Photo TR--My Disneyland Grad Nite

[arrowfanman]

Hello folks, and greetings from Thailand!

 

Well, today I had a free day, so I decided to start working on my Grad Nite Trip report!

 

Last Wednesday, I graduated from High School, once again celebrating the age-old pattern of going from the top of one tear (HS-senior) to the bottom of another (college-freshman)....that's life.

 

To celebrate, the following day (Thursday, June 1st), I decided to go to my schools Grad Nite, at none other that Disneyland California....my favorite place in the entire world. Sure, admission may have been 95 dollars, to go to Disneyland for 4 1/2 hours with a bunch of teenagers, when I could go this summer for 60 bucks, to have 16 hours with my friends...but still! I thought I would try it out. I don't regret that decision, but unfortunately, I was rather a little underwhelmed and disappointed by the whole Grad Nite experience.

 

But still...its Disneyland. It was fun, and I would do it again.

 

Now...without further adieu....the trip report!

 

Studen....former students begin to line up at our schoo.....at our formerly related public institution.

 

So...we showed up at Saugus High School at 9:00 PM, and kind of stood around for 40 minutes, as the administrators were acting like they forgot to organize anything!

 

Administrators trying to get their act together.

 

Finally they handed out our little cards, and we boarded the buses.

 

My super-sexy card.

 

The bus ride wasn't that bad and finally we arrived at the park...

 

I thought I would never see that sign!

 

We drove for an hour and a half, only to wait another 1/2 an hour in a line of buses. In an attempt to remain organized, Disney has to provide the bus chaperone's with rules and supplies, and it literally took about 4 minutes per bus!

 

Busses...and yes that blur at the bottom is our drivers hair. What?! How else was I supposed to stabilize the camera at night!

 

Before we got off of the bus, we were given wristbands, tickets, and of course, our security bags...

 

My security bag.

 

We were required to dump all contents from our pockets and bags into that clear bag--unfortunately this was embarrassing for some people who opted to leave their stuff on the bus. We were then required to walk the tram route from the Timon lot to the park, where we went through security.

 

This was supposed to be of security..but it wasn't.

 

As we walked up to security, there was a lady shouting "Boys in rows 1, 3, 5, girls in rows 2, 4, 6!!" which by then, I clearly knew that this was not your mother's Disneyland's security. It was a rather thorough and invasive pat-down. You even had to put your hands up, like a criminal. But I'm not a criminal! I'm a teenager! Oh....yea...that's why. <_<

 

After security we walked in to the park, under a quiet train station (the train wasn't in service...>admin edit< that killed the atmosphere), and into a totally different Main Street. My little turn-of the century town had huge sub woofers, strobe-lights, Wacky-Wailing-Inflatable Tube-Men, and of course, some Hondas!

 

Almost cool.

 

Now, I understand that they are shooting for a completely different audience, and on that degree, they succeeded. Everybody I know loved the music, lighting, and dancing. I just have never liked that sort of atmosphere, and the fact that it was on my Main Street is why it was disappointing.

 

Ok...but lets get into the actual park...

 

And start with Rockit Mountain, of course...

 

WTF?! I thought that the sign was supposed to change to Rockit Mountain?!

 

Continued in the next post....

[arrowfanman]

...continued from last post!

 

Ok, ok! I know I led on that I was going to ride Rockit first, but I didn't! That was my intention, but the line was posted at 120 minutes, so I wanted to come back later and see if it died down a bit. Until then, we decided to head towards Indy.

 

Oh >admin edit

 

With no FastPasses, we were forced to wait in all of the Standby lines. I haven't been in some of these stand-by's since...well...since FastPass was invented! I havn't been in the wonderful Indy line forever! Even with the line sticking all the way to Pirates, it only took about 45 minutes! >admin edit< that's freakin amazing capacity! I actually complemented the castmembers, and had to explain where I was coming from so they didn't think I was being sarcastic! Its also nice that they have a few CM's managing the line itself. They would hunt you out if you cut the line! It was awesome!

 

Me and some Guano!

 

The natural-updater in me couldn't help pointing out that the swirling bamboo-pole was missing. Be it for a refurb, or so us teenagers don't break it, I don't know!

 

Soon we were on and enjoying it! I don't care how fun Space Mountain is, I still think that Indy is the best ride in the park! It might always be!

 

Good bye EMV! I love you!

 

Then we headed towards New Orleans Square for a meal. New Orleans Square is my favorite place in the park, and I was really glad to see the atmosphere wasn't raped like on Main Street.

 

Kind of cool to see the Fantasmic effects up for something different. The songs were generally quieter and...better over here.

