"It's So Clean!" First Timer's July 2014 Trip Report
- Thread starter AlliGirl
- Start date
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
After taking a short break in our room, we headed back out. We were extremely excited to step inside California Adventure for the very first time! We decided to enter through the front gates for our very first time instead of utilizing the entrance to the park inside the Grand Californian Hotel. It seemed more fun and exciting.
We were walking down Buena Vista Street when a cast member was holding up copies of newspapers he was giving away. I knew Scott would be all over that! We love collecting all different paper souvenirs from the parks.
First up, we headed into Condor Flats to get fastpasses for Soarin’. It’s my mom’s favorite ride and I knew we’d be using fastpasses for a few other rides the next day so I wanted to make sure we crossed that off.
I think our fastpasses were for around 1:40. We just wanted to walk around and see the sights a bit. We walked through Pacific Wharf and I knew there were a few restaurants there so we decided to grab some lunch. I really like the way it was set up. There was a huge seating area in the center of a bunch of counter service locations.
At first, we were thinking we’d each get something from a different place just to try it out. But we all agreed the Lucky Fortune Cookery sounded the best at the time. At this location you chose from either lo mein or rice, then a meat, and then a sauce. Scott and I split chicken with rice and a mandarin orange sauce and my mom got chicken with the spicy Korean sauce I think! We all really enjoyed our food and it was served piping hot! You could eat it in the Pacific Wharf area many times and always have something different.
After lunch we headed back to Soarin’ to use our fastpasses. Even with fastpasses, this line always takes awhile and the children’s group we were in line behind made for an interesting wait. We were in the front row but the A section to the right. This ride is exactly the same as it is in WDW. The only difference is the theming of the attraction building and queue. In Epcot, the ride is more of an airport theme but in Disneyland it’s an air hangar theme. The interactive games in the Epcot queue are extremely loud and get very frustrating to hear on repeat in the standby line. So, I’d prefer the Disneyland wait.
After Soarin’ we headed to check out Tower of Terror. This is one of our favorite rides at WDW so we couldn’t wait to ride a different version. The wait was long enough that we decided to grab a fastpass instead. One of my goals for the day was to watch the Aladdin musical at the Hyperion Theater. The next showing wasn’t for a while so we decided to ride Mike and Sulley to the Rescue.
We love the movies so we were super excited. There were a lot of clever references in the indoor part of the queue. If you’ve never read about what was originally in this ride building, YOU NEED TO. Because you won’t believe me if I tell you! It’s called Superstar Limo and I’m talking caricature animatronics of Antonio Banderas and Regis Philbin. The strangest “least Disney” ride in a Disney Park that I can possibly fathom. Anyway, in that ride you travelled by Taxis with video screens, which is why you do the same in Mike and Sulley. This ride is an exact walkthrough of the plot of the movie, which I both enjoyed and wished for a bit more. The bathroom scene looks amazing and all the details are awesome. Some of the showrooms have awesome effects, like Boo bashing Randall over the head while he changes patterns. But some rooms are a little underdone, like the Harry Hausin restaurant scene. If you’re gonna drive me through it, give me something to look at besides water trickling out of bottles. I noticed a couple effects that weren’t being used that probably could’ve added to the ride. Overall though, it was fun and impressive at moments but could use some upgrades. Mike Wazowski unmoving statues, I’m looking at you.
We wanted to stay in the area until the next showing of Aladdin, I think it was around 4:30? So we headed into the Animation Studio. WOW! Just wow. You want to see difference in levels of effort, compare the embarrassment of an Animation Studio at Hollywood Studios to this one. Studios’ Animation Studio has a lot of the same features just not one ounce of the ambiance or cool factor. I’m talking white walls with screens in them. The Animation Studio at DCA is not to be missed! Even the lobby is a great place to hang out! We were AMAZED by the zoetrope in the Character Closeup room. You have to see this! It’s an incredible feat. We stuck around long enough to catch it in action a few times.
We walked through the Sorcerer’s Workshop next, very cool theming, we didn’t draw on one of the cartoon strips but we enjoyed watching them in action. Next we went into the Beast’s Library. This room is very reminiscent of New Fantasyland’s Be Our Guest restaurant’s West Wing. It was another very well done room, especially in comparison to the Hollywood Studios version.
Next was Ursula’s Grotto, which has awesome little sound booths for you to dub your voice over movie clips. Turtle Talk With Crush is also in the Animation Studio in Disneyland but we didn’t watch it. If you’re travelling with young kids, I’d allot your party at least an hour in the Animation Studio.
After we left we headed to queue up for the Aladdin Musical. The way it works, you enter the queue for the different seating sections from the very beginning. There were three choices and because of some scenes I’d heard about we opted for the Mezzanine section. This was the correct choice and I implore anyone who spends the time to watch this show to make the same choice. We waited outside in the queue for quite a while; we probably could’ve shown up a little later. However, we did get the pay off of having seats in the very front row of the Mezzanine balcony, which was awesome. We have mixed reviews of the show. It was very nice to sit in a beautiful theater for a long relaxing break. However, it was probably a little too dark and comfortable for a forty-five minute show, my mom watched it through her eyelids haha. I know that different people enjoy different things so I’m not going to pan the show or anything. But Genie, SIT DOWN!!! Personally, I’m not huge on forced humor and that was my impression of basically everything out of his mouth. I’m watching a show about Aladdin at Disneyland, this should be a place that I don’t have to hear about the Kardashians, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber. Every other form of media in the “real” world is already so over saturated with these topics it just frustrated me to have to hear about them incessantly in a Disney show. Plus, the other elements of the show were entertaining enough without all the cheap jokes. Had they been clever in any form or fashion it would be more enjoyable. But throwing in a “Yeah and Kim Kardashian has a big butt!” kind of joke in the middle of a beloved scene is just a weird juxtaposition that takes you right out of the story. So, I guess we didn’t really have any issues with the show itself, just that one character. There were AWESOME effects and sets! Again, sit on the Mezzanine balcony! Or else you will be craning your neck up and wishing you had!
After leaving the show we were feeling a little sluggish. Think all the way back to the beginning of our last post. That 7am gallivanting through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland had caught up with us. We hung around and waited a bit to use our Tower of Terror fastpasses.
This is a ride that we much prefer in WDW. We liked the queue here just fine and the boiler room was different but worked well. Oh, one thing, we walked up to the back of the line in front of an elevator and the cast member happened to be looking for a party of three. I raised my hand that we were a party of three and the CAST MEMBER called us forward. So we start making our way past the people waiting and a punk teenager had the audacity to make a comment towards us like “Oh by ALL MEANS, go in front of all of us!” WHAT! You are in a large party and there’s three empty seats left. Whether or not we got in front of you had NO effect on how long that kid’s wait was going to be. As a middle school teacher and former cast member I could’ve handed that kid his bottom on a platter in front of all his friends he was busy showing off for. But instead I took my place on my number and SMILED as hard as I could. We chatted with the cast member working the elevator about working at WDW. The reason we prefer the Hollywood Studios version to this one is that you only get about half the ride: the drops. In Hollywood Studios there is a whole section where your elevator car moves out of the shaft through a scene before you get into dropping position. Plus the randomizing of the drops at Hollywood Studios makes for a lot of fun on repeat rides.
After our stay at the Hollywood Tower Hotel we were dragging our feet noticeably. We decided to stop in the Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Café for some Starbucks Coffee before making our way back to our room to relax before some nighttime spectaculars. When I first heard the name of the café in passing, it struck me as really odd. But once I saw it in writing the reference totally clicked. We didn’t end up going back through the main entrance of DCA again so we didn’t walk around Buena Vista Street again. Next time, we will definitely need to explore this area more!
Next time: Magical Fireworks and Fantasmic! in one night…
We were walking down Buena Vista Street when a cast member was holding up copies of newspapers he was giving away. I knew Scott would be all over that! We love collecting all different paper souvenirs from the parks.
First up, we headed into Condor Flats to get fastpasses for Soarin’. It’s my mom’s favorite ride and I knew we’d be using fastpasses for a few other rides the next day so I wanted to make sure we crossed that off.
I think our fastpasses were for around 1:40. We just wanted to walk around and see the sights a bit. We walked through Pacific Wharf and I knew there were a few restaurants there so we decided to grab some lunch. I really like the way it was set up. There was a huge seating area in the center of a bunch of counter service locations.
At first, we were thinking we’d each get something from a different place just to try it out. But we all agreed the Lucky Fortune Cookery sounded the best at the time. At this location you chose from either lo mein or rice, then a meat, and then a sauce. Scott and I split chicken with rice and a mandarin orange sauce and my mom got chicken with the spicy Korean sauce I think! We all really enjoyed our food and it was served piping hot! You could eat it in the Pacific Wharf area many times and always have something different.
