toothboy2k1
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 24, 2005
- Messages
- 30
Warning, the following is filled with experiences tinged by opinionated hindsight, so I can no longer vouch for the complete accuracy of the following (given the human condition to fill in various lapses with exaggeration). But I can promise it will be short, with only high- and lowlights. Starring with:
Weather. Mid October, and there is no frost on the hundreds of artificial pumpkins, only heat and bright sunshine. I am urging Disney to solve global warming. Why Disney when there are thousands of scientists tackling this problem right now, as Al Gore leads them all like the Pied Piper of Inevitable Doom? Because Disney is capable of miracles, as convincing people to wait up to three hours for a rather pedestrian attraction (and for those who have waited three hours for Finding Nemo, come on, admit it -- no way was that worth three hours of your life).
Finding Nemo. You may think the previous mention was a criticism of the ride. But no, it was criticism of the parents who force their young children to take three hours out of the Disney day to wait for one ride. Or, more likely, assigning someone as a placeholder while others go and play, cellphones and radios on when the call comes to return. And of course, as the many people return to line as the group nears the front, those behind them fume because they played much more closely to the rules in that most of their party sweated it out from the very start. To them, a fine Disney salute and a suggestion: how about the observation deck? Having experienced both, the observation deck (smalish room with two benches facing large high-def TV) is a decent approximation. You get all the sights and sounds without rubbing body parts with the person next to you. You do miss some of the depth and wow factor, but given the likelihood you will save about 2 hours and 45 minutes, the observation deck isn't too bad. Just inform the cast member at the entrance to the attraction. Say you're claustrophobic or something (though the cast member will likely know you are suffering from a severe allergy to three-hour waits). He will escort you to the deck. Enjoy.
Halloween. Short version: Excellent decorations. Long version: Excellent decorations, seriously.
Being stuck in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. You know that spot where the car goes around the fountain and into the courtroom, right before the train? Our car halted right there. A disembodied voice informed us that the wild ride was now Mr. Toad's Broken Ride, and to please wait for a cast member to escort you out. And then the lights came on. Bright fluorescent lights that illuminated every corner. Suddenly this ride cherished since childhood showed its true colors. And they were rather pale, chipped and fading. The cast member led us through the train tunnel and into, you know, down there. The netherworld. Which instead of being populated by charming, prancing demons was now even more frightening: crude plaster walls with a cheap, almost laughable look. But rather than spoiling the ride, it was a fun insight on how well Disney manipulates the environment to see only what it wants you to see. Too bad Disney does not offer a behind-the-scenes tour of such dark rides.
Happy Haunts Tour. This cost us $59 per person and we were expecting the same kind of park insights provided by, say, the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. Happy Haunts is only offered in October and by the description, guides would lead us through California Adventure and Disneyland talking about the decorations and legends. Hmm, well, no, not quite, we would find. The tour consisted of rides on Tower of Terror, Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion. In between the guide told stories of mythical beasts and beings going back to medieval Disney times (essentially retelling a few cartoon classics). No cool insider info, and very little about the decorations. However, the guides were wonderful and we each received this very cool green-lit lanyard with a Tower of Terror key (as we wore these into the night, many people wondered where we got them; though they all agreed $59 was a bit steep).
FastPasses: Our strategy of stockpiling FastPasses in the morning (go on ride, get FastPass, which normally would be good in an hour or so, go on another ride, get that FastPass, etc.) worked like a charm. At night, when things were busy, we were using FastPass for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and more. Cast members won't let you in FastPass before the printed time, but once the time has come or even long gone, you are welcome to board via the FastPass line. No matter that our tickets were more than 10 hours old.
Blue Bayou: Been to Disneyland nearly 100 times, and had never eaten at this restaurant at the bend of the Pirates of the Caribbean river. While on the ride earlier that day, two people were talking about the Bayou. Him: "Ever eaten there?" Her: "No, have you?" "Yeah. Pretty awful. But you have to eat there once, just for the atmo." After eating there we would agree, except we would use the word "atmosphere" in its whole version, because we are not cool enough to say "atmo." (our cool days were when disco was hot, and no, I am not embarrassed by that, though my son is). Both ordered the prime rib, both small slices were overcooked, and I nearly broke a tooth on my first bite (in fact I thought I had, but as I fished around my mouth inspecting possible damage, I found the two small chunks of bone responsible). We would have complained but, other than the woman who dropped a couple of cold rolls on our table (why so stingy with the bread?), our server disappeared from the moment he took our order to asking if we were ready for the bill. He issued a perfunctory, "Was everything OK?" and I said, very nicely, no, that in fact the meat had been overcooked and I nearly broke a tooth on a bone. He offered to bring us two more dishes, but, uh, can you see were pretty much finished? Nothing was taken off the bill (no way was the prime rib worth $33), but he did throw in five chocolate doubloons. Had we ordered the doubloons, it would have cost us, I think, $5 or $10. Disney even gets you on the after-dinner mints.
Overall: Very crowded, very hot, excellent time. Stayed off property for first time in years and had no regrets. We were at Carousel Inn at entrance, and it was a 15-minute walk to the parks. Note to Disney: One day people are going to realize that, for the most part, the Disneyland Hotel is a glorified (and vastly overpriced) Best Western, only with Mickey Mouse everywhere. Time to sprinkle a little magic in those aging lodgings.
