Day 3, Part 2: Disneyland and California Adventure
I don't think I could honestly ever consider the extra cost of getting a Park Hopper ticket when visiting the Walt Disney World Resort. The Resort is so big and the parks so spread a part that you would waist so much time hopping between parks that it doesn't seem worth it. However a park hopper is pretty much a must have at the Disneyland Resort (unless your trying to keep your budget low). I also think the same thing about the Universal Orlando Resort with the 2 parks next to each other as well a Park to Park ticket is a must. As we exited California Adventure the walk across to Disneyland took no longer then 3 minutes to make. Thats shorter then it is to Walk from Universal Studios Florida to Islands of Adventure and you'd never be able to park hop in that kind of time at WDW. Just remember to have you ID and tickets out as you approch the turnstyle to speed up your entry if you have multiday tickets.
We were soon in Disneyland. In my opinion the Best and Greatest Theme Park there is. The park that every Theme/Amusment Park i've been to is compared to and none have been able to top it. The one and only park that Walt Disney himself walked in. We soon walked thru the Tunnels leaving the "real" world behind and entered a World of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy. We exited the Tunnel on to Main Street USA that at the time was setting up the Candlelight Processional that would be taking place later that evening.
Having walked down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom only 7 months earlier I couldn't help but compare the two. But don't think thats a bad thing. Both are incredibly well done and very detailed. In Disneyland you have the Original. Designed by Walt himself. Its small and charming and at the end is the parks icon. Sleeping Beauty Castle. Yes the Castle is small. but its very charming and fits with the scale of Disneylands Main Street and Hub perfectly. Everything with the Magic Kingdom was intended to be built on a much larger and more Grand scale then it was originaly in Disneyland. This is no more evident then it is on Main Street as The Magic Kingdoms is much larger and Grand and the lead up to that parks icon Cinderella Castle is nothing short of Epic. Infact the Magic Kingdoms Main Street USA is probably one of the very few things I prefer about the Magic Kingdom over Disneyland.
As I mentioned earlier Kiera and I did not plan on hopping over to Disneyland today. Originally we were gonna spend the entire day over at DCA. But do to spending part of our time with my Cousin and her family, and this being there final day in the park, and the only time that we could Rider Swap while watching one anothers children, there was one attraction that they still wanted to do before leaving that neither of the kids were tall enough for. A ride that had just reopened from a Major referbishment not even 5 days earlier. The Indiana Jones Adventure. So at the end of Main Street we tightly turned left and entered Adventureland where the attraction is located.
Adventureland is another land that is Much, Much larger and more grand in the Magic Kingdom then it is in Disneyland. Adventureland is actually very small and gets pretty bottlenecked at the busier times of the day. I could only imagine how much worse it is during peak times of the year. Where in the Magic Kingdom Adventureland is devided into three smaller themed areas (An Arab, Polynesian, and Caribbean) theres just one generic Jungle theme that you'll see in Disneyland with the exception of the Arab facade to the now closed Aladdins Oasis. However dispite how small Disneylands Adventure land is they were able to make great use of the space as in addition to the Indiana Jones Adventure the area is also home to the Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, and Tarzans Treehouse.
When we arrived at the Indiana Jones Adventure Fastpass Machines we underestimated its popularity to it just recently reopening. The standby wait at this time was nearly 1 hour out and even the Fastpass return wouldn't be until 3:05pm. That was still 1 1/2 hours away at this point. Double the time I expected it to be as fastpasses are usually only 45 minutes out. We still pulled the Fastpasses and thought about what to do to kill the time.
Two days earlier on the first day that my Cousin and her Family started there Disneyland vacation they tried to get on Pirates of the Caribbean multipule times only to find the ride down each time they tried. Up to this point they still had not rode it and it was a ride that was on there childrens must see list. With plenty of time to kill before we could use the fastpasses for Indy we decided to check to see if it was open. Which to my cousins luck it was.
Unlike the Magic Kingdom, Pirates of the Caribbean is not located in Adventureland. Instead its in an area that Walt designed specifically around the attraction called New Orleans Square. In addition the Pirates the Haunted Mansion is also part of the area here in Disneyland. Although the attraction enterance for Pirates is pretty much right on the boarder of Adventureland. A word of advice if heading to Pirates from Adventureland is to stay left and not go over the bridge. This bridge will cross over the Pirates que and continue on into the rest of New Orleans Square.
We parked the strollers and then got in the line for Pirates of the Caribbean which had a posted 10 minute wait. This is a line that shouldn't scare you based on how long it looks. When we got in line we thought the line looked much longer then 10 minutes. We were wrong as it really did only take 10 minutes until we were boarding our boat. Although the exterior Facade is great for Pirates (along with Disneylands Dream Suite located above it) and I love seeing the returning boats float past as you first enter the building the Que for the Magic Kingdoms Pirates is much better then Disneylands. However that is the only + I give to the Orlando version of the ride as literally everything else is better in California.
After boarding your boat in the Disneyland version you start your journey as you slowly float thru the Louisiana Bayou. Theres Fireflys flying around you with the soft sounds of a banjo playing in the distance. To your right is the Blue Bayou restaurant. One of the most unique resturants i've seen as its setting is the bayou that your floating thru as part of the attraction. I've always wanted to eat there but its just way too expensive for our taist. After passing some rickity looking houseboats you come to the Skull and Crossbones warning you of the adventure ahead. Then just as the sound of a Waterfall approches you plunge down that waterfall into a dark cavern. As you drift thru this cavern you once again start to hear the sound of a Waterall and again you plunge down a 2nd hill. Something that the Magic Kingdoms abrivated version doesn't have. Now you find yourself in the Grotto where the Magic Kingdom version of the ride starts but in Disneyland you will also pass thru a shipwreck and very detailed tresure room.
