USRoadTripper

Monday, September 4th This was the morning that we were eligible for early entry because we purchased the three day park hopper pass. Because of the very long day the day before, I wanted to sleep in. Kevin, however, was up bright and early like his normal self, and was out the door without even waking me up. I got up at about 9:00am, and took my time in getting ready. I got a few things rearranged in preparation for leaving the next day, then grabbed some breakfast. I brought it back to the room and ate while I chatted with my mom for a while. She told me that Steve Irwin had died that morning, which was horrible news, but not news that really surprised me. After breakfast, I showered, got dressed and headed for the park, not even worrying about drying my hair. I called Kevin slightly before I arrived, and he was just about to go inside the Disneyland - The First 50 Years movie, so I said I would just meet him at the exit. Once I got to the park, the movie had just started so I wandered around Main Street a bit. I went up into the train station to get some photos, watched a couple of penny movies in the arcade, then browsed the gift shop at the exit of the movie. Once I met up with him, our first ride was the Jungle Cruise. While we waited, he said that he'd ridden everything in Fantasyland, most things in Tomorrowland and lots of other stuff during his early entry time! I really wish I could have drug myself out of bed, but I figured that I'd be toast by the end of the night if I didn't get enough sleep. The Jungle Cruise was the same as always, excepting the new piranha scene. It was a nice touch, but not one that really altered the "classicness" of the ride. Leaving Adventureland, we decided to take a ride on the Sailing Ship Columbia. We had neglected to ride the Columbia on the last trip, so it was a priority this time. As we rode, we spotted the canoes...the only Disneyland attraction that I don't care to do again! I was exhausted after riding them on the last trip! I thought the below decks displays on the Columbia were really cool, and our pirate guide did a great job too! I wish we'd gotten a chance to ride the Mark Twain, but we didn't end up having the time. Again, one more reason to come back! Kevin wanted to check out the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies show in the Diamond Horseshoe, and since one was coming up soon, we decided to go over there and have lunch before the show. I didn't like the looks of anything on the Diamond Horseshoe menu, so I headed next door to Rancho del Zocalo. I'd heard great reviews of this restaurant, and now I can give one too! After oogling at a man in line who was wearing a kilt, I got a chicken taco salad, and took it back to the Diamond Horseshoe to eat. Kevin had found a table near the back of the main floor, and soon it was show time. Hearing the description of the show, I wasn't terribly interested in seeing it. I find a lot of comedy of that genre to be pandering and stereotypical, but I didn't feel that way about this show at all! I had a blast! I loved the bit where the main Billy puts in the fake teeth and plays Devil Went Down to Georgia...hilarious! I will most definitely find time in any future Disneyland trip to see these guys perform again! After the show, we went back into Fantasyland to ride the Storybookland Canal Boats since that was one of the only things there that we hadn't done. While on the ride, we noticed that the Casey Jr. Circus Train was running...it was supposed to be in rehab when we were there, but I guess not. We never got around to riding it though. I don't find the canal boats to be that thrilling of a ride, but since it's the only one like it, I'm sure I'll ride it every time I'm there. Kevin had been excited to take in a showing of the Snow White musical since that day was the last day it was ever being performed. A show was just about to start when we arrived, so we got seats towards the rear of the theater. Snow White is one of my favorite Disney movies, so I enjoyed the show, but I'm not too sad to see it go. It was good, but not something I'd probably make time for again. Animazement...now *that* was a great show! We headed back into Toontown again after the show, and got Fast Passes for Car Toon Spin. The standby line said an hour, I think, but the Fast Passes were only for half an hour later. So we wandered around a little bit, reliving a few funny moments from the trip in 2001. Kevin played with the talking mailbox, I got a barbell dropped on my foot, we played with the post office boxes, then decided to get in line to meet Mickey. We hadn't found him in either park yet, and you just have to get Mickey hug when you're at Disneyland! His house was so cute...I don't recall going through it last time...and the wait wasn't all that bad. After getting our hug and our picture with the Big Cheese, we perused the main gift shop, where we each made some small souvenir purchases. I got a nice photo album, some stickers and some magnets, and Kevin bought a few odds and ends. By the time we were done, our Fast Passes were valid. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin was closed during the last trip because it was right after the little girl had gotten hit by the ride vehicle. So it was a completely new experience for me, and one that I thought was pretty good. I've never seen the movie, so I didn't really understand what was going on, but I thought it was fun nonetheless. Despite trying really hard, I wasn't able to control the spinning on the car. I'd try to spin it, but I had to pull or push so hard that I eventually gave up on it. At this point, we split up for a bit. Kevin wanted to go back to DCA and see the Aladdin show again, and I wanted to reride a few rides so I could video tape them. Once he was off, I got in line for the Tomorrowland side of the Matterhorn again. I called Jahan and chatted with him through my wait, which only ended up being about 10 minutes. I got great video of it! We were also racing with another bobsled, which hadn't happened on my previous two rides. While I was there, I rerode Alice in Wonderland, then Mr. Toad, then Pinocchio, video taping each one. Most of the video didn't come out well, but at least the sound recorded well. I wanted to run back over to DCA for a bit to ride Screamin' again, so I started towards the front of the park. I decided to stop and watch the First 50 Years movie on the way out, which I really enjoyed. It was pretty much just a humorous timeline of the changes Disneyland had gone though...I'm glad it wasn't a sappy tear jerker like One Man's Dream! (which I love, but don't watch too often since it's a more emotional film) I started to leave the park, but just then the train pulled in, so I ran up to the train station to get a ride. I figured that if I didn't ride it then, I wouldn't get a chance to. And is it me, or did they change the train? I could swear that in 2001, all the seats on the train faced the right side...so all the guests were facing outward as you went through the Small World facade. Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't remember it being a normal train. After the ride was over, I left and went back to DCA. My only real objective at DCA was to ride California Screamin' again since I like it so much. I pretty much beelined for the Pier, stopping only to take photos along the way. I rode in the front seat for my ride, and it was once again a great ride. I thought about going back around for another ride, but ultimately I decided not to. I called Sean, and he and Pamela had already met up with Kevin, and they were having dinner at Red Rockets Pizza Port. I assumed that someone would have called me when it was time for dinner, but I was wrong. I left the park, and when I got inside Disneyland, I called again, and they said that they were about to get in line for Pirates. I got them to wait for me, then scurried over there as fast as I could. The wait was significantly shorter for this ride than the first! After the ride, I was really hungry, but I didn't just want to grab a snack somewhere since I was wanting to stop for a full meal. Kevin said that he wanted another mint julep, so when we got to the mint julep bar, I got a Coke. I was so hungry and thirsty that I downed my Coke almost immediately, so we headed into the counter service restaurant to get a refill. Afterwards, we browsed the Disney Gallery, and oogled over all the stuff that's too expensive for us to own! Sean and Pamela are collecting these miniatures of Main Street, and you can buy a big table to put them all in to display them...they were really awesome, but way too large for something I would collect! We'd picked up Fast Passes for Indiana Jones earlier at some point, so we wanted to use them before the fireworks. Sean and Pamela said that they'd go stake out good seats in front of the castle, so we rode while they held spots for us. We didn't even need the Fast Passes since there was no line, so we kept them as souvenirs. We found Sean and Pamela directly in front of the castle, which were perfect fireworks viewing seats! I, however, had had more than my fill of fireworks already, so I wanted to go hit up a few more rides before the night was over. Sean decided to wait with Kevin and watch the fireworks, while Pamela and I went off to ride some more. Having some time to kill, we decided to ride Astro Orbiter. The line was really long, but it wasn't so bad since we were able to chat through the whole wait. Afterwards, we rode Buzz with two Fast Passes that Sean had handed off to us earlier. With fireworks having not even started yet, we opted to ride the Autopia. The wait time was posted at 20 minutes, but we ended up waiting about 45 minutes instead! At one point, Sean called to say that the fireworks had been cancelled due to winds, and that they'd meet us after our ride. I really like the Autopia...definitely my favorite miniature car ride because of the off-road section and the hot rusted nuts! The ride was very dark, and I could barely tell what any of the scenery was, so I almost missed the hot rusted nuts! After the ride, we found the boys right where they said they'd be. I mentioned that I still had not had dinner and that I was about to starve, so we decided to stop in the Main Street bakery on the way out since that was just about the only thing still open. I ended up getting a turkey sandwich, a huge chocolate chocolate chip muffin and a glass of water. It was all great, and almost too much to finish! Sean and Pamela split a giant cinnamon roll, and we all sat in the Carnation Cafe while we finished our goodies. By the time we were all done, the park was almost empty, so we took the opportunity to get some shots of the Main Street lights with very few people around. Most of them came out really well! I was quite surprised and impressed with myself! hehe On the way out, we found Paul Pressler's commemorative brick, and took a few pictures of the DCA lights. We wandered out through Downtown Disney, but didn't stop in any of the shops, and soon made it back to the car. Once at the hotel, we bid our friends farewell until next year, and headed to the room. I tried to pack up a bit of stuff, but that didn't really work too well, so I just went on to sleep. -Julie Finally...Sean and Pamela! Mr. and Mrs. "Two Exits from Disneyland." The main entrance of DCA, with only a few people in sight Main Street and the castle. Ending the night, we decided to wander around and take night shots of Main Street. This was my favorite of them. Back at Disneyland, I experience one of the reasons why Autopia is my favorite car ride...the off road section! Oh...my...God...this isn't that great of a picture of it, but this woman had backboobs the size of the boobs on my chest!! Signature shot. Insert your own humorous caption here. After sliding back over to DCA for a bit, I finally get a good picture of Grizzly Peak! Ok, this is the single worst pair of shoes I have ever seen on a human being in my life. Who sees these in a store and thinks "Wow, I look AWESOME in these shoes"??? Couldn't go an entire trip without one of these pictures, right? I didn't end up with too many pictures of myself from this trip, so I figured I should post this one! "Hello Minnie. Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Can you tell me if your refridgerator is running?" Another blast from the past...I get a barbell dropped on my foot. A blast from the past...Kevin listens at the Toontown mailbox. More fantastic, interactive Toontown theming. My two favorite Toontown windows! Chinny Chin Chin construction company sharing a building with Huffin and Puffin wrecking company! A while later, we headed back into Toontown! Ugh...the dreaded explorer canoes! What could anyone like more than manual labor when you've spent about $50 to be in the park that day? This is a kitchen that was in the below decks area of the Columbia. As soon as I took it, I thought this would have made a great "name that park!" photo! It's the Columbia! A much more interersting ride than the Liberty Belle! The First 50 Years exhibit contained this...a model of what Disneyland looked like on opening day. I thought this was really cool for whatever reason! This is my favorite of the many photomosaic murals throughout the parks. And Main Street. Two things make this photo a VERY different photo than one you'd take in the Magic Kingdom! The morning begins with a stroll around Main Street. This is the Main Street railroad station. Comments welcome!

