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3/22/19 - Thoughts and observations from Friday
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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.

3/22/19 - Thoughts and observations from Friday

Hello everyone!

Today was a relaxing day at the parks. I had a very short picture list and my plan was to just roam around and enjoy some of the entertainment. The spring break season is underway and the parks both had crowds above normal. Wait times varied with several of the usual suspects over an hour. Other attractions were less than previous weeks, for example the Little Mermaid at Disney California Adventure was under 10 minutes the couple times I looked where as the past couple of visits they were using the extended queue.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • My arrival experience today was really smooth. Only slowdown was being forced through the Ball Road light vs the overpass. No real delays anywhere else. Within the Mickey and Friends Parking structure they are installing parking sensors to indicate how many spots are available on each floor and each aisle. I had not seen these since I have been directed onto the roof the past several months so Friday was my first time on a lower level in quite a while. The sensors run down the middle of the lane/aisle and are suspended from the ceiling. There was a working checking data/calibrating some when I parked on Friday. The exit experience was no where near as smooth. I was on the 4th floor and they forced and third and fourth floors out to Disneyland Drive and it was a mess of cars trying to find the proper lane to turn or go straight at Ball Road. It took me almost 15 minutes from the exit ramp to the freeway on ramp. Not a fun way to end the day.

  • I started my day at Disneyland. I started with a lap around the park checking out the various projects. Many projects are nearing completion as the park prepares for the busier spring break weeks ahead and then Star Wars and summer crowds beyond that. I thought it was interesting the castle renovation walls have been extended out into the street now, guessing they are renovating the plaza area, unless they just needed more room to stage equipment for the evenings work.

  • The top deck of the Mark Twain was available so I went for a cruise, first time in a while. Almost all the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge scaffolding you could see from inside the park is now removed. The project is entering its final push toward completion with 10 weeks until opening.

  • The Captain Marvel Meet and Greet set has been completed since my last visit. Stage 12 has been transformed into Hanger 12 and features the front portion of an F-15 as well as some props. Captain Marvel stands near the plane to greet guests. Her set times are listed in the official app. When she begins a set there is a brief introduction. I was a little disappointed with this. I was expecting a little more.

  • My hope was to go for a spin on the Pixar Pal-A-Round but the first time I walked by the queue stretched out into the walkway toward Bing Bong's and had a posted 60 minute wait. Other times it was down to 45 minutes and within the queue space but still longer than my patience. So once again I was stuck on the ground and no good updated pictures of the Emotional Whirlwind, Critter Carousel or Marvel projects.

  • In Cars Land Piston Cup sippers are now available at Flo's and the Cozy Cone. That was the big news of the week. Also did you catch the Disney Parks Blog announcement that DJ will be at the new Lightning McQueen Racing Academy at Walt Disney World? Looks like he went on a road trip to the east coast.

  • I walked through the Food & Wine Festival marketplaces a couple of times and between them and the construction walls it really felt congested. The lines at the Marketplaces varied but seemed fairly constant to crowded throughout the evening.

  • Stopped by the Get Your Ears On Dance Party since I had some time before fireworks and nothing else on my agenda and there were no other entertainment offerings going on except for Fantasmic. The mix of characters was interesting. When I first arrived it was Minnie Mouse, Goofy and two Mary Poppins penguins. Then Mickey and Pluto replaced Minnie and Goofy.

  • Closed out my evening with Mickey's Mix Magic from Main Street USA. I arrived around 9:15pm and there was plenty of space up and down the street. I choose to be down near the Crystal Palace/Cinema area to be closer to the park exit. I was expecting a larger crowd given how the park felt throughout the day and that it was not as cold as previous visits this evening.

  • There were two carts set up at the Mickey and Friends tram stop selling snacks as you headed for the escalators. I do not recall seeing this before. No one seemed to be purchasing anything when I walked by.

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Geek’s Blog Postings Recap February 25 - March 11, 2019

Disney Related Press Releases

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

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

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