* 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 busy day at the parks. The crowds felt healthy at both parks with quite a few guests roaming around. DCA even felt crowded, even though the wait times did not reflect it. Not sure if this is because of the walls up, a large number of Annual Passholders in the park, the 2fer deal, the birthday deals, or just the way it felt. I spoke to a couple CMs and they said Wednesday and Thursday were really crowded, much more than anticipated. Our best guess is it was the first Friday in a couple weeks with nice weather.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• The Tram stop at the Mickey and Friends Garage had at least a two tram wait so with no trams in sight we decided to walk again.. this seems to be happening more and more frequently. The lines to get back to the garage during the day were fairly long too, but in the evening things seemed to be running smoothly (or our timing was just better).
  
  
• As we walked through Downtown Disney it was kind of sad to see the closed stores.. wonder if anything new will open soon? Each one has a sign up saying something is coming, but no dates or hints as to what and I have not seen/heard any announcements yet.
  
  
• We ate lunch at DCA around 1pm and the lines were long. At the Wharf Cafe the line was out the door and at Taste Pilots they were 4 or 5 groups deep all the way across. I was able to walk to Taste Pilots, get my food, walk back, and they were still 5 people or so from the front of the line. I was just about done eating by the time they reached the table at the Wharf. The dinner lines at Disneyland were much shorter and flowed better for us.
  
  
• As you saw in the pictorial update the construction at DCA is moving full speed ahead and it I could have spent more time just watching and guessing at what was going on and trying to visualize how some of the pieces will come together. I am pleasantly surprised that they did not put up walls blocking the entire Bay off.. I know the construction is bad show, but it is interesting for us disneygeeks and I even heard many regular guests commenting on how interesting it was.
  
  
• The lines around DCA were still relatively mild except for for. Toy story was 45 minutes or so and Screamin well under 30 minutes (15-20) the couple times we walked by. Soarin was a bit longer and GRR was over 30 minutes in the afternoon.
  
  
• I finally made it on Small World. I was rained out the past two trip attempts since it has re-opened. The wait was posted at about 20 minutes. The first time we waited no more than 10 but the second time it was about 25 due to a boat getting stuck at the launch. I thought there were some great changes/updates with the rehab and then some things that really bugged me.
  
  
  • First the good. I thought the overall look of the attraction was fresh, clean, and great! All the dolls I noticed seemed to be present and working, no voids like before. The new lighting systems really showcased some of the scenes and looked good. As I mentioned back in December when it opened the new flume and boats work and have nothing too interesting to comment on except I thought the boats looked a little too plastic.
    
    
  • The new sound system and mix was a net positive. I really enjoyed being able to clearly make out some of the instruments and some of the new pieces worked well. One area that did bug me was the solo Ariel had.. I thought this sounded awkward and really did not work well.
    
    
  • The American scene that was added before the finale was ok... the it was an interesting choice to go with a Western theme for the US..
    
    
  • The Lazygeek had an interesting observation. He thought the American Scene reminded him of Superstar Limo.. with the lighting, the Hollywood Bowl (I guess that is what it is as you exit the room?) and then the larger than life Woody and Jessie... I found that kind of funny and at the same time made sense almost..
    
    
  • As for the Disney Characters being added to the attraction.... I was disappointed with the way the additions were done. Let us skip the debate if they should be there or not for a second and just look at the implementation. Adding them is one thing, but making them the focal point of so many scenes just does not seem correct to me. If they were added and off to the side or a supporting role I do not think it would have bugged me too much, but making them all front and center and in your face just did not seem right. If my memory serves none of the character dolls move or blink.. they are all static (anyone know for sure.. I only went on it twice so not 100% certain), I thought this made them feel like props almost in some cases. I found some of them to really be out of place.. for example the Finding Nemo characters.. yes the story takes place there, but they really have nothing to do with the country, culture, etc... or Lilo and Stitch... at least some are fairy tales or stem from folk lore of the region/country and those seemed to work a bit better but the implementation still rubbed me the wrong way.
    
    
  • I know there has been quite a few bytes of internet data taken up with debates, rants, etc... about the changes and how they do not fit with the theme/story of the attraction verses those who think an update is a great way to breath new life into an old attraction. I come down somewhere in the middle on this debate. I agree Disneyland should not be a museum and that change is sometimes good (for example retiring Fantasy in the Sky to replace it with Believe and then Remember). But on the other hand change for changes sake just does not work for me and sometimes I think it sends an attraction backwards (for example the Tiki Room in Florida). I think Small World is somewhere in a gray area and I am not sure where I come down. Overall I do not think its going to effect the head count one way or the other. Small World always has a decent crowd and the popular holiday overlay keep its turn styles clicking. Which really begs the question why add the characters? And why make these new characters the focal point of many of the scenes? Seems to me that does not fit the storyline of the attraction. I am curious what the new/current description for the attraction is, I did not catch the sign this trip, I will next trip to see if they updated it or if its still the same as before.
    
    
  • Due to some scheduling issues I did not make it out there at night to see the new lighting effects on the facade... I will next trip hopefully...

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