DVC Mike Live from Disneyland (5/17-5/22/09)

[5forDiz]

WOW DVC Mike !!! 4.7 quake would be more than enough to rattle my nerves

I'm guessing your take may have been more like 'oh that little thing' ?

Enjoying your TR as always & photos - great view from your room

Looking forward to future updates, hopefully any further thrills/chills/excitement during your trip will be provided strictly by Disney & not Mother Earth !!

Hope your wife is feeling better too
best wishes,
Laura, Joe & kids

 

[stopher1]

I caught the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks last night. I've never seen it before. It was interesting how they incorporated music and spoken words from many attractions and some interesting affects I've not seen at WDW. Definitely worth it.

That really is an amazing fireworks show. The best one ever, IMO. I'm sad that it will be replaced this summer since I can't see it live again before it's gone, but I have it on video, and the individual soundtrack released on the 50th anniversary CD helps bring back the fun memories. Glad you got to experience it Mike.

I was standing in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle at 8:39 pm PT when I felt the 4.7 earthquake that hit. The whole ground wobbled like a big truck was driving over a bridge you are standing on. I've not felt one since I moved away from California, so it brought back memories! Oh well, I guess I'm back home.

Ahh the memories! I can handle an earthquake so much better than a tornado. Living here in the midwest now, I still freak out about tornados...but earthquakes, ahh Southern California. My local friends say I'm strange, but growing up in So Cal, they were just such a part of life!

 

[helenk]

I caught the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks last night. I've never seen it before. It was interesting how they incorporated music and spoken words from many attractions and some interesting affects I've not seen at WDW. Definitely worth it.

I absolutely loved those fireworks. I really liked how Tinkerbell flew around too.

 

[Disney Princess]

Mike -

Thanks for doing another TR. We leave in 6 days for DL and are SOOOO excited! Your pictures and report will hold me over until Sunday. Thanks for sharing it with us. Have fun!

 

[momoflizandains]

I can't wait to hear more. I'm looking forward to more photos.

 

[abeyst]

It brings tears to my eyes seeing all the pics, I want to go back sooo bad! After 10+ trips to WDW, I had my first trip to DL in January of this year - and I absolutely LOVED IT! Loved it so much I bought an annual pass!

Everything is so similar to WDW yet different. It's on a smaller scale than WDW. There's beautiful landscaping, the walkways twist and turn and you can get lost (sounds funny, I know, but you can!) I loved the differences in the rides that are the same as WDW, and I liked all the rides they have that are different than WDW.

Seeing the light above the fire house in Walt's apartment brought tears to my eyes. There's a definite feeling being in DL that you don't get in WDW.

I liked the close proximity of everything, and being able to walk everywhere. It was a great surprise, as I was expecting a little more of a walk. I liked that my feet weren't tired every night like in WDW. And I also loved the fireworks! I thought they were better than any show at Magic Kingdom. I'm sorry you missed Fantasmic. It was great being so close to the show, sitting on the river. And the boat - oh my gosh! Since you own there now I'm sure you'll see it soon. I didn't get to see the parades when I was there. They were working on Main Street (that's why we got to see Fantasmic and Fireworks each night).

Storybookland was my top favorite ride. I also liked Indiana Jones. Space Mountain about gave me a migraine, lol! And DCA had some great tours of how they make sourdough bread and corn tortillas. They also have a building you can walk through that shows how they came up with the ideas for some of the rides like Toy Story Mania, and they also show the new rides and water shows they're developing for future years. It was very interesting!

Have a terrific time! I can't wait to hear more about your trip and your opinions (and pictures) of everything!

 

[DVC Mike]

I walked over to Disneyland Park early this morning and was lucky to get right up to the rope at the end of Main Street. When the rope dropped, I headed straight for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. I was the 4th person in line and got right on the first sub.

I haven’t been on this since I was on the old submarine voyage when I was a kid. All I can say is “great job!” The imagineers took the technology they developed for the Seas with Nemo at Epcot, combined it with the submarine ride and added a great story. It really beats the clamshell ride at Epcot. Highly recommended.

I then headed straight to the Matterhorn, and since there was only a 5 min wait, I rode it twice (once on each side). I then went to Space Mountain and rode it after a short wait.

I headed over to the Indiana Jones Adventure, but it was still closed since the earthquake last night. So I headed over and rode Big Thunder Mountain followed by Splash Mountain.

I walked around a bit until my lunch reservation at Blue Bayou. I got seated at a table right against the water, so it was relaxing watching the boats drift by and listening to the banjo music. I had the Monte Cristo sandwich, which was not spectacular but fine. I’m glad I had priority seating as they were booked up the entire day.

I then grabbed a Fastpass for Indiana Jones, since it had re-opened, and listened to some different wisecracks and jokes on the Jungle Cruise before buying a Dole Whip and sitting in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

I then did Indy and finally walked back to the room since the crowds were picking up.

All in all, a very nice day so far! The weather is great too.

Enough of me blathering, I’ll post some pictures…

 

[DVC Mike]

Entrance to Disneyland:

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Main Street:

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[DVC Mike]

Sleeping Beauty Castle

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[DVC Mike]

Finding Nemo

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[DVC Mike]

Matterhorn

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[DVC Mike]

Space Mountain

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View from Space Mountain

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[DVC Mike]

Mark Twain

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Tom Sawyer / Pirate's Lair

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[DVC Mike]

Big Thunder Mountain

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Splash Mountain

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[DVC Mike]

Fantasyland

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[DVC Mike]

Haunted Mansion

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[DVC Mike]

New Orleans

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Club 33 entrance (I ate dinner here once)

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[DVC Mike]

Small World

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[DVC Mike]

Toontown

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[DVC Mike]

The World of Disney (with GCH rooms on top)

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DCA Entrance (for another day...)

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