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5/20/15 - Thoughts and observations from Wednesday - 1st impressions of Grizzly Peak Airfield, Diamond Mad T Party & World of Color Celebrate!
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5/20/15 - Thoughts and observations from Wednesday - 1st impressions of Grizzly Peak Airfield, Diamond Mad T Party & World of Color Celebrate!

Hello everyone,

Today is the start of a busy three days for me to cover the kick off of the Diamond Celebration at the Disneyland Resort. I arrived at the parks mid afternoon, around 3pm and there crowds were moderate, probably on the high side for a mid week day.

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

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I stopped by the Five and Dime on Buena Vista Street and took a look at some of the 60th Anniversary Merchandise. There are over 500 new merchandise items covering just about anything you could want, especially if you want it to sparkle or include blue... There is a large selection of open edition items available throughout the parks and not every location carries every product. So if you are looking for something to commemorate the event I would suggest looking at a couple of locations before making a decision. If you are looking for something specific ask a cast member if you do not see it they may know which location is selling it.

  • At first glance the T-shirt with attraction openings seemed like a great offering. Then I started reading the ones that were listed and there were some odd choices. For example Mickey's Fun Wheel is listed as 2001 opening which is not correct.. that was the Sun Wheel back then. Soarin' did not even make the list. Cars Land is listed but not Toontown? I think it may have worked better to keep it to Disneyland specific since it is that parks 60th Anniversary.

  • Buena Vista Street is decked out just as Main Street was on my last visit with Blue and White bunting everywhere. For me it is way too much blue. I am going to miss the Red, White, and Blue this summer. Some of the more subtle diamond additions do look nice to me, for example the plaques added to the Hyperion bridge on Buena Vista Street.

  • The Carthay Circle is decorated for the event. Again too much blue for me but not too bad. I did not catch/notice the diamond at the top at night. During the day it really does not stand out. I did think the diamond covered corner posts on the balcony were a bit overdone.

  • I had not had a chance to visit the Grizzly Peak Airfield area that opened last Friday yet so that was my next stop. Overall I think it is is a big step forward compared to Condor Flats. I really liked the concept of Condor Flats the desert test facility and it paid homage to a part of California but it was really baron and most people did not seem to care. The new national park feel makes for a much smoother transition from Buena Vista Street to Grizzly Peak Recreation Area. Also this simplifies the park by having one less region/land. As I explored the area I enjoyed seeing the little and big touches the Imagineers installed in this place making project. On the big side the large amount of trees and how they carved up some of the walkway worked really well. Having the Soarin' building more of a muted color and no massive sign on it made it blend in a little more to me vs standing out. The Rambler station wagon parked near Humprey's was a great plus! I also liked the subtle wing in the mountains on the new logo. I did not have time to ride Soarin' today unfortunately but will tomorrow!

  • I ran into the Pixar Play Parade on Paradise Pier. I noticed they had changed the writing on the Monsters Inc drum to mark the 60 years of fun at the Disneyland Resort. I did not spot any other changes in the portion of the parade I saw. A new Inside Out float is coming soon.

  • We were heading to Paradise Gardens for dinner. I decided I wanted a corn dog. The good thing about a parade going on behind you is no line for food. The bad is trying to order! I felt like I was back in Tokyo making hand gestures for the poor cast member trying to understand and get my order right with the very loud music. Eventually got the order and had no problems.

  • I walked through Paradise Park and was surprised at the set up for this evenings premiere. They had a small stage and several dozen seats for the VIPs and a small press riser taking up center portion of the viewing area. Which meant even less prime views than usual.

  • Next up I made a quick trip through Disneyland to see the final preparations. There were some more diamonds and blue than a week and a half ago when I was there. Sleeping Beauty Castle was ready to go, with the exception of the primary logo in the middle which would be unveiled Thursday at a cast member event. I did notice the large plastic Space Mountain inspired covers on two of the turrets had been removed. I think it looks better without them, wonder if they are gone for good or just being tweaked.

  • Across from the Matterhorn is the first of six planned photo spots. This one is for you and your friends to climb the Matterhorn. The others will be Big Thunder, California Screamin, Grizzly Peak and two that are not yet announced. All will be open by July 17th. They will all feature forced perspective and when viewed through the Photo Pass website will have animated elements appearing alongside you.

  • I spent the evening at Disney California Adventure for the Premiere of World of Color - Celebrate! The event started on Buena Vista Street with a reception that stretched the length of the street and then down Hollywood Blvd. Five and Dime provided entertainment in Carthay Circle. Several characters were on hand dressed in formal attire for the event.

  • A preview of the Diamond Mad T Party was performed. The set up has changed since the original. The House of Cards dance floor and the arcade are both gone. A new photo op is set up in front of stage 12, where Marshmallow was for Freeze the Night. The two bars and food truck have returned. The Mad T Party Band featuring the Mad Hatter and Alice have returned with new sets and a slightly revised stage. Be sure to catch the finale, it features When You Wish Upon a Star and Walt Disney! I really enjoyed it. The dance crew is now the most dazzling deck in town and they perform on the Hollywood Backlot Stage. The Tweedles are hosts for the evening and they move around between the stages and mingle with guests. They do a great bit on the main stage showing clips of themselves at Disneyland, well sort of at Disneyland.. they pop into various classic scenes.

  • Time for the main event. The festivities kicked off with a short introduction by Bob Chapek the current chairman of Disney Parks who was joined by Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse who star in the new show. This was very brief and then it was show time.

  • I really enjoyed the new show. I am a big Disney history geek and this show is a great tour of the companies history covering animation and Disneyland. So it was perfect for me. They have added several new effects including a large projection surface on the Fun Wheel, smoke effects and an very large new fire ball.. referred to as a mega fireball! This show seems even more dependent being able to see the screens than the original which I think is a challenge and a drawback to the show considering the relatively small number of good views.

  • I thought the Dream of Disneyland sequence was very well done. I always enjoy attraction round ups and the World of Color platform is a great way to do it. The Star Tours segment morphing into a long Star Wars one was kind of odd from a story perspective but very well done and sure to be a crowd pleaser.. including the addition of a clip from the soon to be released film. The other awkward portion for me was Let it Go! It was a long sequence for a single film. When talking about the Disney Animation you have to include Frozen, but does it have to be so much? I did not clock it but it was the longest non montage segment in the show by a long way.

  • I am curious how the show will play to non-disneygeeks as well as children. I will find out next week as I am going with relatives of which it will be a first visit to Disneyland for 4 of the 5. So looking forward to getting some first hand feedback.

  • I would recommend sticking around for the two exit sequences.. the fountains look great. Curious how this will work with regular crowds. I am assuming most will head for the park exit as soon as the finale finishes.. so this would be a great way to let the park empty a bit and see the fountains and lights for a while.

  • For a complete listing of all my coverage of the Disneyland Diamond Celebration Kick Off visit the Summary Page on the Geek's Blog

  • Do you visit our pictorial updates using a mobile device? If so we would like your feedback. I have created a beta of a more mobile version of our Disneyland Picture sets at https://disneygeek.com/mobile Please give it a try and share your thoughts.

Interesting Web Finds/Notes:

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

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