The TCD Gang Goes to Disneyland!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Update time. It's still Thursday, December 4.  We had flown clear across the country this morning, and have been enjoying our first visit to Disneyland.

 

We are now going to ride Disneyland's Haunted Mansion for the first time.

 

We had heard about the Nightmare Before Christmas (NBC) overlay, but didn't know what that entailed.

 

We were about to find out.

 

As you enter the mansion, the room you first enter is smaller than the room with the fireplace and magical portrait in WDW's version.  There are no big door that slam behind you, and it's not dark.  As far as I could tell, there were no special effects in that entry area.

 

We were then quickly ushered in to a stretching room.  I think they have two, just like WDW, but the stretching room seemed bigger.  I assume that the portraits on the wall are the same in each park, but I don't know because the portraits here were stained glass windows with various artwork from the NBC movie. 

 

The doors to the stretching room closed, and we could feel the room shake as we descended. This was a big elevator which actually moved.  The narration during this part of the attraction was all about the NBC movie and Jack Skellington.   We didn't expect that.  The end scene was an animated scene projected on the ceiling- not "there's always my way . . ."

 

Then we exited the stretching room.  Here, there is a long corridor with portraits on either side.  You don't walk right into an area where you can see the Doom Buggies, like at WDW.  The portraits along the corridor were all from the NBC movie, and they were animated and changed as we walked along.  Again, all NBC.  The narrator kept speaking, and it was all about Jack, Halloweentown, etc..

 

Then we got to the Doom Buggies and loaded.  This big NBC prop was in the loading area:

 

 

Everywhere we looked, there was NBC stuff.  It covered all the original HM stuff:

 

 

It seems like the ride is the same as WDW's but it's difficult to tell because there was NBC stuff everywhere, and the narration was all about NBC.  Even in Madame Leota's room, there were floating lamps with NBC things on them and no floating instruments.  In the ballroom scene, there were NBC characters, and a giant Gingerbread house, which apparently is such a big deal that they actually create a trading pin each year depicting that year's HM gingerbread house.

 

In the graveyard, in the scene where the guy and the dog normally are, there was an animatronic Jack dressed as Sandy Claws with his dog Zero (I think that's the dog's name).

 

This big stack of pumpkins was in the graveyard:

 

 

You can't really tell the size of these pumpkinhead angels in this photo, but they're huge- if you look close, you can see the tops of the doom buggies below them:

 

 

Obviously, I couldn't take photos of everything we saw, but I'm here to tell you that the entire ride was completely taken over by NBC.  It was like a completely different ride-with a completely different story told by the narrator.  We did not expect that at all.  This was more of a total conversion than an overlay.  If you're a Nightmare Before Christmas fan, you are sure to love this. 

 

From what I understand, they will close down the HM some time in January for a couple of weeks and take out all the NBC stuff.  And then it will come back in October.

 

Interesting.

 

They go to a lot of trouble and expense to do this.  I guess that I wouldn't mind them doing it at WDW, even though I'm not an NBC fan.  It's kind of cool to see how they can convert a classic ride into a completely different experience.

 

It was now past 4:30, and the park would be closing at 9.  As mentioned earlier, today was supposed to be a day for us to look around, and wasn't supposed to be about the rides.  We had seen a bunch of Disneyland, even though there were some lands we had yet to visit (like Tomorrowland).   The plan for now was to pop over to California Adventure for a look around.  And then pop back here for the fireworks and maybe a ride on the Matterhorn right before park close.

 

So, we headed out to toward California Adventure.

 

We cut through the gift shops on Main Street like we do at the MK.  Their Confectionary is near where Casey's Corner would be at the MK.  The had some really cool old props in there, like this organ, which played spontaneously as we walked by:

 

 

I think there are a couple of these one cent movie players in the train station at the MK, but they have them right here in the store at DL:

 

 

As we continued down Main Street, we heard an announcement that they would have a tree lighting ceremony at 5 pm.  We only had to hang out a few minutes for that, so we did.

 

Unlit tree:

 

 

And now it's lit:

 

 

Well, except for that section up near the top there.

 

Whoops.

 

The garland all lit up when the tree did:

 

 

I am glad that we got to visit when the Christmas decorations were up.  It made everything more festive.

 

From here, we park hopped to California Adventure.

 

Park hopping is interesting here.

 

You walk out of one park, and walk right across to the other.  Probably less than 100 yards.  No bag check.  They already did that.  We just walked up to the CA turnstiles and walked right in.

