It's that time you all have been waiting for...and the time which I have been dreading...my return from Southern California and the Disneyland Resort. My week-long visit to the Disneyland Resort was my first, and let me just say, it was PURE MAGIC. I definitely enjoyed the hotel, Downtown Disney District, Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, and my new, favorite Disney Theme Park, Disney's California Adventure! Yes, you heard me right--Disney's California Adventure is my favorite Disney Theme Park!
Regardless, we arrived on Saturday, after a fabulous JetBlue flight to Long Beach International Airport, to find Southern California in one of its biggest rain storms in years. Soggy, we headed to our Resort Hotel, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, and rode the glass elevator to our fabulous room on the 13th floor (I didn't think hotels were supposed to have a 13th floor...), with a view of Paradise Pier and the whole Disneyland Resort--simply an incredible view that took my breath away.
We quickly bought Disneyland Resort ponchos and walked into Disney's California Adventure through our private entrance. We first ate dinner at Ariel's Grotto, which had some fabulous food (dessert included!)--I had a great pot pie and a brownie sundae! Now, being the one in my party with the most gumption, and having already noticed that lines were nothing, I decided to rush over to my first ride, a drenching spin on California Screamin'! I would end up riding Screamin' seven times over the course of the trip, and hear its outstanding, what Eisner would call "testosterone-driven" soundtrack. This is my favorite coaster on the planet! I love it more than RnR, as it incorporates the best roller coaster elements of the best roller coasters in California, creating an incredible ride experience! I then met up with my family, and we headed to the Disneyland Resort's best attraction, Soarin' Over California. Being a guy, I hesitate to admit this (don't want the girl of my dreams to think I'm...well...back to disneyland!), but this attraction is better than what everyone says--completely breathtaking, and brought me to both smiles and tears when I rode it, seeing the beauty of the Golden State--a truly amazing ride system and experience, and it gave me my first viewing of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom--I was, quite simply, blown away!
At this point, we decided it was time to head to Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, so we headed through the unimpressive security (they hardly checked my bags the entire trip, half of the time just feeling the outside of my bag...). I got my first viewing of Main Street, U.S.A., its music filling the air as the Main Street Vehicles passed down the street. I think I will turn more thematic now, so that my post doesn't turn into a book.
First of all, the rain stopped at 8:00 pm, but due to slight wind, Believe...There's Magic in the Stars was cancelled (and the wind was slight by 9:30 pm), which certainly ticked me off and made me sad, as I never got to see Believe for this trip. Regardless, the rest of the trip, it was sunny and warm, and a bit windy during the afternoons. As for Main Street, I did remark that Sleeping Beauty Castle seemed smaller, but this only helped with the more intimate feel of the Disneyland Resort. I also noticed how much more authentic Main Street was at Disneyland than at wdw--from the 200 year old gas lamps to the much larger number of Main Street vehicles to the much greater variation in stores and even storefronts here--it feels much more like a small town.
Over in Adventureland, I was surprised at how close Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was to the Central Plaza, but I did enjoy being able to see the classic show once again. Next up was the Jungle Cruise, noticeably shorter, to make way for its neighbor, but still a lot of fun with a kewl looking queue--this whole land seems to fit together better than at wdw. Speaking of its neighbor, I adventured in the Temple of the Forbidden Eye five times during my trip, thanks to my Unlimited Fastpass, and was in awe each time at the incredible amount of detail in the queue and ride building, with its incredible effects and music! Some of the kewlest effects include the crawling bug effect on the wall from the cars' headlights, the smoke chamber that allows for the projection of rats, making you feel as though you are about to slam into a wall covered with rats, and, of course, the rolling boulder--a fantastic ride experience, but it needs an On-Ride Photo!
Over in New Orleans Square, our meal in Blue Bayou on Thursday was very nice, and I found Pirates of the Caribbean to be a much fuller experience here, with a tie-in to the movie! (cursed treasure) The Haunted Mansion, also, is better, with how you can actually get up to the building, the fact that its soundtrack has been fixed so it doesn't skip or stop, and the addition of show scenes.
