The Disneyland Resort

[OnWithTheShow]

Well I just returned from the Disneyland resort. Here are my observations.

Disney's Grand Californian Resort -
A absolutely fabulous resort that would be right at home in the same group as WDW's Deluxe resorts (Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, and Animal Kingdome Lodge). It appears as if no expense was spared in the creation of the resort. From the grand and impressive lobby to the lounges and restaurants it is tip top. The little details were also there, Bambi and Thumper on the shower curtains and hidden Mickeys on the lights in the lobby lounge. The pool area is great and well themed, it even has access control to prevent non resort guests from using the pool. The entrance to California Adventure is also definitely a perk. Speaking of perks the resort offers complimentary turn down service as well as free copies of the local paper and USA Today. Oh and...the monorail runs throught the resort!

Downtown Disney -
A good addition I think. I love ESPN Zone and the rest at least gave me something to look at during the walk from Grand Californian to Disneyland.

Disneyland -
It really is the small things that make the difference. The small castle, the small monorails, the small space mountain, the small pathways, etc etc. The castle was somewhat dwarvish (quaint for all you Disneylanders) and totally unimpressive. The walkways were small and overcrowed. The cast while excellent was not up to WDW standards. While I was there the following attractions were closed: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates, Fantasmic, Sailing Ship, Carousel and I think Pinnochio and Snow White (or I just couldnt find them) Needless to say this huge list of closed attractions started me off with a negative view of the resort. They were also totally unprepared from a staffing perspective for the crowds that were there. Also I really wanted some Indy merchandise yet the Indy shop was closed all three days I was in the park. Now on to individual attractions:

The Railroad:
Small, someone please get rid of the Grand Canyon and pimevil world.

Main Street:
Small, I like the fact that the shops still have that individual feeling. The cookies aren't as good as WDW's. There are a few more vehicles that in WDW.

Great Moments with Mr Lincoln:
The cast here was blantantly disdainful of the fact that Walt's office was packed up and sent to the Studios. To that I say "well you got our electrical parade, wanna trade back?"
The attraction was good and the 3D audio fits seemlessly with the show (though the show could be a little gory for the little ones)

Astro Orbitor:
Not as cool on the ground.

Autopia:
I like the "off-road" section and the cars seem a little quieter.

Monorail:
Small, I banged my head getting in. Does anyone know if the beamway is thinner than in WDW?

StarTours:
Virtually identical.

Alice in Wonderland:
A good dark ride

Mr Toad:
I like Pooh 10 times better.

Small World:
You have us beat on the inside a much closer more personal experience. We have you beat on the outside. Somebody better get out their paint brushes, geez.

Matterhorn:
Fun but must have been invented before the discovery that banking turns reduces g-forces

Toontown:
I prefer Toontown Fair to Toontown in the condition it is now. I don't think they have painted the place since it opened. Why is the Toontown train station not in Toontown?

Roger Rabbit:
I had no idea it was going to be soo scary. My brother and sister were terrified. It was a great dark ride though and I love the spinning action.

Gadgets Go Coaster:
Goofy's Barnstormer

Thunder Mountain:
Virtually identical.

Haunted Mansion:
I like the better hanging man effect, otherwise the same.

New Orleans Square:
The DL version of the upstairs of Columbia Harbour House. A very relaxing place to take a break and people watch.

Tiki Room:
I think it is time for new management.

Jungle Cruise:
We had a poor skipper.

Indy:
Wow, what an attraction! Bring on a clone!


Prepare for Part II Disney's California Adventure!
and
Part III Meeting Another Voice

 

[travisimo]

Very cool update and a great read!!! I'll be heading there with the fam this summer. You definitely give me a head's up. Thanks!!!

 

[d-r]

I'm glad you had a good trip.

I agree with you a great deal. The key is how small everything is - the castle is especially weird, but it also feels weird that everything is so packed together. You can stand in front of pirates and throw a rock, bounce it off the roof of the haunted mansion, and skip it on to chickapin hill.

That said, it is cute, and quaint. I think I prefer disneyland's fantasyland. There are more attractions here (Alice, Pinochio, casey Jr., the canal boats), and it is cute. The castle makes a huge difference here. Also, I have the opposite take on its a small world. I like the outside better in disneyland - it is one of the few things in disneyland that is on a grander scale than at wdw. I like the inside better at wdw; it seems larger, and you can see too much that you shouldn't at disneyland (like the floor). Disneyland feels like a flume, wdw feels like a canal. It is a huge difference to me.

I also am not as big of a fan of disneyland's potc as most people. The cue really unsettles me. You just step in and poof! you are there at the boats, and the above the ground flume there isn't appealing either. WDW feels much more like a journey down through a fortress to the dungeons and the cave in the cue. Disneyland feels more like a ride to me.

I also have the opposite impression of toon town, I like it better than the fair. I like the buildings and roger rabbit and the jolly trolly. I think more effort went into it.

WDW has much better cues for star tours, haunted mansion, space mountain, splash mountain. The wdw splash mountain is a lot better of an attraction really. I like the music of disneyland's space mountain.