After lunch we headed back to Soarin’ to use our fastpasses. Even with fastpasses, this line always takes awhile and the children’s group we were in line behind made for an interesting wait. We were in the front row but the A section to the right. This ride is exactly the same as it is in WDW. The only difference is the theming of the attraction building and queue. In Epcot, the ride is more of an airport theme but in Disneyland it’s an air hangar theme. The interactive games in the Epcot queue are extremely loud and get very frustrating to hear on repeat in the standby line. So, I’d prefer the Disneyland wait.
After Soarin’ we headed to check out Tower of Terror. This is one of our favorite rides at WDW so we couldn’t wait to ride a different version. The wait was long enough that we decided to grab a fastpass instead. One of my goals for the day was to watch the Aladdin musical at the Hyperion Theater. The next showing wasn’t for a while so we decided to ride Mike and Sulley to the Rescue.
We love the movies so we were super excited. There were a lot of clever references in the indoor part of the queue. If you’ve never read about what was originally in this ride building, YOU NEED TO. Because you won’t believe me if I tell you! It’s called Superstar Limo and I’m talking caricature animatronics of Antonio Banderas and Regis Philbin. The strangest “least Disney” ride in a Disney Park that I can possibly fathom. Anyway, in that ride you travelled by Taxis with video screens, which is why you do the same in Mike and Sulley. This ride is an exact walkthrough of the plot of the movie, which I both enjoyed and wished for a bit more. The bathroom scene looks amazing and all the details are awesome. Some of the showrooms have awesome effects, like Boo bashing Randall over the head while he changes patterns. But some rooms are a little underdone, like the Harry Hausin restaurant scene. If you’re gonna drive me through it, give me something to look at besides water trickling out of bottles. I noticed a couple effects that weren’t being used that probably could’ve added to the ride. Overall though, it was fun and impressive at moments but could use some upgrades. Mike Wazowski unmoving statues, I’m looking at you.
We wanted to stay in the area until the next showing of Aladdin, I think it was around 4:30? So we headed into the Animation Studio. WOW! Just wow. You want to see difference in levels of effort, compare the embarrassment of an Animation Studio at Hollywood Studios to this one. Studios’ Animation Studio has a lot of the same features just not one ounce of the ambiance or cool factor. I’m talking white walls with screens in them. The Animation Studio at DCA is not to be missed! Even the lobby is a great place to hang out! We were AMAZED by the zoetrope in the Character Closeup room. You have to see this! It’s an incredible feat. We stuck around long enough to catch it in action a few times.
We walked through the Sorcerer’s Workshop next, very cool theming, we didn’t draw on one of the cartoon strips but we enjoyed watching them in action. Next we went into the Beast’s Library. This room is very reminiscent of New Fantasyland’s Be Our Guest restaurant’s West Wing. It was another very well done room, especially in comparison to the Hollywood Studios version.
Next was Ursula’s Grotto, which has awesome little sound booths for you to dub your voice over movie clips. Turtle Talk With Crush is also in the Animation Studio in Disneyland but we didn’t watch it. If you’re travelling with young kids, I’d allot your party at least an hour in the Animation Studio.
After we left we headed to queue up for the Aladdin Musical. The way it works, you enter the queue for the different seating sections from the very beginning. There were three choices and because of some scenes I’d heard about we opted for the Mezzanine section. This was the correct choice and I implore anyone who spends the time to watch this show to make the same choice. We waited outside in the queue for quite a while; we probably could’ve shown up a little later. However, we did get the pay off of having seats in the very front row of the Mezzanine balcony, which was awesome. We have mixed reviews of the show. It was very nice to sit in a beautiful theater for a long relaxing break. However, it was probably a little too dark and comfortable for a forty-five minute show, my mom watched it through her eyelids haha. I know that different people enjoy different things so I’m not going to pan the show or anything. But Genie, SIT DOWN!!! Personally, I’m not huge on forced humor and that was my impression of basically everything out of his mouth. I’m watching a show about Aladdin at Disneyland, this should be a place that I don’t have to hear about the Kardashians, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber. Every other form of media in the “real” world is already so over saturated with these topics it just frustrated me to have to hear about them incessantly in a Disney show. Plus, the other elements of the show were entertaining enough without all the cheap jokes. Had they been clever in any form or fashion it would be more enjoyable. But throwing in a “Yeah and Kim Kardashian has a big butt!” kind of joke in the middle of a beloved scene is just a weird juxtaposition that takes you right out of the story. So, I guess we didn’t really have any issues with the show itself, just that one character. There were AWESOME effects and sets! Again, sit on the Mezzanine balcony! Or else you will be craning your neck up and wishing you had!
After leaving the show we were feeling a little sluggish. Think all the way back to the beginning of our last post. That 7am gallivanting through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland had caught up with us. We hung around and waited a bit to use our Tower of Terror fastpasses.
This is a ride that we much prefer in WDW. We liked the queue here just fine and the boiler room was different but worked well. Oh, one thing, we walked up to the back of the line in front of an elevator and the cast member happened to be looking for a party of three. I raised my hand that we were a party of three and the CAST MEMBER called us forward. So we start making our way past the people waiting and a punk teenager had the audacity to make a comment towards us like “Oh by ALL MEANS, go in front of all of us!” WHAT! You are in a large party and there’s three empty seats left. Whether or not we got in front of you had NO effect on how long that kid’s wait was going to be. As a middle school teacher and former cast member I could’ve handed that kid his bottom on a platter in front of all his friends he was busy showing off for. But instead I took my place on my number and SMILED as hard as I could. We chatted with the cast member working the elevator about working at WDW. The reason we prefer the Hollywood Studios version to this one is that you only get about half the ride: the drops. In Hollywood Studios there is a whole section where your elevator car moves out of the shaft through a scene before you get into dropping position. Plus the randomizing of the drops at Hollywood Studios makes for a lot of fun on repeat rides.
After our stay at the Hollywood Tower Hotel we were dragging our feet noticeably. We decided to stop in the Fiddler, Fifer, and Practical Café for some Starbucks Coffee before making our way back to our room to relax before some nighttime spectaculars. When I first heard the name of the café in passing, it struck me as really odd. But once I saw it in writing the reference totally clicked. We didn’t end up going back through the main entrance of DCA again so we didn’t walk around Buena Vista Street again. Next time, we will definitely need to explore this area more!
Next time: Magical Fireworks and Fantasmic! in one night…
amandaw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2011
Sounds like a nice afternoon!
I'll definitely plan to spend some time in the Animation Studios. Looks like there are lots of fun things to check out in there.
I wish ToT in DCA had the randomized drops like DHS does. That's part of what makes the ride so fun!
I'll definitely plan to spend some time in the Animation Studios. Looks like there are lots of fun things to check out in there.
I wish ToT in DCA had the randomized drops like DHS does. That's part of what makes the ride so fun!
splashtastic!
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2010
Loving your trip report!
I love first-time DL trip reports! And as mentioned by a previous poster; it's GREAT to hear first-time-to-DL with CM opinions.
When you went to DW for the College Program, did you have the option of going to DL, or was the opportunity only for DW?
I love first-time DL trip reports! And as mentioned by a previous poster; it's GREAT to hear first-time-to-DL with CM opinions.
When you went to DW for the College Program, did you have the option of going to DL, or was the opportunity only for DW?
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
At the time we applied, we could indicate that we wanted Disney World, Disneyland, or that we were interested in both. I'm pretty sure I clicked both during the web interview or application stage. They asked me about it again on the phone interview and I said that I wanted Disney World at that point. From what I remember the program in Disneyland is only for a few hundred college program attendees, while the Disney World program is for a few thousand.
Thanks for reading!
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
So where we last left off, we were taking a break back in our room at the Grand Californian Hotel. We just relaxed for a bit until it was dark and ventured back towards Disneyland. We changed into warmer clothes before leaving and I was very glad we did. No matter how many people told me wed need jeans and jackets in July in California, I couldnt believe it. Having spent all of my life in the South, the aforementioned outfit would be a death sentence on my typical summer night. But, at the suggestion of many, we packed warmer clothes. I wore jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a zip up hoodie and I wasnt overly warm one bit. We were going to attempt to see Magical, the summer time fireworks, and the second showing of Fantasmic.
Disclaimer: We dont have any pictures for this post. Were really not the type to take pictures of fireworks or nighttime shows of any kind. At this point, theres a professional quality video of any Disney show readily available online. So, why not just relax and watch the show?
We hadnt eaten dinner yet and we had heard a lot about the hand dipped corn dogs from the Little Red Wagon on Main Street. The line was probably about 5 parties deep in front of us and it moved slowly. Especially for a line in which every person was generally ordering the exact same thing.