I'm not sure who's the best, but I know who's the hottest! -Julie The Big Show! Paul "I'm taller than Casey" Wight.

I see both sides also. I definitely agree that as I've become more of an enthusiast, my ability to get more out of my theme park days has dramatically increased. An example is when we arrived at Car Toon Spin. The standby line was an hour, or we could get a Fast Pass and come back in half an hour to ride. That's a no brainer for me, but that hour long line still had tons of people entering it! Having that extra bit of knowledge about crowd dynamics in parks really enhances most days I spend in parks. Alternatively, it does take quite a bit more to impress me now that I've been to more parks and ridden more coasters. I can ride a really good coaster (Robb's Silver Bullet example is fitting) where in the past I would have said "Wow that was awesome!!!" and now I end up saying "That was nice." Those "OMG what an incredible coaster!!!" moments are pretty few and far between. Shows tend to be the same way... rarely does a show ever elicit much reaction out of me. Overall, I definitely think it's improved my theme park experience. -Julie

I'd do it! I really enjoyed Colossus and would love to see how long I could actually ride the same coaster for! -Julie

My most recent one -Julie Ghostrider. Nuff said.

OMG, now *that* is scraping the bottom of the barrell! I think only Shelbyville might be worse! -Julie

My list sucks since Nashville is so high on the list I personaly wouldn't want to live in any of my top 5! Little Rock, Arkansas Where America Comes Together Norfolk, Virginia Heart of the Hampton Roads Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Big City on the Plains Nashville, Tennessee Music City, U.S.A Baton Rouge, Louisiana The Cajun Capital Charlotte, North Carolina The Queen City Memphis, Tennessee Home of the Delta Blues El Paso, Texas Where the Sun Always Shines Portland, Oregon City of Roses Fort Worth, Texas Where the West Begins St. Louis, Missouri Wonder of the Modern World Cincinnati, Ohio The Queen City Knoxville, Tennessee Gateway to the Smoky Mountains Austin, Texas City of the Violet Crown San Antonio, Texas Three Centuries of Culture Baltimore, Maryland The Sparkling Harbor City Augusta, Georgia Georgia’s Garden City San Diego, California California’s First City Houston, Texas City of Excitement Orange County, California Live The California Dream Las Vegas, Nevada Entertainment Capital of the World Washington, District of Columbia The World's Greatest Capital Chesapeake-Virginia Beach, Virginia The Southern Tidewater Region Lexington, Kentucky Heart of the Bluegrass -Julie

I'm sure that if Beech Bend's Scat 2 had gone on for even one more minute, that I would have passed out from the intensity! -Julie

My site doesn't have ads, Robb! But then again, I don't really offer any content that anyone beyond myself and my close friends care about -Julie

I heard from some random unreliable source way back in the day that they can't replace the support system and install more up to date tracks since they'd have to demolish the entire mountain and start from scratch. They obviously don't want to completely tear down the original Matterhorn and leave thousands of people going "Didn't the Matterhorn used to be in this park??" so they do the yearly rehabs just to keep it in one piece. -Julie (who is *SO* glad that she got her Matterhorn credits two weeks ago!!)

APPLIANCE DIRECT!!! I miss the Appliance Direct commercials...but I miss the Family Auto Mart commercials more! Great stuff when you've had a little to drink! -Julie

^ Wow, my own thread and I have no clue what you guys are talking about!! -Julie

^ Someone didn't read all 9,150 words worth of text that I wrote, did they? hahaha I did ride Screamin'...why did you assume I didn't? -Julie