 

Can't get any easier than that.

 

We didn't have any definite plans here.

 

We figured riding rides wouldn't be feasible, as we were entering the park at 5, and it was closing at 8.  Probably wouldn't be any FP's left, and the lines would be long.

 

That's OK, though, we planned to spend a full day here, plus we would have EMH access for two mornings according to our plan.

 

We walked through the park observing where things were, and ended up in the Paradise Pier area.  This is the iconic view of CA that we were all familiar with:

 

 

That's the California Screaming rollercoaster there on the left, and the Fun Wheel on the right.

 

We wanted to ride those puppies. (That's a Stacy reference in cast you're slow)

 

So we walked over there to see what was what.

 

The posted wait time for the California Screaming was 10 minutes.

 

We hopped in line.

 

And we rode that puppy:

 

 

As you can see, we didn't know where the camera was.

 

That is a great rollercoaster, and we loved it.  We rode it many more times before the trip was done.

 

Then we walked over to the Fun Wheel.  Along the way, we passed CA's Toy Story Midway Mania ride.  Now we understood why Midway is in the name. This area looked like a boardwalk midway, and the theming was perfect here.  Mr. Potato Head stands outside of the ride here, like a carnival barker.  That makes sense too, and it allows all guests to see him, instead of just those in the standby queue, like it is at DHS.

 

The Fun Wheel is TALL!  And I'm a little afraid of heights.  But, I try not to let that stop me.  There are two lines for the Fun Wheel;  you can choose a stationary car, or a rocking car.  The line for the stationary cars was 20 minutes, and for the rocking cars it was only 10.  So we went for rocking.  In hindsight, we should have thought that one through.

 

This is one of the cars:

 

 

It's like any Ferris Wheel car- two benches.  No seatbelts.

 

Up we went.

 

Not so bad.

 

Then the wheel stopped.

 

But our car didn't.

 

The rocking cars are on oval tracks.

 

And our car slid along the track, and rocked back and forth.

 

Still not so bad.

 

Then we reached the top and started around toward the bottom.

 

When the wheel stopped this time, our car slid down the track, and whipped around the bottom, and we turned almost completely sideways, and rocked violently back and forth.  I had to hold on for dear life.  I can't believe there were no seatbelts in that thing!

 

The girls screamed. Maybe I did too a little.

 

But we kind of liked it:

 

 

We all hoped that when we got to the bottom of the first cycle around they would let us off.  But, we went around again.  The second time was not nearly as terrifying as the first.

 

And we lived to tell the tale.

 

It actually was a lot of fun.  But we all agreed we would wait the extra ten minutes for a stationary car the next time.

 

We got ourselves a little snack while we were back here in CA.  We got some corn on the cob, which was terrific.  I don't remember them selling corn on the cob at WDW, but it was all over the place at the snack stands here. I guess the So Cal folks like to pretend that they're healthy by eating their corn in its original form slathered with butter and salt rather than the popped version.

 

We only did those two rides in CA, but we got a good overview of where everything was.  We purposely avoided Cars Land, because we wanted to spend a lot of time in there, and wanted to see it for the first time in the daylight.

 

They have street cars traveling through one area of CA, and we all thought they added to the atmosphere.  We wanted to make sure to ride one while we were here:

 

 

But, for now, we needed to pop back over to Disneyland.

 

So we did.

 

Here we are again.  Seeing Disneyland's garland strung across Main Street made me sad that the garland is gone at WDW:

 

 

We were here to watch the fireworks, which were scheduled for 8 pm.

 

We had heard that Disneyland people don't stake out spots for parades and fireworks like WDW people do, but there were a lot of folks sitting along Main Street, and a small crowd forming at the end of Main Street.  I figured that the guests forming the small crowd knew what they were doing, so we joined them.  This is a view back down Main Street from where we were standing:

 

 

This was our view of the castle from there.  This seemed like a good spot, and I told the girls we should stay put:

 

 

The girls thought we should find a spot closer to the castle, and I pointed out that the people around us obviously thought this was a good spot.  Two ladies standing near us were listening to our conversation, and saw our First Time Visitor buttons, and finally joined in and told us we had a good spot.   That started a long conversation where we picked their brains about things we should do and things we shouldn't waste our time doing.  Both of these ladies had been to WDW, but only a couple of times, and not recently.  They liked WDW, but preferred DL, and they told us why.  They were very sensitive about their little castle, but other than that, the conversation was very fun.  They confirmed some of the food choices that Twin #1's manager had told us to try, and they explained to us how DL's Candlelight Processional worked, plus they gave us some suggestions of things to make sure to do.  The time passed quickly, and then it was almost time for the fireworks.  The open areas around us had filled in, and we were now in the middle of a pretty big crowd.