I sort of don't like star tours and indiana jones being in the magic kingdom. I liked Indiana Jones OK, but not as much as a lot of people.

I found the cms in California on the same level as the CMs in Florida, and better in some ways. Some of them were really into it. I liked the character interaction more in California - I'm not really into it, but it was fun to watch in CA - characters would roam around and play tag with people and interact. In disneyworld people line up and send in their kids for pictures.

Overall, food is better in Florida I thought. I liked the grand californian.

I thought the dioramas on the train were weird, too, but I got over it. The smallness is amazing - the beam on the monorail must be smaller. The monorail sure is, and it is so low to the ground it feels like you could almost bump your head on the track. The little entrance way to disneyland is so quaint and cute.

It is a fun way to spend a couple of days, there is a lot of magic in visiting "Walt's park" and I think it will be great when we have small children, but it ain't wdw.

DR

 

[hopemax]

Isn't it a lovely experience to see what 7 years Pressler-style park management will do to a place?

Yes, Pinocchio and Snow White were closed. The sewer system in Fantasyland went kerplooey and so they have had the attractions down in groups. Earlier this year Dumbo, Casey Jr, and Alice were down. For the record, if you enter Fantasyland through the castle, both rides will be on the left (Peter Pan, Toad, Alice are on the right).

Matterhorn:
Fun but must have been invented before the discovery that banking turns reduces g-forces

Did you know the Matterhorn is the original steel coaster? Also, Walt wanted a bobsled ride, and one of the designers found a magazine article about a "mad mouse." As you WDW'ers are about to discover with your own "mad mouse" in Dinorama, no banked turns on those. Too bad you missed out on Rocket Rods, someone had the brillant idea to run a high-speed attraction on the old People Mover track (also no banked turns). They had to slow this "high-speed" ride in so many areas that it was no longer "high-speed." But they didn't slow it down enough to stop the cars and tracks from ripping themselves apart.

There may be potential good news on Disneyland's horizon. But the fear is that the budget axes will prevent any of it from occuring. Splash Mountain is down because the lawyers demanded a restraint system. One plan is for the ride to be shut down until 2003, widen the flume and use the side-by-side system like they use at WDW. Basically the whole ride would be upgraded from it's "proto-type" status.

For DL's 50th there is discussion about doing major refurbishments on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Small World and Space Mountain. New effects would be added, Small World the flume would be changed so that the water would go all the way to the sets, like at WDW, and other stuff like that.

And of course these rides would get painted. People like to say that noticing the painting is unreasonable nit-picking, however sometimes it's just so bad you can't help but notice. That's when the noticing before it gets really bad begins "Is this just inbetween paint jobs, or is this going to be like DL's toontown?"

Re: the Tiki Room, Steve Davison (man behind Believe, Nightmare Before Christmas at the HM, Eureka etc) wanted to redo the Tiki Room, but his proposal was axed (too expensive).

Of course some things will probably never change. Disneyland is small. It's almost 50 years old and surrounded by a city. But I like it that way. I'm a big fan of miniatures, most of my Disney collections are "minature" type things (pins, those die cast attraction cars, lots of stuff 6 inches or shorter) and Disneyland fits right into that.

 

[raidermatt]

This article at Mouseplanet discusses a lot of what Hope refers to in great detail.

Al Lutz's article

The bad side is they let attractions like HM and the Carousel deteriorate so badly, but the plus is that they are fixing it (and importing Italian rock for the Fantasyland walkway. A nice touch)

Before you WDW-only people skip all of this, note that Splash Mountain at MK will have the same issues. And you know its serious if they are keeping Splash closed at least until Memorial Day, and likely well into the Summer, and possibly even to next year...

 

[Bob O]

Thanks for the great info and comparsions!!!!! We are planning our own trip to DisneyLand so any info is greatly appreciated!!! We have never been their before so it helps getting the info!!
From the experts here, we are going in Dec. How many days do you think we will need to see everything and our favorites mutiple times???

 

[hopemax]

And for those of you who don't like Al Lutz/Mouseplanet's style. Check out the Laughing Place Disneyland boards and you will see that there are a couple of "Another Voice" type insiders (although none seem to have as many sources as AV does) who also have received the same information from their sources.

The 50th anniversary stuff originally came from Jim Disney (no relation) on West Coaster . You can check out his site updates for more information.

 

[d-r]

Bob O-
If it is during the week, you could probably see everything in 2 days, 1.5 at disneyland and .5 at dca. If you had part of a travel day you could surely see it all. In 3 whole days, you could probably see enough to start to get bored. But if it is on the weekend or during the Xmas break, then it will take longer for sure.

When we went in Nov. you could almost walk right on to everything during the week. Weekends are a different story.
DR

 

[Another Voice]

Should I be honored or nervous that I warrant my own section?

You have written the most unique description for New Orleans Square that I have ever read.