 

TJ's sad that he cant get his soup!

 

We decided to eat at the French Market, where we once again saw excellent service from the CM's! It's been a while since I've received good food service at Disneyland, so I was glad to see happy and efficient CMs.

 

TJ was ecstatic that he was able to find his soup! Who would have thought that theme park Clam Chowder would be that good?

 

Man! He's really going at that thing!

 

Here's David, a lead in the Foods Department at SFMM (Wascals). He's a bit bitter as I was rubbing in what good food service is supposed to look like!

 

...of course, that was before heading to the Haunted Mansion to see yet another example of what good ride operation is supposed to look like! lush:

 

 

 

 

Once again...the report will be continued in the next post....

[arrowfanman]

...alright...continued from last post!

 

 

 

 

Next, we decided to go on the Haunted Mansion, as it was there, Splash Mountain was broken down (I heard them resetting stuff), we wanted to see the new changes, and besides...the Haunted Mansion is freakin sweet!

 

Even though the line was here, none of the switchbacks were being used, so it was all good! Oh yea...TJ's still going at that >admin edit< bread!

 

For those who don't know, the changes aren't here, but this is the only part of the ride light enough for me to take a pic!

 

I personally thought that the ride changes (in the Attic) were pretty freakin sweet! They really add a new layer to the attraction! TJ said he preferred the old version, and David just didn't know what was changed, so when we got home I chopped their heads off.

 

When we got out, Splash Mountain had reopened and already had a 35 minute line!

 

I saw this in the line, and thought it was freakin weird! What is Disney trying to say?! link:

 

Yay! A blurry photo of Splash Mountain!

 

TJ's disappointed he cant lap sit.

 

 

The ride was slower than usual! I don't know if its that a Standby line calls for different settings, or if they slowed it down on purpose, or if somethings in the water, or if I'm just imagining things!

 

 

This was my freakin view, because TJ stole the front from me! It was supposed to be mine!

 

This ones for Elissa and the fabric leaves enthusiasts.

 

To this day I think that the back-story to Splash Mountain is about drugs. That crazy Disney!

 

 

 

After Splash Mountain, we walked along the Rivers of America (or Rivers of Fog Effects?) towards Big Thunder Mountain...

 

More Fantasmic equipment hard at work. Glad to see they're getting their money's worth from them!...not that they didn't already!

 

Holy stuff! Ixnay on the Fognay!

 

 

 

The report will continue in the next post....

[arrowfanman]

.....Continued from the last post.

 

 

 

Ok, so we continued around the rivers. The Mark Twain was out of service, once again detracting from the atmosphere, but then again, wacky-wailing-inflatable-tube-men and a Honda scooter can always make up for that! *rolls eyes* The Hondas were everywhere! I don't have a pic, but the maps even pinpointed the location of all of the Honda booths and vehicles!

 

Yay. At least this one for a scholarship, which is a kind of cool idea.

 

 

Finally we made it to Big Thunder Mountain. Unfortunately, due to utilizing both sides of the queue for standby, the line didn't move too quickly. But it did move.

 

The slower pace started to get to TJ. When TJ gets tired...then he's gone! The only way to bring him back is to ride!

 

...which we finally did. We rode in the middle of the train, which is the most boring seat on Big Thunder, unfortunately. But that didn't keep us from having fun...

 

...Perhaps too much fun!

 

Wow! The goat's still going strong, even at 3:00 in the morning!

 

After Big Thunder we headed along the back of the park, towards Fantasyland. Most of Fantasyland was closed due to the hourly fireworks/they think teenagers don't want to ride Casey Jr. Psh! I wanted to ride it, thank you very much! We decided to pass up the Matterhorn and tackle the Rockit Mountain queue!

 

Remember how we came back to beat the 120 minute queue? We didn't beat it...the wait was posted as 125 minutes!

 

We debated if we should wait or not, but I really wanted to see Rockit for myself, so we waited. Holy stuff that was a line!

 

They had switchbacks where you didn't even know switchbacks were meant to go!

 

Down towards the entrance

 

The cool thing about the long switchbacks, is that you would pass by people that you know, and 5 minutes later you would pass by them again. It kept it fresh!

 

You also got some cool views of the mountain! I love the size and shape of our Space the best.

 

Waiting in line for Rockit, we saw the fireworks begin. While we couldn't hear the music, I'm pretty sure I got the majority of the fireworks.

 

...Wow. I didn't realise that the sound is 66% of the fireworks experience!

 

 

 

Ok folk, only one or two more...continued in the next post...

[arrowfanman]

...continued from the last post...as usual.

