- Joined
- Jan 7, 2005
- Messages
- 692
As AP holders, our family hasn't had the same pull to visit Disneyland during the peak summer months that, if what I've been reading on these boards and elsewhere on the internet is true, apparently the rest of the country and, indeed, world has experienced. While we have visited the much less crowded DCA a couple of times over the summer, Saturday was the first time we braved the crowds at DL since May. Based upon our experiences that day, I'd like to challenge a few myths:
Myth #1: Arrive early. Since DW wanted the whole "fireworks in the hub" experience (see next myth), we decided to get to park around 4:30 and stay until late. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, with only two lanes open, one with no wait, and then were directed to the Donald, not rooftop, level, we began to get excited that maybe the crowds have indeed started thinning out. We were both shocked that there was no wait in the first stroller car of the tram, I think a first for actually getting to the park. Once we got in, with again no line for security and relatively short lines to get into the park, it continued to feel as if it were later in the year, if not in temperature (which at approaching 100 degrees, may have been a contributing factor to people staying away). The other must-do on DW's list was SM, and after reading several articles on how FPs disappeared by noon, I had already told her that SM wouldn't work for us that night. Imagine my shock, then, when even after a snack break, FPs for SM were still available and for 10-11, perfect timing for going after the fireworks and a way to avoid the post-fireworks park exodus. By the time the parade ended, however, the crowds were noticeable; still, you really don't need to get in the park in the morning to enjoy the day, if my experiences on Saturday were any indication.
Myth #2: See the fireworks in the hub. This myth is actually partially true. First, let me back-up. During one of our DCA outings, we fortuitously returned to our rooftop parking spot just in time for the fireworks. It seemed to be the perfect spot to see them, since they provided a great vantage point for both viewing (in fact, many people chose that spot for taking videos) and exiting quickly afterwards, beating the crowds. You do miss, of course, the audio and other effects (Tinkerbell, etc.), that only the hub and, to a lesser extent, other park viewers get to enjoy, so DW was determined to get the full hub experience. DS, who is only one, made the wise decision to fall asleep during the brief stroller ride from Rancho del Zocalo to the hub, and we parked ourselves at the closest available spot to the castle, which turned out to be directly in front of the entrance/exit to the Carnation Garden Stage. We got there around 8:30, and while I thought I had experienced Disney crowding before, I received an uninvited education into what Disney crowding really is. For those of you who haven't yet experienced the phenomenon of seeing the fireworks in the hub, next time you are in the park, stop in the hub area and try to picture what it would feel like if every available--and I mean every available--space was filled with wall-to-wall bodies. People kept trying to walk by us and had to be told by numerous people that there was literally no room to move, much less walk; you couldn't even scratch your back without hitting the person behind you. This kind of arrangement tends to bring out the worst in people; we witnessed one rather unpleasant encounter between a mother and her three children trying to push her way through the crowd. When someone told her there was no room to pass, she shouted, "F*!& you!" and continued to plow right on through. The woman to whom she insulted called back after her, "And your as* isn't exactly small!," which she certainly deserved but nonetheless, it was not a family-friendly encounter. At the risk of being sexist, if it had been two men involved, the outcome probably would have been worse. Finally, the fireworks started, and some breathing room was created by people standing up. However, those of us in our nook let out a collective moan of disbelief when we all discovered that from our vantage point, the trees at our location blocked at least 80% of the fireworks, all of what he had (luckily) already seen from the parking lot roof. We did get treated to what we had missed from that previous location, namely the music and all the elaborate visual effects and fireworks which were launched from the other park locations, which served mainly as punchlines of sorts to the overall Remember display. So in summary, if you must see the fireworks in the hub, and you don't mind the proverbial "sardine can" experience for an hour, then by all means do it--but not from outside the Carnation Garden Stage area. Make sure you are either in the center or right (Tomorrowland) section of the hub.
