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06/22/02 Disneyland Resort Visit
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06/22/02 Disneyland Resort Visit

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

This rare Saturday update. We arrived at the resort fairly early for us (getting the Lazygeek somewhere before noon on a weekend is amazing)... anyways. There was quite a bit going on around the Disneyland Resort on Saturday. Looking back on the day it amazed the Lazygeek and myself that we managed to spend 12 hours (10-10) at the Resort and only went on two "rides" (the Sun Wheel & the Tom Sawyer Island Rafts). We did manage to take in quite a bit of live entertainment though (Barrage, Blast, Eureka Parade, Lilo & Stitch, Goofy's Beach Party, Elvis, Fantasmic, Believe, and several other groups around the parks). What was really weird is we did not even think about the attractions. Usually you look at a few and decide to ride or pass depending on the line or Fastpass return time, but this trip we did not even ponder that... very strange...

Random Items:

  • New Guidemaps: We really like having both entertainment guides in one booklet, wishede they were more detailed though. Many of the performing groups are not listed. The idea of having both parks on one map is great for park hoppers, but I think can be very confusing to single day / single park guests. Also having to unfold this large map and walk around is a little tricky. It was fun to "play tourist" and walk through the park with a large map in front of your face... just be careful you don't get run over while doing this.
  • Keep forgetting to mention the speed bumps we hate in the parking structure we have only encountered on level 4. The past few times were have been on 3 and no speed bumps.
  • ESPN Zone was doing an NHL draft party for the Ducks. We stopped by and saw Keith Carney (Ducks player) signing autographs and quite a few people watching the draft.
  • We were surprised to not see any of the new Anaheim shuttles... guess our timing is just bad.
  • The Lazygeek had a question... why are the Up escalators usually the one on the left? The right seems more natural to most people. Also from his standpoint its a shorter distance to walk to from the trams...
  • I also noticed that HP has officially replaced Compaq on the guidemap and in the announcements about Believe.

Disneyland Items:

  • The crowd at the park was a healthy summer crowd we thought. The attraction lines were reasonable still though and people seemed to be able to move around freely.
  • The All American College Band is back at Disneyland again this summer. There showtimes are not listed in the guidebook, but they were 4:00pm @ Carnation, 5:30 @ Castle Forecourt, and 6:30 @ Town Square for the Flag Retreat. This is a great band, so stop by and give them a listen.
  • Barrage is performing at the Club Buzz stage for the next few weeks. If you are in the park stop by and listen to them. They are playing three sets a night.
  • Fantasmic is back and as good as ever, minus the Ursula float of course. The first show of the night had a full house and the response was great as usual. Its still amazing after 10 years how full of a crowd and positive of a response the show still gets.

DCA Items:

  • The crowds were about what they felt like last summer. Not that big, but still bigger than the off season. Most lines were well under an hour most of the day.
  • Stitch has come to DCA in a fairly big way. Merchandise is in a couple shops and Lilo & Stitch's Ohana Luau is at Pizza Oom Mow Mow. There were quite a few activities going on at the Luau. There were crafts for kids, pictures with Lilo, a mini stage show with Stitch, and of course merchandise carts.
  • Over on the Warf stage was a great Elvis. Scot Bruce was doing a Tribute to Elvis, the Early Years with Russell Scot & His Red Hots. This was a great show. We took in two sets.
  • In the Farm area we finally caught the Bluegrass group. Its the California Bluegrass band (Might be Southern California, I can't remember now).. Anyways if you are a Billy Hill fan, check them out. They are great too.
  • Work really seems to be coming along on Flick's Fantasy Fair. It really looks good from a distance, hope the attractions and close up are good too. Still not sure how this fits into California, except that the film was made in Northern CA... I guess bugs can be anywhere and it fits the farm great...
  • No really noticable signs of work on the concert stage yet... I would assume work would start soon since its less than a month till the series starts...

 

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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