What are you talking about? I love Houston in the summer time. I just stay inside all day with my air conditioner set on 65..
Yep, but that gets old, and expensive (65?), after a while. :lol:
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Floridians: Go see DL, Boycott WDW
- Thread starter PeterAlt
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Yep, but that gets old, and expensive (65?), after a while. :lol:
TP2000
Well-Known Member
You are very welcome. Your touring plan sounds fantastic, particularly the timing. The new Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage opens on June 11th, so you should be there shortly after it opens.
Definitely buy a touring book or two at Barnes & Noble or something. The Birnbaums Official Guide is an old standby, but there are also a half dozen other good guidebooks that don't quite take the Disney corporate PR line like Birnbaum's does. I'm betting it will be hard to find a Disneyland book in a South Florida bookstore however, so you might need to go to Amazon.
If you and your husband are big Disney fans you might enjoy the "Walk In Walt's Footsteps" guided tour they give at Disneyland. It's about three hours long and focuses on the buildings, rides and design elements that Walt installed in the park himself during the 1950's and 60's, and what his goal was for doing the things he did at Disneyland. During the tour they take you on a couple of rides that Walt built himself in the 50's, like StorybookLand Canal Boats. There are several different kinds of guided tours at Disneyland, but this one is the Disney Geeks favorite. I'm not sure that the small kids may be interested, but it could be a fun way to spend your second or third morning in the park once you've gotten familiar with the place.
As for non-Disney stuff, Las Vegas is something every American should see at least once. It is very unique. As for seeing "Hollywood", be advised that the reality of that real city is far less exciting than the glamorous image built up over the last 75 years. Universal Studios, on the other hand, is a fantastic place to get a good Hollywood fix without worrying about muggers. Universal Studios Hollywood is vastly superior to the Orlando theme park in that it is a real working studio. The tram tour there takes about 90 minutes, and you roll past real movie sets filming real movies. The last time I took the tour I saw Desperate Housewives filming on the Wysteria Lane outdoor set with most of the cast within sight of the tram car. About 30 minutes later we rolled past another live set just as Tom Hanks stepped out of a big snazzy Bentley holding a Starbucks and gave a wave to the tram of frantic tourists.
If you want to see the real SoCal coast, even more stunning than the brief clip you get on Soarin', head south of Disneyland about 30 minutes to Laguna Beach. That's my favorite beach town, it's stunningly beautiful from the cliffs, genuinely charming in town, and a SoCal original all over. The beaches up near LA are big city beaches with all of the big city junk that comes with it. The beaches in Orange County are much cleaner, much nicer, and generally more scenic. Laguna Beach is one of the best, and an easy drive from Disneyland. You know you aren't in Florida anymore if you visit Laguna Beach.
You've got a lot of homework to do between now and June!
blackerbys17
New Member
Boy it sure does seem like I have a lot of homework! However, those were all really good tips. I didn't realize that the Universal Studios there is so much better and that you can actuall see movies and shows being filmed! I didn't thin I would go but now, well, it seems a very practical and safe way to see some real Hollywood. Besides that, I think I just want to see certain places in the la & Beverly Hills area. I think I've watched Pretty Woman one too many times but I really want to go shopping (yea right, more like window shopping) at Rodeo Drive (is that the correct spelling?). I'll definately go by Laguna beach, especially since it is only 30 minutes or so away from Disneyland. It's funny, you would think living in Miami all my life that I would love the beach, but I don't. Our beaches suck, there is hardly and sand, way too many people, and it's just too crowdwd and noisy for me. I don't really do the tan in the sand thing, my complexion is too fair for that, but I love to take long barefoot walks by the shore on a peaceful beach so Laguna Beach may be more my thing. By the way, thanks for letting me know about the Finding Nemo submarines! I am one of those people that REALLY misses 20,000 leagues under the sea. I tell my son about it all the time, what a shame he never got to go on it. I'm sure these submarines will be much better!
Keep the info coming, you're teaching me a lot, thank you!:wave:
Keep the info coming, you're teaching me a lot, thank you!:wave:
davewasbaloo
New Member
Wow, as a Californian, I really do forget that people think of Universal Studios as a theme park first and foremost. For me, it's a film set visitor attractraction. Yes there is Back to the Future, T2 3D, Jurrasic Park Riv3er adventure etc., but it is the ability to see the Psycho House, Amity, Wysteria Lane, the Court of Miracles (where all the horror movies were filmed), Leave it to Beaver and Muster Houses, the Back to the Future Court House etc. that really make Universal Special.
