First ever trip to Disneyland Resort

[KBrylczyk]

Alright, I'm going to keep this short because I've got to get to bed soon for another long day at Disneyland tomorrow.

 

My first impressions of the parks? Excellent. I've never been to Disneyland or DCA, but I've been to WDW plenty of times (even worked there as a tour guide on the Great Movie Ride), so this trip had me comparing a bunch of things, naturally. The first thing? Space Mountain. The one in Disneyland is FAR superior to the one in WDW. The next thing? Big Thunder. I'm leaning more towards WDW, though the one here was still great. Anyways, I could continue to compare the attractions, but I'm tired. All of that fun stuff will come next week when I post all of the full trip reports from this vacation.

 

Anyways, I had an excellent time at both parks today. We (travelmate and myself) were able to conquer both parks in one day, save for a select few attractions. The only disappointment was that Splash Mountain is currently closed for refurb.

 

As a final note, if you are going to be heading to California Adventure any time soon, make it a priority to see World Of Color. We got gypped out of good seats this evening due to being misinformed, but the show still blew our minds. Tomorrow we'll be seeing it again, but we're going to watch it from the preferred seating. All I'm going to say is that this puts the Bellagio fountains in Vegas to shame. Oh, and the encore? They turned California Screamin' into TRON. This was not a part of ElecTRONica, by the way. No, the show finished, there was silence, then the entire Paradise Pier, including the FULL STRUCTURE of California Screamin', turned into the world of TRON for the finale to blow your head into oblivion. Go see this show. It is incredible.

 

Alright, sleepy time for me. I'll be posting full photo trip reports next week of Disneyland, California Adventure, Magic Mountain, Knott's, and the San Diego Zoo when I'm back home and get everything organized.

[RCFreak]

I love the TRONcore part of World Of Color. Glad you had a great time, and can't wait to see some pics (you despite the fact I'm there once a week anyway lol)

[BelizeIt]

I agree, the Tron-ending to World of Color is great! The way they use the CA Screamin' structure is excellent!

 

Anyhow, Tron is now 'past' its prime, and no doubt will be removed in the coming months. But, it was a nice addition while it lasted.

 

The Disney Imaginers are very creative, I'm sure they will come up with something new in the very near future.

[KBrylczyk]

Alright, I'm a day late, but gimme a break. Every day of this vacation is ridiculous, yet loaded with fun, haha.

 

World Of Color from the Blue seating area (FastPass) - OH MY GAWSH! Remember how I said the show blew our minds from the crap seating? Yeah, try the same show from a proper viewing area. Incredible is the only word that comes to mind. Did I mention I have full video? That will be coming next week.

 

Fantasmic! - WHERE IN THE HECK DID THIS AWESOMENESS COME FROM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I saw the WDW Fantasmic! a few years ago and left with a "meh" feeling. Sure, there was a special amphitheater, special truss, special lighting, yadda yadda, but the show depended wayyyyyyy too much on the water screens and not nearly enough cool stuff. Fantasmic at WDW is crap, basically. Thankfully, though, it made this version that much better. We went in with low expectations and were COMPLETELY blown away. When they broke out the pirate ship? WOW! When they broke out the full-size dragon? WOW! When they blew up the entire stage with a 30-foot fireball? WOW! I'll get more into this in the complete report next week. Also, full video. Booyeah.

 

San Diego Zoo - Largest zoo I've ever been to. It was a whole lot of fun, plenty to see, and the animals, for the most part, were actually active instead of the usual zoo atmosphere of sleeping animals. Also, free parking! Yay!

 

Alright, gotta head to bed again. Tomorrow is Magic Mountain and, judging by the posts I'm seeing as of late, I'm going in with low expectations. Leave it to Six Flags to kill an excellent vacation, haha.

[MisterP]

I guess I'm not the only person who thinks the Space Mountain at DLR is much better than the one(s) at the MK...

[Chrisrad]

Glad to hear some of your comparisons. And I can also attest to WOC's amazement.

 

I'm really not into shows, unless they are really mesmerizing. I watched F! for the first time a few years ago, despite annual trips to Disneyland for my entire life. It was awesome, yes. But then there's WOC.

 

I've seen the Bellagio show many times.. it's cool, yes. But when I saw WOC - WOW! Yeah, a bunch of colored water, but the way everything ties together, it's simply awesome, and it's a winner for DCA.

 

[j3llysham]

It's nice to read some of your comparisons between here and Florida. I've always wanted to visit WDW but have yet to have a chance to do so yet. Disneyland, on the other hand, I've visited plenty of times, and love it every single time!

 

Watching shows such as Fantasmic!, World of Color, and the Fireworks shows are always a must. The last time we were at DCA, it was the first time watching WOC in person, and to be quite honest, I wasn't sure how much I liked it. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful show, and what they've done is absolutely amazing, but I thought the videos I had seen were better. I'm sure that the viewing area from which we watched had a big effect on my opinion, but from here on out, I think I'll stick to Fantasmic! There's no overkill with it, and anyone who ever gets sick of it, or tired of watching it, is absolutely nuts if you ask me. There was a long time of going to Disneyland after work just to make our way through the park to our usual viewing area just to watch it, maybe go on Space Mountain, and then go home.

 

I'm glad you've had an enjoyable time, and can't wait to see all of the pictures and video you've taken.