T/P Fan's Disney Theme Park Trip Report thread
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 12:54 pm
I went to Disneyland on July 14th 2005 with my Mom, Aunt and Cousion. Why my aunt and cousion? Beucase my uncle works for Disney so she gets us in the park for free! When we first got there we went to DCA(Disney's California Adventure). I did not want to go to DCA though because I already went there last year and haven't been to Disneyland for 2 years. But we did anyway because the lines to the park were short! And for any of you that have already been there, it's no surprise. But Disneyland's lines were huge! So we weren't to DCA and we first had a hotdog. I of coarse didn't want to go to lunch but wanted to ride rides first. So I was pretty mad! But after we had lunch we want to Tower of Terror! And it was only a 15 minute wait! So while we were going in the ride I joked around like saying to the cast members, "Excuse me, but do we get a pool!" since the theme was like a hotel! The ride itself was pretty good. Though not quite the ride at MGM, it still is the best ride in all of DCA! After that we went on California Screamin' which had about a 30 minute wait. For some reason I always under-estimate this ride whenever I go on. Maybe it's because it doesn't have a theme. But the coaster itself is really good. It's very smooth! When you go in a loop you don't even feel it! It's my second favorite ride in the park(behind TOT). After that I had enough of Eisner's DCA and went over to Walt Disney's Disneyland! I seperated from my Mom and Aunt who didn't want to go in the heat and crowds! So me and my cousion went to Disneyland and we contacted each othere with cell-phones. WOW! The castle looked fantastic with all that gold! Plus I loved all the hidden golden Mickey's they added to the park! First I went to see how long the wait for Space Mountain was! IT WAS 70 MINUTES!!! So we then went to the Matterhorn. Which I didn't see how long the wait was but it couldn't have been more than 20 minutes. Wow this ride was really bumpy! I just didn't enjoy it. So after that we went to Space Mountain to see how long it was know. It dropped to 50 minutes. So we decided to wait in line. It felt longed than 50 minutes that's for sure. But these people in front of us were bored so they told a bunch of cool riddles. I we got to say 1 or 2. Well after a long time of waiting we got to go on Space Mountain! And let me tell you it was woth the wait! It was incredibly smooth and the new track and design were great! I loved it! After that we wanted to see how long the wait was, and it was 65 minutes long. So I assumed we waited 65 minutes in line. But the ride was excellent! After that I wanted to get a fastpass for Splash Mountain. But when we went there the line was 121 minutes long and when we went to get a fastpass we had to wait until 11:15 at night to use the fastpass. It was obviously rigged! And if we really wanted to go on Splash Mountain we could've gone at 9:00. So we skipped that idea. So we decided to meet my Mom and aunt at 5:00 in front of the statue of Mickey and Walt in the front of the park. It was like 4:15 so what could we do? Haunted Mansion claimed the line to be 13 minutes long, but it was obviously lying since the line was went all the way to this back and my cousion said the line never went there before! Pirates was 35 minutes long and so was Big Thunder so what could we do? So we decided on one thing: MISTER TOAD'S WILD RIDE!!!
After that we still had time before we meet our Moms so we decided to go on the Jungle Cruise! This is probably my best time there! I loved all the great things they added! Especially the peruanas and the return of the guns!
And the skipper was pretty good. He said some great and corny jokes I didn't hear before!
But the highlight was still seeing the back-side of water!
After that we saw that there was still about 15 minutes before we meet out Mom's so we decided to go one of the ignored dark rides(Snow White and Pinocchio). We both hate Snow White so we went on Pinocchio's Daring Journey! I actually liked the ride! Even though it somewhat fails to capture the spirit of IMO Walt Disney's best movie! I liked seeing Monstro though!
After that we meet out Moms about 5 minutes early. We talked about what we did and so did my aunts who just went to Downtown Disney and DCA. After that we decided to seperate again and meet for dinner at the Pinoccio restaurant at 6:00. Knowing that I know alot about Disney history they said I would love the new show, Disneyland the First 50 years that replaced Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. While alot of stuff I knew(Pirates was Walt's last ride, the Jungle Cruise was originally going to contain real animals) there was also quite alot of stuff I didn't know(The Enchanted Tiki Room was the first audio-animatronic ride, and that Small World originally was going to be a bunch of kids singig national anthems). And I also loved seeing the model of the original Disneyland. IT WAS HUGE!!! And then we finally saw the show. It was very good. I was a bit surprised that Steve Martin originally worked at Disneyland. And the show was fun. I loved when Donald Duck interuppted!