Once we acquired our corn dogs we headed towards the hub to see the fireworks. We chose a spot sitting directly in the middle of the street, in which I remarked its so clean! Because I didnt feel one ounce grossed out about plopping down in the middle of the pristinely paved street to eat. We waited a few minutes for the fireworks to start. This is where we really missed the presence of a projection show. At the Magic Kingdom, there is a show projected onto the castle a few minutes before the fireworks and then typically repeated once again later in the night. The current version of the show is called Celebrate the Magic. Being oddballs ourselves, we much prefer this show to the fireworks themselves and its probably our favorite nighttime show across the board. If youre not familiar with the castle projection show technology, its the same thing they use for the Christmas time show projected onto its a small world at Disneyland over the holidays. They change up different sections of the show periodically based on the seasons and new movie releases. Many nights after work we would change out of our costumes into regular clothes for the sole purpose of watching Celebrate the Magic, especially if there was a new section, and then leave directly afterwards. Its just that good. If you know right now that youll never make your way to the Magic Kingdom, then look the show up online and watch it. However, its undoubtedly much more impressive in person.
Anyway, with the presence of the projection pre-show, you get two shows for the price of staking out one viewing spot. Arguably, even a third show, if you use the same spot for the nighttime parade. I guess, it just seems like a lot more bang for your buck. So, before my digression, we were sitting in the middle of the hub with our corn dogs. I enjoy a corn dog every now and then, and these are spoken very highly of. So, I was expecting something more than just a corn dog. Well, it wasnt anything unique or special to my taste buds, just a corn dog. Too bad the Wagon doesnt offer the corn dog nuggets from Caseys Corner in the Magic Kingdom.
One big difference we noticed between the two hubs is: trees. The Magic Kingdom has only a few trees, but further back from the castle. Disneyland has many, many more trees in the Main Street and hub areas. During the day, the trees are picturesque and provide shade. They also help to create a more realistic look and atmosphere. However, theyre a bit of a detriment to viewing fireworks in specific.
I really wish we had been at Disneyland at the right time to see Remember Dreams Come True. We love things themed around the different classic Disney attractions, so that show would be absolutely perfect for us. I really hope we get to see it on our next trip.
Our feelings on Magical: it was fireworks. I really wish there had been more of a storyline or theme throughout the show. I feel similarly about it as I do the corn dogs. It was a firework show. If youve never seen a firework show set to music, itll be absolutely wonderful. However, having seen many different similar shows over the years, it wasnt a stand out. If I had to choose in between watching the show again and enjoying shorter lines on attractions, Id definitely go with the latter.
After our first nighttime spectacular, we made our way towards the Rivers of America for the second showing of Fantasmic. As Im sure has been said many times before, this process was pretty grueling. Bottlenecks galore. But, its a necessary evil when moving thousands upon thousands of people out of one area, and then shifting umpteen more into the very same area. So we shuffled our way through Frontierland and reached the Fantasmic viewing area. Being first timers to this experience, we really had no idea where to go. We were moving along with the rest of the herd when I saw people in a sitting area, with plenty of space for the three of us. We think the area was in front of Pirates. I wasnt sure why seemingly everyone was moving past this area so I asked a cast member if we were allowed to go into that section and she said yes, but that its a sitting only section. We were at the very back of the section in front of the rope but we had absolutely no problem seeing anything. A few times before the show, a cast member made an announcement reminding everyone to stay seated for the duration of the show. I was a little worried that guests wouldnt listen, but no one even so much as sat up on their knees. In a future post, Ill definitely have to elaborate more on the difference between Disneyland and Disney World guests from our perspective as former cast members.
I was worried that we might not be able to watch both shows in one night, but the process was very easy and we were totally pleased with our seats. Fantasmic is a show that Scott and I are very familiar with, well at least the Hollywood Studios version. At Disney World, cast members can pick up extra hours working crowd control positions at Fantasmic. While the Jungle Cruise was down for refurbishment, we would pick up these shifts a few times a week. They were fun and easy and our assignments would sometimes be nothing more than watching the show in its entirety while watching gates at the front of the viewing area. So, in short, we know all of Mickeys moves. I absolutely love Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios so I was eager to see a different but similar version of the same show. Its a tough call because of the nostalgic place WDWs Fantasmic will forever have for us, but I think Disneylands Fantasmic has the upper hand. Basically solely for the Peter Pan scene on the Columbia Sailing Ship alone! It was incredible! Plus, there were so many different things happening throughout the scene, I feel like I could watch it again and again. Oh, and, the two dragons are totally incomparable. Disneylands dragon really just exemplifies whats wrong with WDWs dragon. Its totally just a shell of what it could be, as we saw very clearly in the Disneyland version. Hanging fabric on a crane does not a dragon make. So, big point to Disneyland there. A few sections of the show seemed weird, like the Pinocchio section, or that weird cover of Pink Elephants on Parade. But it generally has the same feeling as the Fantasmic show were used to. I felt like I could see the details of the whole show very well. So, for guests just stumbling into a seating area with little prior knowledge about where to go, the experience was awesome! I would watch Fantasmic on all future trips. Plus, waiting in the holding queue for DHS Fantasmic is a nightmare. Then, being corralled into whichever seating section is open and dont even think about being able to breathe upon exiting. You really have to set aside your entire evening for WDWs Fantasmic, whereas at Disneyland we couldve gone and done a handful more things that night if we wanted.
But alas, we were sleepy and our room was so close and convenient! Plus, tomorrow morning would be the most important of all: our one shot at Extra Magic Hours at California Adventure. We all know how very crucial that first hour is, and we intended to be in the park for every last second of it. How would we fare as first timers in a massive crowd with the same goal in mind? Next time!
Disclaimer: We dont have any pictures for this post. Were really not the type to take pictures of fireworks or nighttime shows of any kind. At this point, theres a professional quality video of any Disney show readily available online. So, why not just relax and watch the show?
We hadnt eaten dinner yet and we had heard a lot about the hand dipped corn dogs from the Little Red Wagon on Main Street. The line was probably about 5 parties deep in front of us and it moved slowly. Especially for a line in which every person was generally ordering the exact same thing.
Once we acquired our corn dogs we headed towards the hub to see the fireworks. We chose a spot sitting directly in the middle of the street, in which I remarked its so clean! Because I didnt feel one ounce grossed out about plopping down in the middle of the pristinely paved street to eat. We waited a few minutes for the fireworks to start. This is where we really missed the presence of a projection show. At the Magic Kingdom, there is a show projected onto the castle a few minutes before the fireworks and then typically repeated once again later in the night. The current version of the show is called Celebrate the Magic. Being oddballs ourselves, we much prefer this show to the fireworks themselves and its probably our favorite nighttime show across the board. If youre not familiar with the castle projection show technology, its the same thing they use for the Christmas time show projected onto its a small world at Disneyland over the holidays. They change up different sections of the show periodically based on the seasons and new movie releases. Many nights after work we would change out of our costumes into regular clothes for the sole purpose of watching Celebrate the Magic, especially if there was a new section, and then leave directly afterwards. Its just that good. If you know right now that youll never make your way to the Magic Kingdom, then look the show up online and watch it. However, its undoubtedly much more impressive in person.
Anyway, with the presence of the projection pre-show, you get two shows for the price of staking out one viewing spot. Arguably, even a third show, if you use the same spot for the nighttime parade. I guess, it just seems like a lot more bang for your buck. So, before my digression, we were sitting in the middle of the hub with our corn dogs. I enjoy a corn dog every now and then, and these are spoken very highly of. So, I was expecting something more than just a corn dog. Well, it wasnt anything unique or special to my taste buds, just a corn dog. Too bad the Wagon doesnt offer the corn dog nuggets from Caseys Corner in the Magic Kingdom.
One big difference we noticed between the two hubs is: trees. The Magic Kingdom has only a few trees, but further back from the castle. Disneyland has many, many more trees in the Main Street and hub areas. During the day, the trees are picturesque and provide shade. They also help to create a more realistic look and atmosphere. However, theyre a bit of a detriment to viewing fireworks in specific.
I really wish we had been at Disneyland at the right time to see Remember Dreams Come True. We love things themed around the different classic Disney attractions, so that show would be absolutely perfect for us. I really hope we get to see it on our next trip.
Our feelings on Magical: it was fireworks. I really wish there had been more of a storyline or theme throughout the show. I feel similarly about it as I do the corn dogs. It was a firework show. If youve never seen a firework show set to music, itll be absolutely wonderful. However, having seen many different similar shows over the years, it wasnt a stand out. If I had to choose in between watching the show again and enjoying shorter lines on attractions, Id definitely go with the latter.
After our first nighttime spectacular, we made our way towards the Rivers of America for the second showing of Fantasmic. As Im sure has been said many times before, this process was pretty grueling. Bottlenecks galore. But, its a necessary evil when moving thousands upon thousands of people out of one area, and then shifting umpteen more into the very same area. So we shuffled our way through Frontierland and reached the Fantasmic viewing area. Being first timers to this experience, we really had no idea where to go. We were moving along with the rest of the herd when I saw people in a sitting area, with plenty of space for the three of us. We think the area was in front of Pirates. I wasnt sure why seemingly everyone was moving past this area so I asked a cast member if we were allowed to go into that section and she said yes, but that its a sitting only section. We were at the very back of the section in front of the rope but we had absolutely no problem seeing anything. A few times before the show, a cast member made an announcement reminding everyone to stay seated for the duration of the show. I was a little worried that guests wouldnt listen, but no one even so much as sat up on their knees. In a future post, Ill definitely have to elaborate more on the difference between Disneyland and Disney World guests from our perspective as former cast members.
I was worried that we might not be able to watch both shows in one night, but the process was very easy and we were totally pleased with our seats. Fantasmic is a show that Scott and I are very familiar with, well at least the Hollywood Studios version. At Disney World, cast members can pick up extra hours working crowd control positions at Fantasmic. While the Jungle Cruise was down for refurbishment, we would pick up these shifts a few times a week. They were fun and easy and our assignments would sometimes be nothing more than watching the show in its entirety while watching gates at the front of the viewing area. So, in short, we know all of Mickeys moves. I absolutely love Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios so I was eager to see a different but similar version of the same show. Its a tough call because of the nostalgic place WDWs Fantasmic will forever have for us, but I think Disneylands Fantasmic has the upper hand. Basically solely for the Peter Pan scene on the Columbia Sailing Ship alone! It was incredible! Plus, there were so many different things happening throughout the scene, I feel like I could watch it again and again. Oh, and, the two dragons are totally incomparable. Disneylands dragon really just exemplifies whats wrong with WDWs dragon. Its totally just a shell of what it could be, as we saw very clearly in the Disneyland version. Hanging fabric on a crane does not a dragon make. So, big point to Disneyland there. A few sections of the show seemed weird, like the Pinocchio section, or that weird cover of Pink Elephants on Parade. But it generally has the same feeling as the Fantasmic show were used to. I felt like I could see the details of the whole show very well. So, for guests just stumbling into a seating area with little prior knowledge about where to go, the experience was awesome! I would watch Fantasmic on all future trips. Plus, waiting in the holding queue for DHS Fantasmic is a nightmare. Then, being corralled into whichever seating section is open and dont even think about being able to breathe upon exiting. You really have to set aside your entire evening for WDWs Fantasmic, whereas at Disneyland we couldve gone and done a handful more things that night if we wanted.
But alas, we were sleepy and our room was so close and convenient! Plus, tomorrow morning would be the most important of all: our one shot at Extra Magic Hours at California Adventure. We all know how very crucial that first hour is, and we intended to be in the park for every last second of it. How would we fare as first timers in a massive crowd with the same goal in mind? Next time!
wdwfan22
Totally Obsessed Disney Nut!
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2008
As a veteran of both DW and DL, I am loving hearing your comparisons. Some folks that are just used to one of the parks have such a hard time appreciating the differences between the 2. They expect them to be the same, and they really are so different. They are both such magical places, and its good to hear someone really appreciate both. I am surprised you didn't like Indiana Jones more. The magnitude and theming of the inside of the ride is amazing to me.
I'm looking forward to hearing more. There is so much more at DL and CA that I am looking forward to hearing your reactions about. I hope you ate at the Blue Bayou. It's my fav TS in any Disney park.
Thanks so much for sharing!! I go through stages, and the last 2 trips were at DW, but I'm planning DL for January, so reading this is getting me so excited to go back.
I'm looking forward to hearing more. There is so much more at DL and CA that I am looking forward to hearing your reactions about. I hope you ate at the Blue Bayou. It's my fav TS in any Disney park.
Thanks so much for sharing!! I go through stages, and the last 2 trips were at DW, but I'm planning DL for January, so reading this is getting me so excited to go back.
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
Thank you so much for reading along! Have no fear, we most definitely ate at Blue Bayou! We saved it for the last day of our trip, so we'd have something to look forward to. We've been talking a lot about which park we're going to visit next. In all honesty, DL was just flat out easier. I never found myself stressed or worried about how our day would go. That could be attributed to a lot of things, but I think it comes down to two: I wore Chaco walking sandals the whole trip, so foot pain was a thing of the past, and there wasn't that overwhelming urgency coming from roasting in the hot sun.
We'll probably head back to WDW next, but mostly because we left a few months before the Mine Train opened, so we have to do that! They're both incredible in their own ways. However, I've said that I would visit Disneyland every single year and Disney World every few years.
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
So, for the majority of our trip, we just had rough outlines of our days. But, for this day, we knew we had to kick it into overdrive for our only Magic Morning at California Adventure during our trip. Our plan was originally to enter through the main entrance, even though the side entrance in our hotel, GCH, was much closer. We thought that since everyone in the hotel had access, it might get bunched up more. My mom went down to get coffee as we were finishing getting ready and told us that in fact, the line wasnt bad at all! So we entered the park from the GCH entrance. Right away, we stopped and got World of Color fastpasses because we walked right by the machines. Much like the nighttime spectaculars at Disneyland, we werent totally sure what our plan would be, but knew we would be watching World of Color that night and figured fastpasses wouldnt hurt. We got fastpasses for the blue section and moved on.
So, I know that the majority of people inside DCA at, I dont know, 7:10am would be running directly for Carsland and onto Radiator Springs Racers. However, we decided on a different strategy. We headed towards Paradise Pier.
We werent familiar with exactly which attractions were and werent open for MMs so we made a beeline towards California Screamin. Well, it wasnt open yet, Im not sure if some of the Paradise Pier attractions were experiencing delayed openings or if they arent typically open during MMs. So, we headed towards one of my moms very favorite attractions: Toy Story Midway Mania.
Have you guys witnessed what is TSMM at Hollywood Studios at WDW? The absolute mayhem that occurs there? I guess its equivalent to the hype surrounding Radiator Springs Racers currently. Two hour standby waits all day every day and a mad dash to the fastpass machines which run out just minutes later. There have been times that the park opens at 9am, and were back by TSMM 10 or 15 minutes later and theres already a 40 minute wait (not just posted, actual time we waited). Well cut to DCAs TSMM this morning, we walk up under the entrance, a cast member hands us our glasses and we step into the vehicle. We truly felt SO lucky and couldnt believe it! Yet, Im sure, this is what TSMM is like during MMs most days! Well, we had a great ride and after exiting decided to ride again. Only problem was, there was no wait to rest our shooting arms! So after our second ride, we were wiped out! Our morning was off to such a good start!
So at this point we directed our attention towards Carsland. We didnt want to wait in the standby line for RSR, knowing how fickle the attraction is, you can certainly lose a lot of invested time that way. So at around 7:30-7:45am we were waiting for our RSR fastpasses. If youre familiar with where you pick them up, the cast members had instructed the crowd already waiting to NOT form a line before exactly 8am. We were required to wait on the far side of the street (by the vineyard) from where the entrance to the machines is. Now, I wasnt concerned with what time exactly we got fastpasses for or being the first people in line, so we just hung back. We knew that we were basically guaranteed fastpasses for a relatively good time and just that knowledge was enough. Well I wish I was filming the scene I was watching unravel before me. So at a few minutes prior to 8, the cast members began setting up the fastpass queue (as in the line to get a fastpass to grant you access to the fastpass queue at the attraction). Meaning, they were setting up the stanchions and ropes to create a few loops. As soon as they started setting up the first post, a big group of the people waiting moved directly towards that pole. Then, the cast members would push the cart with all of the posts back the other direction to set up another pole, and the entire crowd would walk with them back that way. We watched this happen again and again, it truly was comical. The people following the cast members were like dogs following someone with a treat. I was just thinking, does it really matter if you get a fastpass for 8:40 or 9:10? But I guess to some people, its more important. Anyway, during this whole scene, they had been allowing the guests coming in for the 8 oclock park opening to gather at a rope by Carthay Circle. That crowd looked packed! I felt very lucky to be in the position we were. So the cast members allowed us to actually enter the line and then afterwards, the guests not eligible for MM were unleashed. We got fastpasses and celebrated that our plan had worked so well!
We met up with my mom at the front of Carsland, I think she had been in a shop, and then began to explore the land. We had saved Carsland until this day for that purpose, so it would be an exciting experience, and it really was!
We went first and got breakfast from the Cozy Cones. My mom and Scott ordered while I went and sat at a table in front of Flos. For all the hype surrounding this area, it was very easy to get a table and not overly crowded at all. We heard once on a disunplugged podcast that the Cozy Cones can have really bad lines for food, and that getting items from multiple cones could be a headache. Well, Im sure it was when they first opened, but we got food from there many times and were usually the only people in whichever line we were in.
Scott got a chorizo and eggs breakfast cone, and my mom got the churro bites in a cone. The churros were an awesome breakfast and I really liked the chocolate sauce! I wish the two options for the breakfast cones were more different, the chorizo cone was one option and the other was a southwestern breakfast cone. They were both southwestern/Mexican flavors, so some variety would be good. I know in the past they had an eggs and bacon cone, but I guess they did away with it in favor of these options. However, the chorizo cone was good!
After breakfast, we walked through each of the shops and checked out the theming and merchandise. The shops in Carsland are really fun! Of course, we took the obligatory hat photos as well.
We really loved Carsland and had so much fun there! So, heres a weird tidbit from our morning. Scott and I are always finding ourselves in weird situations. If theres an odd bird in the crowd, rest assured they will seek us out. If there is an awkward moment to be had (or created by our silly behavior) oh, it WILL be had. Scott was taking many pictures of Carsland as we observed all the little details. Well, as we were walking around the back of the area and taking pictures of the Stanley statue, I pointed out that it looked like there were nickels in his eyes. We looked very closely at the statue and realized that there were, in fact, nickels resting in his eyes as if they were Stanleys pupils.
Well, our curiosity got the best of us, and we wanted to know if they were a permanent part of the statue or not. Scott went to touch them and they fell out. Ok so not a permanent thing. Possibly placed there as a little cast member tidbit? Something whoever is opening the park does? Then again, maybe its a guest. So Scott is now holding the nickels. We immediately try to place them resting back in Stanleys eyes again, except we just could not get them to stay! Every time hed put them back, theyd roll right out. I have no idea how someone got there in the first place! So we were totally tickled about it and Scott set the nickels down on a post by the statue, saying I wasnt trying to steal anyones ten cents! just in case the person who put them there was watching. Im sure someone knows more about the nickels, let us know if theres a story behind it!
Well, after that fun, we were eligible to get more fastpasses already! We got another set of RSR fastpasses, for 1:35pm and then went to use our first set of fastpasses. We LOVED the ride! Every scene on our first ride was executed flawlessly. Every piece of every animatronic was working seamlessly. We were so impressed, and had so much fun. We were hoping to go down the Luigis Tire Shop side and were pleased to get it! We love Luigi and Guido, so cute and funny! The effect in that room was awesome with the white wall tires. Everything about the RSR experience is truly phenomenal!
Okay, I had a LOT to say about this morning. Ill leave it there for right now! Thanks for reading!
So, I know that the majority of people inside DCA at, I dont know, 7:10am would be running directly for Carsland and onto Radiator Springs Racers. However, we decided on a different strategy. We headed towards Paradise Pier.
We werent familiar with exactly which attractions were and werent open for MMs so we made a beeline towards California Screamin. Well, it wasnt open yet, Im not sure if some of the Paradise Pier attractions were experiencing delayed openings or if they arent typically open during MMs. So, we headed towards one of my moms very favorite attractions: Toy Story Midway Mania.
Have you guys witnessed what is TSMM at Hollywood Studios at WDW? The absolute mayhem that occurs there? I guess its equivalent to the hype surrounding Radiator Springs Racers currently. Two hour standby waits all day every day and a mad dash to the fastpass machines which run out just minutes later. There have been times that the park opens at 9am, and were back by TSMM 10 or 15 minutes later and theres already a 40 minute wait (not just posted, actual time we waited). Well cut to DCAs TSMM this morning, we walk up under the entrance, a cast member hands us our glasses and we step into the vehicle. We truly felt SO lucky and couldnt believe it! Yet, Im sure, this is what TSMM is like during MMs most days! Well, we had a great ride and after exiting decided to ride again. Only problem was, there was no wait to rest our shooting arms! So after our second ride, we were wiped out! Our morning was off to such a good start!
So at this point we directed our attention towards Carsland. We didnt want to wait in the standby line for RSR, knowing how fickle the attraction is, you can certainly lose a lot of invested time that way. So at around 7:30-7:45am we were waiting for our RSR fastpasses. If youre familiar with where you pick them up, the cast members had instructed the crowd already waiting to NOT form a line before exactly 8am. We were required to wait on the far side of the street (by the vineyard) from where the entrance to the machines is. Now, I wasnt concerned with what time exactly we got fastpasses for or being the first people in line, so we just hung back. We knew that we were basically guaranteed fastpasses for a relatively good time and just that knowledge was enough. Well I wish I was filming the scene I was watching unravel before me. So at a few minutes prior to 8, the cast members began setting up the fastpass queue (as in the line to get a fastpass to grant you access to the fastpass queue at the attraction). Meaning, they were setting up the stanchions and ropes to create a few loops. As soon as they started setting up the first post, a big group of the people waiting moved directly towards that pole. Then, the cast members would push the cart with all of the posts back the other direction to set up another pole, and the entire crowd would walk with them back that way. We watched this happen again and again, it truly was comical. The people following the cast members were like dogs following someone with a treat. I was just thinking, does it really matter if you get a fastpass for 8:40 or 9:10? But I guess to some people, its more important. Anyway, during this whole scene, they had been allowing the guests coming in for the 8 oclock park opening to gather at a rope by Carthay Circle. That crowd looked packed! I felt very lucky to be in the position we were. So the cast members allowed us to actually enter the line and then afterwards, the guests not eligible for MM were unleashed. We got fastpasses and celebrated that our plan had worked so well!
We met up with my mom at the front of Carsland, I think she had been in a shop, and then began to explore the land. We had saved Carsland until this day for that purpose, so it would be an exciting experience, and it really was!
We went first and got breakfast from the Cozy Cones. My mom and Scott ordered while I went and sat at a table in front of Flos. For all the hype surrounding this area, it was very easy to get a table and not overly crowded at all. We heard once on a disunplugged podcast that the Cozy Cones can have really bad lines for food, and that getting items from multiple cones could be a headache. Well, Im sure it was when they first opened, but we got food from there many times and were usually the only people in whichever line we were in.
Scott got a chorizo and eggs breakfast cone, and my mom got the churro bites in a cone. The churros were an awesome breakfast and I really liked the chocolate sauce! I wish the two options for the breakfast cones were more different, the chorizo cone was one option and the other was a southwestern breakfast cone. They were both southwestern/Mexican flavors, so some variety would be good. I know in the past they had an eggs and bacon cone, but I guess they did away with it in favor of these options. However, the chorizo cone was good!
After breakfast, we walked through each of the shops and checked out the theming and merchandise. The shops in Carsland are really fun! Of course, we took the obligatory hat photos as well.
We really loved Carsland and had so much fun there! So, heres a weird tidbit from our morning. Scott and I are always finding ourselves in weird situations. If theres an odd bird in the crowd, rest assured they will seek us out. If there is an awkward moment to be had (or created by our silly behavior) oh, it WILL be had. Scott was taking many pictures of Carsland as we observed all the little details. Well, as we were walking around the back of the area and taking pictures of the Stanley statue, I pointed out that it looked like there were nickels in his eyes. We looked very closely at the statue and realized that there were, in fact, nickels resting in his eyes as if they were Stanleys pupils.
Well, our curiosity got the best of us, and we wanted to know if they were a permanent part of the statue or not. Scott went to touch them and they fell out. Ok so not a permanent thing. Possibly placed there as a little cast member tidbit? Something whoever is opening the park does? Then again, maybe its a guest. So Scott is now holding the nickels. We immediately try to place them resting back in Stanleys eyes again, except we just could not get them to stay! Every time hed put them back, theyd roll right out. I have no idea how someone got there in the first place! So we were totally tickled about it and Scott set the nickels down on a post by the statue, saying I wasnt trying to steal anyones ten cents! just in case the person who put them there was watching. Im sure someone knows more about the nickels, let us know if theres a story behind it!
Well, after that fun, we were eligible to get more fastpasses already! We got another set of RSR fastpasses, for 1:35pm and then went to use our first set of fastpasses. We LOVED the ride! Every scene on our first ride was executed flawlessly. Every piece of every animatronic was working seamlessly. We were so impressed, and had so much fun. We were hoping to go down the Luigis Tire Shop side and were pleased to get it! We love Luigi and Guido, so cute and funny! The effect in that room was awesome with the white wall tires. Everything about the RSR experience is truly phenomenal!
Okay, I had a LOT to say about this morning. Ill leave it there for right now! Thanks for reading!
