WillMontu Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Initially, I didn't have any plans to attend West Coast Bash, but then things changed when Erik mentioned that he was going, and that he would be splitting the hotels, car, etc. with a few other people, including Cameron, the other Eric Johnson, and Jow. In addition to hitting SFMM for WCB, we also hit Disneyland to get a few credits and such. For my WCB pictures, there are some in the main update and here All I can say is that I hope I have the money to do this again next year I took a huge number of pictures, and I tried to cut down the number to post here, but I still have over 200 for Disneyland alone, so like some of my other Photo TR's, it will be graphic intensive and it may take a while to post everything. When it spins fast enough, a strobe light brings the scene to life. A video will be posted shortly. It's getting late, and I will post more of this tomorrow This assembly spins around at a rapid pace I saw this exhibit at the London Science Museum two years ago We've got that at EPCOT too The Animation exhibit is a Pixar showcase Sorry, Soren, we didn't ride your ride. I've done the one at EPCOT several times anway I assume this is the same as the one in Florida, except that ours is contained within a big fake tree Must be a card carrying ACE member Some rides in A Bug's Land The bumper cars didn't look too exciting I haven't seen many theme parks that actually sell fruit (at theme park prices, of course) Jow lost a few hundred tortillas since the last visit Some of the equipment used to make the tortillas The Mission Tortilla Factory is known for one thing: Free food! Looks like DCA had a "Cedar Fair Moment" DCA is one of few parks that sell alcohol. The second rotation was a bit wilder. Good thing there are barf bags You get a view of some park landmarks from the top. The castle isn't one of them. Jeff could count this as a credit We only did two rotations, the first being relatively tame At this point, we overheard someone say "Don't Tase me, bro". I didn't think the UF police department had jurisdiction in California But thanks to John (who claims he left his camera at home), it took a while before we actually got to ride There are two types of cars, standard and swinging The Sun Wheel is based on the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island Random dummy Each seat is equipped with a "scream shield", which ruin the ride Maliboomer is a trio of S&S Space Shot towers with a difference The ride was accompanied by the sound of buzzing insects The swinger is inside a giant orange Due to low capacity, we did not do the Crane Ride The Golden Zephyr is a ride based on the Flying Machines at Blackpool Pleasure Beach I need a good caption for this RCT slide and the Dinorama dinosaur who is about to eat it Erik (with a K) enjoying Madness She looks like she's riding a Vekoma I got to ride in the "CHP" car The park's other credit is a generic mouse with some extra theming. Note to self: Go to Knoebel's Toy Story Mania still has some way to go Intamin rides tend to use magnets for everything, including transfers and brakes Supposedly Disney made modifications to the ride that voided the warranty with Intamin The trains look a lot like the Morgans used on the Santa Cruz and Belmont Park Giant Dipper woodies This was the main draw for the park This character had some interactivity The Monsters dark ride ACEr's paradise! This sign takes on a new meaning after a certain park in Canaba announced a new ride The cars are themed to taxi-cabs DCA also has a Monsters Inc. dark ride Hallway credit! The lobby is different compared to the Florida version, and doesn't have the hidden "Star of David" symbols in the ceiling Florida's queue is more elaborate Florida's is better This area of the park looks a lot like MGM in Florida We first hit DCA, and this will probably be our last chance to see it like this before they do the makeover. The Disneyland "Resort", though it's only a fraction of the size of WDW This was the view from our hotel room I believe Cameron worked on this pinball game Much of Disneyland and DCA are visible from the surrounding roads. In addition to Cameron's "Mario Kart" navigation system, we had this fancy 2-D navigation system. Our ride for the next few days Nearly there. Too bad we can't land at Disneyland (though I believe Disney World does have a small runway, though it's not in use) What's that white stuff? We don't get it in Florida The trashcans were unique. Each of them had a small compactor built into them. Hey, Cedar Fair??? The Escalator Ride at the Atlanta airport Yay for free WiFi at the airport. Looks like quite a few people are online at this hour After a night of playing with Erik's Wii, we were at the Jacksonville airport at 3 in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flippero95 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Really great photos so far! I love the out the window shot of the mountains, and of course, the dino eating the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costa425 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Cant wait to see the rest of them What are the other park PTR's that you are going to upload? PS for those "pics" that didn't make the cut do you have a link to where they are hosted? I'd like to see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I didn't know DCA had bumper cars. And I've been there enough times to know. Anyway, nice Photo TR. I'm glad you were able to come out---now it's my turn to go back to Florida! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterP Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 ^ Yeah, you never know what they have tucked away there in the Bug's Land. They could have an SLC hidden back there somewhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIP Psyclone Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Yeah, I didn't know A Bug's Land existed until December 2005. I guess it might be because it didn't open with the park. Not much to see there, though, even if the theming is okay. I've never bothered with the bumper cars as they are very tame. More like light-tapper cars. Great stuff, Will, can't wait for the rest! Thanks for letting us see where the TPR trip forums are located on the main page, I had always wondered about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nay Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Nice TR! Despite its flaws, I always have a lot of fun at DCA. I love that spinning Toy Story thing in the Animation building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan_Crawford Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 good photo report (: can anyone just add photos from there trips to theme parks then upload them to this site? :o Like you dont have be Rob? answer pleasee!!!!!! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplepills Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 ^Yes anyone can post photos, if you have a trip report you would like to share, start a new topic and use the attach file section in the 'post a reply' box. Don't forget the funny captions Really nice photos and trip report so far, thanks for posting, look forward to seeing more. I too saw the spinning Toy Story thingy at the London Exhibition, its really very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 That "Toy Story" zoetrope display was pretty cool. I'll have to put WCB on the radar screen for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I hope you post them all Will, since I did not take many pictures on this trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 More pictures from Disneyland Toy Story Zoetrope Video This marks the end of the first day. Day 2 at Disneyland, along with WCB will be posted soon For comparison, this is what we have in Florida The Mark Twain riverboat also serves as the finale There's plenty of fire The Colombia is used as part of the show Jeff wanted to ride this Wacky Worm DL's Fantasmic is a bit better than the one at MGM, though finding a place to sit/stand is much more difficult It looks smaller than the Florida version, but as said before, it only has one track Of course, the Florida version doesn't have as many "safety features" If they could do some of this theming, especially the soundtrack, on the Florida version, the ride would rock (and I don't mean "Rockin' Space Mountain) This version only has one track, and two seats in each row. Bonus points for a H2G2 reference (and Jahan, that is a fire alarm for your reference) The queue is a lot more elaborate than the Florida version DL's Space Mountain has differences from the Florida version Over at the Little Green Men shop in Tomorrowland, there is this counter modeled to look like a PeopleMover car. Bring it back! Cameron had to see this pinball machine, partly because of the unique frame (not the old man) Well they did say something about a "ghost following you home" The loading platform is a bit nicer than the Florida version, but it contains scenes that are part of the ride in the Florida version. The ride itself is a bit shorter, with some scenes such as the "Hurry back!" ghost appearing after riders disembark from the Doom Buggies And in this version, the Stretching Room is actually an elevator because the designers needed a way to get people under the railway tracks to the ride itself, which was outside the boundaries of the park itself This version lacks the first scene in the Florida version with the morphing portrait (at least it did when I was there) DL's haunted mansion has a different exterior to the Florida version We are not l33t enough! (Get it?) DL's Pirates was originally mean to be a walk-though attraction, but the concept expanded into the ride. The ride even has a classy restaurant overlooking the station, a little bit like the Mexican pavilion at EPCOT More Pirates Some of Florida's scenes are similar to this one Another shot from Pirates Interesting effect caused by the strobe light DL's Pirates is better than ours by a long shot Florida's riverboat is bigger, but this one runs circles around our "Steamboat Willy" Fantasmic boat Not our Dino! This was a nice surprise on the train ride from Tomorrowland to Main Street. WDW's doesn't do this. Florida Advantages: Shorter ride Flooded showroom ride system Covered queue Fits guests of all sizes California Advantages: Better facade Topiaries Closed for rehab! We love Arrow rides! It rides like a 50 year old Arrow...maybe because it is! Ready