 

 

 

 

Ok, like I said, without music the fireworks seemed rather blah. Out of all honesty, it was simply a rehash of Remember...Dreams Come True. I saw them shoot fireworks between the Castle and Matterhorn like in the Pirates sequence, I saw Tink flying, they shot shells around the hub...I believe they even used the fire from Indy's sequence! I would have thought that it was Remember if it wasn't for the fact that it had a different name and was advertised as "designed exclusively for you Grads".

 

Also, as some of you may know, Disneyland usually can only shoot fireworks off until 10:00 PM, due to environmental/neighbor concerns. Until I saw the show, I couldn't understand why they had fireworks shows at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 in the morning! Once I saw the show, I understood why. They used all low level fireworks and relatively small ones. The ones that only make a noise at the launching mortar, and don't go "boom", where you can feel the noise in your chest. I like those ones better! Here are some more pics of the show...

 

I know that they aren't much, but taking pics of fireworks with my camera is a >admin edit<, so your going to enjoy them!

 

Oooohh!

 

Ahhhhh!

 

>admin edit< finale's to bright for this exposure setting!

 

 

 

Anyway, enough about the fireworks. For those just joining us, I've been waiting in line for Rockit Mountain. I know! I have been since the last post!

 

I really hoped that they would change the exterior for Rockit Mountain. I was hoping for a cool red...that would look sweet!

 

Uh oh! TJ's starting to go again!

 

Ahhah! No wonder they couldn't change the fiber-optic entrance sign to say Rockit Mountain! Because some genius put permanent "Space Mountain" signs at the building entrance!

 

 

Wow...*sigh*. I guess its an honest mistake.

 

Even all the maps said "Space Mountain...is rockin" or something like that.

 

The queue is the same as Space's queue...why are they calling it a layover then?

 

The coolest part of Rockit was that, for the time being, it was personalized to us! I've never had a ride personalized to me before!

 

With the exception of this text on the "window", the station was completely and utterly unchanged! It was such a disappointment!

 

 

 

 

Alright folks...for the last time....the report will finish in the next post!...

[arrowfanman]

...alright, for the last time...this report is a continuation of the last post. Welcome to the finale!

 

 

 

Where was I?

 

 

Oh yea! Rockit Mountain!....

 

Photo wise, I don't really "spoil" the ride. But I will be describing the ride, so skip past it to the Matterhorn if you don't want to read it...

 

 

 

 

 

 

You take off, and proceed up the first lift, which has received a lighting change from red to purple. At this point you meet your "Space DJ". He was kind of cheesy, but he addressed us as "Graduates" so we can know that he is temporary. We turned to the charge up tunnel...

 

Uh...hello? This is exactly the same!

 

Do you realise how easy it would be to change this scene! They could have changed the lights or something...but whatever.

 

This pic didn't really come out, so I felt free to post it.

 

Next we came to the second lift, where we heard some strange Bass Guitar noises, and saw this psychedelic light show on the walls. It didn't really contribute much to the ride. Finally we emerged into what was supposed to be "space". ...It wasn't. you can totally see the track structure, the walls, and all of the light effects below you. They had some stupid silhouettes of dancers on the ceiling and what was most disappointing is that the stupid asteroid still wasn't working! While the music wasn't Van Halen, it wasn't bad IMO, and the transition into it was cool.

 

The ride effects were just from ok to stupid. Like they had blinking lights on the emergency catwalks. ...ok? Why?

 

The arches (which there were more than we thought) looked cool, but that was it. And how much of the structure I could see was kind of disappointing. It wasn't as bad as people said, but you could definitely see everything if you looked. You felt like you were going slower because of it!

 

Anyway, I left Rockit Mountain rather underwhelmed. I'm glad I waited (the wait ended up only being about an hour, 25 minutes!), but I am disappointed in how it turned out. For those of you who have seen Robb Alvey's video of the Hong Kong Space Mountain, you know that they received more effects than ours did. And I believe its due to the fact we got this "overlay", which is rather disappointing as it didn't provide.

 

 

Anyway, lets continue...after Rockit we headed for the Matterhorn, as we had about a half an hour left.

 

At this point we could see dawn on the horizon.

 

Now I took a 4-hour nap in preparation for Grad Nite, but the morning was clearly taking its toll on everyone else...

 

Or is that because I'm flashing the camera in their eyes?

 

By the time that we got up to the Matterhorn, day had broken.

 

I always thought that the bobsleds had retractable bumpers in case they did bump....now I know that they have retractable bumper because they DO bump!

 

Harold, congratulating me for surviving 4 years of boredom.