From this point on the ride is almost the same as the Magic Kingdom version. Just like in Orlando Jack Sparrow and some friends were added to the attraction making it almost like an overly obsessed wheres waldo game as many of the pirates claim to be looking for Jack Sparrow. These movie additions seem to get alot of critisim from Disney fans but honestly its not something that really bothers me. Some of the Jack Animatronics don't seem to stand out unless your looking for them and its kind of fun to look for them. Although it does get old hearing Jacks name over and over again. Near the end of the ride you won't unload early like you do in Florida but instead you will ride the boat back up the lift hill and then float past all the people waiting in the que for there ride. You exit where you loaded and then walk past the Blue Bayou restuarant and exit into the heart of New Orleans Square kind of a ways away from where the enterance to the attraction is located.
To say that the Disneyland version of the ride is better then the Magic Kingdoms is an understatement. In my opinion the Original ride is a significantly better version of the ride as your seeing it as it was intended to be. Not the rush job that Florida thru together to appease dissapointed guests. It was really funny to watch Daniel on the ride as well as overall he really enjoyed it but you could tell that he was not a fan of the drops at all. Each time he heard those waterfalls he tensed up right away to prepair from them. Pirates is one of those attractions that should not be missed no matter what park it is located in.
Dispite Pirates taking up 30 minutes of our time we still had over an hour to go until our Fastpasses could be used at Indy. My cousin and her family decided to head over to Fantasyland to reride some rides however at this point in the day Kiera and I were starting to get hungry. Being so close to Adventureland though we decided to get one of our favorite Disney treats. A Dole Whip. I've mentioned it in past that I am not a fan of Pineapple. Yet for some reason I love Dole Whips. Although if your going to get one at Disneyland be prepaired to wait as the line was very long for them. Unlike at the Magic Kingdom that ran 3 or 4 registers for the taisty treat Disneyland was only running 1 (although I later learned that the short is often shorter buying it in the Enchanted Tiki room courtyard).
While Kiera waited in line for the Dole Whip I went back to the Bengal Barbeque to get us lunch. Don't expect to see very large meals sold at the Bengle BBQ though as all they serve are snack type Items. The main thing being BBQ Skewers. Although they aren't huge there is a suprising amoung of food on the scewers. And being fairly cheap you can buy a couple different kinds to share. And this is what we did. I got us a the Banyan Beef which is a Hot and Spicy Skewer, a Chieftain which is a Polynesian style, and the Safari which doesn't have beef or chicken on it but instead is Bacon wrapped Asparagas. The whole order only cost about $12 and was enough to feed both of us. We thought the food was good for what it was.
With our stomachs full we still had time to kill before meeting back up with my cousin and her family for our rides on Indy. We decided to walk back down to New Orleans Square to try and ride the other attraction located in this land. The Haunted Mansion. Which during the Christmas and Halloween Holidays is actually transformed with a Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. The attraction is very popular during the Holidays. So much so that its the only time of year that you can get Fastpass for the Haunted Mansion. And such was today too. When we got to the gates of the Mansion the posted wait was at 35 minutes. We wouldn't have enough time to ride so we passed it up today. As we were walking away we noticed down near the Rivers of America that Jack and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas were out doing a Meet and Greet. We figured that could be a good way to kill some time too but they had already cut off the line.
With not enough time to do any attractions we decided to just walk the streets of New Orleans Square and look at some shops. Obviously New Orleans Square does not exist in Orlando as they got Liberty Square instead. If I had to compare the 2 New Orleans Square wins hands down. Its so unique and tranquil as its perched slightly higher above the rivers of america. The streets are fun to walk and the Christmas decor is pretty much one of a kind and the most unique decor you will find on property. The area is small and anchored at both ends by the two E-Tickets but its worth taking the time walking thru the area and checking it out.
The time had soon come that we would meet back up with my Cousin so we started to head back to Adventureland to meet them at Indy. Looking back on it now I don't know why we didn't just walk thru Tarzans Treehouse to kill some time. The views from above are pretty great and there is never any sort of wait to walk thru it. Unfortunatly We never did walk thru it during any part of our trip. We did walk thru it though on our 2008 trip so I am still able to compare it to the Magic Kingdoms Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Many of you probably already know that Tarzans treehouse was at one point the Swiss Family Robinson as well. Unfortunatly Disney felt it needed to be plussed converting it to Tarzan and sticking lifesize Animated style stautes of the Tarzan movie characters thruout it. They took something so unique. An experiance that you could walk into the treehouse as if the Swiss Family Robinson welcomed you to explore there home. It doesn't have that feeling any more with these plastic statues characters everywhere now. This is one attraction that the Magic Kingdom still does better. Although I like the layout of Disneylands treehouse more.
A few minutes after we arrived at Indy my cousin and her family did as well. Since they had the Fastpass she and her husband went first and would grab us the riderswap card in the attraction. Indy is another one where they gave the time card that you exchanged for the Riderswap card right before boarding the ride. To kill the time why they were on Indy we took Daniel and there 2 boys next door to the Jungle Cruise. The time posted for the Jungle Cruise was 25 minutes however the Touringplans.com App said the true wait would only be about 15. With the upper level of the Jungle Cruise Que also in use I wasn't sure if the App would be right or not. I'm happy to say that dispite walking thru a small part of the upper Que that the app was correct and it only took about 15 minutes before we were boarding the boat for our cruise.