Sunday, September 3rd I'm not sure what time I woke up, but Kevin was already awake and ready to go, whatever time it was. After showering, we hit up the free breakfast again, then headed out for California Adventure. There was quite a lineup when we arrived, so we stood roasting in the already boiling sun for maybe 10 minutes or so before we could get in. Kevin wanted to do Tower of Terror first, but then suggested getting a Fast Pass for Soarin' first. When we arrived at Soarin', the wait was only about 10 minutes, so we went ahead and rode instead of waiting until later. I still think this is a great ride, and Kevin loves it as well! Next we went over to Tower of Terror. My first thought upon seeing the front of the tower is that it just looks fake. The burn on the building is very obviously painted on, unlike Florida's which resembles much more closely a real charred building. This tower just didn't look decrepit enough...or old enough, or dirty enough, or scary enough. There was no wait, and when we entered the lobby, we both thought it looked very out of place. It was very well lit, and looked somewhat inviting, which isn't the point at all! It's supposed to be dark and creepy! The library and interior queue were nice, but I took the chicken exit down before the ride started because I hate drop towers. Kevin said that the ride was good despite not having the 4th Dimension scene like MGM's tower does. The next ride we did was Mike and Sully to the Rescue! Basically, I thought this ride was awesome! I loved it! The queue was packed full of stuff to read and look at, and it was all hilarious. I particularly loved the overhead monitors that were displaying the Child Detection Emergency Broadcast System "test." It pretty much said that if an actual kid had been sighted, you were supposed to scream your head off! Love it!! The ride ittself was really great...a fantastic addition to that park. I loved Superstar Limo, but I guess I'm with the masses in thinking that Mike and Sully is a better ride. I particularly liked how the Japanese restaurant actually smelled like Japanese food, and the area where they store all the doors...I'm sure it was probably just mirrors, but I was very impressed by the effect nonetheless. We both picked up some frozen strawberry lemonade on the way out of the courtyard, then got in line for the next Aladdin show. The lemonade was way too frozen to eat right away anyway, so having 45 minutes to let it melt during the show was nice hehe We sat in the first balcony of the theater, a few rows back from the front, so we had great seats! I thought the show was really good...much better than the Steps in Time "be nice to your little brother" crap that was in there last time I was at DCA! Someone described the show as "Broadway calibur" and while I definitely wouldn't praise it *that* highly, I did think it was above average for a theme park show. When we left, our frozen lemonade was just at the perfect consistency, so we ate as we walked back to the Wharf area. We hadn't decided on anything for lunch ahead of time, so we decided to do the bread and tortilla factory tours, then grab lunch at one of their respective restaurants. We did the Boudin bakery tour first, but they weren't giving out any samples! Boo! It is quite impressive that Disney can take something as ordinary as baking bread and turn it into an entertaining and educational theme park attraction! Next we went to the tortilla factory, but as soon as the doors closed behind us, our friend Scott called Kevin. So kevin pushed through the doors, went outside to finish the conversation, and we went back in to the preshow. When the doors opened up to let us out of the preshow room, the right side door (the one that Kevin had barged through minutes earlier) didn't open! So Kevin says "Oh my god...the tortilla factory went 101 because of me!" Once we go to the end, we got a hot and fresh tortilla, which Kevin said was the best tortilla he'd ever made go 101 in his life. He also jumped on the "what is your weight in tortillas?" scale, but claimed that it was off by one since he'd just eaten one tortilla. Kevin decided to go back to the bakery's restaurant for lunch, while I stayed at the Mexican place by the tortilla factory. While I waited in line, our friend Scott walked by! I hadn't seen him since about 2003 or so, so it was nice to see him again. We chatted for a bit, then he went to find Kevin. I got the chicken taco platter with beans and rice, and I thought it was excellent. Kevin got a salad in a bread bowl and said his was great also. Mike called during lunch, so we chatted for a bit, then when we were all done with lunch, we walked back towards the Pier. Scott doesn't do thrill rides, so he held my camera bag as Kevin and I got in line for California Screamin'. We didn't wait very long...maybe 10 minutes or so. I still love this ride, even after having ridden some much bigger and more powerful coasters. It's just fun! I didn't notice the effects of the trim brakes too much since I still thought there was a nice amount of floater air over the bunny hills. Screamin' is a really solid ride...one that I wish was closer to me!! Kevin and Scott didn't want to ride Maliboomer, so I utilized the Sad and Pathetic line. For a moment, I thought the ride was gonna break down. We all got strapped in, the ride lifted up in the air and moved up and down a bit, then immediately dropped back down to the base of the tower. Of course at that point, the person in the control tower tells the riders to please remain seated...like we had any other option! After another restraint check the ride was fine. But I do like this one less than others though because of the stupid scream shields. Kevin said that he really wanted to ride Grizzly River Run, but Scott and I agreed that we didn't want to get that wet, so Kevin went for a solo ride. Scott and I waited on a nearby bridge and watched him float past, then retreated to the cool gift shop nearby to wait for him. I found this one spot in the store where an air vent would blow directly on me, so I just parked myself there. I joked with Scott that I was really studying the shirts in front of me...yep, that's what I was doing...NOT standing directly under an air vent! When Kevin found us, he was barely wet at all! Just his butt seemed to be wet. I got a call from our friend Sean at that point saying that he and his wife Pamela were in the parking garage and wanted to know where to meet us. I wanted to tape Seasons of the Vine, so we agreed to meet there. After waiting outside the theater for only a few minutes, they found us and we went inside. It was great to see them too, but we see them most Decembers at WDW, so it wasn't some grand reunion or anything hehe I started taping Seasons of the Vine, but my battery ran out right in the middle of it!!! And it was right at the "time lapse grape growing" clip too! Oh well, just another reason to go back! Kevin and I hadn't been in A Bug's Land, so that's what we suggested as our next stop. The entrance was a little haphazzard, with some water play areas for kids, and some random fenced off areas with Bug's Life character statues inside them. The rides area was really cute though! You can tell that the budget for the area wasn't that huge since everything is off the shelf, but I think they did a nice job with the theming. Little did anyone there know, but Heimlich has been my favorite Disney character since the first time I saw Bug's Life. So I definitely wanted to ride Heimlich's Chew Chew Train! We only waited for one cycle, but I would have certainly waited longer! It was so adorable!!! You ride in Heimlich themed catterpillars, and pass all these foods along the ride path. You go through a watermelon that mists you, and an animal cracker box that smells just like animal crackers, and at the end you pass CANDY CORN! Realistically, if Heimlich wasn't my favorite character, the ride would have garnered a "meh" from me. But he is, so it's the best ride in the resort hahaha Ok, so that's an overstatement, but I did think it was really really cute!! I said that I wanted to video tape the Monsters Inc ride, so everyone headed in that direction for a ride. My video of it came out pretty well, including when we stopped at the end and got harassed by the slug lady with the clipboard. She said "Oh great, another camera. Hope you get my good side" and "Hey, you left the lense cap on!" haha At that point, the guys decided that they wanted to watch Block Party Bash, but the girls decided against it, so Pamela and I went to watch Muppet*Vision instead. I hadn't intended on watching it during the trip, but it was certainly better than watching another parade!! The preshow was almost empty, so I sat down on the floor and stretched out my legs and back. I must have looked pretty dumb, but it felt wonderful! The preshow, theater and show are all identical to Florida's version, so needless to say, I enjoyed it. After a bathroom break, we called the guys and agreed to meet up with them at the Wine Country Trattoria, which is where we had set up dinner reservations. When we got there, they were going on about how great the parade was, and that it really was a "bash" and all. So Pamela and I start saying "Yeah, well Muppet*Vision was completely live action today. They said they were only gonna do that for that one show, and you missed it." hahaha I don't care how big of a bash they had, I can assure you that I enjoyed Muppet*Vision more than I would have the parade. We were seated within just a few minutes in the Trattoria, so we had time to cool down before we ate. Pamela and I ordered the chicken alfredo lasagna, Sean and Scott ordered the lasagna rustica and Kevin ordered a panini, and everyone really seemed to enjoy their meals. I also got a glass of reisling, which was very nice. I wish I could remember what winery it came from! Scott and Kevin also ordered a sorbet dish for dessert. When they arrived at the table, Scott's was piled high on the top of a frozen orange, but Kevin's took a tumble and ended up laying on the plate next to the orange. We all awwed, then giggled about it. After dinner, we wandered back onto the Pier, enjoying the park at night and the good company. Eventually, we decided to do the Sun Wheel, which was when Scott decided to bow out for the evening. Sean and Pamela opted for a non-swinging bucket, while Kevin and I got in line for a moving one. Kevin then decided to get them to let people go in front of them until we were gonna load in side by side buckets, so we could watch each other ride. I sort of freaked out about the wait, thinking that I might not have enough time to get a good seat for the Electrical Parade, but the parade ended up being later than I thought it was, so we were fine. The Sun Wheel has got to be one of my favorite rides anywhere! Dare I say it's even my favorite ride in the whole resort! It's just so much fun! And I love the fact that you're not strapped in, so you can move around, get tossed around if you like, catch airtime if you like, whatever! I took video through most of the ride, and it is hilarious! It makes me laugh just watching us ride it! After the ride, we all scurried over to where I'd decided that I wanted to watch the Electrical Parade. It was across from the Golden Dreams theater...exactly where I'd been planning on watching it. We didn't have to wait too long before the parade started, and when it got to us, I was in heaven! I've loved this parade since I first watched it. It makes me happy, simple as that. It's so strange that I hate parades, yet my favorite thing that Disney has ever done is a parade! I got fantastic video of it, so any time I'm feeling down, I can watch it After the parade, everything was closed, so we filed out with the masses. We noted that Disneyland was open for another two hours, with another fireworks show and a Fantasmic, so we decided to go over there. That was the only feasable time to see Fantasmic if we were gonna see it. We ended up walking out through the Grand Californian, which is such a spectacular hotel! We spent a little time there in 2001, and if I had the money I'd stay there in a heartbeat! We weren't able to get handstamps as we exited, but we were assured that it wouldn't be a problem. Well, we obviously weren't the only people who had that idea. The entry plaza was PACKED with people trying to get into Disneyland, so we had to wait forever to even get in! Then Main street was packed to the gills with people waiting for the fireworks to start, and we had to hustle through them too. I wanted to get a little something sweet from the bakery, so I popped in there right as the fireworks started. I ended up with two Mickey shaped cookies and two glasses of water for Kevin and myself. When the fireworks were over, the bakery became overwhelmed with people flooding in for snacks...glad I got in there when I did! We met back up with Kevin, who had waited outside while I got the cookies, and went over to New Orleans square to stake out a spot for Fantasmic. Being locals, Sean and Pamela knew a great spot to watch from that offered a great view, and that no one was already occupying! The show was great as always, and we had a great view. The two Fantasmics both seem to have their pros and cons, which I figure makes them just about equal. The seating in Florida is much better and more organized, with every seat having a good view. But Disneyland's use of the Columbia, and the added Pinocchio scene are really nice touches. Equally good in different ways, I'd say. After the show, once again everything was closed, so we headed out. Sean offered to drive us back to our hotel, and we gladly took him up on his offer since we were both extremely tired. He didn't even make us walk all the way to the car...he went and got the car and picked us up near the escalator! What a nice guy! I was pretty wiped out by the time I got back to the hotel, so we both crashed as soon as we got there. I found it quite funny that while trying to take a picture of the restaurant across the lake, I ended up with this extraordinary shot of the cages you ride in on the Sun Wheel! Comments welcome! Later that night, it was all about one of my favorite rides anywhere...the Sun Wheel! This is probably my favorite photo from this trip. Aww...Heimlich eating his way through some watermelon. Just around the bend you see the animal crackers, and then...CANDY CORN! It was cute, it was funny but most of all it was a whole ride based on my favorite character!!! I LOVED IT!!! OMG!!! Most adorable ride vehicle ever!!! Time for one of those cheesier than lasagna rides that Julie loves! Look! I found the only four leaf clover in the land. You wanna know where it is? Well tough Tower of Terror...THROUGH THE GIANT CLOVERS! As seen by a bug. Next, we went to explore A Bug's Land. I would accuse Kevin of using the Sad and Pathetic line, but he's the only guy in a raft full of chicks! So I guess that would mean he used the "Pathetic Only" line! "This is the MaaaaaaliBOOOMer!" Horribly repetitive safety spiel and claustrophobic scream shields, but a good ride nonetheless. I really love the ambiance of the Pier. It's the kind of place where I could see myself just going there for dinner, riding a ride or two and just enjoying life. Reminds me of World Showcase in that regard. Exclusive shot. And didn't that sign used to say "Paradise Pier, Fun in the Sun for Everyone!"? Now it just says "Fun in the Sun for Ever." I, however, happen to love California Screamin' and will ride it dead or not. Burger invasion! Watch out Kev!!! Hey, it's Scott, Mr. I Will Only Ride California Screamin If You Strap My Dead Body Into It. "Now that I've been to the DCA wharf, I don't ever feel the need to go to the real wharf!" Mmm, that's some yummy looking stuff there! I think I'll have a Bag O Calories and some Polyvinyl Chloride please! Passenger rules on the inside of the Monsters Inc ride. This sign had all of us cracking up! A lovely fountain in the Muppets and Monsters Inc courtyard. This is the Tower lobby. I didn't use a flash on this photo. See how bright it is...it seems way too bright to fit with the storyline. Second stop of the day was the Tower of Terror. See, I'm sorry but that burn mark looks painted. DCA...I enjoy DCA.