 

 

 

The Matterhorn was fun, as usual. By the time it was over, it was time to go....so we left. CM's were already out and about preparing the park for the day ahead of them.

 

Some random dancer people.

 

It was really nice being in Disneyland at this time. It was the one and only time I have ever seen it in this light, at 6:00 in the morning. The music was off by then, and everybody was tired as hell, so it was very peaceful. If I didn't have to get to the >admin edit< bus, I would have liked to sit on a bench with a hot chocolate, and just...sit. Live. Enjoy.

 

The slow procession back to the buses.

 

Well, I hope that you guys have enjoyed my Photo TR! I sure hope so, because it took me a few hours to put together!

 

In the end, I am glad that I went. I got all of the major attractions in, and it was a different experience for me. I just cant wait to get back to the Disneyland that I know.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

-Jahan "I'm tired just from reading this!" Makanvand

 

[jamesdillaman]

Wow, Jahan, you really got censored on that post, congratulations on graduating high school. Do you have any plans yet for college or a job or something?

-James Dillaman

[SharkTums]

It wasn't us that censored it, I'm guessing he copy and pasted it from another site.

 

Thanks for my picture Jahan! Glad you had a good time, but seeing this TR once again affirmed how glad I am that I DIDN'T go to my grad nite!!!

[DerekRx]

Wow, thousands of obnoxious high school grads who now think the world owes them something all in 1 place for an evening. Seeing those pictures makes me glad I opted to not go to our grad night down at WDW and hung out at Downtown Disney instead.

 

Thanks for sharing the pictures and report, Jahan. You made lots of us realize exactly why we hated high school so much and exactly why we were all so glad to get out.

[ECZenith]

I wanted to ride Rock It Mountain so badly when we were down in Cali but your review makes me feel better that we didn't wait the ridiculous wait time for it!

 

Nice TR, at least you guys had some sort of grad night event! Do you know what I got to do right after graduation? Go to Parris Island, SC for military training. Blechhh...

[USRoadTripper]

I always thought that Grad Nights were supposed to be a formal event. Or is that just at WDW? I know I have seen pictures of a Grad Night where everyone looked like they were at the prom!

 

-Julie

[gisco]

I always thought that Grad Nights were supposed to be a formal event. Or is that just at WDW? I know I have seen pictures of a Grad Night where everyone looked like they were at the prom!

 

-Julie

 

Yeah, when I went to Grad night at Disneyland the guys had to have ties and the girls had to be in dresses or pant suits. Of course that was in 79. My daughter went this year and dress code was pretty much the same as the schools. Not a formal event anymore.

[obeygiant]

Great TR!! But, this makes me not want to go to my Grad Night. I can't even take waiting in line 20 minutes, and I know I wouldn't wait in line 120 minutes, no matter what ride it is.

[Jim Disney]

I always thought that Grad Nights were supposed to be a formal event. Or is that just at WDW? I know I have seen pictures of a Grad Night where everyone looked like they were at the prom!

 

-Julie

It used to be. BUT! They are edging back towards that. For the last several years the attitude has been "If they can wear it into the park during the day, they can get in for Grad Night"... it was part of Cynthia Harriss huggy/feel good way of running the park. But now they're stressing the idea of dressing to impress and I think you'll see a return (I hope) to the older style dress codes soon.

[DATman]

Our school's Grad Nite was on the 1st too. Did you see any Chaminadians?

 

My friends literally collapsed on Senior lawn. Twas a fun surprise when I got to school last friday.

[haiderodes]

Thanks for the TR!

 

I felt the same way about my grad nite...it was cool, but I wasn't that impressed. The best part was the CM interaction at all the rides. I'll never forget hearing "anyone caught smoking in line will be shot on sight" in the Indy outdoor queue.

 

At least they gave you guys fireworks! I was always a little irked that the WDW grad nites have performances and the DL ones didn't.

[mcjaco]

Consider yourselves lucky. Back in my day, grad night consisted of hanging out in the gyms and courtyard of our high school. Hmmm, let's see I just got out of this dump and now I can hang out there another eight hours??!!! Sign me up! Oh wait, it was mandatory.......crapballs.

[arrowfanman]

Wow, Jahan, you really got censored on that post, congratulations on graduating high school. Do you have any plans yet for college or a job or something?

-James Dillaman

 

Lol...yea, sorry Robb and Elissa, I forgot to say that wasn't your cesoring! I guess I didn't think that people would actually read this! I made the mistake of posting this on a Disney site first, which pretty much neutered my posts!

 

I will first be going to the community college COC. As for a job...I dont think I could stay at SFMM for a whole 2 more years! It wasn't meant to be that long term of a thing! Oh well...maybe if they promote me too....park manager, then I'll stay.

