Hello all,

Friday morning started way too early after a full day on Thursday. We were up, checked out of the room, and on our way into DCA by 6:30am. The morning was filled with a couple of events to cover then the rest of the day we were on our own. Overall the crowds felt about normal for a Friday but a definite shift in the masses into DCA in the evening hours. I did not make it over to Disneyland in the late afternoon so curious if the crowds felt lighter there or not. Wait times throughout the day seemed about normal for this time of year with most well under an hour (actually half an hour) for most of the day.

Jason

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

Disneyland & DCA Thoughts and Observations:

• On our bed Thursday evening when we got back to the room was a one page (front/back) letter explaining about the World of Color festivities and how how to get Fastpasses for the World of Color. Resort guests were instructed to to head to the Esplanade to get in line at the Main Entrance to the DCA after 7am. I talked to a CM and they said there would be a separate line for hotel guests. I did not make it out in time to see, so I cannot confirm this. Also no one seemed to to know if this would be the regular way or just for the first day. So if you are staying at the Disney Hotels be sure to ask or look for the information. Also on this note it talked about the Live Broadcasts and the Premiere so guests would know what is going on. I thought this was great to see.
  
  
• My first stop of the morning was the Blue Sky Cellar. On Friday it opened with a new set of displays focused on the Little Mermaid attraction as well as some information on the Red Cars and the area around Goofys Sky School. I was lucky enough to stop by before any crowds (or other media) were there so I had plenty of time to photograph everything as you saw in my long pictorial updates.
  
  
• After the Blue Sky Cellar we grabbed breakfast and then headed over to get our Fastpasses for World of Color. It was around 8am when we made our way over to GRR and noticed quite a few guests in the area. They had opened Condor Flats and GRR early to ease the distribution process for the World of Color fastpasses. We walked up to the Hotel gate to scan our annual passes so we could get fastpasses and they were not open (except for media entrance/exit) so we had to hike to the front entrance, scan our passes, then hike back to get our Fastpasses. By this time there was no real visible line at the entrance and there was a decent line at GRR that wrapped around a bit before making its way to the Fastpass machines. Kind of interesting to note they had you entering through exit side, then a CM was at each machine to scan your park passes and you were able to continue on then. It looked like Soarin and the Redwood Creek area were open for guests to experience already. We noticed quite a few people getting there Fastpasses then heading for the exit (guessing to go home or maybe over to Disneyland since the park was open already). Overall the process looked very organized and smooth to us. We noticed several wristbands too, so I am guessing the early arrivers were given wristbands to ensure their place in line.
  
  
• I still think it is a little odd that you cannot pick your show time. Seems if you really want to go to the late show you should be able to opt for that. Currently the distribution is set up to start with the first show then work through the other shows of the day. By around 1pm it looked like they were wrapping up the distribution for the day.
  
  
• At 9am we headed over to the Silly Symphony Swings for a Cast Member Moment, the opening ceremony. There were a fair number of CMs on hand for this great event that featured some characters, the Disneyland band, and a couple brief speeches. Then the CM's were able to go for a spin and grab a light breakfast.
  
  
• Our next scheduled event was at 10:45am and was the Whats Next Presentation. Here are the cliff notes:
  • Summer Nightastic is back -> Magical, Fantasmic, Pixie Hollow Enchantment, Tomorrowland Terrace TLT Dance Club, World of Color replaced the Electrical Parade. This runs through August 29th.
  • Also new this summer are the Silly Symphony Swings and the new Toy Story Game
  • In the Press Release they mention Rapunzel from Tangled will begin greeting guests in Fantasyland in October (the movie opens November 16).
  • Disney Cruise Line -> Talked about the Wonder heading out to the west coast with Alaska and Mexican Riviera stops. From Jan 23-March 20,2011 Kids will be free on all seven-night cruises to the Mexican Riviera when staying with two full-fare paying guests in the same stateroom.
  • Enhancements to the Disneyland Hotel -> talked briefly about the new pool area, tower renovations, and three new themed suites
  • Cars Land was next on the agenda. We were given an overview then a virtual fly through down the main road, as well as some storyboards for the Racers. Cars Land opens in 2012 and is a 12 acre land featuring Radiator Springs Racers, Luigis Flying Tires and Maters Junkyard Jamboree
    
    
  • Star Tours the Adventure Continues will open in 2011 and be a 3-D film taking you to new destinations including Coruscant. July 27,2010 will be your last chance to ride the original before it shuts down.
  • The final was Ariels Undersea Adventure which opens in 2011. They showed a video that featured many of the same clips as are now shown in the Blue Sky Cellar then there was a finale where Jodi Benson sung
    
    
• I spent the afternoon roaming the parks and seeing what was new at each. Also catching up on some photos I needed to get, such as the baseball Mickeys and Downtown Disney updates.
  
  
• At 6:15 I headed for the Sunshine Plaza to watch the kick off to Glow Fest. Two CMs came out and said the 6:15 show was cancelled and to head to the backlot for the 8:15 one, which did not work for me since I would be in line for World of Color then. So no report on Glow Fest this week. I hope to go back next week to experience it.
  
  
• I was able to see them pull out and set up some of the pieces/booths/trucks on the Backlot and this looks like it is going to be a festive event. I will wait to comment on it till I see it in action though. Only comment I want to make is it looks like it is going to be a traffic bottle neck with the later showings of Aladdin exiting as the Glow Fest is being set up and going on. This will be eased once they re-open the walkway to Bugsland but for now it seems like it is going to be a slow walk.
  
