Hello Everyone!

Friday turned out to be a full day at the Disneyland Resort for me. We My nephews and family ended up going so we left before sun rise and were there for park opening and did not leave until after Wondrous Journeys. Along the way also met up with a couple groups of friends too. The weather was cold for spring starting in the 40 and topping out in the upper 60s. Mid afternoon in the sun felt nice but other than that it was on the cool side, but no rain and clear skies which was nice for a change. The parks felt busy from late morning onwards as you would expect on a Friday during Spring break season. Wait times were not horrible considering the amount of down time major attractions had throughout the day. I noticed Indiana Jones and Rise of the Resistance seemed to be down more than up most of the day. Pirates was also closed for a good portion of the morning. Also Runaway Railway was down a couple of times.

Thoughts and Observations:

• This visit I had my two nephews, ages 4 & 6, with me to check out Toontown. Its always fun to see the parks with them, but it does make the day more chaotic and challenging when it comes to planning and taking pictures. One interesting note. The older ones pass expired last year and was not renewed so we had to buy him a ticket for the day. A one day child park hopper for Friday was $234. The Southern California resident 3-day offer is ongoing and is $279 for a park hopper for him. We ended up with the 3 day to get two additional days at $45.
• Started the day rope dropping Toontown. Half the group had not experienced Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway here yet, they had at Walt Disney World though, so we got in that line first. It was backed up to the walkway but the choke point appeared to be funneling into the doorway. Turned out to be a near walk on as we kept moving all the way to the merge point once through the door. A number of the switchbacks were blocked off so we saved some walking too. The kids enjoyed the queue but did not really have a chance to see/do much as we were walking the entire time and not really stopped for any period of time.
• Goofy's How-to-Play Yard was a hit with the nephews. They really enjoyed running around, exploring the area, interacting with the various elements and playing on the slides. I thought the additions to the yard and especially inside Goofy's house were great. There were a fair number of things to see and do and with very few other guests first thing in the morning there was plenty of room to run and play at your own pace. Later in the day we revisited and the land was wall to wall people. The kids still had fun but there were delays and it was much less fun for us trying to keep an eye on them and enjoy the land with people everywhere. I thought the overlook opportunities from the walkway/ramp were really nice and I look forward to revisiting in the evening to see it with the lights on.
• Next door Donald's Boat is now closed so you cannot go inside or upstairs. Instead you can see some portals from Goofy's yard and on the other side is a splash pad (that was closed) for kids. I found it disappointing you can no longer take in the views from the second story of the boat, but by removing that it added more space around the house.
• They were not interested in the Go Coaster so we skipped it. The new Chip N Dale statues were a fun addition and the ride is the same as it always has been. Next door their Tree House has been removed and the area is now all turf with seating. It felt a little calmer back there but still disappointing to loose an element of the land with no replacement.
• Mickey and Minnie's houses are the same as they have been. We opted not to go inside and wait for either. The area in front of their houses no longer has a fountain and is instead a turf/lawn area for greeting characters. There were a number of characters roaming around the land throughout our two visits. I did not see Pete, but did see Daisy, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Clarabelle. The interactions were much more free wheeling and closer to what you see at Avengers Campus than traditional meet and greets. I thought this was great. I am always in favor of interaction vs the wait in line for 5 second photo and autograph. I think this makes for a more memorable experience for everyone, those meeting and those just observing. On the down side in the afternoon when the land was crowded it was a tad challenging in some instances with large groups of people trying to follow around the characters.
• Overall I thought the changes to the land were a positive. It definitely felt more alive and active. The way the walkways have been reconfigured the land felt smaller in scale. Everything felt a little more condensed, guess the small street and trolley track removal make the scale feel different. One complaint I do have is the background music was way too loud in most locations, event during the crowded afternoon visit it was too loud to talk to others. It is background music not primary music. Noteworthy on the music is it has been released on several digital platforms already so if you want to listen at home you can now. No physical album is available at this time though.
• The new menus at Cafe Daisy and Good Boy! Grocers seem to be a hit. The queues there were solid on both visits. With the increased popularity it made the area feel very congested. We opted not to eat anything so I have no first hand review of the offerings.
• The CenTOONial Park and Dream Tree seemed a little under whelming to me. The kids did like running through there but it did not really seem to be a focal point like the concept art made it appear.
• Stroller parking is a challenge, it took over much of the lawn by Car Toon Spin and the old trolley building was being used like a valet lot where you could drop your stroller and get a ticket to pick it up later. I thought this was interesting and a nice option to have your items a little more secure and out of the elements. I did not see any significant waits so it was working well the couple times I noticed. As the land settles in it will be interesting to see how this evolves.
• Our next stop this morning was Tomorrowland. In an hour I was able to visit Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours and Finding Nemo. One of the nephews wanted to ride Autopia. It took them longer to get through that queue than it did for us to go on Finding Nemo. The mix of Lightning Lane return to stand by was slow going this morning and frustrating for them.
• I had bad timing on the Tea Cups this morning. I arrived in the queue just as Alice and the Mad Hatter were making the rounds. This slowed the load and unload process down considerably as they went to each tea cup for pictures. A great opportunity for those on board but for those of us in the queue trying to keep kids from climbing everywhere and more importantly falling off the railings it was a challenge I did not need. Also interesting when it came time to exit they had 1 of 2 exits blocked and made everyone use one. This slowed things down. The reason was they were using the other to let guests on. Guess it speeds up the boarding process?
• it's a small world had several dolls and toys not in action Friday. The most obvious being one of the dancers. The attraction looks like it could use some TLC.
• Also on that list of attractions needing some attention is the Sailing Ship Columbia. There was quite a bit of paint chipping away on the railings. This is a safety issue plus appearance.
• As we were walking through Hollywood Land the Red Car Trolley was stopped on Sunset and had seats to hopped onboard. It is my first ride in quite a while and was nice for a change. It would be nice to see them add another passing option so they can run two street cars at a time. Since reopening they have only run one. I think this is partially due to the the only passing opportunity being by the Animation Building. They really need one on Buena Vista Street too it seems.
• To celebrate the reopening of Mickey's Toontown Magic Key Pass Holders can pick up a print. Distribution is daily from 2-7pm along the Big Thunder Trail. We stopped by around 5pm and there were plenty of prints and no wait. Friend stopped by after 6pm and found the same. The print itself is nice, but because of its size a tad awkward to carry around the park and try not to destroy. I would have much preferred a button or postcard.. something you can easily carry around. A set of trading cards would be a great give away.. small enough to carry and store and something that can be added to.
• Watched the 6:30pm Magic Happens from Town Square. The nephews had not seen it since its return and really did not remember it from their one viewing in 2020. They really enjoyed it. It was my first time watching it come out of the parade gate. I thought having the dancers come out and perform in front of the closed gate and then the gate opens as part of the show/parade was a great plus.
• Decided to grab a snack in Disney California Adventure. I opted to go pick up a pretzel from Pym's. It would be nice if the app gave you the option to say you want the pretzel to go. Asking for a box gets you a mix of reactions from cast members. Many are very pleasant and helpful. Others just do as you ask. Then you get some like I did on Friday that make it seem like an extra chore. I just paid $13 for a pretzel, asking for a way to carry it across the park without having the carry the metal holder does not seem unreasonable. The cast member I who was helping me actually said to take the pretzel and box out to a trash can and transfer it there. I understand not wanting you to do it at the counter if they are busy, but there was no one there. Also telling guests to use a trash can is not ideal, asking them to go elsewhere makes sense. I ended up going outside and using a table but found the way the cast member handled it less than ideal.
• The nephews really wanted to ride WEB Slingers, not sure why but they really like the ride even though they do not like the loud noises nor have they figured out how to sling webs consistently. It was posted at 40 minutes but did not look bad and at the moment there was no back up for Lightning Lane returns. So we got in line. We were moving ok for a bit then really slowed. Seems the number of returns kept growing and our pace slowed. It took over 50 minutes to reach the preshow unfortunately.
• I closed out my evening with Wondrous Journeys. I showed up on Main Street and had no problem finding a spot. A few minutes after standing there they warned about high winds. Then at show time announced no fireworks just projections and effects. This was my first time seeing the reduced version. The show is ok when viewed this way, but I prefer the fireworks. They add so much to the show. I had a Magic Band+ with me and was going to see how it performed during the show, pulled it out of my camera bag and put it on. Turned it on and it did nothing. Seems the battery died.. I charged it before the last visit and didn't use it then nor this visit but sitting for a week+ seems to have drained it. Oops. A way to know the charge level would be helpful.
  

