Disneyland Resort, January 23rd - 25th, 2010 Options

[sarki7]

Check out the full TR on my site: http://www.gregscoasterphotos.com/10_01_23_DL.asp

Disneyland Resort
Saturday January 23rd – Monday January 25th, 2010
Weather: Mostly sunny, low-mid 60s
Crowds: Light

Our annual Disney trip found us once again at the Disneyland Resort. Last year's visit to Disney World was as wonderful as we could have hoped, but the thought of spending that kind of time, money, and energy for a second year in a row was too overwhelming to even consider. We'll be back there eventually, but for now we were able to revel in the fun of Disney for merely a few days and a few hundred dollars - a much more reasonable proposition.

The plan was for three days in the parks, which some may consider excessive, but we find to be just the right amount. Our visits are always in the low season, so crowds aren't really a consideration. It's more about making the travel worth it, and never feeling rushed while we're in the parks. I know after that 4th or 5th time on Pirates over the weekend you might be prone to zoning out – but most of the time the attractions offer so much that I'm able to enjoy them after repeated rides, and even occasionally notice something I haven't seen before. By no means do we experience all the attractions, though most of the ones we do, we'll hit two or three times. I have no doubt that seems excessive to many, but I have no shame in admitting that there are more than a few rides I could stay on all day. You'll probably be able to see which ones as you read my accounts below.

That being said, we had high hopes for this visit. The original plan had us taking the trip in early December, which would have us fighting with slightly larger crowds (though the week after Thanksgiving until the week before Christmas is the low season, and a great time to visit,) but the parks would be decked out for the holidays. We were able to see this last year, so it wasn't too much of a disappointment when we decided to push it back to January – thanks mostly to a short supply of vacation days after that honeymoon in Australia.

Our typical routine is traveling Friday, three days of the parks on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and then travel home on Tuesday. We stuck to that, but decided it was time to give flying a try. The 370 mile Friday evening drive has never actually turned into the catastrophe it could be, but I thought it would be best to go easy on myself. We've had plenty of luck making the drive in great time in the past, but even so it's a long stretch going, and even less bearable making the return trip once all the fun is over.

Fortunately, flights between the Bay Area and the LA area are plentiful and reasonably priced. We scored a deal on United from San Francisco to John Wayne-Orange County-Santa Ana-etc., and would just need a quick cab ride to make it from the airport to the hotel. Once again we were staying at our usual spot, the Fairfield Inn Anaheim. I'm not sure if the place has improved its service, or it was my newly acquired elite status with Marriott, but the staff was really on the top of their game. The hotel itself is pretty much the same – that is perfectly adequate though nothing fancy. Its prime appeal is certainly its proximity to the parks, hardly a 10 minute walk from the front desk to the front gates.

We were out the door at 5pm and up to SFO before 6pm for our 8pm flight. It was as uneventful of a flight as possible, and we were down to SNA just after 9pm, and jumped in a cab for the 15 minute ride to the hotel. It came to about $40, even with the tip. We considered a shuttle, and with 2 people it is slightly cheaper, but it's nice to start the vacation with some convenience, and it's really so much quicker. We were at the hotel in no time, probably even before the bags from our flight hit the carousel.

With our 3-day park hopper passes, we were entitled to one hour of early entry, either Saturday or Sunday. The park times were 8am-11pm and 9am-11pm respectively, and we fully realized all the sane guests would cash it in on Sunday, making the two days the same hours instead of hitting Disneyland at 7am. Insane or not, doing the opposite of the crowds is an important theme if you want to save some time, so we would be looking at dragging ourselves out of bed before 6am in time to get to the parks bright and early, even if it wasn't really all that bright at 7am.