Critter Country only had one attraction (soon to change), which is also a better ride experience, with its addition of Audio-Animatronics, an extra song, and extra drop (two rapids drops rather than just one 15 foot drop).
Frontierland felt about the same, but Rivers of America was closed--I'm sure it feels better, too, when Fantasmic and the Columbia are working--one thing I did notice, though, was a fabulous change in scenery between lands--different plants in each land.
Fantasyland has many more attractions to enjoy, in a more conducive land (the Carrousel is fantasic), including the Matterhorn! I greatly enjoyed this classic attraction, while finding it pretty intense...shook my mom up.
Toontown also looks better, with stronger theming, and CarToon Spin was, as was expected, a fabulously quirky addition.
Tomorrowland is the one lowpoint of this park. While I love having the Monorail here, and felt that the Disneyland Railroad, in general, was very kewl with its variation between trains and sideways orientation of the seats, like at Animal Kingdom (did you know Disneyland is building a new train as we speak?!), the Autopia was a welcome addition, Innoventions was nice, as was Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, I for some reason felt this land was lacking (sounds weird after I list all those attractions, but it still feels lacking when you are there--perhaps the bare Rocket Rods track is the problem).
All-in-all, a great park, and I definitely enjoyed the Parade of the Stars, along with seeing large crowds at both Theme Parks and Downtown Disney! Good to see that tourism is up at the Resort.
Next door, of course, we have my favorite park, California Adventure. Upon entering the park, we were surrounded by great atmosphere (including the great teenage/early 20s singing group Route 66) and fabulous music filling the air, including favorite Beach Boys songs--just such a fun atmosphere along with the amazing looking Sun Icon!
Turning left, we entered the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, presenting a great line of attractions, including favorites like MuppetVision 3D and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire--Play It!, along with great new attractions, like the fabulous Disney Animation, featuring a good hour of fun activities and shows, and the massive Hyperion Theatre, featuring the fun (not quite Broadway-style, but still the closest to Broadway you can get in a Theme Park) Aladdin! I cannot wait for the impressive-looking Hollywood Tower Hotel to start accepting reservations here, but I can't help but think they need to post signs telling people what this attraction is! I cannot tell you how many people are clueless that Disney is bringing this great attraction to California Adventure! Put up a billboard at the start of Sunset Boulevard advertising that the HTH will soon be accepting reservations!
Heading out of Hollywood, we turn left and pass into the Golden State, with the impressive Grizzly Peak watching over Adventurers--there is simply no angle of this mountain that does not provide breathtaking photo ops! We took intriguing tours of both Golden Vine Winery, the Boudin Bakery, and the Mission Tortilla Factory while dining on great food and drinks (don't tell anyone I'm not 21!), before heading next door, into the brand-new "a bug's land". While there was little for me to do here, besides see the Animal Kingdom favorite, It's Tough to Be a Bug, I did find this land quite cute for the kids, with some great theming (although there is something strange about the ToT towering over it...you will seriously be able to hear screams from this ride throughout the park!), along with churros, which are, for anyone who does not know, even more popular at the Disneyland Resort than in wdw!
Next up around the bend to the left is the thrilling Paradise Pier district, which is simply incredible looking at night, as Disney's Electrical Parade passes by. This is a fantastic land for anyone over age 7, with the vastly popular, thrilling California Screamin', which I was thrilled to find allowed for sticking my hands in the air! A great time was had by all fellow Screamers on this attraction. MaliBOOMer is, as the Paradise Pier guy remarks, "A BLAST!"--it's all about build-up, and offers a great view! The Sun Wheel was kinda nausiating, but did offer a fantastic view of the snow-capped mountains, which took our breaths away, as we could view the mountains the entire trip! All of Paradise Pier's attractions looked fantastic at night, and I'll leave it at that, as the other attractions are kind of self-explanitory--nothing we all haven't been on before, just with extra theming.
