It may be small to those of us that frequent WDW

[YesDear]

But Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland is very beautiful.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/4643500976_0c752e4e98_b.jpg


FYI Sleeping Beauty's castle stands 77 feet tall and Cinderella's Castle stands 190 feet tall.

[wenrob]

*sigh* It is. Can't wait to see it again, going in just over a week. Beautiful shot!:goodvibes

[DawnM]

Thank you for sharing this. It makes me very homesick.

[Chikabowa]

Love this shot. I grew up going to Disneyland and only went to WDW for the first time when I was 25. This makes me happy to see. Beautiful shot too!!! Hope you are having fun!

[mom2rtk]

*sigh* It is. Can't wait to see it again, going in just over a week. Beautiful shot!:goodvibes

So when will you be there? We hit I-70 westbound one week from today and will be in the parks the 7th & 8th. I can't wait!!!

It IS shocking how small it is when you're used to Cindy's digs..... But it's SO pretty!

[KAT4DISNEY]

*sigh* It is. Can't wait to see it again, going in just over a week. Beautiful shot!:goodvibes

So when will you be there? We hit I-70 westbound one week from today and will be in the parks the 7th & 8th. I can't wait!!!

It IS shocking how small it is when you're used to Cindy's digs..... But it's SO pretty!

I'll be there also in a little under 2 weeks. :yay:

[mom2rtk]

I'll be there also in a little under 2 weeks. :yay:


We're going to just miss the WOC premiere (on purpose). If you're going to be there, you might want to know they started selling dining packages today. If I was going to be there then, I'd be all over it.

Too bad though... it sounds like we will just miss you.

[KAT4DISNEY]

We're going to just miss the WOC premiere (on purpose). If you're going to be there, you might want to know they started selling dining packages today. If I was going to be there then, I'd be all over it.

Too bad though... it sounds like we will just miss you.

Thanks for the heads up! I'm there the 8th-12th so it looks like we'll meet on the way in/out. I do plan on getting into the park later on the 8th though. It would be fun to to meet and say hi if we had a chance!

I'm so torn on the WOC. I really thought it would be going for a couple of months and now I don't know if I'll just skip the madness as best I can or if I will jump right into the middle of it. :eek: Guess I'll call and see if they're doing the dining the first night.

[wenrob]

We're missing WOC (and grad nights) on purpose as well. We get there 6/6 afternoon and leave 6/10 after breakfast at Goofy's kitchen. We did a whole 5days last time and it was too much for the little ones. Three full days should be perfect.

[mom2rtk]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm there the 8th-12th so it looks like we'll meet on the way in/out. I do plan on getting into the park later on the 8th though. It would be fun to to meet and say hi if we had a chance!

I'm so torn on the WOC. I really thought it would be going for a couple of months and now I don't know if I'll just skip the madness as best I can or if I will jump right into the middle of it. :eek: Guess I'll call and see if they're doing the dining the first night.

Most people don't even KNOW about the dining yet, so you might be able to get it. From what I understand they aren't even requiring payment or guarantee yet. I bet that will change as time goes by.

I'll have to check your trip report again and find a picture of you so I know who to watch for. The 8th is our 2nd park do so I don't have much of a plan yet. I'm going to try and shoot fireworks on the 7th.

We're missing WOC (and grad nights) on purpose as well. We get there 6/6 afternoon and leave 6/10 after breakfast at Goofy's kitchen. We did a whole 5days last time and it was too much for the little ones. Three full days should be perfect.

We were originally scheduled for 6/11 and 6/12 as our park days. Then when it looked pretty sure that they would start WOC then, we bailed and went back a week to the 2nd and 3rd. A bit later we found out Indy would be down for refurb those days, so that was a no-go for us. We rescheduled AGAIN. At one point we held 3 separate Disney hotel reservations and 5 separate reservations at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Hopefully I now have all the extras cancelled!

Wenrob, I'll be looking for your adorable little redheads around the parks! I am bringing a couple of costumes for my daughter, so you might know if it's us. Be sure to say hi if you do!

[Daisy14'sDH]

Noob question and I'm sure there is a thread about it... but I am too lazy to search... What is WOC?

BTW beautiful photo, someday we'll get to Cali!

[mom2rtk]

Noob question and I'm sure there is a thread about it... but I am too lazy to search... What is WOC?

BTW beautiful photo, someday we'll get to Cali!

Sorry about that.... WOC is World of Color, the highly anticipated night time water show they are doing at California Adventure. The crowds are expected to be crazy. It is the centerpiece of the DCA renovation.

[Daisy14'sDH]

I (sorry) never read about DL, its one of our vacation stops that are on the backburner. Once we hit up a Cruise out of CA we'll hit it but I dont expect that for 2-3 years. Until then WDW and DCL (FLA) are all that are on our Disney to do list.

I would love to see some pics of this though!

[mom2rtk]

I (sorry) never read about DL, its one of our vacation stops that are on the backburner. Once we hit up a Cruise out of CA we'll hit it but I dont expect that for 2-3 years. Until then WDW and DCL (FLA) are all that are on our Disney to do list.

I would love to see some pics of this though!

That's probably about when we'll finally see it! We only have 2 park days, so I didn't want to go what could be some of the busiest days ever at DL. Of course, when it's all over, I'll be sorry I didn't see it.... but it will be there next time.

Our last trip there we were in the parks the final 2 days before the new Nemo underwater subs opened. I didn't want to fight those crowds either. So now, 3 years later, we'll give them a go. I hear they are not THAT great, but had lines over 4 hours long right after opening. Yuck......

[KYCruiseCrazy]

But Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland is very beautiful.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/4643500976_0c752e4e98_b.jpg


FYI Sleeping Beauty's castle stands 77 feet tall and Cinderella's Castle stands 190 feet tall.

Love the photo:woohoo:

[KAT4DISNEY]

Most people don't even KNOW about the dining yet, so you might be able to get it. From what I understand they aren't even requiring payment or guarantee yet. I bet that will change as time goes by.

I'll have to check your trip report again and find a picture of you so I know who to watch for. The 8th is our 2nd park do so I don't have much of a plan yet. I'm going to try and shoot fireworks on the 7th.


I had quite a wait to make the reservation but no problem in getting exactly what I wanted. I'm interested to see how long it takes for it to "sell out". I'm actually hoping that DVC will get fast passes like has been discussed but either way I guess I'll be there for the official opening night!

I don't know if you'll find any pictures of me - usually I'm behind the lens. I'll be the one with the Sony though! :goodvibes

Our last trip there we were in the parks the final 2 days before the new Nemo underwater subs opened. I didn't want to fight those crowds either. So now, 3 years later, we'll give them a go. I hear they are not THAT great, but had lines over 4 hours long right after opening. Yuck......

I skipped it too until Oct last year. As it was I think the line said it was 20 minutes and it was well over 30 before I got on. Still, it was nice to see the changes and be able to ride the subs after so many years. There are some cute changes though and I can now wait again for a few years unless I see no line.

[YesDear]

Anyone want any hints what it will look like? These were taken from our room as they practiced!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4646837114_7db8b2ded3_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4646223107_8dd729731a_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4646837114_7db8b2ded3_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4646222121_f19524a9e0_b.jpg

http://http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4646222121_f19524a9e0_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3399/4646220387_23519cd485_b.jpg

[Daisy14'sDH]

WOWSERS! if I may steal a quote from one of the Scooby Doo cast!

[KCmike]

I (sorry) never read about DL, its one of our vacation stops that are on the backburner. Once we hit up a Cruise out of CA we'll hit it but I dont expect that for 2-3 years. Until then WDW and DCL (FLA) are all that are on our Disney to do list.

I would love to see some pics of this though!

BIG MISTAKE! We thought the same thing and now we are hooked on DL and California. Hands down that State and Disneyland are far superior in my opinion. We are heading back for our fourth year in a row. If you do make it out there you have to hit Yosemite National Park. Oh my goodness its amazing. Just don't wait too long to visit DL because once you have you will be sad that you didn't visit sooner. Walt really knew what he was doing! Here's one of my favorite quotes from Al Lutz:
There's an answer the old timers at Disney like to give when asked to compare the Anaheim and Orlando main parks, and to me it still applies as to how they are currently run: Disneyland is a park designed by a father for his daughters, while the Magic Kingdom is designed by a committee for the hordes.