As a nice treat, some friends of ours would be coming up from San Diego for the weekend to join us. Jarrod and I go way back and we have visited a ton of parks together, including both trips to Cedar Point and any number of visits to the parks around where we grew up (Great Escape, Dorney Park, SF New England, SF Great Adventure, Hersheypark, etc.) and even two high school trips to Disney World. His fiancée Kelly, however, was entirely uninitiated into our unique brand of park going. Between Jarrod and my capacity for marathon riding and Megan and my endless and probably annoying Disney nerdiness, we would be best to turn it down to avoid her running and screaming for a less determined group of park guests.

They would be joining us later in the morning, so Megan and I would be on our own for a few hours to run through the park before they arrived, and depending on the crowds may come close to hitting all the highlights. Before turning in for what is usually a somewhat restless night, I climbed up to the top floor and, as is something of a tradition, took in the view of the parks from the nice vantage point. I snapped a couple of shots of the closed but still glowing park, enjoyed the anticipation of what would be a fun visit, and then finally called it a night.


Day 1

I'd have spent more time cursing the alarm if I wasn't getting up to go to Disneyland, instead I was happy it was time to get going. We were out the door around 6:20am, leaving plenty of time for a stop to grab breakfast and likely a spot at the front of the line at the turnstiles. In previous visits, we started our morning with a trip to the hotel's small food court, though our most recent visit found that a stop at the McDonald's next door offered a better value. Three days of breakfast sandwiches were sure to wear thin, but it could not be more convenient.

The scene at McDonald's was quiet as we grabbed our meal to go, and we were pleased to see it was just as quiet as we entered the promenade. The pedestrian entrance on Harbor Boulevard puts you next to the shuttle bus drop off, and once past the security checkpoint, into the eastern side of the promenade. We were beyond thrilled to see only a couple other parties milling about the entrance – it looked like we would have the place to ourselves for at least a little while in the morning. We lined up at the gates, enjoyed our greasy breakfast for the few minutes until it was time to open.

By 7am, the crowd hadn't really grown all that much. The whole place was still quite damp from what surely must have been one of the wettest weeks in Disneyland's almost 55 year history. A solid week of storms had flooded Main Street and Thunder Mountain, and even resulted in the parks closing early multiple times. We could not have timed it better, as the forecast showed three mostly sunny days, highs around 60 or so. We knew once the city dried out, the crowds would eventually show up, but our hopes were still high for a relatively quiet weekend. Either way, that didn't matter now, as the gates were opening, barely 100 people were joining us in the park and we would be able to enjoy the first loop hardly encountering any other guests, let alone waiting in line.

The Magic Morning Hour only includes Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, but that fit into our plan perfectly. The incoming crowds grow rapidly, so while it makes sense to catch popular rides first (i.e., rides that usually have long waits), you don't want to spend too much time on rides that take a long time to ride. For example, Finding Nemo is definitely a ride where you want to avoid a wait, but considering the 15-20 minutes it takes to actually ride it, even without a wait, you've let the crowd grow by 20 minutes. With that in mind, the first stop would be Fantasyland. Not only do waits stack up here quickly, the rides are very short, so when the place is empty, you're able to hit pretty much everything in the same 20 minutes you'd be sitting in the sub on Nemo.

We were through the front gates at 7am on the nose, under the train tracks, and made our way up Main Street, through the hub, and under the castle. It's always a surreal experience taking this first walk into the park – it's a mixture of relief, anticipation, and a little frenzy.

I'm glad I'm still able to be affected by a visit. I know plenty of people out there look at Disneyland as just a place to spend a lot of money and wait in line, or even worse – a cheesy, overdone, overrated amusement park for children. I have little argument that much of this is true in certain cases – there is the potential to spend a lot of money, a lot of time in line, and there is plenty that only children will really enjoy. But anyone who does a little research and understands what the resort has to offer will see how it's a place that can be done thriftily, while avoiding crowds, and will offer adults more than enough to do. Hopefully this is seen in what follows.

