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10/21/16 - Thoughts and observations from a Friday trip 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.

10/21/16 - Thoughts and observations from a Friday trip to the Disneyland Resort

Hello everyone,

This time of year at the parks is always a bit odd. Halloween is drawing to an end and they are ramping up for the Christmas season. The weather can be all over the place too. Friday the parks were busy as you would expect. I was hoping the heat, it was 95 degrees when I arrived, would help, but no such luck. Wait times were moderate most of the afternoon with just a couple of the usual suspects over an hour and really only the Tower of Terror really bad.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • Parking was surprisingly easy again. It seems the plans that are currently in place are making it easier to park, or maybe I am extremely lucky with my timing. This was not the case a couple of years ago when Halloween Parties meant a nightmare to park. I exited the freeway and found the overpass open so headed right into the structure. Found a line with no one in it. Was directed up to the 5th floor. Had a spot far from the escalators, but right by the exit ramp so no driving around the garage to park or exit which was nice.

  • Star Wars construction continuing to roll along. They were working during the day and evening again. This week you could see glimpses of more wire mesh/rock work taking shape as they continue the rapid pace needed to get the Rivers of America area reponed. In the Star Wars area itself the foundation and basement for one of the attraction show buildings is moving along.

  • Interesting the Main Street Station was closed, I saw on Twitter others saying this for the past few weeks. A train was there, just no guest access. Guess they are trying to save some money and only staffing the one station now? I did not see any other work going on.

  • Christmas has taken over the Disney Showcase on Main Street USA. It was awkward walking through Town Square sweating because of the 90 degree weather, pumpkins on my left and on my right a Christmas window. Christmas is showing up elsewhere on stage and backstage around the parks. From the tram you could see the Christmas tree waiting to be assembled backstage. Bugs Land has received its decorations and Cars Land preparations are underway.

  • I stopped by the Star Wars Launch Bay and it was really quiet inside. Wait times were posted in the 20 min. range. No visible signs of work on the second floor.

  • The Opera House display showcasing the past, present and tomorrow for Disneyland has been updated to feature three pieces of artwork from the Star Wars project. All have been released before. It would have been nice to see something new/different. But at least it was updated finally to show something that is coming. Wonder if a preview center is still planned for the project. It would have been really nice to see a preview of the Rivers of America on display in the Train Station or Opera House.

  • Over at Disney California Adventure I looked around Buena Vista Street and did not find any Fall/Halloween Buena Vista Bugles. I have not seen any for this season yet, has anyone?

  • The Grand Californian Hotel Lobby has a Halloween display again this year. This time around it is a Pump-"Cake" Patch created by the team. If you are at the resort be sure to stop by to see what the creative team has constructed. It is an impressive and fun creation.

  • I had not spent time in Downtown Disney in a while so decided to walk through Friday evening and try to catch some of the performers. The live entertainment did not disappoint with a variety of acts including a Polka Band, Scareolers (an a cappella group), to a violinist and guitarist. In the park area near ESPN there were three Food Trucks also. I had a great time just walking around and enjoying the entertainment. The crowds were fairly heavy since it was a Friday evening but still manageable.

  • I decided to head back to the parks just after 7pm and was dreading the security lines. Last visit I had friends get stuck in the lines around the same time and it took them almost half an hour to get into the parks. Friday was a breeze, maybe a handful of guests at each line only, they had a large number of cast members working and it seemed every line was open and moving. This week though the lines to get into DCA were substantially longer stretching out to the midpoint of the Esplanade almost all the way across. So that took some time to get through.

  • A Moana Preview has moved into the Bugs Theater. A sign out front, posters on the exit walkway and background music are all I noticed for this preview. The film is shown in 3D and features a series of clips and rough plot of the film. As you would expect the in theater effects are used. I stopped by around 7:30 and the theater was very full, probably 4/5ths. Listening to people around me most were interested and looking forward to seeing the film.

  • A Doctor Strange preview has taken over the Sunset Showcase Theater. There are some banners, posters and other signage up. The lobby features a costume from the film. The preview is much like the others lasting about 10 minutes, shown in 3D and using some of the in theater effects. I did find it interesting how they used the side screens this time. The audience for this preview was substantially smaller than the Moana group. This was just after 8pm, but the theater was maybe 1/4 full. Because people were spread out I did not overhear too many conversations so not sure the generally feeling people had about it. for me it seems a little too out there.

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Geek's Blog Postings Recap – September 27-October 11, 2016


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.

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com

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