Hello all,

With great weather finally arriving, it peaked just over 80 degrees Friday, and a three day Martin Luther King holiday for many I was expecting the parks to be fairly crowded on Friday. I was happy to be wrong and instead the parks were dead. It actually felt like an off season weekday. Seems harder and harder to find those on a Friday but this week it rang true as lines were well under 30 minutes for just about everything most of the afternoon and early evening. As usual they did climb up later in the day.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• Friday marked the first day of the Family Fun Weekend promotion at Disneyland. This weekend was titled Fiesta Disneyland and featured character meet and greets, live entertainment, arts and crafts, and more out at the Festival Arena. Upcoming weekends are:
  • Kickin Country Weekend (1/21-23)
  • Character Fan Days (1/28-30)
  • Happy Lunar New Year (2/4-6 and 11-13)
  • Mardi Gras (2/18-20, 25-27, and 3/4-6) - Located in New Orleans Square
    
    
• Due to the light crowd in the parks it would be unfair to try and judge the crowd at the new offering. I was really surprised though that there was no mention of it on the Entertainment schedule or on the park maps. I did hear a couple of announcements played over the public address system on Main Street and there were a couple signs on the Big Thunder Trail (and later in the day a CM out on the trail too). But overall very little advertising for this event.
  
  
• I think the overall concept of the event was a great filler for the off season and once word gets out may draw some extra guests. If nothing else some Annual Pass holders for sure. Being able to see the characters in different costumes and experience some new entertainment is always a great. Friday had the extra benefit of being quiet so if you wanted to interact with the characters this was a great opportunity. The CMs, characters, and guests all seemed to be having a great time.
  
  
• My one complaint about the event is there was no schedule posted or available to tell you what was going on. You had no idea who was performing when or what was coming up. There could be a character performance in a couple minutes or not for an hour and you would not know. You could walk in and find the arena dead but before you reached the edge of the ranch it could be alive with a band, dancers, and characters. I would have liked to have seen a run down like they do for Plaza Gardens at least. I think that may have helped to keep guests around or at least entice them to stop back by. Also I thought the hours should be shifted. Right now my understanding is it runs from 10am to 5pm. Especially on Fridays when the AP crowds show up after work or school seems to me running later in the evenings would help to draw more people in.
  
  
• Over at Disney California Adventure a new entertainment offering started Friday. The first in a series of new shows debuted. They all fall under the umbrella name of Pixar Pals. The first one is Pixar Pals - Featuring the Incredibles Heroes in Training Squad. It takes place a half dozen times a day (not sure the days of the week it is running but for sure the weekends). It was in the Sunshine Plaza at 11 and 12 and then the Hollywood Backlot 1, 2:15, 3:15, 4:15. I did not receive or see a show schedule posted anywhere, but if you asked a CM they knew and over the weekend I noticed some had posted a handout from Friday with the show schedule so seems I missed it or they were not being passed out when I came through the turn stiles.
  
  
• As you saw in the video and pictures it is a short character interaction that features a couple dance numbers and then some guest interaction time. It was a nice little show and for the kids that got to participate I am sure it was a great memory. I found it to be a bit on the hokey side, but for its target audience I think it works. I think its great that they have something since there will be no parade for several months due to all the construction.
  
  
• I know there were some problems with the video Friday. It is now working, and embed below in case you missed it in the update:
  
  
  
• I stopped by the Village Haus for dinner. Since my taste in food is non adventurous I did not try the new offerings and instead opted for my traditional burger and fries. The burger is basically the same as the other dining locations are now offering, but it did seem a bit greasier and had more pepper/seasoning on it than the others but that could just have been dumb luck. Also like all the other locations seems my timing was terrible and there was no line, I ordered, then had to wait a good 7-10 minutes for my burger to show up. Seems I was in between batches of burgers. There were plenty of Pizzas, etc.. but no burgers ready. I ran into similar problems when Taste Pilots and Tomorrowland Terrace both switched too. Guess I just have great timing when it comes to burgers.
  
  
• The Haunted Mansion is running again after a quick transformation back to the regular show. I noticed no real changes except that Madam Leota was not floating around the room yet and the suite of armor near the endless hallway was not back in place. I am guessing both will be restored soon, if not already.
  
  
• In case you missed it, last Wednesday the Retiredgeeks stopped by the park to take in a special Flag Retreat honoring a Silver Star and Medal of Honor recipient. .
  
  We posted pictures and video from the event, click here to view their column.
  

Interesting Web Finds/Notes:
Below are some interesting links, notes, and rumors I found/stumble across/or have been informed of since the last Geekspeaks column.

• Interesting Web Finds
  • Disneyland Resort Salutes United States Army Medal of Honor Recipient (Disney Parks Blog)
    
  • First Look Video: Wild Africa Trek (Disney Parks Blog)
    
    
    
    
• Disney Related Press Releases
  • 01/11/11 - Disney Junior and Disney Family.com are inviting families to “Be Part of the Magic” of Disney Junior
    
    
• We post some announcements on:
  • Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/disneygeekcom
  • Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/disneygeek
  • Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/disneygeekcom
    
    

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

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