* After you read this report you may want to check out the pictorial updates in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Hello all,

Saturday was a great day at the Disneyland Resort. The weather topped out around 80 with no clouds to be seen, the crowds were mild, and to top it off it was my birthday! With it being a holiday weekend I was really expecting the parks to be quite crowded, I was pleasantly surprised that they were not. Most wait times for the big attractions were well under an hour with many in the 30 minute range most of the day.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• I thought I was going to be in for a long day when I arrived at the parking garage and was greeted by stopped traffic in all lanes as soon as you came down the overpass ramp.This turned out to be one of my longest waits of the day. It was almost 45 minutes from when I got off the freeway until I was heading down the escalator to the tram stop. That seems incredibly long to me and this seems to be happening more frequently now a days. I heard rumors of the second garage construction starting this year.. I really hope it does as more parking options are needed to help with these lines. Or like I have suggested before some way to speed up the entrance process for Annual Passholders.. would be really nice to see a semi-automated system where less CMs were needed and more lanes were available.
  
  
• As I mentioned it was my birthday, so my first stop of the day was at Guest Services to pick up my Birthday fun card. The CM I spoke with at the security tent said you can go to either the ticket booth or guest services and since the ticket booth lines were extremely long I opted for guest services which had only a handful of people in line. It took me less than 10 minutes to get my card and be on my way to the park. I had pre-registered online so all they did was scan the paper I brought in, check my ID, and issue me the card and the rule sheet for it. The CM confirmed there is no expiration date on the card and that it works like a regular Disneyland merchandise gift card for the most part. I spoke with several CMs throughout the day as I pondered what I wanted to do with the card and they all confirmed this. The only real restrictions were anything food related and original artwork. (Lithos and Sericels as well as Classics pieces were all ok). I also received an email from Disney's Birthday Club with a birthday greeting and several games to play, a nice little touch.
  
  
• As you saw in the pictorial update there are new Celebrate Today decorations up on Main Street as well as cups, napkins, etc.. throughout the resort. Overall I like the new decorations better than the Year of a Million Dreams. They seem to be less over the top and plus red is always better than blue in my world! The floral Mickey looked better in person than what I had seen in pictures before arriving. I am assuming there will be a lighting package put in place someday too, which should add to it at night. The hats and flowers on Main Street look ok and blend in ok. They appear to be artificial flowers which is a bit sad compared to the normal displays, but overall I think they are a huge step up from the Year of a Million Dreams items.
  
  
• As you saw in the pictorial update there is a new beverage option around the parks. You can now purchase a large soft-drink, 32oz. The regular price will be $3.29 but for Annual Passholders there is a promotion of $2.99 when bought with a meal and you get your discount on top of that.
  
  
• I am not usually one to pass along rumors, but I read on a couple sites, and overheard some CMs talking about the rumor that the Gallery will be returning to Disneyland. Not in its former location above Pirates though (the Dreamsuite is staying) but instead it will be taking over the Bank on Main Street. They seemed to think the new store would be open by the Fall. I hope its true, I always enjoyed visiting the Gallery and have missed it the past year or so.
  
  
• I made a run back out to my car in the mid afternoon to get warm clothes and drop off a purchase and along the way I realized that the new tram driving guidelines have really made this trip long... it seemed to take forever to get out and to come on back due to the slower driving restrictions.
  
  
• We caught the Pixar Play Parade and since there was no parade at Disneyland the Magic Music Days groups march before this parade. Saturday there were three bands. Also continuing a trend I have seen the parade started a good 10 minutes or so late. Not sure why this parade always seems to be late. Also noted there was no Ratatouille unit. Anyone know why?
  
  
• After the parade we decided it was time to eat and decided to see how bad the lines were at Taste Pilots (with White Water Snacks as our backup). We were extremely surprised to find plenty of seating and no real line... wow!
  
  
• So anyone figure out the Are you 23? campaign yet? I have not.
  
  
• It was great to see Disneyland offering a full slate of evening entertainment, a rare occurrence for the off season.. Tomorrowland was alive with the Suburban Legends (one of the few groups that always throws a Disney song or two into each set).
  
  
• Caught Remember since this is one of the few weekends it will be running this off season. Tinkerbell did not make an appearance, other than that I did not notice any changes in the show from my vantage point.
  

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