The TCD Gang Goes to Disneyland!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

RSR look awesome! I love all the theming of Carsland. I hope they do something that immersive for a Star Wars land in DHS.

 

The guy in the middle of your ToT pic looks interesting.  

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I remember the old days of bumper cars -- when you could hit someone so hard you nearly jarred your teeth loose.  Those were the good old days!

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Oh I just remember another difference with DCA's ToT. They dont have a computer that randomizes the drops so the ride is the same every time. 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Oh I just remember another difference with DCA's ToT. They dont have a computer that randomizes the drops so the ride is the same every time. 

Also, you'll notice there are three drop shafs instead of two to help with capacity, since there is no sideways movement to distribute the vehicles.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Another tip for those reading along. If you want to ride California Screamin but dont have a Fastpass there is a Single Rider line. You go to the normal entrance to receive a card that you then take around the corner to the single rider entrance. Since I dont do many coasters we used this so Sil could get right on when we were there. 

 

Good tip. That was a single rider on the ride with us. They also had a single rider line at RSR.

 

RSR look awesome! I love all the theming of Carsland. I hope they do something that immersive for a Star Wars land in DHS.

 

The guy in the middle of your ToT pic looks interesting.  

 

I really hope whatever it is they're about to do at DHS is as immersive as Carsland.  Based on recent things, though, I am doubtful that WDW will get anything as cool.

 

There are quite a few interesting folks on that elevator.  And not one of them is one of those beautiful people I was expecting to see in California.

 

I remember the old days of bumper cars -- when you could hit someone so hard you nearly jarred your teeth loose.  Those were the good old days!

 

That's what I'm talking about.

 

Those were the days!

 

Oh I just remember another difference with DCA's ToT. They dont have a computer that randomizes the drops so the ride is the same every time. 

 

I didn't know that.  We only rode once, so we didn't know they were all the same.

 

Also, you'll notice there are three drop shafs instead of two to help with capacity, since there is no sideways movement to distribute the vehicles.

 

I didn't notice that either, nor did I ever stop to think that DHS only has two.  That explains why the cars travel from one shaft to another.

 

Do you know why there are so many stairs in the DCA version?  It didn't make sense to me.

 

TCD

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

Today's Bumper cars are lame....just another example of the wussification of society.

Props on extra FP. Nice

Beer taps? Extra nice

[dblr....Rennie 224]

For the BEST bumper cars at any amusement park you have to go to Knoebels in Elysburg Pa we always compare other parks to theirs and no one ever comes close.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

For the BEST bumper cars at any amusement park you have to go to Knoebels in Elysburg Pa we always compare other parks to theirs and no one ever comes close.

No kidding. I hit a guy hard enough last year to flop his sunglasses off of his head. I don't think they got ran over surprisingly and they didn't stop the ride!

[Beckers 1,136]

And TCD is right, any new land at DHS needs to have a major E-Ticket ride. And serious theming. It's pretty sad that the biggest draw there is a game that I can play at home on the Wii.

And no hat, please.

Amen

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

Rennie is CORRECT, Knoebels has the best bumper cars around, they are just like what TCD remembers and they are pretty fast too..

 

Best Regards,

Norm

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Sounds like we need to plan a Grand Gathering just to do the bumper cars at Knobels!!!!!!

[The Troll 67]

Did Twin #1 take over the photography duties of much of this last update?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Today's Bumper cars are lame....just another example of the wussification of society.

Props on extra FP. Nice

Beer taps? Extra nice

 

Preach it brother Aaron!

 

We have too much wussification in the world!

 

For the BEST bumper cars at any amusement park you have to go to Knoebels in Elysburg Pa we always compare other parks to theirs and no one ever comes close.

 

I have never heard of the place.  But I Googled it.  I can't think of a reason I will ever be near there, but if I am, I'll have to go.

 

No kidding. I hit a guy hard enough last year to flop his sunglasses off of his head. I don't think they got ran over surprisingly and they didn't stop the ride!

