the Dark Marauder
<font color=red>Proud Redhead<br><font color=green
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2002
- Messages
- 6,121
Today was the DisneyLand Day. I know this is a Universal board. Hush. 
Wakeup time: 645a. I thought that DL opened at 9am, but it turns out that they opened at 10a today. This was odd to me, as in FL the parks always open at 9a. I checked Universal's hours, and they too open at 10a. *shrug*
We (me, dad, stepmom) got a little lost heading towards Anaheim. The maps we had were very poor and gave us no sense of direction. We did make it to DisneyLand just after park opening. I was amazed at how close California Adventure (DCA) was to DisneyLand. It's LITERALLY across the street. Closer than IOA is to USF.
We headed to DL first, with the intention of seeing things that aren't in FL, and seeing things that are different here in CA than in FL. One big thing about DL, everything's open-air. All the queues are uncovered. All the rides that are not in buildings are uncovered. It's a desert climate, so there are only a few rainy days per year. Unlike FL, which is a tropical swamp with numerous rainy days and often vicious thunderstorms. The park is also very compact. In FL each land is very spread out. In CA it's tight--one land is on top of another.
Since I'm tired, I'll simply list the attractions that were done and how I liked them.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
LOVED IT. I had forgotten about it and how you do go to hell in the ride. Yes, you actually die and go to hell. I loved it because it was one of my favorites in FL and it was ripped out and a Winnie the Pooh ride was put in its stead. I was so glad to be able to ride this one.
Alice in Wonderland.
There is not an Alice ride in FL. This was cute and comical. Very fun, very trippy. You could tell that *someone* was on some good drugs when this (both book ad movie) were made.
Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Fun, but too short. This is not in FL. It's decent.
It's a Small World.
Yes, I went on this, but I had Reason To. This one is faster and the countries were represented in a more combined setting.
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.
Snooze. Cute, but too slow and too boring. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was better.
Autopia.
In FL, this is still called the Tomorrowland Speedway. Autopia is better. The cars have better handling, look better, and even have an "off-road" section. Better than FL.
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies (show).
Lunch was had at The Golden Horseshoe. Billy Hill & the Hillbillies is a country show, with guitars and singing. It was actually very funny and the guys are very talented. FL needs more live entertainment like this.
Splash Mountain.
The CA version is faster and shorter. I like this version better.
Pirates of the Caribbean.
CA >>> FL. The FL one is a joke compared to CA. There's a 2nd drop, more animatronics, and just a better pirate feel.
Indiana Jones Adventure.
AWESOME. There's no Indiana Jones ride in FL and this was just worlds of fun. Very bumpy. Very fun. One of the most fun rides I did all day.
Now I will explain California Adventure (DCA). DCA is a joke. Seriously. Nearly everything there is an "off-the-shelf" kind of ride, just prettied up with paint. The whole park has a hokey feel, and not in a good way. It's also very compact. Many of the rides here can be found in FL. Some were there (FL) first.
Maliboomer.
Weak. An exact clone of Doctor Doom's Fearfall, but with much less theming (DDF is IMMERSIVE). Sure it was 30ft higher, but DDF is more intense.
Sun Wheel.
This was cool. It's a ferris wheel, but it had both swinging and stationary gondolas. I went on the swinging one, which doesn't follow the ferris wheel rotation 100%, but has its own track, in a way. Every time the ferris wheel stopped, the swinging gondolas swung, often very far. It was a weird, yet cool, experience.
California Screamin'.
AWESOME. Very fun coaster, decent length, one inversion. It needed to be a little rougher, but was very fun. Using the Single Rider Line was a smart move for this ride.
Grizzly River Run.
It's a white water rapids ride. Similar to Popeye & Bluto's in IOA and other similar round-raft rides. Very fun, very wet.
DCA closed at 6p, so we headed back to DL and watched the 7p parade, then we left the park.
Tomorrow is Universal Studios Hollywood! I can't wait!
Pics of today/
Wakeup time: 645a. I thought that DL opened at 9am, but it turns out that they opened at 10a today. This was odd to me, as in FL the parks always open at 9a. I checked Universal's hours, and they too open at 10a. *shrug*
We (me, dad, stepmom) got a little lost heading towards Anaheim. The maps we had were very poor and gave us no sense of direction. We did make it to DisneyLand just after park opening. I was amazed at how close California Adventure (DCA) was to DisneyLand. It's LITERALLY across the street. Closer than IOA is to USF.
We headed to DL first, with the intention of seeing things that aren't in FL, and seeing things that are different here in CA than in FL. One big thing about DL, everything's open-air. All the queues are uncovered. All the rides that are not in buildings are uncovered. It's a desert climate, so there are only a few rainy days per year. Unlike FL, which is a tropical swamp with numerous rainy days and often vicious thunderstorms. The park is also very compact. In FL each land is very spread out. In CA it's tight--one land is on top of another.
Since I'm tired, I'll simply list the attractions that were done and how I liked them.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
LOVED IT. I had forgotten about it and how you do go to hell in the ride. Yes, you actually die and go to hell. I loved it because it was one of my favorites in FL and it was ripped out and a Winnie the Pooh ride was put in its stead. I was so glad to be able to ride this one.
Alice in Wonderland.
There is not an Alice ride in FL. This was cute and comical. Very fun, very trippy. You could tell that *someone* was on some good drugs when this (both book ad movie) were made.
Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Fun, but too short. This is not in FL. It's decent.
It's a Small World.
Yes, I went on this, but I had Reason To. This one is faster and the countries were represented in a more combined setting.
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.
Snooze. Cute, but too slow and too boring. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was better.
Autopia.
In FL, this is still called the Tomorrowland Speedway. Autopia is better. The cars have better handling, look better, and even have an "off-road" section. Better than FL.
Billy Hill & the Hillbillies (show).
Lunch was had at The Golden Horseshoe. Billy Hill & the Hillbillies is a country show, with guitars and singing. It was actually very funny and the guys are very talented. FL needs more live entertainment like this.
Splash Mountain.
The CA version is faster and shorter. I like this version better.
Pirates of the Caribbean.
CA >>> FL. The FL one is a joke compared to CA. There's a 2nd drop, more animatronics, and just a better pirate feel.
Indiana Jones Adventure.
AWESOME. There's no Indiana Jones ride in FL and this was just worlds of fun. Very bumpy. Very fun. One of the most fun rides I did all day.
Now I will explain California Adventure (DCA). DCA is a joke. Seriously. Nearly everything there is an "off-the-shelf" kind of ride, just prettied up with paint. The whole park has a hokey feel, and not in a good way. It's also very compact. Many of the rides here can be found in FL. Some were there (FL) first.
Maliboomer.
Weak. An exact clone of Doctor Doom's Fearfall, but with much less theming (DDF is IMMERSIVE). Sure it was 30ft higher, but DDF is more intense.
Sun Wheel.
This was cool. It's a ferris wheel, but it had both swinging and stationary gondolas. I went on the swinging one, which doesn't follow the ferris wheel rotation 100%, but has its own track, in a way. Every time the ferris wheel stopped, the swinging gondolas swung, often very far. It was a weird, yet cool, experience.
California Screamin'.
AWESOME. Very fun coaster, decent length, one inversion. It needed to be a little rougher, but was very fun. Using the Single Rider Line was a smart move for this ride.
Grizzly River Run.
It's a white water rapids ride. Similar to Popeye & Bluto's in IOA and other similar round-raft rides. Very fun, very wet.
DCA closed at 6p, so we headed back to DL and watched the 7p parade, then we left the park.
Tomorrow is Universal Studios Hollywood! I can't wait!
Pics of today/
...there was actually room to still get a good view!
