Just finished day one of my first Disneyland trip. I'll add pictures later, but for now I will just post some of my reactions and experiences from my first time in DL.
We spent the whole day in Disneyland Park (didn't get to DCA just yet) and the crowds were very light compared to what we are used to at WDW. We got on pretty much everything in the entire park and didn't use a single fastpass!
Time for some observations!
Main Street: I've heard people say that Main Street in DL seems alot smaller than in MK, but I didn't really notice any size difference. The streets seemed just as wide as in MK, but I'd say that the DL mainstreet buildings looked a little bit cleaner and more charming.
The Castle: Huuuuge disappointment compared to WDW's Castle. The word "dinky" comes to mind.
Indiana Jones: Amaaaazing ride. Definitely one of my new favorite Disney rides of all time. Blows "Dinosaur" in AK out of the water.
Jungle Cruise: The Piranhas were cool, but I like WDW's version more, mainly because of the cave scene. Our guide wasn't so good either, so hopefully we will have a better guide if we ride again tomorrow.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Obviously much better than MK's version, I was very pleased with DL's POTC.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Not much different from WDW's except it seemed shorter and slightly less rough IMO. It also has less theming in the que area than MK's version.
Splash Mountain: I loved everything about DL's 'Splash' except for the single file logs. The AA's in DL's version look alot better along with the lighting and sound. I prefer the logs in WDW but everything else in the DL version.
Space Mountain: I must say I was a little bit disappointed due to the fact that so many people have told me that the DL version blows MK's away. The effects were much better and the track was much smoother, but the ride itself was very anticlimactic. There weren't any decent drops (even MK's version has better drops). It just sort of spun around in circles as I anticipated a drop, but it never happened. I still give DL's version the slight nod over MK's due to the superior effects and darkness, but it wasn't nearly as good as I expected.
Finding Nemo Sub Voyage: Great ride! Way better than I expected! The effects were great (in spite of a slightly cheesy beginning). I wish WDW had something like this instead of the crappy Epcot version.
Haunted Mansion: It's already been converted into HM holiday which is sort of cool but also a little bit cheesy. I definitely prefer the regular version of HM over the holiday edition.
Matterhorn Bobsleds: This ride certainly shows its age but I still enjoyed it immensely due to the fact that I knew I was riding a classic!
Overall Impressions: It was a little weird being in DL for the first time after so many countless visits to WDW. DL seemed like a miniature-bizarro version of MK. I DEFINITELY noticed the size difference. The entrances to Adventurelalnd and Frontierland are only about 15-20 yards away from one another in DL. All of the themed lands in DL (except maybe for fantasyland) seemed significantly smaller than those in WDW. Adventureland seemed especially small and somewhat cramped. It seemed sort of odd to me that the entrance to the enchanted Tiki room is actually just outside the entrance to Adventureland itself.
Fantasyland looks much better in DL, but I would otherwise say that I prefer the theming and 'feel' of the other lands in MK mainly due to its larger size. The only other exception to this was New Orleans Square, which I thought was extremely nice and quite large. I definitely prefer the overall feel of MK's versions of Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Frontierland. The Rivers of America looked noticibly smaller in DL, and had very few trees around it, which makes it look alot more open and slightly less rugged than MK's version.
Another observation I have is the fact that the que's in MK are typically more detailed and better themed than DL's. Many of the duplicate rides in DL have que's that are mostly outdoors with few minute details added. The Matterhorn and POTC are good examples of this. One ride in DL that does have a great que is Indy. The Indy que reminds me of a mixture of the Everest que in AK and the Mummy que in Universal.
Pictures soon to come, along with more updates and observations!
We spent the whole day in Disneyland Park (didn't get to DCA just yet) and the crowds were very light compared to what we are used to at WDW. We got on pretty much everything in the entire park and didn't use a single fastpass!
Time for some observations!
Main Street: I've heard people say that Main Street in DL seems alot smaller than in MK, but I didn't really notice any size difference. The streets seemed just as wide as in MK, but I'd say that the DL mainstreet buildings looked a little bit cleaner and more charming.
The Castle: Huuuuge disappointment compared to WDW's Castle. The word "dinky" comes to mind.
Indiana Jones: Amaaaazing ride. Definitely one of my new favorite Disney rides of all time. Blows "Dinosaur" in AK out of the water.
Jungle Cruise: The Piranhas were cool, but I like WDW's version more, mainly because of the cave scene. Our guide wasn't so good either, so hopefully we will have a better guide if we ride again tomorrow.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Obviously much better than MK's version, I was very pleased with DL's POTC.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Not much different from WDW's except it seemed shorter and slightly less rough IMO. It also has less theming in the que area than MK's version.
Splash Mountain: I loved everything about DL's 'Splash' except for the single file logs. The AA's in DL's version look alot better along with the lighting and sound. I prefer the logs in WDW but everything else in the DL version.
Space Mountain: I must say I was a little bit disappointed due to the fact that so many people have told me that the DL version blows MK's away. The effects were much better and the track was much smoother, but the ride itself was very anticlimactic. There weren't any decent drops (even MK's version has better drops). It just sort of spun around in circles as I anticipated a drop, but it never happened. I still give DL's version the slight nod over MK's due to the superior effects and darkness, but it wasn't nearly as good as I expected.
Finding Nemo Sub Voyage: Great ride! Way better than I expected! The effects were great (in spite of a slightly cheesy beginning). I wish WDW had something like this instead of the crappy Epcot version.
Haunted Mansion: It's already been converted into HM holiday which is sort of cool but also a little bit cheesy. I definitely prefer the regular version of HM over the holiday edition.
Matterhorn Bobsleds: This ride certainly shows its age but I still enjoyed it immensely due to the fact that I knew I was riding a classic!
Overall Impressions: It was a little weird being in DL for the first time after so many countless visits to WDW. DL seemed like a miniature-bizarro version of MK. I DEFINITELY noticed the size difference. The entrances to Adventurelalnd and Frontierland are only about 15-20 yards away from one another in DL. All of the themed lands in DL (except maybe for fantasyland) seemed significantly smaller than those in WDW. Adventureland seemed especially small and somewhat cramped. It seemed sort of odd to me that the entrance to the enchanted Tiki room is actually just outside the entrance to Adventureland itself.
Fantasyland looks much better in DL, but I would otherwise say that I prefer the theming and 'feel' of the other lands in MK mainly due to its larger size. The only other exception to this was New Orleans Square, which I thought was extremely nice and quite large. I definitely prefer the overall feel of MK's versions of Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Frontierland. The Rivers of America looked noticibly smaller in DL, and had very few trees around it, which makes it look alot more open and slightly less rugged than MK's version.
Another observation I have is the fact that the que's in MK are typically more detailed and better themed than DL's. Many of the duplicate rides in DL have que's that are mostly outdoors with few minute details added. The Matterhorn and POTC are good examples of this. One ride in DL that does have a great que is Indy. The Indy que reminds me of a mixture of the Everest que in AK and the Mummy que in Universal.
Pictures soon to come, along with more updates and observations!