to ride The brakes look unusual Some people compare it to our Space Mountain, but other than the fact that it has two tracks and uses inline seating, they are completely different But Florida doesn't have Matterhorn, though we do have Everest now, but they are very different rides We still have our PeopleMover, and our Astro Orbiter is right where it belongs. It would be nice to see DL bring theirs back The park is a bit smaller than Magic Kingdom in more ways than one But where's the castle? The Disneyland Fire Station contained Walt's personal apartment on the top floor. A small light just barely visible through the center window indicated that Walt was in. Since he died, the light has been left on continuously. Of course, Disneyland was the only one completed by Walt Disney himself Since we were done with DCA in a few hours, we went across to Disneyland. Unlike WDW, where the parks are spaced apart and can only be hopped by car, bus, or monorail, Disneyland is directly across from DCA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Glad you Floridians are enjoying our DLR here in California. I'm getting the itch to go back down there sometime soon. Believe it or not, it's been almost a year! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmmfreak101 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I can't wait to here what you thought about Indiana Jones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 California Advantages: Better facade Topiaries Closed for rehab! The last West Coast "Small World" advantage trumps all others at any other park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 It may be a "small world," but it sure had some "big riders!" Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Great TR so far. I like hearing the comparisons of DL attractions to the MK's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 More from Disneyland. More Disneyland and WCB to follow I will post the rest soon, eventually... The ride is just as good as the Florida version, but I've been told that the Paris one is best of the lot These rides have used LIMs for many years Is the train missing a set of wheels? I thought Morgans were the only ones that were supposed to do that Back over to Thunder for another ride (unlike Magic Kingdom, it's relatively easy to jump from one area of the park to another) Erik Johnson and Eric Johnson, or should I say "Dueling Johnsons" Erik loves Mr. Toad The steering wheel is on the "right" side (as opposed to the "wrong" side, at least where I come from) Why did they have to replace ours with Pooh? Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is one of those old-school dark rides Not so random Toad! Random Goat! Random Donkey! Random Donkey! Another shot of Splash Florida's is better, but not by much, and both pale in comparison to the Japan version (so I've been told) Some of the scenes are similar to the Florida version. I have yet to try the Paris and Japan versions though Erik and his orange hoodie are clearly visible in the boat ahead It's a little difficult to get 12 people into a single boat though Splash Mountain is another classic Disney attraction Look who found the Dole Whip stand Wes is jealous of KT's mobile. Apple iWhat? They're a little "Mickey Mouse" to my likings though Pancakes Time for breakfast Looking towards the Mark Twain boat, we noticed this little "seating" section on the boat. Do any of the other Disney boats have this? Random Petrified Tree Another shot of Thunder Is this a remnant of Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland? With this one, however, you can see a lot more of the ride. Big Thunder is similar to what we have in Florida And this is why (In Florida, if we want to go to "hell", we have to have an E-stop on 'it's a small world', and that's without any cool fire effects) DL's Fantasyland is nicer than the one we have at WDW It took less than ten seconds to walk through (it was actually about six seconds, but my watch kept timing after I pressed the stop button) We found the castle. We didn't see any restaurant, gift shop, or secret apartment The "Imagination Institute" was what spelt the end for the DreamFinder at EPCOT I'm assuming that HISTA is identical to the version we have at EPCOT Random horse on Main Street The train ride is different from the Florida version. The seating on this train is similar to that on the ones at AK The next day, we headed back to Disneyland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackskellington101 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I have yet to try the Paris and Japan versions though. Well, you'll have to cross off one of those off your list already. As of right now, there is no Paris Splash Mountain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I miss Mr. Toad...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 ^Yeah, Florida gave up Toad, California gave up the Country Bear Jamboree, and they both got big, steaming piles of Pooh in return. Will, that tunnel was, indeed, part of the Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland (kind of miss it, even though I do like Big Thunder). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimace Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I miss Mr. Toad...... I was thinking the same thing as I was looking through those pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmmfreak101 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 No Indiana Yet! : ( I'm so very glad you found the castle! Great PTR so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ^^ I am sure there will be as we rode the ride twice that weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 More Disneyland. I'm having trouble posting the last of the pictures though It's not the highest capacity ride in the park I'm going to have to stop here because I hit the limit for number of pictures. I have a large number of WCB pictures, but I will post them based on what people want. If people want me to post everything (~100 pictures), I can. Alternatively I can post just the highlights. If I don't get any response, I will just finish here. By this time, the queue for Submarine Voyage had dropped down to a slightly more bearable level The fireworks show was very impressive, with segments relating to various attractions, such as the Haunted Mansion (with a very cool stretching room effect) That looks like Mickey Mouse on drugs...or is it just a cat with big ears? Most of these attractions are long gone (Flying Saucers, Skyway, PeopleMover, Mark I Monorail trains) More models Life sized models Models (notice the missing attractions) More concept art Concept art It showcases some of the park's history This exhibit was located near the front of the park No comment. The Astro Orbiters at night Tomorrowland at night Pinochio is a move I haven't seen in years. Again, no equivalent at WDW ...and they lived happily ever after. I'm not kidding. Snow White's mother makes her eat a poisoned apple. Snow White dies... It basically tells the classic story. Snow White's mother is jealous. Snow White leaves home and lives with the dwarves. We just had to do Snow White The carousel lit up at night. No horses though Are we shrinking? On ride Next up was the Alice in Wonderland Dark ride, another ride without a Florida equivalent. There is one at Blackpool Pleasure Beach though (but I didn't ride it) Barnstormer > Gadget's Go Coaster Last credit: Gadget's Go Coaster. Nobody wanted to ride with me. I'm sad and pathetic The trains almost race during some parts of the ride Back over to Matterhorn..because we love Arrow rides (not the four trains in one shot) Was there an accident? It is nicely themed too Autopia POV The loading station It's a good simulation of driving on California's highways, complete with bumper to bumper traffic Autopia > Tomorrowland Indy Speedway Not our Dino! Ready to find our Dino? The queue is pretty cool Indy is another ride that we don't have in Florida. Instead, we got stuck with Dinosaur So where is the castle anyway? "The Throne Room" This is another unique feature. In Florida, the monorails are air conditioned and there are small slits that can be opened for ventilation. Inside the Monorail. A little more cramped than the Florida trains, and no familiar "Please stand clear of the doors" spiel either. I'm hoping that the Mark VII's have nicer seats than the hard plastic ones shown here. DL's Monorail stops at two stations, one being in the park, and the other at Downtown Disney. This Downtown Disney is similar to the Florida one, except on a much smaller scale (provided you take out the lake, DisneyQuest, Planet Hollywood, etc.) The Monorail station provides a good view of some of the overgrowth on the PeopleMover track The Disneyland Monorail has a bit more history to it though, being the first operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere. There is another ALWEG system still operating in Seattle. At first glance, the trains look similar to the Mark VI's in Florida. They do have their differences though. The Mark VI's have six cars per train (instead of five), and two pairs of doors on each side of each car. The Mark V's also look more "rounded" The Monorail station is also a good place to get some pictures of the Submarine Voyage. Magic Kingdom had a submarine ride, but it closed before I first visited. We live in Florida; we're not supposed to queue for the Monorail! The current fleet consists of a single Mark V train (as one was converted into a Mark VII and had engineering problems, and two more were out for conversion). Mark IV trains ran in Florida for several years before being sold off (some ran in Vegas for a few years), and Mark VI trains make up the current Florida fleet of twelve trains Retro-future mural showing the monorails. Some of them have the signature "bubble" on the Mark I/I/III monorails. The Carousel of Progress? I knew that FastPass I had from Florida was good for something The Monorail was one of the attractions I wanted to do while at Disneyland Back over to Tomorrowland for a bit. Did I mention that TTA/Peoplemover > Rocket Rods?? It's a replica of the ships of the time. Another feature is the lower deck It sails the same route as the Mark Twain, but with different narration On board the Colombia I haven't seen this at the Magic Kingdom either ...and it's got boobs! The Colombia is one of those attractions that does not have a Florida counterpart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts