JimmyV
Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2008
I had to go out to Orange County on business for a series of meetings with some time off in between them. Bad weather in Chicago on Monday caused several people (including me) to get stuck overnight in Chicago, so Tuesday’s meeting was postponed until later in the week. Wednesday was to be an “off” day in any event. I got re-booked to SNA on a flight first thing Tuesday morning and arrived at John Wayne airport at 10:00. After collecting my luggage and making some business calls, I found myself at my hotel in Anaheim around noon with nothing else to do for the day. Hmmmmm. I can’t think of anything to do for the rest of the day….he said, NEVER! So I bought a park pass in my hotel lobby and walked over to Disneyland, entering the park, unexpectedly and without an agenda, at 12:30 and stayed until 11:00. Today, on my scheduled off day, I went to California Adventure as I had always intended, though by “intended”, I mean, with one week’s notice. This was to be my second visit to DCA, with the first being when the massive re-do was underway and construction walls were everywhere. Below are some observations on some differences that I observed between DL and WDW.
First, let’s talk about proximity and scale. I prefer the spacing of WDW and how each park is an entity unto itself with the magic and theming concentrated on a specific area with no “bleed over” from place to place. But…I prefer how at DL, you can walk from Space Mountain to Radiator Springs in a couple of minutes, or hop on the monorail and have a frozen concoction at Trader Sam’s in about 4 minutes, then head back to the park without missing a beat. If you find that those two sentences directly contradict one another, congratulations. That was the point. There is a lot to be said about both approaches. For people who are used to WDW and who think that they wouldn’t like the “compactness” of DLR, you might just be surprised.
Second, I am gobsmacked over how many times Disney Imagineering did not take the effort to “improve” upon the second of two “identical” attractions when versions of each were placed in the two parks. For example, PoTC appeared first in DL and then at WDW. You would think that the second one would be “better” for the simple reason that new ideas might have been realized. But no. DL’s PoTC is superior to WDW’s and by more than a little. And DL’s Haunted Mansion is better than WDW’s newer model (if only by a bit). And DL’s It’s A Small World is far superior to WDW’s, (though I can see why they did not put the queue outside in Florida). But the exterior? C’mon! And WDW’s Tower of Terror is a full 10 years older than the one at DL, yet it is way better than the newer model. The two Big Thunder Mountain Railroads were built around the same time, so we’ll call that a draw in terms of “newness”, but I like WDW’s better. Of course, it is not always the case that the original is better. For example, I prefer Soarin’ at WDW, but that has more to do with the queue. Same with TSMM. And Little Mermaid. WDW seems to make improvements when it comes to queues.
Third, please don’t tell me that the Indiana Jones ride is the “same ride as Dinosaur”. Please! Don’t insult my intelligence. The vehicles may be similar. And maybe even the track schematics are similar (or the same…I don’t know). But Indy blows Dino out of the water. It is fantastically themed with skeletons, skulls, bottomless pits of magma, and snakes…why did it have to be snakes!
Fourth, please don’t tell me that Radiator Springs Racers is the “same ride as Test Track”. The vehicles might be similar. The track mechanics might be identical. But it all stops right there. Test Track used black lighting effects that have all the charm of a dark ride fun house at your local fire department fund raiser carnival. RSR is Disney’s single greatest themed attraction in North America. Test Track takes you for a speed lap that goes through a CM parking lot. RSR is set among awesome scenery. I’m sorry. I don’t care how repetitive it might be to replicate that attraction in WDW with TT already in existence. But DO IT! If WDW can have Dumbo, TriceraTops and Magic Carpets, it can have TT and RSR.
Fifth, how could there not be a discussion of FP- vs FP+. For my day at DL, FP+ might have helped. No way to know. But by the time I entered the park at 12:30 (on a day that locals were calling a “9” in terms of crowds), the lines were long and most FP return times were well into the evening. FP+ might have allowed me to book some times for the early to mid-afternoon from the airport in Chicago while I waited to board my morning flight. Or maybe the FPs would have been all gone. Can’t tell. Either way, FP- was basically useless to me at DL. At DCA, however, FP+ would probably have hurt me a bit. Crowds were not too bad today, and I arrived at RD (on a day with morning EMH that I did not qualify for), and made a beeline for the FP machine at RSR. 3 minutes after RD, my return time was 9:35-10:35. It is sort of like what TSMM used to be like at DHS, but not quite as bad. The FP line was never an hour long. In any event, had there been FP+ in effect, there is no doubt that they would have been “sold out” of FPs before I could have gotten one since this was a last minute trip. So having FP- helped me. (Full disclosure…I used the single rider line after using my FP, and that feature shaved a 75 minute wait down to 10 minutes. So it isn’t as if I would have gotten shut out.)
Sixth, Frozen does not seem to dominate at DLR the way it does at WDW.
Seventh, table saving at QS restaurants and line cutting are alive and well at DLR.
Eighth, (and finally, at least for now)…all you WDW loyalists should be down on your knees praying, and wishing on your wishing stars that WDW brings “Paint the Night” to Florida. Best… Nighttime… Parade… Ever. It takes lighting effects to another (digital) level, while hugging close to the original concepts of the Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic, including keeping Michael Iceberg’s “Baroque Hoedown” as a backbeat. And the “Disneyland Forever” fireworks show is awesome. But don’t expect that to come east…until WDW turns 40. That’s it for now.
I am back at my off-site hotel waiting for my brother who lives in L.A. (and who used to work at WDW for 12 years) to come join me for the evening, and for the full day tomorrow. It’ll be fun to get his perspective since he is somewhat of a regular here.
First, let’s talk about proximity and scale. I prefer the spacing of WDW and how each park is an entity unto itself with the magic and theming concentrated on a specific area with no “bleed over” from place to place. But…I prefer how at DL, you can walk from Space Mountain to Radiator Springs in a couple of minutes, or hop on the monorail and have a frozen concoction at Trader Sam’s in about 4 minutes, then head back to the park without missing a beat. If you find that those two sentences directly contradict one another, congratulations. That was the point. There is a lot to be said about both approaches. For people who are used to WDW and who think that they wouldn’t like the “compactness” of DLR, you might just be surprised.
Second, I am gobsmacked over how many times Disney Imagineering did not take the effort to “improve” upon the second of two “identical” attractions when versions of each were placed in the two parks. For example, PoTC appeared first in DL and then at WDW. You would think that the second one would be “better” for the simple reason that new ideas might have been realized. But no. DL’s PoTC is superior to WDW’s and by more than a little. And DL’s Haunted Mansion is better than WDW’s newer model (if only by a bit). And DL’s It’s A Small World is far superior to WDW’s, (though I can see why they did not put the queue outside in Florida). But the exterior? C’mon! And WDW’s Tower of Terror is a full 10 years older than the one at DL, yet it is way better than the newer model. The two Big Thunder Mountain Railroads were built around the same time, so we’ll call that a draw in terms of “newness”, but I like WDW’s better. Of course, it is not always the case that the original is better. For example, I prefer Soarin’ at WDW, but that has more to do with the queue. Same with TSMM. And Little Mermaid. WDW seems to make improvements when it comes to queues.
Third, please don’t tell me that the Indiana Jones ride is the “same ride as Dinosaur”. Please! Don’t insult my intelligence. The vehicles may be similar. And maybe even the track schematics are similar (or the same…I don’t know). But Indy blows Dino out of the water. It is fantastically themed with skeletons, skulls, bottomless pits of magma, and snakes…why did it have to be snakes!
Fourth, please don’t tell me that Radiator Springs Racers is the “same ride as Test Track”. The vehicles might be similar. The track mechanics might be identical. But it all stops right there. Test Track used black lighting effects that have all the charm of a dark ride fun house at your local fire department fund raiser carnival. RSR is Disney’s single greatest themed attraction in North America. Test Track takes you for a speed lap that goes through a CM parking lot. RSR is set among awesome scenery. I’m sorry. I don’t care how repetitive it might be to replicate that attraction in WDW with TT already in existence. But DO IT! If WDW can have Dumbo, TriceraTops and Magic Carpets, it can have TT and RSR.
Fifth, how could there not be a discussion of FP- vs FP+. For my day at DL, FP+ might have helped. No way to know. But by the time I entered the park at 12:30 (on a day that locals were calling a “9” in terms of crowds), the lines were long and most FP return times were well into the evening. FP+ might have allowed me to book some times for the early to mid-afternoon from the airport in Chicago while I waited to board my morning flight. Or maybe the FPs would have been all gone. Can’t tell. Either way, FP- was basically useless to me at DL. At DCA, however, FP+ would probably have hurt me a bit. Crowds were not too bad today, and I arrived at RD (on a day with morning EMH that I did not qualify for), and made a beeline for the FP machine at RSR. 3 minutes after RD, my return time was 9:35-10:35. It is sort of like what TSMM used to be like at DHS, but not quite as bad. The FP line was never an hour long. In any event, had there been FP+ in effect, there is no doubt that they would have been “sold out” of FPs before I could have gotten one since this was a last minute trip. So having FP- helped me. (Full disclosure…I used the single rider line after using my FP, and that feature shaved a 75 minute wait down to 10 minutes. So it isn’t as if I would have gotten shut out.)
Sixth, Frozen does not seem to dominate at DLR the way it does at WDW.
Seventh, table saving at QS restaurants and line cutting are alive and well at DLR.
Eighth, (and finally, at least for now)…all you WDW loyalists should be down on your knees praying, and wishing on your wishing stars that WDW brings “Paint the Night” to Florida. Best… Nighttime… Parade… Ever. It takes lighting effects to another (digital) level, while hugging close to the original concepts of the Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic, including keeping Michael Iceberg’s “Baroque Hoedown” as a backbeat. And the “Disneyland Forever” fireworks show is awesome. But don’t expect that to come east…until WDW turns 40. That’s it for now.
I am back at my off-site hotel waiting for my brother who lives in L.A. (and who used to work at WDW for 12 years) to come join me for the evening, and for the full day tomorrow. It’ll be fun to get his perspective since he is somewhat of a regular here.
We also liked the Tiki Birds que better at DL. We could get a Dole Whip and sit on a bench inside the area waiting for the show instead of standing in line at WDW. My DD also liked the little pre-show with the tiki gods better than the one at WDW. And yes the Paint the Night parade and the Fireworks, wow. We love Wishes and MSEP but it will feel like a let down next year compared to Paint the Night. My DS also said that Fantasmic at WDW will never feel the same after seeing it at DL, that dragon was impressive.
