On any given Saturday night in front of the mega entertainment center known as Hollywood & Highland, you can expect to see throngs of tourists and native Angelinos milling about the sidewalks, mingling with various street actors, dressed as famous movie characters, who will pose for a photo or two in exchange for a generous tip. After all, this complex is footsteps away from the famed Grauman's Chinese Theater, which attracts millions of visitors each year to Hollywood. But add to that, the spectacle of a red carpet event, across the street at Disney's legendary El Capitan Theatre, and we are talking thousands of people concentrated into a small one-block area.

With a blockbuster made-for-television movie on their hands, Disney spared no expense for the High School Musical DVD release party and your at-large Ultimate Disney reporter, Pluto Region1, was there to cover it. As I arrived to attend this Disney gala, the streets were being blocked off with barricades by Disney security, in order to control the crowds and secure the arrival for dozens of Disney television's biggest stars. This was an invitation-only event featuring a red-carpet hobnob with Disney's A-list performers, as well as a screening of High School Musical at El Capitan and a lavish "after party."

What's all the fuss about? The success of High School Musical is breaking records at the Disney Channel and in the industry. On its premiere broadcast, the made-for-television movie brought in 7.7 million viewers, making it a network record and the month's top-rated non-sports cable broadcast. Over the course of 10 telecasts, the movie has delivered a whopping 34 million "Unique Total Viewers." The movie's soundtrack, released January 10th, is currently at No. 4 and the top selling album on Soundscan's 2006 Year to Date Album Chart, with a total of five gold singles and one platinum single. Six music videos from the movie have been released on iTunes and more than 5,000 fans have posted reviews about the soundtrack at the iTunes site. Disney has already announced plans for a sequel to the hit movie, scheduled for 2007.

The evening started off at 6:30pm with the stars arriving on the red carpet. I had a chance to talk to a few of them, including Miley Cyrus, star of the new hit Disney television series "Hannah Montana"; Phill Lewis, who plays Mr. Moseby on Disney's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody"; Alexa Nikolas of Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101"; Christian Serratos, who recently appeared on "Hannah Montana" and in the Disney Channel TV movie Cow Belles; and Zac Efron, who stars as Troy in High School Musical and is something of a teen heartthrob these days.

Lisa Rinna, hostess of Soapnet's "Soap Talk", with actor-husband, Harry Hamlin and their two daughters.	Lindsey Shaw plays Jennifer "Moze" Mosley in Nickelodeon's "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide." She's being interviewed here by a veteran M Magazine reporter.	Lauren Storm was there to support High School Musical cast member Corbin Bleu, with whom she appears on the Discovery Kids TV series "Flight 29 Down."	A veteran actress at the tender age of 14, Alexa Nikolas currently appears in the Nickelodeon TV series "Zoey 101" and is best friends with High School Musical star Vanessa Anne Hudgens. I asked her how she copes with work/school schedules: "I've been home-schooled since my first big television series on NBC ("Hidden Hills", 2002-2003). It's really hard to keep your grades up, do auditions, and memorize your lines at the same time, but I love what I do."

There were so many celebrities coming down the carpet, it was hard to keep track. But most of the stars from High School Musical were there, including Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay), Vanessa Anne Hudgens (Gabriella), Lucas Gabreel (Ryan), Corbin Bleu (Chad Danforth), Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie) and Chris Warren, Jr. (Zeke). Other red-carpet attendees I noted include Kim Rhodes and Adrian R'Mante from "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", Lindsay Shaw of "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" (Nickelodeon), and Lisa Rinna (with actor-husband Harry Hamlin), hostess of ABC's "Soap Talk."

After the last of the luminaries walked down the carpet, we were treated to a screening of the sing-along version of the movie inside El Capitan. Most of the attendees coming down the red carpet stated they'd seen the film numerous times and no doubt many of the other guests had as well, since members of the audience enthusiastically clapped and sang along to the film, without prompting. I was so exhausted from the red carpet event that I mowed through my whole bucket of popcorn! I should have saved room because the catering at the after party, hosted at the Hollywood & Highland complex, was really something. All the stars and guests, which I estimate at over 500, were there to take part in a celebration that included dozens of food catering stations and a fully-hosted bar.

The large banquet room where the after party was located, inside the Hollywood & Highland Annex, was decorated in red and white, the colors of the fictional East High School from the movie. Balloons, basketballs, and cheerleading pom-poms served as centerpieces. A large lighted sign at one side of the room depicted the film's title logo and would serve as a backdrop later in the evening for a photo op with the movie's stars. Someone mentioned that the event was catered by Wolfgang Puck; I couldn't tell you, but I will say the food was top-notch and incredible. Each station served a set of dishes which varied from snooty Beverly Hills-style California cuisine to down-home cooking style (roasted potatoes and corn on the cob). There were plenty of fruits and sumptuous desserts including an amazing Belgian chocolate fountain which allowed delighted guests to create their own chocolate-dipped strawberries. Several interactive video activities were going on simultaneously including a karaoke recording session for the little kiddies and a High School Musical Auditions Karaoke type activity for the older kids. It was quite a night and one which I will long remember.

Thanks to UltimateDisney for allowing me to be their representative and to Buena Vista Home Entertainment for allowing me to be their guest. The High School Musical "Encore Edition" is now available on DVD and released alongside it is the movie's Special Edition 2-CD soundtrack. We now have a full review of the DVD, and you can expect a critique of the soundtrack re-release in our next CD roundup. Or you could stick with this report for pictures of all the High School Musical launch's festivities and insight from the celebrity attendees. Plus, you can expect to see more of the High School Musical gang in the hit movie's sequel, currently planned for 2007.