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
Where I last left off, we had been thoroughly enjoying our Magic Morning at California Adventure. After leaving Radiator Springs Racers (with more fastpasses in hand) we headed back towards Paradise Pier.
We took a ride on Goofys Sky School. I expected this to be very similar to Primeval Whirl from WDWs Animal Kingdom, and in a lot of ways it was. Of course, they are both wild mouse coasters, so the tracks look the same from the outside. Im a fan of Primeval Whirl, its a little rough but a quick thrill. Well, we were HUGE fans of Goofys Sky School. I know its an odd attraction to take such a liking to but it was such an exciting, enjoyable ride (as long as you brace yourself for the brakes at the end). We really enjoyed sitting in the front and being so close to the edge, and with great views!
While still in Paradise Pier, we headed to a ride that my mom wanted to do: Jumpin Jellyfish. These parachute type rides hold a certain nostalgia for her so I volunteered to ride with her while Scott sat out to take pictures.
The load efficiency on this is pretty slow going, even with a short line. Then again, they also only had one side open. This ride isnt something I need to review really you can see what it is from the pier!
After that we went for a ride on Mickeys Fun Wheel. We opted for a swinging car, and the line was pretty long (though I understand why, based on how it has to be loaded). Of course, we had read a lot of warnings about the swinging cars but just wanted to experience it for ourselves. It wasnt terrible, but it wasnt something I need to do again, though I loved being able to see all the major icons from the parks.
Next, Scott headed to get California Screamin fastpasses while I sat and waited for the Cove Bar to open. I asked a cast member inside Ariels Grotto at what time the Cove Bar opened and she gave me a very vague answer; I guess theres not a specific time? So we waited around for a bit on a bench nearby, and then went to get seats once we saw other people sitting down. We had a great view of Paradise Pier, which made for really nice pictures.
We ordered Lobster Nachos, the Tri-Tip Sliders, and Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. We really enjoyed our food and the experience. It was very relaxing and didnt have as steep of prices as the other sit down restaurants inside the parks. I highly recommend it as an option for a DCA lunch.
After our lunch we headed to use California Screamin, I guess we have tough stomachs! Only Scott and I wanted to ride, my mom was going to walk around the area while we used the two sets of passes we had picked up. We had a fun ride, and enjoyed the music but neither of us felt a big urge to get right back on to use the next set of passes. So we stood by the queue and Scott found a mom and daughter to give the passes to, which is always easier said than done! Its funny, when you try to give ever important fastpasses away, people usually dont need or want them!
After our ride we went to meet up with my mom, well turns out she had hightailed it to Hollywoodland thinking we were riding twice and that it would take a lot longer. So Scott and I sat on a bench by the boardwalk shops and waited for her to meet back up with us.
Then we all headed to get fastpasses for Grizzly River Run, they were for 3:40pm to 4:40pm. Since we were in the area we wandered around the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail for a little while.
But somehow the sunlight and heat were just magnified tenfold in that little area. After taking a few bumpy walks on bridges we quickly headed back out. It would be a very fun area to take children to run around though.
Afterwards, we needed to cool off, so we headed back to what was probably our favorite place of the trip: the Cozy Cones.
We got a Redds Apple Freeze, Ramones Pear o Dice, and a frozen lemonade. We absolutely loved trying all of the unique treats from the Cozy Cones. I found Redds Apple Freeze to be very refreshing, though weve had it before by a different name (LeFous Brew at the awesome Gastons Tavern in WDWs New Fantasyland). I think my mom was off put by the combination of flavors haha but the drink on its own just tastes like frozen apple juice. Ramones Pear o Dice was very popular as well. Its not frozen, its a flavored soda drink and its very pretty in the glass with the pink flavoring layered at the bottom. Dont expect it to taste like a traditional pear; its actually inspired by a desert pear. We cant describe the taste exactly but it was very enjoyable, Scott says it was his favorite drink from the trip. We took our drinks and sat on the patio of Flos, looking out at Radiator Springs Racers. My mom went and got an Apple Cheddar Pie-o-Rama. To me, this sounded like an odd combination (Id never heard of mixing the two before as Im not a big fan of pie) but my mom had apple pie served this way many times before. The pie wasnt bad, but nothing super special. We didnt really taste the cheddar, though we could see it, but perhaps you arent supposed to. We sat and relaxed and waited to use our next fastpasses at Radiator Springs Racers.
Once our window opened up, we headed that way. We had a lot of fun trying to guess which color of car we would get, since there is such a variety! Well our first ride that morning had been flawless, which made us notice a few things on our second go around. Had our first ride not been so smooth, we probably wouldnt have noticed these few minor things. Although, the second ride also gave us opportunities to appreciate smaller details as well! I loved the way the bushes around Mater shook and looked so lifelike. But one tractor didnt feel like tipping (not a hindrance on the experience at all). We got the Luigis Tire Shop side again, ah well, seeing the Ramone side will be something to look forward to next trip! Although, this time, our whitewalls werent quite on the wheels.
Though, this did give us a bit of insight as to how they create that effect, so we liked seeing it.
After getting off Radiator Springs Racers, we had been go-go-going for hours at that point. So we took advantage of the sheer luxury that is staying at the Grand Californian and within a few minutes we were sitting in our room relaxing! Ill be honest, thinking about the transportation at WDW and how huge the whole resort area is and how many different steps one has to take to get inside the Magic Kingdom is now quite daunting. Ah, Disneyland, you spoiled us!
This day was so jam packed, well have to keep going next time!
We took a ride on Goofys Sky School. I expected this to be very similar to Primeval Whirl from WDWs Animal Kingdom, and in a lot of ways it was. Of course, they are both wild mouse coasters, so the tracks look the same from the outside. Im a fan of Primeval Whirl, its a little rough but a quick thrill. Well, we were HUGE fans of Goofys Sky School. I know its an odd attraction to take such a liking to but it was such an exciting, enjoyable ride (as long as you brace yourself for the brakes at the end). We really enjoyed sitting in the front and being so close to the edge, and with great views!
While still in Paradise Pier, we headed to a ride that my mom wanted to do: Jumpin Jellyfish. These parachute type rides hold a certain nostalgia for her so I volunteered to ride with her while Scott sat out to take pictures.
The load efficiency on this is pretty slow going, even with a short line. Then again, they also only had one side open. This ride isnt something I need to review really you can see what it is from the pier!
After that we went for a ride on Mickeys Fun Wheel. We opted for a swinging car, and the line was pretty long (though I understand why, based on how it has to be loaded). Of course, we had read a lot of warnings about the swinging cars but just wanted to experience it for ourselves. It wasnt terrible, but it wasnt something I need to do again, though I loved being able to see all the major icons from the parks.
Next, Scott headed to get California Screamin fastpasses while I sat and waited for the Cove Bar to open. I asked a cast member inside Ariels Grotto at what time the Cove Bar opened and she gave me a very vague answer; I guess theres not a specific time? So we waited around for a bit on a bench nearby, and then went to get seats once we saw other people sitting down. We had a great view of Paradise Pier, which made for really nice pictures.
We ordered Lobster Nachos, the Tri-Tip Sliders, and Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps. We really enjoyed our food and the experience. It was very relaxing and didnt have as steep of prices as the other sit down restaurants inside the parks. I highly recommend it as an option for a DCA lunch.
After our lunch we headed to use California Screamin, I guess we have tough stomachs! Only Scott and I wanted to ride, my mom was going to walk around the area while we used the two sets of passes we had picked up. We had a fun ride, and enjoyed the music but neither of us felt a big urge to get right back on to use the next set of passes. So we stood by the queue and Scott found a mom and daughter to give the passes to, which is always easier said than done! Its funny, when you try to give ever important fastpasses away, people usually dont need or want them!
After our ride we went to meet up with my mom, well turns out she had hightailed it to Hollywoodland thinking we were riding twice and that it would take a lot longer. So Scott and I sat on a bench by the boardwalk shops and waited for her to meet back up with us.
Then we all headed to get fastpasses for Grizzly River Run, they were for 3:40pm to 4:40pm. Since we were in the area we wandered around the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail for a little while.
But somehow the sunlight and heat were just magnified tenfold in that little area. After taking a few bumpy walks on bridges we quickly headed back out. It would be a very fun area to take children to run around though.
Afterwards, we needed to cool off, so we headed back to what was probably our favorite place of the trip: the Cozy Cones.
