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Visit Date: 11/21/08
Steps: 4,191
Parks Miles: 1.98
Time in Parks: 10

 
Trip Log:

Started off this great November afternoon heading for Disneyland. Dropped off some warm clothes in the lockers then headed out to NOS to grab a set of Fastpasses for Haunted Mansion before turning around and heading over to DCA. Some of us grabbed lunch at Taste Pilots(as well as Soarin Fastpasses) and the rest out at the Pacific Wharf Cafe. After filling up it was time to walk around the new completely drained bay and take some pictures. We wanted to ride Toy Story but it was down (seems to be a regular occurrance). So finished the loop of the Pier. Caught a little of the HSM 3 show since it was blocking our path then continued on to the Blue Sky Cellar. Then we headed for Fliks Fun Fair. Most went on Soarin at this point and I headed for the Backlot, made the loop and then walked over to the Grand Californian. Took some shots of the construction then wandered through Downtown Disney and back to Disneyland. Hopped on the train to NOS and grabbed another Fastpass for Haunted Mansion then walked along the Rivers, through Frontierland, and through the Castle to join up with the rest of the group that had now finished with Soarin (and grabbed some Buzz Fastpasses). The Castle Walkthrough was not open, but its looking close. We walked through Fantasyland and out to Toontown. Wandered around a little and then back near Small World to line up for the parade. I wanted to catch the Bolt Pre-parade, which of course was not running.. they had two bands and Narnia. After the parade we pushed our way through the crowd and hopped on Small World Holiday with only a couple minute wait. After Small World we strolled back through Fantasyland and around the Big Thunder trail. Stopped at the Holiday Roundup to see the reindeer and Santa briefly before heading back to Main Street. Grabbed a couple more Buzz Fastpasses and then caught the Flag Retreat. After the retreat grabbed our sweatshirts and then milled around till the tree lighting. Spend some time on Main Street and wandered down toward the castle to watch the 5:30 Snow event. After the snow it was time for dinner. I headed for a Corn Dog, others for the River Belle Terrace and we met up at the Golden Horseshoe. After eating we walked through the Big Thunder Trail and Fantasyland on our way towards its a Small World. We arrived about the time the Toyland unit from the parade was approaching. We hopped in line, had about a 5 minute wait, for Small World. After riding we hung around and watched the 7:30 Snow Event and projection show on Small World. After the show we strolled past Matterhorn and through the gardens near Pixie Hollow on our way to Tomorrowland. Went for a spin on Buzz using our Fastpasses. Then headed over to Haunted Mansion by way of Adventureland. Used our Fastpasses for HMH and then walked through NOS taking some pictures of the area. Wandered through Adventureland and out to Main Street. Spent some time in the shops on Main Street and then queued up for Believe in Holiday Magic. Watched the show and snow and then headed for the tram, cars, and home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Actual Walking Time: 1:20:35
* 52 steps per minute average
* 1.47 mph average
* Note: These are partial readings due to a pedometer error/failure...


For Comparisons to other trips or more park miles click here to visit our park Miles Section.

Note: These totals may be skewed because the pedometer is zero'd when we start and then left alone and read when we leave. So attractions, and other things may cause extra "steps" to be counted. The pedometer that we use basically measures up/down motion as a step, so if your standing in line and moving up and down it may be counting steps, etc.. so the total distances traveled and steps may be off.. so use these as rough distance comparisons between trips and they may not be accurate in terms of actual distance traveled.
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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My Thoughts & Observations:

* 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 kick-off of the holiday season at the Disneyland Resort with the return of Small World Holiday, the Christmas Fantasy Parade, Believe in Holiday Magic, and other holiday offerings. The crowds were mild to light for the early part of the afternoon and as the sun set the crowds grew. By dinner time the park was fairly full. By the time the fireworks started Main Street was packed as usual and they were sending guests backstage to avoid congestion. I only spend an hour or so at DCA and it was early in the day. The lines were extremely light at that time.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

  • Overall not that much new to report for this holiday season. The big news is really what is not there.. over at DCA there is no Santa Beach Party Blast or even signs of Santa anywhere. Not sure if he is coming or not.. also no live entertainment for the holidays (before there was a band that came out to perform at the Beach Party). The decorations looked about the same. Over at Disneyland the Snow events have been expanded again and all your favorites are back again.