Saturday, September 2nd - continued Heading south, we ran into quite a bit of traffic on the way to Anaheim. It was never completely stopped, but was very congested and very slow. Godspeed to the locals who have to deal with it every day! We followed the directions in Kevin’s GPS to our hotel, then quickly checked in. After dropping our stuff in the room, we headed out to find food before going to the park. We’d spotted a Subway and a Chinese restaurant on the way to the park, so we opted for the Chinese. I had sweet and sour chicken, sesame chicken and lo mein, and it was all great! It was too much to finish and still be able to walk out in the California sun! We finished the walk to the Disneyland resort, entering on a pathway opposite of Downtown Disney, and stopped at a will call window to pick up our tickets. We entered Disneyland, and found ourselves right in the middle of the afternoon parade! We cut through some shops to get up Main Street quicker, and eventually found ourselves at the entrance to Tomorrowland. We quickly grabbed fast passes for Space Mountain, with the return time being over 5 hours away! Just as well since we planned on closing the park that night anyway! The first ride we headed for was the Matterhorn. On our last trip in 2001, the Matterhorn was closed for rehab...then with just weeks to go before this trip, the Disneyland website started to show the Matterhorn closed for this trip too! It said it was supposed to close on Thursday, and we'd be there that Saturday. Then the website changed to say that it was gonna close the following Tuesday. Needless to say that when we arrived and I saw cars traversing the tracks, I was extremely happy to see the ride open! It's a ride that's so iconically Disney that I didn't want to miss it again! Our first ride was on the Tomorrowland side, and was one of the longest waits of the trip, clocking in at about 20 minutes or so. I thought the ride was great, and while not breaking into my top 10, I did think it was very fun! I was really happy to have gotten to ride it...it was a coaster I'd waited my whole life to ride! It was a coaster that I wanted to ride back when I hated coasters! It was really a highlight of the trip for me. After the Matterhorn, Kevin asked if I wanted to ride Mr Toad...duh! Of course! This had maybe a 10 minute wait, which wasn't too bad considering that it was the Saturday of a holiday weekend! I really love this ride, and really really hated to see the one in Disney World taken out. Hopefully this one will be preserved since it's in the "Class of '55." While we were in the area, we rode Snow White, then Pinocchio's Daring Journey, passing on Peter Pan because of the huge line. Kevin wanted to ride Pirates next, so we meandered in that direction. Our friend Donna had requested that we drink a mint julep for her while we were there, so we stopped for that before getting in line. I enjoy the Disney mint juleps much more than real alcoholic ones, eventhough they do "taste like drinking gum" as the girl in front of us in line put it. We drank while we waited for Pirates, which also ended up being about a 20-30 minute wait. I enjoy this version of the ride so much more than Magic Kingdom's! It's so much longer and so much more elaborate! And I think that the Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones enhancements were very nice and very well done. They spruced it up just enough to keep it fresh, while still preserving everything classic about the ride. We rode the Haunted Mansion next, with very little line. I figure that this mansion is about the same as the Florida version, but holy cow does the new attic scene rock! Totally kicks the ass of Florida's! That is an upgrade that the Florida park sorely needs, as their bride looks like total poo compared to Disneyland's new one! While in the area, we rode the Pooh ride with basically no wait. I thought the ride was ok, though I'm not a Pooh fan at all. Definitely better than the country Bears though! *shiver* I took a bathroom break after the ride, and found Kevin on the phone with Donna when I came out. She was glad that we'd had a mint julep for her, and after exchanging pleasantries, we moved on. We got some Fast Passes for Splash Mountain while we were there, then went for a ride on Big Thunder Mountain. Another pretty solid ride, that's pretty much equal to the one in Florida. We circled back into Fantasyland, and caught a ride on Small World. When we were done, it was parade time...oh joy. We struck up a conversation with a nice Cast Member who was fairly new to the company while we waited. We chatted about my time working at WDW, what it's like to work at Disneyland and whatnot until the parade passed by where we were. Kevin ran up to the pathway to see it, while I hung back a bit. Then the parade stopped. Now, I really hate most parades...but what I discovered is that the only thing worse than a parade is a parade that stops and just stands there in front of you! I could have bashed my head on the sidewalk and had more fun. Eventually, I called my mom and chatted for a bit. After the parade, we went into Toontown to get the credit that we both bypassed in 2001, Gadgets Go-Coaster. Neither of us were counting credits at the time, or else we would have surely ridden! haha This was a pretty grueling wait, with just one train and lots of little kiddies in line around us. We managed to get the credit though, like the good little credit whores that we are. Our Space Mountain Fast Passes were valid by then, so we started back over that way. We saw that the Fantasyland side of the Matterhorn had no line, so we quickly jumped in for a ride on that side. I thought they were pretty much the same, though a few more rides on each would have surely shown me lots of differences. Right when the ride first came off the lift, the glowing yeti eyes growled at me, and I thought I was gonna poop my pants! It came out of NOWHERE and scared the snot out of me! Of course Kevin had a good time laughing at me becuase of it! We headed off for Space Mountain next, and had one of those "haha we're so much smarter than you" moments when we got there. The standby line was pretty long, but since we had Fast Passes, we got to walk straight past the whole thing! Then, once inside the building, there was no one! NO ONE! We were running, and dancing and taking pictures of us in this completely empty queue, feeling so much smarter than the