A Solo Adventure Down to the Land of Magic!-Updated 6/5!!

[katt789]

See? Now bizarro rope drop too? This is why I should stick to WDW.

The crowd levels look much more managable on the second morning though

Sorry the audition didn't work out. I wonder why things are set up so much differently at the 2 parks? Weird.

I know right?! I'll be sticking to WDW from now on, but the occasional trip out to Cali may happen.

Crowds were better...in the morning...geeeehhh....

It is really weird, but at the same time, I do understand that most of their parades & stuff happen on the weekends, giving their employees the week off to work a real job off in LA & such. A lot of dancers & actors, etc that are trying to make it are down in LA, and I'm sure working for Disney part time is a lot nicer than serving tables.

 

[katt789]

My first stop over in Critter Country included a visit with a friend of mine, who was all stuffed with fluffy!

I love the WDW world of this ride, and was looking very forward to the California version! I liked the way you were transported through bushes & trees on the way in!

And then it all began on a very blustery day over in the 100 Acre Wood!

And the rain rain rain came down down down, and Pooh bear falls asleep after a pot of honey and has a CRAZY dream about all the Heffalumps & Woozles!

This part is one of my favorite parts, especially the way the colors in DLR are all done with neon, it makes it even more trippy! I LOVE love love the one of Tigger after bouncing on Pooh, it looks so cool with the neon colors!

That silly old bear sure does like his Hunny! Verdict: on this one, the DLR version wins! (and yes, I will continue comparing the rides in this TR, that’s what I’m here for! Lol) I like the colors in the heffalump scene, and just overall, I like that version better! I bid good-bye to the 100 Acre Wood and decided to check out some more of the rides over in the FrontierLand area! Haunted Mansion was down sad face! I would have to try & hit it up again later!

Gah! New Orleans Square is just so awesome, I love all of the themeing in this area! So much love! On my way through, I figured, hey, I may as well hit up this ride while I’m here & it’s not busy! Now…which ride? Well…..

 

[katt789]

That’s what ride!! The exterior for Pirates in DLR is so much more Victorian themed! It’s like you’re about to walk into Elizabeth Swann’s house, but surprise! Now you’re sailing the sea with the dirtiest of pirates!!

Dead men tell no tales…..one thing I noticed RIGHT away was how much darker is was in here! They have it set up behind the Blue Bayou(?) restaurant, so diners there can see into the first part of the ride, and it reminds me of when they go to see Tia Dalma in POTC: Dead Man’s Chest!

The pirate on the fog/waterfall switched between Davy Jones & Blackbeard, another neat thing, so you get to see both as they prepare you with warnings of the sailings you are about to embark on.

We wants a red head! Now…another difference…take a closer look at the Red Head!

Is it just me, or is she waaaayy more sexualized than the one in WDW??

That dog is my favourite! Super cute!! I loved this version of pirates, it’s longer, darker, and overall, I liked it better! Although the room at the end with Jack & all his loot is harder to see as it’s when you’re going up the ramp to get off the boat…but hey, that’s ok!

After sailing through the seven seas, I took some time wandering the area I was in, just around that Adventureland & Frontierland connection in there!

I thought this was super cute, so I took a picture! A little dude making pop corn inside the popcorn machine, totes adorable! Next on my list;

That mountain that was off in the distance of course! I had done basically everything else on this side of the park that I wanted to, so let’s finish it off! I’m not sure what the wait time was, but I know it wasn’t long, that’s for sure!

This was a ride I had skipped out on in my first WDW trip, and on the 2nd, had gone on and not liked it, and it was closed my last 2 trips. So, I knew that I didn’t like the WDW version of it.... “wildest ride in the west”?! I think not. Now, THIS one, HECK YES!! SO much awesome! And it lives up to it’s name! It was faster, way more awesome! It’s still a pretty basic coaster, great for those of all ages, I kept thinking that if I put my hands up, I’d hit them on something, but I knew that couldn’t be true! With my wild ride done, I figured I could head over and explore the other side of the park now!

