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5/03/19 - Thoughts and observations from Friday
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Welcome to the disneygeek.com Geek Speaks section. In this section I will post my comments on trips to the parks or other Disney related events.

5/03/19 - Thoughts and observations from Friday

Hello everyone!

The big news this past week was the reservation window opened then closed quickly for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. It took only a few hours for all the free reservations to be taken. Did you get yours? I managed to get one for opening week, but opening day was booked by the time I was allowed to make a reservation. Overall the process worked ok for me. If you did not get one and really want to visit in the first month there were still plenty of hotel rooms available last I looked.

The parks seemed to have entered a short off season as they gear up for summer. There are quite a few projects at both parks, with some wrapping up but many more still in progress. The crowds in the parks felt on the heavy side with busy walkways and FastPasses disappearing early in the evening, but wait times were more moderate until nightfall.

 

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I arrived around my usual time after lunch and again lucked out with the Ball Road light and only had to slow down a little and made it through the first light and right into the parking structure. No cars in front of me.. wish I had someone to take a picture of empty tollbooths all the way across. Was directed onto the 3rd floor and into a spot near the exit ramp.

  • The Pixar Pals Parking Structure is moving quickly toward completion. Many more elements have been added and the tram stops and escalator structure continues to take shape. The structure is expected to open within a couple months. Work has begun on the bridge across Magic Way with ground clearing on the Downtown Disney side.

  • Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge appears to be complete from what you can see outside the land. Inside I am sure they are racing to get the finishing details complete before previews begin. Cast Member previews begin in about 2 weeks and then the reserved guest time slots start on the 31st. Friday I spent some time taking a look at the project from several vantage points including a visit to Tom Sawyer Island to see it from there. From many of the vantage points it blends in or is hidden from the rest of Disneyland. There are a couple angles where it looks like they could use some covering on the steelwork to make the mountains look better, namely from Toon Town and the Mark Twain. Eventually trees may grown in to obstruct these views.

  • Around Main Street projects continue as more planters are shrunk, curbs removed and pathways modified in an effort to make it less congested to move through the area. Each visit walls seem to shift as project wrap up and they move on to the next section. Currently there are several walls up on the west side of the hub. The assumption is the curbs are being removed and planters pushed back a little to give some more pathway space. It has been interesting to watch this transformation and once done will be curious how much it helps with the crowd flow.

  • Since my last visit new park rules have gone into effect. The most noticable to me was the ban on smoking in the park. Several of the old smoking areas were along paths I would want to walk and I always hated walking through the clouds of smoke. I thought it was great Friday to be able to walk the Big Thunder trail as well as the Grizzly Recreation trail with no smoke. The other big change is they are going to be enforcing a stroller size limit and banning wagons. The absence of wagons was noticable but there were still some really large strollers that fit withing the limits. At the elevators and security checkpoints boxes have been set up to test your stroller size.

  • Each visit I have been stopping by Esmeralda and Fortune Red to pick up story cards. Friday the Play Disney Parks App was having problems interacting with Fortune Red. I stopped by two or three times and each time I would click I was there and it would say loading then go back to the first screen. Some other guests were having the same problem, one group said it was doing the same thing the day before.

  • In Critter Country I saw an odd sight. A group of guests decided to eat the snacks/food they brought with them into the park. Nothing odd there. But they choose to sit on the ground right in front of the Churro Cart in Critter Country partially blocking access to the cart. This seemed really odd to me. It was a nice shady spot but sitting in a walkway and making it harder for others to reach the cart did not seem good. Why not use one of the benches or Hungry Bear tables? Or a spot away from the cart and walkway.

  • I stopped by Smokejumpers Grill for dinner at Disney California Adventure. I used mobile order which saved me a few minutes, but the food was abnormally slow coming out. Seemed they were behind with fries and everyone was waiting around for them. By the time I got my meal the chicken strips were luke warm.. the fries were really hot though.

  • The Pixar Pal-A-Round was showing between 45-60 minutes on the app. I ventured out that way and the line was under 30 minutes so I went for a spin. The Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind has made a lot of visible progress since my last trip. They have installed the main ride system and more elements of the background and queue have been installed. More of the ride pieces were onsite and ready for installation too. Disney has yet to announce an opening date but it seems like it should open by early summer.

  • The Carthay Circle Lounge has expanded and there are a half dozen or so tables outside in what used to be the walkway on the Hollywood Blvd side. Plants are up to form a barrier from the walkway. Most of the tables were filled the couple times I walked by. It seemed like an awkward set up and wonder if this is a test and if it goes well a more permanent barrier will be installed.

  • Ramone's has added an icee/slush stand to the back corner, closest to the Radiator Springs Racers queue. This is really an out of the way location and it will be dependent on foot traffic from the Racers. On hot summer days a cool drink for the wait may be perfect for some guests. The signage is a little lacking and you had to look to see it. I did not see it in the app yet either.

  • Mickey's PhilharMagic has opened in the Sunset Showcase Theater (former Muppet Theater). The film is the same one that has been playing at the Magic Kingdom since 2003 and also plays overseas in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris. The format is the same as Paris with a single regular size screen for the main show. They do utilize the side screens a little too. Some in theater effects like wind and water are used too. The opening sequence is a little odd that it uses a small portion of the screen so it can be expanded/enlarged for the main part of the show. The transition is not nearly as impressive as the WDW version. If you were curious Donald does make an appearance at the end. Overall I enjoyed the show and it will play well with families. I would have liked to have seen it updated or changed, a 16 year old show is not necessarily new. But it is newer than the nearly 30 year old Muppet film. I would have really liked to have seen a new Muppet film in the theater.

  • In Downtown Disney the Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes opened since my last visit. Friday the line filled the queue inside and stretched the building outside. I saw no indications of how long that wait was but it looked long. In addition to the inside seating there is a patio and a shake counter outside. I did not wait in the line to give it a try but those that have seem to have enjoyed their meals.

  • I decided to find a spot on Main Street USA for Mickey's Mix Magic. I was able to find a spot with no problem about 15 minutes prior to show time. The show is slated to run through June 6th and be replaced with Disneyland Forever starting on the 7th.

  • The crowds exiting the parks were really heavy. World of Color was at 9pm so guests exiting Disney California Adventure around the same time as those exiting Disneyland. There was a choke point between the fountain and La Brea Bakery but once through there you were able to move ok. The first tram stop had a 1-2 tram wait. The second stop I was able to walk on the first tram that pulled in so it was not bad when I left.

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Geek’s Blog Postings Recap April 3-23, 2019

Disney Related Press Releases

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com
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