Myth #3: All food in Disneyland is bad. I don't know if this is a new myth, started by ZZub in his hilarious report The Battle for My Wallet: Disneyland Boogaloo, but I definitely sympathized with it. With the exception of one time when there must have been a visiting chef at Blue Bayou, I have always found the food even there disappointing at best and inedible at worst (though of course the ambiance can't be beat). I was pretty shocked, then, to have had an excellent dinner on Saturday at Rancho del Zocalo. It was extremely hot, and I had a craving for a nice, cool salad, and their Mexican caesar (I suppose a redundancy to food purists) really delivered. The dressing was tasty, and the roast pumpkin seeds gave it a nice flavor. There were also tropical fruit plates in that same station that proved to be a great meal for DS and dessert for me (we all shared two). The fruit was ripe and varied. And while those with extreme scruples may look down on me for reporting this, so be it: It's the one Disney restaurant I've seen where soda refills have the appearance of being complimentary. Enough said. We also tried our first turkey leg, as a snack, and were also surprised by how tasty it was. I normally don't like dark meat, but the drumstick was moist and tender. My only complaint was that it was also salty, and the last thing I needed on such a hot day was to be even thirstier, but given the relatively few choices for healthy snacks from food carts, this is a great option.
While I'm on the topic, I would also like to dispute one other myth: that you are going to spend at least half an hour waiting to be served at restaurants and food carts, and once you get to the counter, you will find that the CMs don't seem to know what they are doing. Several web sites (miceage, mouseplanet) have explained the reasons for the long delays many people have described encountering. While many of the CMs we noticed were of the class of 2005, we did not encounter any of these long lines. In general, we only found two or three people ahead of us in line when there were any at all, and my longest wait (to buy the drumstick) certainly took less than five minutes.
Let me conclude by commenting briefly on the parade, a thread I labeled on the miceage message board (where there were lots of interesting comments from those in the know) as the incredibly shrinking parade of dreams. Again, much as been written about how elaborate the floats are and that they were designed by the people responsible for many of the Rose Parade floats. Like many of the Rose Parade floats, though, these also have a prediliction for breaking down. While I have seen PoD twice, I have yet to see many of the dramatic effects, such as Ariel's clam shell rising. On Saturday night, the final two floats, Lion King and the finale, were missing, along with the characters normally assigned to them, with the exception of Mickey and Minnie, who led off the parade. So this is one parade that you might need to see many times over a long period of time just to get an idea of what it was designed to look like.
Myth #1: Arrive early. Since DW wanted the whole "fireworks in the hub" experience (see next myth), we decided to get to park around 4:30 and stay until late. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, with only two lanes open, one with no wait, and then were directed to the Donald, not rooftop, level, we began to get excited that maybe the crowds have indeed started thinning out. We were both shocked that there was no wait in the first stroller car of the tram, I think a first for actually getting to the park. Once we got in, with again no line for security and relatively short lines to get into the park, it continued to feel as if it were later in the year, if not in temperature (which at approaching 100 degrees, may have been a contributing factor to people staying away). The other must-do on DW's list was SM, and after reading several articles on how FPs disappeared by noon, I had already told her that SM wouldn't work for us that night. Imagine my shock, then, when even after a snack break, FPs for SM were still available and for 10-11, perfect timing for going after the fireworks and a way to avoid the post-fireworks park exodus. By the time the parade ended, however, the crowds were noticeable; still, you really don't need to get in the park in the morning to enjoy the day, if my experiences on Saturday were any indication.
