DLR is great ! But far from perfect ( some random thoughts after my trip)

[Minnie1976]

I was there with my family in February 2016. I did not find there was trash in the attraction lines nor along the paths in the park. I also didn't find that the attractions needed a paint job. I did find the MK very crowded because so many attractions were closed because of construction of Star Land or Star Wars Land. I knew about the attractions being closed before we left, but it would have been very disappointing for our grandchild to cancel.

 

[mickEblu]

I'm at the park around once a month and I never notice any of these issues. Not to say these issues don't exist but I do consider myself someone who pays attention to detail. It might just be that when im at the park, the only thing I'm worried about is having a good time. I may have my "Disney Magic" goggles on too tight but I guess it's better than nit picking at all these things. Anyway, I'm really not noticing all this trash everyone is talking about.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I'm at the park around once a month and I never notice any of these issues. Not to say these issues don't exist but I do consider myself someone who pays attention to detail. It might just be that when im at the park, the only thing I'm worried about is having a good time. I may have my "Disney Magic" goggles on too tight but I guess it's better than nit picking at all these things. Anyway, I'm really not noticing all this trash everyone is talking about.

I don't think any of us are nitpicking. Can't help that we see trash in the park sometimes.

 

[mickEblu]

I don't think any of us are nitpicking. Can't help that we see trash in the park sometimes.

I only skimmed through the last few posts. It seemed like most were commenting that they are recently seeing a lot of trash on a consistent basis. Not just sometimes.

 

[killzab]

I'm at the park around once a month and I never notice any of these issues. Not to say these issues don't exist but I do consider myself someone who pays attention to detail. It might just be that when im at the park, the only thing I'm worried about is having a good time. I may have my "Disney Magic" goggles on too tight but I guess it's better than nit picking at all these things. Anyway, I'm really not noticing all this trash everyone is talking about.

I wasn't trying to nitpick though, but after being so disappointed with DLP, I can't help noticing all these problems and comparing.
I had a great time though. It's just that some people here hold DLR on such a pedestal that I was surprised to see such a lack of maintenance. Just look at the statue of Mr Toad in the indoors queue, you can definitely see it's damaged. Or the indoors queue of Buzz.

Speaking of queues, I was very disappointed with them at DLR. They're so much better at WDW. Most of them at DLR only consist of outdoors metal bars with no theming. Very disappointing.The only ones that I really enjoyed were IJA and Roger Rabbit (why such a great queue for such a lame ride ? ).

 

[Californian Elitist]

Speaking of queues, I was very disappointed with them at DLR. They're so much better at WDW. Most of them at DLR only consist of outdoors metal bars with no theming. Very disappointing.The only ones that I really enjoyed were IJA and Roger Rabbit (why such a great queue for such a lame ride ? ).

Woah, did you just diss Roger, one of the best dark rides ever built????!!!

Regarding DL ride queues, you have to remember the park was built in the 1950's, and rides are packed in in a small space. There's not a lot of room for elaborately themed queues. Also, "metal bars?" Are you referring to turnstiles? I can't think of a single queue at the park where there's metal everywhere.

I personally couldn't care less about the queue. The ride itself needs to be up to par, not the queue. You yourself questioned why Roger's queue is so detailed.

 

[Phroobar]

I wasn't trying to nitpick though, but after being so disappointed with DLP, I can't help noticing all these problems and comparing.
I had a great time though. It's just that some people here hold DLR on such a pedestal that I was surprised to see such a lack of maintenance. Just look at the statue of Mr Toad in the indoors queue, you can definitely see it's damaged. .

The statue of Mr. Toad was pretty worn looking back in the 80's when it was new. I don't think it ever looked like it was brand new.

 

[mickEblu]

I wasn't trying to nitpick though, but after being so disappointed with DLP, I can't help noticing all these problems and comparing.
I had a great time though. It's just that some people here hold DLR on such a pedestal that I was surprised to see such a lack of maintenance. Just look at the statue of Mr Toad in the indoors queue, you can definitely see it's damaged. Or the indoors queue of Buzz.

Speaking of queues, I was very disappointed with them at DLR. They're so much better at WDW. Most of them at DLR only consist of outdoors metal bars with no theming. Very disappointing.The only ones that I really enjoyed were IJA and Roger Rabbit (why such a great queue for such a lame ride ? ).

