A Very Special HSM2 Screening

I talked to Ashley in the dressing room. She was really excited for the Disneyland premiere on August 14th. She and her mom and I were chatting about the dresses Ashley's stylist had picked out. I felt like I was part of the family! I won't give away what she plans on wearing but it sounds great. Tickets to the screening are a hot commodity. Apparently, some major Hollywood celebrities have been begging for tickets for them and their kids. Some even going so far as to offer to pay for the seats. There is even a rumor that David and Victoria "Posh" Beckham may bring their kids. Though later I heard this was probably not going to happen. So, who knows. Ashley also made me laugh when she said she was obsessed about seeing a dermatologist after I scared her so much up in St. George. I'm a big believer in sunscreen. So, when I saw her laying out at the pool I warned her that she should be using lots of SPF. She was using 6 which I said is not enough. I wore SPF 50 and 70 on my recent trip to Hawaii. I made her promise to at least up it to SPF 30.

Alright, but here is the stuff you really want to know. How was the sequel? It's a lot of fun just like the last one. Sweet, innocent, toe-tapping and very similar to the first one in terms of the dancing and the music. True fans will not be disappointed. I spoke to about thirty different kids aged 5 to 15 who had comments like "It was awesome." "I liked it better than the first." "I loved it!" "There was more drama." So, that should tell you something.

It has elements of summer favorites like "Dirty Dancing", "Grease" and "Footloose" throughout. In fact, if there is any question that Efron can pull off starring in a "Footloose" re-make (as is rumored) this should put that to rest. When he takes off on the golf course to sing his solo, "Bet On It", its so reminiscent of that scene in "Footloose" where Kevin Bacon swings from the rafters, I couldn't stop myself from laughing. This of course elicited some dagger eyes from the crowd.

I will say that the location they chose to serve as Lava Springs, The Entrada Country Club in St. George, could not have been more perfect. The scenery is absolutely stunning. The red rocks just pop on screen. This is something the kids probably would never notice but the parents will. The pool gets a lot of scenes. I'm telling you it wasn't that big in person but on screen when its filled with kids dancing and singing it looks huge.

With the movie set to premiere in just one week on the Disney Channel, I'm sure there is going to be tons more that comes out about this film. I don't want to be the one to ruin the fun. So, I'll keep much of it under wraps. I will however toss out a few things. As Zac told me in March there is not just a love triangle in this one but a quadrangle. This is revealed on the publicity EPK, so I'm not feeling guilty for telling you that you can look for Ryan Evans to start getting close to Gabriella. You do get to meet Sharpay's and Ryan's parents as they own the country club. Personally, I thought they could have made these characters a little more over the top. Ryan is quite the mama's boy which explains his behavior but it doesn't quite explain why Sharpay is the way she is. She's up to her old antics and then some stirring up trouble for the Wildcats while trying to steal Troy away from Gabriella. She's got a secret to that Taylor McKessie discovers.

Zac's older teen fans will be happy to know there are lots of shirtless scenes. This too caused a chuckle between myself and my producer friend. As for the much speculated kiss, I'm not saying. You will have to find out for yourself.

For anyone in the LA area planning to make the trip to Disneyland, there are no tickets to the screening available. I hear fans will be allowed to line up to watch the red carpet which opens at 4:30. Earlier in the day the cast will spend some time at California Adventure, where there is a really fun daily "High School Musical" attraction and then hold a press conference. Be sure to check Access Hollywood.com for all the action. Billy Bush will have a special position at the front of the carpet and I'll have my own spot for interviews as well.

I'm taking your questions with me for the HSM2 cast as well as other Disney stars expected to be there from "Suite Life of Zach and Cody", "Hannah Montana" and others. So, please send me your comments this week with your questions, your name, city and state and I will try and get them asked.

CLICK HERE to send in your questions!