunch of restroom breaks, even though you could if you really wanted to. So we got there. I feel like that was like the perfect time to get there. Not right on time not late, not super, super early, like everybody…

Ariel Landrum 31:33
The performance was at eight. And I think we got there at 6:30. And we probably got to our seats around what 6:45?

Stefanie Bautista 31:41
6:45… Seven, I’d say seven. Yeah, so we had time to chill and watch everybody roll in, people were finishing up their picnics, or even starting them. And like the big line to get in was just forming. If you don’t know, there’s like a big entrance with all the security monitors and all that in the front like right when you get to the top. And then there’s another section where the ADA parking is at the top top of the hill, that will get you to the upper most seats. And that has less people. But because it’s kind of narrow, a long line tends to form and like once the cars are there, the people are there people are queuing up, you kind of don’t know where any of the lines are, unless you just happen to be there. So it can be a little confusing. And it may take you longer to get up there. If you don’t really know exactly where you’re going.

Ariel Landrum 32:33
Yeah, it can take you about, what 30 minutes to even really bad times an hour to try and get inside because they have to also check your bags. And if you’ve packed your own food, you’re opening up all those pockets. So there’s like a wait that you have to go through. It’s not just getting in line and showing your ticket. And when it comes to accommodations, like the first thing is to be aware that they exist. And the second thing is to decide to use them. And I find that with my clients, a lot of the times there’s some feelings of shame around needing accommodations that we always have to work through. And I realize likem |Am I practicing what I tell my clients? Am I using accommodations when they’re available? Or am I saying no, I don’t need that someone else probably needs that, but not me.” Because then I’m I’m you know, that’s ableist thinking. And I’m downplaying like me having a good time by just an accommodation, which is reasonable. Like that’s the whole point is it’s a reasonable accommodation.

Stefanie Bautista 33:32
Yes. And even if you’re bringing young kids, I’m not saying like infants or anything, of course, like you’re pretty much slinging them on your back at that point. But if you have little kids who all of a sudden don’t want to walk anymore, which happens with all little kids, I think it’s really good to know that there are elevators there are, you know, not just the escalators that you can use so that you are in them are also having a good time you’re setting them up for a successful evening. Because you know, sometimes when you bring kids to these things, it’s their first foray into going to a big event sitting down watching live music. They might get that in small doses in the classroom. But the classroom is such a controlled environment, when you bring them out to concerts. This is kind of setting themselves up to when they’re a little bit older and of school age, when they see assemblies or when they see even performances at their school. These are small things to help them with that. And if you’re doing your best to make sure you’re sane they will have a really good time too.

Ariel Landrum 34:25
Well and you’re managing a lot of stimulation points. It’s not just watching the performers, not just the music, it’s not just the screens, but it’s the person sitting next to you that chewing it’s like the heat outside or all of a sudden gets really cold or it’s all the twinkling lights that people are wearing. Like all of those are multiple stimuli. It can it can be overwhelming for a little one.

Stefanie Bautista 34:47
Yeah, definitely. And, you know, we had a couple of instances of you know, of course, being at the Hollywood Bowl, it’s a group setting, right? You’re sitting very close with people they’re all on a bench with you and You know, me and Ariel, we’re very friendly. Like we engage with the people around us offer them food. I’m the person at the Dodger game giving Portos to everybody if I have a box. And you know, some people accept that and some people don’t, which is totally okay, people are there to enjoy the way they want to. But also, you do have to take into consideration the type of event that you’re in. So we’ve noticed a couple of things that we thought were very peculiar, very interesting for a Disney concert that was outside because you know, us we’re coming from a theme park mentality as well, where everyone is welcome.