[Groucho]

There's an answer the old timers at Disney like to give when asked to compare the Anaheim and Orlando main parks, and to me it still applies as to how they are currently run: Disneyland is a park designed by a father for his daughters, while the Magic Kingdom is designed by a committee for the hordes.
I disagree - Magic Kingdom in WDW is based on countless "lessons learned" from Disneyland and has many aspects that are superior, IMHO. (And Walt picked out the location and was certainly involved in the design. I don't buy that the fact that he died before it opened means that it is unavoidably lacking in his touch.) Don't get me wrong, I love DL as well, but I certainly don't agree that it's superior across the board. It's certainly much smaller and densely-packed, that can make it feel more intimate. But narrow rope corridors set up during fireworks with CM's waving everyone along with flashlights and yelling if you stop, relatively little shade, a monorail without A/C, vastly inferior restaurant choices (with the exception of Blue Bayou), and a bakery with inferior cinnamon rolls (to say nothing of the flies inside the cabinet with the food!) mean that this guy certainly won't give up FL for CA!

YesDear, great shots! I am really excited about WoC. I am thinking that we'll make it out to CA next summer probably... then again, if I put it off one more year, maybe Cars Land will be open... very excited about that too. :)

[KCmike]

Don't get me wrong I still love WDW but....
Of all the history I've read they barely could move on without Walt. Most didn't want to move forward. I'm glad they did.
Why didn't they get pirates right?
Why didn't they build Epcot like Walt wanted? A prototype community of tomorrow?
I would much rather have smaller corridors than miles between attractions or parks. This could be because I'm getting older though:rotfl2:
I'm pretty sure that Walt wouldn't have wanted the New and improved Tiki room. This was Walt's baby.
I agree the restaurants are not on the same scale.

I love to compare these parks and most argue that you can't and to some degree I agree.

All in all again I must say I love WDW but after being at DL, magic kingdom to magic kingdom, there is no comparison....DL wins everytime. And oh yeah California wins everytime to Florida. Weather, scenery, Pacific Ocean, and oh yeah those gorgeous national parks.

[Groucho]

Don't get me wrong I still love WDW but....
Of all the history I've read they barely could move on without Walt. Most didn't want to move forward. I'm glad they did.
Why didn't they get pirates right?
Why didn't they build Epcot like Walt wanted? A prototype community of tomorrow?
I would much rather have smaller corridors than miles between attractions or parks. This could be because I'm getting older though:rotfl2:
I'm pretty sure that Walt wouldn't have wanted the New and improved Tiki room. This was Walt's baby.
I agree the restaurants are not on the same scale.

I love to compare these parks and most argue that you can't and to some degree I agree.

All in all again I must say I love WDW but after being at DL, magic kingdom to magic kingdom, there is no comparison....DL wins everytime. And oh yeah California wins everytime to Florida. Weather, scenery, Pacific Ocean, and oh yeah those gorgeous national parks.
I love comparing 'em too so don't take anything personal. :)

Certainly CA as a state beats FL. That's one of the reasons why so many WDW visitors never leave property! But the park is big enough... you can spend two weeks at WDW and never come close to seeing anything, which pretty much everything at DL/DCA can be seen in a few days. Obviously FL wins big-time in terms of everything except the Magic Kingdom/DL comparison. (DCA is an up-and-coming park now, though - may be able to compare favorably to DHS once all the work is done in 2012.)

OK, your questions:
Pirates - as you probably know, they were working on a Western attraction that would be every bit the match of any AA ride at the time. Guests demanded Pirates so they had to rush it. Still, I don't buy that it's "wrong" - first off, the queue is fantastic, one of the (if not the) best in MK. The queue at DL is pretty lame - and mostly outdoors in the sun. Furthermore, the MK one ends at a more logical time, instead of a long slog up the boat escalators then a slow ride past the incoming queue! Separately, you can point to the MK Haunted Mansion as being better looking, better queued, and offering a longer, more fulfilling ride than the DL version. And let's not even bring up DCA's Tower of Terror...!

Epcot - well, they did build Celebration, which incorporates a decent chunk of Epcot thinking. Have you read Realityland? I don't buy everything written in it (for a guy who writes so much about Disney, Koenig sure seems to hate most of what they do!) It focuses extensively on Epcot. Based on Walt's plans, I don't think it was something that would have been successful if build in the "real world." The Epcot they built certainly has some serious identity issues too, but at least it was built, and up until the big refurb, Epcot > DCA any day. :)

The miles between parks are a good thing - remember Walt's own words? "The blessing of size!" The size of MK is a good thing, too - DL's size can work against it; it's just so much smaller that crowd control is a real issue, especially for Fantasmic and doubly so for the fireworks. (Remember: DCT is a vastly better fireworks show than Wishes but so much harder to watch!)

As for Tiki Room, I agree - the current version is an abomination; clearly the worst, most offensive attraction in MK. It wasn't that way then MK was built, though!