You mean this ride is closed too? a short review...

Thundergod

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 1, 2011
So, we are back from our 10 day trip with three days at Disneyland. I knew it would be busy as we went at the same time last year.. If there is a recession in this country I didn't see it because this year was far busier than last year at the park. Our first day was last Sunday. We got there early enough to stand in line and wait for the gates to open and it was not too crowded until the afternoon. The kids got to ride their rides with little to no wait on Sunday morning and I finally rode Peter Pans flight. A short five minute wait... I give it a thumbs up.

The afternoon was busier and we were going to walk over to California adventure when my wife informed me that she couldn't take the stroller over there she had rented so we just stayed at disneyland(this of course is not the case and the cm that told her this needs a swirly because it cost us some time over at california adventure)

As the afternoon went along and the crowds were gettting thick we let the oldest boys go do their thing and we hung around and waited for the Soundsational parade.. I loved it!!!! We then took in fantasmic(sp) and the fireworks and headed for the hotel...

We ate at the big thunder ranch for lunch and it was the best bbq ribs and baked beans you will put in your mouth. All you can eat for 20.00 a person wasn't too terrible considering the quality of food.... A definate for those going to DL.



Monday was more of the same. Opened the park and got on space mountain then over to splash mountain. The park seemed very crowded within the first two hours and was starting to put a strain on me so we decided to call it a day at noon and headed over to the rain forest cafe for lunch. It was my sons birthday and he wanted to eat there so we did. Another fantastic place to eat. Good portions and the volcano desert was absolutely amazing.
The setting is great with the animals coming alive and the thunderstorms. Loved looking at the fish as well.

spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of shops and bought my niece her princess dress, glass slippers, wand and crown at World of Disney. A great store. I was pleased with the prices on things there as well. We was able to get her that birthday gift for a little over 100.00.

We let the oldest go again and they took in California adventure while we just soaked up main street u.s.a and tried to cope with the crowds. We did nothing more than shop until the fireworks which we watched from main street and again headed for the hotel..

Now, Tuesday is the kicker...
We were all tired and still got there just after opening. My wife and my arms and shoulders were dead from toting the pack around on Monday and she went to get a stroller again and this time found out she could indeed take the stroller into California adventure.

So anyhow, we immediately are met with an hour wait at space mountain at 815 in the morning so after getting off there we headed to California adventure to open it up. Our first ride was the grizzly river run. what a fantastic river adventure it is.... we were one of the first in line so no wait for us other then waiting on them to open it up. Next was California screamin'... again a fairly short 20 minute wait and I survived it! I loved the ride but once was enough.. I was dying to do the tower or terror.. Again not a terrible wait and we were in the hotel. the inside is so cool and well done and the twilight zone theme is cool... We were in the elevator soon enough and thats when my day turned south.... I took dramamine and had my sea bands on and after that first drop I could taste the vile in my mouth and it was the longest 2 minutes of my life waiting for that ride to end and to get off. I don't remember much of the ride other than feeling like i was falling and just knowing I was gonna vomit on some poor soul. They really need a bathroom in the exit hall for those of us that need someplace to go!

I somehow managed to keep from throwing up but i was spent.. the three kids went back over to california screamin' while the wife waited on me to recover.. After the kids got off screamin' we headed over to DL to eat at the Carnation cafe... I give it a neutral score. I love the setting and the service was good but the food to me was average.. I had the baked potato soup and liked it but it didnt' wow me... The sandwiches were good but though bread was little hard.

Tuesday was by far the most crowded day and any ride was well over an hour wait and the grizzly river run was 90 minutes after lunch. My wife and the kids went and waited it out and I went to taking pictures and video of DL while waiting on them.... at 410 I got a front row seat to the band and barbershop quartet and lowering of the colors. That was a fantastic experience for me.. the band leader gave his baton to a little boy and let him lead the band even.. Very cool.. I stuck around main street waiting on the parade and for my family to get back from the river run when they informed me they were going again but should be back in time.

Well, they ended up getting stuck on the river run and had to be helped off but got fast passes to most any ride.. They ended up missing most the parade however... We decided to use the fast passes on splash mountain only to get over there and discover it was down... after a good half hour wait we used our original fast passes to ride splash and immediately returned to the fast pass line to use the pass they got from grizzly river run. One our second journey we stopped three times while the ride encountered "log jams"

After getting off splash the kids were just whipped and so was the wife and I.

We called it a day and headed out of the park..

On tuesday was when my disneyland magic ended..
I knew the matterhorn would be down. no problem.
but Indiana Jones was closed
grizzly river run broke down
big thunder rail road stopped running in the afternoon
splash mountain broke down and had repeated problems.

the crowds were crazy, single rider lines were as long as regular lines... fast passes were not much better it seemed as well... Just a crazy crazy mad house of a day.

My next trip will be with as long of a pass as I can get and I will be staying on site...


With money spent on food, snacks and the parking I can justify spending the extra at a resort hotel and eating mostly in the hotel and saving on the parking.....

Just seemed rush rush this year and with the crowds the waits were just so long and gettting anywhere was alot of work. A longer pass and haging out in one area of the park is what I wanna do each day..

My favorite part of the trip is definately main street u.s.a and downtown disney and as always splash mountain and now grizzly river run.. I am too old and my stomach can't handle the coasters anymore and definately can't handle tower of terror...

Oh, we didn't even try star tours as it was a mad house rush from the rope drop and my kids didnt' even seem interested. So not doing it was no loss to us.

and what is the obsession with POTC? the lines are long though move quickly but the ride isn't what you would expect. I enjoyed it because of the length, the coolness and the animation of the characters but I don't see the draw of it to young kids... the two teenagers seemed almost bored with it...


In the end a great family vacation but just way way too crowded to spend all day in the park... Need more days and less hours and a stay at one of the resort hotels....
 
I agree that spreading your trip out so you can take a break during the afternoons is a must!! We always go for a 6 day pass....that way we don't feel the pinch to hit everything in a short amount of time.

We went the end of July into the first part of August last summer & really didn't feel the crowds were that bad.....especially mid-week. We'd always be there before opening to take advantage of the smaller crowds, stay thru lunch, take a break back at motel to swim, nap, read, etc. We'd go to our dinner ressie & then back to the parks. This helped us avoid the peak part of the day in the parks. (also the hottest, which can really spoil the mood at times). Once the fireworks are over, the park empties quite a bit & we're off to hit some of our favorite rides.

As for the breakdowns......someone on the main thread has been bashing DL for them......it happens. It's a bummer to walk across the park to find the ride closed, but better to deal with a small issue before it becomes a huge one & the ride closes indefinitely. My boys (ok, young adults) LOVE when the rides breakdown with them on it. They've seen places & close ups of scenes that most of us will never see. I guess it's how you look at it.....lol

I had Indy breakdown temporarily when we were right at the end.....we sat & shook like crazy for 5 mins.......good thing I had made a "stop" before gettting in line!! :lmao: It was funny because it was my first time on the ride & I kept asking my son if it was supposed to do that!!

Even with the crowds, it did sound like you got a lot done!! If you're able....do try for a longer stay....you'll be much more relaxed.
 

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