 

Yes.  That's what I'm talking about.

 

Rennie is CORRECT, Knoebels has the best bumper cars around, they are just like what TCD remembers and they are pretty fast too..

 

Best Regards,

Norm

 

I'm sure they're a bit cleaner and safer than the ones I remember.  The ones I remember came to my town in Jersey with the carnival every year.   And, I think I remember some on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights.  I imagine the bumper cars in a theme park are better maintained and carry less of a burn/electrocution risk.

 

Sounds like we need to plan a Grand Gathering just to do the bumper cars at Knobels!!!!!!

 

If it wasn't in the middle of nowhere, I would be interested.

 

Did Twin #1 take over the photography duties of much of this last update?

 

Nope.  Except for the RSR selfie, those were all taken by me on my crappy point and shoot camera.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Update time.

 

It's still Saturday, December 6.  We just finished an early lunch, and now we're going to see the Aladdin show.  This show gets a lot of buzz, and we had been told be several people we needed to see it, so we headed that way.

 

We took a short cut through Bug's Land.  This would be a great place for kids who love the Bug's Life movie.  If there is such a thing:

 

 

 

We found the theater, and got in line.  They had three different lines, and we weren't sure which one we should get in.  The twins struck up a conversation with a CM, and she told us that we ought to get in the Mezzanine line and try for a seat along the railing when we got in to the theater.  That sounded like a solid tip, so we went with it.

 

We aren't theater people.  Mezzanine apparently is a fancy name for a balcony, so we were on the second level of the theater, and got a seat in the very front row there.  It provided a great view of the stage.

 

The show is similar to the Aladdin show they do on the Disney Dream, with the Genie being the star.  That was a good thing here, as the actor playing the Genie was fantastic.  I remember very much disliking the Aladdin show on our last cruise because the Genie screamed his lines, and was just not funny.  This guy was the complete opposite.

 

They had a huge cast for this show.  Here, during the Friend Like Me number, they had a bunch of Genies on the stage dancing and singing:

 

 

The Prince Ali number was great too, with  Aladdin riding Elephant Abu around the theater below us:

 

 

The Whole New World scene was easily the best scene I've ever seen in any Disney theatrical production.  A flying carpet appeared right in front of us and flew above the audience on the first level.  With Aladdin and Jasmine aboard.  Our front row Mezzanine seats provided a perfect view.  That CM gave us a great tip.

 

Here's the finale with all the actors on stage taking their bows:

 

 

I'm not really a big theme park show person, but this show was worth taking the time to see.

 

They did a great job.

 

After the show, we headed back out and toward another attraction we needed to check off of our list.

 

We passed Santa on the way:

 

 

The have a Monsters Inc. dark ride here.  I had heard about it, and rumors that one was coming to DHS, in the past, but didn't know more than that about it:

 

 

I am glad that the ride was a walk on, as I would have been mad if we spent any time waiting for it.  It was a nice dark ride, but very boring and unoriginal.  We basically rode past a bunch of scenes from the movie with some animatronic characters, including Roz in a Santa hat:

 

 

That's it- now big Wow moment.  Just a boring dark ride with scenes from a Pixar movie.  Someone blew it here.  I hope the idea of putting one of these at DHS has died.

 

We had time before our RSR's FP's would be good, and we had already eaten lunch, so we debated what to do next.  We decided that this would be a good time for us to walk over to Downtown Disney.  We all had agreed that we needed to see it, and it seemed like this would be the best time for us to do that.  So that's what we headed out to do.

