Disneyland Resort (DL, DLR, DCA) Discussion Thread

[cfc]

^When I was there last December, I went straight to the Racers' Fast Pass queue, got my Fast Pass, waited about 20 minutes in the stand-by line, did some stuff at DL, then rode Racers again before lunch. The logistics can be pretty tricky.

[KBrylczyk]

^ We never got passes for Racers. We got to that area around noon and they were already sold out. The single rider line never got above 20 minutes, though, so we got three rides in throughout the day.

[cfc]

^Yes, you have to strike quickly to get a Fast Pass for Racers.

[DBJ]

I was there today. The following attractions were closed. Splash Mountain broke down, Big Thunder broke down, Pirates not open at all, Nemo, Alice, Small World, of course along with DCA's GRR. It is one thing to raise prices, but when the actual park experience degrades at the same time, that is a probelm. Ate for the first time at Rancho, by Big Thunder and the carne asada plate was pretty good. They offer free refills, slighlty difficult to get them due to cashier location.

[Jew]

I'm not sure you can see the experience is degrading when they have attractions down for rehab. I'd say that shows they are investing the extra money back into the park.

[urzishra]

I'm not sure you can see the experience is degrading when they have attractions down for rehab. I'd say that shows they are investing the extra money back into the park.

 

Well when you can only go to one of these parks every few years and a ride you want to ride is in refurbishment it kind of sucks.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Honestly, the only thing you can really do, in planning for a Disney park visit,

is find the Refurbishments/Closures Button on it's site, and find out, some times a year

in advance, what's closed etc.

 

Sorry it didn't go well for you, but for the future, this should help better.

And Disney is very active in updating information as it occurs.

 

This is due in part, to how we planned two trips to Disney Paris in 2002, 2004, and 2007.

 

Edited May 19, 2014 by Nrthwnd

[Mstankow]

It is when there are long periods of no rides closed when it is time to worry about quality going down.

[WFChris]

I've been thinking about not renewing my AP this year simply because I just don't like who is hanging out at Disneyland these days. Whats up with the guys in biker vests? So stupid.

 

For the first time in my life, Ill say it: The crowd at SFMM is more 'fun' than the know-it-all, midway hogging passholders at Disneyland.

 

I guess I am saying this because I was there with a friend from out of the country, and we kept running into issues regarding entitled passholders either slowing us down, getting in our way, or just hanging out and taking up space. It took away from the possibility of accomplishing more than we actually got done. Totally turned me off to the whole park, probably for a few years.

 

I say, eliminate the So Cal passes completely and only sell the $700 ones, but charge $1500.

[azza29]

For the first time in my life, Ill say it: The crowd at SFMM is more 'fun' than the know-it-all, midway hogging passholders at Disneyland.

 

I probably get the chance to go to the park once every 18 months or so, and my last visit was definitely much more "hectic" than a couple of years earlier, even though crowd levels were similar.

 

Our day at Knotts Berry Farm was a massive breath of fresh air compared to the craziness of Disneyland. It seemed like people were happy to take their time at Knotts, while at the Disney parks everyone was racing to fit in as many attractions as possible.

[WFChris]

The thing with that hectic vibe though kinda goes with the territory of spending $137 to be there for one day and trying to cram everything in!

 

We went to Knotts after 4pm the next day for $33 and the price alone allows you to just keep it chill and not worry about experiencing everything.

[Double0Kevin]

Call me crazy, but I get an AP every year and then go to the parks and have great time. I don't get why someone would invest the money in APs and then spend the entire time ripping apart the parks as if Disney is out to ruin your life. If you have an annual pass, you can always just go back and see whatever you missed last time. I'm glad to see them phasing out SoCal passes though, when those are active the parks are just filled with the worst kind of people. I run into the "I'm a local, I deserve the world at a discount" attitude all the time here in Vegas. I hate it. And raising the price on the other passes just starts pricing out cheap skates (I am happy I just renewed last week and missed the price hike though).

 

Disney is gonna do what help the business, and people are going to pay until they can't any more.

 

As far as all the rehabs... heaven forbid they maintain their rides. Yeah, it's bummer to miss them, but they are machines and need to close sometimes.

[DJeXeL]

^I 100% agree with everything you just said. Disney knows they have a great product and are charging accordingly. I couldn't be happier about them suspending new sales of SoCal APs. I hope the SoCal Select AP will be gone shortly as well....

[gisco]

Life at the park would be so much better if they did away with the So Cal pass. I understand why they did it but maybe it is time to rethink this. It seems the price of the passes is a little backwards. I'm out of the area and would have to pay full price for a pass. In order for it to pay for itself I would have to overnight around the park which means spending money. Either in the park or the area. The So Cal people spend a few hours in the park, don't usually buy merchandise or food.

[Meteornotes]

Anything that will cut down on the number of self-entitled ASSholders in the parks is a good thing.

