Firsts, Fourths, and Farewells (4/28 Back to the Future!)

[thecapells]

I've been following along and not posting. It's really hard sometimes with a 5 year old, 3 year old and 17 month old to keep up on these trip reports. That's great that X was finally able to join you guys on the 40" rides on your November trip!! We're just waiting for our DD to reach that height. Our 5 year old DS has been riding them for the last two years and we can't keep him off of them now.

I wanted to comment on Soarin' in Disneyland. You can tell that the film (I don't know if it is digital or not) needs to be remastered or something. There are parts of the film that have spots while your flying over our lovely state (yes I do live in California, about 40 mins from San Francisco on a great no traffic day). I did ride Soarin' in WDW on our last trip in 2009 but I don't rememeber all the details of what's wrong with the one in WDW. I guess I need to talk the DH into another trip back east just to compare the two!!

Too bad - I had heard that Disneyland's version was kept up much better and I was looking forward to seeing it once we finally get out there.

 

[ladylyons]

I'm gratified to hear that there are several other people on here who also had issues with the quality of the print. I had nothing but grief from Mike and Stacey when I gave them my review of the ride after my first time on it.

But that wasn't my only issue. Not only were there spots on the film, there were noticeable tears in the screen, plus the apparently normal lines on the screen (where pieces of it are meshed together?) also drove me nuts. We were in the middle "row" of "cars", so I had feet dangling above me. (While Mike is entertained by that, I find that horrible - it pulls me totally out of the intended illusion. ) I didn't even smell the oranges when soaring over the grove.

To say the least, there couldn't have been a much worse first impression for a much-hyped attraction, IMO. Shame, I was very much looking forward to this after everything all of them plus my parents had said about it. As will be discovered later, though, it all works out for the best, anyway.

I will say I do enjoy this ride but it also isn't my favorite. Give me a thrill ride any day!! But alas it is one of my DS favorite rides and right now our trips are all about the kids and what they like to do.

I don't remember any tears in the screen at Calif Adventure but I will double check when we go back in just 15 short days. I agree about being in anything other than the top row. I really HATE to see the dangling feet so I've been known to ask to wait for the top row and have never been denied. Other times I just take whatever we can get due to the fact that the DH is normally waiting with the other two kids.

Every time I've riden I've always been able to smell the oranges, the ocean and even the dust in the scene over the dessert. So I guess we have that going for us in that still works on a regular basis. Sounds like it does work out later though in your favor!! Can't wait to read more about it.

 

[thecapells]

I will say I do enjoy this ride but it also isn't my favorite. Give me a thrill ride any day!! But alas it is one of my DS favorite rides and right now our trips are all about the kids and what they like to do.

I don't remember any tears in the screen at Calif Adventure but I will double check when we go back in just 15 short days. I agree about being in anything other than the top row. I really HATE to see the dangling feet so I've been known to ask to wait for the top row and have never been denied. Other times I just take whatever we can get due to the fact that the DH is normally waiting with the other two kids.

Every time I've riden I've always been able to smell the oranges, the ocean and even the dust in the scene over the dessert. So I guess we have that going for us in that still works on a regular basis. Sounds like it does work out later though in your favor!! Can't wait to read more about it.

Definitely let us know what DCA's version looks like these days.
I heard they cleaned it up and that it's much nicer than Epcot's but since I've never been, I can't confirm.

 

[ladylyons]

Definitely let us know what DCA's version looks like these days.
I heard they cleaned it up and that it's much nicer than Epcot's but since I've never been, I can't confirm.

Will do!!

 

[thecapells]

We met up with Mom, X, and J and then headed across the park to FutureWorld East.
Turns out, Mom tried to use our AP’s for fastpasses forgetting that our tickets were on our room key.
A CM ended up giving her a Fastpass Key for the day to use instead of the tickets. Which means extra fastpasses throughout the day!!!
So, Mom’s assignment was to grab fastpasses for Test Track with the new Fastpass Keys.
J and I took the kids and headed towards Mission:Space for fastpasses using our KTTW cards (our Soarin’ window had just opened).
On the way, we did some sightseeing of course.

While I secured Mission:Space passes with our KTTW cards, Mom couldn’t use her special Fastpass Keys since she her Soarin’ window had not yet opened.
Oops.

It was about 9:30 by now so it was time for us to head into the World Showcase for breakfast.
On our way, we passed the new establishments in Mexico.
La Cantina de San Angel and La Hacienda de San Angel.
We had heard good things about these and looked forward to visiting them later on.

On the other side of the walkway was the ancient Aztec pyramid that houses the Mexico Pavillion.
I love getting shots of this while its empty.
Donald Duck’s new Mexican Meet and Greet was deserted too.
Have a look!