 

[shan23877]

Very cool exterior for POTC! Glad you enjoyed the ride.

The theming looks awesome around BTMRR. Glad you had a fun ride, and it seems like you were able to get a lot more done the second day than the first.

 

[katt789]

Very cool exterior for POTC! Glad you enjoyed the ride.

The theming looks awesome around BTMRR. Glad you had a fun ride, and it seems like you were able to get a lot more done the second day than the first.

I loved it! And gah! BTMRR, so much more fun than I was expecting. And I definitely did get a whole lot more done once the weekend crowds cleared out!

 

[katt789]

When we left off, I was headed over to Fantasyland to explore over there and check everything out, and hopefully trying to see if I could actually get on some of the rides. I decided to start with Pinocchio’s Daring Journey!

They’ve even got fireworks in the ride! And I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t really like it, it was dark, and it was kinda scary, and this is coming from a 22 year old! I couldn’t imagine how the kids on it felt, it was freaky!

I decided that most of Fanastyland had too long waits, so I figured I would begin my hunt for Pixie Hollow, and wow, let me tell you, it is pretty hidden! I found the exit path first, and there’s a little trail that walks right beside Pixie Hollow that leads to the entrance, so I knew that Terrance would be inside before I got to the front! The wait was posted at 30 minutes, but I figured it would be less than that! I jumped in line, and grabbed some shots from the cue.

It was definitely under a half hour wait before I got in to meet Terrence!

He said that I must be a garden fairy, as I was wearing pink, so I said “sure!” and we chatted a bit about that before I said good bye and moved on to Tink. She asked if I had been to Pixie Hollow before, and I said I usually went to Florida, but decided to come check out California now. We joked a bit about which one was better before grabbing a pic.

I then decided that I was already on a role meeting characters, so I figured I would jump over to the Princess Fantasy Faire to see what that was all about! The wait was 60 minutes, and it was still early, so I figured I’d ride some rides while I could, and no thank you to that long of a wait. ToonTown it was!

I noticed Pluto was right around the first corner, so I jumped into his practically non-existent line first! The cm that was with him took some pictures, and was quite funny while doing so.

“1-2-3”

“1-2-Me!”

“1-2-Tree!”

“It’s a nice tree! I planted it myself!”

I said thank you while laughing, and checked out the rest of ToonTown.

Minnie & Mickey & Goofy were all out and about around the Town, but I decided not to wait, lines looked long, and I didn’t really want to wait. One thing I *did* want to do, and that was the Roger Rabbit ride!! Eee!

I love Jessica Rabbit…oh so much….the movie is SOOO weird though, it’s another one of those…haha! Well, my verdict on the ride: what. The. Heck. Seriously…NO CLUE what happened on that one, you’re supposed to steer it yourself through the ride, and things spin so fast, and I had absolutely NO idea what was supposed to be going on….weird…just weird…

 

[katt789]

After my bizarre experience with a Rabbit in ToonTown, I circled around through Tomorrowland and back to the hub, where I could see that a friend was out just beside the castle!

Weird thing: she was completely alone, I’m talking, absolutely no handler anywhere in sight, she was completely in charge of her own line, and had to do everything for herself, all while staying in character (of course) I was impressed. The family in front of me went to sign autograph books, and their pen died! Luckily, I had my princess pen handy and lent it out for them to get their signatures! After bidding goodbye to the fairest in the land, I took a little trip through the Sleeping Beauty castle walk through.

Make it blue!

No, make it pink!

I thought it was super cute & awesome! You actually get to walk up and through and down the castle. Yeah, sure, WDW has the restaurant, but you actually get to walk through the tunnels of this castle! Eeep! I thought it was super cool!