 

Right on cue, a lady with a BayMax balloon showed up and stood in front of us:

 

 

We saw someone politely ask her to lower the balloon so the guests behind her could see, and she did, but not by much:

 

 

Good to know there are idiots in California, and that they're not all in Florida.

 

A CM finally came along and told the balloon lady to hold her balloon down, and she did.

 

We had a nice view of the fireworks.

 

I took quite a few photos, but I don't have Twin #1's photography skills, so this is the best one I have:

 

 

When the fireworks ended, the crowds headed out.

 

That was an encouraging sign.

 

The park was still open for a half an hour.

 

Time to ride the Matterhorn!

 

That's where we headed.

 

And we found a very short line.

 

We joined it.

 

And, less than 10 minutes later, we were in our bobsled and heading up the mountain.

 

Matterhorn selfie:

 

 

That ride was fun and a little rough, but pretty good considering that it was built in 1959.  They have a few animatronic abominable snowmen in there too.  I tried to get a photo of one, but this is all I got:

 

 

I think that's a photo of some abominable snowmen hair, but the twins think I took a picture of my head.  I said my hair isn't that white, and they said "yes it is." Ouch.

 

I liked the Matterhorn, and so did Twin #1, but Twin #2 proclaimed it to be lame.  It is kind of rough, and the animatronic snowmen are very fake looking, but I still liked it.

 

After the Matterhorn, and the short line we found there, we thought about hitting up the Small World ride.  We were near it, so we headed there.  Look at what they do to it for the holidays:

 

 

We were all impressed with that.

 

And, obviously, so was everyone else, as there was a long line there waiting to get in. We decided to save IASW for another time, and decided to head out.

 

We still had not seen our hotel room.

 

Or eaten dinner.

 

Ooops.

 

But we had a plan for dinner.

 

We took the five minute walk back to our hotel.  There were huge crowds crossing the street with us, and heading up and down to their hotels.  It all felt very safe and friendly.

 

We stopped by the front desk and got our keys and room assignment.  We were toward the back of the property in a first floor room.

 

For some reason, I didn't take a photo of our room, but you can see what the hotel looks like here on their website:  http://www.parkvueinn.com/

 

We got a double queen bed room, which included a mini fridge and microwave, and came with a nice flat screen TV. 

 

This is an old-style motel with exterior entry doors, but I liked that.  We were able to park right outside of our door, and we didn't have any long halls to walk down to get to our room.  Some of the off site hotels charge extra for parking, but Park Vue does not.  I was concerned if parking would be a problem, but it was not.  They had plenty.

 

Since others may be using this TR to plan, I'll share that our room set us back $150 a night.  During a peak weekend.  I'm not sure you can get a room at one of the Value resorts at WDW for that rate during this time of year.  Shoot, I think a premium site at the Fort may be close to that. 

 

And, this hotel provides a free breakfast.

 

It ended up being a great place to stay.

 

As I mentioned, we had not had dinner.

 

One of the places the girls were told that they just had to go is a place called In and Out Burgers.  I've heard of it too, but it was not something that I felt I had to do.  It's a hamburger joint. Big deal.

 

The girls wanted to go there tonight. 

 

I was tired.

 

I was thinking IHOP or one of the places we could walk to.

 

They had already Googled In and Out and there was one just a few miles away.

 

I did want to find a grocery store to get some water and drinks for the room, so I told them to lead the way.

 

It was really easy to get there.

 

And, they do, indeed have really good burgers.

 

And fries.

 

So, I'm glad we went.

 

If you're interested, they apparently are only in five states, all of them out west:  http://www.in-n-out.com/

 

As luck would have it, the In-n-Out was in the parking lot of a grocery store, and I was able to pop in there for some bottled water and cokes.

 

We were good to go.

 

We headed back to the hotel and hit the hay.

 

Day one was in the books.

 

The plan for tomorrow was to hit Disneyland at rope drop and go hard.

 

All day.

 

It was a Friday, and they would be open until midnight.

 

We were going to stay for as long as we could, and take a break if necessary.  And then go some more.

 

We don't do parks like that at WDW.