 

[daannzzz]

"From the experts here, we are going in Dec. How many days do you think we will need to see everything and our favorites mutiple times???"
To do everything at Disneyland and DCA without rushing and having time for breaks at the hotel you will need at the least 3 days. Dece,ber can get busy now with all of the event attractions, Beleive in Holiday magic, it's a small workd Holida, and now the Haunted Mansion makeover. I really liked Luminaria at DCA. If that comes back you will want to see it, though it is a mellower, smaller pyro show.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Dont get me wrong Toontown is definitely better than Mickey's Toontown Fair its just that the appearance in its current state is utterly disgraceful. AV do you know if the Monorail beam is thinner in DL than in WDW (oh and be afraid, very afraid.)? I didnt notice any deterioration on Haunted Mansion. I don't think Florida Splash will have the restraint system installed anytime soon. One of my good friends works at Splash and knows nothing of it plus it just came out of overhaul and had load air gates installed and had everything cleaned and painted (especially noticable are the new green leaves on the trees). Also I did not mean for my comparison between New Orleans Square and Columbia Harbor House to sound the way it did. They are just both very relaxing places to sit down enjoy the surroundings and watch the crowds.

 

[raidermatt]

Show-

Just a few comments on your observations:

Absolutely agree on GC.

A lot of attractions are/were closed, but it was badly needed. The only criticism I have is that some of it should have been done several years ago. But what's done is done, and they need to take care of the major repairs for the upcoming 50th.

I actually like the Grand Canyon/Primeval world section. But maybe thats only because it was very realistic for me as a tyke. Maybe an update would be appropriate, but there are bigger needs...

I like Toad about 1.5 times better than Pooh, but to each his own, right?

Matterhorn is much more fun at night.

I still like the old Tiki Room better, but again, just a matter of taste.

I haven't noticed any differences in staff, but that could be just luck of the draw.

 

[WDWHound]

Show: The reason you didn't see any problems with the Haunted Mansion is that it just came out of a very extensive rehab which included the replacing of rotting wood and a complete new paint job on the exterior. If you had seen it a year ago, you would have seen something very different.

Kudos to Cynthia Harris and Co. for fixing it.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

I rode matterhorn at both night and day and actually preferred the day ride. I like the views it offers and how at times you are almost side by side with the cars on the other track. I forgot that I did notice that there still was a tarp on the roof of Haunted Mansion. I like the 'Mansion" exterior better in WDW.

 

[Another Voice]

I’ll see if there’s some technical information around, but I think the top of the beam (where the main wheels of the train ride) is about the same width at Disneyland as at WDW. The beams in Anaheim might look smaller because they have a distinctive “cut-out” in the sides – whenever you put tons of concrete in the air in the middle of earthquake country you have to shave weight anywhere you can. The supports are both thicker and shorter due to earthquakes as well.

The ‘Haunted Mansion’ just came off the ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ holiday overlay and hasn’t look this good since The Shopping Mall Manager took over. A similar situation happened with ‘It’s A Small World’ during its holiday make-over a while ago – it’s become a very clever way to make the Marketing budget take a hit for a lot of maintenance that wouldn’t be performed otherwise. As Mr. Show could see with all of the closures in the park, current management isn’t really interested in ongoing operation. But promise a special event with higher revenues, and then suddenly all kind of extra money can be found. There’s a move for a ‘Lilo and Stitch’ make-over at the Tiki Room as a way to refurbish that show and structure. Without some film marketing money, the Park will simply let the building rot to dust.

The restraints on ‘Splash’ (according to rumor) are due to Disney re-re-interrupting the California theme park safety laws. The law is supposed to be somewhat vague about what “proper restraint” is, but the lawyers figure that fatal accidents at Knott’s Berry Farm and WDW make the exposure of an accident at Disneyland too great. There is some thought that ALL vehicles will require some sort of retraining device, including ‘Small World’, ‘Pirates’ and ‘Teacups’.

The sad thing about Toontown is that some repainting had started, and then was stopped due to cost. With all the structure problems being found (Mansion, Fantasyland, the Carasouel, etc.) and the problem of California Adventure, all the limited maintenance money is going to making the buildings stands instead of making them look pretty.

Like we said – instead of Walt’s 100th Birthday Celebration, we’re getting Home Depot Days.

 

[raidermatt]

I read that the HM was closed an extra week to finish up most of the visible stuff, but that some painting would still be going on for a little while longer, which explains the tarp Show saw. As for the exterior, I think the DL one is supposed to be a southern plantation type house, and WDW is a more colonial house, or something like that. (haven't studied much architecture...)

The Matterhorn views during the day are nice, but I just get more of an "enclosed" experience at night, if that makes sense. It seems a little faster (I know, it just seems that way), and I just get the feeling of being on a real mountain moreso at night. But again, just a personal preference.

AV- The article I read also hinted that the recent (large?) settlement over the Roger Rabbit accident may have something to do with the legal department's new-found interest in restraints. It also said they may have been waiting for the settlement to go through so they wouldn't be adding any fuel to the fire. The speculation was that making restraint changes could be viewed as an admission that DL has a problem with inadequate restraints. (I personally think its overkill, but then again I don't have to write the settlement check either)

 

[Judy from Boise]

You missed out on some of DL's best attractions ! You need one more trip when everything is open !
On the matterhorn there are 2 very different rides depending on the side you pick....the most thrilling is the Tomorrowland side at night