If you're going to start in Fantasyland, there's certainly no better place the kick off the visit than on Peter Pan. The only folks in line ahead of us were the honorary family that got to start the opening countdown. I'm convinced it would have been us had we some cute kids in tow. Either way, we were able to walk right on and start our visit with one of the most beloved attractions Disney ever created.

The fervor for this ride is palpable, and plainly obvious later in the day when wait times are double or triple that of its immediate neighbors. I can both at the same time see why it is so beloved and not understand the big deal. To some extent, the novelty of being suspended from a track above is quite a thrill for the young audience. No doubt does it add to the flying sensation and "Off to Neverland" theme of the ride. The scenes are well done, no overwhelming animatronics, but some nice effects and a good amount of detail. Everyone remembers flying over Big Ben and through the stars to Neverland. The encounters are close, with Tiger Lily, the mildly offensive "Injuns", through the Jolly Roger and past Captain Hook as his uppance comes in the form of a crocodile jaws. No question is the ride just plain short, but its charm and novelty keep the crowds, and generation after generation of indoctrinated guests loyal.

Across the plaza (or platz, given the Bavarian theme,) we hit Snow White. Definitely a step down in the Fantasyland hierarchy, you're likely to find a minimal wait here throughout the day, though its proximity and similarly quick ride time certainly warrants a spin. I like this one because it's by far the darkest of the options in the area. Similar to Peter Pan, small touches abound, from the shaving cream in the Dwarf's house, to the apple that reveals a skull.

Yet another step down in popularity and, to me, in quality is Pinocchio. It has its dark side and loveable characters (gotta love Jiminy Cricket dropping in on more than one occasion), but the scenes are somewhat less inspired and save a brief Blue Fairy pepper's ghost effect – think ballroom on Haunted Mansion – there aren't many of the quirky dark ride tricks or gags. A fun ride for sure and always worth the token ride we give, but this is definitely not one we or many others clamor to get on.

Finishing up in the courtyard area, we were headed to Mr. Toad. The ride might not be as wild as you're led to believe, but it's got a bit more interesting vehicle action than the other rides in the area. The scenery here is between Snow White and Pinocchio in quality, but it's taken at such a rapid fire pace you're less likely to notice that most of it is two dimensional cut-outs. Things are a little more interesting after you're run over by the train and head to the warm, glowing red area. (No specific mention of hell is given.) I'm convinced those little devils in the scene are surplus Figment dolls painted red.

The plan was to finish up in Fantasyland and work our way to Tomorrowland, getting the highlights there as the extra hour expired, and swing over to the other side of the park to finish the loop. Matterhorn's empty trains suggested it was time for our first mountain, but it seemed to be still testing. Instead we went right next door to Alice in Wonderland.

Without question, this is my favorite dark ride in Fantasyland. It may lack the fanciful pirate ship vehicles over on Peter Pan, and the unfortunately configuration (max 3 adults) probably does a good job cutting capacity, but the scenes here are so well done you'll be engrossed as soon as you're on your way. The ride recreates Alice's journey, pretty much directly out of the film, even with the same voices so far as I can tell. It's one of the only two story dark rides I've ever come across, and its uniqueness is matched by the crowds it gets. It's not quite the frenzy of Pan, but it's close. Try to avoid it right after the Tea Cups have let out. In descending wait time, the order is Peter Pan, Alice, Mr. Toad, Snow White and Pinocchio. Some may say the quality follows that order as well, though I'd personally swap Pan with Alice, and Toad with Snow White. Sorry Pinocchio.

As for our particular journey, we had a bit of a hiccup. Halfway through the ride, between the rose painting and croquet scenes, we came to a stop. First they told us to remain seated, and we figured they needed to slow things down for loading. When the emergency lighting came on, we realized this wasn't a routine delay. They had us sit tight for a few minutes, and eventually a ride operator came by and released us from our vehicle. I mentioned to Megan that we might get to see some behind the scenes stuff, and our rescuer remarked that we sure would.