 

We don't have to.

 

But we were tourists now.

 

So, we had to adapt.

 

We will get started with our marathon day in Disneyland in the next update.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Great update! Crazy that they change the HM so much. Balloons blocking the view SMB. IASW looks beautiful! You got a lot accomplished on a day that you didn't set out to do much. I ate at In and Out when we went to Vegas, pretty good stuff. 

[Memphis 105]

That set up sounds great. Five minute walk to your room from the park and you pass an iHop on the way all for $150/nt.  Sign me up!

[lklasing 16]

I'm shamefully appearing on page 7, but so glad to be here! I've been off FF for a bit with just normal busy life stuff, but was excited to find 2 TCD reports on the boards. I never chimed in on your Thanksgiving report, but I enjoyed it a lot.

This one, though, takes the cake! I'm dying to go to DL. My DVC points are burning a hole in my pocket to go there, but I haven't been able to plan it yet. One day, though, so I'm reading every word here and storing the info away for that trip.

Too much to comment on everything, but one thing here would have killed me. That ferris wheel. I'm sure I'll struggle with the decision when the time comes, but I honestly don't know if I'll be able to go on it, especially the moving part. I have had a fear of heights, though it's better now, thanks mainly to WDW and rides like EE, TOT, etc. But ferris wheels are different. I have this image that the wheel will somehow separate itself from the stand and go rolling all over the place.   :o   Thankfully I don't have to make any ferris wheel decisions today.

 

Can't wait for the next installment!

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Looking forward to reading about your marathon day.

 

I really want to try In and Out Burgers.  I keep hoping they will expland to the east Coast.  They use no preservatives in the fry oil. :)

[red...Susan 37]

I hate that Ferris wheel!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

 

When I have seen photos of Disneyland's HM in the past, I agreed with what you are saying- that the MK's is obviously better.  But, the Disneyland HM fits in New Orleans Square with its theming, and it has a very prominent and visible location.  With all the trees and landscaping grown up around it, I have a hard time seeing the MK HM exterior.  To me, the mystery and foreboding is lacking.

 

Particularly since they switched up the queue so that only the FP line gets close to the wall.  From the regular stand-by line, you hardly get a look at the front of the building past the awning overhead.

 

 

Yes, really.  Are you going back to college now?

 

Hey, you never know! 

 

Thanks for the info on the Parkvue - definitely logging that in my finagling notes.

 

Love the Stacy reference and glad you got to ride those puppies!

[Duane 152]

 

 

 

That's the California Screaming rollercoaster there on the left, and the Fun Wheel on the right.

 

 

Andrew, you referred to the ferris wheel as just the "Fun Wheel", is called just that now, or do they call it "Mickey's Fun Wheel?"  The reason I ask, was that when we were there, there was this annoying voice with somewhat of a crazy accent barking about riding Mickey's Fun Wheel.... I can still hear that voice in my head today....  But wait, I hear all kinds of voices in my head today... I think I even see dead people... Maybe its time for my medication....

 

Now California Screaming is another story... that was my favorite ride at DL.... I feel there are a lot of parallels between DW and DL and I always thought that California Screaming was the RnR for them...

[BigTom 76]

Marathon day tomorrow, I think you already had one. I got tired just reading about it.

[dvccamper 32]

I'm with the twins, I think that's a picture of your head.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

You were brave to ride that ferris wheel, especially if you have a fear of heights.  

 

The last time I rode a roller coaster, it wasn't half as high as they one at DL.  I had a panic attack, and they had to stop the ride and get me OFF.

 

I don't like heights either, but I can handle them okay if I have something solid underneath me.    It's all that empty air space that gets to me.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great update! Crazy that they change the HM so much. Balloons blocking the view SMB. IASW looks beautiful! You got a lot accomplished on a day that you didn't set out to do much. I ate at In and Out when we went to Vegas, pretty good stuff.

 

The HM is a completely different attraction with the NBC overlay. 

 

IASW is Disneyland's answer to the Osborne Lights.  It is beautiful.

 

Yes, we did get a lot accomplished that first day.  I kept on thinking about that statistic that Disney used when they imposed My Magic on WDW- that the average guest only used 3 FP's per visit.  Well, we used three in just the half day we were in the MK, and could have used more had we not wanted to hop across to California Adventure.  It was so nice not having to deal with all the FP+ planning on this trip.  The old paper FP's worked great for us as the days went on.  And, we didn't have to deal with long lines at the minor attractions that didn't need FP like you now have to do at WDW.