After that we headed back to Tomorrowland to get a fastpass for Buzz Lightear. I was very excited to compare the one to Florida. After we got a fastpass for Buzz I got to go to my favorite Disneyland memory: STAR TOURS! The ride is still great. For me it just never gets old! However I wouldn't mind a Revenge of the Sith theme. The idea can be phenominal! After tha I bought golden Mouse-ears in celebration for the 50th! After that we meet out Mom's at the restaurant. I just had pepperoni pizza and we talked. After that it was time to use our fastpass for Buzz. It worked like a charm. We had to wait a while though because the ride broke down for about 2 minutes. Then we got to ride. Most people will say this is better than the one at Florida, I beg to differ. For one this ride was not as long as the other one so this one wasn't quite as memorable. Also mant people like the fact that the lazers are loose so you didn't have to learn over to shoot, however I perfered the ones at Florida when they were attached because the were closer to the triger that makes you spin. So I hardly got to spin at all during the ride because I had to lean forward in order to spin it which made me loose chances to shoot. But still the ride is fun and is probably the best new ride since Indiana Jones. I lost to my couson though who beat me pretty bad, but we both got level three. Overall it's a nice addition to Tomorrowland. Speaking of which, Tomorrowland is almost back with both Space Mountain and Buzz Lightear. All they need to do know is replace Honey I Shurnk The Audience, bring back People Mover, put Astro-Orbiter where is belongs, close that horrible Innoventions and bring back the subs but with a futuristic theme. Many people like the Finding Nemo idea, but I think that is one of Disney's worst ideas yet. For one what do talking fish have to do with the future? I think if they really need a Finding Nemo ride they should replace the Motor Boat Cruise at Fantasyland since who goes there anymore? I think an Atlantis ride would be a much better idea for the Submarines since it has something to do with Tomorrow. Anyway getting back on topic, after we left Buzz my cousion wanted to go back to DCA and ride Maliboomer. I wanted to say no since I don't like the ride. But I felt bad that it was my cousion's favorite ride and he didn't get to go on it so I said okay. But we had to push alot of the crowds since they were watching the parade. I unfortunatly didn't get to sit and watch the parade but I did see some of the floats. I really liked the Lion King one. It reminded me of that parade they use to have. Anyway after we got out of Disneyland a miracle happened. There was a line to enter DCA. It was as long as Disneyland's lines. Even my cousion who goes here about 3 times a month said he never saw the lines for DCA this long. So after that we headed back to good old Disneyland. So we called out Moms and planned to meet them at the Plaza Inn at 9:00 to see the fireworks. So we had lots of time. The first thing we headed out to do now was see Pirates of the Carribean. What a classic. I just love this attaction, especially the music. The people at Florida don't know what they're missing! The only problom I have is that politically incorrect crap! I miss when the pirates chased the women for there looks and not because of the food!
At least it still has the line, "Lift up you skirt deary, show em' your cargo!" or something like that.
After Pirates I wanted to ride Splash Mountain because I was sure the lines would be short since it was like 8:00. I was shocked it was 70 minutes long! So we decided: Haunted Mansion! I forgot how great this ride is. I haven't been on the original for 5 years(I have been on the Christmad version recently though) What a great ride. Everyone who comes to Disneyland must ride this ride. If you don't it's like going to Arizona and not going to the Grand Canyon or going to New York and not going to the Statue of Liberty(you get what I mean). The lines for Splash Mountain were still long! Which we were surprised since we thought we were the only ones that wanted to got on a water ride passed 8:00 at night. So we tried Indiana Jones which also had long lines(80 minutes long) so we went on Big Thunder Mountain. Because of that accident I was expecting a bumpy and jerky ride since I thought it was having trouble. I was pleasently surprised. It was really smooth, fast and fun. I still perfer the Florida one though. I also noticed they took part of a cave out(probably because of the accident). After that it was 9:00 so we had to get to the Plaza Inn before the firwworks began at 9:20. Thankfully we got there 10 minutes before the fireworks began. As for that new firework show, WOW!!!! I loved it. They had a little firework show for each attaction at Disneyland. I recieved Deja-Vu! And then they had a huge Grand Finale! After that I was amazed! I also liked seeing Tikerbell!
Then it was about 10:00 and we still wanted to do Splash Moutain. We were sure there wouldn't be a wait. 10:00 at night and there was an hour long line! I couldn't believe it! First the crowds at DCA and now this! What's next? A cheapquel gets rave reviews? So we waited in line for it. And while I like the Florida version much better, I still really like this ride. I enjoyed all the great drops! However I camed out soaked! Luckly my Mom bought me a T-Shirt and I was wearing a bathing-suiu. I dried pretty quickly! After that it was about 11:15 and I was about ready to go home except I wanted to go on Winne the Pooh just so I could say I've been to all the rides at Disneyland. While I think it was smart to get rid of Country Bears since it was getting a bit old, I would not put a Pooh ride. Once again I think it belonged in Fantasyland. I personally would replace Alice with Pooh and put like a similar show to America Sings in the country bears area. As for the Pooh ride, it was so-so. At least they didn't replace good old Toad! I did enjoy hearing Paul Winchell and John Fiedler who both gave there voices to this ride. After that we went home. I overall had alot of funat Mickey's Kingdom. And I can now say Disneyland is almost fixed, but still Tomorrowland needs a bit help. But I'm glad I've been on all the rides now and I enjoyed my trip! 