Crowds definitely picked up today, and in Disneyland you really feel it. Sure, you can see things with Fastpass, but because of the poor setup of the queues, the walkways get very congested.
We started the day with a quick ride on Soarin’ Over California before heading across the street to Disneyland to hit all of the major attractions. We tried one of the New Orleans Square counter service locations for lunch. I got steak gumbo and Marie had the chowdah (that’s the proper spelling); both were in sourdough bread bowls. Disney World is definitely missing the food options of New Orleans Square.
I’m already sick of kids growing out Justin Bieber hair.
Back to attractions, the good news is, Splash Mountain re-opened, the bad news is we got absolutely soaked. I haven’t gotten this wet on a water ride since the last time I rode Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges at Islands of Adventure.
Some more info on Splash Mountain:
- As many of you know the animatronics for the Disneyland version of this ride were repurposed from the America Sings attraction. As such, they look older than their Florida counterparts.
- The logs in California are single file, and 6 to a log. They also seem to ride lower, especially when you have adults in the front two seats.
- The California track winds around a bit more, and as a result, the logs bounce off the walls quite a bit.
- The water in Splash Mountain does not taste good.
Marie actually went back to the room to change after our trip on Splash Mountain. We met up again back in California Adventure to see the 5:50 showing of Aladdin a Musical Spectacular. It seems the entire cast of main characters changed from the show we saw on Thursday. The Genie was comparable, but Iago and Jafar weren’t as good.
After the show, we went next door to Tower of Terror. I was in the center of the top row, and was able to cross my legs in the aisle and fold my arms across my chest. It made the air time that much more enjoyable. It should also be noted that the Red Car Trolley Line walls that were up early this week have been removed. The ground looks great, and I can’t wait for this to be completed. The walls around Tower of Terror are still up, but you can take a look at the progress at various points in the line.
While in line for Toy Story Midway Mania we saw Mr. Potato head drop his ear, but he didn’t stop everything. He must have been able to pick it up again because he had it back by the time we made our way back around. We saw some fountain testing for World of Color, but nothing too extravagant yet. We did get to walk around Paradise Pier at night (as well as ride California Screamin’) which looks really nice. For an area that has a somewhat light theme, it’s pulled off pretty well. It should also be noted that the Silly Symphony Swings opened a day early from the Orange Stinger changeover. We didn’t get a chance to ride today, but we’ll try tomorrow.
California Adventure closed at 9:00 so we made our way over to Disneyland for the nighttime activities.
The Magical Fireworks were decent, but space on Main Street USA is limited; couple that with the number of trees around the hub, and most of the views were obstructed. It also didn’t help that the fireworks were slightly to the left of the castle. In hindsight we would have arrive more than 20 minutes ahead of time, and positioned ourselves at a better angle for viewing. The biggest difference between this show and Wishes was the use of Tinkerbell and Dumbo. While Wishes at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World has Tinkerbell fly from the castle, its Disneyland counterpart has Tinkerbell flying on a rig behind the castle while fireworks are going off. Then, later in the show Dumbo does the same thing. It’s a pretty nice effect, and I liked this more than the flyover in Disney World. I think the rest of the show is better in Disney World, in part because it’s accessible to more people, in part because it’s nightly, but mainly because I think it’s put together better.
After the Fireworks we made our way over to the Fantasmic viewing area on the Rivers of America. We were about 40 minutes early and that was apparently not enough time. The show itself is better than the Hollywood Studios version, but the entire setup for viewing is horrible in Disneyland. We were in an area where we could only sit, which meant on the ground, cramped in tight spaces, and by the end of the show my legs were so cramped I couldn’t actually get up from the ground without assistance. Once I was able to stand up I had to lean against a post until I re-gained feeling in my legs.
The last point for this evening is the substantial difference in the Disney World and Disneyland crowd flow. There is little to no drop off in wait times as it gets later in the evening. The crowds at 11 PM were heavier than those midday.
Our last day is tomorrow, and I expect us to spend most of the day over in California Adventure, as we expect the crowds to be a bit more manageable over there.
Attractions Visited
Disneyland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
Fantasmic
Haunted Mansion
Indiana Jones Adventure
Jungle Cruise
Magical Fireworks
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
California Adventure
Aladdin a Musical Spectacular
California Screamin’
Soarin’ Over California
Tower of Terror
Toy Story Midway Mania
FanBoy Loyalty Program
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