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5/13/22 - 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.

5/13/22 - Disneyland Resort

Hello Everyone!

I returned from Walt Disney World on Tuesday evening and decided to keep my reservation for Disneyland on Friday to relax. I enjoy getting away to WDW but coming back to Anaheim feels like home to me and is a different experience. If you want to see any pictures or read my thoughts & observations from that trip be sure to check out my Walt Disney World May 2022 Trip Summary Page for links.

Friday the parks felt busy with a Grad Nite going on and normal park crowd. The weather was on the warm side hitting 90 in the after noon and only cooling down to the upper 70s when I left. The couple times I looked at wait times they were scattered with some higher than normal and other less.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • When I arrived at the parks I opted to go through the Ball Road light to lesson the odds of parking outside on the roof. It seems the two overpass lanes tend to get directed to floors 5 and 6 and the Disneyland Drive lanes get floors 3 and 4 during the times I arrive normally. I just missed the light and had to sit there for several minutes waiting. Once through the light I encountered no delays at the toll booths or on the floor. I managed to get one of the first spots in the row I was directed to on the Cars level but due to the large portion they keep for preferred parking I was still a moderate walk to the stairs. They block the first sections and start parking a the C pillar of the row. Not sure if they ever filled those spots. When I left most were empty still. So either all those people showed up late and left prior to the fireworks or the space was not used.
  • Downtown Disney still had many of the Star Wars Day, May the 4th, features available. The sand sculpture for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series looked good in its location outside the trading post. The LEGO store had several models inside and out still. I thought it was interesting that the Star Wars Trading Post has expanded out into its courtyard. I did spot more people there.. so not sure if its drawing more or they are just more visible now.
  • The NHL Stanley Cup was available for Photos near Splitsville from noon to 7:00pm Friday and Saturday. When I stopped by there were a handful of guests and a quick line if you wanted to play a game for a prize or get your picture with the cup. I thought this was a fun promotion but in an awkward area. Having it out there mid day seems a bit out of the way. I saw no signage near the trams or Downtown Disney entrances either.
  • I goofed up and did not pay attention to my arrival time and found myself at the entrance to Disneyland a few minutes before 1pm. The problem with this is there is no signage and a lot of confused guests on which lines are for initial Disneyland entry guests and which are for park hopping guests. Also today being GradNite some thought there was a special GradNite queue too. The whole process seemed confusing to many. I lucked out and choose a 1st time entry queue and made it in relatively quickly (about 5 minutes).
  • The Disneyland Band is once again moving around during their sets. They have re-started their marches/drills for the sets that have been stationary since their return. It was great to see them in motion again.
  • The tree house renovation in Adventureland continues. Disney confirmed a few weeks ago that when it reopens it will have a new theme but no information on what that will be or when it will reopen. The entrance stairs and bridge that were added when Tarzan moved have been disassembled. This should help to open the walkway a bit.
  • In New Orleans Square pavement and Fantasmic renovations continue. The work has shifter further back into New Orleans Square as well as toward Frontierland with several sections of wall up and pavement being replaced. They have about 2 weeks to wrap up this project with Fantasmic returning on the 28th.
  • Speaking of Fantasmic Friday marked the 30th anniversary of the show. It would have been nice to watch the show to mark the anniversary but instead had to settle for hearing the Disneyland Band perform the theme as well as the music in the Esplanade.
  • In Tomorrowland a couple of photo opportunities from Star Wars day were still available. One for the Mandalorian and another the Book of Boba Fett. There were no waits for either the couple of times I walked by.
  • While waiting for the band in Tomorrowland I overheard an interesting family discussion. The father was convinced to get to the two new Star Wars rides you had to use the Launch Bay. The mother did not understand why the rides were open but the entrance closed. The kids seemed confused by the conversation and were pointing to the map on the app as they wandered off toward the Matterhorn and out of ear shot.
  • I stopped by Town Square for the nightly Flag Retreat. Interesting both the Dapper Dans and Disneyland Band were on the time schedule but neither participated in the ceremony this evening. The honor guard lowered the flags to a recording instead.
  • For dinner I used mobile order for Smoke Jumpers Grill. When I arrived to pick up my order the register queue was out the door. No wait at all for mobile order. They only had one register open and it looked to be slow going for those going that route. Seems they are convinced that the only way to get people to use the digital tools is to make it as hard as possible on you if you opt not to.
  • As part of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders heritage month the hotels and Downtown Disney have activities and entertainment going on. On the West End stage in Downtown Disney there are different groups performing throughout the month. Today Tupua was performing. They put on an entertaining show and drew a healthy crowd at the 7:30pm one I attended. At the Hotels there is a Hula Experience and Ukulele lessons depending on the day. I saw signs near Trader Sams but they were a little short on details (like where they were to be held and for the one it said reservations recommended but no info on how to make them).
  • I arrived back at Disneyland and stepped onto Main Street USA just before 8:30pm. Most viewing looked rather full but I managed to find an acceptable spot 2 or three rows back, which turned out great since the family decided to sit so I stood behind their stroller and had a clear view. The recording saying all viewing locations were full and to come back later played as I found my space. There were still spaces but it was getting tight.
  • I wish they made an announcement before the parade and fireworks asking people to keep balloons, kids, etc.. below head level. There were several balloons in the first row of the parade that were blocking people's view. The owners were seated and letting it fly about 6 feet or so off the ground right in everyone's line of sight. Same for kids on shoulders. You have what you think is a good spot for the fireworks then kids fly up on shoulders when the lights go out. Hold the kids at your height.. I know its hard to do (have done it with cousins and nephews) but it so much more courteous to those around you.
  • I did not see projections on the Main Street buildings as the finale passed. Not sure if my angle was off or if they did not run this evening. I did see them down on the castle. I thought this was a nice plus, hopefully it was a minor glitch or I just missed them.
  • There were issues this evening and the full Disneyland Forever show ran, unlike my last viewing where the fireworks stopped mid show.
  • When it came time to exit I encountered no issues. Walked out and through the queue to the trams. They were holding groups and dispatching you to the load zones. I found it interesting when you waited they were telling people to go to the second/further load zone since it is usually less crowded. When were were let go the first load zone was loading a tram and there were a number of empty seats. So I hopped on with no wait at all. As the tram pulled through the station the second load station had probably two trams worth of guests stacked up at it.

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

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.

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