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

Hello all,

Friday was a great afternoon/evening at the Disneyland Resort. The weather was mild as were the crowds. I was really expecting the holiday chaos to be in full swing Friday and it was not. In the early afternoon all attractions at DCA that I saw were under 30 minutes (Toy Story at 20, Soarin at 25, Screamin at 20). Disneyland was a little more crowded but still fairly mild until the second parade and then once DCA closed at 9pm the park really started to get busier.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• This trip the line to get in the parking garage was substantially shorter in terms of the number of cars (Sunday we were backed up to the entrance) today there were only a handful of cars in front of me.. but it still took a good 10 minutes to get through the line, not sure why everyone was taking so long.
  
  
• As you saw in the pictorial update the new Celebration Today banners are up at the tram stop and tramway as the countdown to the kickoff, January 1st, has begun for this newest promotion. So far not that impressed with the signs, but I do like them better than the Year of a Million Dreams signage.
  
  
• As I entered DCA there was the regular handful of survey (guest research or whatever there official title is) CMs lingering around. They asked me if it was my first visit to a park today and I said yes. They gave me a paper survey to take with me, fill out and mail in. The questions were basic demographic questions and nothing really interesting. For taking the time to fill out the survey there was a sticker inside, and they asked that we keep the pencil vs mailing it in.. it was a regular number 2 pencil... One thing of note was there were two surveys inside. Exactly the same except one in English and one in Spanish.
  
  
• I saw a 20 minute wait for Toy Story, which I think may be the shortest I have seen so far. I still opted for single rider. The CM working the line said there is a new policy. They have to ask the guests if they are ok with adding a single rider to their party. That seemed like a nice courtesy until I had to watch as a handful of cars left with only one person in them. I do not think the CM was explaining it that clearly and people were more focused on finding their number and boarding than what she was saying.
  
  
• There were a fair number of USC fans roaming the parks today, not sure why or if everyone just had on their USC sweatshirts because of the weather so they stood out. While taking pictures of the parade someone asked me if it was USC day, to my knowledge it was not... Also one of the CMs giving a tour gave a great FIGHT ON! and went on to explain a bit about the custom to her group.. I thought that was cool.
  
  
• I stopped by the Golden Horseshoe to take in the Billy Hill show and was pleasantly surprised to see a holiday version of their show being performed. I have not seen one before. Last year they added a couple holiday songs/references, but still the same basic show. This year they went a step further and it was great to experience. How could you not enjoy such holiday classics as Billy go run over by a reindeer! Also the other Billy acting out the ghosts of Christmas past, presents, and yet to come was hilarious.
  
  
• I think the Buzz Fastpass machines do not like me anymore. Seems I have to try a couple usually to find one to take my pass. The past two trips I had issues with the machine not printing a ticket for me and I had to get a CM to get me one. Anyone else having problems or am I just lucky? I don't seem to have this problem with any other set of machines.
  
  
• Something that came up when looking over the dinner receipt was a slight difference in menu pricing thought between WDW and Disneyland. Both resorts usually list a higher priced option such as a cheeseburger or double cheeseburger but you can go ahead and order a lessor type such as a single or regular hamburger or with the pizzas cheese or pepperoni. But what we noticed was Disneyland charges the same price, for example their cheeseburger and plain hamburger were the same and cheese and pepperoni pizzas. Where as at WDW most of the time there is a slight savings. I think the WDW way of doing things makes more sense for the guest and is appreciated.
  
  
• As you saw in the pictorial update I went on Small World Holiday twice to try and get shots of the cereal boxes throughout. I received a couple emails on the subject saying it was done by a CM on their last day. I thought this was the case and it was a nice discovery that made for an interesting trip (or two). I kind of would like to see Disney do something similar someday... maybe hide a certain type of candy cane or something and you can have a game of how many can you find... probably no need to do this anytime soon as the lines were still on the long side most of the afternoon/evening just as they have been on other trips..
  
  
• Speaking of interesting line patterns the Castle Walk Through seemed a bit sporadic. I walked by once and saw no one around so I visited but on a couple other passes the line stretched back toward the bridge where it was on Sunday when I waited. Also noticed this is not listed in the guide map yet (it is listed as coming soon).
  
  
• I managed to catch all three snow events of the night and each looked great. Actually the one by Small World was a heavy snow fall. As I mentioned last week and want to say again the new snow machines on Main Street look great. Also wanted to note that the 5:30 snow event was great.. they did not have the parade lights on just the normal building lights and it looked good compared to the finale of Believe which always has the big parade lights on.
  
  
• Noticed that the pre-parade unit for the Dream Suite winner no longer has dancers with it. Is this permanent or was something going on Friday? Also anyone know what is planned to happen after the 1st of the year with the Dream Suite?
  
  
• As I mentioned in the pictorial update during Fantasmics Peter Pan segment there were no stunts going on this week. Anyone know the story? Were they back for other shows this weekend/week?
  
  
  
• Finally I saw Friday the 26th is when the Rose Bowl teams are slated to visit Disneyland. If anyone goes to the park and has some pictures to share drop me an email I do not think I am going to make it down to the park so anything would be great.
  

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