Disneygeek - Geek Speaks - 12/20/19 - Thoughts and observations from 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.

12/20/19 - Thoughts and observations from Friday

Hello Everyone!

Today was a relaxing day at the Disneyland Resort. My primary objective was to enjoy the holiday entertainment. I was expecting the crowds to be on the heavy side. The crowds started off on the moderate side and crept up as usual as the evening progressed but they never really seemed to get to a heavy level. For example FastPasses lasted longer into the evening this visit than last. The weather started out perfect with clear skies and around 80 degrees but as soon as the sun set they fell considerably into the 60s and by the time I reached home low 50s.

I returned back from Walt Disney World earlier this week to conclude my holiday travels. It was great to have the opportunity to visit Disneyland Paris in November and Walt Disney World in December to see their holiday celebrations but I was happy to be "home" at Disneyland.

Thoughts and Observations:

Parking today was uneventful which was nice. No delays at the tollbooth and they were directing cars onto two ramps/floors so everything was flowing smoothly. I was directed into a spot near the back corner of the Pixar Pals Garage so I had a little hike though. Security today was backed up. Maybe a couple dozen people per line. They had maybe a half dozen gates open only. There was a one tram wait too.
The Pixar Pal-A-Round had a 20 minute wait posted so I went for a spin since it has been quite a while and I wanted to see what was going on from above. The Avengers Campus is moving along with facade details emerging on some of the structures. Still no date from Disney on when the first phase will open beyond saying 2020.
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker is now in theaters and Star Tours has been updated with a new adventure to coincide with the film. Even the attraction posters as you enter the park have been updated. I was able to pick up a FastPass with no problem for a return time within an hour of booking it. The return process has changed since the last time I road. You now pick up your glasses as soon as you enter the queue. You now visit the ocean planet of Kef Bir, see a transmission from Lando and you join in a final battle sequence. The new ride profile seems to have more movement than others. The ocean scene causing a lot of this so keep that in mind if you are prone to motion sickness.
I have not really use the Play Disney Parks app that much but one game/experience I have been doing is collecting the story cards from Esmeralda and Fortune Red. I completed the three stories (ten cards each) for Esmeralda a couple of visits ago but due to character meet and greets and down time had not finished Fortune Red. Friday I picked up the 30th card from Red to close out that story. Over the past year+ since the game debuted I had been stopping by to get one. The interactions have been a bit on the buggy side with many times it taking me several tries and app resets to get it to work. I think the idea of interacting with the park through an app is interesting and curious where it will go. I just wish the overhead on the app was less. It really seems to suck my cell phone battery and not interact well with other apps that are running.
Found a spot for Mickey's Happy Holidays procession at Disney California Adventure. This fun little character cavalcade is a nice addition to Festival of Holidays. I still think it could benefit from running more than twice a day or adding a couple more show stops. Seeing the stops is tough due to their locations and being on flat ground.
As I mentioned my goal today was to enjoy the holiday entertainment. I moved at a leisurely pace and was able to see quite a few groups and performances. A quick run down - Dapper Dans, Jambalaya Jazz, Wintertime Enchantment and a substitute for Believe in Holiday Magic plus caught a little bit of the A Christmas Fantasy Parade at Disneyland. Over at Disney California Adventure Disney Viva Navidad, World of Color - Season of Light, Mickey's Happy Holidays, The Sound, Mariachi Divas Blue 13 Dance Co, Mostly Kosher, Holiday Toy Drummers and the Holiday Concert featuring Phat Cat Swinger.
Walked through Tomorrowland around 6:00pm and it was on the quiet side. The subs had a five minute wait posted and even the Galactic Grill/Tomorrowland Terrace only had a couple guests per register.
I decided to try the double feature of World of Color at 9pm and Believe in Holiday Magic at 9:30pm. This is a challenge and Friday World of Color started nearly 5 minutes late making it that much harder. I decided to leave after the Goofy decorating segment to allow myself time to walk through the crowd and reach Disneyland. This plan worked ok and I was on Main Street and in a decent spot a couple minutes before show time. Unfortunately right at show time they announced there would be no fireworks due to winds at higher elevations. I arrived too late to see the trial balloon.. but low level you could feel nothing and the flags were all limp. In its place they ran a special Wintertime Enchantment followed by White Christmas. This combination is ok with plenty of snowfall but not the same as fireworks.
Exiting the park was a bit more crowded than usual because so many guests left early due to no fireworks plus exiting a bit earlier meant more of the World of Color crowd was still out there. All this led to a larger queue to exit. On previous visits cast members were directing the queue to load stations and you would get onto the next tram to pull in. This kept everything flowing. Tonight they seemed to not be doing this and instead sending groups to stations that already had guests waiting. This meant a couple tram wait. Adding to the frustration was after they did this a new stop was added and guests were sent there while we waited. It was not very efficient this evening for my exit.