Disneyland Trip Report - July 27th-August 1st

[WDWGuy]

I wanted to post a few of my thoughts after visiting Disneyland Resort to be part of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth. I visited July 27th-August 1st.

Here we go...

*I will NEVER....EVER.....EVER....return to Disneyland in the month of July. Folks, if you aren't familiar with the word "crowded"..you will get a very immediate lesson on this word once you step into just the very outskirts of the Resort. To give you some idea of what I mean, on the days where we had early entry into DL, the park opened at 7:00am. At 7:45am, there was a LINE at FastPass for Space Mountain as the kiosks do not start distributing tickets until official park open time. There was already a 30 minute wait for Space Mountain Stand by by 7:30am. You can only imagine how busy it was by 2pm. You will not find a bigger Disney theme park fan than me, but Excessive crowds diminish my experience greatly. Although they will never do it, I truely wish Disney would limit their attendance daily so as to not turn it into a very uncomfortable, push shove, un-disney experience.

*BAG CHECK - One very nice situation they have arrived at DL is the Bag check prior to entering the Esplenade (the main area that connects the two theme parks). The only con to this deal is, once again, the lack of a "no bags" line. Having the ability to lost 10 mins in a bag check line would add greatly to my experience especially if I am carrying nothing more than the wallet in the shorts.

"REMEMBER..DREAMS COME TRUE" FIREWORKS - Other than the absolute bombardment of humanity all around the resort for this event. (IllumiNations audiences seemed sparce compared to this mob) This show is undoubtedly the finest pyrotechnic experience one can experience at a Walt Disney Theme Park. They pulled out all of the stops for this show. While a lot of people call it "Wishes: The Sequel"...due to the fact it calls upon some of the exact same musical tracks from the popular WDW show, it has several different musical moments and some fireworks that you won't see in the WDW show...Amazing perimeter fireworks happening all around you...Lasers from the Castle...and Tinkerbell's flight is FAR superior at Disneyland. ..If you do not see this show when you visit Disneyland...you would have missed out on one of the park's finest offerings.

SPACE MOUNTAIN: Version II - WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! Finally! Disney Imagineers hit the gold mine with a remake! The new vehicles, the on board audio, the new in-ride effects, and the smoothness of the new track...make this a BLOCKBUSTER. I was very impressed with the DL Cast Members in their duties of the Load/Unload area..they were very FAST!! Excellent job guys...You will love this attraction...its been reborn!



WDWGuy

 

[1stStarIC2nite]

I wanted to post a few of my thoughts after visiting Disneyland Resort to be part of the Happiest Homecoming on Earth. I visited July 27th-August 1st.

Here we go...

*I will NEVER....EVER.....EVER....return to Disneyland in the month of July. Folks, if you aren't familiar with the word "crowded"..you will get a very immediate lesson on this word once you step into just the very outskirts of the Resort. To give you some idea of what I mean, on the days where we had early entry into DL, the park opened at 7:00am. At 7:45am, there was a LINE at FastPass for Space Mountain as the kiosks do not start distributing tickets until official park open time. There was already a 30 minute wait for Space Mountain Stand by by 7:30am. You can only imagine how busy it was by 2pm. You will not find a bigger Disney theme park fan than me, but Excessive crowds diminish my experience greatly. Although they will never do it, I truely wish Disney would limit their attendance daily so as to not turn it into a very uncomfortable, push shove, un-disney experience.

*BAG CHECK - One very nice situation they have arrived at DL is the Bag check prior to entering the Esplenade (the main area that connects the two theme parks). The only con to this deal is, once again, the lack of a "no bags" line. Having the ability to lost 10 mins in a bag check line would add greatly to my experience especially if I am carrying nothing more than the wallet in the shorts.

"REMEMBER..DREAMS COME TRUE" FIREWORKS - Other than the absolute bombardment of humanity all around the resort for this event. (IllumiNations audiences seemed sparce compared to this mob) This show is undoubtedly the finest pyrotechnic experience one can experience at a Walt Disney Theme Park. They pulled out all of the stops for this show. While a lot of people call it "Wishes: The Sequel"...due to the fact it calls upon some of the exact same musical tracks from the popular WDW show, it has several different musical moments and some fireworks that you won't see in the WDW show...Amazing perimeter fireworks happening all around you...Lasers from the Castle...and Tinkerbell's flight is FAR superior at Disneyland. ..If you do not see this show when you visit Disneyland...you would have missed out on one of the park's finest offerings.