When I finished my castle adventures, I was practically in Fantasyland, and I had a very good goal to accomplish this trip! I had been double checking the DLR website about characters, and nearly died when I saw that Flynn comes out periodically to join Rapunzel…seriously?!!? GAAHHH… So, naturally my next stop was to check that m & g, however, it wasn’t quite up & running yet. Hoooolly, it wasn’t that late, not even lunch yet, but boy was it getting hot out! Since I had missed my meet & greet in Fantasyland, I headed over to New Orleans Square to see if any Mardi Gras friends were out (or…as any of you in the process of my Jan solo WDW trip know…my other boyfriend…Naveen… *swoon* haha!).

When I reached the meet & greet, Tiana & Naveen were out! So I jumped right in line, the cm’s were all decked out with Mardi Gras beads, and made sure to give some out to me as well, bonus! However, when there was about 5 people left in front of me, Tiana & Naveen left! Boooo! I figured they were just taking a break, and would be back, but instead, Chip joined us! Which is awesome too, he danced his way down the stairs, and made sure to inform the cm that Dale was coming, but had forgotten it was Mardi Gras, and had to go back for his vest! He was super cute, did a little dance with me between photos, and made sure to blow kisses! Overall it was about an 8 minute wait for the meet & greet.

With that, I decided to leave DisneyLand, and explore what else was out there, crowds were kind of picking up, and I was impatient today haha! I explored through Downtown Disney (without actually going IN any stores)

I was really just looking for a Wolfgang Puck Express, which they had none of, and I didn’t find any food that I wanted there. Naturally, I headed into California Adventure next!

 

[dara00]

Princess Fantasy Faire - I actually waited in that 60 minute line twice during our trip! I don't think it gets any shorter. They really need to add Fast Pass!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm here!

I love the comparisons that you're doing between DLR and WDW. A few years ago, I was actually fortunate enough to be in WDW and then fly directly to DLR, so I could compare immediately and fresh in my memory.

I love Pirates over there too! I love how much longer it is. It just seems more complete to me for some reason. I have other opinions too, but I'll keep them to myself until you say how you feel about them.

 

[katt789]

Princess Fantasy Faire - I actually waited in that 60 minute line twice during our trip! I don't think it gets any shorter. They really need to add Fast Pass!

Yeah, I ended up waiting in the line later in the trip, but on my first day I had so many activites to do! (if anyone gets that really weak reference, I give you 10 points!) that I didn't want to wait.

I'm here!

I love the comparisons that you're doing between DLR and WDW. A few years ago, I was actually fortunate enough to be in WDW and then fly directly to DLR, so I could compare immediately and fresh in my memory.

I love Pirates over there too! I love how much longer it is. It just seems more complete to me for some reason. I have other opinions too, but I'll keep them to myself until you say how you feel about them.

Yay! I love both of them, but overall I'm pretty sure I like WDW better, but I have yet to go to DLR with anyone, and that would definitely make it a lot better. Also, I see from our tickers that we both have so many trips planned, and they're all super close, but miss each other by a few weeks both ways!

 

[ronnmel]

I love the look of the California Pixie Hollow. Very cute!

I knew you could walk through the castle in Disneyland Paris, but I had no idea you could do that in California as well. I hope I get to experience that one day.

 

[katt789]

I love the look of the California Pixie Hollow. Very cute!

I knew you could walk through the castle in Disneyland Paris, but I had no idea you could do that in California as well. I hope I get to experience that one day.

I really liked pixie hollow, although I am happy that WDWs is inside, so there's no problem late at night or in the rain!

 

[shan23877]

Pixie Hollow looks super cute! I know the WDW one is temporary, but it is so blah right now.

Awesome that you can walk through the tunnels of the castle!

I hope that you had better luck meeting your boyfriends later in the trip!

 

[katt789]

Pixie Hollow looks super cute! I know the WDW one is temporary, but it is so blah right now.

Awesome that you can walk through the tunnels of the castle!

I hope that you had better luck meeting your boyfriends later in the trip!

Is it temporary?? I thought the original plan was for it to be temp, and then move into new FL, but then that was scrapped. Especially considering Meridia is taking over Fairytale garden & Rapunzel & Flynn are getting their own area (that's right..Flyn...)

