Random Musings from a Disneyland Trip

[Californian Elitist]

Be careful, or you may be converted!

Absolutely nothing wrong with that! I have no doubt I will enjoy WDW, and I plan on switching off from DLR and WDW in the future, when I graduate from college and get a gret job.

 

[MichWolv]

I love Magical and I think it's slightly better than Wishes. Eden Espinosa's voice is great and I love the finale.

Now, isn't it true that you haven't actually been to WDW yet? Seeing a fireworks she on YouTube doesn't count, so I'm anxious for you to see Wishes some day

Yeah -- comparing stuff you haven't actually experienced is a bit...nonsensical.

Enjoy WDW when you get there. You will experience better versions of 10 or so attractions, and worse versions of a few more then 10. Of course, there is much disagreement as to who has the better versions of some.

 

[englanddg]

Absolutely nothing wrong with that! I have no doubt I will enjoy WDW, and I plan on switching off from DLR and WDW in the future, when I graduate from college and get a gret job.

Good luck at getting a gret job. (slightly sarcastic, but I do wish you the best, we've all been there, though, I make six figures and never graduated from college...but I've taught it!)

Sarcasm aside, you'll find it will come down to finances and priorities. If I were you, I'd plan on several years with no Disney, unless you settle near one of the parks. Just keep focused on what is right for you. Life will throw you plenty of curve balls.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Yeah -- comparing stuff you haven't actually experienced is a bit...nonsensical.

Enjoy WDW when you get there. You will experience better versions of 10 or so attractions, and worse versions of a few more then 10. Of course, there is much disagreement as to who has the better versions of some.

Taking a final opinion on something that you've never experienced in person is nonsensical. One can still have an impression, idea or an opinion that isn't final on something they haven't experienced in person. I've never been to Mexico, but I have an impression the food can make someone sick. I save all final judgements until I experience everything myself, which I can't wait to do.

Looking forward to the trip.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I have to completely disagree. I DESPISE the parking structure. It never fails that they park me in the farthest back corner of the garage, which is about 6 miles from the tram. So after the 3 hour hike to the tram, you then wait in a line for the tram, ride the tram, and then get dropped in Downtown Disney, which I feel is much further away from the park entrance. (Strangely, you say the opposite. Maybe it's mental.) And I feel like the lines at the end of the night for the tram are horrendous compared to the busses. It is certainly more claustrophobic.

In contrast, the bus parks right next to your car and drops you off close to the park entrances. Way easier than walking 6 miles across the garage. And there's never a wait to get on the bus at Toy Story, but there's almost always a wait to get on the tram at the garage. The actual bus ride is kind of long, but I still prefer that over walking across the garage. At night the line does get long at certain times, but we've learned to avoid those times. I think the longest we've ever waited for the bus during the busiest possible time is 10 minutes.

I don't think we've used the garage in years because we prefer Toy Story so much.

It's funny, because we tried Toy Story once when we were coming to Disneyland from the East... never again. Your car is sitting out in the sun, so it's hot when you get back; when you park in the structure, you have a 5/6 chance of being in the shade. The bus ride is such a short distance, but it takes so much longer than it "should". It felt like the beginning of Office Space, where he's watching the people walk by faster than he's moving in his car. I've never waited more than 5 minutes for a tram... if it looks like a long wait, I just walk to the parks. It's such a pleasant walk with lots of shady trees and flowers. You have to cross Disneyland Dr, but that's like a cow path compared to Harbor Blvd.

 

[MichWolv]

Taking a final opinion on something that you've never experienced in person is nonsensical. One can still have an impression, idea or an opinion that isn't final on something they haven't experienced in person. I've never been to Mexico, but I have an impression the food can make someone sick. I save all final judgements until I experience everything myself, which I can't wait to do.

Looking forward to the trip.

Fair enough, but your initial response didnt indicate that you believe you won't enjoy Wishes as much as Magical, but left the impression that you had already made that conclusion.

And in regard to Mexico, it isn't an mores sun you have about the food -- you know for a fact that it has made people sick.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

2. Sadly, RSR is already showing wear and tear on the effects. The tractors weren't tipping, Doc Hudson wasn't swinging back and forth to talk to the racers (instead, just looking straight ahead at nobody), the painting and tire visual effects both failed on one ride. This was true first thing in the morning as well. Hopefully, this isn't what we can expect long-term -- I'm not used to this stuff at Disneyland.

I really need to watch a ride through from when the ride first opened. Not knowing the ride intimately, it was hard to know what effects were or weren't working on our trip. The white walls worked the first few days of our trip, but not the last few. One tractor tipped every time, but are more supposed to? Nothing "magical" happened in the paint room, which was disappointing, but we weren't sure if something was broken, or that's just how it is. Doc never moved, but it makes a lot more sense to know now that he was supposed to. It seemed strange to have him talking off into space as you drive by.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

7. Watched Fantasmic from front and center, grabbing the spot only 25 minutes before the show. Amazing luck, that. Just enough time for me to run and grab Dole Whips before the show started. By far the best F! version anywhere.

