dwheatl
DIS Veteran<br><font color=limegreen>Can you tell
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2006
Thanks for the loving words, my friends. Now, what you've all been waiting for, the Disney parks!
We walked from our hotel, since we had no desire to ride the psycho-bus again. We walked through Disney Village, similar to DTD. We didn't have time to shop, plus, with the exchange rate, there were no bargains here, so we walked right through to DL park.
When we got to Disneyland, it was mid-afternoon. The entrance to the park is beautiful, with gardens and fountains. We love Main Street, but the castle looked small. Maybe thats because wed just been to Versailles.
Our first attraction is Phantom Manor. It looks very different from the Haunted Mansion at DL. It looks more like the Psycho house at Universal, and its in a Western setting. (This is another day where the pictures were lost). We ask a worker about the wheelchair entrance, and he tells us we need to stop at City Hall and show proof of the disability. Its a good thing we had brought DHs CA handicap certificate that goes with his parking placard. It had been misplaced, and wed just found it the day before the trip. The CM was very kind, and let us on through the exit before sending us to City Hall.
The ride is a lot of fun. There are many similarities to HM, but the general theme is really different. We never could decide if the bride is planning to marry someone who turns out to be the phantom, or if the phantom has stolen her groom and taken his place. We liked the Western setting, but couldnt figure out the graveyard. I guess theres someplace to find out the back-story to the attraction, but I dont know where it is. We just thought a great name to put on one of the graves would be Pierre Tombeau. That means tombstone in French. But no funny graves. Oh well.
Next we went to City Hall and got the green access card for handicap access. The CM who helped us was named Valentin, and he was a darling. He had recently returned from working at Epcot. He answered all of our questions, and we were on our way.
We headed back to Frontierland, and rode the riverboat. We saw the keelboats that used to be at DL, but we didnt ride because weve heard that all the jokes are in French now, and my French just isnt that good.
Next, we headed to Adventureland to ride Indiana Jones. I warned DH ahead of time that it goes upside down, but he was up for it. The upside down wasnt so bad, but it nearly shook us to pieces. When we got off, we agreed that once in a lifetime is enough.
My favorite ride at any of the parks is POTC, and thats true here, too. We love the pirate that swings out over the boat on a rope, and of course the French-singing pirates. No Jack Sparrow is on the ride, but we did see him in the park the next day. The one they had was too young, though. One of the things I like about Jack is that his face has character.
We also rode Peter Pan, where it was fun to look for London landmarks now that weve been there, Star Tours, and Buzz Lightyear. Space Mountain was closed, which was too bad, since thats my second favorite ride. This is another ride that goes upside-down, so maybe its just as well that it wasnt working.
About 45 minutes before the parade, we found a place on Main Street and waited. Its at the corner of Edison and Main Street, so we were able to have some space in front of us on Edison to stretch out our legs until we stood for the parade. People kept stopping in front of us on Edison, but thats where the break is for people to cross the parade route, so CMs kept chasing them away. It amazes us how, five minutes before the parade, people seem to be thinking, Wow, they kept this spot open just for me.
The parade was a pretty small deal, but fun. We stayed in our spot afterwards to watch the fireworks. Again, they dont compare to DL, but we like that they feature the music from Enchanted. We also were amused that the golden Tinkerbell on top of the castle appeared to have pixie dust streaming from someplace besides her wand. An embarrassing place that I cant mention on the Dis. Maybe it was just from our perspective, but it made us laugh.
After this, it was back to the hotel and bed. We wanted to make it to the early hour in the park the next day.
A borrowed shot of Phantom Manor. Thanks, White Lie 89.
A Main Street shop.
The castle at night.
The castle by day.
Another shot of the castle.
Space Mountain
We walked from our hotel, since we had no desire to ride the psycho-bus again. We walked through Disney Village, similar to DTD. We didn't have time to shop, plus, with the exchange rate, there were no bargains here, so we walked right through to DL park.
When we got to Disneyland, it was mid-afternoon. The entrance to the park is beautiful, with gardens and fountains. We love Main Street, but the castle looked small. Maybe thats because wed just been to Versailles.
Our first attraction is Phantom Manor. It looks very different from the Haunted Mansion at DL. It looks more like the Psycho house at Universal, and its in a Western setting. (This is another day where the pictures were lost). We ask a worker about the wheelchair entrance, and he tells us we need to stop at City Hall and show proof of the disability. Its a good thing we had brought DHs CA handicap certificate that goes with his parking placard. It had been misplaced, and wed just found it the day before the trip. The CM was very kind, and let us on through the exit before sending us to City Hall.
The ride is a lot of fun. There are many similarities to HM, but the general theme is really different. We never could decide if the bride is planning to marry someone who turns out to be the phantom, or if the phantom has stolen her groom and taken his place. We liked the Western setting, but couldnt figure out the graveyard. I guess theres someplace to find out the back-story to the attraction, but I dont know where it is. We just thought a great name to put on one of the graves would be Pierre Tombeau. That means tombstone in French. But no funny graves. Oh well.
Next we went to City Hall and got the green access card for handicap access. The CM who helped us was named Valentin, and he was a darling. He had recently returned from working at Epcot. He answered all of our questions, and we were on our way.
We headed back to Frontierland, and rode the riverboat. We saw the keelboats that used to be at DL, but we didnt ride because weve heard that all the jokes are in French now, and my French just isnt that good.
Next, we headed to Adventureland to ride Indiana Jones. I warned DH ahead of time that it goes upside down, but he was up for it. The upside down wasnt so bad, but it nearly shook us to pieces. When we got off, we agreed that once in a lifetime is enough.
My favorite ride at any of the parks is POTC, and thats true here, too. We love the pirate that swings out over the boat on a rope, and of course the French-singing pirates. No Jack Sparrow is on the ride, but we did see him in the park the next day. The one they had was too young, though. One of the things I like about Jack is that his face has character.
We also rode Peter Pan, where it was fun to look for London landmarks now that weve been there, Star Tours, and Buzz Lightyear. Space Mountain was closed, which was too bad, since thats my second favorite ride. This is another ride that goes upside-down, so maybe its just as well that it wasnt working.
About 45 minutes before the parade, we found a place on Main Street and waited. Its at the corner of Edison and Main Street, so we were able to have some space in front of us on Edison to stretch out our legs until we stood for the parade. People kept stopping in front of us on Edison, but thats where the break is for people to cross the parade route, so CMs kept chasing them away. It amazes us how, five minutes before the parade, people seem to be thinking, Wow, they kept this spot open just for me.
The parade was a pretty small deal, but fun. We stayed in our spot afterwards to watch the fireworks. Again, they dont compare to DL, but we like that they feature the music from Enchanted. We also were amused that the golden Tinkerbell on top of the castle appeared to have pixie dust streaming from someplace besides her wand. An embarrassing place that I cant mention on the Dis. Maybe it was just from our perspective, but it made us laugh.
After this, it was back to the hotel and bed. We wanted to make it to the early hour in the park the next day.