We just so happened to be in front of the maintenance bay, and the emergency exit route took us right through it. Definitely smaller than I expected, not nearly enough room for all the vehicles (I guess they don't all "sleep" there as we would have guessed), but still an impressive space filled with all sorts of equipment and tools, and as wonderfully dirty as you'd expect a backstage area to be. We found some steps on the other side of the bay and were dropped back into the park next to the nearby bathrooms. I would have liked to finish the ride (we missed the iconic Goofy scream), but we do love us some backstage access, so this was an interesting consolation.

We were hoping for some better luck over on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which apparently had just come online. We walked right on, and once again heard the cast members discussing their shift schedules. What is it about this ride and complaining ride operators? The Tomorrowland side would be up first, though I've never paid enough attention to notice any particular difference. This thing still gives the same ride it has been giving year after year. It's most certainly a wonderful attraction, and it is an icon both in the amusement industry and popular culture at large. But unfortunately it will likely leave you longing for some track work. Your ride may vary, but more often than not it seems to offer at least as much jostling and bruising as it does fun and thrill. Granted, I don't expect a ride like this to provide an adrenaline rush, but you could at least hope something this mild would be a little more bearable.

Things were sure to go a little smoother over on Space Mountain. We made our way around the Matterhorn, cut through the Tomorrowland Terrace, and began the long trek from the entrance to the station. Without Fastpasses, you'll have to take the long loop around the balcony, but at this still ridiculously early hour it was completely empty. As were the hallways. As was the station. Things were so quiet that they were actually sending empty trains so that people already on the ride could exit. We wound down to the loading area and hopped on for what would be the first of many rides throughout our visit.

There's little question Space Mountain is the king of all Disney mountains. Everest may offer more of a thrill, Thunder Mountain may have higher ridership, but no roller coaster is better known than Space Mountain. What's less known is how unique each of the installations is. We were slightly disappointed by our most recent rides on both the Orlando and Paris versions a year ago, the former for its overwhelming lack of immersion and effects, and the later for its rough ride experience. Still, these coasters are the anchors of their parks when it comes to thrills, and the aura of a ride on Space Mountain has become something of a rite of passage. Many visitors will remember the first time they worked up the courage for their first ride -- I know I sure do.

So it is left to the Disneyland version to really hold the mantle. The ride action may lack tremendous thrills like in France, but the ride action is plenty enjoyable, joyfully smooth, and never lets up from start to finish. In addition, the themeing and effects, along with the terrific onboard audio score offer a top to bottom sensory experience, unlike Florida. It's funny to think how unimpressive a ride would be if it were outside, in the daylight, with no music or effects. Fortunately, Disney has used its magic to turn a mediocre coaster ride into a classic attraction. This ride is just plain fun from beginning to end, and entirely deserving of its fame in my opinion.

With the hour winding down, we didn't want to spend too much time here. Really, Disneyland's Tomorrowland doesn't have all that much else to offer. There's Star Tours, which we don't always ride, Autopia, which we almost never ride, and Nemo and the Monorail, which would take up way too much of our morning. (Honey, I Shrunk the Audience was mercifully down for its temporary regression back to Captain EO.) Instead, we settled on Buzz, a quick interactive shooting ride with an even quicker wait this time of day. We zipped through the nicely themed queue and hopped on, ready to blast us some aliens.

The scenes here are great, and I'm convinced this would work well as a dark ride even without all the gun action, but that alone wouldn't be nearly overstimulating enough, now would it? You've got targets to shoot, and in the name of competition, this ride might take a more serious tone. Sure, guests less competitive than us might find more whimsy here, but with pride on the line and a score to run up, this isn't one we personally end up effectively soaking in. I managed to break 107,000 points but unfortunately have little frame of reference whether that's actually good.

We couldn't have planned it any better as our exit and trek across the hub to Frontierland was timed perfectly with the rope drop and the official opening of the park. The Frontierland bridge would be closed for the entire weekend, so we would have to cut over just after the entrance to Adventureland to make it to Thunder Mountain. After doing so, we found it was actually closed, likely still testing, but a bit surprising to see Disneyland being a little lazy getting everything up and running for opening.