 

As for the people in vests, this article exposed me to a sub-culture that I had no idea existed:

 

http://www.ocweekly.com/2014-02-27/news/disneyland-california-adventure-social-clubs/full/

 

dt

[urzishra]

Life at the park would be so much better if they did away with the So Cal pass. I understand why they did it but maybe it is time to rethink this. It seems the price of the passes is a little backwards. I'm out of the area and would have to pay full price for a pass. In order for it to pay for itself I would have to overnight around the park which means spending money. Either in the park or the area. The So Cal people spend a few hours in the park, don't usually buy merchandise or food.

 

When do you ever buy food/merch at your local park? If your local park is DL why would you buy food/merch when you go? Maybe sometimes but not all the time. Heck, i can't even remember the last time I went to a thing and BOUGHT merch. Food sure you got to eat, but merch like stuffed animals and t-shirts, close to never.

[azza29]

It seems the price of the passes is a little backwards. I'm out of the area and would have to pay full price for a pass. In order for it to pay for itself I would have to overnight around the park which means spending money.

 

This has always struck me as a little strange too. Why charge the people who are most likely to visit less for their passes? I can see why this is done in Orlando, as there's less of a "locals" crowd, but in Anaheim it seems an odd move.

[Jew]

Life at the park would be so much better if they did away with the So Cal pass. I understand why they did it but maybe it is time to rethink this. It seems the price of the passes is a little backwards. I'm out of the area and would have to pay full price for a pass. In order for it to pay for itself I would have to overnight around the park which means spending money. Either in the park or the area. The So Cal people spend a few hours in the park, don't usually buy merchandise or food.

 

When do you ever buy food/merch at your local park? If your local park is DL why would you buy food/merch when you go? Maybe sometimes but not all the time. Heck, i can't even remember the last time I went to a thing and BOUGHT merch. Food sure you got to eat, but merch like stuffed animals and t-shirts, close to never.

 

I will always buy food at the local parks that have food I enjoy (KBF, DLR, USH).

[Nrthwnd]

I do that too at my own home park, Playland. I just treat it as a planned visit,

and eating food there and/or buying a souvenir, is just part of the day's visit.

 

I know Playland is nothing compared to Disneyland, but still....

[sfmmfreak101]

I go with a group of coworkers from the theme park I work at nearby every few weeks or so. 90% of us have the SoCal select pass because of 2 reasons:

 

1.We don't make enough to afford the higher ones

 

2. For us that are lucky enough to live nearby, we would never want to go on a weekend or during the summer season

 

Luckily, the group I go with is VERY well-behaved and doesn't treat the resort like we own it. And since we save money on passes, we find ourselves having more cash to spend on food like eating at the Carthay Circle Theater.

[Nrthwnd]

^ You guys are the awesome exception to all of this!

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Good news for those renewing an Annual Pass. Like with last years price increase, Disney has also increased the renewal discount.

 

Premium- $60 off, up from $40.

 

Deluxe- $40 off, up from $20.

 

SoCal- $20 off, up from $10.

 

SoCal Select- $10 off, no change.

[urzishra]

Not sure if this was posted in here or not. But it is the original Prospectus for Disneyland.

 

http://boingboing.net/2014/05/20/disneylandprospectus.html

[jedimaster1227]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/06/guardians-of-the-galaxy-sneak-peek-landing-in-disney-parks-july-4/

 

From the studio that brought you “The Avengers” comes a new team. They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy, and they’re the crew at the epicenter of one of this summer’s biggest movie events. Starting July 4, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is coming to Disney Parks with an exclusive sneak peek, offering guests an extended look at the film before it opens in theaters.

 

At Disneyland park in California, you can catch this limited time intergalactic preview in 3D with special in-theater effects at the Magic Eye Theater in Tomorrowland, where Captain EO is typically shown. Captain EO is expected to return at a later date.

 

For those of you visiting Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, you’ll be able to experience the cosmic adventure of “Guardians of the Galaxy” at the ABC Sound Studio at Disney’s Hollywood Studios presented in spectacular RealD 3D, a new dimension of entertainment.

 

“Guardians of the Galaxy” finds space adventurer Peter Quill the object of a bounty hunt after stealing an orb coveted by a treacherous villain, but when Quill discovers the power it holds, he must find a way to rally the quartet of ragtag rivals hot on his trail to save the universe.

 

“Guardians of the Galaxy,” releases in U.S. theaters on August 1, 2014.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

See ya later Trashcans!

 

I am very excited for this preview!

 

Also, I don't know about others on this forum, but I really enjoy the "Preview Attractions". I think they are well put together, and the park benefits from them. The studio pays for the whole thing, and in the case of Maleficent, A Bugs Life Theater got a brand new 3D projection system and a refreshed screen. And those upgrades will remain there.