Personally I would skip Hollywood, or just quickly drive through on the way to or from Universal. It is still full of hobos, street walkers and junkies. However, a movie at the El Capitan (owned by Disney) followed by an ice cream at the Disney Ice Cream parlour is still really cool! There are some buses that go from DL that will do the Hollywood/Beverly Hills/Universal thing as one tour. But be aware, most stars actually live in Malibu and Bel Air. Hollywood had it's heyday about 70 years ago.
Personally I would skip Hollywood, or just quickly drive through on the way to or from Universal. It is still full of hobos, street walkers and junkies. However, a movie at the El Capitan (owned by Disney) followed by an ice cream at the Disney Ice Cream parlour is still really cool! There are some buses that go from DL that will do the Hollywood/Beverly Hills/Universal thing as one tour. But be aware, most stars actually live in Malibu and Bel Air. Hollywood had it's heyday about 70 years ago.
Yeah! Unless you're into, you know, theme parks. USH has a tram tour which is quickly losing all of the attractions along it's route and a few other spare parts. Besides the rare opportunity to see stars, the idea of USH being superior to UO in any way is laughable.
davewasbaloo
New Member
Depends what you are after. I was really disappointed with UO because it was not a working studios.
davewasbaloo
New Member
I know they do game shows and the like (and the used to do Nick), but it's not quite the same scale IMHO. For me, I prefer encountering King Kong, or an Earthquake, or Jaws without having to queue for seperate lines. Sadly, this will be changing as the wrecking ball will be taken to the backlot in Universal City California 
:fork: :goodnevil
:fork: :goodnevil DubyooDeeDubyoo
Active Member
It's called "IllumiNations," look it up because it beats the MK's regular show easily. HalloWishes is the only one of the MK bunch that really fit the scale of the resort.
I've seen all three, and I'll say that IllumiNations > Remember/DL > Wishes/MK. Although the DL show is totally hampered by the hub and the size of the crowd VS the size of the facility. They tried their hardest to put on a WDW-sized show at DL (had to close down everything from Toontown to Main Street shops to the Matterhorn to do it, though) and while they actually did it, those of us who have been to WDW just think "wow, this show is incredible but it should have been at WDW."
I rode both Space Mt's within a couple months, and while WDW's get razzed I prefer it more. The turbulant, bouncy ride makes it feel more scary and out of control. DL's has a more traditional roller coaster track that allows for steep-banked turns and a few half-seconds of Mission:SPACE style g-forces, and there's no question that their interior effects are better, but the WDW one feels at any time like it might have snapped off the track and you're about to fly into a wall. I'd take that unpredictable zippyness over Gforces (which I don't like anyways because they make me uncomfortable, which is why I don't ride most thrill rides.)
And personally the onboard music is something you either love or you just can't stand. Traditionalists no doubt feel that Space Mountain is best experienced when the only sounds are the screams of the passengers.
And while it's rough, it's not nearly as rough as the Matterhorn, which will rattle loose any unsecured teeth you may have.
The dioramas are okay (when actually maintained) but I honestly prefer the 'real' full-sized trains more.
I'd tie it. HoP has more AAs but it's also a rah-rah for the current sitting President which, regardless of who that person is, will cause differing opinions among the audience.
I'd tie this, as well. WDW has the waterlogged town and the bumpy ride through that scene, which to me is better than the Rainbow Ridge town set, even if it's not as nostalgic. Also, the WDW one doesn't give me the creepy "somebody DIED on this" feeling, which kept running through my mind this year and caused me to morbidly watch the connection between the first and second platform throughout the ride.
If I rode mission:space I would feel the same way, of course, but that ride is too wild for me so I don't. The recent rash of tragedies did cause me to avoid the pavilion last time, though, so maybe i'm just especially sensitive to these things. And realistically BTRR/DL had a mechanical failure at the center of it's accident, while MS worked as designed. I just have difficulty enjoying Big Thunder West anymore.
DubyooDeeDubyoo
Active Member
I hate to post twice but my last one was getting pretty long and I'm not sure if it would have been good manners to keep adding edits on to it:
I like Cinderella Castle, but keep in mind that the Old Folks , the ones who heard "And now, your host, Walt Disney" every week on the old telly, and saw Uncle Walt talking about this new place he was building (is he just joking?) and how it'll have all these things to do and a train running around it (I bet he's just making it up) and it would open in just over a year (no way!).... They think of DL.