And then it was off to Norway.
While I checked in to the Castle Akershush, the boys checked out the Viking ships coming mighty close to the waterfall.

After we checked in, we had some time to explore the pavilion.
From the Royal Proclamation to the waterfront village, the Norway Pavilion is a quaint area and one of my favorites in World Showcase.

Well, quaint except for a ride on the mighty Maelstrom!
I was having fun with the camera and got a little artistic with this shot.
It’s one of my favorites.
What do you guys think?

Then we gathered near the Castle walls to wait for our royal table.

It just so happened that a colleague from work was also heading to Disney during the same time frame.
We had plans to meet them for lunch later this afternoon – turns out they had breakfast ADR’s in Norway as well.
So I snapped our two princesses patiently waiting outside their castle together.

Then X got jealous and jumped right on in!

While we waited, our Fastpass window opened so we sent J to grab those Test Track passes we missed out earlier.

 

[MEK]

Such cute princesses and one little prince.

I love pictures of an empty world showcase!

I am confused about the FP's. You said you had AP's, but also tickets on your KTTW? Yeah for getting that special FP! Very cool!

 

[dawnbu40]

I love the pictures of Norway. That area is so pretty


The pics of the princesses are darling! How fun to meet up with friends from home at Disney

 

[thecapells]

Such cute princesses and one little prince.

I love pictures of an empty world showcase!

I am confused about the FP's. You said you had AP's, but also tickets on your KTTW? Yeah for getting that special FP! Very cool!

That's the problem.
We had AP's and our entrance tickets were on the AP's.
However, Mom was on autopilot (since she's never had an AP before) and just assumed our tickets were on our KTTW cards which is why they didn't work.
When it didn't work, she asked the CM what the issue was, and the CM said sometimes the cards don't work and you need to have Guest Services fix it.
For the meantime, the CM gave her a special FastPass Keycard to use to get fastpasses for the rest of the day.
But the KTTW wasn't SUPPOSED to work since our tickets were on our AP's.

The end result was that we now had our AP's plus these new FastPass Keycards to use for the rest of the day.
Kinda of a cool bonus for Mom totally forgetting about our AP's.

I love the pictures of Norway. That area is so pretty


The pics of the princesses are darling! How fun to meet up with friends from home at Disney

The princesses had a great time getting to see each other for breakfast.
And we'd see our friends again later so they looked forward to sharing their day's adventures then!

 

[thecapells]

Finally our name was called and we headed to the entrance of the Castle.
The inside is decorated beautifully and with such detail.
Once again, I’ll let my camera do the talking…

Then we were greeted by the Princess Belle in her golden ballgown.

And after a little clip art magic, I was able to preserve the moment…

As did our friendly Photopass photographer…

When J arrived shortly after, we went back and got another picture with him in it!

Soon after we were seated, the princesses gathered for a Princess Parade.
DD grabbed her friend’s hand and off they went.
Even the boys participated!

Each princess led a group of children.
From Jasmine...

to Cinderella…

 

[thecapells]

After the parade we dove into our breakfast.
Besides the scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and potatoes served family style, Akershus also has a cold buffet.
Highlighted by bagels and lox, there are also croissants, fruit, pastries, and other assorted yummies.
We made a 9:40 ADR here and took our time enjoying our meal.
And don’t forget visits from the princesses!
First up was Cinderella!
We don’t usually see her here as she has her own castle so this was a rare treat!

Jasmine followed close behind.

And then DD’s favorite – the mermaid-turned-human Ariel herself.
With the Grotto being turned into the new Fantasyland Forest, we hoped Ariel would be here so DD could get some pics with her.

Last but not least was Snow White.
Pale yet pretty, she was the spitting image of the original Disney princess.
Probably the best Snow White I’ve seen at the parks.
And we even had Grumpy waiting for her!

We love Akershus.
We usually sit back and relax and take in the atmosphere with some great food and visits by the princesses.
The ambiance it great and the light shines through the castle windows making a great locale.
And if you book around 9:30 or so, you can take your time and not miss anything since World Showcase does not open until 11:00 anyway.
So about 10:55 we got ready to go and DD even made her own Hidden Mickey!

And then the kids love to take pics in the chair in the lobby.
It’s actually a prop from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
It is one of the chairs that the Pirate Lords use during their secret meeting.
And our “pirates” have to try it out every time we dine here!

And then is was time to open the World Showcase.
Any guesses where our first stop will be?

 

[MEK]

It just occurred to me.....Do you think they put Jasmine in the mix of princesses because she holds the attention of all the grown-up males. Instead of thinking, "Oh brother not another overpriced character meal", the men think "Jasmine is so Hot!"

Your daughter is adorable giving Ariel the biggest hug ever! Great pictures as always. I hope everyone enjoyed their meal.

First stop - I'm going with Maelstrom!

