Top 5 iconic Disneyland moments.

mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I rode It’s a Small World with a big group of family week. Filled up the entire boat and as we left the boarding station and made our way under the bridge along the magnificent facade and landscaping I realized that outdoor portion of IASW is a Top 5 iconic Disneyland moment for me. There is some big time nostalgia there. Not to mention the last scene with all the little postcards in different languages. All of my Top 5 are very vivid DL moments from my youth that made long lasting impressions. Here are mine… in no particular order. What are yours?

1. Outdoor portion of IASW

2. Turning the bend on POTC from the old man playing the banjo on the rocking chair to the talking skull and first drop.

3. Stretching Room Haunted Mansion.

4. Hearing the train station announcement while walking through the right entry tunnel and seeing the attraction posters. The one two audio-visual punch if you will.

5. Walking along the ROA on a sunny day, hearing the jazz play in NOS.

Honorable mentions:

Elephant Bathing Pool

Hearing the abominable snowman roars from the base of the Matterhorn below. Used to be much louder pre 2016.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
1. The flying-out-the-window moment on Peter Pan.
2. Walking into PoC and the smell hits—Accompanied by the bass clarinet of the Pirate’s Overture.
3. Watching caterpillar after caterpillar zig zag down into the dark rabbit hole as the Alice in Wonderland queue music and the Teacups music loop fight for attention… and then the passing monorail honks its horn. You might even be able to hear “Permanecer sentados, por favor” from that spot.
4. Haunted Mansion foyer music
5. Absolutely the exterior of IaSW with the tick-tock sound of the clock.

So hard to pick just 5! 😃

Extinct favorites:

Riding the mine train through the rock archway and getting the first view of the Living Desert.

Buying a giant multi-color-lead pencil with a Dumbo head eraser often enough that it became my go-to childhood park souvenir, along with the Flip Books.

“I must return to the realm of the molecule before I go ON shrinking… forever!”
 
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mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Rich T said:
1. The flying-out-the-window moment on Peter Pan.
2. Walking into PoC and the smell hits—Accompanied by the bass clarinet of the Pirate’s Overture.
3. Watching caterpillar after caterpillar zig zag down into the dark rabbit hole as the Alice in Wonderland queue music and the Teacups music loop fight for attention… and then the passing monorail honks its horn. You might even be able to hear “Permanecer sentados, por favor” from that spot.
4. Haunted Mansion foyer music
5. Absolutely the exterior of IaSW with the tick-tock sound of the clock.

So hard to pick just 5! 😃

Extinct favorites:

Riding the mine train through the rock archway and getting the first view of the Painted Desert.

Buying a giant multi-color-lead pencil with a Dumbo head eraser often enough that it became my go-to childhood park souvenir, along with the Flip Books.

“I must return to the realm of the molecule before I go ON shrinking… forever!”
Click to expand...

Ooo # 2 is good. Love the POTC overture. Coupled with the pirate water smell and that’s another 1-2 punch. #1 is great too. Probably makes my top ten. Looks like three of ours are very similar.
 
waltography

waltography

Well-Known Member
Maybe not the most iconic moments, but these details are what I think of when I try to capture "that" Disney feeling:
  • The darkness you enter just before the music swells and the train tunnel opens into the bright Grand Canyon diorama.
  • Feeling the heat in hell on Toad and seeing the demon imps through the haze.
  • Passing by a parade behind the Small World gate from the train and waving to the performers waiting to step off.
  • The damp water droplet sound effects in the cave section in the Indy queue.
    • Honorable mention to the "Real rewards await those who choose wisely" sign as you exit.
  • The sharp smell of air-conditioned air after entering a gift shop on a hot summer day.
  • The wave of exhaustion settling in while riding the parking lot tram as the last ride of the day.
And a bonus Christmas one:
  • The smell of gingerbread as you pass by the Netherlands in Small World.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Nirya said:
Adding a couple:

- Walking through the berm and getting that first view of Main Street.
- Sitting in New Orleans Square watching the Mark Twain roll by on the Rivers of America.
- The Wishing Well
- Walking through the castle and seeing the Carousel rotating.
Click to expand...

Forgot to put the Wishing Well on my honorable mention list.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
waltography said:
Maybe not the most iconic moments, but these details are what I think of when I try to capture "that" Disney feeling:
  • The darkness you enter just before the music swells and the train tunnel opens into the bright Grand Canyon diorama.
  • Feeling the heat in hell on Toad and seeing the demon imps through the haze.
  • Passing by a parade behind the Small World gate from the train and waving to the performers waiting to step off.
  • The damp water droplet sound effects in the cave section in the Indy queue.
    • Honorable mention to the "Real rewards await those who choose wisely" sign as you exit.
  • The sharp smell of air-conditioned air after entering a gift shop on a hot summer day.
  • The wave of exhaustion settling in while riding the parking lot tram as the last ride of the day.
And a bonus Christmas one:
  • The smell of gingerbread as you pass by the Netherlands in Small World.
Click to expand...

Speaking of, why isn’t Hell hot anymore? The scene loses a lot of points without the heat.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Nirya said:
I've still found it to be much warmer in that room compared to the rest of the ride, so your mileage may vary on that one.
Click to expand...

I just rode it a couple weeks ago. If it was any warmer than the rest of the ride (and I’m not even sure it was) it was barely. Nothing like the heat one used to feel in that scene.
 
denyuntilcaught

denyuntilcaught

Well-Known Member
Just adding one to the mix:

On Indy when you make that first turn into the massive cavern room and you can see the jeep ahead traverse the bridge. Literally makes me think that this is only something as immersive and on a scale that only Disney can deliver on.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
denyuntilcaught said:
Just adding one to the mix:

On Indy when you make that first turn into the massive cavern room and you can see the jeep ahead traverse the bridge. Literally makes me think that this is only something as immersive and on a scale that only Disney can deliver on.
Click to expand...
I think Universal just entered that game (scale and immersion) with Battle at the Ministry. It, along with Monsters Unchained, are definitely in the running for best dark rides on Earth. They use background screens as part the environment—much like Rise and Shanghai Pirates—but do so in a way that is mind-blowingly effective to a degree I’ve never experienced before. Watching Disney and Universal compete like never before is going to be fun!

Totally agree about that Indy moment being top-tier iconic! 😃
 
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truecoat

truecoat

Well-Known Member
One thing I've found is that riding indoor or dark rides is significantly better at night. I'm sure it's because my eyes are better adjusted to the dark and details stick out—the projected ghoul after seeing the snake on IJA for example.
 

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