Ariel Landrum 35:38
So one of the first things that that I overheard that I at intermission I talked to Stef about was the mom who works for Disney, who had to leave to go to the bathroom because she had to take her daughter to the bathroom. Because her daughter was becoming overstimulated and very scared. She just sounded so scared. I think the the music might have been very loud. And it was just she didn’t know how to filter it. She was scared. At a certain point, they were trying to calm her down. And then the couple directly behind me basically, like, yelled at them to just take the, Take your kid away, right? Why don’t you take that kid away?” And so out of embarrassment, that’s what the mother did. And like, Stef… I know that for probably Stef, she probably she didn’t hear that. But for me, I was like, “Well, you’re the adult, why don’t you just like tune it out and learn, like literally learn to calm yourself.” And then I know that Stef is aware, like, “Oh my fusses I do take them away to leave, try and calm them down, and then come back.” There’s like a back and forth or like, get the wiggles out, right? But by the second half, she was really trying to enjoy yourself. And they were really trying to calm her down. And I’d informed Stef of like what these people were saying, saying and then continued to say into the next half. And it was like irritating the both of us because we’re like, you’re in a group setting. You are listening to Disney music. You are also the adults who can be able to like manage your emotions. The lack of compassion, you’re getting to like your fellows, it was shocking.

Stefanie Bautista 37:12
Yeah, I think that I was probably singing so loud, either in my head or out loud that I didn’t hear this. But also, I knew that it was happening around me. But because I’m a mother, myself, and my kids have wild out in many situations, I was being the adult and I was tuning it out. And just focusing on the performance. And they were directly next to me. The the kid was actually next to me at one point. And she was really trying her best to deal with the really low light, it was dark outside, there’s a lot of different sounds that’s happening, people are clapping, people are singing. And she may not be experiencing those things every single day in her normal life, which is normal. And I think she was around three years old, which is the same age as my son, and he is a busy body like he needs to be up he needs to get around. They had multiple family members try to soothe her, asking, you know, trying to engage her because she knew some of the characters, and it was working. And I think you know, they just needed time. But I mean, knowing what that mom has been through and probably was going through at that time. It says if time doesn’t really matter, and you need a very immediate response from your child. But that is not really a realistic expectation of them. Because developmentally, they are trying to learn and process these things, too. You’re bringing a toddler into a big event like this, which should be a safe space, because it is a group setting. It’s a Disney Concert. These are characters that they are familiar with and getting to be familiar with. And I think you know, the musicality of it also is engaging. So even if you’re not a child, you’re also singing in your head. And I had some friends who were on the other side of The Bowl that I talked to after the event, we realized that we were at the same event, we didn’t even say hi to each other. We couldn’t even see each other because there’s a million people there.

Ariel Landrum 39:06
Like that’s how big The Bowl is.

Stefanie Bautista 39:07
That’s how big The Bowl is…

Ariel Landrum 39:09
You know, other people, you know, we’re there until after you check the stories.

Stefanie Bautista 39:13
Yes, until the Instagram Stories. Yep. And they are, you know, our age and they were all going out as girlfriends too. And they were simply just singing along and they were getting shushed and I’m like, I can’t believe that. You know, I think this is something that is engaging for both adults, kids. The orchestra, the kids who are performing any sort of participation, I don’t think would have diminished their performance. Because the speakers are so loud, the visuals are so big, and I think participating probably would have just contributed to the musical and the magical atmosphere of the entire concert.

Ariel Landrum 39:56
Yes, and I think it should be noted that this is very Very different than going to like a play. Like if you saw Beauty and the Beast in the play and you’re there to see the Broadway actors and you don’t want to hear the person next to you there’s a different decorum and expectation of being quiet being present. Not engaging like on your phone, not chewing or eating food, versus the Hollywood Bowl, being outside expansive, the many moments of like camaraderie and communication, the the fact that you’re supposed to feel immersed in the experience. And so yeah, just just shocking, I think again, more more odd odd behavior, I would expect that if I was like, at, at a concert hall, I and I would, I would expect a specific level of like professionalism or your outdoor face however you want to say it. And I think can really, really damper they experience I, I’m I not being a parent, but felt so bad that this like mother had to leave. Not only because she was not enjoying it, but also she freakin works for the company. Here there was a moment to like, celebrate her and her work. And it’s like, oh, no, you don’t get to do that. Because you’ll have a child that I bet if every one of you just let her take care of the daughter right away there, she wouldn’t have been scared. But because of the energy people were giving towards that child. I’m sure the mom felt it. And of course, her daughter felt it right. Your kids, your kids know, when you’re scared and frustrated.