suckers that probably waited an hour in the standby line! But anyway, I thought the new ride was awesome! So much better than the old version, and light years better than Florida's version! I wish that the WDW one with get the same treatment that Disneyland's got...better track, much improved space travel effects and hopefully audio! We tried out Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters next since it didn't have much of a line. It was a nice ride, and I ended up beating Kevin quite handily thanks to hitting a lit up triangular target. Leaving Tomorrowland, we crossed the hub and went into Adventureland for a bit. We decided to stop to watch the Tiki Room, and Kevin got a Dole Whip while we waited. I really enjoyed the ambiance in the preshow/waiting area with the fire, the water effects, the staticky tiki god narrations and the super ancient Dole pineapple canning video!! The original Tiki Room is such a nice show...campy but fun, and something that I hope never changes. It was almost time for fireworks by this time, and we were both feeling the need for a bit of dinner, so we headed to Casey's Corner. The line was horrible! We were so hungry and so tired that we became pretty giddy, which thoroughly entertained the two ladies in front of us! We all marvelled at how people can stand in line for 15 minutes directly under the menu, then have to pause to decide what they want when they get to the register!! At least I am not the only one who thinks these people should be drug into the streets and beaten!! I got a regular hot dog, and kevin got a chili dog, and once the dogs were dressed for dinner, we went back out onto Main Street. Watching fireworks is just one step behind watching parades as activities that I truly hate while in theme parks. Yet Kevin really wanted to stop and watch them, so I sucked it up and ate my hot dog as they started. Frankly, I thought the show was really lame excepting just a few small points...they get mega kudos for working in the Electrical Parade music, and the Star Tours little segment where a laser shoots out of the castle and makes a green firework explode on the end of Main Street was kinda cool too. That was it though. Everything else was just music and unrelated explosions to me. After the show, we waited around for the crowd to die down a bit, but sensing that it was gonna get worse before it got better, we battled against the crowd into Fantasyland. My memory is fuzzy about which rides came next, but I know we did Alice in Wonderland before leaving the area. Our Splash Mounatin Fast Pass was valid, so we took the path behind Big Thunder to get there. The path was really eerie though...there was no one else around, and there was no area music, so it made the park feel really deserted. There was still no one around when we got to Splash Mountain, so the Fast Passes were completely unneccesary. I didn't remember much about this ride from my last trip, but now I can safely say that this ride sucks compared to WDW's! Firstly, the water moves so fast that it almost feels more like a rapids ride than a log flume. Florida's version meanders at a nice pace, letting you really take in the scenery. This one just hurrys you right on past the show scenes, giving you pretty much no time to take it all in. And secondly, they just don't develop the story nearly as much as they should. Everything just seems very randomly placed. So yeah, Splash Mountain definitely goes in the "Better in Florida" column. We didn't have too much time left before the park closed, so we walked back towards the entrance via Adventureland. When we passed Indiana Jones, there was no wait, so we decided to end out the night with that. I think Indy is a solid ride, but to be the dissenting voice, I really don't think it's all that. It's got some nice theming, but there are too many places where you can tell that they either ran out of money and decided to leave you in the dark, or where they had major show scenes and effects not operating. It's definitely not a ride that I feel the need to wait very long for. By the time we left, the park was closing, so we scurried out the front gates with everyone else. We both agreed that we'd had an incredibly fortunate day, in that we got to ride all the E-ticket rides plus see tons of other stuff, all on a Saturday of a holiday weekend when we didn't get there until the afternoon. Had that been the only day that we were spending there, I would have walked away feeling like I did a good solid chunk of the stuff in that park. Luckily, we still had two more days to go! We followed the crowd out, and down the street towards our hotel, and pretty soon, we were both collapsed in bed, exhausted. -Julie Goodnight Disneyland! See you in the morning! Nearing the end of the night, we spent some more time in Fantasyland. Kevin stooped dancing through the Space Mountain queue just long enough to ask "Where are all the people?? Oh wait, they're all waiting in that hour long line that we just avoided!!" Space Mountain at night. I love this picture! Ohhhh.....Spoooooky! Thinking of you, Mike! Wish you'd been there! Go-coaster is a fun little ride, but one I am not likely to wait for again. Credit #210. It's a Small World. In an attempt to save that unfunny caption, I will say that I am very impressed with how Disney can grow a tree with a hole in it. Big Thunder Mountain. Alas, I didn't find any Guantanamo Bay prisoners in the theming that day. After Pooh, we perused all the fantastic looking sweets, where Kevin decided on a chocolate covered strawberry. The Haunted Mansion. (Uh oh, am I approaching that dreaded pattern of unfunny captions again?!?!) Kevin enjoys a mint julep while waiting for our first ride on Pirates. And then Pinocchio...gotta love any Disney ride with the word "ass" in it. Next up, Mr. Toad! Be sure to rub the tongue on the way in. There it is! The Matterhorn! Isn't it incredible how disney manages to keep snow on that mountain when it's 104 degrees outside? Disney magic, I tell you. But first, a stop for a Space Mountain Fast Pass. I really love the Partners statue too. Ok, enough oogling...there's a landmark coaster credit to get! Pick on it if you like, but I happen to really like Disneyland's castle! Hooray for Disneyland! I was so excited to be back after five long years! Mmm...chinese really hit the spot for lunch after wading through about an hour worth of LA traffic on the way from Santa Monica.