We got a Redds Apple Freeze, Ramones Pear o Dice, and a frozen lemonade. We absolutely loved trying all of the unique treats from the Cozy Cones. I found Redds Apple Freeze to be very refreshing, though weve had it before by a different name (LeFous Brew at the awesome Gastons Tavern in WDWs New Fantasyland). I think my mom was off put by the combination of flavors haha but the drink on its own just tastes like frozen apple juice. Ramones Pear o Dice was very popular as well. Its not frozen, its a flavored soda drink and its very pretty in the glass with the pink flavoring layered at the bottom. Dont expect it to taste like a traditional pear; its actually inspired by a desert pear. We cant describe the taste exactly but it was very enjoyable, Scott says it was his favorite drink from the trip. We took our drinks and sat on the patio of Flos, looking out at Radiator Springs Racers. My mom went and got an Apple Cheddar Pie-o-Rama. To me, this sounded like an odd combination (Id never heard of mixing the two before as Im not a big fan of pie) but my mom had apple pie served this way many times before. The pie wasnt bad, but nothing super special. We didnt really taste the cheddar, though we could see it, but perhaps you arent supposed to. We sat and relaxed and waited to use our next fastpasses at Radiator Springs Racers.
Once our window opened up, we headed that way. We had a lot of fun trying to guess which color of car we would get, since there is such a variety! Well our first ride that morning had been flawless, which made us notice a few things on our second go around. Had our first ride not been so smooth, we probably wouldnt have noticed these few minor things. Although, the second ride also gave us opportunities to appreciate smaller details as well! I loved the way the bushes around Mater shook and looked so lifelike. But one tractor didnt feel like tipping (not a hindrance on the experience at all). We got the Luigis Tire Shop side again, ah well, seeing the Ramone side will be something to look forward to next trip! Although, this time, our whitewalls werent quite on the wheels.
Though, this did give us a bit of insight as to how they create that effect, so we liked seeing it.
After getting off Radiator Springs Racers, we had been go-go-going for hours at that point. So we took advantage of the sheer luxury that is staying at the Grand Californian and within a few minutes we were sitting in our room relaxing! Ill be honest, thinking about the transportation at WDW and how huge the whole resort area is and how many different steps one has to take to get inside the Magic Kingdom is now quite daunting. Ah, Disneyland, you spoiled us!
This day was so jam packed, well have to keep going next time!
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
Hey everyone! Were sorry its been so long since we last posted. We went to visit my hometown and we came back with a new family member. Her name is Penny June and we adopted her from a shelter. Shes about five months old now and seems to be mostly Rat Terrier. Its so fun having her around, but its also been very time consuming.
Where we last left off, we were relaxing in our room at the Grand Californian Hotel. After our break, we headed down to use our Grizzly River Run Fastpasses.
We utilized a locker to stow our phones and made our way onto the ride. We seated on a float with a mother and her adorable, incredibly well mannered children. Their reactions to everything really made the ride for me! I have to say, I personally much preferred this ride to Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom. I found it a lot more scenic. We really enjoyed all of the theming in the Grizzly Peaks area.
After getting off the ride it was a quick 15 minute round trip back to our room to change out of our wet clothes, which really cant be beat!
After heading back into the park, we were walking around and saw people lined up for the Pixar Play Parade and we decided to wait around to watch. We stood by Carthay Circle and the crowds were pretty low. Im not a die-hard parade fan, but I thought that there were many great floats. We love Pixar movies, so it was a lot of fun seeing the characters and the floats they had dreamed up for them. I especially enjoyed the different gymnastic performers they had swinging and performing on the floats! However, we didnt really understand why every other float or so needed to spray us with water. If it was coming from the Finding Nemo float, well that makes sense! But it was just about every movie, and it was seemingly random. It also makes you fearful to photograph the floats and characters. A nice mist would also be fun and unobtrusive, we just werent fans of the overuse of the water.
After the parade we headed to Paradise Pier to ride Goofy's Sky School, which we have discussed recently that this silly little ride was one of the best times we had! It was just such a thrill I guess! We all rode it once, and then my mom sat out while Scott and I rode again. Each time we were switching seats around so we could see which one was the craziest. The two front seats make you feel like you are hanging straight off the edge if you look down! Not for the faint of heart!
Afterwards, we were just walking around and exploring. We decided to take a ride on Ariels Undersea Adventure since theres never much of a wait. While the ride itself is basically identical to the version in WDW, I have to say the theming of WDWs exterior and queue is much more fun. Prince Erics castle makes for the perfect experience and the interactive queue provides great theming. This is a perfectly innocuous dark ride, but were always bothered that 1) they dont do a great job with the storytelling and 2) there are so many just plain statues!
Next we decided to go for another ride on Tower of Terror.
I know I have already discussed our thoughts on this version versus Hollywood Studios but I dont think I mentioned the difference in atmosphere. In Hollywood Studios, the Cast Members are very spooky and frightening. Even their safety spiel is clearly themed to add to the experience and it seems like the Cast Members get really into playing the part. Id always hear people saying they wanted to transfer to Tower of Terror so they didnt have to smile until their cheeks hurt, haha! But at DCAs Tower of Terror, the Cast Members were perfectly nice. They dont seem to be themed as spookily.
Afterwards we wanted to catch the Neon Light Ceremony in Carsland. We got food from our favorite place, the Cozy Cones, and took it to eat in front of Flos Diner to wait for the lights to come on. I got a Garlic Cheddar Bagel Twist, which was a lot of bang for the buck. Meaning, it was huge in my opinion. I dont care for the plain pretzels in the parks, so I would definitely choose this over them any day. We also got a Chili Cone Queso and Chicken Verde Cone. We enjoyed both, but watch out because the food inside the cones is always so hot! We tried the Dill Pickle popcorn, which was a ton of popcorn! We could hardly put a dent in it, because it was also very salty. Scott got a Docs Wild Grape Tonic, because he wanted to have tried all the drinks from the cones. He says it was delicious; its another flavored soda drink with foam. I believe my mom also got a Route Beer Float. As we were enjoying our feast, we listened as the music changed and the neon lights started to come on. It was adorable and made for a fun dinner.
After dinner we were looking to kill some time before World of Color so we rode Monsters Inc. again. We love the movie, and this ride does a great job of telling the story.
I have to stop here and say that another reason I wasnt over enthused to write this part of our trip report is that I hate to be negative. I absolutely love Disneys California Adventure in fact, I think its my favorite Disney Park! It is so beautiful and well done, and I cant wait to spend many more great days there in the future. We headed to take our places to watch World of Color.
*Let me preface this entry on WoC by saying that once again we apologize for the lack of pictures of the show itself. This being our fist time experiencing the show, we wanted to enjoy it rather than snap pictures*
I wrote about it a long time ago, but we had fastpasses for the Blue section. As cast members, I like to think that we usually have a pretty good idea of how things are run in the parks. But we really didnt understand where we needed to be for our fastpasses or when. I asked a cast member and she just said she would open the rope where she was standing in a few minutes. However, I didnt really see a sign there that said Blue Fastpasses etc, so Im not even sure if we entered in the right area or if she just let us in. So we start walking down and we take spots in the section above the splash zone toward the left. We didnt feel like pushing up against other people so we sat against a rope and waited for the show.
You might not expect this, but throughout the whole time we worked at Disney World, our friends and fellow cast members were constantly taking vacations to Disneyland. Even now, my facebook feed will usually show me that a WDW Cast Member friend is in Disneyland every couple of weeks. Every time our friends would come back, they would be singing the praises of the park non-stop, making us green with envy! Almost every time, they would speak incredibly highly of World of Color. They were calling it Disneys best nighttime spectacular, honestly painting it as life changing.
We waited a long time for the show, again building the anticipation, and we played the Fun Wheel Challenge game. Right behind us a family got into a pretty intense shouting argument that came and went in waves for over thirty minutes. Thats one reason Im not as big on nighttime shows as many people I know. So much of my experience is determined by the choices of the people around me. Will they talk loudly throughout the show? Use the external lighting on their camera? Hold up their iPad to film? I am average height, about 56, and within the first few minutes of the show, I realized that I wouldnt be seeing much of it. Between the obtrusive structures all through the viewing area and the people in front of me, I was left with only a sliver of a sight line. Plus, the man at the railing in front of me was very tall and made the decision to keep his Oswald ears on throughout the entire show. So...for the majority of the show I could only watch the projections on the Fun Wheel. Even Scott, whos over six feet tall said he was standing on his tip toes to see. So, I just totally dont understand how children are supposed to be viewing this show. Unless you have the spots directly behind the railing of each section, you wont be seeing everything because of the design of the area. Im trying so hard not to be a total cynic here!