You know the finale of Wishes? That's an imitation of Walt's TV series, and to many people Jimminy Cricket (or a collection of voices they use in the show) singing WYWUAS while fireworks go off over the castle rooftops is a direct reference to the opening of the old TV specials that appeared on the broadcast networks regularly. "When you wish..." was the theme song for the original B&W Disneyland TV show whereas the fireworks and pink floodlights make one reminisce of Wonderful World of Color.
Again, that doesn't mean anyone else's emotions are more important than yours, it just means you don't know the context or why something else could be important to another person.
Now then, I'm not a big fan of DL's castle anymore, but back in the day when it looked like an actual castle it was far less goofy looking:
Castle v1.0: all bricks the same light gray color, no silly animal-heads on the side, no pink all over the place. Trees not tall enough to dwarf the building.
I'm not saying Cindy's isn't impressive, it always takes my breath away even though it's only a fraction of the size of the 1000ft+ building in the center of my town. I'm just saying that you can't judge DL's potential on the past, say, 20 years. It was a much stronger park at one point before it became a second fiddle weekend destination for locals.
Finally, while I have been slamming DL and sometimes going as far as apologizing for some of WDW's flaws, I am a native Californian who has been to Disneyland many times and has been to WDW for a grand total of one week (mostly because I still live on the west coast.) People aren't really brainwashed, they just have differing opinions.
I like Cinderella Castle, but keep in mind that the Old Folks
, the ones who heard "And now, your host, Walt Disney" every week on the old telly, and saw Uncle Walt talking about this new place he was building (is he just joking?) and how it'll have all these things to do and a train running around it (I bet he's just making it up) and it would open in just over a year (no way!).... They think of DL.You know the finale of Wishes? That's an imitation of Walt's TV series, and to many people Jimminy Cricket (or a collection of voices they use in the show) singing WYWUAS while fireworks go off over the castle rooftops is a direct reference to the opening of the old TV specials that appeared on the broadcast networks regularly. "When you wish..." was the theme song for the original B&W Disneyland TV show whereas the fireworks and pink floodlights make one reminisce of Wonderful World of Color.
Again, that doesn't mean anyone else's emotions are more important than yours, it just means you don't know the context or why something else could be important to another person.
Now then, I'm not a big fan of DL's castle anymore, but back in the day when it looked like an actual castle it was far less goofy looking:
Castle v1.0: all bricks the same light gray color, no silly animal-heads on the side, no pink all over the place. Trees not tall enough to dwarf the building.
I'm not saying Cindy's isn't impressive, it always takes my breath away even though it's only a fraction of the size of the 1000ft+ building in the center of my town. I'm just saying that you can't judge DL's potential on the past, say, 20 years. It was a much stronger park at one point before it became a second fiddle weekend destination for locals.
Finally, while I have been slamming DL and sometimes going as far as apologizing for some of WDW's flaws, I am a native Californian who has been to Disneyland many times and has been to WDW for a grand total of one week (mostly because I still live on the west coast.) People aren't really brainwashed, they just have differing opinions.
Aside from some nicely carved pumpkins and a cute Pumpkin Floral Mickey, most of DLR's Halloween decorations were last year's Tokyo Disneyland decorations, including the statues at the entrance.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Well, no.
There were three sets of decorations brought in from Tokyo, small vignettes if you will, and they were all lined up along the parking lot tram route and out at the parking structure. I was in Tokyo in October, 2005 and have pictures of them there.
The carved pumpkins over the entrances were new, and created in the entertainment warehouse off Olive Street in north Anaheim during the summer of '06. They were then trucked the 15 blocks south to the Park and installed over the ticket booths in September, 2006. The rest of the HalloweenTime decorations like the street lamp decorations, the bunting, the big Mickey pumpkin in Town Square and the 300 carved pumpkins in the Main Street windows were also created for Disneyland in the Olive Street warehouse in summer '06.
The Tokyo stuff was fairly easy to spot because the scale and style were different from the new stuff in the park, which is why the designers kept them separated from the rest and out on the tram route or under the bridge near the parking structure.
davewasbaloo
New Member
Totally agree here. While I do love Wishes, Illuminations just blows me away! And the DL 50th show was entirely awesome.