 

This is the outside of the theater where we had just watched Aladdin:

 

 

The Tower of Terror is back in this area too:

 

 

This street felt like the New York street in DHS:

 

 

They have a Disney Junior show here, but none of us had any interest in seeing that:

 

 

As we headed toward the exit, the twins spotted Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  You can meet him here. But, for some reason, not at WDW.  So we needed to meet him.  We headed that way, only to be told by the CM that the line was cut, and the last guests in line would be the last to meet Oswald today.  He would be back in an hour, though.  Darn.  We stood there to the side to discuss what to do.  We weren't sure if we would be back in an hour, and the girls decided that they really needed to meet Oswald.  So, we went through our options, and tried to figure out what to do.  As we stood there, the CM who told us a few minutes earlier that the line was cut, called over to us and said, "I'm sorry, what was that?"  We hadn't said anything to him.  He then said, "If you have a question for me, please come over so I can hear you."  Weird.  So we stepped over there, and he waved us in to the line just as the last guests were finishing with Oswald.  He announced to Oswald that we were the last guests he would be meeting in this set.  And then this happened:

 

 

That may not seem like a big deal to you, but it was a major deal to the twins. They were very happy that they got that photo.  That little bit of pixie dust from that CM was awesome.

 

We then headed out the California Adventure entrance and turned left.  After just a few steps, we saw the World of Disney store.  That's how close Downtown Disney is to the parks in California:

 

 

There was something going on at the Disney store, as there was a sign posted at the door, and a long line of guests along the outside wall of the store waiting for something:

 

 

They were all there to meet this guy, and presumably get him to sign some memorabilia they had purchased in the store:

 

 

There were a lot of people in line to meet this guy, and they all had big bags of stuff in their hands.

 

Go Disney.  They sure know how to rake it in.

 

As we continued walking, we saw the entrance for the Grand Californian hotel:

 

 

Even though we would be checking in here for a night tomorrow, we decided to take a look around.

 

I think this was the first year that they had a gingerbread house in their lobby, and people were gushing over it.  They would probably faint if they saw what they put in the Grand Floridian:

 

 

The lobby of the Grand Californian is more like the Wilderness Lodge lobby than it is the Grand Floridian's:

 

 

We headed out of there, and kept on walking.

 

The girls were happy to see a Jamba Juice.  We used to have a couple of them near us, but they closed down a while back. There's still one on the UF campus, but Twin #2 hadn't had a Jamba Juice in a while.  So we each got one. They gave a 20% CM discount too, so that was sweet.

 

They had an outdoor ice rink here, although it looked kind of melty:

 

 

Past there, there was a Rainforest Café, and a big ESPN Club:

 

 

This is a look back to where we had just walked. We were near the end of Downtown Disney, and we hadn't walked very far at all:

 

 

When you come to the end of Downtown Disney, you hit the Disneyland Hotel:

 

 

I'm not sure if there's a main lobby there, as the resort seems to be broken into several high rise buildings.  This directory told us where things were:

 

 

Since we are soon going to have a Trader Sam's at WDW, we decided to walk that way to see it.  And here it is:

 

 

It was smaller than I expected, but looked kind of fun:

 

 

They serve food and drinks there, but we were full from lunch, and the girls aren't old enough to drink yet, so we didn't hang out.  I think that some of the props are animatronic and that there are periodic shows, but we didn't get to see any of that.  I hope the one they are building at the Polynesian resort is bigger than this one.

 

We had seen enough, so we started to head back.

 

As we passed the Lego store, they were making something, and they had a table set up where guests could stop and help:

 

 

They were making a sign for the College Football Playoffs.  Oregon had already won the PAC 12 Championship the night before, and Alabama had just won its game.  So, some guests got to make the squares for those schools:

 

 

Twin #2 wanted to make a square for the FSU sign, but their game hadn't started yet.  They were just working on the background squares now:

 

 

So, we didn't stop and help.

 

They have a giant Build a Bear Workshop here, which sells bears that look like Elsa from Frozen.  I'm glad my girls are past the BABW age:

 

 

We popped in to the Disney store briefly, and then headed back in to California Adventure.

 

I was surprised by how very much smaller Disneyland's Downtown Disney is compared to WDW's.  It's really, really compact.  But it is cool that you can just walk to it from the parks.