Stefanie Bautista 41:31
A high level of anxiety, mean all around. It’s kind of like, you know, being on a plane and your kid is just dealing with the turbulence. And don’t get us wrong. If this was a solely LA Philharmonic concert with them playing Dvorak and you know, a specific symphony. The decorum is obviously different. Like this is a classical performance. This is akin to being at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where no phones are allowed. You’re not you know, able to speak to somebody unless it’s intermission. Those things still hold true. If you’re at the Hollywood Bowl for that specific thing. However, you’re at a Disney Concert. We are watching cartoons. It is interactive, they even encourage you to sing along. I think that was you know, did they miss that? I’m not sure. But…

Ariel Landrum 42:20
I don’t know. Because then they asked the audience to sing along for the big Elsa number myself. I don’t I don’t I don’t know. I don’t get it. I don’t understand.

Stefanie Bautista 42:31
Yeah, I mean, again, these are things to, to look out for, if you are at a group event such as this. I think managing expectations is what we’re always talking about. But you know, some things are out of your control. And I think the least we could do is understand them from our perspective. I mean, Ariel even offered her goldfish if she wanted some. And she took them and, you know, she was able to enjoy the Sorcerer’s Apprentice a little bit, I think. And you know, she she was able to calm down. I think she just needed time. And unfortunately, some people around we’re not willing to give them that time, even though they could have probably given it and it would have been for the betterment of everybody around us.

Ariel Landrum 43:14
Yes. And I think the other thing is, there’s always more than one way you can like resolve a problem. If it was really disrupting your experience. I know the ushers would have accommodated you a different seat like that, that would have been an option. Had you taken it like, “Hey, it’s just really taking us out of the the mood, you know, everyone else seems to be fine, but we’re not what are other seats that could be available?” I honestly do not think that the Hollywood Bowl would have been like, “No, you got to stay right there.”

Stefanie Bautista 43:45
Or if they did, they probably would have set the precedent of, hey, everybody is trying to enjoy it, especially the children. So I mean, even people, let’s say who were there might have been somebody who had Autism, or had an auditory processing thing, and they’re trying to enjoy it to it might not even have been a child and you know, we would have would gladly have accommodated them as well. So maybe the staff would have been like, you know, unfortunately, these are the realities of having a public event. And, you know, try your best to be an adult and deal with it.

Ariel Landrum 44:17
Yeah, it’s, you know, people be peopleing…

Stefanie Bautista 44:24
People be peopling. It is true, my friend. But, I mean, at the end of the day, it was such a beautiful performance. And it was so fun. It did not feel like as long as it probably was because we were so engaged. I think it was great that they just focused on the animation. So even though there wasn’t any Pixar there wasn’t any Marvel or Star Wars. It made you hone in on the basics of what makes Disney so enjoyable, which is, you know, storytelling, and, you know, the emotions that are evoked by those stories and you reintroducing things that we haven’t seen in a really long time, refresh, it made everything so fresh. And, you know, it was it was just nostalgic and great.

Ariel Landrum 45:10
Now, before we end, I’m curious for you, as a teacher, what? What does this event like make you think of? Or like, how, how would you find yourself using something like this in the classroom or outside?

Stefanie Bautista 45:23
I mean, I think just teaching a lesson or even introducing the different ways that we enjoy music. Not everybody has a music program. I know that was one of the first things that got cut, when all the budget cuts happened long, long ago. So even as just like a regular general classroom teacher, if you have a little bit of time to introduce music, this is a great way to do it. It’s not necessarily just soundtracks, these are sing along songs, these are things that you can challenge their comprehension, you can challenge their reading, they’re really the processing of their emotions, this could be a social emotional thing. There’s so many great aspects to using music and animation in your everyday lessons. And encouraging families to go to events like this, I think is a really good way to tie in community as well, I would have loved to seen, you know, people from the same school going to something like this, or you know, going to outdoor concerts doing, you know, fundraising and things like that for kids who might not have the opportunity to go to these concerts and maybe fundraise for them to experience something special that they might not have. And I know we have a lot of people in Los Angeles who have kids that not only attend public schools, but they also work for places like Disney Warner Brothers Universal. So really, you can tackle it from a lot of different ways from connecting community connecting arts and creative performances. And also we had children on stage.

Ariel Landrum 46:53
Yeah.