I wasn't saying anyone on this thread was nitpicking per se. I was just saying that ignorance is bliss and if somehow I'm not noticing these filthy queues and all this trash then I guess I'm better off. With that said, I haven't noticed and I'm not sure it's as bad as I'm reading on this thread.

Roger has a great queue. Which reminds me that I need to do it without a fastpass one of these days. I rarely ride it because of its location but for me it's not the best or worst dark ride. Somewhere near the middle of the pack as far as FL style far rides at DLR go. Of course, if they added Judge Doom and a little more darkness to the ride it would be so much better but I get why the didn't - because it's in Toontown. It would have benefited from a little more of that FL style darkness/ macabre/ weirdness that we have all come to love.

It's funny you bring up Toad in the queue. That is one thing I did notice on a few recent trips. I think they will probably address it if / when the rumored upgrades happen.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Speaking of queues, I was very disappointed with them at DLR. They're so much better at WDW. Most of them at DLR only consist of outdoors metal bars with no theming. Very disappointing.

In general Disneyland does not handle enormous crowds as efficiently as the parks built since it opened, and queue design is one of the things that the "newer" Magic Kingdoms do better than Disneyland for sure. Another improvement made at the newer parks are generous walkways and an overall sense of spaciousness. For these reasons I think that WDW's Magic Kingdom's overall design and layout is superior to DL's.

The only ones that I really enjoyed were IJA and Roger Rabbit (why such a great queue for such a lame ride ? ).

It's a relatively newer ride and built from the ground up, so it benefited from modern Disney thinking about queue design. That said, the queue is kind of over the top for a ride that's basically a C ticket, though I'll take it over an empty room with basic switchbacks.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I was just saying that ignorance is bliss and if somehow I'm not noticing these filthy queues and all this trash then I guess I'm better off. With that said, I haven't noticed and I'm not sure it's as bad as I'm reading on this thread.

Seems like general maintenance at DLR ebbs and flows. I visit pretty infrequently, but sometimes the park is practically perfect and then there are times when I encounter the kinds of glaring maintenance issues described in this thread. However, I have never seen Disneyland reach the terrible state that DLP was in the last time I visited. I understand that they are in the midst of a major overhaul now, but wow, it was bad - there was mold clearly visible on the Castle from Central Plaza when I was there.

 

[killzab]

Seems like general maintenance at DLR ebbs and flows. I visit pretty infrequently, but sometimes the park is practically perfect and then there are times when I encounter the kinds of glaring maintenance issues described in this thread. However, I have never seen Disneyland reach the terrible state that DLP was in the last time I visited. I understand that they are in the midst of a major overhaul now, but wow, it was bad - there was mold clearly visible on the Castle from Central Plaza when I was there.

DLP is horrible. Period.

But here's a small list of missing effects that I can remember now :
- Pinocchio has too many to count, for example the eyes of the first puppet you see when you enter the ride are half closed
- Little Mermaid : No special effect when you get out of the water after the Ursula AA, some missing screens at the beginning too
- Star Tours : you couldn't see the boxes going through the scanner in the queue, resulting in bad show.

And many places that need a new coat of paint in general.

 

[cjkeating]

DLP is horrible. Period.

But here's a small list of missing effects that I can remember now :
- Pinocchio has too many to count, for example the eyes of the first puppet you see when you enter the ride are half closed
- Little Mermaid : No special effect when you get out of the water after the Ursula AA, some missing screens at the beginning too
- Star Tours : you couldn't see the boxes going through the scanner in the queue, resulting in bad show.

And many places that need a new coat of paint in general.

When were you last at DLP?

 

[killzab]

When were you last at DLP?

Last Friday so it's very fresh in my mind.

I would honestly not advise anyone to go there for the moment. It's not worth your time. The park isn't even beautiful to look at with all the rehabs going on.

 

[SpaceMountain75]

Speaking of queues, I was very disappointed with them at DLR. They're so much better at WDW. Most of them at DLR only consist of outdoors metal bars with no theming. Very disappointing.The only ones that I really enjoyed were IJA and Roger Rabbit (why such a great queue for such a lame ride ? ).