Myth #2: See the fireworks in the hub. This myth is actually partially true. First, let me back-up. During one of our DCA outings, we fortuitously returned to our rooftop parking spot just in time for the fireworks. It seemed to be the perfect spot to see them, since they provided a great vantage point for both viewing (in fact, many people chose that spot for taking videos) and exiting quickly afterwards, beating the crowds. You do miss, of course, the audio and other effects (Tinkerbell, etc.), that only the hub and, to a lesser extent, other park viewers get to enjoy, so DW was determined to get the full hub experience. DS, who is only one, made the wise decision to fall asleep during the brief stroller ride from Rancho del Zocalo to the hub, and we parked ourselves at the closest available spot to the castle, which turned out to be directly in front of the entrance/exit to the Carnation Garden Stage. We got there around 8:30, and while I thought I had experienced Disney crowding before, I received an uninvited education into what Disney crowding really is. For those of you who haven't yet experienced the phenomenon of seeing the fireworks in the hub, next time you are in the park, stop in the hub area and try to picture what it would feel like if every available--and I mean every available--space was filled with wall-to-wall bodies. People kept trying to walk by us and had to be told by numerous people that there was literally no room to move, much less walk; you couldn't even scratch your back without hitting the person behind you. This kind of arrangement tends to bring out the worst in people; we witnessed one rather unpleasant encounter between a mother and her three children trying to push her way through the crowd. When someone told her there was no room to pass, she shouted, "F*!& you!" and continued to plow right on through. The woman to whom she insulted called back after her, "And your as* isn't exactly small!," which she certainly deserved but nonetheless, it was not a family-friendly encounter. At the risk of being sexist, if it had been two men involved, the outcome probably would have been worse. Finally, the fireworks started, and some breathing room was created by people standing up. However, those of us in our nook let out a collective moan of disbelief when we all discovered that from our vantage point, the trees at our location blocked at least 80% of the fireworks, all of what he had (luckily) already seen from the parking lot roof. We did get treated to what we had missed from that previous location, namely the music and all the elaborate visual effects and fireworks which were launched from the other park locations, which served mainly as punchlines of sorts to the overall Remember display. So in summary, if you must see the fireworks in the hub, and you don't mind the proverbial "sardine can" experience for an hour, then by all means do it--but not from outside the Carnation Garden Stage area. Make sure you are either in the center or right (Tomorrowland) section of the hub.
Myth #3: All food in Disneyland is bad. I don't know if this is a new myth, started by ZZub in his hilarious report The Battle for My Wallet: Disneyland Boogaloo, but I definitely sympathized with it. With the exception of one time when there must have been a visiting chef at Blue Bayou, I have always found the food even there disappointing at best and inedible at worst (though of course the ambiance can't be beat). I was pretty shocked, then, to have had an excellent dinner on Saturday at Rancho del Zocalo. It was extremely hot, and I had a craving for a nice, cool salad, and their Mexican caesar (I suppose a redundancy to food purists) really delivered. The dressing was tasty, and the roast pumpkin seeds gave it a nice flavor. There were also tropical fruit plates in that same station that proved to be a great meal for DS and dessert for me (we all shared two). The fruit was ripe and varied. And while those with extreme scruples may look down on me for reporting this, so be it: It's the one Disney restaurant I've seen where soda refills have the appearance of being complimentary. Enough said. We also tried our first turkey leg, as a snack, and were also surprised by how tasty it was. I normally don't like dark meat, but the drumstick was moist and tender. My only complaint was that it was also salty, and the last thing I needed on such a hot day was to be even thirstier, but given the relatively few choices for healthy snacks from food carts, this is a great option.
While I'm on the topic, I would also like to dispute one other myth: that you are going to spend at least half an hour waiting to be served at restaurants and food carts, and once you get to the counter, you will find that the CMs don't seem to know what they are doing. Several web sites (miceage, mouseplanet) have explained the reasons for the long delays many people have described encountering. While many of the CMs we noticed were of the class of 2005, we did not encounter any of these long lines. In general, we only found two or three people ahead of us in line when there were any at all, and my longest wait (to buy the drumstick) certainly took less than five minutes.
Let me conclude by commenting briefly on the parade, a thread I labeled on the miceage message board (where there were lots of interesting comments from those in the know) as the incredibly shrinking parade of dreams. Again, much as been written about how elaborate the floats are and that they were designed by the people responsible for many of the Rose Parade floats. Like many of the Rose Parade floats, though, these also have a prediliction for breaking down. While I have seen PoD twice, I have yet to see many of the dramatic effects, such as Ariel's clam shell rising. On Saturday night, the final two floats, Lion King and the finale, were missing, along with the characters normally assigned to them, with the exception of Mickey and Minnie, who led off the parade. So this is one parade that you might need to see many times over a long period of time just to get an idea of what it was designed to look like.