Bump, so I don't have to post a big update at the very bottom of a page. -Julie

Wonderful update, eventhough it took a million years to load over my dialup! I think it's pretty dumb to paint those handrails at Tatsu. Do they not know that people will deface them, and the paint will wear out? Why not have bare metal railings? That seems like so much less money and maintenance in the long run! It is a good sign that so many rides seem to have activity around them. Maybe they are aiming for everything to be open by high season next year. -Julie

Aww, sucks to hear that you guys missed out on Lake Compounce. It's really a great park! But I can definitely understand having a distaste for it after your trip! I really enjoyed your TR! Thanks for taking the time to post! -Julie

The first one that comes to mind is Tarantula at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid. It's probably the best view you could get of Madrid! Second I guess would be Tatsu. That was a pretty freaky feeling, being so high off the ground, dangling face first with this huge expansive horizon around you! -Julie

I think your four parks sound like great choices. I visited Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, PortAventura and Isla Magica this May, and found them all to very very nice, and definitely worth seeing. Parque was my favorite for some reason...I completely fell in love with that park!! PortAventura was a world class park with some really fantastic rides and coasters...don't miss Stampida or Templo del Fuego! Both of these parks were very easy to get to...Parque is almost directly on the Madrid Metro line, and PortAventura has it's own train station (we had to go to Tarragona then transfer to a train to PortAventura). You should really enjoy both parks! -Julie

I voted for Pizza Hut since I like their crust and tend to purchase them more than others because of good specials. The best pizza I've ever had though, is from Obie's Pizzeria here in Nashville. The chicken and pepperoni with very little sauce...OMG I actually won't eat more than one slice of it at a time just so it will last longer! Best pizza ever. Only drawback is that it's really expensive! -Julie

I'd say either SFoG with Goliath, Batman, Georgia Scorcher and Superman: Ultimate Flight...or BGA with Montu, Kumba and Skeikra. That's a very tough call! -Juile

Happy birthday Guy! Have an extra slice of cake for me! -Julie

Most recently, I was in the Building the Biggest show that aired on Discovery Channel seemingly everywhere in the world except in the States! I was pretty surprised at how long the camera stayed on me! I was in the audience for a taping of the Price is Right in 2001...I didn't get called on down, but you can see me in the background yelling out prices hahaha And when I was in high school, I was briefly on Oprah. She had a contest where she asked people to make commercials for products they liked and she would air the best ones. So my family made a Certs commercial, with the tagline "Certs, for a breath of fresh air" and she showed it! And wouldn't know know that within a month, Certs was using my tagline in their commercials!! -Julie

I'd give it to Rock N Roller Coaster at MGM, then Revenge of the Mummy at USF, then Space Mountain at Disneyland. -Julie