 

That set up sounds great. Five minute walk to your room from the park and you pass an iHop on the way all for $150/nt.  Sign me up!

 

It really was a great set-up.  Think about how much time you spend just getting to and from the parks at WDW (even when you stay on property).  We had none of that to deal with here.

 

And don't forget that the Park Vue included a free breakfast, which I'm about to tell you about.  That took care of one meal each day, and it could have taken care of two had we wanted to pack up some stuff for later.  And we had a fridge and microwave in the room. Had we not wanted to try some of the Disneyland delicacies, we could have had a very low food budget on this trip.

 

I'm shamefully appearing on page 7, but so glad to be here! I've been off FF for a bit with just normal busy life stuff, but was excited to find 2 TCD reports on the boards. I never chimed in on your Thanksgiving report, but I enjoyed it a lot.

This one, though, takes the cake! I'm dying to go to DL. My DVC points are burning a hole in my pocket to go there, but I haven't been able to plan it yet. One day, though, so I'm reading every word here and storing the info away for that trip.

Too much to comment on everything, but one thing here would have killed me. That ferris wheel. I'm sure I'll struggle with the decision when the time comes, but I honestly don't know if I'll be able to go on it, especially the moving part. I have had a fear of heights, though it's better now, thanks mainly to WDW and rides like EE, TOT, etc. But ferris wheels are different. I have this image that the wheel will somehow separate itself from the stand and go rolling all over the place.   :o   Thankfully I don't have to make any ferris wheel decisions today.

 

Can't wait for the next installment!

 

I'm glad you're here Leslie.

 

It will be a while before I get to the part where we spent a night at the Grand Californian, but I'll tell you right now that y'all need to go.  The hotel is awesome and the location is unbelievable.

 

LOL at the Ferris wheel rolling away!  Doesn't that happen in every disaster movie where there's an amusement park scene?

 

It helped that we went on the Ferris wheel at night- I really couldn't see much on the outside of our little compartment, and that was a good thing.

 

Looking forward to reading about your marathon day.

 

I really want to try In and Out Burgers.  I keep hoping they will expland to the east Coast.  They use no preservatives in the fry oil. :)

 

I'm going to get the marathon day kicked off in the next update, which I intend to post this afternoon.  You will need to read it slow, though, because that will be the last one until Monday.

 

There was a rumor a couple of years ago that we were getting and In-n-Out in our county.  People freaked.  But it was just a rumor.  That place has a cult following.  They have a bunch of secret menu items too.  But we ordered off the regular menu for our first visit.

 

I hate that Ferris wheel!

 

Have you been on it?

 

Particularly since they switched up the queue so that only the FP line gets close to the wall.  From the regular stand-by line, you hardly get a look at the front of the building past the awning overhead.

 

 

Hey, you never know! 

 

Thanks for the info on the Parkvue - definitely logging that in my finagling notes.

 

Love the Stacy reference and glad you got to ride those puppies!

 

I forgot about the awning over the HM queue.  You're right- that does block the view.

 

I definitely recommend the Park Vue, but there were some other nice hotels up and down that street, so look at those too.

 

I'm afraid I'll forget to mention this when we finally make it to the Grand Californian, so I'll tell you now: Disneyland has no Stacy on their resort TV!  They have some boring narrator who doesn't even appear on camera.  Lame.

 

Andrew, you referred to the ferris wheel as just the "Fun Wheel", is called just that now, or do they call it "Mickey's Fun Wheel?"  The reason I ask, was that when we were there, there was this annoying voice with somewhat of a crazy accent barking about riding Mickey's Fun Wheel.... I can still hear that voice in my head today....  But wait, I hear all kinds of voices in my head today... I think I even see dead people... Maybe its time for my medication....

 

Now California Screaming is another story... that was my favorite ride at DL.... I feel there are a lot of parallels between DW and DL and I always thought that California Screaming was the RnR for them...

 

Yes, I believe it is called Mickey's Fun Wheel.  But, I don't recall that voice with the accent that you're hearing in your head.  Maybe it's time to adjust your meds?

 

I also liked California Screaming.  More than RNRC.  As you know, the start is similar, but it's a longer ride, and it's cool to be outside.

 

Marathon day tomorrow, I think you already had one. I got tired just reading about it.

 

You're right.  That first day was a long one, especially considering the time difference, but all the first visit excitement kept us going.

 

 

I'm with the twins, I think that's a picture of your head.

 

Traitor.

 

That's definitely abominable snowman fur.

 

 

You were brave to ride that ferris wheel, especially if you have a fear of heights. 

 

The last time I rode a roller coaster, it wasn't half as high as they one at DL.  I had a panic attack, and they had to stop the ride and get me OFF.

 

I don't like heights either, but I can handle them okay if I have something solid underneath me.    It's all that empty air space that gets to me.

 

I've never had a panic attack, but I may have come close when we took that big slide on the way down on the Ferris Wheel.  it helped that we were all shocked by it.  If there was a way we could have asked to get off after the first go around, I would have.

 

I don't know why I don't like heights.  I'm fine on an airplane.  But, I'm like you, if I'm out in the open and have to look down, I'm not good.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

  

I've never had a panic attack, but I may have come close when we took that big slide on the way down on the Ferris Wheel.  it helped that we were all shocked by it.  If there was a way we could have asked to get off after the first go around, I would have.

 

I don't know why I don't like heights.  I'm fine on an airplane.  But, I'm like you, if I'm out in the open and have to look down, I'm not good.

 

TCD

 

I'm fine in an airplane too.  That's because I have a floor underneath my feet.

 

Shocked by the big slide ... at that point I would have passed out!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm fine in an airplane too.  That's because I have a floor underneath my feet.

 

Shocked by the big slide ... at that point I would have passed out!

 

It sounds like we have about the same low tolerance for heights.

 

I force myself to go.  I don't know why, because it's not fun for me.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Since we have so much ground to cover in this report, here's your second update for today.  This one will need to hold you over for the weekend, though, as I won't be able to post another update until Monday.

 

We left off at the end of our first day.

 

The plan for day two was rope drop at Disneyland.  Friday, December 5 was an EMH morning for Disneyland resort guests at California Adventure.  They would be let in the park at 7 am.  I was glad we weren't resort guests then, as I would rather not have begun the day that early.  As it was, Disneyland opened at 8, and we planned to be there then.

 

That meant I needed to get up at 5:45, so I could get my shower and get out of the way for the first twin at 6 am.  And that's what we did.  We were all ready for rope drop at the free Park Vue breakfast at 7 am that way.

 

And that's where we went first.

 

I didn't take any photos of the room where they serve breakfast our first morning, but I did on our second morning, so I'll have those for you later.  It was a typical set-up for a free hotel breakfast.  Bread and Bagels, assorted cereals, hardboiled eggs, juice and coffee.  But, they also had scrambled eggs, sausage and breakfast potatoes cooked up and set out in warmers.  Sweet!  That was much more than I expected, and it was good.  They had packets of peanut butter and jelly there, and bread, and if we didn't already have other plans, I totally could have brought some lunch fixings back to our room.

 

The inside seating area was small, but they had an outside deck too, and we ate out there.

 

Here's Twin #1 on the outside deck.  If you look carefully behind her, on the other side of the umbrella, you'll see the Disneyland monorail going by, and past that, the Matterhorn.  We did, indeed have a park view from this hotel:

 

 

After breakfast, we headed back to the room and got ready to go.  I thought we'd be back at some point, so I didn't worry about taking everything we might need with us.  We just locked up and headed out, past the IHOP and across the street.

 

We left our hotel a bit past 7:35, and we were in line at the turnstiles when I took this photo at 7:49 am.  Opening time was 8 am, but they were already admitting guests when we got there:

 

 

The entry lines move a bit slow, because the pass for each guest has to be hand scanned by a CM, and there are no slots to read passes and no finger scanners.   Also, a lot of transactions that are handled at guest services in WDW are handled right there at the turnstiles.  I mentioned earlier that because of block out dates, I had to purchase a three day pass for myself.  All I got at the time was a paper voucher, which I was supposed to bring to the turnstile.  I didn't know how that would work , but I was about to find out:

 

 

Each turnstile has a computer at it, and photos and other data relating to each guest is displayed there. The CM's have little devices about the size of an iPhone that they use to photograph guests when they enter with new passes:

 

 

When I got to the turnstile, I handed the CM my voucher.  He scanned it, and then handed me a paper ticket that was a 3 day pass.  He did not take my photo, as I guess they don't use those for three day passes, and that was it.  I was in.

 

The girls were right behind me.

 

They anticipated some trouble.  The Disneyland calendar said that Castmembers were blocked out from using their passes to admit guests, but they were not blocked from using self admission.  That terminology was a bit different from what's used at WDW, but the concept is the same.  There are certain times when CM's can't bring guests in to the MK with them with their Main Gate passes, but they can still go in.  And then there are times when even they can't go in.  The Disneyland website said that self admission was not blocked out this weekend.  But, when the twins tried to get in, they were denied. 

 

That was not good.

 

I didn't want to have to pay for them to get 3 day passes too.

 

I stayed out of it, and Twin #1 showed the CM at the turnstile something that she had printed out.  He said that the computer was still showing they were blocked out.  He had to call over a manager, who first told the twins that this was a block out date for them, but Twin #1 showed her the paper she had printed out, and the manager took that and went somewhere with it. Presumably to her manager.  In the meantime, I was in, and the twins were out:

 

 

Everyone stayed cool, and the manager came back with passes for the girls.  She said if they had a problem any other day, to remember her name, and she would take care of it.

 

Nice.

 

So, we all made it in.

 

That delayed us just a few minutes, so no big deal.

 

It wasn't even 8 yet.

 

Apparently, there had been some kind of filming that either was about to start or had just concluded in the area of the Main Street Christmas tree.  We figure it was for the Disney Christmas parade:

 

 

Whatever it was, it looks like it was kind of a big deal:

 

 

As we headed up Main Street, we saw a long line of people waiting for something on the sidewalk:

 

 

We wondered what that could be for?

 

Twin #2 walked over there and asked the people at the end of the line what they were waiting for.

 

She came back and told us that they told her they were waiting for Candy Cane wristbands.

 

Huh?

 

Actually, this is something that I heard about before we went.

 

Disneyland has special hand-made candy canes that are made in their candy shop.  They only make them on certain days and they only make them in limited quantities.  If you want one, you have to get to the park early and get a wristband which allows you to purchase one candy cane per person for $13.99.  No discounts.  You read more about this foolishness here:  http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2014/11/13/2014-disneyland-candy-cane-dates-announced/

 

Do you understand that?

 

People are lined up to get a wristband to buy a giant $14 candy cane.

 

Have you heard of Los Angeles being called La-La land?  Or have your heard the term Hollyweird?

 

There you have it.

 

We don't have $14 candy canes at WDW.

 

And I don't expect that we ever will.

 

Our plan today was to start in Fantasyland.  We wanted to try all the dark rides, most of which have no counterpart at WDW,  and figured that rope drop was a good time to knock those out.

 

Here's a castle photo, because there was no way I could pass that little castle and not take a photo.  The reason I took this photo was to show birds sitting on the wires they use for their regular fireworks, where Tinkerbell and Dumbo apparently fly:

 

 

I have nothing against Tinkerbell flying out of the castle, but they have too many wires here, and they don't look good.  I am in favor of less flying things and less wires.

 

We headed through the castle, and planned to go to Peter Pan first.

 

But, guess what?

 

It was temporarily down!

 

Fail.

 

Oh well, on to Mr. Toad:

 

 

I have to confess that I don't know Mr. Toad's story.  Did he used to be a person?  Is he under a spell?  Or is he just a talking toad who drives a car? I don't know.  There are some funny Latin phrases on his family crest:

 

 

The twins thought it was cool that our first ride today would be Mr. Toad:

 

 

The inside of this ride is kind of fancy.  I don't remember it being like this at WDW:

 

 

 

The line moved quick, and we were to the point where there were just 2 or 3 families in front of us when things suddenly came to a grinding halt.

 

The CM handling the queue made a hand signal to the guy loading the cars, and she then got on the phone and spoke to him.  The ride stopped and the lights came on.  The CM by us walked over to the control console and did something.  Twin #1 told us that what this CM was doing meant that she was about to go walk the track and evacuate all riders from the ride.  After the ride was cleared, they would then have to run it for a few cycles before guests would be allowed to ride.  They didn't tell us in line anything about that.  They just said there would be a short delay.  We decided we needed to bail, because we didn't want to waste this precious early. low crowd time waiting in here.

 

So Mr. Toad was a fail.

 

When we came out, we saw that Peter Pan was operating, but that it also had a full queue.  I suggested that we bite the bullet and ride it, as the line would only get longer from here.

 

So we did that next.

 

I took this photo at 8:30, as we were about to board:

 

 

A half hour in to our marathon day, and we have yet to ride our first ride.  This was not the plan.

 

The problem with Disneyland's Peter Pan is that they don't have a moving walkway, so each flying boat has to stop for each party.  This CM sits in a chair and only presses the launch button once everyone is seated and ready to go:

 

 

That takes forever!

 

But, we made it.

 

And I'm glad we did.

 

Disneyland's Peter Pan has been refurbished.  It's nice and dark in there.  You can't see the track above your head, or the other guests, or the emergency exits.  Their volcano looks realistic, where ours is lined with tin foil.  Some of the scenes are in a different order, and it seems longer.  Also, they have some special effects in there that we don't have.  They win.

 

After Peter Pan, we popped across the street to Snow White. Her queue had some spooky stuff in it, and very few people. Perfect:

 

 

I think the ride vehicles here are the same as what we used to have at WDW:

 

 

This is a view out of the Snow White queue, looking at the outside of the Peter Pan ride:

 

 

The Dwarf's cottage they have in here looks like the new one they built for the Mine Train at WDW:

 

 

We got in and out of the Snow White ride quick, and then went on to Pinocchio's Daring Journey.

 

That's right, they have a Pinocchio ride here.  The ride was kind of scary, lots of boys turning in to donkeys, and a big Stromboli bad guy figure, and, of course, a whale:

 

 

Pinocchio dumped us out by the Anna and Elsa meet and greet.  They have an animatronic Olaf on the roof:

 

 

These guys were passing out Anna and Elsa FP's.  We didn't even think about getting one.  The twins are tired of those two:

 

 

Next up, we hit up the Alice in Wonderland ride.  Another short line.  Here we will be riding on that drugged-up caterpillar:

 

 

The control console is built into a mushroom:

 

 

This ride was obviously designed by a bunch of those dirty California hippies.

 

The Alice ride is right next to the Matterhorn:

 

 

Alice in Wonderland selfie:

 

 

This ride goes both outside and inside.  This part is on the roof:

 

 

The part on the roof provides a good view.  There's a monorail coming down the track over there- you can just see the nose of it coming in to view.  Also, look over there on the right, and you'll see some shoes that someone left on the roof.  It was probably the stoner caterpillar:

 

 

It was exactly 9 am when I snapped that last photo- we got off to a slow start, but we had now ridden Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, and Alice.  We will be trying for Small World next.

 

TCD

[Beckers 1,136]

Main street's garland looks really skimpy or thin? I think I agree with you (?) that their Main Street looks wider? Maybe that's why I think it's skimpy looking?

You couldn't pay me enough to ride the sliding cars on the Ferris wheel. I hate them, they rank up there with sky rides in my "scares the crap out of me list". When I worked at Great Adventure one night a really, really bad storm came out of no where and the wind was bad. It tripped a wind sensor in the sky ride and then something broke leaving the people stuck on the ride during this awful storm, you could hear the people screaming. It was awful and took them a long time to be able to manually bring the cars in.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Another great update!

[red...Susan 37]

I rode that Ferris wheel once curled in a ball chanting and crying.

[sherryberry 35]

Y'all are cracking me up about that ferris wheel! I wish WDW would do the Nightmare Before Christmas setup on the Haunted Mansion! Reading this, I'm really wanting to head out that way to experience all of this (and try the ferris wheel)!

[disney4dan 68]

I'm in!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I'm in!

 

Not exactly an early adopter, eh Dan?  

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

The early part of this day sounds like our visit in May. Too many things break early in the day. WTF did the maintenance people do all night, sleep?

[we3peas 12]

While waiting for the ferris wheel (I chose stationary my dd chose sliding) her side had a big delay because someone got sick in the car. The CMs said it happened often. Glad I chose the non sliding side. My dd said she fell off the seat when it slid.  The rollercoaster fooled me. I thought it was a wooden one that didn't go upside down. We got in and it took off and we turned over and I couldn't stop screaming. I hate upside down rides which is why I sit and read when dd wants to go on those at WDW.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I am soooooo behind on my trip report reading!! I came on today to do some catching up and see your trip report from DISNEYLAND!!!! Woohoo!!!!!! I haven't read any of it yet and had to comment first!!! We have been twice, first time in 2009 for 8 nights and the second time in 2012 for 5 nights. We LOVE WDW, but we LOVE DL too!!! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as we did!!! Ok, off to read!!!

Heidi

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I am with you....I am anti-wires.

$14 candycane? Good call skipping that one.

Was there lots of empty plastic baggies on the floor of the Alice ride like their is in the WDW Pooh ride?