* 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 spring day at the Disneyland Resort. The weather was mild and the crowds were not as bad as expected considering its the last Friday of the spring break season. Most of the E-ticket attractions were well under an hour most of the afternoon. By evening the lines were stretching and after 9pm when DCA closed Disneyland started to feel quite crowded.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• For once I have a good parking experience to share. I pulled into the garage and thought it was going to be my lucky afternoon. There were no real lines and I pulled right up to a tollbooth and was on my way up the ramp to the 5th floor with no delay. I rounded the corner and the line of cars I was in came to a complete stop. Usually this is where I start complaining about the inefficiency of the parking set up, but after a few seconds a CM walking down the aisle noticed the line was backing up to the ramp and showed some initiative and moved some cones and started directing us in a u-trun to go down to the end of the first row and park. Luckily I was about a handful of cars back so my wait was minimal. I never did see why the line had stopped but it was great to see a CM try to help those of us sitting in idling cars out. Then to top it off the trams even seemed efficient on Friday. Walked down the escalator and a tram had just pulled up and filled up and another was rounding the bend and I was able to walk right on (same thing happened when i left).
  
  
• As you saw in the pictorial update I spent quite a bit of time walking around the Pier in DCA and looking at the construction. I do not know why, but it just is interesting to me to visualize how its going to come together and watch the crews at work. Things are really moving along around the Bay and each trip there are new elements to see and projects in various phases. The new Mickey Face on the Fun Wheel seems to really change the tone of the area... I like it.. At first when i heard what was going in I was unsure.. then I saw the concept art and model and it still did not sell me, but seeing a giant smiling Mickey Face seems to lighten the tone and give the area a new draw/focal point. I cannot wait to see how it changes once the colorful gondolas and the new lighting package are revealed.
  
  
• The Games of the Boardwalk opened a few weeks early, on April 7th. The games all received a Disney makeover. Two of them are the same as before and there are two new ones. Overall I think the details of the facade, games, and booths are great and a huge step up from the originals. The new card reader system seems to have streamlined things a bit too so CMs no longer have to worry about the money. I was a little disappointed to not see the prizes match the games more carefully.. wonder if new ones are in the works? Disney prizes would be great but I would venture to guess that will not happen. The games cost $2.50 each and the game cards can be purchased starting at $5. The card system seems to be the same as the ESPN Zone system.
  
  
• Friday marked the opening of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Fantasyland. I stopped by in the mid afternoon (about 4:00pm) and the store was crowded and the salon filled. One word of warning, if you want to get your child into the Boutique, due to the small size and how new it is I would recommend making a reservation before you arrive at the park. The boutique has two portions. The front 1/3 or so is a princess store with more princess gear per square foot than anywhere I have seen before. The back 2/3 or is the salon where they do the princess makeovers. For those of you who have seen the boutiques at Walt Disney World this is along the same lines.
  
  
• I caught the Celebrate! A Street Party (still a very awkward name if you ask me) again. I wanted to see if it would grow on me at all. I am sticking with my initial thought that this would look much better after dark. I watched the last stop of the second showing which takes place around 7:00pm and the lights were just barely visible. I would think in the dark this would look great. Overall I still was not overly impressed with the show, but the crowds did seem to enjoy themselves and that is the goal so I think it achieves that.
  
  
• It was great to see two monorails out on the track again. The new Monorail Orange and Blue were making the rounds all day Friday. I guess you can officially say the modernization of the monorail fleet is complete (or was when orange came online a few weeks ago). From what I have read online monorail red is down for regular maintenance/overhaul already.
  
  
• With no Fantasmic and DCA closing at 9pm Friday Disneyland became very crowded, especially Main Street, as the evening went on. Main Street was full, but not jammed for Remember. I had not seen Remember in several months and this was my first time since they shortened the show. They cut out just under a minute from the Frontierland section of the show. The shooting gallery sequence and Big Thunder have been removed. I was a little disappointed to see this. I really enjoy the trip around the park.. I wish they would have cut some of the wishes segments instead. Also good to see Tinkerbell was back in the show (the last couple of times I saw the show she did not fly).
  

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