 

Next up, we will be back for a late afternoon and evening of fun at California Adventure.

 

TCD

[The Troll 67]

Really enjoying this report, Andrew. Thanks.

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

Looking forward to Trader Sams at WDW.

The GC lobby and tree remind me a lot of WL.

We need tonuse our points there sometime.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

One thing I have appreciated about this TR is you are giving us overviews of things and enough details to whet the appetite, but not so much that I feel I have "been there, done that" and don't need to go myself.

 

Can't wait to read more!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Really enjoying this report, Andrew. Thanks.

 

I'm glad to know that you're still reading.

 

Looking forward to Trader Sams at WDW.

The GC lobby and tree remind me a lot of WL.

We need tonuse our points there sometime.

 

I also look forward to visiting Trader Sam's at WDW when it opens.  I am afraid it's always going to be packed, though.

 

The whole Grand Californian Hotel reminds me very much of the Wilderness and Animal Kingdom Lodges, but it is more in the Craftsman style.  It's very nice.  You really do need to use your points there some day.

 

One thing I have appreciated about this TR is you are giving us overviews of things and enough details to whet the appetite, but not so much that I feel I have "been there, done that" and don't need to go myself.

 

Can't wait to read more!

 

Thanks, Marty.

 

There are some spoilers in this report for sure, but I hope that I don't ruin anyone's first visit.

 

I had read a bit about Disneyland, but the only way to understand it is to go.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

After our side trip to Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel, we headed right back in to California Adventure.

 

Christmas Pluto was strolling in right ahead of us:

 

 

The girls wanted photos with Christmas Chip and Dale, but didn't care so much about Pluto.  Sorry, boy.

 

We didn't time our entrance to catch the Trolley show, but it was starting just as we came to the point where they parked and did their thing:

 

 

They had a talking and singing Mickey hiding on the trolley:

 

 

We all loved the show.  It incorporated the story of Walt Disney packing up his cardboard suitcase and heading west to start all of what we enjoy today.  The actors in the show were all outstanding:

 

 

We all agreed that we would like to catch this show one more time during this trip.

 

From here, we headed to check some more attractions off of our list.  They have a Little Mermaid SMB ride here like we do in the MK.  I've heard it's identical, so it really wasn't a priority for us, but it had a short wait, so we decided to check it out.  The ride may be the same, but the exterior and queue sure aren't:

 

 

The sun sets really early in California.  I snapped this photo at 3:46 pm, and you can see the sun is sinking fast:

 

 

The queue for their Little Mermaid ride is very blah.  Ours is way better. Yay us:

 

 

I'll be darned if I saw anything different on this ride than the one we have at WDW.  I thought they had made some changes to the big "Under the Sea" scene, but I couldn't tell what the changes were if they did.

 

When we came out of the Little Mermaid, some Green Army Men were fixing to start a show, so we stopped to watch.  Look how these guys have actual faces.  The ones in DHS don't:

 

 

These guys totally ripped of the Jamitors from Epcot.

 

We moved along.

 

Next up, we headed to the little corner of the Paradise Pier section where they have some off the shelf carnival-type rides.

 

The first one we hit up was called to Golden Zephyr.  You have to walk up stairs to the loading platform, which provides a nice view of this part of the park.  There's the Fun Wheel over there- you can see how some of the cars are on tracks and move around:

 

 

Those rocks you see off in the distance here are the fake rocks from Carsland.  I think they built them so big to block the views of buildings just across the street from the park.  Also, closer in the photo you can see the seating area for the World of Color show, which is performed on the water there to the right:

 

 

In this photo of the Fun Wheel, if you look to the right of Mickey, you can see one of the cars tilting as it slides around the oval track.  That's what ours did, only we were coming around the top of the wheel when it did.  I still can't believe there are no seatbelts in those cars:

 

 

This shows one of the Golden Zephyr ride vehicles.  I'm sure you've seen a ride like this before.  This is something Disney bought off the shelf and dressed up a bit for the park:

 

 

So, this is Disneyland's Dinoland USA.