SPACE MOUNTAIN: Version II - WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! Finally! Disney Imagineers hit the gold mine with a remake! The new vehicles, the on board audio, the new in-ride effects, and the smoothness of the new track...make this a BLOCKBUSTER. I was very impressed with the DL Cast Members in their duties of the Load/Unload area..they were very FAST!! Excellent job guys...You will love this attraction...its been reborn!



WDWGuy

Hey WDWGuy!

We visited Disneyland for the first time this July as well. I LOVED it. It's definatley my favorite Disney theme park of all time. However, I didn't think the crowds were that bad (and we were there during the week of the 17th). It all depends on your schedule. At times, PotC may be a walk on midday but a 45 minute wait just after opening. We were pretty lucky with our strategies (which were pretty random) and the longest we waited was for Space Mountain (50 minutes) at the 10:00 opening on July 15th. Anyways, I totally agree on what you said about Space Mountian!! It was FANTASTIC!! I couldn't stop just laughing and screaming (fun screaming, mind you lol) when I experienced it for the first time. It truly puts WDW's to absolute shame.

Remember was phenominal as well. Best pyrotechnic display I've seen period. I cried every time we saw it during Walt's opening day speech/Tink's flight. Just wow.

We also LOVED Block Party Bash at DCA. Did you get a chance to see it? Too cool.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Did the large crowds spoil your trip or was it enjoyable apart from the crowds ?

 

[WDWGuy]

It spoiled parts of it....but forth emost part it was manageable...

 

[BRER STITCH]

We're heading over in Spetember in hopes of missing the "over-crowding" that tends to wreck an otherwise good trip for me, too!

No "NO BAGS" line??? That's crazy! There's certainly enough room out there to have a bag-free sidewalk! Now I feel obligated to bring one! :lol:

Looking forward to Fantasmic dessert seating and seeing Wishes!

Did you get to see Snow White or Aladdin shows?

 

[1stStarIC2nite]

We're heading over in Spetember in hopes of missing the "over-crowding" that tends to wreck an otherwise good trip for me, too!

No "NO BAGS" line??? That's crazy! There's certainly enough room out there to have a bag-free sidewalk! Now I feel obligated to bring one! :lol:

Looking forward to Fantasmic dessert seating and seeing Wishes!

Did you get to see Snow White or Aladdin shows?

I don't mean to burst your bubble but Wishes doesn't play at Disneyland :lol: Instead, Disneyland presents "Remember... Dreams Come True" which is PHENOMINAL and blows Wishes out of the water (although, some Wishes music is used in this show, but the rest makes up for it).

I might as well answer about the Snow White and Aladdin, too. Snow White wasn't bad. A bit strange... but good. However, I LOVED Aladdin!! It was awesome! The cast was great and the Genie.. hilarious! The effects are kewl, the settings impressive, and the music feels like it has been re-vived and sounds even better. I consider it a "can't miss" attraction at Disneyland. Hope this helps

 

[BRER STITCH]

I don't mean to burst your bubble but Wishes doesn't play at Disneyland :lol: Instead, Disneyland presents "Remember... Dreams Come True" which is PHENOMINAL and blows Wishes out of the water (although, some Wishes music is used in this show, but the rest makes up for it).

Thanks for bursting my bubble.
It's my first day here so I am all confused.

I've seen all the shows mentioned and was just making polite conversation.
Was I longing to be corrected? No. But thanks for clarifying for the others.

I think I'm gonna start calling the park in California "Disney World", now, too!

 

[1stStarIC2nite]

Thanks for bursting my bubble.
It's my first day here so I am all confused.

I've seen all the shows mentioned and was just making polite conversation.
Was I longing to be corrected? No. But thanks for clarifying for the others.

I think I'm gonna start calling the park in California "Disney World", now, too!

Geez... sorry :dazzle: