Well, we are getting into the phase where we can start nailing down plans, as Disney is announcing final dates for things during our trip.
Some of the things I am going to post I have mentioned and discussed with AusDisneyFan (so no news to her), some I have mentioned in brief in other threads, and some are new...so, if I am repetitive, apologies in advance!
So, I want to talk about the stuff we probably WON'T be able to do. Not meant negatively, as I have said before, just another excuse to come back!
The first is something I just found about today.
For "Limited Time Magic" Disney has reintroduced the Golden Horseshow Revue. Now, I remember vaguely as a kid seeing this as the Diamond Horseshoe Jamboree (RIP Wally Boag). Today, the "seasonal opening" of that restaurant disappoints me still, and every trip I have been it is always closed...though I have read there is no longer a show, rather a lonely player piano and bad food. Every time I walk by the Venue with my kid on a visit, I look over and my heart pangs as I recall a vague childhood memory of dancing ladies in funny dresses, and comedians, and live music, and how much I enjoyed it. This may have been part of why I enjoyed the Hoop de Doo so much on my last trip (dirty tables aside). The show at WDW has been gone a long time.
Now, at DisneyLand, where the "mother venue" lives, the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, various shows ran up until 2003, and specialty events, like fundraisers, after that. Imagine my surprise when I saw this!
I was so curious! What were the dates? Would they re-enact some of Wally Boag's famous skits? Well, the answer to the latter is no, and the answer to the former is...we are going to miss it by ONE day! It ends on Feb 4, and that is when we arrive! Well, we could make it work.
I could change up my flight times...which I suppose I could do, and if we decide it is worth burning out AusDisneyFan on her first night in from Australia (which I don't think it is a good idea, jet lag and all, a grumpy and tired AusDisneyFan does not a good first impression make, no matter how much I adore her. I think we should take it easy and have a relaxed night on our terms, not Disney's schedule)
We could also decide that it is worth burning a day on our tickets or buying an extra day (that is a rather steep admission charge, nostalgia aside).
So, I suspect we will MISS it! Argh! Timing!
Second is Fantasmic.
I was really hoping to see the Disneyland version of the show, since I am wholly underwhelmed by the WDW version of the show. I do enjoy it, and have seen it multiple times with the kid, but it just feels a bit like watching a show with no heart or plot, all effects based. Sort of like a Michael Bay film. While the ampetheatre is large, I have seen high school football stadiums that were more attractive, and while the show is fun, I never found it breathtaking (like, say, Wishes) or magical (like say, Wishes) or even funny and fun (like, say, the
Main Street Electrical Parade).
Now, I have heard the exact opposite about the Disneyland version. First, this version, in keeping with the park tradition, is the original. WDW is merely a bad copy, and a six year younger "custom built" version to boot. The Disneyland version is done on the Rivers of America, the waters surrounding
Tom Sawyer Island. And, the show designers had to work around the constraints of this, but had some amazing props at their disposal, like a life size pirate ship!
WDW looks fake and forced. Hence why I suspect we rarely see people ranting and raving about it in the forums. The show is good, worth seeing, worth doing the "free Fantasmic dinner package" for...but otherwise..."meh". (As the Internet would say). But, the Disneyland version looks truly awe inspiring.
So, it will not be playing during our stay, so something else we will miss.
For third, I am going to list ride closings, with a short blurb about each...
I preface this with a statement that, while some of these ride closings may upset me, I am fine with them. I am glad to see Disney giving TLC to rides. That just means they will be there next visit! And be a better experience than a broken down and poorly maintained monstrosity.
Top on my list of closed rides is Small World.
I am actually very upset this ride will be closed for refurb during our trip for two reasons, neither being the song that sticks on your head like caramel sticks to your molars.
The first is that the Disneyland version is the original. It has its own building, its own theme. It is not shoved into fantasyland, like a red headed stepchild, the way that the WDW version is, rather it is laid out in all glory, with an outdoor staging area, a universally unique building, and even the site of projection shows similar to "magic, memories and you" at WDW. It has an outdoor staging area and entrance, which lends a far more classic Disney "dark ride" feel to it...as if you are journeying into a cartoon or short film to take a break from real life, which I think is the key to the Disney idea of the "dark ride". While I suspect the interior ride is very similar, I was curious to see if I could spot differences.