 

As I looked around up here, I began to notice that you can clearly see things that are not in the park.  Like in this photo, that domed roof to the right is the Anaheim Convention Center, and the big building closer to the center of the photo is an off property hotel:

 

 

There go the Green Army Men, and that's the Little Mermaid ride building to the right:

 

 

There's the Grand Californian hotel.  And, there's an attraction called Goofy's Flying School there behind those trees.  It looked a lot like Primeval Whirl to us, but we never got to ride it as it was down for renovations during our visit:

 

 

I didn't know it at the time, but we will be visiting the tower you see over there on the Grand Californian later in our trip:

 

 

I liked how we got an aerial view of the park from the Golden Zephyr:

 

 

That's the Paradise Pier hotel over there.  That's the third Disney owned hotel here.  I intended to visit it on this trip, but we never made it over there:

 

 

The Golden Zephyr isn't anything special, but it's still a fun ride:

 

 

Wait.

 

What the heck is that down there?:

 

 

One more look at the World of Color viewing area.  We heard the best spots to watch are on that second level, and that's where we will try to be later tonight:

 

 

After the ride, we headed down to see if we could find that thing we saw rolling by while on the ride. We didn't see that, but we saw this:

 

 

And this:

 

 

What the heck are those things?

 

They are part of a celebration they have back here in this part of the park called ¡Viva Navidad!

 

My Spanish is not good, but I think that means Celebration of Large Paper Mache Heads. 

 

Or something like that.

 

The festival also involved some festive dancers:

 

 

If you look carefully at the top of that last photo, you will see that it was taken from inside the queue for the Silly Symphony Swing ride.  That is where we went next.

 

It is also up on a platform, and provides a cool view of the California Screamin' coaster:

 

 

I know you've seen a swing ride like this before.  We sure have.  And we like them.  Here we go:

 

 

 

When we were waiting our turn to ride, we all noticed a kid on the ride before ours who did not hold on, and instead flapped his arms like a bird flying the whole time.  Twin #2 did that:

 

 

I was going to, but it felt like I was going to fall out, so I held on instead.

 

I got some grief for that.

 

Next up, we rode a ride that was called the Jumping Jellyfish, or something like that- and there's the Grand Californian again:

 

 

Here's a look at the Golden Zephyr and the water where World of Color will be performed later. Those bubbles are coming from fountains beneath the surface.  In a bit, those will be raised up to prepare for the show:

 

 

TCD

[shoreline99 137]

I also look forward to visiting Trader Sam's at WDW when it opens.  I am afraid it's always going to be packed, though.

 

Rumour is that they will have a much larger outside area at the WDW one, so while you're right that the inside will likely be mobbed hopefully the outside patio will be more open. I've also heard April/May for the rough opening date.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm anticipating some great shots of World of Color!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Once upon a time I could ride those rides without a care in the world.  And then I got old and my equilibrium got lost.  I feel like I am falling out of Soaring and I do use that middle strap cause I am chicken now.  I could not flap my wings on that swing.

[jengarynew adventures 0]

This trip report is awesome!!  We have never been interested in Disney beyond Disneyworld, but thanks to this report are talking about how quickly we can get out to California.  

 

Love all the photographs and seeing you with your daughters.  Miss those times with mine.  Don't sweat holding on the when the swings were in motion, it stabized you to take the photos1

[jengarynew adventures 0]

This trip report is awesome!!  We have never been interested in Disney beyond Disneyworld, but thanks to this report are talking about how quickly we can get out to California.  

 

Love all the photographs and seeing you with your daughters.  Miss those times with mine.  Don't sweat holding on the when the swings were in motion, it stabized you to take the photos1

[keith_h 420]

Thanks for posting. I haven't been to Disneyland since we've moved away from California in 1992. Needless to say I've never seen Disney Adventure. It is fun to see how the area has changed since living there.