Nicole220
Well-Known Member
I think DL's Believe...in Holiday Magic blows Remember away. It was amazing! I forgot how great it was until I saw it again this past month when it came back.
indychristine
New Member
My first post!
Hi All!!
This is my first post and I am happy to be here! I have been a lurker for a number of years.
I have been to DL upwards of 32 times, I grew up in San Diego. I have been to WDW 4 times since 2004 and I love it. I now live in Indiana, so WDW is my choice these days.
I DO miss DL! There are differences between DL and WDW, OBVIOUSLY. There are some things that I have a hard time getting past at WDW. Having grown up going to DL I have to admit that DL does seem to be a bit better in many ways, BUT it can not and never will compare to WDW in Size. Size of the parks as well as Resorts. Anaheim just doesnt have the space to compete. We used to talk about Disney buying Anaheim and just tearing it down ( nothing would be missed there,LOL) and turning the entire city into DL. That would be nice. Anyway, the things that I really am having a hard time getting past are: The Matterhorn, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Carribean, Indiana Jones and Space Mountain. I MISS these rides. If WDW has them they are so different that I miss DL's version. If WDW doesnt have them, as in the Matterhorn, it is just a nostolgic thing, I am used to seeing it. But, It's a small world! WOW, what a difference. When you go to DL you HAVE to wait outside for the Toy Soldiers to come out and watch the clock open up!! WOW. I dont know, it is JMHO. It is also alot of nostolgia. For me anyway. OK- I will stop rambling.
BUT I LOVE WDW and I would never give it up. I have stayed at GF,POFQ,SOG and am staying at The Contemporary in 2007. I am an obsssssssssessedDISNEYFREAK and would never think of giving up WDW or DL! Having said that I wouldnt mind of they refurbed Space Mountain, the WDW version hurts my neck and I love SPace Mountain. AND I MISS POC at DL. I was soooo sad when I rode the WDW version. That one I DO NOT understand?? Why would they make it different?
OK- nice to meet everyone and I hope nobody wants to run me off of the discussion boards for loving both parks!!
Christine in Indy
Hi All!!
This is my first post and I am happy to be here! I have been a lurker for a number of years.
I have been to DL upwards of 32 times, I grew up in San Diego. I have been to WDW 4 times since 2004 and I love it. I now live in Indiana, so WDW is my choice these days.
I DO miss DL! There are differences between DL and WDW, OBVIOUSLY. There are some things that I have a hard time getting past at WDW. Having grown up going to DL I have to admit that DL does seem to be a bit better in many ways, BUT it can not and never will compare to WDW in Size. Size of the parks as well as Resorts. Anaheim just doesnt have the space to compete. We used to talk about Disney buying Anaheim and just tearing it down ( nothing would be missed there,LOL) and turning the entire city into DL. That would be nice. Anyway, the things that I really am having a hard time getting past are: The Matterhorn, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Carribean, Indiana Jones and Space Mountain. I MISS these rides. If WDW has them they are so different that I miss DL's version. If WDW doesnt have them, as in the Matterhorn, it is just a nostolgic thing, I am used to seeing it. But, It's a small world! WOW, what a difference. When you go to DL you HAVE to wait outside for the Toy Soldiers to come out and watch the clock open up!! WOW. I dont know, it is JMHO. It is also alot of nostolgia. For me anyway. OK- I will stop rambling.
BUT I LOVE WDW and I would never give it up. I have stayed at GF,POFQ,SOG and am staying at The Contemporary in 2007. I am an obsssssssssessedDISNEYFREAK and would never think of giving up WDW or DL! Having said that I wouldnt mind of they refurbed Space Mountain, the WDW version hurts my neck and I love SPace Mountain. AND I MISS POC at DL. I was soooo sad when I rode the WDW version. That one I DO NOT understand?? Why would they make it different?
OK- nice to meet everyone and I hope nobody wants to run me off of the discussion boards for loving both parks!!
Christine in Indy
DisneyMusician2
Well-Known Member
I think that they shouldn't copy so many rides, and give each park a different identity with completely different attractions. It would certainly make things intereting to go around and see other parks and aviod these comparisons. Or they should at least make them all different enough from each other that they can't really be comapred with any accuracy.
Nicole220
Well-Known Member
Kind of like Test Track and the new ride that might come into "Carland" at DCA.