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

• Disneyland Resort Posts from 3/24
  • Pictures & Video: Disneyland Magic Happens Parade (6:30pm on 3/24/23)
  • Pictures: Mickey’s Toontown Afternoon Visit
  • Pictures: Picked up the Mickey’s Toontown Print for Magic Key Holders
  • Videos: Phat Cat Swinger at Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival
  • Pictures: Pacific Wharf to San Fransokyo Square Construction @ Disney California Adventure (3/24/23)
  • Pictures: Making Mickey Bread this afternoon
  • Pictures & Video: Red Car Trolley from Hollywood Land to Buena Vista Street
  • Pictures: Cruising the Rivers of America onboard the Sailing Ship Columbia
  • Pictures: A Morning Visit to Toontown
• 03/22/23 - Alice in Wonderland: The Official Cookbook – For Very Merry Unbirthdays and More!
• 03/18/23 - Pictures: Pt Mugu Airshow Featuring Blue Angels & Thunderbirds
• Disneyland Resort Posts from 3/17
  • Pictures: Eggstravaganza 2023 @ Disney California Adventure
  • Pictures: Eggstravaganza 2023 @ Disneyland
  • Pictures: Eggstravaganza 2023 @ Downtown Disney

Disney Related Press Releases

• 03/23/23 - Disney Cruise Line Announces Inaugural Sailings to New Island Destination, Family Vacations Around the World in Summer 2024
• 03/23/23 - Grammy-Nominated Performer Halle Bailey Among Glitzy Lineup of Hollywood Stars Taking Part in Disney Dreamers Academy This Week
• 03/22/23 - ‘Descendants: The Rise Of Red’ (Formerly Known As ‘The Pocketwatch’) Adds Paolo Montalban To The Cast Of The Disney+ Original Movie
• 03/21/23 - Disney100: The Exhibition — Making The Magic
• 03/17/23 - Reimagined Mickey’s Toontown Reopens March 19, 2023, at the Disneyland Resort, Beginning a New Era of Interactive Play for Families and Young Children
• 03/16/23 - Disney+ Program Listing for April 2023

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.

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