* After you read this report you may want to check out the pictorial updates in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Hello all,

Friday marked the start of the Summer season at the Disneyland Resort. Fantasmic Returned, the College Band was playing, Swing Dancing at Plaza Gardens, the first Friday the Subs were back and perfect Southern California weather all made for a great trip to the parks. The crowds were about average, which was not expected (I was expecting a lot heavier). As you saw most wait times were between 30-60 minutes for the big attractions all afternoon long with the exception of Splash Mountain in the 70s and Finding Nemo pushing the 2 hour mark most of the time.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• Let us start off with my first impressions of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
  • Overall I enjoyed my voyage and will have to go a couple more times to really take it all in, which I think is a great thing! The subs look as good on the inside as they do on the outside. They are still unfortunately the same dimensions so those of you over say five foot ten or so will feel big and the seats are narrow. The new sound is crystal clear and easy to hear throughout the attraction and the sub itself is much quieter than I remember. The sub I was in did not have a fully functioning A/C unit as it was a bit on the warm side inside, not hot, just warm.
  • I was also surprised by the wait time. I had fully expected to wait 2-3 hours and was extremely happy to have only waited 75 minutes. I thought the queue was very well organized, and moved ok. There were several CMs at the key cross overs and along the way to keep things in order and flowing. Come July and August though it could be a very hot wait out there as there were some umbrellas but little else in the way of shade for a lot of the wait.
  • I was surprised but the 15 minute ride went by really quickly... not sure if it was because it was my first time or because I was trying to look out the window and take pictures or just because its that well done, but it did go by quickly and there were several points I wish it would have been slower actually.
  • They were passing out a VMK quest (not good for any prizes) with a couple activities in it to help pass the time and I thought this was a great touch. Too bad you could not go to Innoventions or something and trade it in for a prize or two.
  • It was kind of interesting to keep track of the time. I think this may have been the first time for me at Disneyland. I have several times at Disney World though. I wonder why they do not switch to an automated system like Florida uses at all the parks. I guess if the paper method has worked for years why switch it.
  • The viewing angle for taller people is still tough for some of the show scenes unless you stick your head in the porthole which of course I could not since I had a camera there
  • The reef (outside portion) was good. I thought the colors and new elements were great, even though my window was not the cleanest. Hopefully the much hyped glass paint holds its color as predicted.
  • The projections looked good for the most part, amazing to think your looking through water. They actually looked better to me than the general projections at EPCOTs living seas but not as much "depth" as the ones on the windows of the main tank there. At EPCOT for the finale the Nemo characters swim in the main tank with the live fish and I found the illusion of depth to be great here (even after riding it a few times). I did not have that same sense with these. You knew it was a film and it felt a bit flat to me but the clarity and integration with the set pieces plus given that your looking through water to where the sets are is great!
  • I was surveyed at the end of the voyage by a Disney research person. I gave the ride a 7 out of 10. I said it was slightly better than the original version.
    
    
• The 2007 College Band is performing again. Only saw/heard one USC person this year... FIGHT ON! The band even made the time guide again. FYI their schedule is 2:00 Plaza Gardens, 4:45 Castle, 5:45 Tomorrowland Terrace, 7:05 Main Street by the Train Station Tuesday through Saturday. I kind of missed them at the Flag Retreat but the Disneyland Band/Dapper Dan retreat is great! Also interesting to note they were not doing Pre-parade but instead a full set (like they used to), that was nice to see. They are sponsored by Yamaha this year. The Tomorrowland Terrace and Main Street set had one overlapping number only (a Dream Girls medley). Next visit I will catch the other sets hopefully.
  
  
• The Nemo wrapped monorail seemed to be a crowd pleaser judging by peoples comments. I even noticed a few people waiting at the platform to ride in it vs monorail Purple. For the record nothing has changed on the inside, its just a wrap on the outside.
  
  
• This is definitely the summer of Nemo at the Disneyland Resort (guess its really the year of Nemo if you include the WDW additions late last year). Both park guide maps feature Nemo, Disneyland the subs and DCA Turtle Talk. The Greetings from California store window features the same Nemo display but a logo for the Subs has appeared too (that seemed odd to me to advertise the other park.. but it works with the theme since Disneyland is in California...). At Disneyland Nemo has taken over the VMK space in Tomorrowland and the one window in the Star Traders (but oddly enough not a lot of merchandise in Star Traders).
  
  
• Noticed there was a single unit for the pre parade that featured some of the characters from Ratatouille as well as some dancers out in front. The crowd did not seem all that into it, maybe its because no one has seen the film yet. The music was not all that memorable either, I can not remember it as I sit here typing it. Now my memory is not that good but seems I should be able to at least have some idea what was playing...
  
  
• DCA was its normal quiet self. There really did not seem to be much happening at the park. The crowds seemed about average. For example Screamin's wait was under 30 minutes as was GRRs. Soarin' was pushing 45 minutes to an hour.
  
  
• Award Wieners on the Backlot at DCA no longer serves fries. Instead you have a choice of apple slices or chips. Seems instead of raising the prices they cut the fries.. (prices appeared to be about the same for the hot dogs). This is too bad, I thought their fries were amongst the best Disney fries.
  
  
• The new Project Tomorrow exhibit at Innoventions was only about half complete but it looked interesting. I still think there is too much emphasis on games, not sure how else to do it but it seems to be too much for me. I really enjoy the Honda exhibit with Asimo but I guess that is the tech geek in me coming out.
  
  
• Fantasmic is back and the crowd was extremely vocal and into the show. Still amazes me that after 15 years the response is that strong and the show really has not changed that much. The new/brighter lights and blue tones on the princess barges looked great to me.
  
  
• There was no Tinkerbell during Remember Friday.. I was too far down Main Street to see if anything was going on at the Matterhorn, but she definitely did not take flight.
  
  

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