Juan's Almost Xmas DL Update featuring Dragons, Robots, and the Superfountain!

[juan]

PART 1 of 7:
So I travelled back to Disneyland this past weekend and had a great time. Unfortunately, I was caught in-between the seasons - a week late for Halloween :fork: and a week early for Christmas :xmas:. I did get to see some of the decorations going up, the parade taping, and Remember...Dreams Come True fireworks.

I ended up staying at the Fairfield Inn since the DL hotels were booked. I had a real nice view and the walk was real easy. The room was OK, but there were teenagers loitering and running around at night.

Friday barely had any crowds until the evening and made it really easy to see everything. I rode Haunted Mansion Holiday a couple times and absolutely loved it! I haven't seen the movie in almost 15 years so I wasn't too familiar with the back story, but the whole ride just fit together perfectly. I was really surprised at how drastic of a change it actually was.
I actually think it was better than the original DL Haunted Mansion, since I find DL's version much shorter and inferior to WDW's.

 

[juan]

PART 2:
Tiana's Showboat Jubilee performed for the first time on Friday and drew quite large crowds. The boat starts from the dock

then stops over where Fantasmic performs. There is a lot of singing and dancing and streamer waving. At some point

between shows, the performers sing and dance in a parade-like procession from the dock through New Orleans Square. This is
evidently the pre-show to the meet and greet. Evidently I passed by a few big-wigs like Lasseter and Iger, but didn't

really notice who they were.

Over at DCA on Friday, the WoC construction was progressing rapidly. They had the giant fountain thingy (the thing that

looks like Doc Ock from Spiderman) fully extended and it was HUGE! Workers were climbing up and down it all day.

They are also pouring lots of concrete for the viewing area and on what appears to be a fountain to play in.

 

[juan]

PART 3:
Here's some more construction pics:

They were testing the big LEDs at night:

This weekend they had Remember...Dreams Come True Fireworks which were actually really cool. The first song and last song

are the same as WDW's Wishes, but the in-between parts makes the show 10 times better than WDW. There's huge flamethrowers

for Indiana Jones, an awesome segment for the Haunted Mansion, and neat lasers for Tomorrowland. I saw the show both

Friday night and Saturday, but Saturday's show was missing many of the launches from the Hub-perimeter.

Saturday night I finally got to see the Fantasmic dragon and it is just incredible! It had its flamethrower working and

was an amazing sight to see.

 

[juan]

PART 4:

There was some parade crowd taping on Saturday which was funny because they taped our reactions to an "invisble" parade.

Sunday featured taping of the castle stage show with Stevie Wonder.

Here are some other random pics from the trip.

The new Indy AA looks really cool!

Here are some familiar characters. :lookaroun

I was surprised that the correct pronunciation is "Awesome-O" just like the South Park episode. :lol:

 

[juan]

PART 5:
It's Christmas time!

 

[juan]

PART 6:

 

[juan]

PART 7:
While waiting for the rope drop, the security dog came by. The neat thing is the dog has his own photo ID (in red on the

guy's belt).

After the refurb, hopefully WDW's SM is closer in quality to this:

Now where is that dragon? :lookaroun

That's all for this update, I hope you enjoyed it! :wave:

 

[sponono88]

wow, you got some really nice pictures! and some great constructions shots as well

I actually agree about HMH - I kinda prefer the holiday version a bit more than normal HM :lookaroun and that's coming from someone who hasn't even seen the NBC movie.

And I love the shot of TSI during daytime, really demonstrates how the island transforms from it's normal tranquil setting to a full nighttime spectacle at night. can't wait to see that happen in Paradise Pier once WoC opens. Glad you were able to see Remember - it really is an awesome show.

thanks for sharing!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

This makes me want to go to DL very, very, very badly.

 

[TP2000]

You may have been there in between two major holiday seasons, without much up in the way of official "decorations", but you still got some great pictures!

I loved your pictures of the Sailing Ship Columbia out on the river. That's one of those things that is only found at Disneyland, and is such a hidden gem to ride and explore. Thanks for the pics!

 

[sponono88]

You may have been there in between two major holiday seasons, without much up in the way of official "decorations", but you still got some great pictures!

I loved your pictures of the Sailing Ship Columbia out on the river. That's one of those things that is only found at Disneyland, and is such a hidden gem to ride and explore. Thanks for the pics!

I love the Columbia. It was only last year that I discovered you could actually go below deck and explore the inside.. it was really neat. a bit cramped, but it's incredibly detailed and it was fun looking through the quarters and stuff. I loved it. i wish it was out more often.

 

[figment83]

quick question about the horizons characters.... where are thehy located in disneyland?! i will be visiting in late december and must see them!!

 

[EPCOTPluto]

Here are some familiar characters. :lookaroun

Nice update!

However, this did catch my eye. Is it in the Innoventions Carrousel?

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Love the DL photos and the security dog!

 

[sponono88]

Nice update!

However, this did catch my eye. Is it in the Innoventions Carrousel?

yep, that is Innoventions in the pre-show area

 

[juan]

I love the Columbia. It was only last year that I discovered you could actually go below deck and explore the inside.. it was really neat. a bit cramped, but it's incredibly detailed and it was fun looking through the quarters and stuff. I loved it. i wish it was out more often.

I thought it was rather neat too. The river was quite busy with the Columbia, Mark Twain, canoes, and TSI rafts.
I also rode the canoes for the first time which were pretty cool.

 

[EpcotServo]

Great Update!

Haunted Mansion Holiday on a blue-sky-day with nobody around.

THAT is a slice of perfection right there.

 

[juan]

Great Update!

Haunted Mansion Holiday on a blue-sky-day with nobody around.

THAT is a slice of perfection right there.

It worked out perfectly since it was my first ride ever. I was one of 4 people in the stretching room, so I got to look all around and stand in the middle. Afterwards, I got to take my time walking to the Doombuggies to take in all of the sights and changes and look at all the minor details.

The queue for the rest of the day and weekend was sadly not as peaceful.:lol:

 

[EpcotServo]

It worked out perfectly since it was my first ride ever. I was one of 4 people in the stretching room, so I got to look all around and stand in the middle. Afterwards, I got to take my time walking to the Doombuggies to take in all of the sights and changes and look at all the minor details.

The queue for the rest of the day and weekend was sadly not as peaceful.:lol:

I have a big soft spot for Haunted Mansion Holiday. First Disneyland Attraction ever. Can always recall how I dazzled I was seeing Jack's face in the stretching room. Magical.

 

[nemofinder22]

Great pics Juan! I love the HMH, and Castle shots with no guests in the way!

Its amazing how fast the stuff you took pictures of have changed in a weeks time.