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6/12/15 - Thoughts and observations from a shortened trip on Friday
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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.

6/12/15 - Thoughts and observations from a shortened trip on Friday

Hello everyone,

Friday was a quick trip to the Disneyland Resort, especially compared to my last two multi day visits. I arrived later in the afternoon than usual thanks to a work meeting and then bad traffic, it took me well over an hour to travel the 30 miles from Downtown to Disney. Upon arrival I found what felt like moderate summer crowds with some relatively short wait times in several cases. What I mean by this for example is the Radiator Springs Racers were only posted at 60 minutes, Tower of Terror and Toy Story 30 min. All of which were a little surprising for a Grad Nite. There were exceptions, Space Mountain was over an hour and FastPasses were gone early.

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

Thoughts and Observations:

  • Parking was easy for me Friday. I had a short wait at the Ball Road light but once I reached the garage there were no lines. I was directed to one of the last rows on the roof so I think the situation became worse after I arrived. Also noted a new sign, well new to me, stretching over Disneyland Drive just past Ball Road. It has been several weeks/months since I drove through there so not sure how new/old it is. It has large print of which lanes go to Theme Park parking and which other destinations. I could not snap a picture since I was driving and alone.

  • The Disney Gallery has a new exhibit for the 60th called Drawing Disneyland the Early Years. It opened a couple of weeks ago but I had not been able to visit.. between it being closed and me being tied up. The exhibit features artwork from the creation of Disneyland. The pieces are grouped by artist and land with a different person represented in each land. I always enjoy these exhibit. A note on this one instead of a longer text description for each piece there is only the topic/title and then a longer piece on the person. If you have some time stop by the Gallery and take a look.

  • The second Disneyland photo spot opened Friday, this one features Big Thunder and joins the Matterhorn that opened a couple of weeks ago. At DCA there are two also Grizzly Peak and Screamin. Two more are on the way, Haunted Mansion and Bugsland I was told. These do offer some nice photos. Friday when I walked by they were not busy at all, just a trickle of guests. Remember PhotoPass photographers will take a picture with your camera or phone too if you ask.

  • Was surprised that the Tomorrowland Sneak Peek and Movie exhibit are closed already. Wonder if this was planned or because of the performance of the film? No indications of what is coming next to either location yet. It is interesting right now no films are playing in the parks in Anaheim.. unless you count the Sing A Long as one that is in the Muppet Theater. The Bugs Theater is closed for Ant-Man sneak peek which starts next week.

  • Buzz Lightyear has added FastPass. Not sure why, the waits were usually short and moved well. Friday when I walked by it had a posted wait of 25 minutes. Normally in the 15-20min range so a little bump due to FastPass. The distribution is a little tricky. It is from two of the Star Tours Machines. They are very well marked but guests still seemed to be challenged by the concept based on the conversations I overheard. There were several cast members in the area letting you know and helping as needed. Wonder if this is because the Autopia does not have FastPass or is this a step toward the MyDisneyExperience where there are just a lot of FastPass attractions...

  • The second Emporium window has been unveiled since my last visit. This one features Cinderella. It is well done, but the cycle seems really long to me. A fair number of guests were stopping to look at the new windows and commenting on them. Also thanks to the glare it is a challenge to photograph and share. Due to Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever getting night pictures in the early evening right now is not really an option.

  • Stopped by Ghirardelli and spotted the new chocolate covered fruit and nuts display/option. The Cast Member I spoke with said it was set up on Wednesday. While I was taking pictures and talking to the cast members several guests stopped and the common question was they wanted samples. The answer is no.. just the one when you enter.

  • Radiator Springs Racers had only a 60 minute standby wait listed and the single rider line was not visible so I decided to go for a race. It turned out to be only a 10 minute wait in the single rider queue. This time I went to Luigis and the curtain did not open to reveal the white walls. The other effects that usually go down seemed to be working, such as the tractor tipping and Doc.

  • Stopped by the Diamond Mad T Party during the 7:30pm set of the band. It closes out with a Disneyland finale. The 9:30 set also does if you are interested in seeing it.

  • Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever crowds on Main Street are still large, as expected. Curb seating for Paint the Night started to fill as soon as Soundsational finished. I showed up about 45 minutes before and was a half dozen people back from the front in Town Square.

  • A new float featuring the Little Green Men from Toy Story is now in the parade. Not sure when it started but I had not seen it in my previous viewings. Wonder if there is more on the way? The stilt walkers from the Hong Kong version would be a good addition.

  • After Paint the Night comes a fun free for all to watch. I would really like to see an overhead video of the crowds taking over Main Street. For a first timer it could be a scary experience.. as Paint the Night rolls by the masses push from the sidewalks out into the street to claim a spot for the fireworks. Disneyland Cast Members re-adjust the ropes for guest flow, this means walkways across the street and some other modifications. It is an interesting sight to see and experience. It works but it is a bit chaotic.

  • Exiting after Disneyland Forever was an adventure too. With Grad Nite DCA closed at 10pm so the guests from over there were making their way into the park as many, like me were leaving. Plus the Grad Nite kids heading over to DCA for their party.

  • Next week the Disneyland Resort All-American College Band starts their run in the park. This year they are performing at the Hollywood Backlot Stage at 3:00pm, then over to Disneyland for the rest of the day. Flag Retreat at 5:15pm, Castle at 6:15pm, Town Square at 7:15pm, and Parade Route at 8:15pm.

  • 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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