A few weeks ago, I was in California on business and stayed in a hotel in Emeryville, just outside Oakland. Emeryville also happens to be home to the most successful animation house in the world: Pixar Studios. Even though the studio headquarters was just a stone’s throw from my hotel, I was unable to go beyond the front gate (which is still cool, by the way) because Pixar isn’t typically open to the general public. However, friend of the NOC Grace Hwang Lynch — the creator of the awesome blog HapaMama — got an all-expenses paid trip to see what life is like on the other side of that gate!

Grace was part of a select group of bloggers who were hand-picked by Disney to attend a special preview for Pixar’s upcoming blockbuster Inside Out and get an private tour of the studio.

So click on through to Grace’s blog where she writes about the experience, and check back here next month for an exclusive piece about one of the filmmakers behind Inside Out!