 

[Curoly06]

Thanks for another great update! Akershus seems like a fun place! We were thinking of taking my niece there in September. We're trying to decide between Cinderella's Royal Table, Crystal Palace, and Akershus. She loves the princesses, but she loves Pooh & friends too...tough decision!

 

[thecapells]

It just occurred to me.....Do you think they put Jasmine in the mix of princesses because she holds the attention of all the grown-up males. Instead of thinking, "Oh brother not another overpriced character meal", the men think "Jasmine is so Hot!"

Your daughter is adorable giving Ariel the biggest hug ever! Great pictures as always. I hope everyone enjoyed their meal.

First stop - I'm going with Maelstrom!

I have heard of Dads that love to take their daughters to see certain princesses so you may not be far off.

As for our next stop, we are indeed headed to learn more about the "Spirit of Norway"!

Thanks for another great update! Akershus seems like a fun place! We were thinking of taking my niece there in September. We're trying to decide between Cinderella's Royal Table, Crystal Palace, and Akershus. She loves the princesses, but she loves Pooh & friends too...tough decision!

We love Pooh Bear but there's something about those princesses for the little girls.
And Akershus is a much cheaper way to see the princesses and with much better food.
But if she's never done the Castle before, it is, after all, the castle. And that fact alone is enough for most little girls.
I'd recommend an early morning Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appt followed by breakfast/brunch at the castle.
I've never seen my little one glow so much the morning we did that several years ago (and pics are in my earlier trip reports).

 

[dawnbu40]

Castle dining is always fun! The pictures are all adorable but I love the hugs ones! I also love mom's shirt

 

[thecapells]

Castle dining is always fun! The pictures are all adorable but I love the hugs ones! I also love mom's shirt

Mom was pretty proud of her shirt for the Castle.
And welcome home! Hope you guys had a blast!

 

[thecapells]

We finished up at Akershus around 11 – right in time for the opening of World Showcase.
Which meant that Norway’s own attraction – Maelstrom – was now open.
So we headed over there for a walk-on to experience the Spirit of Adventure!
In the loading area is one of my favorite Hidden Mickeys.
Take a look at this pic – doesn’t one of the Vikings look a bit less scary than the others?

The other reason I love this attraction is that we all get to climb aboard – no height restrictions!

It’s a quaint little ride through a time of Vikings and Trolls and Polar Bears (oh my!)
We rather abruptly end up back in the present with oil rigs though.
And then finish off with a nice little Norwegian fishing village.
We stopped a moment and wandered the village.
I love the details here.
And if you take a seat on the bench near the windows of the house, you can hear some women discussing the day’s events in Norwegian.
The doors opened and we headed through the movie (yes, we always skip it) and out the other side.
You end up in a gift shop, of course, so we could start our World Showcase goal for this trip – Hats Around the World.
However, after riding Maelstrom, we were in a Viking sort of mood so we did a bit more than hats…

Next stop was the Stave Church.
I love heading in here for a little bit.
For those who haven’t bothered, it’s a nice little museum with Viking lore and some ancient items.
Here is a model of the ship that used to appear as a play area for the kids.

And here’s the remants of the ship.
Now part of the Norway Kim Possible mission.

And with that, our trek through Scandanavia had come to a close.
It was time to board the Orient Express for our next adventure!
Come along!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

We always take pictures with hats on in front of the troll. Great picture.

 

[MEK]

I love the picture with the hats and the shields. So matchy, matchy!

Perhaps I should take another look in the church. I've only been in there once and I remember nada!

 

[thecapells]

We always take pictures with hats on in front of the troll. Great picture.

It's definitely a fun photo op - especially if you get into character!
Everyone was scrambling all over the tour for the "right" accessories!!

I love the picture with the hats and the shields. So matchy, matchy!

Perhaps I should take another look in the church. I've only been in there once and I remember nada!

We definitely had alot of fun with that one.
And the Stave Church is really kinda neat.
I have more pictures of it in prior trip reports so I didn't repeat myself this time around.
But X enjoyed checking out the Vikings and their ship.

 

[ladylyons]

Definitely let us know what DCA's version looks like these days.
I heard they cleaned it up and that it's much nicer than Epcot's but since I've never been, I can't confirm.

We are back from another awesome trip to Disneyland!!! We did get to ride Soarin' and I'm proud to say that it sounds like ours is in much better repair than Epcot's. There were no tears in the screen and a couple little lines in the video. I think the only reason why I saw them is cuz I was looking for anything off during the ride. We were in the very front/top row so I don't think if I was looking down (way down since it was near the bottom of where I could see) I probably wouldn't have seen them. Overall my DS and I once again really enjoyed it. He wanted to do it again but unfortunatly we never made it back over there to do it. Oh well there's always next time!!