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3/22/13 - My thoughts and observations from Friday at the Disneyland Resort including two Limited Time Magic Promotions, Easter Egg Hunt & Dave Smith Presentation
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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.

3/22/13 - My thoughts and observations from Friday at the Disneyland Resort including two Limited Time Magic Promotions, Easter Egg Hunt & Dave Smith Presentation

Hello all,

Friday marked my first Spring trip to the Disneyland Resort. The weather was nearly perfect with highs around 70 and lows the low 60s when I left. Crowds were on the heavier side which is to be expected as the Spring Break season is upon us. As I walked the parks they felt crowded but wait times were not too insane with a couple of exceptions. Racers I saw posted at 180 minutes at one point.

Jason

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

Thoughts and Observations:

  • Stopped by the Fantasy Faire to see a performance of Tangled in the Royal Theatre since I arrived at the park earlier than usual. I enjoyed this show and again thought it was a very well done show, just as I did with Beauty and the Beast. I give the edge to B&B, not sure why, maybe because I saw it first. There were some great one liners and park reference scattered throughout. The story kept moving and the performers were fun to watch. If you are in the park I would highly recommend checking out the Royal Theatre. It is classic Disney entertainment in the sense that works on many levels and just about everyone can find something in the show they enjoyed.

  • At California Adventure there was a Vinylmation Easter Egg Hunt going on this week as part of the Limited Time Magic Promotion. I was really surprised at the number of guests participating. As I walked around the park I saw groups wandering around with their maps looking for the hidden eggs. I thought the price point of just under $5 made this an affordable activity for those looking for something different to do in the park. I would have liked to have seen a dated pin or something else as the prize vs a two pack of Vinylmation keychains and judging by the reaction of some of the guests I think they would have preferred something else too. I did not buy a map, but instead set out on a quest to find the eggs on my own since I did not want the key chain thought I would save my $5. Most of the eggs were fairly easy to spot.

  • At Disneyland there was a special Annual Passholder Limited Time Magic event going on at the Opera House. It was a presentation by Dave Smith entitled Disneyland: The Way We Were. The checkin process was similar to other events, you show up, show your pass and get a wristband. You were able to choose between a 5pm and a 7pm session. There seemed to be plenty of wristbands available most of the day. I went to the 5pm session and it was a full house. Saw a couple scattered empty seats but not more than a handful. I thought everything with the event ran very smooth. The waits were minimal and the process seemed organized. The presentation itself was typical Dave Smith. Meaning some great old pictures and his narrative that intermixed observation, Disney History, and some of his own opinions/humor into it. The audience also participated a bit with some feedback. I was a little disappointed the presentation was done on two large LCD screens instead of the movie screen. It made seeing the detail of the images tough and photographing them even more miserable. The presentation itself was a shortened version of what he did at the D23 Destination D: Disneyland 55 event a few years ago (Click here to see my pictures from that event, which were better than the ones from this year). So those who attended that saw everything and then a bit more that was shown Friday it seemed. I also would have liked to have seen some time for a Q&A or something. I understand they needed to clear the theater for the next show and Dave needs a break before repeating himself but it just seemed weird that he got to the last slide, finished and we exited.

  • I spent a little bit of time in the Market House and Disneyana Store since both are slated to close in mid April and be converted into a Starbucks opening later this year. It should be interesting what this transformation does for the area. The Disney Parks Blog made the announcement and in the comments Disney confirmed many of the elements of the Market House will be present in the new store.

  • Went back to Fantasy Faire after sunset and this week all the lights were on. Again a large number of guests in the area asking Cast Members what it was and why it was all closed already. Seems the new addition is doing the trick of drawing guests in, but unfortunately it is closing at 7pm for the evening and they are looking to visit.

  • As we were leaving, which was pushing 9:00pm there were a lot of guests still making their way into the parks. The lines for both DCA and Disneyland were long and there were full tram loads returning from the Mickey and Friends garage. There was also a large number of guests leaving already. This was before the evening shows were to begin and the weather was pleasant but the first tram stop had a 2-3 tram wait and the second a 1-2 tram wait to head back to the garage. In the garage cars were circling looking for parking spots.


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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