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3/2/07 - My thoughts and observations from Fridays trip to the Disneyland Resort and the Muppet Mobile Lab
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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.

3/2/07 - My thoughts and observations from Fridays trip to the Disneyland Resort and the Muppet Mobile Lab

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

Hello all,

As you saw in the pictorial update Friday was a picture perfect day at the Disneyland Resort. The crowds and weather were both mild and to top it off I got to see the new WDI project, the Muppets Mobile Lab. Most attraction wait times around the parks were well under an hour except for Space Mountain and Soarin really for most of the afternoon/evening.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

  • Throughout the afternoon the Columbia was in port and open as a photo spot. You could go onboard and explore the ship and take pictures. Then starting at 6:00pm it started making trips around the Island. The Mark Twain was in the harbor all day with no signs of work being done. Also its lights were on all day, which seemed odd. It was really nice to get a rare night cruise on the Columbia, I cannot remember the last time (or even if I have) done that. My assumption is this was done because of the work on the Island and to allow them to work during the day and move people, equipment, etc.. back and forth. Also it makes it harder to see what is going on the Island. Wonder if this will continue once the Spring break crowds arrive or if the boats will return to day trips.

  • While taking pictures of the sub lagoon I spoke with a CM on the station platform and they said it the Monorail will be cleared for round trip service again starting this week (assuming the current plan holds and their information is/was accurate) so that sounded like good news to me.

  • The highlight of this trip for me was getting to see Walt Disney Imagineering's latest living character creation, the Muppet Mobile Lab. They were doing some limited tested for about a week at DCA (Tuesday through Sunday I believe the LA Times or some other website said, I cannot remember where I read it). As you saw in the pictures it appears to be a giant Segway type device with Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew on board. They roll out and perform experiments with the guests. I caught the tail end of one show and then stuck around for the next but unfortunately they had a problem and retreated backstage before the show could really get going. The technology has really come a long was compared to Lucky the dinosaur. These two characters both have very fluid motion and are on a unique transportor. The detail on the vehicle was great to see and read. I am curious to see where they are going next and how these living characters will be used within the parks.

  • When I went to grab my jacket the parking lot trams were quite out of cycle and were taking forever (three were in a row and if you missed them either way you were in for a good wait).

  • There was no Castle/finale float in the Parade of Dreams Friday evening. I did not see it. I was in a bad position to see what was in its spot, but my assumption is the characters were walking the route. But by the time I realized it was not out I was halfway down Main Street and well in front of it and did not want to fight back through the crowd to see.


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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