KBrylczyk Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Well, well, good day to everyone. I come bearing my trip report to the Disneyland resort last week. As I've mentioned in my other posts, this was my first ever time visiting California and I've been looking forward to the trip for quite some time. Let me preface this by mentioning that this won't be a blow-by-blow of what we did for the two days in chronological order. Honestly, the two days were so jam packed and incredibly fun that I cannot remember it in order, haha. So, without further ado, let's get down to business. Since we were staying at the Days Inn Anaheim, we decided to walk over to the park in the morning for it's 9am opening. We had absolutely no problems getting through the bag check and ticket windows. In fact, the ticket windows here are the fastest I have ever witnessed. We walked up, told the guy what we wanted (two 2-day park hoppers), and we had them in our hands and we were on our way in less than one minute. There was no "Oh, well why not upgrade to this for only this much?" or anything else of that sort. Extremely efficient, which we soon noticed was a major theme at the Disneyland Resort. The entry gate to Disneyland was also very efficient. The tickets are barcoded, not mag-strip (like WDW, though they may have changed, too), nor do you have to stand with your finger on a scanner for 30 seconds while it attempts to establish your identity. Simply walk up, they scan the ticket, and you're on your way. Well, now we're in the park and it all becomes a blur, so I'm going to give a listing of the rides followed by my feelings on them. Herrrrrrre we go! Space Mountain - Simply astounding. I've ridden the WDW Space Mountain many times and love it to death, but the one here at Disneyland just destroys it. First off, it has leg room, which is excellent when you're 6'3" like I am. Secondly, they pump people through this thing like nothing I've ever seen. I would swear that loading time is 15 seconds. The train stops, air gates open as soon as the restraints unlock, new people are climbing in as old people are climbing out, new people sit, train moves forward, restraints are checked, train leaves station. It was perfect. I did not notice a single hiccup in the operation. As for the actual ride, well, WHEEEEEEE! That's the best way to describe it, really. This thing is fast, dark, and completely fun. Constant twists, turns, drops, and rises to always keep you guessing no matter how many times you ride it. The effects in the second lift hill were really funky, especially in the back seat where you could really appreciate it. The finale effect was also really cool with the re-entry, followed by the camera flash, and suddenly you're back in the station before your eyes could adjust, so it is all seamless. Excellent. Purely excellent. Captain EO Tribute - I remember seeing this when I was a little tiny guy and my whole family went to WDW. Seeing it again after so long in it's original 70mm format with all of the effects, including the dancing seating, was just great. I love this show. Buzz Lightyear - This was pretty different from the WDW version, all in good ways, too. See, on this one, you can actually AIM THE GUNS! WOW! Isn't it amazing what a non-fixed laser gun can do? Still a bunch of fun so long as there's no wait. Autopia - This one was much longer than the WDW version. Unfortunately, though, the front of our pack was a bunch of idiots that did not understand that they weren't the only ones on the track. Nothing like getting halfway through and then stopping every 10 feet because they wantt o take pictures of themselves or talk to the guy on the other track. I did enjoy the way the Monorail interacted with the track, though. Finding Nemo Submarines - I never got a chance to ride 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. In WDW they ripped it out and replaced it with a photo op with Ariel. Here, they kept the ride system and just changed the story. It was fun to be able to finally ride those yellow submarines. As for the presentation, it is almost identical to the Finding Nemo omnimover ride at Epcot, but underwater. Nice way to waste some time. Matterhorn - I remember seeing pictures of this ride and always wanting to go on it. It just looked so cool and fun twisting in and out of the mountain. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Also, it was surprisingly violent! I was getting tossed around like a rag doll and loving every second of it! We rode both tracks, but I'm not sure which side I prefer. Both were great. Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin - I love everything Roger Rabbit. The queue line for this was really well done. Walking around ToonTown's back alleys, seeing the weasels, etc. The ride itself was a good concept, thought I found myself fighting the car more than I would have liked. It seemed to want to change which direction it was spinning while going through turns in the track. Oh well, still a bunch of fun. Small World - Yeahhhhh...the facade was nice. Didn't feel like torturing ourselves by going onto the actual ride, though. Disneyland Monorail - This was a nice way to get off of our feet for a few minutes, as well as get a nice view of the park. Also, did I mention that this thing hauls?! It seemed to go way fasted than the WDW monorail. The trains are smaller and sleeker, though, so that could be why. Disneyland Railrod - Another nice way to get off of the feet. We waved to the people on the canoes and they waved back. Fun times. Alice In Wonderland - Unfortunately the line was way too long all the time, so we skipped it. It looked like a fun dark ride, though, and I want to ride it on a future visit. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - Fun dark ride that I never got to ride while it was at WDW. I'm glad I finally got to experience it because I love Mr. Toad. Unfortunately I managed to crash our car and send us to Hell at the end. Oh, well. Astro Orbitor - Same exact ride as WDW, only this one is on the ground. Yay for lateral Gs! Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Excellent, as was expected. I'm still not sure if I prefer this one or WDW's version, but no matter what, this ride will always be wild and fun. I did miss the flooded town, though. Haunted Mansion - Such a great ride no matter how many times you've ridden it. I noticed that this one was significantly shorter than the WDW version, but the preshow and lobby were way better. By preshow I'm referring the to now-way-out room and how the elevat-ahem, room stretches much further than the WDW version. By lobby I'm referring to the area between the preshow and doom buggies. This lobby had a lot more going on and I was able to see where the patch was, as opposed to WDW's near pitch-black lobby and constantly running into the rope stands. Indiana Jones Adventure - Best ride in the resort, as far as I'm concerned. Its big, loud, wild, violent, and nonstop fun. I'd like to mention that I'm a huge fan of Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, but this blows it out of the water. Dinosaur was great, but it was always corridor after corridor. Indiana Jones was just EPIC! When you turn left to avoid the doors of peril and go up the stairs, the moment you enter the actual tomb, I was in awe. The fact that this was one huge showroom and not a couple of different scenes blew me away. When you first get into the tomb, you see one of the cars crossing the bridge, you see one plummeting towards the lava pit, you see fireballs and geyser eruptions, just complete and total chaos. It looked and felt like an actual crumbling tomb. I couldn't stop myself from laughing like an idiot throughout the ride because it was just that much fun. I could sit down on this ride and just keep going through all day without a care in the world. Highly, highly, highly recommended. Jungle Cruise - This was shorter than the WDW version, but still a bunch of fun. Our guide was great and really got into the corniness of her jokes. I'm kinda upset that I didn't catch her name, though. Oh, well. Winnie The Pooh - Same storyline as WDW, just differently executed. Plus, we had a broken car. Rather than floating through the flood, then hopping with Tigger, and all of the other effects, our car was floating through the flood the entire ride. I prefer the WDW version, simply because of that version's LSD-induced Heffalumps And Woozles section. The Heffalumps And Woozles here weren't nearly as trippy, haha. Pirates Of The Caribbean - The first half of this ride was completely different than the WDW version. Bigger and more drops, a creepier cave, a Davy Jones projection that actually works, and a bigger sea-battle scene. Still great after all of these years. Splash Mountain - CLOSED! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! ScreamScape lied to me. Grrrrr. Sure, the dates are correct now, but right before the trip Splash Mountain was listed as closed until March 4th. I can't imagine it's too different from WDW, though, so no biggy. Alright, now lets head over to California Adventure - California Screamin' - This was a lot of fun, and much longer than I'd anticipated. There were surprising bursts of airtime throughout, along with the signature Intamin "There's no way that turn will be smooth...guess I was wrong!" twisty goodness. I recommend that front row for maximum awesome. Grizzly River Run - Yes, we wore ponchos on this ride. So sue me. It was about 65 degrees the morning we rode this, haha. Plus, I didn't feel like squishing my way around the park for the rest of the day. This was a lot of fun, though. The drops were a welcome change from the normal flume routine and the raft was constantly spinning. Not particularly thrilling, but a lot of fun. Its Tough To Be A Bug - Same film as WDW, but being a newer theatre, the effects were better. When Hopped attacked, the amount of smoke that fills the room was incredible. Also, this theatre floods with blacklight, whereas WDW just goes pitch black. I enjoyed seeing the other audience members' reactions under the blacklight. Lots of fun. Mickey's Fun Wheel - We got a swinging car and had a ball. I was the only one in the car that wasn't holding on for dear life, haha. I was thinking this would be a lot tamer than The Wonder Wheel in Coney Island, but I was wrong. When these cars get rolling, they swing a LOT! I swear we hit 90-degrees consistently. Definitely recommended if you like scaring yourself silly with no restraints. Monster's Inc. - I had heard the horror stories about SuperStar Limo, so I'm glad I got to ride this version. However, it was just Monsters Inc. shrunk down to 5 minutes. There were some nice effects, like Randall's camouflage and the door rooms. Ride it if there's no line and you're bored. Soarin' Over California - Exactly the same as WDW, complete with the ridiculously terrible "no transition" scene changes. At least we got the first row so we didn't see the edges of the screen. Fun if you wait less than 5 minutes. It is such a cool simulator concept, just with horrible execution. Patrick Warburton makes everything better, though, so yay for him! Toy Story Mania - Yeahhhhh, never saw the line go below 45 minutes. For a shooting gallery, I refuse to wait that long. Also, no Fast Pass. What? Turtle Talk with Crush - Same concept as WDW, just in a bigger theatre with comfy seating. Always a cute show and a nice way to kill some time. Tower Of Terror - I love this ride at WDW, and this one was pretty much the same. The lack of the 5th Dimension room was annoying, as was the elevator doors opening to a hallway thing. Horrible design choice right there. The drop sequence was pretty funky, though I'm not sure if there are multiple ones here. At WDW it's a different ride every time, but after riding this one 5 times, I couldn't tell any difference. Still, the mirror effect was really cool and the first drop I never saw coming. Regardless of the poor design changes, once this thing gets going, it is still ridiculous fun. Alright, I'm pretty sure that's about it for rides. Lets move on to the shows - World Of Color - WOW! That's all that needs to be said. This blew my mind. Fountains that put the Bellagio to shame, extremely clear water screen projections, lasers, and dancing flamethrowers. Go see this show ASAP. Make sure that you get a Fast Pass or buy the preferred seating dinner package, though. The general admission viewing area sucks. We saw this show on Thursday from general admission because we weren't informed of the fast pass system. On Friday we got the the park at opening and got Fast Passes right away and scored the blue zone. While we weren't right up front, it was still an excellent area to see the show. I have a full length video of the show, but it is over 2 gigabytes. If anyone wants to see it, let me know and I'll see what I can pull together. Fantasmic! - Way better than the WDW version. Lots of lights, pyrotechnics, lasers, and they didn't depend on the water screens nearly as much as WDW. When the pirate ship showed up I was blown away. They also have the dragon working properly again (probably old news, but last I heard was through Screamscape when the dragon nearly fell into the lake). Nothing like huge fireballs launching across the stage. I also have a full length video of this show. This one is about 1.75 gigabytes. Same as the World Of Color video, let me know if you'd like to see it and I'll see what I can do. Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular - This takes place in the Hyperion Theatre in California Adventure. It was about 40 minutes long and we really enjoyed it. Whoever the actor is who plays Genie is really good (he threw in a few current event ad-libs for the adults ::coughcharliesheencough:. I wouldn't say this is a must see, but if you're looking for a way to break up your day, give it a look. Sit in the rear orchestra section, that way the Prince Ali parade comes right in front of you. elecTRONica - One huge street party that is completely immersive. This isn't so much a show, but an ongoing event from 6:30pm until the park closes. The drinks are a bit steep, but now I can officially say I've had a drink in the world of TRON at the End Of Line Club. Make sure you stop by Flynn's Arcade for some classic gaming. There are special shows that take place on the Hollywood Backlot stage. We were there to see Kaba Modern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaba_Modern), part of America's Next Best Dance Crew, who lost to the Jabbawokeez. Excellent performance. Make it a point to spend at least 15 minutes hanging out here. I do have a bunch of videos from elecTRONica, as well, including Kaba Mondern's full dance routine (realllllllly cool). Still, they're way too large to post here. Alright, I'm pretty sure that's about it. Now for the pictures. Unfortunately I only brought my camera on day 1, so I don't have a ton at this moment. The other camera, though, was with us both days. Unfortunately, that one is 70 miles south of my house since it doesn't belong to me. As soon as I get copies I'll post them up here. Yay! We made it! Squishy squish! Sleeping Beauty's castle is so small! I see a mountain! I see a mountain...THROUGH THE TREES! Does this count as THROUGH THE TREES?! Oh, Goofy. Captain EO is back! By God its comin' right for us! Oh, good, it turned. Say goodbye to the landlubbers. Hopefully our awesome guide can protect us from those pesky tigers. Would you look at that lens flare... Not as spooky a facade as WDW, but still nice. TRON by day... TRON by night. Tower Of Terror by day... Tower Of Terror by night.
shivtim Posted March 17, 2011 Posted March 17, 2011 Thanks for the extensive trip report! We must have been there at about the same time; I was there last Thursday.
KBrylczyk Posted March 18, 2011 Author Posted March 18, 2011 Two more things I forgot to include - First, here's a link to Kaba Modern's dance routine that I filmed. Thanks to YouTube, it has been compressed and doesn't look as good as my master copy, but hey, what are ya gonna do? Also, I MET MICKEY!!!!!!!...again. Good times, though! That's my sister, btw. And yes, she is shorter than Mickey. I laughed at her for it. Mickey!
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