Meanwhile, we loop up into Golden State West, with the Bay Area and Golden Dreams, which, like Soarin', brought me to tears with its dramatic ending involving "Just One Dream" a la the American Adventure--a fantastic show that tied the park together in 22 minutes!
Grizzly River Recreation Area offered the nice-looking Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and outstanding views of the beautiful Grand Californian Hotel. Grizzly River Run was a fantastic raft ride, although I would have enjoyed slightly more theming in the queue, and maybe an Animatronic grizzly--the two drops and the spin effect, however, did create a joyfully-drenching ride experiece, getting everyone in the rafts wet (some more than others--I happened to have a slight problem w/ getting water in my boxers, but I will go no further than to say Grizzly River Run uses cold water!).
Finally, we enter Condor Flats, and I already spoke of my love for Soarin', but all-in-all, I found the theming in each of the areas of this park to be beautiful, and the music played fun in many areas, but also authentic to the areas the represent--they seriously need to sell a soundtrack of just that music ("Route 66", "San Fernando Valley", "Surfin' USA", "I Wish They All Could Be California Girls"). This is a fantastic park, and Californians are beginning to enjoy this park, as supported by how packed it was this entire week--this is a park attracting both teenagers and adults (a noticeably more adult park than Disneyland), and since I am pretty much a teenage adult, I found the entire park fantastic, again--my favorite Disney Park of the six I have experienced. Once the Tower of Terror opens, I think this park will start reach its coming-of-age, much like the more adult oriented Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios did.
Outside of the parks, I enjoyed exploring the Disneyland Resort, including a fun Downtown Disney District, and I found that the intimite size of this Resort, with everything within close walking distance, to be fabulous. It is really nice to be able to go from one park to another in 10 minutes, and with the Unlimited Fastpass, we could hold Fastpasses in both parks at once, and make it to them in time! Also, many remark that you can see the outside environment from the parks, but I experienced very little of this--certainly from the hotel, but I think the parks attracted more attention, anyway. We could see the city from the Monorail, which is one flaw--they should just put up trees or something (and make bigger monorails, like Mark VI size! The capacity is so low!). Otherwise, I did not see the city in Disneyland, and while I could see it from California Adventure, on some of the higher attractions, it wasn't a big deal--it is a park dedicated to the Golden State, so I don't have a problem with seeing it, including its gorgeous mountains from within!
As for the Resort Hotels, I enjoyed both the incredible view of Paradise Pier and the concept art for Paradise Pier within the hotel--along with the view from the glass elevator! The Disneyland Hotel has a magical feel, while not like the hotels at wdw, I was still impressed at the themed pool area, the waterfalls and the fun Fantasy Waters show, presented three times nightly. The Grand Californian was, of course, a beautiful hotel (although I prefer Animal Kingdom Lodge, any day), but one thing I didn't like about each of the hotels involves the pools, specifically how you must have your room key to get in--just seemed a bit too exclusive, but I understand the necessity, due to the surrounding city.
So, this was an incredibly magical vacation, and I cannot start to explain how impressed I was at the Happiest Place on Earth--we definitely plan to return for the 50th, but right now, I have that usual feeling a nausia that follows any return from a Disney Vacation--I still can't believe I was actually there, after so many months of planning--there is obviously only one way to get over this depression...start planning my next Disney vacation!!!!! Sorry this was so long, guys and dolls! What can I say...I LOVE THE DISNEYLAND RESORT!!!! At least I have the comfort of knowing that my favorites, Indy, Screamin', and Soarin' will still be there when I return...13914 characters...wow...
Regardless, we arrived on Saturday, after a fabulous JetBlue flight to Long Beach International Airport, to find Southern California in one of its biggest rain storms in years. Soggy, we headed to our Resort Hotel, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, and rode the glass elevator to our fabulous room on the 13th floor (I didn't think hotels were supposed to have a 13th floor...), with a view of Paradise Pier and the whole Disneyland Resort--simply an incredible view that took my breath away.