I went to WDW for years before making it out to DLR, but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the queue part. The latter has some of my favorites, including:
Big Thunder Mountain (winding path past all the mining equipment)
Pirates of the Caribbean (transition under the bricks to Laffite's Landing)
Radiator Springs Racers (fountain, bottle room, views of Cadillac Mountains)

Not to mention all the wonderful outdoor queues that, while not overtly interesting in and of themselves, give great views of the parks and allow you to appreciate the complexity of them, like:
All the Fantasyland dark rides
Haunted Mansion
Submarine Voyage
Matterhorn
Grizzly River Run

 

[flynnibus]

I went to WDW for years before making it out to DLR, but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the queue part. The latter has some of my favorites, including:
Big Thunder Mountain (winding path past all the mining equipment)
Pirates of the Caribbean (transition under the bricks to Laffite's Landing)
Radiator Springs Racers (fountain, bottle room, views of Cadillac Mountains)

Not to mention all the wonderful outdoor queues that, while not overtly interesting in and of themselves, give great views of the parks and allow you to appreciate the complexity of them, like:
All the Fantasyland dark rides
Haunted Mansion
Submarine Voyage
Matterhorn
Grizzly River Run

All the fantasyland dark rides? They (at best) just have you under a roof for 3 or so switchbacks.. with MAYBE some stuff on the walls. While the every attraction in FL is simply a chain zig zag in front of the attraction. I mean.. Toad is probably the most elaborate of those queues.

The Sub lagoon is great in itself.. but that's not the queue, they just ran the extended line around the lagoon. When you are actually in the queue under the train station you can't barely see the lagoon.

As a rule.. queues at DLR are virtually non-existent as a themed element. They changed that when they built WDW and even beyond that they still cheaped out at DLR when they built DCA. I think it more has to do with weather and simplicity and they just think in the DLR's climate you don't need to put people in these heavily themed, inclosed queues. The only real exceptions have been the modern e-tickets.. splash, btmrr, GRR, RSR, RogerRabbit, and too a lesser extent.. SpaceMtn. Even ToT got the shaft when they hurried that project in.

 

[Californian Elitist]

As someone who spent a lot of time in the FL dark ride queues, I'd say Snow White's queue is the flashiest.

I don't find Toad's elaborate at all.

 

[Disneysea05]

Disneyland Paris has these unusual "half trash cans" where it literally looks like a trash can cut in half vertically so they can be fit into tight spaces in queues. I've always felt these would be ideal for Disneyland's queues. Some get so much trash on the floor cause there aren't any trash cans.

The brick wall at the Haunted Mansion collects so much trash when the queue is full, for example.

 

[SpaceMountain75]

All the fantasyland dark rides? They (at best) just have you under a roof for 3 or so switchbacks.. with MAYBE some stuff on the walls. While the every attraction in FL is simply a chain zig zag in front of the attraction. I mean.. Toad is probably the most elaborate of those queues.

The Sub lagoon is great in itself.. but that's not the queue, they just ran the extended line around the lagoon. When you are actually in the queue under the train station you can't barely see the lagoon.

As a rule.. queues at DLR are virtually non-existent as a themed element. They changed that when they built WDW and even beyond that they still cheaped out at DLR when they built DCA. I think it more has to do with weather and simplicity and they just think in the DLR's climate you don't need to put people in these heavily themed, inclosed queues. The only real exceptions have been the modern e-tickets.. splash, btmrr, GRR, RSR, RogerRabbit, and too a lesser extent.. SpaceMtn. Even ToT got the shaft when they hurried that project in.

I was mainly talking about the views of Fantasyland from the dark rides...specifically Peter Pan's Flight. I just rode that one the other month and was admiring the different camera angles that could be seen from it.

I totally meant to say the Monorail station, not the Submarine Voyage. I love the view from up there at sunset.

 

[TP2000]

As someone who spent a lot of time in the FL dark ride queues, I'd say Snow White's queue is the flashiest.

I don't find Toad's elaborate at all.

You know, sometimes I forget that you were a CM working the rides in Fantasyland. I bet you've got great stories!

Disneyland's Fantasyland dark rides offer some funny queues. The technology of chained switchbacks is strictly 1955, and yet they are aesthetically upgraded to Tony Baxter's 1980's standards. I think that is a happy medium, especially when you compare it to what WDW has tried to do in recent years with their 20th century queues. Remember when some WDI Intern banished to Orlando convinced their boss to install a bunch of nightmare ankle breaker "interactive elements" in the Winnie The Pooh queue?!? Those lasted about two weeks before the legal department shut them down and they were walled off for removal.

 

[Phroobar]

... Even ToT got the shaft when they hurried that project in.

That is pretty funny. ToT got the shaft.