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06/10/11 - My thoughts and observations from Fridays visit to the 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.

06/10/11 - My thoughts and observations from Fridays visit to the Disneyland Resort

Hello all,

Here in Southern California every June we get what many refer to as the June gloom. It is a marine layer (fog) that blankets most of the area for a good portion of the day. Friday was especially thick and the sun did not come out until around 4pm at Disneyland. This made for a somewhat depressing looking sky most of the day. I was expecting about average crowds but hoping for slightly lighter due to the cooler weather.. they turned out to be about normal, maybe slightly above? Wait times were not too bad early in the day. At DCA things seemed normal with Soarin about 30 minutes, Toy Story 40, Screamin under 30. The Little Mermaid seemed to be in the 20-30 range every time I walked by.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

  • When I arrived at the resort and was directed up to the roof of the Mickey and Friends Garage, and then noticed it was mostly full I thought I was going to be in for a long afternoon. Usually they are finishing up the 4th floor or starting the 5th when I arrive, to be on the 6th/roof means a big crowd. But as I went down the escalator I noticed they skipped the 4th floor and had very few cars parked outside. So guess it was really just on the busy side of normal.

  • Not much to report from DCA on my first pass through the park. As you saw in the pictures all the projects are moving along. I am a little surprised the Blue Sky Cellar was not updated with the opening of the Little Mermaid. I thought with it being closed last trip that was a sign that some new exhibits were coming, instead just a few images swapped out. One news item from last week. The OC Register had as story saying Cars Land is slated to open Summer 2012 (originally Disney just said 2012). No additional details were given but given that Summer has kicked off the first couple weeks of June the past several years that may be an indicator.

  • Over at Disneyland the park felt a little on the crowded side to me. There seemed to be quite a few guests roaming around. Wait times were about average except for Star Tours which is to be expected. I heard that the Fastpasses for Star Tours were all gone before lunch time. As I roamed the park I was surprised by how many attractions seemed to be down at one point or another. I saw Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Roger Rabbit, the Go Coaster, and the Disneyland Railroad all closed at one point or another during the afternoon.

  • Caught a Captain EO showing since it was about to start on one of my passes by. The theater was maybe 1/3 full. Wonder how much longer they will run the tribute? Seems to me its time for another Tomorrowland makeover. I also stopped by Innoventions, mostly so I could try to get a decent shot of the Star Tours line, but also to see if anything was going on inside, since they were still using the ramp as the entrance. As far as I could tell nothing new was happening. Seems like those two facilities are just begging for an update.

  • With the current popularity of Star Tours the main walkway in Tomorrowland felt like Adventureland, jammed, most of the day. They had one way traffic flow in place and this seemed to keep the crowds moving. I did not make it out there in the evening to see what type of effect it had on the normal evening crowds.

  • The Flag Retreat Ceremony on Friday featured just the Dapper Dans. Kind of surprised the Disneyland Band was not part of it.

  • I was surprised to see only Monorail Blue running, I thought a second train was supposed to be operational by now... so be warned if you are looking to take the Monorail you may want to try and see how many trains are running and the potential wait time before heading up to the station.

  • I have seen Mickeys Soundsational Parade four times now and I am still searching for that elusive spot where you can clearly see the parade and be in the middle of a sound zone. I watched the first parade Friday from the Small World Mall. This was by far my best sound spot yet. When I moved to the middle of the mall area, sort of across from the ODV cart the sound seemed to be dead on, but seeing what was coming was a bit tricky thanks to the curve the parade route makes once it pass Small World. Has anyone out there found a great spot to experience this new parade?

  • I thought the new dining/pool area at the Disneyland Hotel felt really relaxed and calm. I also enjoyed listening to the live entertainment as I took my pictures of the area. From what I observed and overheard the hotel guests seem to think so too.

  • As the sun set I hung out at DCA trying to get some shots of Goofys Sky School after dark. I thought the new area looked great and was happy to see the lights on, I know in a few more weeks once it opens you will not be able to get shots like I tried to get on Friday since there will be crowds in the area.

  • If you missed it, Disney announced Electronica will be staying around till Spring 2012 now. The show just keeps getting extended. Wonder if the sneak peek clip will be swapped out? Seems weird to have an exclusive clip of a film that has been out on video for a while now. Also saw a tweet that there will be a new version of the Laser Man show starting next weekend.

  • I was conflicted on what I wanted to do Friday evening. Part of me wanted to see World of Color since it marked one year since my first experience with the show (which by the way I have pictures in the Flashback section if you have not seen them) or head over to Disneyland and watch Magical. As you saw in the pictures I opted for Magical since it has been playing for a couple weeks and I had not seen it yet. The show seemed about the same to me, no substantial changes jumped out at me.

Interesting Web Finds/Notes:
Below are some interesting links, notes, and rumors I found/stumble across/or have been informed of since the last Geekspeaks column.

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

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