  • Disneyland is sporting a new tree on Main Street. This year, for the first time in the parks history I believe, they have an artificial tree. The Florida parks switched several years ago. From a distance the tree looks the same as always. At night it features white lights that come on as part of the snow events, which is a great touch... but up close during the day its just not the same...

  • Noticed the Blue Sky Cellar is now in the DCA guidemap. And Burger Invasion is off the listing (but still on the map). Also noticed they have a different number for each attraction in the animation building, not sure how long its been that way, but this is the first time I noticed it.. seemed odd to see four numbers in a row on the Backlot.

  • Toy Story was down again, this seems to be a regular occurrence. Also Big Thunder was down at Disneyland when I walked by.

  • Seeing the drained Paradise Bay at DCA was interesting. I was glad to see they did not surround it with construction walls. Its almost an attraction in itself for us disneygeeks to see what the drained area looks like. No real visible signs of progress except for the draining and more scaffolding on the Sun Wheel.

  • Over at the Grand Californian no sign of Holiday decorations yet, guess they are waiting until Thanksgiving weekend...

  • I watched the first Christmas Fantasy Parade of the day (season) and for the most part it was the same. As you saw in the pictorial update there is a new Toy Factory float. The new float is ok, but seems rather large and not as interesting as the old one to me. I liked the old one with the lift on the front... guess I am a traditionalist.. Also I was surprised not to see a Bolt pre-parade but a Narnia one instead. I hear they ran Bolt for the evening parade.

  • Went for a couple rides on Small World Holiday. Overall the upgrades are great. The ride seemed a bit faster and smoother than before. The lighting, dolls, sets, etc... all look bright and new. Great to see so many dolls working that have not for years. I was a little disappointed in the new boats. They look rather odd to me and the front row has much less legroom than the old boats. The interior rows seemed the same, maybe a bit more (hard to remember). The only noticeable scene change so far is the rain forest scene is now in the same room as the Hawaiian scene. It seems like a quick/weird transition but I am sure with time it will fit. Great to see the alligator out. Also the giant sun has returned to the finale. I read somewhere this has been absent for years, possibly since the move from New York to Anaheim.

  • I grabbed dinner at the corn dog wagon on Main Street.. still no clue why this seems to be the slowest moving line in the park. Took almost half an hour to get my corn dog. Also prices are up to $6 now.. it was $5.80 last time I bought one.The lazygeek ate dinner in the Golden Horseshoe and there was only a couple people in front of him and it still took 10-15 minutes to get his food... made my corn dog line seem reasonable.

  • The Snow Events schedule seems to be the same as last year. There are snow flurries at 5:30pm and 7:30pm and then at the conclusion of Believe in Holiday Magic. This year the events are extended all the way down Main Street with the garlands hanging over the street, the castle, and the hub all having white lights during them. (Also note the tree lighting was at 5:00pm). Small World has projections again during the events.

  • I noticed that Pixie Hollow was closed in the evening. Last trip the characters were gone but you could still walk through. This time they had the lights off and chains up to keep you out. Too bad, it was nice to walk through and take pictures with no line.

  • As I was exiting I noticed all the parking lot trams, especially the one I was on were driving much much slower than usual, especially in the tram stop areas... I think I could have walked faster than they were driving... not sure if this is a new procedure or if something else was going on...

  • Mailbag (Response/Questions that have come in via email):
    • Fred sent over this schedule he found of the parade line up for the holidays:
      Caspian Pre-parade: 3:20
      A Christmas Fantasy: 3:30

      Bolt Pre-parade: 6:10
      Grand Marshal: 6:20
      A Christmas Fantasy: 6:30

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