Instead we cut around the corner back to Adventure and hit its headliner, Indiana Jones. You really notice how long (and how far outside the border of the park) the queue goes when it's all but empty. It seems a little odd to have to stop and wait for the safety video, yes it's bumpy but the same rules apply for any of the mountains and they all skip this pre-show. They let us out, and we continued our brisk trip to the station and settled into these unique ride vehicles.

Indiana Jones is by far more of a dark ride than anything else, but the jostling you get here, though entirely by design, can be a bit unnerving. I suppose I wouldn't complain if it was toned down a bit, but I'm usually so enraptured by the scenery, special effects, story, and the soundtrack to notice. It has a great premise; the temple has been opened to tourists and we are free to seek its treasures so long as we don't look into the eyes of the idol. Unfortunately, the stupid guests that were are do exactly that, and now only certain doom awaits us. We spend the ride narrowly avoiding the terrors of the temple: snakes, skeletons, rats, spears, fireballs, and the classic Indiana Jones rolling boulder. It's about as unique of a ride as you'll come across, and definitely a good time.

Eventually out the exit we took an immediate right and found Jungle Cruise just about to board. So much of this ride depends on your skipper, and while ours lacked a great delivery, I did hear a few jokes I hadn't heard before. Sure, I use the word "joke" loosely here, but this 1955 original is a must ride – and if you've got a high tolerance for puns, you might even enjoy it.

The crowds weren't exactly pouring in, but we thought it best to head up to Critter Country to check on Splash Mountain, since we'd already been rebuffed at Thunder. No luck. Actually, even worse luck. Here a series of cast members flanked the walkway and explained that Splash Mountain was down, and that it wasn't just a temporary delay. There was hope it would be running later in the day, but that wasn't a guarantee. Specifically, the employee described how thanks to the rain, some water got into an area it shouldn't have. He was sure to note the irony of this explanation, but I suspect the week-long deluge that had just subsided might also be to blame for Thunder and Matterhorn sleeping in.

As annoying as the occasional delays and breakdowns are, I commend Disney for giving honest and almost always accurate information. The worse thing is to miss out on a headliner and need to rethink your entire day on the chance it might open at any moment. I was disappointed, but with a long day ahead and two more after it, there was no need to fret. Now Jarrod, on the other hand, was only planning to spend one day in the park, and would likely be bummed if he didn't get to ride. Unlike Megan, he truly appreciates the overwhelming greatness this attraction.

Since we had already made it that far, and hearing that Megan wouldn't likely ride at all, we decided this would be a good time for Winnie the Pooh. After seeing how popular the almost identical installation is in Florida thanks to its Fantasyland placement, it's funny to think how forgotten this has become. It's truly at a dead end, and while plenty of parents with kids in tow do eventually make their way here, I guess the walk spreads them out pretty well. Needless to say, we were the only ones in line, and the series of cast members seemed almost confused by our decision to ride. Whatever, I like this one just fine. It's definitely a modern incarnation of the dark ride, and may lack a bit of the aged charm, but the scenes are well done and there are a couple nice effects. Not quite on par with Alice or Peter Pan, but probably close to Mr. Toad in my ad hoc rankings.

Similar to our last visit, by this point in the morning, we realized there was no need to rush. We had seen most of the highlights, and with the rate at which people were coming in, we'd have a pretty manageable day ahead of us. With that in mind, and in order to save some backtracking, it made sense to visit a few of the longer rides on the way. First up was, of course, the Haunted Mansion. It may not be the first haunted house dark ride, but it's hard to argue that any ride does it better. It's become such an icon that you'll likely have someone in the viewing who's matching the ghost host word for word.