 

I wanted to ride Rock It Mountain so badly when we were down in Cali but your review makes me feel better that we didn't wait the ridiculous wait time for it!

 

Unless you came for a Grad Nite, Rockit Mountain wouldn't have been open. It is only open to the graduates of Grad Nite. Now, Space Mountain is what was open (Rockit Mountain is essentially a Rockin Roller Coaster overlay of Space Mountain). Space Mountain is actually a good ride, and quite honestly, I would wait for that. Although...for 2 hours...I dont think so.

 

 

 

As for Julie's "dressing up" comment, yes, I did see several dressed up guests in the park. I think the dressing up part is a choice, and depends on your schools rules, or if you have a reminiscing-parent...

 

No offense to the sanctity of the event, but I'm glad that I didn't dress up.

 

As for DATman, if there were Chaminadians, I wouldn't know, as the very first rule in the dress code is that you cannot wear spiritwear, lettermen jackets, etc. They dont want fights to break out.

 

 

 

 

Welp folks...thanks for readin and commenting!...or at least looking at the pictures!

 

Thanks again!

 

-Jahan

[Costakid]

Wow, your Grad Night was crowded. We didn't wait more than 5 minutes for anything. It doesn't matter, though, since very little of it is about the rides.

[hifalling]

Hey Jahan, glad to see that you had a good time as well as catching some very good service from Cast members! I do agree that Rockit Mountain did not live up to my dreams, but it was something different. Believe me, we hope that it will be transformed into something much more impressive. If Magic doesn't hold your interest, you should come be a CM with us. Sounds like you know your stuff! Once again Congrats on graduating, see you at the park!

 

chuck "Disney Dork" garcia

 

p.s. Did you not have the option to go the pre-party "blast off" at California Adventure?

[Freefallbestrideever]

wow looks like i really wont be missing out on much and for more than one paycheck i think i can deal with it lol Might of been a nice experience since i haven't been there in years, but i might work there soon so meh

[arrowfanman]

Hey Jahan, glad to see that you had a good time as well as catching some very good service from Cast members! I do agree that Rockit Mountain did not live up to my dreams, but it was something different. Believe me, we hope that it will be transformed into something much more impressive. If Magic doesn't hold your interest, you should come be a CM with us. Sounds like you know your stuff! Once again Congrats on graduating, see you at the park!

 

chuck "Disney Dork" garcia

 

p.s. Did you not have the option to go the pre-party "blast off" at California Adventure?

 

I met you 1/2 way up Tatsu's lift hill, huh? Lol...thats awesome.

 

I would soooo be a CM if it wasn't for the fact that an hour and 1/2 long drive would kill me. Robb knows what I'm talking about.

 

Perhaps if I happened to transfer to a school that happened to be down that way, I would happen to get a job there.

 

Well, see you around. I'm equally a dork, so I'm sure to be down there this summer.

 

-Jahan

[hifalling]

I met you 1/2 way up Tatsu's lift hill, huh? Lol...thats awesome.

 

I would soooo be a CM if it wasn't for the fact that an hour and 1/2 long drive would kill me. Robb knows what I'm talking about.

 

Perhaps if I happened to transfer to a school that happened to be down that way, I would happen to get a job there.

 

Well, see you around. I'm equally a dork, so I'm sure to be down there this summer.

 

-Jahan

 

Yes we chatted up the lift on Tatsu! The drive does kinda suck. I live in Burbank, and commute to Anaheim almost everyday! I hope I won't have to do that very much longer. Anyway, casting is looking for some good people (we need them bad) and with your attractions background, you should be a shoe-in! Just remember to smile alot in your interview! HAHAHA! That is if you transfer to whatever college is closer, i guess!

 

chuck

[smells_like_team_disney]

Thanks for that in-depth TR. It's too bad you were disappointed, and it sucks how much Rockit Mountain has been neutered. It would have been awesome to see it to its full potential.

 

Personally, I LOVED my Grad-Nite!!! I went in '99 and it just blew me away, it was Disneyland under a new light! My school was very organized and right on top of things, too. The school buses left exactly at 10:30pm and we were IN the park by 11:30pm. Very efficient. It really saddens me that the formality of the event has been largely stripped down because to me that was a huge part of the appeal. The year I went had been toned down a bit, but girls were still required to wear dresses or skirts with a nice top. The guys had to wear shirts that buttoned up all the way (no t-shirts or polo shirts) and absolutely no denim was allowed on anyone. I remember they were really strict about that. Either way, it was one of the best nights of my life.