Stefanie Bautista 46:54
So if you have kids who love to sing, who want to pursue performing arts, not only take them to things like this, but also say, “Hey, if you want to do this one day, you have absolutely can, you can use this and make a career out of this because that is absolutely possible.” Diversity is always needed. They highlighted diversity in a really great way, I think in the choices and music selections. And I think kids have so much more to learn from attending events like this, if you know they’re able to. And, again, going back to what that little girl experience, she might have taken something different from that had the environment been different. So really, you could use this as like a teachable moment for you know, a young person who wants to be more connected to the things that they listened and enjoy.

Ariel Landrum 47:46
Yes, yes. And I think for me, so some of you may know that, and we learned this, I guess from Wreck-It Ralph 2, that Disney princesses have an “I Want” song where they essentially pour their heart out to like the thing that they dream of and wish for the most. And an intervention that I’ve done in session with clients is we have made our own “I Want” songs. And what they have done is they’ve just listed out all the things that they sort of like hope for. And then we put it in a Chat-GPT and ask Chat-GPT to make an “I Want” song, that’s that’s a “Disney Princess I Want song.” And I know like AI is is big hot button issue, and it’s taking over the world or whatever nonsense, but in that case, they aren’t really making a song. It’s really more of like a poem. And it’s using the words of the things that they want. But I’ve had a lot of clients who’ve, like put that on their mirrors like they’re their aspirational goals. And it’s been a way to just incorporate Disney in a very unique way that is tailored to the individual versus like, you know, “Oh, that reminds me of this character, their experience.” It’s like, “Oh, no, you get to be sort of like the princess and you get to sing your I want song and see it come to fruition.”

Stefanie Bautista 48:59
That’s kind of like an auditory vision board. I like. That’s super cool. I really really liked that. I like middle schoolers can do that. I think that’s really cool. Although we have you know, middle schoolers High School, even fifth graders, I think that’d be something that I’m going to suggest to my friends. But I mean, I think all together this was such an enjoyable event. I hope they do it again in the future. Maybe even just a specific Pixar one would be really cool to hear a lot of their music because their music is so different from I think the animation, but also a special in their own way. That is it. We we went pretty deep into this. And we had a lot of feelings but you know as Disney movies do, they evoked a lot of emotion from us.

Ariel Landrum 49:44
So if you went to this experience or some other live performance for Disney music, go ahead and Tweet at us @happiestpodGT or DM us on Instagram @happiestpodGT.

Stefanie Bautista 49:56
Wait.. do we call it tweets still?

Ariel Landrum 49:58
Oh, I’m sorry… uhhh…

Stefanie Bautista 50:02
Don’t be sorry. That is not your fault. I don’t like that whatsoever.

Ariel Landrum 50:08
Yeah, I’m uh, I’m still sticking with tweet, because no one has given up an alternative. Ah, and I do not like the X. I don’t, whatever. So yeah, Tweet at us.

Stefanie Bautista 50:21
Tweet at us. And also, Ariel did a really great write up on our website as well. And she included all of our fun pictures. We had a jolly old time we really tried. Even though we were all humid and frizzy at the end of the night, it was all good. We took her cute pictures and it was fine. So if you had a great experience, go ahead and message us. We had a lot of fun and hopefully we’ll see you at the next event.

Ariel Landrum 50:46
Yeah, bye!

Stefanie Bautista 50:48
Bye everyone!

Media/Characters Mentioned
  • Mulan
  • Fantasia
  • Sorcerer Mickey
  • Encanto
  • Hercules
  • Meg
  • Tangled
  • Mother Gothel
  • Ursula
  • Ariel
  • Jafar
  • Scar
  • Simba
  • Peter Pan
Topics/Themes Mentioned
  • Mental Wellness
  • Americans with Disabilities Act
  • Disney’s 100th Anniversary
  • Disneybounding
  • Hollywood Bowl Experience
  • Accessibility and Accommodations
  • Emotional Impact of Music
  • Audience Behavior and Expectations
  • Educational Value of Disney Events
  • Community Engagement
  • Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusion
  • Family-Friendly Entertainment

Website: happy.geektherapy.com
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| Stef on Twitter: @stefa_kneee | Ariel on Instagram: @airyell3000 |

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