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5/20/22 - Disneyland Resort
 The Geek Speaks:

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.

5/20/22 - Disneyland Resort

Hello Everyone!

I spent Friday afternoon and evening at the Disneyland Resort. The weather was very different than a week ago. Temperatures never left the 60s and the sun never really broke through the overcast skies. Compared to last week where it was sunny and 90 it was a drastic change. The parks both felt crowded. As you walked around the walkways seemed busy and the wait times appeared longer than the few times I spot checked them.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • I arrived and was directed into a spot on the third level of the Pixar Pals Parking structure. My parking luck was bad and I ended up being the 2nd to last car in the row. They started a new one right after us and that one they did not hold any preferred spots so those people were right in front where as I had a quarter mile hike to the escalators. The security queues moved at a reasonable speed and I was able to hop right onto a waiting tram.
  • I entered Disneyland a couple minutes after 12 and thought I would see if there were World of Color FastPasses left. With a single show I assumed no. I went to the page and it said I did not have a group and could not make one. (I also tried to create my group ahead of time on the tram and it said I had not scanned my ticket so I could not make a group). I refreshed a minute later and it said the show was full.
  • Started my afternoon off with a ride aboard the highway in the sky. There was no wait and our car only had two other small parties in it on the way to Downtown Disney but it did fill up for the return to Tomorrowland portion. From the Monorail you get a great view of the Downtown Disney World. The site looks clear and leveled and like it is ready for new construction. The big change since my last Monorail ride a few weeks ago was the Submarine Lagoon has been refilled. There was no activity as we passed overhead but it looks ready for attraction testing. No return date has been announced yet.
  • While onboard I ordered lunch at the Galactic Grill and when we arrived back I was able to pick it up. I still find it odd you cannot order a plain hamburger, you have to take the lettuce. Why not give a choice to say no just like cheese and the sauce. I am still annoyed I have to pay for cheese when I do not want cheese. This is poor. Or give the option to put it on the side so I can give it to someone else. Also it still bothers me that I have to type my gift card in for every purchase.
  • I did not grab a picture due to carrying a tray of food but the condiments that are usually between the mobile order and backstage door to the left when looking at the counters were moved to the far right side. This was not idea. You had to pass through the queue for the one register that was open twice, once to go get your items then again to reach most of the seating. This was not a great move.
  • The tree house renovation work continues. Only a small portion of the former entrance is left. Guessing by next visit it will be below the level of the wall and gone. No date on the tree house return or what the new theme will be yet.
  • The pavement projects in New Orleans Square are entering the final rush. Fantasmic returns next weekend. There was fresh pavement on the walkway between NOS and Frontierland. Also some other sections of wall have been moved/removed. Pirates of the Caribbean looks like it will return July 1st, so there is another month for those projects.
  • I spent a good portion of this visit visiting with friends and hanging out on Main Street USA enjoying the entertainment including the Disneyland Band, Dapper Dans, Straw Hatters and Cavalcades. Also Dale stopped by to see us at one point too. It is nice to see the characters roaming the park again. Besides encountering Dale I crossed paths with Mickey, Mirada and Goofy during this visit.
  • The Flag Retreat was back to normal with the Dapper Dans and Disneyland Band joining the security honor detail for the lowering and folding of the flags for the evening. They invite those who are serving and have served up to the Flag Pole again. Due to the bench configuration and the Band this is a bit tricky and only a couple people did.
  • At Disney California Adventure I took a walk around the park. It was nice to see the Rambler back at the Grizzly Peak Airfield. The work in front of the Little Mermaid is still on going, no way to see what they are up to.
  • In Avengers Campus there were tables in the main campus area and near Avengers Headquarters. These appear to be related from two seating areas at Pyms that were behind barriers and from Hollywood Land where the back portion was no longer in use.
  • Speaking of Pym Test Kitchen we decided to order a pretzel to snack on. The mobile order process worked great. Another wish list feature popped up. The option to get a to go box. If you ask for one they give you a small pizza like box and container for the sauce then you can pack your pretzel away to carry elsewhere. This is fine but it takes some time/effort and seems the cast members could do it more quickly when assembling the order and save the dish ware that is used.
  • We had planned to visit friend then a few attractions in the evening but everything we wanted to experience was beyond our patience and the park felt crowded. For example the Jungle Cruise and Disneyland Railroad were both posted at 25 minutes but looked longer.
  • We left the park and walked through a busy Downtown Disney. It felt like a pre-covid Friday night with a large number of guests moving around and lines for food at many locations. We stopped for the 8:30pm Tupua performance on the main stage. It is nice to see them but I would like to see them rotate acts for the various days of the week. They seem to book the same ones for each day. So if you visit on a consistent day you see the same performers.
  • Decided to walk back to the car since we were halfway there already. Unfortunately we were forced down the ramps and out onto Magic Way. I really hate going this way. The extra driving plus three lights makes for a slow departure from the Disneyland Resort. Why do they not give you the option to either go through to the Mickey and Friends structure on your level, or if they want to minimize the cars/people why not let you go that way on the ground level to exit? Make it an option not a requirement so if people want to go to Ball Road or Disneyland Drive they can but if not they can by pass that congestion.

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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