We quickly bought Disneyland Resort ponchos and walked into Disney's California Adventure through our private entrance. We first ate dinner at Ariel's Grotto, which had some fabulous food (dessert included!)--I had a great pot pie and a brownie sundae! Now, being the one in my party with the most gumption, and having already noticed that lines were nothing, I decided to rush over to my first ride, a drenching spin on California Screamin'! I would end up riding Screamin' seven times over the course of the trip, and hear its outstanding, what Eisner would call "testosterone-driven" soundtrack. This is my favorite coaster on the planet! I love it more than RnR, as it incorporates the best roller coaster elements of the best roller coasters in California, creating an incredible ride experience! I then met up with my family, and we headed to the Disneyland Resort's best attraction, Soarin' Over California. Being a guy, I hesitate to admit this (don't want the girl of my dreams to think I'm...well...back to disneyland!), but this attraction is better than what everyone says--completely breathtaking, and brought me to both smiles and tears when I rode it, seeing the beauty of the Golden State--a truly amazing ride system and experience, and it gave me my first viewing of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom--I was, quite simply, blown away!
At this point, we decided it was time to head to Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom, so we headed through the unimpressive security (they hardly checked my bags the entire trip, half of the time just feeling the outside of my bag...). I got my first viewing of Main Street, U.S.A., its music filling the air as the Main Street Vehicles passed down the street. I think I will turn more thematic now, so that my post doesn't turn into a book.
First of all, the rain stopped at 8:00 pm, but due to slight wind, Believe...There's Magic in the Stars was cancelled (and the wind was slight by 9:30 pm), which certainly ticked me off and made me sad, as I never got to see Believe for this trip. Regardless, the rest of the trip, it was sunny and warm, and a bit windy during the afternoons. As for Main Street, I did remark that Sleeping Beauty Castle seemed smaller, but this only helped with the more intimate feel of the Disneyland Resort. I also noticed how much more authentic Main Street was at Disneyland than at wdw--from the 200 year old gas lamps to the much larger number of Main Street vehicles to the much greater variation in stores and even storefronts here--it feels much more like a small town.
Over in Adventureland, I was surprised at how close Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was to the Central Plaza, but I did enjoy being able to see the classic show once again. Next up was the Jungle Cruise, noticeably shorter, to make way for its neighbor, but still a lot of fun with a kewl looking queue--this whole land seems to fit together better than at wdw. Speaking of its neighbor, I adventured in the Temple of the Forbidden Eye five times during my trip, thanks to my Unlimited Fastpass, and was in awe each time at the incredible amount of detail in the queue and ride building, with its incredible effects and music! Some of the kewlest effects include the crawling bug effect on the wall from the cars' headlights, the smoke chamber that allows for the projection of rats, making you feel as though you are about to slam into a wall covered with rats, and, of course, the rolling boulder--a fantastic ride experience, but it needs an On-Ride Photo!
Over in New Orleans Square, our meal in Blue Bayou on Thursday was very nice, and I found Pirates of the Caribbean to be a much fuller experience here, with a tie-in to the movie! (cursed treasure) The Haunted Mansion, also, is better, with how you can actually get up to the building, the fact that its soundtrack has been fixed so it doesn't skip or stop, and the addition of show scenes.
Critter Country only had one attraction (soon to change), which is also a better ride experience, with its addition of Audio-Animatronics, an extra song, and extra drop (two rapids drops rather than just one 15 foot drop).
Frontierland felt about the same, but Rivers of America was closed--I'm sure it feels better, too, when Fantasmic and the Columbia are working--one thing I did notice, though, was a fabulous change in scenery between lands--different plants in each land.
Fantasyland has many more attractions to enjoy, in a more conducive land (the Carrousel is fantasic), including the Matterhorn! I greatly enjoyed this classic attraction, while finding it pretty intense...shook my mom up.
Toontown also looks better, with stronger theming, and CarToon Spin was, as was expected, a fabulously quirky addition.