Apparently we should have gone when you did, between this and the railing spot for WOC 6 minutes before show. Even late at night, I never saw a Dole Whip line that I could have gotten though in less than 20 minutes. The one time we tried, we only moved ahead one person in 10 minutes.

 

[MichWolv]

I really need to watch a ride through from when the ride first opened. Not knowing the ride intimately, it was hard to know what effects were or weren't working on our trip. The white walls worked the first few days of our trip, but not the last few. One tractor tipped every time, but are more supposed to? Nothing "magical" happened in the paint room, which was disappointing, but we weren't sure if something was broken, or that's just how it is. Doc never moved, but it makes a lot more sense to know now that he was supposed to. It seemed strange to have him talking off into space as you drive by.

I believe that two of the tractors are supposed to tip, although my memory of the last trip, when this effect was working, isn't perfect. And the Doc problem is particularly noticeable. He does need to swing pretty fast to make it work, and I can certainly understand how the timing on the swinging could be thrown off, but having him look at nothing is really strange.

 

[MichWolv]

Apparently we should have gone when you did, between this and the railing spot for WOC 6 minutes before show. Even late at night, I never saw a Dole Whip line that I could have gotten though in less than 20 minutes. The one time we tried, we only moved ahead one person in 10 minutes.

The railing spot for WOC is available to anybody -- just eat dinner at one of the restaurants that comes with prime WOC passes, and you can do it. Expensive meal, but great WOC viewing.

And as for Dole Whip, the trick is to go into the waiting area for the Tiki room, and wait in the Dole Whip line there. It doesn't move any quicker, but there's generally less people in line (about a 5 person wait vs. 20 when I grabbed them two nights ago).

 

[AmongMadPeople]

The railing spot for WOC is available to anybody -- just eat dinner at one of the restaurants that comes with prime WOC passes, and you can do it. Expensive meal, but great WOC viewing.

And as for Dole Whip, the trick is to go into the waiting area for the Tiki room, and wait in the Dole Whip line there. It doesn't move any quicker, but there's generally less people in line (about a 5 person wait vs. 20 when I grabbed them two nights ago).

Check and check We did Wine Country Trattoria, and waited like vultures for our section to open. We still got crappy spots. Expensive meal, crappy viewing. We were also in the Tiki Room Dole Whip line, and it never moved. There had to have been some kind of malfunction with the machines. I never checked the Tiki line at night...but still the consistently long line for them shocked me. I'll never feel bad at WDW again when I have to wait for 5 people in front of me!

 

[MichWolv]

Check and check We did Wine Country Trattoria, and waited like vultures for our section to open. We still got crappy spots. Expensive meal, crappy viewing. We were also in the Tiki Room Dole Whip line, and it never moved. There had to have been some kind of malfunction with the machines. I never checked the Tiki line at night...but still the consistently long line for them shocked me. I'll never feel bad at WDW again when I have to wait for 5 people in front of me!

Of course, the trick at WDW is to just go to Captain Cook's at the Poly. Never a line.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Fair enough, but your initial response didnt indicate that you believe you won't enjoy Wishes as much as Magical, but left the impression that you had already made that conclusion.

And in regard to Mexico, it isn't an mores sun you have about the food -- you know for a fact that it has made people sick.

Oh no, of course not. That's why I said I THINK I like Magical better, but I won't know until I see Wishes in person. I just hope it's not gone by the time I visit.

I've actually heard stories from my friends going, eating the food and not getting sick. I guess it just depends.

 

[Zman-ks]

Of course, the trick at WDW is to just go to Captain Cook's at the Poly. Never a line.

Agreed!

 

[MichWolv]

Oh no, of course not. That's why I said I THINK I like Magical better, but I won't know until I see Wishes in person. I just hope it's not gone by the time I visit.

I've actually heard stories from my friends going, eating the food and not getting sick. I guess it just depends.

Not everybody gets sick, of course. I've been to Mexico many times with no ill effects from the food.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not everybody gets sick, of course. I've been to Mexico many times with no ill effects from the food.

Where do you usually eat?

 

[MichWolv]

Where do you usually eat?

I've been to Tijuana, Ensenada, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Cozumel, Juarez, and a few other places, so I've eaten at all kinds of restaurants. I figure the nicer the restaurant, the safer I'm likely to be, and it's worked out OK. Plus, I figure chains are likely to have stricter health standards than other places.

FYI, I'd avoid Juarez. Big city...scary place. I went for business several times, and I'd prefer not to return. Everywhere else is geared to tourists, so they were fine.

 

[Texas84]

Not everybody gets sick, of course. I've been to Mexico many times with no ill effects from the food.

We used to go to the border towns across the southeast Texas border without a problem until the drug gangs went nuts. A few of the restaurants have actually moved into Texas.

And as for Dole Whip, the trick is to go into the waiting area for the Tiki room, and wait in the Dole Whip line there. It doesn't move any quicker, but there's generally less people in line (about a 5 person wait vs. 20 when I grabbed them two nights ago).

Awesome tip! I'll have to try that this fall.