  
• Speaking of Aladdin as of Friday it shifted to a later schedule to 3:15, 4:55, 7:20 and 8:55.
  
  
• We headed out to the Pier around 7:15 since our Fastpass said between 7:30 and 8:30 and no early or late arrivals. Well the early part was a lie.. guests were already being let into Paradise Park. The process seemed very orderly. We walked up. Showed our Fastpass and were directed down to our section (Yellow). The parade route was blocked off and you entered there and then walked down the steps into your area. Yellow was the second from the interactive fountain on the left to the large staircase on the right when looking at the Fun Wheel. We could go on any tier within that range. We opened for a place on the steps by the interactive fountain. (about where the press riser was on Thursday night). We encountered no problems and no real waiting. All the CMs we spoke to directed us right to the proper place. There were quite a few CMs working the area. I thought it was a nice touch that the lights were turned the color of the section you were in. The CMs also all had flashlights of the color you were in too so there were a lot of visual queues to help you out.
  
  
• As we waited there were CMs walking around selling items ranging from food/drinks to ponchos to glow items. I am still not a big fan of this, but guess if you are going to be held up for over an hour in one spot it makes sense. Guests were being allowed to sit on the ground until there area looked full then they were asked to stand to allow for more to fit in. Also we noticed they were allowing guests to line up anywhere (and everyone) around the Bay. I am very curious how the show looks from the sides and back (guess I will find out on subsequent trips when I do not have a fastpass). If anyone watched from out there and has pictures/thoughts to share drop us a line.
  
  
• At 8:30 the Carnival of Color began. This consisted of two CMs up on stages and the larger than life puppets of some of our friends (colored for each section of course). Lumiere, Genie, Mike, Tigger, and Sebastian rounded out the group. The show was really a pep rally/sing along type affair and it only lasted 15-20 minutes. The main theme sounded familiar to me.. I think it was from a Tokyo Disneyland show, or sure sounded close to it... overall it was an ok experience. The characters were great. The two hosts boarded on shrill (the girl/hostess in front of us looked familiar too, I think she was in one of the High School Musical shows.. maybe the first or second version...). I would have liked to have seen the show go on a little longer, closer to show time. We still had about 10 minutes after they left.
  
  
  
• As you saw in the pictures our view Friday was substantially better than the one on Thursday. So it looks to me that the key to World of Color is location... the projections, lasers, and lower level effects were so much better from this location that the show felt quite different and I was even more impressed than I was on Thursday. After seeing the show twice now I have a couple of tips. Be sure to find a location where you have a clear view of the bay and can see the tops of the fountain heads on the water surface. This means you won't miss any of the lower effects. If you can square yourself up with the fun wheel and projectors that helps too. If you do not want to get wet do not go any closer than the third tier and keep an eye on the wind.
  
  A clip from our location on Friday:
  
  
  
• After the show the exit process seemed quite orderly. We hung around a few minutes to talk to and listen to those around us and then headed out with the masses. They directed us down the trail by GRR and along the way we saw a couple of queues set up for the next showing. We turned into the hotel and headed for the car.
  
  
• As we crossed the street near the Paradise Pier hotel I learned something new. They play the sound track for the fireworks on the pool deck, and you can hear this from the street. You get a fairly good view of the fireworks and the audio too!
  
  
  
  
  
• Guest Comments/Thoughts on World of Color
  • Fred (won tickets on the Parks Blog and was there Thursday evening)
    Upon checking in, we received a "World of Color" cookie and a Disney Parks blog pin, as well as a booklet with some technical info about the show, as well the show's list of acts. Plus, a little info about the Little Mermaid ride and Cars Land.
    
    The festivities on the *Blue* carpet were fun, I especially enjoyed seeing the large character puppets. I also really loved the opening ceremony. It was pretty exhausting since there was a lot of standing involved, but to be fair, Disney did warn people about that in the e-mails that they sent out.
    As we were escorted to our spot in the viewing area, we were given colored popcorn in a souvenir bucket, as well as a drink (vitamin water).
    
    Overall, I really enjoyed World of Color. Its one thing to watch videos of parts of the show, but seeing it in person is even better. Its really amazing what they could do with the water, lights, lasers, and fog. I am looking forward to seeing it again, since at times there was a lot going on and it was hard to take it all in.
    
    I realize that there were people on some of the more cynical Disney boards who had suggested that the show would be lackluster for one reason or another, but in my opinion there is certainly nothing lackluster about World of Color.
    
    There will no doubt be varying opinions about World of Color on the web, but I think that the general public will love the show. Most importantly, California Adventure finally has a nighttime spectacular of its very own.
    
    I am looking forward to seeing the updates to the Blue Sky Cellar, as well as the rest of the expansion.
    
    
    
    
• Interesting Web Finds/Notes:
  Below are some interesting links, notes, and rumors I found/stumble across/or have been informed of since the last Geekspeaks column.
  
  
  • Some Recent Press Releases:
    • The Walt Disney Family Museum July 2010 Events Calendar
    • 6/10/10 - ‘World of Color’ a Milestone in Major Expansion at Disney California Adventure Park
      
    • 6/09/10 - Fanciful Fountains Take Center Stage in Spectacular ‘World of Color’ Show at Disney California Adventure Park
      
    • 6/09/10 - A ‘World of Color’-ful Facts, Figures and History
      
    • 6/01/10 - A World of Ways to Enjoy ‘World of Color’
      
    • 6/01/10 - ‘World of Color’ – It’s Delicious
      
      
  • We post some announcements on:
    • Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/disneygeekcom
    • Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/disneygeek
    • Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/disneygeekcom
      
      

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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