Tomorrowland is the one lowpoint of this park. While I love having the Monorail here, and felt that the Disneyland Railroad, in general, was very kewl with its variation between trains and sideways orientation of the seats, like at Animal Kingdom (did you know Disneyland is building a new train as we speak?!), the Autopia was a welcome addition, Innoventions was nice, as was Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, I for some reason felt this land was lacking (sounds weird after I list all those attractions, but it still feels lacking when you are there--perhaps the bare Rocket Rods track is the problem).
All-in-all, a great park, and I definitely enjoyed the Parade of the Stars, along with seeing large crowds at both Theme Parks and Downtown Disney! Good to see that tourism is up at the Resort.
Next door, of course, we have my favorite park, California Adventure. Upon entering the park, we were surrounded by great atmosphere (including the great teenage/early 20s singing group Route 66) and fabulous music filling the air, including favorite Beach Boys songs--just such a fun atmosphere along with the amazing looking Sun Icon!
Turning left, we entered the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, presenting a great line of attractions, including favorites like MuppetVision 3D and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire--Play It!, along with great new attractions, like the fabulous Disney Animation, featuring a good hour of fun activities and shows, and the massive Hyperion Theatre, featuring the fun (not quite Broadway-style, but still the closest to Broadway you can get in a Theme Park) Aladdin! I cannot wait for the impressive-looking Hollywood Tower Hotel to start accepting reservations here, but I can't help but think they need to post signs telling people what this attraction is! I cannot tell you how many people are clueless that Disney is bringing this great attraction to California Adventure! Put up a billboard at the start of Sunset Boulevard advertising that the HTH will soon be accepting reservations!
Heading out of Hollywood, we turn left and pass into the Golden State, with the impressive Grizzly Peak watching over Adventurers--there is simply no angle of this mountain that does not provide breathtaking photo ops! We took intriguing tours of both Golden Vine Winery, the Boudin Bakery, and the Mission Tortilla Factory while dining on great food and drinks (don't tell anyone I'm not 21!), before heading next door, into the brand-new "a bug's land". While there was little for me to do here, besides see the Animal Kingdom favorite, It's Tough to Be a Bug, I did find this land quite cute for the kids, with some great theming (although there is something strange about the ToT towering over it...you will seriously be able to hear screams from this ride throughout the park!), along with churros, which are, for anyone who does not know, even more popular at the Disneyland Resort than in wdw!
Next up around the bend to the left is the thrilling Paradise Pier district, which is simply incredible looking at night, as Disney's Electrical Parade passes by. This is a fantastic land for anyone over age 7, with the vastly popular, thrilling California Screamin', which I was thrilled to find allowed for sticking my hands in the air! A great time was had by all fellow Screamers on this attraction. MaliBOOMer is, as the Paradise Pier guy remarks, "A BLAST!"--it's all about build-up, and offers a great view! The Sun Wheel was kinda nausiating, but did offer a fantastic view of the snow-capped mountains, which took our breaths away, as we could view the mountains the entire trip! All of Paradise Pier's attractions looked fantastic at night, and I'll leave it at that, as the other attractions are kind of self-explanitory--nothing we all haven't been on before, just with extra theming.
Meanwhile, we loop up into Golden State West, with the Bay Area and Golden Dreams, which, like Soarin', brought me to tears with its dramatic ending involving "Just One Dream" a la the American Adventure--a fantastic show that tied the park together in 22 minutes!
Grizzly River Recreation Area offered the nice-looking Redwood Creek Challenge Trail and outstanding views of the beautiful Grand Californian Hotel. Grizzly River Run was a fantastic raft ride, although I would have enjoyed slightly more theming in the queue, and maybe an Animatronic grizzly--the two drops and the spin effect, however, did create a joyfully-drenching ride experiece, getting everyone in the rafts wet (some more than others--I happened to have a slight problem w/ getting water in my boxers, but I will go no further than to say Grizzly River Run uses cold water!).
