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2/01/13 - My thoughts and observations from Friday at the Disneyland Resort
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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.

2/01/13 - My thoughts and observations from Friday at the Disneyland Resort

Hello all,

This was a great trip to the Disneyland Resort. The weather was mild, the crowds were light, and my shot list was relatively small so I had plenty of time to just relax and enjoy the parks as I roamed around.

Jason

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

Thoughts and Observations:

  • The day started off on a fun note as I entered the Mickey and Friends garage. My annual pass scanned ok, but the ticket would not print. The cast member tried several times with no luck. She said they had recently updated the computer system and it has been touchy ever since. Finally they managed to get it to print and I was on my way. Was parked in the first row, all the way down, but at least not the far corner of the garage! It looked like they were sending cars entering on Disneyland Drive to other lots when I first arrived. I saw the road sign was pointing straight and not to the left for Theme Park parking and when I pulled up to the toll plaza it was nearly empty. The garage itself was just starting to fill the 5th floor. The 2nd and roof were empty as was a vast majority of the Pinocchio lot.

  • Walked through Downtown Disney which had a healthy crowd but seemed rather calm too, guess because it was early in the day and the entertainment had not come out for the evening yet. Even Earl of Sandwich had no visible line this time by!

  • The lines to get into Disneyland were on the long side, they stretched out past the Monorail beam. There were only a handful of gates open and all seemed to be moving slow. They opened a new gate next to my line and I shifted over there. Wrong move! The group in front of me had multi days passes and needed pictures and of course the cast member was having problems getting a good picture. Once they figured out where to stand to actually be able to see their faces things went smoothly but the process seemed to take forever. Park hopping in general seemed to encounter longer than usual lines this trip. It seemed like less turnstiles were open. Wonder if this has to do with the extra cast members needed to check tickets and take pictures? Later in the evening they had a single entry point put both turnstiles open past there for each gate and that seemed to keep the lines moving at a reasonable pace, but they did look long.

  • This is the last weekend for the Salute to the Golden Horseshoe. I have really enjoyed this run and been able to see several shows. Friday when I showed up the cast member said they were out of tickets for later shows but there was space in the show starting in a few minutes so I walked right in. I ended up standing so I could see but with no wait it was great! I hope they have more Limited Time Magic events like this planned for later in the year. I was hoping they would extend the run a bit based on demand. If you would like to see video or pictures from the show check out my January 11, 2013 update Here is a video clip of Miss Lilly and the Can Can Dancers from Friday:



  • I caught the Billies performing out at the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree. They said they would be returning the Golden Horseshoe for all their shows soon.

  • As you saw in the pictorial update there were plenty of projects going on around Disneyland with attractions closed and undergoing annual as well as extensive work. I known it is a disappointment to some guests who visit but in the long run this type of work really does pay off with attractions that function much closer to ideal and the way they were intended.

  • I went for a voyage aboard the Columbia, while circling realized I had not been on board in quite a long time. The decks were fairly crowded too since it was the only boat operating on the River today (the Mark Twain is being worked on, Tom Sawyer Island is closed for work, and the Canoes because it is winter).

  • Over at DCA not too much to report. I did enjoy spending some more time in the Blue Sky Cellar taking in the Fantasy Faire exhibit and being able to spend some time looking around, where as last trip I was focussed on getting pictures and and overview of what was in there. If you wanted to see an extended look at the exhibit including the featured video in the screening room check out this update from January 18, 2013 If you missed it here is the current video playing in the screening room:




  • Was talking with some friends and decided to watch the second World of Color which was at 9:15pm. We showed up right as the lights went out and were able to walk right up and find a spot in the second row (and thanks to some guests leaving the first row) of the upper terrace. The angle was odd from there and the screens were a bit hard to see, but still great to invest no time and have an ok spot. Wonder if/when they will do away with Fastpass for some of the shows, especially on off season days like this. I could see leaving the reserved sections in the middle and opening the rest up? As I surveyed the audience I saw very few Glow with the Show Ears on guests.

  • Received a note saying the temporary barriers set up in the tram parking area is because of some up coming work on the tram route.


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.

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

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