The second is a bit more personal, since my travel partner, and my loving friend, is coming from so far away to join in this trip. I am not an easy commute either, but the flight to LA here from Sydney is airplane hell (for the record, it is listed on wiki in the top worst length flights in the world). I sort of wanted to experience the symbolism and deeper message of that corny, yet endearing, ride and song. We literally crossed the world to have fun together at Disney, and I thought a ride there would be oddly fitting for us to experience together. Alas, this will not be, at least on this trip.
Next is
Splash Mountain.
It will be closed for our trip, which given the weather is ok, but I really wanted to compare the smaller logs to the larger logs at WDW that I have known all my life (WDW seats two abreast, even three sometimes, DLC is one, maybe two if the kid is small enough). Plus, I wanted to try and spot differences in the ride that the Kid and I love so much (note, it was her favorite ride until she was tall enough for Rockin' Roller Coaster in 2012). This is another Disneyland transplant to WDW where my Disneyphile heart really wanted to see the original in all its relative glory.
Number Three is
Big Thunder Mountain
Railroad
Now, this ride is not a favorite of mine, even though I love the ride. The Disney wrist watch I bought to remember the 2010 trip (a Skagen) was broken on the ride in 2011 at WDW, partially because the ride was so rough. Since then at WDW it went through a track refurb at WDW, and is now getting a queue refurb (good news, I remember those drinking water fountains in line from when I was a kid! Frankly, glad to see them go!). I assume the DLC version is going through a similar refurb. But, it is still among my favorite rides, I would like to experience the original...
Funny four (wacka wacka) is Muppets 3D
This will be closed during our trip, and while it wasn't high on my list, it does hold a distinction of being the first attraction on my list from WDW to be replicated at Disneyland. As opposed to the latter, this attraction appeared nearly a decade later on the West Coast! I will be sad not to see the show, but given the state of disrepair it is at HS, I wasn't optimistic. They being said, I LOVE the muppets, and really wanted to see this and compare and contrast the two shows, and their unique queues!
Fabulous Fifth is the
Mad Tea Party
We will not be able to swing our cups around together, as this attraction will be closed. I doubt this will bother either of us much (though this post has been mostly about me, which it should be, I cant speak for her )...but somehow I doubt this is her sort of ride, unless it is a lazy twirl. Anyhow, I like tea, but she prefers coffee, so I blame AusDisneyFan for this ride outage. It is obviously her fault.
Scathing sixth is the Mark Twain
I have so many fond memories of doing the Liberty Belle as a kid and teenager...and yet as an adult I have missed it! In 2010 it was closed for refurb...in 2011 we just missed the last sail since the kid wanted to do
Peter Pan, and in 2012 we also missed it as well! Now, I find out that Disneyland's riverboat, the Mark Twain, is going to be closed...I am starting to suspect a conspiracy!
Grizzly River Run, which seems like Kali River Rapids to me, seems nothing to do when the top temp is around 70 F. Though, I wouldn't mind shivering and having AusDisneyFan warm me up with a hot cocoa and a blanket, if we are both freezing and wet, it isn't quite the right mood
Silly Symphony Swings, which I am a tad upset about, as this is not a very common ride anymore, I quite remember as a child loving the "swivel swings" at festivals in Germany, where they were quite popular. I rarely see them now. So, boo that they will be closed...first time I had seen one in operations since my childhood.
Cafe Orleans will be closed as well, which is a creole food joint at DisneyLand Park that specialities in the Monte Cristo (a unique sandwich for one to try, if you have not ever had one, but I have had many, and many far better than Disney would provide I suspect)...no real concerns for us there.
So, after all this. I am tired of posting, I have more to share, and will do so, but this is it for tonight, as far as trip reporting is concerned. So, as stated before, any unique LA ideas, we would love to hear them! And of course any Disneyland ideas!
Goodnight!
) and there will still be LOTS of stuff for us to see and take in. Each day I'm getting more and more excited! 