It was so cool!!

BAHAH! I'll stick to WDW for my bf's!

 

[shan23877]

Maybe the Fairies are staying put? I thought that they were re-locating again, but haven't researched them since last years trip, so I could be way off.

Flynn? I'd like to meet him too

 

[katt789]

Maybe the Fairies are staying put? I thought that they were re-locating again, but haven't researched them since last years trip, so I could be way off.

Flynn? I'd like to meet him too

Who knows?! Someone on here must?! Haha And I'm just hoping that he'll miraculously be over in the International gateway at Epcot sometime in our trip!!

 

[katt789]

With no sight of a Wolfgang Puck Express, I headed into Disney’s California Adventure! Now, here is where anyone that has complained about the walls & such up in FL in WDW has no right to complain anymore. Those walls are NOTHING compared to all the ones put up around DCA. Apparently, you can usually walk straight once you come in the entrance, but there’s a wall built all the way up to where the exit to DTD is…yup…THEN there’s all the walls that are up thanks to Cars Land construction. So, a whole lot more than WDW…at least in my comparison.

ANYWAY, as stated earlier, I was getting a little hungry, and also saw people walking around with slush like drinks, and would have killed for a GM slushie right about then…but no luck! I turned right when I eventually got into the park, in the direction of Tower of Terror. I saw some dancing going on over on a stage in that direction, and stopped for a little bit to watch!

Pretty sure the plot line was that there were 2 dance crews, who were “battling” it out, until of course, the main mouse showed up, and combined them into one, Mickey’s Dance Crew!

It was good, you could definitely tell that one of the girls was not a trained hip hop dancer, and the rest at least had some experience in that style. She wasn’t the greatest, didn’t finish her moves completely, or hit the poses properly. Just something that irks me (not that I’m a hip hop dancer, but as a dancer, I can say at least a little bit?) I realized that I was right by Monster’s Inc, and hey, it only had a 5 minute wait, so hey, why not??

I know that one’s really dark, but it’s just so you guys can at least get an attempted look at the inside of the “door room” it was illusion-ed really well to make it seem like it was the biggest room ever!

It was adorable!! So cute!! I absolutely loved the ride, it was super well done, and just awesome overall! Also, big thanks going out to the Iphone for managing to get all of those awesome pictures too! I thought it was super neat that at the end, there’s a little bit of interaction with Roz, I had my head down as I was either closing the camera app, or adding to my TR “note” on my phone, and she was all “Young lady…in the third row…are you ignoring me?” Hilarity.

 

[shan23877]

That Monsters Inc ride looks like such fun! Love the Roz interaction too, since I'm not going to DL any time soon, thanks for the pics!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I know, you and I do have a lot of trips coming up that seem to be within weeks of each other! Some of mine are tentative for sure, but I'm always hopeful, so I put them up. Haha.

I love Monsters Inc.! I think the ride is so absolutely adorable. Too too cute. I'm waiting to go to DLR until everything is done at DCA. I can't wait to see all of it.

 

[katt789]

That Monsters Inc ride looks like such fun! Love the Roz interaction too, since I'm not going to DL any time soon, thanks for the pics!

It's super cute! I loved it so much! And hey, that's what I do, I try to take as many pics as I can now that I figured out that my Iphone is good at it haha

I know, you and I do have a lot of trips coming up that seem to be within weeks of each other! Some of mine are tentative for sure, but I'm always hopeful, so I put them up. Haha.

I love Monsters Inc.! I think the ride is so absolutely adorable. Too too cute. I'm waiting to go to DLR until everything is done at DCA. I can't wait to see all of it.

Haha, only 2 of mine are booked, I'm really hoping that Sylvia & I do get to go in Nov, I'm sure we will! I'm also hoping to get down there once more this year, probably in May/June. *finders crossed*

That's definitely a good idea, there's just so much construction going on right now, it takes away from the total effect!