The crowds were so light we were actually a bit worried we would be the only ones in the stretching room. We were in the lobby for a good few minutes before anyone else joined, and in a testament to how creepy Mansion remains, we were a little relieved. Through the stretching room and onto our doom buggies, and were enjoying the creepy, campy, and always memorable ghosts with their various antics. Singing, drinking, dancing, it amazes me that we're still able to find new things after the bazillion times we've ridden this.

In the classic New Orleans Square two-fer, it was time for Pirates. Some empty boats were allowed to go by before we climbed aboard, and you can really tell you're at the park early when the tables at the Blue Bayou aren't even set yet. The ride will take you through the bayou, down into the treasure caves, past the classic ransacking scenes and through the armory. After the updated but abbreviated version in Paris, and the all-around short version in Orlando, it was nice to be on the original. It actually gives you enough time to get engrossed in the scenes and reminds you that when Walt Disney does something, he does it right the first time. I'm sure the budget concerns were an issue only his successors worried about when cloning these rides.

I confirmed our dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou (7:10pm, four people) just outside the exit and we were on our way to face that last remaining mountain. Thunder Mountain had come back up, and even with only one side and three trains running (I know, I realize how crazy it is that I said "only three", but that's Disney for you) we were through the mostly empty queue and in the station with barely a pause.

Yes, this is certainly yet another mountain that's more known for scenery and themeing then outright thrill, but it's hard to find an attraction that does it better. From the rock formations, to the waterfalls, to the over the top wildlife, it's as much about what you're flying past as the flying itself. There are so many small touches, like any of the beloved headliners here there is so much to notice, and as you're zipping around that becomes a tricky task. My personal favorites are the bats right out of the gate, the yipping coyotes between the first and second lift, and the braying goat at the top of the second lift. There is a ton more going on, and if you've ridden a bunch I'm sure you have your preferences, and if you haven't, good luck catching it all.

After all that, it was time for a break. In an effort to get a little energy, not to mention make up for the fast food breakfast, we grabbed a pair of apples for a mid-morning snack. We'd taken the frontier trail between Thunder Mountain's exit back into Fantasyland, and the food cart was just opposite the bathrooms at the end of the trail. There was no need to dwell in crazy kid town, but I did want to peek over to Peter Pan, just to gauge the crowds. Still just 20 minutes, this was a great sign.

We took our break around the back of the park and up into Toon Town. We somehow always end up forgetting Roger Rabbit in our morning loop on previous visits and pay for it with a good 20+ minute wait later in the day. It's a ride that's worth considering a Fastpass, but it's an absolute schlep to get it. Instead, we wouldn't make the same mistake and headed right for it while things were still obscenely quiet. Seeing a posted five minute wait, we took a load off in Toon Town and basked in some sun enjoying our healthy snack.

Roger Rabbit is much in the same vein as Winnie the Pooh, a modern Disney dark ride, but it's taken one step further with its unique ride vehicles and their controllable spinning. Riding Lenny (or is it Benny?) the taxi, you'll zip around Toontown avoiding the weasels and trying to escape a dip bath. The scenery is well done, scenes right out of the movie and a few surprises. The real highlight here is the ability to spin your vehicle 360 degrees in either direction through almost the entire ride. I wouldn't say it's the same mechanism as the Tea Cups, it's almost more of whipping action than anything – but it's very fun, and entirely up to riders' tastes. It may be a little distracting if you're trying to take in the view, but I recommend at least giving it a shot. It's entirely fitting with the manic theme of the ride.

In addition, don't worry too much if you've got a bit of a wait to get through. While the queue doesn't exactly fly, there is a ton of great stuff to check out. Similar to Indiana Jones, it's almost worth having a 15 or 20 minute wait to be able to get a closer look. We didn't have anyone in front of us until we got to the station, so we'd have to visit it later. With Jarrod and Kelly approaching the area, it probably wouldn't be too long anyway.

Check out the full TR on my site: http://www.gregscoasterphotos.com/10_01_23_DL.asp