Thanks to those who have read this far, and have a Disney day.
Weather. Mid October, and there is no frost on the hundreds of artificial pumpkins, only heat and bright sunshine. I am urging Disney to solve global warming. Why Disney when there are thousands of scientists tackling this problem right now, as Al Gore leads them all like the Pied Piper of Inevitable Doom? Because Disney is capable of miracles, as convincing people to wait up to three hours for a rather pedestrian attraction (and for those who have waited three hours for Finding Nemo, come on, admit it -- no way was that worth three hours of your life).
Finding Nemo. You may think the previous mention was a criticism of the ride. But no, it was criticism of the parents who force their young children to take three hours out of the Disney day to wait for one ride. Or, more likely, assigning someone as a placeholder while others go and play, cellphones and radios on when the call comes to return. And of course, as the many people return to line as the group nears the front, those behind them fume because they played much more closely to the rules in that most of their party sweated it out from the very start. To them, a fine Disney salute and a suggestion: how about the observation deck? Having experienced both, the observation deck (smalish room with two benches facing large high-def TV) is a decent approximation. You get all the sights and sounds without rubbing body parts with the person next to you. You do miss some of the depth and wow factor, but given the likelihood you will save about 2 hours and 45 minutes, the observation deck isn't too bad. Just inform the cast member at the entrance to the attraction. Say you're claustrophobic or something (though the cast member will likely know you are suffering from a severe allergy to three-hour waits). He will escort you to the deck. Enjoy.
Halloween. Short version: Excellent decorations. Long version: Excellent decorations, seriously.
Being stuck in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. You know that spot where the car goes around the fountain and into the courtroom, right before the train? Our car halted right there. A disembodied voice informed us that the wild ride was now Mr. Toad's Broken Ride, and to please wait for a cast member to escort you out. And then the lights came on. Bright fluorescent lights that illuminated every corner. Suddenly this ride cherished since childhood showed its true colors. And they were rather pale, chipped and fading. The cast member led us through the train tunnel and into, you know, down there. The netherworld. Which instead of being populated by charming, prancing demons was now even more frightening: crude plaster walls with a cheap, almost laughable look. But rather than spoiling the ride, it was a fun insight on how well Disney manipulates the environment to see only what it wants you to see. Too bad Disney does not offer a behind-the-scenes tour of such dark rides.
Happy Haunts Tour. This cost us $59 per person and we were expecting the same kind of park insights provided by, say, the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. Happy Haunts is only offered in October and by the description, guides would lead us through California Adventure and Disneyland talking about the decorations and legends. Hmm, well, no, not quite, we would find. The tour consisted of rides on Tower of Terror, Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion. In between the guide told stories of mythical beasts and beings going back to medieval Disney times (essentially retelling a few cartoon classics). No cool insider info, and very little about the decorations. However, the guides were wonderful and we each received this very cool green-lit lanyard with a Tower of Terror key (as we wore these into the night, many people wondered where we got them; though they all agreed $59 was a bit steep).
FastPasses: Our strategy of stockpiling FastPasses in the morning (go on ride, get FastPass, which normally would be good in an hour or so, go on another ride, get that FastPass, etc.) worked like a charm. At night, when things were busy, we were using FastPass for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and more. Cast members won't let you in FastPass before the printed time, but once the time has come or even long gone, you are welcome to board via the FastPass line. No matter that our tickets were more than 10 hours old.
Blue Bayou: Been to Disneyland nearly 100 times, and had never eaten at this restaurant at the bend of the Pirates of the Caribbean river. While on the ride earlier that day, two people were talking about the Bayou. Him: "Ever eaten there?" Her: "No, have you?" "Yeah. Pretty awful. But you have to eat there once, just for the atmo." After eating there we would agree, except we would use the word "atmosphere" in its whole version, because we are not cool enough to say "atmo." (our cool days were when disco was hot, and no, I am not embarrassed by that, though my son is). Both ordered the prime rib, both small slices were overcooked, and I nearly broke a tooth on my first bite (in fact I thought I had, but as I fished around my mouth inspecting possible damage, I found the two small chunks of bone responsible). We would have complained but, other than the woman who dropped a couple of cold rolls on our table (why so stingy with the bread?), our server disappeared from the moment he took our order to asking if we were ready for the bill. He issued a perfunctory, "Was everything OK?" and I said, very nicely, no, that in fact the meat had been overcooked and I nearly broke a tooth on a bone. He offered to bring us two more dishes, but, uh, can you see were pretty much finished? Nothing was taken off the bill (no way was the prime rib worth $33), but he did throw in five chocolate doubloons. Had we ordered the doubloons, it would have cost us, I think, $5 or $10. Disney even gets you on the after-dinner mints.
Overall: Very crowded, very hot, excellent time. Stayed off property for first time in years and had no regrets. We were at Carousel Inn at entrance, and it was a 15-minute walk to the parks. Note to Disney: One day people are going to realize that, for the most part, the Disneyland Hotel is a glorified (and vastly overpriced) Best Western, only with Mickey Mouse everywhere. Time to sprinkle a little magic in those aging lodgings.
Thanks to those who have read this far, and have a Disney day.