As for the show itself, I know so many people who enjoy it so very much. We are very lucky to have seen many Disney shows many times. But World of Color does not rank highly on our list. I totally understand the appeal of the show, as it has many different elements on a large scale. But having seen other Disney nighttime shows, we thought this show relied way too much on showing clips on the water mist screens. Again, Im sure were jaded as weve seen this technology used many times, and had I never seen it before I would be wowed. Our issue was not that they used the screens at all; just that they seemed to show very long clips from movies. Each different section was a seeming non sequitur. I enjoy shows that have an overarching theme or story, and I wasnt grasping what the thread running through this show was. However, as my view was totally obstructed for most of the show, I couldve been missing a lot. The experience as a whole was not something we feel the need to repeat. As it was a lot of time spent concentrated on one thing. We dont regret going at all, since we had been waiting to see what everyone raved about for a long time. Had there been stadium style seating, like Fantasmic in Hollywood Studios, or less preparation required, I think we wouldve enjoyed it more. But in the future we would rather spend our DCA nights having a nice dinner, or wandering around exploring.
After the show, we hung back and waited for the crowds to dissipate. Then we walked back to our room quickly. I cant even explain what a thrill that was. I just imagine a family having just finished watching Wishes at Magic Kingdom, even if youre staying at a property with monorail access, you would still be hard-pressed to get back to your room within 45 minutes I would guess.
Once inside, we rested up for our last full park day on Thursday.
Thanks for reading!
Where we last left off, we were relaxing in our room at the Grand Californian Hotel. After our break, we headed down to use our Grizzly River Run Fastpasses.
We utilized a locker to stow our phones and made our way onto the ride. We seated on a float with a mother and her adorable, incredibly well mannered children. Their reactions to everything really made the ride for me! I have to say, I personally much preferred this ride to Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom. I found it a lot more scenic. We really enjoyed all of the theming in the Grizzly Peaks area.
After getting off the ride it was a quick 15 minute round trip back to our room to change out of our wet clothes, which really cant be beat!
After heading back into the park, we were walking around and saw people lined up for the Pixar Play Parade and we decided to wait around to watch. We stood by Carthay Circle and the crowds were pretty low. Im not a die-hard parade fan, but I thought that there were many great floats. We love Pixar movies, so it was a lot of fun seeing the characters and the floats they had dreamed up for them. I especially enjoyed the different gymnastic performers they had swinging and performing on the floats! However, we didnt really understand why every other float or so needed to spray us with water. If it was coming from the Finding Nemo float, well that makes sense! But it was just about every movie, and it was seemingly random. It also makes you fearful to photograph the floats and characters. A nice mist would also be fun and unobtrusive, we just werent fans of the overuse of the water.
After the parade we headed to Paradise Pier to ride Goofy's Sky School, which we have discussed recently that this silly little ride was one of the best times we had! It was just such a thrill I guess! We all rode it once, and then my mom sat out while Scott and I rode again. Each time we were switching seats around so we could see which one was the craziest. The two front seats make you feel like you are hanging straight off the edge if you look down! Not for the faint of heart!
Afterwards, we were just walking around and exploring. We decided to take a ride on Ariels Undersea Adventure since theres never much of a wait. While the ride itself is basically identical to the version in WDW, I have to say the theming of WDWs exterior and queue is much more fun. Prince Erics castle makes for the perfect experience and the interactive queue provides great theming. This is a perfectly innocuous dark ride, but were always bothered that 1) they dont do a great job with the storytelling and 2) there are so many just plain statues!
Next we decided to go for another ride on Tower of Terror.
I know I have already discussed our thoughts on this version versus Hollywood Studios but I dont think I mentioned the difference in atmosphere. In Hollywood Studios, the Cast Members are very spooky and frightening. Even their safety spiel is clearly themed to add to the experience and it seems like the Cast Members get really into playing the part. Id always hear people saying they wanted to transfer to Tower of Terror so they didnt have to smile until their cheeks hurt, haha! But at DCAs Tower of Terror, the Cast Members were perfectly nice. They dont seem to be themed as spookily.
Afterwards we wanted to catch the Neon Light Ceremony in Carsland. We got food from our favorite place, the Cozy Cones, and took it to eat in front of Flos Diner to wait for the lights to come on. I got a Garlic Cheddar Bagel Twist, which was a lot of bang for the buck. Meaning, it was huge in my opinion. I dont care for the plain pretzels in the parks, so I would definitely choose this over them any day. We also got a Chili Cone Queso and Chicken Verde Cone. We enjoyed both, but watch out because the food inside the cones is always so hot! We tried the Dill Pickle popcorn, which was a ton of popcorn! We could hardly put a dent in it, because it was also very salty. Scott got a Docs Wild Grape Tonic, because he wanted to have tried all the drinks from the cones. He says it was delicious; its another flavored soda drink with foam. I believe my mom also got a Route Beer Float. As we were enjoying our feast, we listened as the music changed and the neon lights started to come on. It was adorable and made for a fun dinner.
After dinner we were looking to kill some time before World of Color so we rode Monsters Inc. again. We love the movie, and this ride does a great job of telling the story.
I have to stop here and say that another reason I wasnt over enthused to write this part of our trip report is that I hate to be negative. I absolutely love Disneys California Adventure in fact, I think its my favorite Disney Park! It is so beautiful and well done, and I cant wait to spend many more great days there in the future. We headed to take our places to watch World of Color.
*Let me preface this entry on WoC by saying that once again we apologize for the lack of pictures of the show itself. This being our fist time experiencing the show, we wanted to enjoy it rather than snap pictures*
I wrote about it a long time ago, but we had fastpasses for the Blue section. As cast members, I like to think that we usually have a pretty good idea of how things are run in the parks. But we really didnt understand where we needed to be for our fastpasses or when. I asked a cast member and she just said she would open the rope where she was standing in a few minutes. However, I didnt really see a sign there that said Blue Fastpasses etc, so Im not even sure if we entered in the right area or if she just let us in. So we start walking down and we take spots in the section above the splash zone toward the left. We didnt feel like pushing up against other people so we sat against a rope and waited for the show.
You might not expect this, but throughout the whole time we worked at Disney World, our friends and fellow cast members were constantly taking vacations to Disneyland. Even now, my facebook feed will usually show me that a WDW Cast Member friend is in Disneyland every couple of weeks. Every time our friends would come back, they would be singing the praises of the park non-stop, making us green with envy! Almost every time, they would speak incredibly highly of World of Color. They were calling it Disneys best nighttime spectacular, honestly painting it as life changing.
We waited a long time for the show, again building the anticipation, and we played the Fun Wheel Challenge game. Right behind us a family got into a pretty intense shouting argument that came and went in waves for over thirty minutes. Thats one reason Im not as big on nighttime shows as many people I know. So much of my experience is determined by the choices of the people around me. Will they talk loudly throughout the show? Use the external lighting on their camera? Hold up their iPad to film? I am average height, about 56, and within the first few minutes of the show, I realized that I wouldnt be seeing much of it. Between the obtrusive structures all through the viewing area and the people in front of me, I was left with only a sliver of a sight line. Plus, the man at the railing in front of me was very tall and made the decision to keep his Oswald ears on throughout the entire show. So...for the majority of the show I could only watch the projections on the Fun Wheel. Even Scott, whos over six feet tall said he was standing on his tip toes to see. So, I just totally dont understand how children are supposed to be viewing this show. Unless you have the spots directly behind the railing of each section, you wont be seeing everything because of the design of the area. Im trying so hard not to be a total cynic here!
As for the show itself, I know so many people who enjoy it so very much. We are very lucky to have seen many Disney shows many times. But World of Color does not rank highly on our list. I totally understand the appeal of the show, as it has many different elements on a large scale. But having seen other Disney nighttime shows, we thought this show relied way too much on showing clips on the water mist screens. Again, Im sure were jaded as weve seen this technology used many times, and had I never seen it before I would be wowed. Our issue was not that they used the screens at all; just that they seemed to show very long clips from movies. Each different section was a seeming non sequitur. I enjoy shows that have an overarching theme or story, and I wasnt grasping what the thread running through this show was. However, as my view was totally obstructed for most of the show, I couldve been missing a lot. The experience as a whole was not something we feel the need to repeat. As it was a lot of time spent concentrated on one thing. We dont regret going at all, since we had been waiting to see what everyone raved about for a long time. Had there been stadium style seating, like Fantasmic in Hollywood Studios, or less preparation required, I think we wouldve enjoyed it more. But in the future we would rather spend our DCA nights having a nice dinner, or wandering around exploring.
After the show, we hung back and waited for the crowds to dissipate. Then we walked back to our room quickly. I cant even explain what a thrill that was. I just imagine a family having just finished watching Wishes at Magic Kingdom, even if youre staying at a property with monorail access, you would still be hard-pressed to get back to your room within 45 minutes I would guess.
Once inside, we rested up for our last full park day on Thursday.
Thanks for reading!
pepe3penelope
Princess Ariel at Heart
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
Following along! Really interested in seeding your point of view as a WDW veteran & CM. We LOVE the GCH! 
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