I was invited by Disney to attend the #PeterPanBluray and #HanSoloEvent. Although all of my expenses are paid, all opinions are my own.

While in Los Angeles, I was given the awesome opportunity to step foot in, take pictures of and explore Walt Disney’s office. While I had visited the Disney Archives before, I had never been in his office so I was super excited to get a private tour.

When Walt passed away in 1966, archivist Dave Smith inventoried it where he captured pictures as well as a written inventory of each and every item in Walt’s office — down to the paper clip, book title and papers. Then, in 2015, archivists restored Suite 3H to its original glory using the pictures and inventory that Dave Smith took and placing original items in their places within Walt’s office.

We were given the tour as if we had a meeting with Walt Disney himself so we were told that when we walked into the office space, we would encounter a secretary who had a scheduling book for Walt Disney (down to his haircuts) where you would check in with her and then head into Disney’s office for a meeting.

Secretary’s Desk

Beyond the secretary’s office, you will walk into Walt’s Formal office. This is where he entertained people like dignitaries and where he would also sign fan cards. We learned that he would use this office more for show than anything.

Walt’s Formal Office

The formal office features items from his miniatures collection, as well as photos of his daughters. He also would come in here with the Sherman Brothers to come in and sit at the piano and play on Friday afternoons!

The one thing that I find amazing is how detailed the archivists were when restoring Walt’s office. As you can see in the picture below, there are a lot of books and memorabilia on the shelves. Each of those items are in their exact location, meaning that if they were leaning over when they inventoried Walt’s office, they made sure they were leaning when restoring the office.

Next you’ll walk into Walt’s working office. This is where he designed Disneyland and even hosted story meetings. This office is so neat because behind 2 doors (that are electric and still working to this day) the office has a built-in kitchen.

Walt’s Working Office

Each and every item here was put back in its original spot, including Walt’s Bag! I love that bag!!

The kitchen is so neat and tucked away. If the electric doors were closed when you walked into the working office, you wouldn’t know there was a full kitchen. The top left photo shows what the office looks like with the doors closed.

We then entered into a space that was set up with some of Walt’s personal items as well as all of the caricatures that were made for Walt. What a cool exhibit to walk around!

Wow, what an awesome experience. I held back the tears as we went through Walt’s office as I thought about all of the amazing things that he did! The restoration team did a wonderful job and I love how they used both original items and items that were recreated to be exactly like the originals. While the tour isn’t open to the public, if you ever have the opportunity to tour Suite 3H, you definitely should.

Peter Pan Scavenger Hunt

After exploring Walt’s office space, we were then split into teams to do a fun scavenger hunt around the Walt Disney Studios Lot. This scavenger hunt was Peter Pan themed since Peter Pan is celebrating their 65th anniversary and releasing on Digital May 29 & Blu-ray June 5.

I was on the “Captain Hook” team and we had a Walt Disney staff member as our team leader.

My amazing teammates were Laura from Food Fun Family, Melissa from A Sparkle of Genius, Andrew from Mommy’s Busy and Latoyia from Motivated Mom.  We were given our first clue which was in an envelope for us to figure out. We were then sent all around the Walt Disney Studios lot and our goal was to get the most points in the time allotted.

Reenacting Photos

When we arrived at a location, there were tasks that we had to complete. Some where photo reenactments (like the one above) and others were collecting pixie dust or a prop. Some of the tasks included bonus points, like the one above…… since Laura took one for the team and did the hand stand, we got extra points.

Picking up Props along the Way

Also along the way, we were given extra points for jumping in another team’s shadow. The was tough but fun since we had limited encounters with the other teams on our hunt.

Finding the Fire Hydrant

We had to figure out the location and then find the exact spot to take photos.

Doing our best Peter Pan Pose

Also along the way were hidden Peter Pan shadows. These were located at the clue locations so we just had to hunt around to see if we could find them. Our team found 4 out of the 5 hidden shadows. They gave us extra points.

Finding the Hidden Peter Pan Shadows

At one location was a game that we had to play. We let Andrew do this one as it was a ring toss.

Playing Games

One clue led us to complete some Peter Pan trivia. This one was in an air conditioned building!!

Peter Pan Trivia

The scavenger hunt was fun and our team did a great job working together. In the end, we all headed into the Commissary to eat lunch while the scores were tallied. Then, we went in to chat with Deric McCabe about his role in A Wrinkle In Time (stay tuned for that interview) and the winners were announced.

And the Winners Are…….

Team Captain Hook!! Our team won, so here we are with our amazing team leader and Deric McCabe (he was SO excited to hand us our prizes). We were each gifted with a treasure chest including a 4K Apple TV. Overall, the scavenger hunt was SO MUCH FUN. We had a lot of fun with each other and exploring the Walt Disney lot as well as learning more about Peter Pan!

Stay Tuned for More details about the Peter Pan Release — like a look into the Animation Research Library and the bonus features on the Bluray!