Finally, we enter Condor Flats, and I already spoke of my love for Soarin', but all-in-all, I found the theming in each of the areas of this park to be beautiful, and the music played fun in many areas, but also authentic to the areas the represent--they seriously need to sell a soundtrack of just that music ("Route 66", "San Fernando Valley", "Surfin' USA", "I Wish They All Could Be California Girls"). This is a fantastic park, and Californians are beginning to enjoy this park, as supported by how packed it was this entire week--this is a park attracting both teenagers and adults (a noticeably more adult park than Disneyland), and since I am pretty much a teenage adult, I found the entire park fantastic, again--my favorite Disney Park of the six I have experienced. Once the Tower of Terror opens, I think this park will start reach its coming-of-age, much like the more adult oriented Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios did.
Outside of the parks, I enjoyed exploring the Disneyland Resort, including a fun Downtown Disney District, and I found that the intimite size of this Resort, with everything within close walking distance, to be fabulous. It is really nice to be able to go from one park to another in 10 minutes, and with the Unlimited Fastpass, we could hold Fastpasses in both parks at once, and make it to them in time! Also, many remark that you can see the outside environment from the parks, but I experienced very little of this--certainly from the hotel, but I think the parks attracted more attention, anyway. We could see the city from the Monorail, which is one flaw--they should just put up trees or something (and make bigger monorails, like Mark VI size! The capacity is so low!). Otherwise, I did not see the city in Disneyland, and while I could see it from California Adventure, on some of the higher attractions, it wasn't a big deal--it is a park dedicated to the Golden State, so I don't have a problem with seeing it, including its gorgeous mountains from within!
As for the Resort Hotels, I enjoyed both the incredible view of Paradise Pier and the concept art for Paradise Pier within the hotel--along with the view from the glass elevator! The Disneyland Hotel has a magical feel, while not like the hotels at wdw, I was still impressed at the themed pool area, the waterfalls and the fun Fantasy Waters show, presented three times nightly. The Grand Californian was, of course, a beautiful hotel (although I prefer Animal Kingdom Lodge, any day), but one thing I didn't like about each of the hotels involves the pools, specifically how you must have your room key to get in--just seemed a bit too exclusive, but I understand the necessity, due to the surrounding city.
So, this was an incredibly magical vacation, and I cannot start to explain how impressed I was at the Happiest Place on Earth--we definitely plan to return for the 50th, but right now, I have that usual feeling a nausia that follows any return from a Disney Vacation--I still can't believe I was actually there, after so many months of planning--there is obviously only one way to get over this depression...start planning my next Disney vacation!!!!! Sorry this was so long, guys and dolls! What can I say...I LOVE THE DISNEYLAND RESORT!!!! At least I have the comfort of knowing that my favorites, Indy, Screamin', and Soarin' will still be there when I return...13914 characters...wow...
I recently went there too and had lots of fun! I think I love DL's Magic Kingdom better than WDW's Magic Kingdom. Isn't Indiana Jones the coolest or what? They should have an on ride photo. Pirates of the Caribean is alot better than WDW's version. It has more scenes and soomwhat better special effects. The gun effects are more well done and there's no hissing noises during the sea battle. Haunted Mansion was also somwhat better too! Toon Town was very well done. I saw the actual dedication plaque that Walt Disney read. Wow. I also spotted the golden spike! It's right under the castle. Matterhorn was alot of fun, but I think it needs a better story line. It shook my Mom up quite a bit too! Tomorrow land is neat, but needs more new rides than copies from WDW. I liked California Adventure too, but it needs more stuff. Well, glad you had a great time, and I think I'd choose a trip to DL over a trip to WDW any day!:sohappy:
Oh, I also took the Walk in Walt's Footsteps--fabulous tour, sharing the history of the Magic Kingdom from Walt's perspective, and included a special viewing of the Tiki Room, ride on the railroad, exploration of each of the park's main lands (we visited all but Toontown and Critter Country, actually, but we did get to see the lobby to Club 33 and have lunch, privately, at Walt and Lilian Disney's appt. (you would call it The Disney Gallery). By the way, I enjoyed the new Pirates exhibit at the Gallery, and got a print-on-demand with all of New Orleans Square on it--Pirates, Club 33, and the Haunted Mansion--kewl poster, but they aren't cheap..